This weekend the PUBG Continental Series returns, which means it is time to preview the Asian region. Some familiar faces have returned, old faces gone away and new faced have arrived. Whoever you root for, be sure to tune into twitch.tv/pubg at 5AM EST for the first week of games in the best region for PUBG.
Favorites:
Infantry
Infantry won the first PCS event and finished second in the second PCS event, so obviously they are a favorite entering this event. Their domestic success in the most recent qualifier may concern some people, but they finished fourth in the qualifier for the first PCS which they won. LongSkr is in the conversation for best player in the world and he is surrounded with people like Boliang who are very talented in their own right. While they may not seem to be in peak form, this team has proven they can’t be doubted.
Four Angry Men (4AM)
I refuse to believe 4AM is back, I refuse to believe 4AM is back, I refuse to believe 4AM is….. oh well. After barely qualifying for the first two PCS events, 4AM trounced the Chinese region and won the Chinese qualifier by 45 points. They are looking by far the best they have all year and are giving off end of 2019 4AM vibes. Forever and Godv will look to lead this team to the win every fan has known they are capable of. Will they do it? It’ll be clear soon.
OGN Entus
Have the sleeping giants of Korean PUBG awaken to once again claim the souls of whatever lobby they are in. At the end of last year this exact roster, minus Under, won PKL Phase 3 and finished fourth at PGC. Even after that success, Under’s addition made this team even more dangerous. His fragging capabilities are some of the best in the entire region, maybe the world. They won the Korean qualifier by almost fifty points while having 16 top finishes in thirty games. OGN Entus will be a top four team by the end of this tournament, will they win the event though.
Top Contenders:
Griffin
When Griffin is hot, they are in the conversation for the best team in Asia. The addition of Hwan2da to this already talented roster made them even more explosive. After all, they won five of the last ten games during the qualifier. They can sometimes lack the consistency that the top teams have which is why they sit in this tier. If they can be consistently good, then they can win this event.
Gen.G
There is one word to describe Gen.G’s 2020; inconsistent. They entered 2020 as the best team in the world, have not meet expectations, but now they look like they are returning to form. They missed the last PCS on one of the craziest tiebreakers you will ever see but are now back and looking for revenge. Pio is looks much more coordinated and Inonix looks much better than earlier in the year. Gen.G could easily win this event. That comment has been made multiple times already this year, with not enough results to back it.
Afreeca Freecs
Afreeca Freecs was by far the most interesting story during PCS 2. They made it to there on a three way tiebreaker and performed well given expectations and finished 10th. When the Korean Qualifiers for PCS 3 came around, they looked new and improved. EJ, Hansia, R0wha and daengchae all are good players who finally found the right team structure to find success.
Tianba
This team is a very good team that has been overshadowed by Infantry’s success. They finished top five in both of the PCS events and even won the Charity Showdown. LuReNa, NN, M200, and z9MAx all are very talented players who thrive within this team’s system. They have shown they can reach the highest peaks, but can they get back there.
The New Chinese Crew
Every PCS event has featured at least three new Chinese teams and the same three Chinese teams. This PCS event is no different either. Once again three new Chinese teams, that have little to no track record, are in the event. I’ll be completely transparent; I do not follow the Chinese scene enough. The sheer number of teams in this region makes it impossible to track. The new teams are Petrichor Road, MultiCircle Gaming and Newhappy. At least two of these teams will be in the top eight judging by previous trends. Newhappy is most likely the odd one out, but they are the biggest dark horse of the Chinese teams. They had one of the highest kill totals in the qualifier, but that doesn’t always transfer. The safe bet is for Petrichor Road and MultiCircle Gaming to finish in the top eight when all is said and done.
Stay Out of Apartments
VLRU Ghibli (VLG)
For all the love in the world, please don’t battle at apartments with 4AM again. Last PCS they essentially threw almost all their Erangel games by contesting 4AM’s drops every game on that map. They then proceeded to get team wiped a minute into the map almost every time because they tried to fight 4AM. This roster has enough talent to finish top six. Lambu, Spear, Hikari and DAEVA all are good players, it is time to see if they can make better decisions.
Noisemakers, Not Tournament Winners
DetonatioN Gaming White and Sunsister, the two Japanese teams, won’t win the tournament but they can make noise. A Japanese team always has a somewhat decent performance at every PCS event, so one of these teams will pop off at points. Each team has a signature fragger that can pop off at any second. CrazySam and Machao, from Sunsister and DetonatioN Gaming White respectively, are those players. Outside of those players, the rest of the team is good but not good to keep up with most of China and South Korea. They’ll make some noise, but how much is the question.
OP.GG is a feel good story from this PCS cycle. As every Korean Qualifier passed, this team got progressively better. They went from the worst team in the first qualifier to sixth place in the final qualifier. The thing with OP.GG is that they have their moments, but can also bottom out. If there is any player on this roster to pay attention to, it is Silky. He is a playmaker and maybe the best player on his team.
TWHKMO Teams
K7 Esports and Global Esports Xsset are in a rough spot. Outside of the surprise run by Team Curson during the Charity Showdown, no TWHKMO team has finished above 13th place in a single PCS event. That likely won’t change at this event either. YanLi and ZehnNan are both good player, but they are not enough to carry their respective teams. While success by one of these teams would be great, the probability of it happening is not high at all.
Need More?
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