The decisive APAC playoffs start on September 13th

The suspense still reigns in APAC region as we’re about to enter into the regional playoffs. It consists in a single elimination best-of-3 format to determine the top two teams to advance to the APAC LAN Finals in Tokyo, Japan. Before it takes off, let’s take a look at the stakes involved for this Pro League decisive phase. Which teams will earn a spot to the APAC LAN finals and be the APAC’s flagship in Rio de Janeiro Pro League Finals?

Southeast Asia:

Southeast Asia sees a surprising turn of events, with perennial top-dogs Aerowolf missing from the top spot in the table after two maps each drawn and lost. Instead, Xavier Esports leads by a 5-point margin -- this after coming up from the Challenger League in Season 7. Aerowolf find themselves in 2nd place instead, having dropped 10 points after the APAC Paris Major LAN Qualifiers in two draws to 3rd-placed Team DAD1, and two losses to Xavier Esports. The final playoff spot, however, is in very close contention. Last season’s second-best team, Scrypt, is just a point away from tying with Team DAD1 and KlickBait Tactics (KBT) for 3rd, who both have 20 points each. DAD1 and KBT go head-to-head on the last day next Wednesday, however, which will give Scrypt a chance to displace one of them to claim either 3rd or 4th, with the Indonesians favourites to beat the 7th-placed Impetus Gaming.

Japan:

The story is a little more clear-cut in Japan as well, with EM’s fellow Paris Major participants NORA-Rengo (NR) leading the way. However, the team has had the loan of ShiN end, and have replaced him and the departed CrazyPapiyoN with ReyCyil and Papilia. The other top 4 teams behind them are all separated by 5 points each, with Sengoku Gaming Extasy (SGE) -- who have two players that were seen at the 2018 Six Invitational as a part of eiNs -- in 2nd place. SGE, however, lost their star player Papilia to NR just before the resumption of the Pro League, which could have a grave impact on their playoff performance. In 3rd place is eiNs, who had been playing without their captain ShiN prior to the Paris Major, and will receive a strong boost with their captain’s return. Cyclops Athlete Gaming rounds off the top 4 teams, but have seen top performer ReyCyil leave for greener pastures at NR just prior to the Pro League restart. They are only a point ahead of 5th-placed ReV, however, and ReyCyil’s loss has put their top 4 place in jeopardy, with all to play for next Wednesday.

Australia New Zealand:

ANZ, however, sees another surprise. Leading the table by four points is Athletico Esports, a team that has only featured at one APAC LAN event so far. Behind them is the team one would expect to see in their place, Fnatic, who played at both the 2018 Six Invitational and Paris Major, getting to the quarter-finals in the former event. Just a point behind Fnatic is VSDS -- another familiar name at APAC LAN events -- who has maintained a strong position in the region despite significant roster changes. A whopping twelve points behind, in the somewhat comfortable 4th place, is SYF Gaming, who leads Taboo by five points. The latter has not had performances strong enough to suggest the former dropping out of playoffs contention, so it is likely that the former four teams will be seen in the playoffs on the 13th of September.

South Korea:

In Korea, Element Mystic stands as the only team in the entire world to not have dropped a single point, winning all ten maps played. Also having played at the Paris Major, they are very much likely to continue their strong performance on the last day of the regular Pro League. In 2nd place is New Life, 5 points behind the leaders, but the field gets slightly more spread out. AsB sits in 3rd place with 18 points, with Team uR just 3 points adrift, but the latter risks losing their playoff spot to JCL Gaming who is only one point behind them. It remains to be seen, however, if JCL will be able to pull the feat off, with Team uR’s domestic strength not to be underestimated.

Catch all the four regions in action tomorrow, the 5th of September and see which two teams from each sub-region will be flying out to Tokyo in October for the Season 8 APAC LAN Finals.

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