A Viewer's Guide to VCT Japan Challengers Week 1

Disclaimer: This is a very in-depth guide, so there is a TON of information on each team, therefore a LOT of writing. Literal walls of text.

After a grueling 5 days of qualifiers, the 8 teams for VCT Japan Challengers Week 1 have been announced. These teams have fought long and hard, and will finally get their chance to go to Challengers playoffs in late March. Some are favourites, while some are underdogs, while other favourites became underdogs, and while other underdogs became favourites.

The format will be as follows:
4 teams in groups of 2, playing in a single elimination bracket, and the top 2 in each group qualify for Challengers playoffs: so essentially the winners of match 1 and match 2 in each group. The bottom 4 will get their chance again in Challengers Week 2, along with 4 new teams from the open qualifiers.

Editor's Note: It was supposed to be 4 teams in groups of 2 playing in a round-robin system with the top 2 in each group qualifying and the bottom 2 going to Week 2, but they have seemed to change that.

The following 8 teams have qualified for Week 1:

Group A:

REJECT (RC) : They made noise last year, and had lots of chances to be a surprise pick for masters. However, other teams were stronger than them, and ultimately fizzled out near the end. This year, they have made a significant amount of roster moves. As you may or may not know, the orgs of ZETA Division and REJECT have signed a deal to trade players to the opposing team, thus RC have signed TakeJ and Reita from ZETA Division, as well as zepher and Medusa from Crazy Raccoon. In addition, HaReee has been called back to the lineup, after being absent last year during APAC LCQ. In the qualifier, this team made A LOT of noise. The Japanese fanbase seems to think that this is the darkhorse for masters 1, because they have looked really good. Roles were a bit of question mark because they have 2 Jett players (Reita and zepher) and 2 secondary duelists (TakeJ and HaReee), however they have figured that out. If they keep up this level of momentum, I believe they are a top 4 team in Japan (as of right now). They have a tough test ahead with Blue Bees, and this will be the match that will show if REJECT is the real deal.

Duelist: zepher
Flex: HaReee
Controller: TakeJ
Initiator Flex: Reita
Sentinel: Medusa
Other players: Feez (the 6th man)

Blue Bees (BB) : The Russian ranked demon team. We all know Something, that insane Reyna player who made his mark by dropping 43 kills in a single map last year. He has since moved to playing Jett and has looked good, but not compared to his Reyna. His other two Japanese teammates, Zerost and Zenakukin, are no slouches either. Zerost is the sentinel for the team and has looked serviceable, whereas Zenakukin is the Sova flex player, and has looked alright to say the least. BB had another player, million, but is currently suspended due to boosting and account sharing allegations. Blue Bees have signed two new players recently: Kr1stal and Xdll. Kr1stal, like Something, is a Russian ranked demon. They were playing Jett before being picked up, but has now switched to flex, and their stats have been decent. BB's other pickup, Xdll, is a complete unknown; he only played VCT this year, but all we know so far is that he plays controller and has been alright. Given all this, BB does have potential to be a good team, because newsflash: Russian players are good. However, they can't rely on their Russian players too much, because that will also be their downfall; good teams will try to counterstrat against their Russian demons, and BB will be stifled. Their match against RC will be a big test to see how BB can hold up against good teams.

Duelist: Something
Flex: Kr1stal
Controller: Xdll
Initiator Flex: Zenakukin
Sentinel: Zerost
Other players: million (inactive due to boosting and accounting sharing allegations)

FENNEL (FL) : Another underdog team in this group of underdogs. FL is currently missing their star duelist, Jinx, who is away on leave due to family. However, he will be back in Stage 2 of the VCT Circuit. Despite this, FL is the team for upset potential. They lowkey have a nasty team in the works. TENSAI and mittiiii are really good players and can spearhead this team in Jinx's absence. TENSAI is a very good aimer, as well as a very good Sova player. Mittiii has switched over to main duelist, in Jinx's absence, and has looked really good. Mittiii has played duelist in the past, and has looked good back then, so there should be no issue with switching roles. CLZ is one of the more underrated controllers in Japan. This guy has a lot of potential to be a top controller, his Astra and Viper are pretty decent, and his fragging output seems really good, based on stats. Derialy and Envy (who comes from Overwatch) have similar roles: they both play the sentinel role. Before Derialy was on the team, Envy played sentinel, and has looked really good statistically. However, he did get "benched" because of Derialy, probably because Derialy is better in scrims or because of attitude issues, which Envy was known for back in OW. Derialy has now switched to initiator flex role, which he played before, and, statistically, was decent at it. All in all, FENNEL has a lot of potential, and can have a fair shot to go to the playoffs. Their match with IGZIST will prove if FL can hang with the best.

