So this is my basic take on each region based on Lock//In results:
IARAT: APAC Trash, China meh but getting better, EMEA got the peak team and a decent middle scene but some trash bins, America's has the most teams close to each other that can actually play the videogame.
I A RAT: I ain't reading all that, for all the VLR users with under a toddlers level of reading. The link on IARAT is subway surfers to maintain attention.
APAC: Bro wtf is this shit. I'm a Gen.G stan, but APAC basically underperformed the WHOLE tournament excluding DRX doing the expected, and TS + Talon doing really well. PRX and Zeta went into the tournament and barely even showed up. RRQ did bad. GE was fine tbh, just a little SKRossi trolling. But bro, 3 teams got out of the first round. Out of all the APAC teams that lost first round, only 1 team even got a map (GE). I PRAY for improvement over the Korea split.
China: FPX did fine for their first lan, no complains really. EDG tho, EASILY the biggest first round snub of the whole tournament. Out of all the teams who lost first round, they looked the best by far. They 100% looked better than 100T for a majority of the match. I'm excited to see them improve and do well in Japan. And again, FPX did well for their first tournament even if it's a loss to a team like KC.
EMEA: Fnatic look like a true superteam. IMO, they let Derke do his own thing which loses and wins a ton of rounds. Just depends on if they continue this more team style or chose to put a little more emphasis on the superstar. Leo had an all-time great performance on the initiator role. Fnatic also showed that EMEA is far and away their region. Navi were also fairy good. I was impressed by Giants, Vitality, and Fut. The region will have a fairly rich fight for middle positions. But, EMEA did have the most disappointments for me. KC would have lost 2-0 BAD to FPX if Shin wasn't there, they also rely on Operator play more than any team at the whole event which isn't the best look. Liquid... do I need to say anything on liquid? Heretics also looked real flat against EG.
America's: Easily the closest region in terms of teams 3-9. MIBR stood no shot, I got zero hope at the moment. But, overall America's performed better than I thought they would (excluding 100T who looked worse than I thought with the will -> cryo. It looked like it did almost nothing for them.) Lev and Kru did well, Furia did VERY well. EG overperformed from what I expected. C9 was the same C9 in how they are almost exclusivly individual skill and then they dropped the One Piece that they could actually build around. Loud and NRG were neck-and-neck on some of those maps, which is impressive to see from NRG (Literally the best prep team excluding Fnatic, with zero space to prep). Quick Sentinels copium that Zekken played uncharacteristically bad, give him even a mid performance from his XSET days and the Fnatic match turns from a 13-7, 13-6 to a 13-10, 13-9. The other teams facing Fnatic got outplayed, but Sentinels got outplayed AND had a crazy bad performance from a player, thus copium. Going into lock//in I had America's as the most entertaining regional scene and that was just expended with how Kru looks solid enough to compete and Furia looks like they'll battle for a Tokyo spot.
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