ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #7 Laz Ushida Koji yuran Yushin Hato hiroronn Hiroki Yanai Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe had a lot to prove this year.

After Crazy Raccoon Crazy Raccoon Inactive failed to showcase Japan's potential in 2021, doubts were surrounding the region as a whole, as they were dubbed the weakest in the world by many.

ZETA DIVISION competed in Masters: Berlin and won Japan their first map on the international stage. However, that was all they did as they exited the group stage 0-2.

As such, they stepped back from APAC Last Chance Qualifier 2021 and overhauled their roster by signing stars from the Japanese scene, such as SugarZ3ro and TENNN from NORTHEPTION NORTHEPTION Japan Rank #6 YoWamu thiefy Masato Tsujita Pepper Shoki Banjo Esperanza Jeong Jin-cheol (정진철) Wolverine Cho Hyun-tae (조현태) , along with Dep from REJECT REJECT Japan Rank #3 GangPin Chae Jung-moo Akame Yu Gwang-hui (유광희) muto Hals stand-in BRIAN . Fans were optimistic that this revamped roster would be the chance to launch ZETA to the next level.

VCT Japan Stage 1: Challengers had all teams compete in two sets of open qualifiers. As such, ZETA breezed through open qualifiers, to playoffs, to the grand finals, where they dropped three maps, two of which were from Crazy Raccoon – including their 3-1 victory to secure their spot for Masters: Reykjavik.

Having usurped their rivals, ZETA DIVISION were ready to prove their mettle against the world's elite. In their group were Asian archrivals DRX DRX Korea Rank #1 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) , EMEA's FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 Leo Leo Jannesson Derke Nikita Sirmitev Boaster Jake Howlett Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder , and a new challenger in Ninjas In Pyjamas Ninjas In Pyjamas Inactive . ZETA's first match was against DRX, and the Japanese squad was summarily destroyed, only winning five rounds. Now sent to the lower bracket, their next match was against the fearsome FNATIC, albeit without braveaf and star duelist Derke . ZETA ousted the EMEA squad 2-0, with NIP being the last team standing in their way for playoffs qualification. In a historic match, ZETA DIVISION came out on top and entered the playoffs for the region's first time.

Now high on their success, ZETA's first opponent for playoffs were G2 Esports G2 Esports Inactive , who were given a bye as the EMEA first-seed; ultimately, it was G2 who sent ZETA DIVISION to the lower bracket. Facing life or death, ZETA had to go on a miraculous run by winning every single match to the grand finals. It seemed like it was coming to fruition as the Japanese squad knocked out the third EMEA representative Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #18 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Enzo Enzo Mestari Mistic James Orfila Keiko Georgio Sanassy , APAC counterpart Paper Rex Paper Rex Asia-Pacific Rank #1 mindfreak Aaron Leonhart Jinggg Wang Jing Jie f0rsakeN Jason Susanto d4v41 Khalish Rusyaidee something Ilya Petrov , and exacted their revenge on DRX.

Their run brought ZETA one match away from the grand finals, with North American titans OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive being their final obstacle. The fairytale run came to an end as ZETA DIVISION placed third in Reykjavik, allocating enough points for Champions come August.

ZETA win celebration It was indeed a NICE! run. (Photo by Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)

After such a showing, many people believed that ZETA would be a shoo-in for Masters: Copenhagen. As the winner of VCT Japan Stage 1, the roster was given a bye to Stage 2: Challengers Week 1; swift victories over REIGNITE REIGNITE Japan Rank #24 C1ndeR Ko Jae-hyuk (고재혁) MeatPieN GeomJeonG Luca and REJECT quickly catapulted ZETA DIVISION to the playoffs. The Japanese superteam blitzed their way to the grand finals, dropping zero maps. The final opponent standing in their way for another Masters appearance was NORTHEPTION, a team they steamrolled in the upper finals. In front of approximately 20,000 fans at the Saitama Arena, NORTHEPTION shocked everyone by winning against the Reykjavik bronze medalists, earning their spot for Masters: Copenhagen.

For ZETA DIVISION, a loss in front of adoring fans was heartbreaking, as they were the undisputed favorites for another Masters. Old doubts over Japan were coming back as NORTHEPTION narrowly missed out on playoffs, leaving many to wonder how much further ZETA would have gone had they qualified.

ZETA DIVISION
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6:59 AM · Aug 30, 2022 ·
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ZETA DIVISION are back at Champions, this time with a new face in Xdll .

A little over a month before Champions, ZETA DIVISION announced that TENNN would be on medical leave due to problems with his eye. As a result, the Japanese representatives acquired Xdll on loan from SCARZ SCARZ Japan Rank #18 MrTenzouEz Lumo Maxim Demianovskikh Yoshiii John Yoshiharu Kawakami , a former player of BLUE BEES.ESP BLUE BEES.ESP Japan Rank #14 SID Lafura taru MerRy Has1ra14 Lim Hyuk (임혁) : one of the victims of ZETA's run to the playoffs, as their fifth.

ZETA DIVISION have their toughest test ahead of them in Group B: facing old foes OpTic and APAC Last Chance Qualifier winner BOOM Esports BOOM Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #4 Famouz Fikri Zaki Hamdani Shiro Hildegard Arnaldo NcSlasher Sheldon Andersen Chandra BerserX Rizkie Adla Kusuma . Their first match is against Brazilian behemoths LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #1 Quick Gabriel Lima saadhak Matias Delipetro Less Felipe de Loyola tuyz Arthur Andrade cauanzin Cauan Pereira , as both teams try to bounce back from lackluster performances and get off to a hot start.

Many questions surround ZETA, given that it is unclear whether TENNN will return to the roster —although he is signed as a substitute, compounded by the doubts about whether the team has practiced their comps with Xdll as a suitable and serviceable replacement, and the fact that ZETA are in a vicious group with the top two teams from Masters: Reykjavik, as well as a potential darkhorse in BOOM.

Even with all the doubts, questions are meant to be answered, and ZETA DIVISION are ready to answer all of them.