Duelist: Mittiii
Flex: TENSAI
Controller: CLZ
Sentinel: Envy
Initiator Flex: Derialy
Other players: Jinx (inactive due to time with family)

IGZIST (IGZ) : One of the teams that got their matches streamed, so I don't have to spend a lot of time theorycrafting on how good they will be. As you may know, IGZ is composed of the core of Blackbird Ignis: oitaN, RIPablo, poem, and pepper. IGZ has also signed Lakia and Ask, where the latter is to yet play an official match. In their match against DNGW, IGZ has looked pretty decent, although a little scrappy at times. oitaN and pepper have looked stunning in their match, Lakia has looked INSANE as well, RIPablo is a very solid Astra, and poem has struggled a bit at first, but managed to be decent later on in the game. IGZ has a lot of individual talent, as well as synergy, albeit sometimes there have been some questionable rounds/decisions, but that is probably due to early communication issues. If IGZ does warm up, and can fix any glaring issues with decision making and communication, then this team can go FAR, a potential top 4 team. They play against FENNEL, and it will be a gauge whether or not IGZ can gun for the masters spot.

Duelist: pepper
Flex: poem
Controller: RIPablo
Sentinel: oitaN
Initiator Flex: Lakia
Other players: Ask (the 6th man, yet to play a match)

Group A matches: All 3 games are on Saturday, February 26th.
Match 1: FENNEL vs IGZIST (12:00 AM EST)
Match 2: REJECT vs Blue Bees (3:00 AM EST)
Match 3: Winners of Match 1 and Match 2 (6:00 AM EST)

Group B:
ZETA Division (ZETA) : Quite possibly, the best team in Japan right now, and the favourites for Masters. After playing second fiddle to Crazy Raccoon, ZETA has let go of their deadweight and picked up really strong pieces from other teams. A fully Japanese superteam, they have signed Dep from RC, as well as SugarZ3ro and TENNN from NTH, whilst keeping Laz and crow. Dep was a really sick Jett player back in REJECT, always had flashy plays and big impact in games. However, Dep took a step back from competitive play last year due to health and mental issues. But now he is back to rock the scene with his nutty Jett play. SugarZ3ro is arguably the best controller player in Japan right now, and is a very solid player. Gets the frags when needed, and the utility to back it up. TENNN slapped on NTH, and is seen playing the flex role now, instead of sentinel like he used to NTH; despite that, TENNN seems a bit rusty on ZETA, but when that wears off, TENNN is gonna be a dangerous player on ZETA. Laz and crow have stayed on with ZETA, and I believe that this is the best decision the management has made, because they were the 2 best players on ZETA. Laz wowed the world back in Berlin, with his incredible aim and frags, and was seen as a top initiator player despite being on a lacklustre team. crow has been on no one's radar but he (along with Laz) is one of the most flexible players in Japan; crow can play almost any agent. On paper, ZETA Division has the most probable chance to make masters. I believe their match against NTH will be a good match to watch, but not a very close match either because ZETA seems on another level right now.

Duelist: Dep
Flex: TENNN
Controller: SugarZ3ro
Sentinel: Laz
Initiator Flex: Crow

NORTHEPTION (NTH) : This is a FULLY REVAMPED roster, and I had my doubts with this team. They have picked up really good Korean talent (in Mete0r and JoXJo) but also very unknown Japanese talent (Xandrite, BlackWiz, and xnfri). However, it has been a pleasant surprise to see this roster perform. Mete0r was superb back in TNL as the star Jett player, and has seemed to pick up the momentum in Japan as well; I see the young prodigy spearhead this team. JoXJo has looked decent back in GoNGo Prince and is a fairly flexible player. However, his stats leave a bit to more to desire given that he is one of two "veteran" talents, but is probably getting used to the mixed communication. One of the players that I've been impressed with is Xandrite: a complete unknown quantity who turned out to be a gem. Statistically, he looked very good: his fragging output as a sentinel seems to be one of the best in Japan right now. I expect a lot of good things out of him. BlackWiz, who plays controller, and xnfri, who plays initiator, has looked decent thus far, but that's about it. Their match with ZETA will be a huge test to not just see how they'll perform against one of Japan's best but also to see how this new roster does individually.

