Tournament favorites FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 Leo Leo Jannesson Derke Nikita Sirmitev Boaster Jake Howlett Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder dismantle ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #7 Laz Ushida Koji yuran Yushin Hato hiroronn Hiroki Yanai Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe 2-0 in the group stage on the third day of Champions 2023. FNATIC will face off against surprise victors Bilibili Gaming Bilibili Gaming China Rank #7 B3ar Yang Zhanxiong (杨瞻雄) whzy Wang Haozhe (王昊哲) Levius Lu Yinzhong (卢胤中) Knight Liu Yuxiang (刘宇翔) Yosemite Wang Lei (王磊) Biank Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞) in the winner's match of Group C on Wednesday to see which team will be the first in their group to make it to playoffs.

The map veto was brutal for Zeta Division, who went into the series looking to face off against the EMEA juggernaut on some of their best maps: Fracture, Haven, and Lotus. FNATIC won Fracture with a comfortable 13-5 scoreline, then took Haven and the series 13-6 with a stylish finishing ace by Derke .

FNATIC are considered by many to be the "final boss" of the tournament (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games) FNATIC are considered by many to be the "final boss" of the tournament (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

Despite being the underdogs, Zeta Division went into the series with a positive attitude:

“We're just very happy to be back on the international stage,” team IGL Laz said. “And our conditions are very good, so we are very excited for the match.”

FNATIC made their Champions debut with a bang, starting with their first composition change of the season: On Fracture, initiator player Leo was moved off Fade and onto Sova. The EMEA superteam comfortably won the first pistol round, then demonstrated their showmanship with a Marshal 4K by IGL Boaster .

The boys in orange bought into their bonus round, a move that paid off when they fought their way up to a 6-0 lead. While Zeta Division somewhat salvaged their defense with four round wins, including an impressive Operator 4K by Laz on his signature Chamber, the climb back into the map looked mountainous for the Japanese team.

On round 17, Zeta Division attempted a fake with their Brimstone and Neon, but Alfajer snuck past Dep's Fast Lane and read the fake, allowing the FNATIC players to crunch on SugarZ3ro and Dep while the rest of Zeta Division were booking it to A site from A Dish. Off Alfajer's impressive play, FNATIC cleaned up Zeta Division and reached map point. They closed the map the very next round.

“Me and Boaster just have a very modest approach, like we've only been doing this for like three years now… And we've kind of seen over time, like, those kind of teams that get too cocky just falling,” said FNATIC coach Mini .

Referencing the earlier match between NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #3 crashies Austin Roberts Victor Victor Wong Marved Jimmy Nguyen Ethan Ethan Arnold Demon1 Max Mazanov and Bilibili Gaming, he continued, “Every team here can beat you on their day, you know what I mean? So the prep for Fracture was good, and we looked pretty good.”

Haven started out as a closer affair between the two teams. Despite losing the pistol round once again, Zeta Division were able to pick it up after winning FNATIC's bonus round. They were competitive on their defense and ended the half down only 7-5. But for FNATIC, Haven was a tale of individual plays.

In another round 17 banger, Zeta Division were threading the needle on a slow A approach. With twenty seconds on the clock, Laz peeked Derke on A long and won the double Operator confrontation, giving his team an in into the site.

During the ensuing gunfight, FNATIC tried and failed to hold onto the site, leaving Alfajer alone in Window in a 1v3 situation. Alfajer jumped down onto the site through the Astra smoke, took the fall damage, and killed Laz in the chaos. Then he hit a headshot onto Dep and shot crow through the boxes, clutching the round for FNATIC to extend their lead to 11-6.

In the final round of the series, Derke took the opening kill on Laz, then went back to A long for another kill on TENNN . Inexplicably, the Los Angeles crowd began chanting “ACE ACE ACE” after just two kills.

Zeta Division pushed onto A site with their Killjoy ult, forcing Derke and the rest of FNATIC to retreat to A link. Off SugarZ3ro's Cosmic Divide, the Finnish duelist took to the air with his Updraft and Blade Storm, killing Dep from above the walls. FNATIC flooded back into the site. The crowd's chants grew louder. Empowered, Derke pushed past the Cosmic Divide and sent his knives through SugarZ3ro and crow's heads, landing the ace and winning FNATIC the series.

While FNATIC reveled in the energy of the crowd, Zeta Division bowed to the audience after their defeat. The loss was bittersweet for the team and especially Laz, who revealed in the pre-match cinematic that he had contacted Boaster for advice in the recent past.

“I was a little desperate when I texted Boaster thinking he'd be annoyed by me,” Laz said. “I asked him questions about being an IGL. To my surprise, he answered my questions very kindly. I hold him in great respect.”

Zeta Division must now win a rough match-up against NRG on Friday to have any hopes of recreating their famous Masters Reykjavik tournament run. If there was any place to start, it would be beating the Americas second seed team while they're still hurting from their unexpected loss against Bilibili.