VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Week 2 Recap

After a lot of wait, the Group Stages of Challenger have finally come to an end with the conclusion of VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Week 2. Instead of having both open qualifiers consecutively and transitioning into the main event, the Challenger events in Japan were designed to feature a week of open qualifiers, followed by a week of Main Event matches. With the conclusion of this event, all eight teams advancing to VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Playoffs have been decided. Here’s a detailed recap of how each team qualified for VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Playoffs.

NORTHEPTION

Even though, NORTHEPTION had a successful run in Week 1 Qualifiers, they had to face defeat at the hands of Zeta Division in Knights Arena VALORAMPAGE - Main Event after a close matchup that went to decider. At the end of the first half of that map, they were trailing by a six-point deficit, a comeback for them seemed highly unlikely given the form ZETA DIVISION was playing in. Nonetheless, they managed to put up a strong fight in the second half and had nine rounds under their belt when Zeta Division finished the matchup. Facing elimination from that event, they were given a direct invite to Challengers Week 2, which was held over the weekend.

Their first matchup was against DeToNator and proceedings began on Split. DeTonator was able to give NORTHEPTION a hard time straight out of the gate but the opposing team didn’t back down either and tied up the score 6-6 by halftime. Bind, being NORTHEPTION’s pick, meant that DeTonator’s chances of forcing the decider were further reduced. They did not let this bother them and tried to resist NORTHEPTION to the best of their ability. NORTHEPTION was relentless in both halves, taking five consecutive rounds to take the lead in the first half and put the final nail in the coffin by finishing the map with a 13-10 score. Although they had officially earned a spot at VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Playoffs with this win, their seeding would be determined after a match with FAV gaming, which was a surprisingly easier win compared to their first matchup.

FAV gaming

If there’s any phrase that can describe this team’s run in VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Week 2 - Open Qualifier, it would be utter dominance since their presence was enough to force their first two opponents to forfeit, and were then able to restrict Storks Phalanx from taking more than a total of 12 rounds in the two maps the final was played on. Daiki "Minty" Kato’s usage of Jett and Raze was commendable throughout the event, especially in the finals when he finished with a 1.64 rating and 307 ACS. Coming into the event, they were one of the teams to keep an eye on and they were able to prove why that was the case, at least in their first matchup against BLUE BEES. The matchup began on Split, and after taking the time to adjust to their opponent’s playstyle, they were able to strengthen their defensive strategies in the first half, and compliment it with strong offensive plays to finish the map at 13-9 before the opponent reached double digits.

Breeze, the following map and FAV Gaming’s map pick, too, ended in their favor with a slightly better final score. On the second map, CNCI BLUE BEES’s greatest flaw was their lack of control over the momentum. Had they been able to take more than a couple of consecutive rounds, and establish a consistent streak, they had a considerable chance of qualifying for the Playoffs. To the dismay of FAV Gaming’s fans, however, they did not win their second matchup as discussed in the NORTHEPTION section above.

Reignite

With two sweeps to start the tournament, the team was looking strong enough to win a qualifying spot without dropping a map but Hexad presented itself as a potential obstacle by being the only team to force the decider against them. However, Hexad wasn’t able to able to maintain consistency in their performance and lost the decider by a mind-blowing 0-13 score allowing Reignite to reach the finals and face off against DetonatioN Gaming, which was relatively uneventful as they managed to win the matchup 2-0 without losing more than 12 combined rounds. Their opponents in the matchup were FENNEL, who were directly invited to the tournament after a close loss against IGZIST in the first week of Challengers Main Event. Split was introduced as their first map, and the fighting began with both teams seeking to stack rounds as fast as they could. The difference between each team seemed minimal till halftime with Reignite leading 7-5. The dynamic, nevertheless, changed significantly as the match progressed to the second half as Reignite took six back-to-back rounds to finish the map at a 13-5 score, and were one step closer to a Playoff spot.

Haven presented itself as an opportunity for FENNEL to comeback in this matchup and potentially increase their chances of qualifying but Reignite wasn’t planning on delaying this matchup for that long. Within a few minutes of leaving the gate on Haven for pistol round, they were able to establish a frightening power dynamic over FENNEL with an 11-1 score to finish the half. Comeback seemed even less likely for FENNEL but they did surprisingly manage to take six rounds before Reignite could put an end to this matchup and secure their playoff spot. In their seeding matchup against Crest Gaming, they weren’t as lucky and had to settle for the 3rd-4th place in the tournament.

Crest Gaming Zst

Their path to qualification was filled with more obstacles than the remaining teams due to the talent and skill Sengoku Gaming possessed. Crest Gaming’s map pick, Ascent, commenced the proceedings in an unfamiliar fashion with Sengoku Gaming looking to take the charge early on. Nonetheless Crest Gaming Zst was able to find vulnerabilities in the opposing team’s strategy and exploit them to switch momentum in their favor and start an eight-round streak that continued over the halftime break.

Standing at a 12-4 score gave them a significant edge on the map, but before they could put an end to Ascent, Sengoku Gaming struck back taking six consecutive rounds with unforeseen dominance. Before the situation could worsen, Crest Gaming took their final round and ended the map with a humbler attitude than they would’ve had if the map ended at a 13-4 score. Bind bore similar results by halftime with Crest Gaming leading 8-4, but their success was fairly limited in the half with Sengoku Gaming gaining bulk of the rounds and forcing overtime after seven back-to-back rounds. The initial Overtime ended as a draw, forcing yet another one. After an intense battle in round 27, it was Sengoku Gaming that emerged victorious forcing the decider.

Haven was chosen as the decider and being tied at 1-1, both teams were looking to dominate from the get-go. Sengoku Gaming was able to do in the first few rounds, but Crest Gaming’s streak threw caught them off-guard and left them trailing yet again by halftime. A repeat of their second map performance was needed to guarantee their playoff spot, and the audience were able to get a few glimpses of that but it was Crest Gaming that ultimately powered through and reach 13 rounds to win the matchup and qualify for VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Playoffs. In the subsequent seeding matchup, they were able to restrain Reignite on the decider map with an impressive 13-1 score.