After years of playing second fiddle at the top of the Korean hierarchy,
Dplus Esports
Dplus Esports
Korea
Rank #9
Kally
Kim Dong-wook (김동욱)
Ramgi
Woo Jyun-huk (우준혁)
shu
Yoon Si-hoo (윤시후)
JaXe
Shin Jae-young (신재영)
CabezA
No Gun-hyung (노건형)
finally got their first-ever Challengers trophy after a grueling lower bracket run. Meanwhile, Japan found a new successor in
FENNEL
FENNEL
Japan
Rank #1
Aace
Souta Itou
Hals
as they beat the favorites,
Crazy Raccoon
Crazy Raccoon
Inactive
.
World Cyber Games Challengers League Korea: Split 1
The Regular season group stage saw two weeks of round-robin matches between each of the eight teams.
World Game Star
World Game Star
Korea
Rank #25
Wenty
Yang Geon-mo (양건모)
YUNSEUNG
finished bottom with a 1-6 record, while
CNJ Esports
CNJ Esports
Korea
Rank #10
Ziya
barely made it out with a 2-5 record, just by head-to-head differential against
OP.GG SPORTS
OP.GG SPORTS
Inactive
M1nu
Rap1d
B1ngSu
Seolho
ExiA
Jung Yeong-woo (정영우)
, who also went 2-5.
Gwangju Shadow
Gwangju Shadow
Inactive
Ivy
Park Sung-hyeon (박성현)
Distinct
Francis
Kim Mu-bin (김무빈)
Dambi
Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규)
and Dplus took the higher seeds with their respective 6-1 and 5-2 records, while
Maru Gaming
Maru Gaming
Korea
Rank #23
Xenus
Lee Kyung-ho (이경호)
mir
Hwang Mir (황미르)
,
Nongshim RedForce
Nongshim RedForce
Korea
Rank #1
Xross
Jeonghwan (정환)
Rb
Goo Sang-min (구상민)
Francis
Kim Mu-bin (김무빈)
Dambi
Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규)
Ivy
Park Sung-hyeon (박성현)
, and
Rio Company
Rio Company
Inactive
SungJin
Ko Sung-jin (고성진)
Sunday
Kim Min-soo (김민수)
kanade
Um Hyun-sung (엄현성)
LuZ
Lim Ui-jun (임의준)
Jinboong
Kim Jin-won (김진원)
filled the rest with 4-3, 3-4, and 5-2 records, respectively.
Dplus' first game in the playoffs began by getting knocked down to the lower bracket by Rio Company. Unfazed, Dplus went to the lower finals, where they came out on top against Maru Gaming in a five-map series. Rio Company met Dplus again in the finals. However, the latter got their revenge.
Rio's pick of Lotus did not go their way, as Dplus demolished them 13-3, with a 10-1 attack half. Icebox was a little closer, but Dplus took it in the end. The final map Lotus was the last step to Dplus' domination as they became WCGCL Korea: Split 1 Champions.
Challengers League: Japan Split 1
Like Korea, VCL Japan held two weeks of non-stop round-robin action in the group stage.
REJECT
REJECT
Japan
Rank #13
Yoshiii
John Yoshiharu Kawakami
Dep
Yuma Hashimoto
hiroronn
Hiroki Yanai
Jremy
Jeremy Cabrera
went winless, one of eight teams across all Challengers leagues to do so, and
CREST GAMING Zst
CREST GAMING Zst
Japan
Rank #12
bazz
KEN
yutaro
was the second in the bottom two with their 1-6 record. In contrast to REJECT, Crazy Raccoon dropped zero games, while
SCARZ
SCARZ
Japan
Rank #8
Art
Koki Kagami
Gwangboong
Kim Gwang-won (김광원)
muto
BRIAN
Medusa
An Min-cheol (안민철)
completed the top two with a 6-1 record.
IGZIST
IGZIST
Japan
Rank #7
popogachi
Souta Morita
oitaN
Masayuki Takahashi
kAyle
Jung Soo-yong (정수용)
Chocolatte
stand-in
,
NORTHEPTION
NORTHEPTION
Japan
Rank #5
,
Sengoku Gaming
Sengoku Gaming
Inactive
Gwangboong
Kim Gwang-won (김광원)
Kippei
NOBITA
Misaya
yuran
Yushin Hato
, and FENNEL round out the top six, with the latter three teams having 4-3 records.
Crazy Raccoon directly advanced to the grand finals after their semifinal victory over SCARZ, who awaited one of the other four teams in the lower bracket finals. Whereas in the lower bracket, FENNEL's road to the grand finals was long and arduous as they played in all five maps in every match, beating NORTHEPTION, Sengoku, and SCARZ one by one.
Having played in front of a live crowd the day before against SCARZ, FENNEL had the momentum given Crazy Raccoon were playing after a month. FENNEL started down with four rounds in the first half in their map pick of Ascent but managed to pull through with a 13-11 comeback. Crazy Raccoon didn't find luck in their Fracture pick as they lost 13-6, winning zero attack halves. FENNEL wrapped up the finals and got their first franchise top finish with a 13-9 win on Split, the same map where they lost 17-15 the day before to SCARZ.
With the conclusion of Challengers Split 1, Dplus and Rio Company of Korea, and FENNEL and Crazy Raccoon of Japan are in good shape to represent their respective region in Ascension. However, it is not guaranteed that the winners of Split 1 will run it back in the second split, given the sole winner will represent their region in Ascension.
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