Cover image source: @Team Secret
The $400,000 Pubg Mobile LAN known as PMCO or the PUBG Mobile Club Open kicks off in Berlin tomorrow with the first phase of the competition aka the Prelims. 16 teams from across the world, will try and fight for the 5 spots in the main event. These teams weren’t able to secure the direct spot in their country/region qualifiers and will now have to stave off some pretty tough competition for a shot at being the best PUBGM team in the world.
A total of 12 maps will be played to determine the top 5 teams with Erangel being played 6 times and Vikendi, Miramar and Sanhok being played twice each. Just like the qualifiers, points will be based on kills and placements both. Kills account for a point each while placement points will range from 0-30 depending upon the finish.
SEA is expected to be one of the strongest teams at the PMCO and Team Secret from Malaysia and Purple Mood from Thailand will be representing the region in the Prelims. The Chinese teams are also relatively strong and are known for showing up big in LAN situations. They will be represented by X-Quest F and TOP Esports. India had one of the closest qualifiers among the regions and Indian Tigers, as well as TeamIND, will represent the region, but they will be playing the matches with a ping disadvantage as they were unable to secure visas in time for the event.
The teams who are playing in the Prelims are as follows:Purple Mood Esports - SEA Qualifiers
Team Secret - SEA Qualifiers
OMEN Elite - NA Qualifiers
Pittsburgh Knights - NA Qualifiers
TeamIND - India Qualifiers
Indian Tigers - India Qualifiers
X-Quest F - China Qualifiers
TOP Esports - China Qualifiers
Deformia Meditari 99 - China Qualifiers
From Helll - EU Qualifiers
RG Star Team - Wildcard Qualifiers
Team Queso - SA Qualifiers
Team Top - Korea Qualifiers
All Rejection Gaming - Japan Qualifiers
Kurd Squad - ME Qualifiers
NOVA Monster Shield - Taiwan Qualifiers
While teams will be giving it their best shot in the Prelims, they must still be careful so as not to give out their entire arsenal of strategies to teams who are in the Main event already. This will surely reflect in the styles of a few teams who are expecting to make it into the top 5 and they might not want to put their entire array of skills on display. Teams who are strong on Erangel will also have an inherent advantage as the map will be in use in 50% of the games.
While it isn’t the main event, the Prelims will be an indicator of the level of competition that we can expect from the finals. It will be interesting to see how teams from different regions perform and whose playstyle works the best. A competitive LAN environment is also bound to affect the performance of players and squads.
The PMCO Prelims will kick off on the 20th of July at 3:30 PM IST/6 PM SGT and will play out 6 maps on day 1 and 6 more on day 2. Stay tuned for all the action and coverage from the event!
