In the wake of Masters Reykjavik, X10 Esports X10 Esports Inactive Vera Rodman Yap Tempz Pierre Heng RedKoh Danial Hakim wayne Wayne Chang Egoist Javier Chua garnered themselves quite an international following, despite missing gold at the event. With lessons from international play in hand, the ceiling was endless for the Thai squad.

However, at the start of Stage 3, their star player Patiphan "Patiphan" Chaiwong announced a break for the entirety of the stage, owing to an aggravated wrist injury. Yuttanagorn "Zeus" Kaewkongyai, the team's coach, would play in his stead. Patiphan's impending absence cast doubt on the team's ability to improve, or even maintain, their previous form.

But those fears were allayed as X10 swept Challengers 1 in dominant fashion, securing themselves a spot in the SEA Challengers Finals.

With a first-seed advantage, X10 was placed in Group C of the SEA Challengers Finals, alongside Team Big BAAM Team Big BAAM Asia-Pacific Rank #27 invisible LilHieu Lưu Chí Hiếu KimHung2k5 , Galaxy Racer Galaxy Racer Inactive Yohann Ronard Tecson Emman Emmanuel Morales Georggyyy George Audrey Lachica Ching Enrico Perez Karl Carlo Ocampo , and BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #2 dos9 Zhumagali Dastan Famouz Fikri Zaki Hamdani Shiro Hildegard Arnaldo NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra BerserX Rizkie Adla Kusuma . X10 was expected to advance from groups and edge one step closer to Berlin. But after a controversial ruling and a flurry of draws, X10 ended up missing playoffs by the slimmest of margins: a single round. The impact of Patiphan's absence was apparent.

Despite missing Masters event, X10 were still atop the SEA circuit points standings. If Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #5 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov and Inactive failed to make it past the group stages, X10 were locked-in for Champions. At worst, they'd be relegated to playing in the LCQ.

Patiphan and Sushiboys at Masters Reykjavik. X10 CRIT are ready to return international play. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

But when Bren were plagued by COVID travel complications and denied a chance to compete in Berlin, X10's place at Champions became guaranteed. In addition, Patiphan was also ready to return to the active roster for Champions.

While X10's return to international competition seems destined, the team's expected performance is much less clear. They've made few appearances after Stage 3, their most recent an encounter with FULL SENSE in which they narrowly lost in a 1-2 series.

One thing we know for sure, though: they'll be bringing their signature jubilance and composure to the most important fight of the year.

Their first match in Champions will be against the Masters Berlin runner-up, Envy Envy Inactive Marved Jimmy Nguyen Victor Victor Wong crashies Austin Roberts FiNESSE Pujan Mehta yay Jaccob Whiteaker . Afterwards, they'll face either Acend Acend Inactive ALIVE Gilad Hakim musashi Alessio Xhaferi pyrolll Artur Minin cullumx Nikolaj Cullum Andersen chiwa Egor Stepanyuk or Keyd Stars Keyd Stars Inactive .