After years of playing second fiddle at the top of the Korean hierarchy,
Dplus Esports
Dplus Esports
Korea
Rank #11
Yyy
NGen
Lee Jae-hong (이재홍)
Hermes
Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱)
SeliG
Um Hyun-sung (엄현성)
freeing
No Ha-jun (노하준)
exy
Park Geun-cheol (박근철)
finally got their first-ever Challengers trophy after a grueling lower bracket run. Meanwhile, Japan found a new successor in
FENNEL
FENNEL
Japan
Rank #1
GON
CLZ
RIA
SyouTa
Xdll
Yuto Mizomori
Derialy
Daichi Doi
as they beat the favorites,
Crazy Raccoon
Crazy Raccoon
Inactive
.
World Cyber Games Challengers League Korea: Split 1
The Regular season group stage saw two weeks of round-robin matches between each of the eight teams.
World Game Star
World Game Star
Korea
Rank #24
Wenty
Yang Geon-mo (양건모)
YUNSEUNG
Xander
Felix
Park Hyeon-ho (박현호)
apeX
finished bottom with a 1-6 record, while
CNJ Esports
CNJ Esports
Korea
Rank #9
Ziya
AcMe
Rain
Seo Hong-seung (서홍승)
DaeGi
Jang Yoon-cheol (장윤철)
seokJ
barely made it out with a 2-5 record, just by head-to-head differential against
OP.GG SPORTS
OP.GG SPORTS
Inactive
M1nu
Rap1d
B1ngSu
SeolHo
ExiA
Jung Yeong-woo (정영우)
, who also went 2-5.
Gwangju Shadow
Gwangju Shadow
Inactive
Ivy
Distinct
Francis
Dambi
and Dplus took the higher seeds with their respective 6-1 and 5-2 records, while
Maru Gaming
Maru Gaming
Korea
Rank #23
Arduino
ANNYEON
Ssun
Kim Sun-rae (김선래)
JaEU
pr0xy
Lee Do-kyeong (이도경)
oonzmlp
,
Nongshim RedForce
Nongshim RedForce
Korea
Rank #6
Pkm
Park Kang-min (박강민)
Rap1d
Foxar
Kim Sang-jin (김상진)
Rico
Han Jun-seo (한준서)
Xross
Jeonghwan (정환)
Yohan
Bae Yo-han (배요한)
yoman
Chae Young-moon (채영문)
, and
Rio Company
Rio Company
Inactive
SungJin
Ko Sung-jin (고성진)
Sunday
Kim Min-soo (김민수)
SeliG
Um Hyun-sung (엄현성)
LuZ
Lim Ui-jun (임의준)
Jinboong
Kim Jin-won (김진원)
filled the rest with 4-3, 3-4, and 5-2 records, respectively.
Dplus' first game in the playoffs began by getting knocked down to the lower bracket by Rio Company. Unfazed, Dplus went to the lower finals, where they came out on top against Maru Gaming in a five-map series. Rio Company met Dplus again in the finals. However, the latter got their revenge.
Rio's pick of Lotus did not go their way, as Dplus demolished them 13-3, with a 10-1 attack half. Icebox was a little closer, but Dplus took it in the end. The final map Lotus was the last step to Dplus' domination as they became WCGCL Korea: Split 1 Champions.
Challengers League: Japan Split 1
Like Korea, VCL Japan held two weeks of non-stop round-robin action in the group stage.
REJECT
REJECT
Japan
Rank #4
GangPin
Chae Jung-moo
Akame
Yu Gwang-hui (유광희)
muto
Hals
stand-in
BRIAN
went winless, one of eight teams across all Challengers leagues to do so, and
CREST GAMING Zst
CREST GAMING Zst
Japan
Rank #8
Brofeld
DH
HYUNMIN
sakurai
Flax
was the second in the bottom two with their 1-6 record. In contrast to REJECT, Crazy Raccoon dropped zero games, while
SCARZ
SCARZ
Japan
Rank #18
MrTenzouEz
Lumo
Maxim Demianovskikh
Yoshiii
John Yoshiharu Kawakami
completed the top two with a 6-1 record.
IGZIST
IGZIST
Japan
Rank #30
Yamada
oitaN
Masayuki Takahashi
kobra
Ha Su-hyun
HaReeee
allow
Park Sang-wook (박상욱)
,
NORTHEPTION
NORTHEPTION
Japan
Rank #6
YoWamu
thiefy
Masato Tsujita
Pepper
Shoki Banjo
Esperanza
Jeong Jin-cheol (정진철)
Wolverine
Cho Hyun-tae (조현태)
,
Sengoku Gaming
Sengoku Gaming
Japan
Rank #5
Gwangboong
Kim Gwang-won (김광원)
Jinboong
Kim Jin-won (김진원)
NOBITA
Misaya
gatorada
Hideki Nishida
, and FENNEL round out the top six, with the latter three teams having 4-3 records.
Crazy Raccoon directly advanced to the grand finals after their semifinal victory over SCARZ, who awaited one of the other four teams in the lower bracket finals. Whereas in the lower bracket, FENNEL's road to the grand finals was long and arduous as they played in all five maps in every match, beating NORTHEPTION, Sengoku, and SCARZ one by one.
Having played in front of a live crowd the day before against SCARZ, FENNEL had the momentum given Crazy Raccoon were playing after a month. FENNEL started down with four rounds in the first half in their map pick of Ascent but managed to pull through with a 13-11 comeback. Crazy Raccoon didn't find luck in their Fracture pick as they lost 13-6, winning zero attack halves. FENNEL wrapped up the finals and got their first franchise top finish with a 13-9 win on Split, the same map where they lost 17-15 the day before to SCARZ.
With the conclusion of Challengers Split 1, Dplus and Rio Company of Korea, and FENNEL and Crazy Raccoon of Japan are in good shape to represent their respective region in Ascension. However, it is not guaranteed that the winners of Split 1 will run it back in the second split, given the sole winner will represent their region in Ascension.
Discord