Duelist: Mete0r
Flex: JoXJo
Controller: BlackWiz
Sentinel: Xandrite
Initiator flex: xnfri

Crazy Raccoon (CR) : The Chad Raccoon. After winning the hearts of fans worldwide, CR has restructured and is now looking very improved. They have kept Neth and Munchkin (who left then re-signed with the team), as well as signing Astell and Meiy from NTH, and popogachi from Blackbird Ignis. Neth and Munchkin (who play sentinel and flex respectively) were 2 of the stronger pieces on CR, and keeping them has been a very good decision as they bring a lot of firepower to the team. Signing Meiy is big, because CR's firepower has increased by A LOT; this guy Meiy is a duelist machine, one of the stronger pieces back in NTH. Astell, CR's new IGL, has less firepower than Meiy and the others, (as well as his predecessor Medusa) but has some big brain strats and understanding of the game; he recently switched from sentinel to controller, and I am interested to see how this turns out. popogachi has looked very solid as an initiator player back in Blackbird Ignis; he is very reliable on frags and clutches, and maybe a slight downgrade from Bazzi, but is still a very good player. Once again, CR's biggest issue is communication, given that they are a mixed team, and they had a lot of issues last year. Granted, Astell can speak fluent Japanese, but it's still a glaring issue that shouldn't be overlooked. If the Chad Raccoon can fix these issues, then CR are favourites to get that Masters spot. Their match against Sengoku will be a test to see how they'll do against a decent opponent as a new roster.

Duelist: Meiy
Flex: Munchkin
Controller: Astell
Sentinel: Neth
Initiator flex: popogachi

Sengoku Gaming (SG) : One of the new boys on the block, Sengoku has a LOT of potential to be a darkhorse for masters. They are composed of the Feeling core: Art, GangPin, and Misaya. SG has also signed kobra from GoNGo Prince and Thiefy. As one of the teams that had their matches streamed, they made a lot of noise in the scene, especially from their newest pickup: kobra. At first, I thought kobra was picked up as a controller player, because that is what he played back in GoNGo Prince, but he played Jett, and my god; did this man deliver. He went 31-6 in the first map, hitting some crazy shots and being a high-impact player. Granted, he did cool down after map 1, but there's no denying that kobra is a beast. Thiefy has been a major surprise, as he was a fragging sentinel and has looked really good. No one, not even me, knew how good he would be, but he delivered. One other player that I was surprised at, however in a negative manner, is GangPin. Before SG, GangPin looked like a BEAST on Feeling. He was the Korean Jett prodigy, and he had the results to prove it; however GangPin has now switched to the flex role and has looked alright to say the least. He can frag for sure, but his agent switches leave a lot to be desired, like that Neon pick on Ascent was a bit of a questionable decision. Art (not the Brazilian CS:GO player) has switched from sentinel to controller, and has looked very solid, but that's probably because he is an LMG demon. Misaya has been meh lately, nothing too crazy out of him, but still a solid player nonetheless. SG is a very solid team, but they shouldn't get flustered when the rounds get tough. Their individual skill is really good, but as a team, they looked shaky at times. Their match against CR will be a test to see if the darkhorse pick can live up to the hype and make it to the playoffs.

Duelist: kobra
Flex: Misaya
Controller: Art
Sentinel: Thiefy
Initiator flex: GangPin

Group B Matches: All 3 games are on Sunday, February 27th
Match 1: Crazy Raccoon vs Sengoku Gaming (12:00 AM EST)
Match 2: ZETA Division vs NORTHEPTION (3:00 AM EST)
Match 3: Winners of Match 1 and Match 2 (6:00 AM EST)

quality effort post

Great read! How far do you think igzist will get? Im really rooting for them because of lakia!!!

W article from redlightdistrict

it's nice to see that japan made a superteam too, im hyped to watch zeta

Ty for that

The JP format is so bad, I honestly just feel bad for the players. I've got Igzist, Reject, CR and Zeta qualifying

Ty for the post btw (do u speak Japanese?)

Too tired to read this :( would edit my opinion here tomorrow.

Appreciate you putting time into this. Was a great read.

im on max levels of copium for ZETA right now

i think in terms of firepower they have made the most drastic upgrades out of any competitive team as of late

as long as there aren't any underlying issues with communication or synergy (which are entirely possible) i genuinely believe this roster will be the first japanese team to make a significant impact on the international scene

Xdll looking sharp for a 16 year old. Can’t wait to see how he develops.

tl;dr