Haven’t been keeping up with the APAC Premier? Let’s give you a rundown of the group stages and what to look forward to in the playoffs
Especially with all of the drama going on in Korea’s APEX League, the APAC Premier has been the tournament less traveled. However, it would be a shame to overlook the teams and performances so far and in the near future. Let’s get you caught up on the action in the Banana Culture Tournament.
Recapping the Group Stage
For the lack of success the west has had in Korea, NRG seemed to have no problem clearing their group. They started group A beating Chinese Qualifier runners-up, Vici Gaming, before cruising through the rest of the bracket without dropping a game. VG were able to redeem themselves beating Unsold Stuff Gaming and Snake eSports in straight sets to clinch the second spot from the group.
Group C was a clinic on what the east could bring to the Overwatch table. Korean invite, Afreeca Blue, squared off against Japanese invites, DeToNator, and Chinese qualifiers, NGA Club and Allstrike Gaming. As the group favorites, Afreeca Blue met their first challenge in the bracket semifinals against NGA Club. NGA Maps put up a clinic on his McCree, but was unable to overcome the brute force of Afreeca. The two teams would meet again in the group finals with NGA beating AllStrike Gaming decisively in the decider match.
Lastly, Group B was probably the most anticipated with high profile teams, Rogue and Lunatic Hai competing for first out of the group. The first match up the day pitted these two titans against each other. In an extremely dominant fashion, Lunatic Hai looked to catch the gamescom champions offguard taking the first match 2-1. Rogue was able to shake off the upset, making their way through losers to rematch the Koreans in the finals. Unfortunately, the European favorites were unable to bring it back, losing 2-0 in the finals.
In order to fill out the rest of the bracket, the third place teams played in a 3 game qualification bracket. Snake Gaming and All Strike Gaming were able to overcome a hot iG Fire to take the remaining spots in the knockout rounds.
Looking Onwards
The playoff stage will be a clash of top worldwide teams and will be the first opportunity to see exactly how they perform with everything on the line. For our western readers, NRG and Rogue have an opportunity to meet in the grand finals, but will have two major roadblocks enroute. With a surprising second place finish, Rogue will be meeting the high flying Afreeca Blues in the quarterfinals. With the strong performance of Korean teams in APEX, Rogue will need to find ways to counteract Afreeca’s all out aggression and strong team work. NRG will be a little lucky with their toughest match being a potential meet up with Rogue-slayers Lunatic Hai in the semifinals. Lunatic Hai’s Esca will be man to watch, as he matches up against Seagull to determine who takes control of the offensive momentum.
For our Eastern readers, the key matchups to watch are NGA Club versus All Strike Gaming and the possible finals matchup between Lunatic Hai and Afreeca. ASG impressed us in the group stage with strong performances from tank player, East, and DPS threats, Samsara and Rain. However, they will be hard pressed against a tough NGA club, headlined by Maps and Acyort. The dream finals will pit two top tier teams from Korea, in a deep look at the upper echelon in the region.
The playoffs will start Thursday, October 13th 0600 Eastern Standard Time/1100 Central European Standard Time/1800 Chinese Standard Time. The English cast can be found at https://www.twitch.tv/bananaculture
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