M80 win the Mid Season faceoff to solidify their 1st place spot

Following the conclusion of NA Challengers Split 1, the top 8 teams from the tournament were invited to participate in VCT 2023 - Challengers League North America: Mid-Season Face Off for additional VCT points as well as a share of the $30,000 prize pool. This event commenced on March 22 and hosted its grand finals matchup on April 31, which featured M80 and G2 Esports going head-to-head in an intense battle.

M80 tops the NA Challengers Split 1 standings

At the end of Split 1, VCT points were awarded based on the team’s respective placement and it was M80 that earned the largest share owing to their dominant performance in Group B of the event. Though they were one of four teams to end with a 4-1 record, their round difference was considerably larger than their counterparts with The Guard bearing second place with a +41 round difference as opposed to +51 for M80.

G2 Esports, their grand finals opponent, finished 3rd at the event despite dominating Group B entirely. The round difference statistic was therefore quite impactful in determining the final placement and consequently the VCT points each team earned.

G2 Esports face off against M80 at mid-season Grand Finals

With eight teams for the mid-season invitational being shortlisted, the proceedings began with the conventional double elimination bracket and G2 faced an early upset against Oxygen Esports, a team they had defeated with a clean sweep less than a month ago. Regardless of this minor setback, their aggression kept them alive in the tournament through grueling matchups against the likes of FaZe Clan and Moist Moguls, followed by an Oxygen Esports rematch and a Lower Bracket finals against The Guard.

M80’s run to the grand finals was a stark contrast to the aforementioned scenario as the team never lost a game throughout the event and were saved a trip to the Lower Brackets. Considering the success each team had in the Challengers Split, their meeting at the grand finals wasn’t entirely a shocking outcome. On the contrary, the anticipation for the impeding matchup was raised due to the talent and skill at display by each team in their respective matches.

M80 continue their dominance

Ascent welcomed both teams to the grand finals. G2, who had opted for this map pick, came out of the gates guns blazing to establish a four point lead going into halftime providing them with enough leeway to withstand M80’s offense and gain an early advantage. However, this map win was rendered futile as the Canadian team ripped G2 to shreds in the subsequent maps with Fracture reading a final score of 13-10, Icebox of 13-5 and Pearl of 13-3.

Marki "NiSMO" Tayar was without a doubt the MVP finishing with a 1.62 rating on 292 ACS and 1.65 KD over four maps while only playing KAY/O. With this win, M80 was awarded 10 VCT points and $11,000 for the event whereas G2 had to settle for 6 VCT points and $6,000.

Updated NA Challengers standings:

Following the mid-season face off, the Challengers leaderboard based on VCT points is as follows:

• M80 (30 Points)
• The Guard (22 Points)
• G2 Esports (21 Points)
• TSM (13 Points)
• Oxygen Esports (13 Points)
• Moist Moguls (11 Points)
• FaZe Clan (8 Points)
• Disguised (7 Points)
• Turtle Troop (5 Points)
• Shopify Rebellion (4 Points)
• MAD Lions (2 Points)
• OR Esports (1 Point)

It will be interesting to see if any of these teams decide to introduce roster changes based on their performances prior to the Challenger Split 2 set to commence April 18. If you want to check out more information about the VCT 2023, make sure to visit the VCT 2023 Hub.