Graphic courtesy of @Conteders_OW on Twitter
Group B’s first two matches went as expected. Team Envy dominated over Gladiators Legion while Gen.G wiped the floor with LGE.Huya with solid 3-0 victories. Many hoped that the game between Legion and LGE.Huya would be close, but the night would only get interesting when Envy and Gen.G finally took the stage. In the only Map 5 series of the night, Team Envy would make a massive comeback that woke up their tired fans.
Unfortunately for LGE.Huya, their losses against Gen.G and Gladiators Legion means that it is the end of the road. They are the second team to be eliminated from the tournament. Fans are disappointed that the only Chinese team in the competition was not able to perform at the level most know they are capable of. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing night in terms of matches, but Day 3 is looking to be the most explosive day of games yet.
Courtesy of RunAway’s official Twitter.
Kicking the upper semi-finals off with a bang, Runaway will be facing off against Gen.G. Last night, Gen.G proved to be the best team coming out of Group B. However, Envy was the only other team to show that they have what it takes so that isn’t saying much. The last time Runaway and Gen.G played against each other was during the regular season. In a nail-biting Map 5 series, Gen.G would ultimately come out on top and take the series.
Runaway had a reasonably inconsistent season. While they managed to snag the second seed spot in playoffs after defeating O2 Blast, fans are somewhat divided on how they think the pink boys will do. Going up against Gen.G, fans will primarily be keeping an eye on Runaway’s support line. Jae-gon “LeeJaeGon” Lee and Nam-jin “Gangnamjin” Gang are continually doing the lord’s work by keeping their teammates alive. However, Gen.G have three great DPS players who are more than capable of wreaking havoc in Runaway’s backline. Hak-yong “Stalk3r” Jeong, Seok-woo “Wekeed” Choi and Gil-seong “Glister” Lim all but destroyed their opponents last night, and are sure to give Runaway are a hard time during tonight’s match.
Atlanta Academy had a golden season in NA East. They didn’t lose a single series, nor did they drop a single map. Atlanta Academy has become a major fan favorite in the Contenders community, and many expect them to make it to the Gauntlet’s Grand Finals. They have many star players on their team, including Blake “Gator” Scott, who made waves on the Atlanta Reign during the Overwatch League playoffs. Atlanta is coming into this tournament with an insane amount of confidence, but their first opponents won’t take it easy on them. Element Mystic is the best team coming out of the Korean region. They also have an insane amount of talent on their roster; Han-been “Hanbin” Choi, Dong-ha “Doha” Kim, and Yeong-han “Sp9rk1e” Kim made the most significant impression on viewers during the first day of the tournament. In what is sure to be the most explosive match of the night, both teams will be bringing their A-Game. However, Atlanta’s cockiness might end up being their downfall if they’re not careful.
Photo courtesy of XL2 Academy’s official Twitter
Last night, Team Envy proved that they are not a team to be trifled with. Absolutely dominating Gladiator’s Legion, Team Envy would be the only team to take Gen.G to task. After three 3-0 matches in a row, Team Envy would turn things around at the half and take Gen.G to a Map 5. Envy has an insanely coordinated main tank duo in Hafþór “Hafficool” Hákonarson and Seb “numlocked” Barton, but it would be William “Crimzo” Hernandez and Hugo “SharP” Sahlberg who would steal the show. In the best play of the night, Crimzo would nano-boost SharP (who was on Widowmaker) as he took out various members of Gen.G that were caught in Hafficool’s Gravitic Flux.
Going into this match, Envy, specifically Crimzo, is confident that they will be able to clean sweep XL2 Academy. XL2 Academy performed well on Day 1; they destroyed HSL Esports and managed to take a map off of Element Mystic. However, the last time Envy and XL2 faced off was during NA West’s Grand Final. Envy beat XL2 Academy in a stunning 4-2 victory. While Envy certainly has the skill, XL2 Academy has something they don’t: a bitter taste in their mouth. They will be looking for their revenge going into this series, and after Crimzo’s trash talk last night, XL2 Academy is sure to come out swinging.
Photo courtesy of Talon Esport’s official Twitter
Gladiator’s Legion barely scraped their way out of Group B. Although they managed to 3-0 LGE.Huya, Team Envy wiped the floor with them. Twice. Legion will have to kick things into gear if they want any chance at taking down Talon Esports. While the young Gladiators have a star player in Min-sung “Water” Lee, one player can only do so much. Especially going up against a team that is jam-packed with talent. Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong and Bo-hyun “Bashful” Kang are one of the most energetic DPS duos at Gauntlet. Talon’s off-tank Ji-Yoon “Gogora” Lee also made an impression on Sigma. Many initially thought that Talon would be one of the weaker teams going into this competition. This line of thinking proves that too many people are sleeping on the Pacific region. Talon Esports is a formidable team, and though they initially struggled against Element Mystic, they are the clear favorites going into this matchup.
Follow me on Twitter: @Sybil_OW! You can also message me on Discord @ Sybil#3517! I’m always happy to discuss anything I’ve written!
Follow The Game Haus for the latest on all things sports and esports:
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus Esports
Want to show off how much you like TGH? Check out our merch shop here!
