S.E.A Qualifier Highlights Singapore's Strength

 

 

Held during the Esports Festival Asia 2019 in Singapore, The ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2019 Asia CS:GO Open - South East Asia Qualifier was an exciting event for both the teams and fans during the weekend of 6th - 8th September.

 

In a bid to cover more countries and regions, this years regional format for qualification meant that South East Asia was now eligible to send three teams in total. Thailand, Vietnam and Laos were the only nations that were not present here due to the new breakdown of regional and national qualifiers. Because of this change, it was interesting to see what the other member nations of South-East Asia could put forward in terms of talent.

 

The qualification began, like usual, with an online open qualification process. Five teams would make their way to the regional LAN finals and join the three invited teams - BOOT, FrostFire and BREN Esports. Because of changes to their line-up, Indonesia's XCN (last years Indonesia champion) were ineligible to receive a direct invite to the LAN finals. However, this didn't prove to be an issue for the Indonesian team, as they finally made the top five among four other teams - Exodus, LaZe, Goodfellas and 30.6.

 

Surprisingly, three of the five qualified teams were from Singapore. This small host nation of the qualifier has seen some success on the International stage both during CS:GO and CS 1.6, and it was good to see these teams well represented this year. For the first time ever in eXTREMESLAND history, a team from Brunei made their appearance in the form of Goodfellas. With the eight teams determined, this was looking to be an exciting event already, and exciting it was!

 

 

The qualifier featured a BO1 GSL group stage, with BO3 play-offs that would determine the three qualified teams. Right from the start we saw a mixture of upsets and some predictable results, but overall it was Singapore that came out on top.

 

Group A

 

Teams: BOOT, FrostFire, XCN, LaZe

 

FrostFire was the first major upset. As last years' Malaysian national Champion, the team from Kuala Lumpur were one of the favorites to qualify again this year. However, a weak performance on their side and strong competition in their group saw them lose both games, ending their road to Shanghai abruptly. It was Singapore's first mix-team, LaZe, which caused the upset. The young Singaporean squad went on to face the top Singaporean side - BOOT. Very quickly, the difference in skill and experience was made evident, and LaZe picked up only two rounds against BOOT, losing on Vertigo 2-16. Indonesia's XCN was up next, and after losing to BOOT 8-16 in their opening game they were not going to go out without a fight. It was a hard fought victory, and they eventually held their place versus FrostFire, taking the elimination game to overtime. In the decider, LaZe proved that they were here to compete and eliminated XCN 16-8. Group A already proved to show viewers that the crown for South East Asia's top teams was up for a challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group B

 

Teams: BREN Esports, Goodfellas, 30.6, Exodus

 

Arguably, Group B was a bit more unpredictable. Featuring only one of the invited teams, BREN Esports, the other three contenders were mostly unknown factors. Goodfellas were celebrating their first appearance in a regional LAN of this level, and Singaporean squads 30.6 and Exodus comprised of mixed squads that banded together for the purpose of these qualifiers. For the Filipino squad, the competition proved easy. The ex-TNC team under a new organization this year took their matches versus 30.6 and Exodus 16-6 and 16-2 respectively, cruising through to the playoffs. Exodus, a mix team from Singapore, took their first map versus the squad from Brunei in a nail-biting game on Nuke, 16-14. Goodfellas held themselves together in their second game, however, and went on to face off versus Exodus once more in the elimination game. The decider was to be played once again on Nuke, but this time, Exodus ran away with the game on their CT side and proved to be too tough of a challenge for the in-experienced Bruneian team. BREN Esports and Exodus secured their playoff spots, meaning the playoffs would witness three teams from Singapore and one team from the Philippines. 

 

Playoffs & Final Results

 

No one could have predicted that the playoffs would feature three Singaporean teams. Because of the three eligible spots to Shanghai, this meant that Singapore was guaranteed at least two teams for the grand finals. BOOT were up first, and made quick work of Exodus, winning both maps with ease. BREN Esports faced off against LaZe in the second map, and while LaZe took the first game 16-12 on Mirage, BREN’s experience shone through, eventually winning the series 2-1 over the boys from Singapore.

 

The final match-ups meant that BOOT and BREN would face-off for the 1st place prize, having secured their qualification to Shanghai, and Exodus and LaZe were battling for the third and final spot. LaZe and Exodus were up first. The first map, Dust2, seemed like a one-sided affair, and LaZe breezed past Exodus. With a strong lead on Inferno, it looked like they were going to win the series 2-0, however, Exodus mounted a huge comeback and eventually took the game 16-14. LaZe didn’t let their spirits die, however, and eventually came out on top by dominating Exodus on Train 16-5.

 

The BOOT versus BREN Esports final was next, and this proved to be perhaps the most fair match-up throughout the LAN qualifier. After winning their first map 16-10, BOOT were cheered on by the local crowd and were in the lead during the second map. BREN Esports were determined, however, and did not let the local favorites dominate them that easily. They eventually took Nuke 16-14 in one of the most exciting games from the whole weekend. With momentum lost, BOOT slipped past BREN Esports on the final map, Inferno, and secured the first place win 2-1.

 

Overall, the S.E.A qualifier displayed a lot of promising talent, and without the Thai teams present, it was clear that Singapore is the nation to challenge in the region.

 

The final results for the ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND 2019 - S.E.A  Regional Qualifier are as follows:

 

1st - 🇸🇬 BOOT

2nd - 🇵🇭 BREN ESports

3rd - 🇸🇬 LaZe

4th - 🇸🇬 Exodus

5th - 6th - 🇮🇩 XCN

5th - 6th - 🇧🇳 GoodFellas

7th - 8th - 🇲🇾 FrostFire

7th - 8th - 🇸🇬 30.6