Shopify Rebellion make grand finals in Brazil over G2 Gozen

Shopify Rebellion Shopify Rebellion North America Rank #23 meL Melanie Capone alexis Alexis Guarrasi Noia Nicole Tierce florescent Ava Eugene sarahcat Sarah Simpson are the first team to make the grand finals of the 2023 Game Changers Championship after a three-map series vs G2 Gozen G2 Gozen Europe Unranked rezq Eda Naz Akçocuk amy Amy Lai Vania Aleyna Keskin Petra Petra Stoker mimi Michaela Lintrup .

Shopify came into the upper finals having lost a total of just 10 rounds thus far in the tournament with a map record of 4-0. Prior to the upper finals, the Shopify quartet of florescent , Noia , meL , and alexis were the four highest-rated players of the tournament.

On the other hand, G2 have had a rocky, yet successful start in Brazil with overtime map wins over Team Liquid Brazil Team Liquid Brazil Brazil Rank #6 Bizerra Vitoria Vieira Joojina Letícia Paiva isaa Isabeli Esser daiki Natalia Vilela bstrdd Paula Naguil and Team SMG GC Team SMG GC Inactive enerii Odella Abraham Alexy Alexy Francisco shirazi Kelly Jaudian Kamiyu Camille Enriquez along with a map loss to the latter.

Both teams are the final contestants remaining from their respective regions after the eliminations of both Evil Geniuses GC Evil Geniuses GC Inactive PowerPixele Nora Lorri Lorrian Elad StarBound theia Melisa Mundorff and BBL Queens BBL Queens Europe Rank #12 jduh Ceyda Kondu proxima Aslıhan Uslu Wens Gülce Eda Sürmeli alkyia Azra Erin Felipa Zehra Durak .

G2 Gozen opted to pick Breeze as the first map of the series, a map they have played just once in 2023 during a crushing 13-0 loss to Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #1 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius at the Red Bull Home Ground EMEA Qualifier. However, the map has historically been a stalwart pick in G2's pool with an all-time 86% win rate.

While the North Americans typically opt to run a Breeze composition built around florescent's Yoru, they instead chose to play a Jett into G2 Gozen.

After a tightly contested first six rounds, G2 ran away with five rounds straight to secure an 8-4 half backed by an excellent showing from Petra . The Dutch star for G2 just recently picked up the duelist role for this event and has quickly made her mark on the competition. Petra accrued a 1.60 rating, seven first kills, and 177 ADR on Breeze en route to propelling her team to a 13-6 win.

“Petra had a really good game (on Breeze), she was just picking us off one by one,” said alexis.

Petra was joined by in-game leader mimi , who topped the chart for her squad in ADR with 187 and was a constant thorn in the side of Shopify's attempted A site splits.

Everyone on Shopify stepped up to secure Ascent. (Photo by Adela Sznajder/Riot Games)

Ascent was a complete reversal of Breeze as Shopify quickly re-established themselves as a contender in the series with a blistering 6-0 start. The North Americans dropped just two rounds in the first half and evened up the series with a 13-3 map victory.

The entire squad was firing on all cylinders with four players recording greater than 150 ADR, and with alexis and meL earning 100% KASTs. The clutch gene was also present for NA's last hope as all four 1v1 scenarios presented were won by Shopify.

Both teams played Sunset for the first time within the Game Changers circuit at this event with G2 recording a 14-12 win over Team Liquid Brazil and Shopify dominating Chao Hui EDward Gaming Chao Hui EDward Gaming Inactive Blue 13-2. Only one of them would turn a 1-0 map record into a 2-0 record today.

An initial pistol round win for G2 kept hopes high as they trailed by a narrow 7-5 scoreline coming into halftime. Petra continued to be the MVP for G2, while the entirety of Shopify continued to perform.

A four-round streak from Shopify to start the second half quickly dwindled any hopes for the reigning Game Changers champions as the North Americans led 11-5. A few stumbles on the road were all that stood between Shopify and a grand finals appearance as the lead ultimately proved too much for G2. While Petra topped the scoreboard in terms of ACS with a score of 333 and a +7 K/D differential, Shopify took the series 2-1 with a 13-8 map win.

The duo of florescent and meL proved pivotal in the final map as florescent's entrying capabilities were on full display. Both players recorded greater than 1.30 ratings, with florescent racking up 207 ADR.

Shopify Rebellion are the first team to make the grand finals of the 2023 Game Changers Championship in Brazil and will await the winner of the loser's finals on Sunday.

“I want to rematch G2, 3-0 let's do it,” said alexis.

G2 Gozen have been dropped into the lower bracket final and will face off against the victor of Team Liquid Brazil vs Team SMG GC tomorrow.