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by OnlyJoshinTV
Welcome to The Recap, a new weekly content series covering Counter-Strike in the ANZ region with a touch of global action here and there. We aim to provide a regular series covering our region, from ESEA Open, ECL, and global events, to local LAN and online tournaments hosted here at home.
ZOWIE Extremesland 2024 – Oceania Open Qualifiers
The open qualifiers kicked off last Saturday where thirty-five teams entered and only eight made it to the next stage. It was a double elimination bracket with all standard games being Bo1 and all progression and elimination games being Bo3.
Some of the unknown teams gave a bit of a fright where Semper Fi lost the CT side of Nuke to JaDe gaming. Fortunately, they got back on their bike and won 13-10.
Semper Fi managed to win out and close in their spot for the closed qualifiers after a close series against Art of War. Housebets, Vantage, and Mindfreak made up the rest, all clinching their spots via the upper bracket.
There were a few known teams like Arcade, Art of War, KZG, Mantra Flow, and Canon Event that all fell into the lower bracket. Dark horses Rebound also fell to the lower bracket. The first big name to be taken out was Canon Event after a clean sweep from Mantra Flow.
The final four teams after an all out brawl were Rebound, team_CSJ, Art of War, and Mantra. Arcade were eliminated by team_CSJ which had Rhyu, Brovhjz, and Jinxzie in it. It didn’t help that they were playing with a sub either. KZG were eliminated in a close tussle with Mantra.
Semper Fi managed to close out as the top seed for the closed qualifiers with victories over Mindfreak and Housebets. Mindfreak, Housebets and Vantage would attain the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds respectively.
The closed qualifiers continue next weekend on October 5. I hope to see you all at DfragTV for an 11am start! I am still expecting for Semper Fi to take the spot!
ESL Challenger League – Season 48
The frenzied rush to the end of the season is in full swing with everything starting to become clearer.
The Race for the Playoffs
In the playoffs race, we have FlyQuest who have sealed the top seed with a 2-0 win over Art of War. Mindfreak are in second place with nine wins, but they do have a series against FlyQuest and KZG to contend with.
The Art of War is in third place with eight wins but have a smoother ride to the end of the season with series against DXA and Mantra remaining. Art of War have a key H2H tiebreaker over Rooster.
Rooster are fourth with a series in hand and seven wins but their remaining fixtures are against FlyQuest, Mantra and KZG. Rooster has a key H2H tiebreaker over Mindfreak.
KZG are fifth with a series in hand with seven wins and they have three key series against Housebets, Mindfreak and Rooster. If they win at least two of these series, KZG will qualify for playoffs.
Housebets are sixth with seven wins and KZG and Vantage to play. If Housebets want to qualify for the playoffs, they must beat KZG.
The Relegation Battle
On the other side of the coin is the battle for relegation which contains DXA, Mantra, Vantage and Arcade.
DXA has five wins and have series against Art of War and Arcade to contend with. A sweep over Arcade will allow DXA to avoid direct relegation.
Mantra has five wins as well but have series against Rooster and The Art of War. If they manage to steal a map off either team, they will avoid direct relegation. Mantra have H2H tiebreakers over Arcade and Vantage.
Arcade has three wins and a key series against Vantage and DXA. Arcade must win three games to escape direct relegation.
Vantage have 3 wins and a key series against Arcade and Housebets. Vantage must win three games to escape direct relegation including a sweep against Arcade.
25th September 2024
- FlyQuest v Arcade (13-8, 13-6)
- The Art of War v Mindfreak (13-9, 0-13)
- Rooster v Housebets (13-11, 13,11)
- DXA v Mantra (16-13, 2-13)
26th September 2024
- FlyQuest v Housebets (13-9, 13-8)
27th September 2024
- FlyQuest v Art of War (13-5, 13-2)
Vantage unveil their New Roster
Vantage reveals their new roster of Mingovi, Drox, Alecc, Jynx and Supar. They have also picked up Hudzm as their coach. We have an exclusive article from Breadhead who interviewed Hudzm on what sort of roster that they wished to build and what they’re looking for.
That’s it for the Recap, I’ll see you all next week!
