Image Credits: TNC Pro Team
Day 1 of the Open Qualifiers has finally come to a close and it’s the two TNC squads standing tall at the top. Both TNC Predator and TNC Tigers won 4 games each practically securing their place in the playoffs.
Fnatic, one of the favorites, dropped 2 games to TNC Predator and TNC Tigers pushing them down. Their fate in the playoffs still remains in their hands heading into tomorrow.
Entity Gaming and Battle Arena Elites were also two other teams who were very impressive on the day. Here’s a brief rundown on each team’s performance on Day 1 of the SEA regional qualifiers.
TNC Predator started off their day against their sister team TNC Tigers eeking out a win. They then lost their next game against Battle Arena Elites before going on a tear and winning 3 on the trot against Alpha Red, Fnatic and BOOM ID to end the days with a 4-1 scoreline.
TNC Tigers started off slow, losing to TNC Predator but 1437 and co. were quick to bounce back, winning 4 matches in a row against Sterling Global Dragons, Battle Arena Elites, Fnatic and BOOM ID. However they lost their streak against Enitity Gaming after they ended up losing to a rampant Black^ Terrorblade.
Entity Gaming had a horrible start to day 1 losing two in a row to BOOM ID and Fnatic. But they bounced back, primarily thanks to Black^ and NoiA who pulled back Entity from the depths winning all their remaining games and pushing them to 3rd-5th place. Their best performance of the day came in their last match against TNC Tigers where they completely outplayed and outdrafted their opponents to finish the day with a 3-2 scoreline.
Fnatic had quite a bad day in comparison to the lofty standards they’ve set for themselves. They were very hit or miss with their drafts and their overall play. On one hand, they executed their Lycan draft to perfection not giving Battle Arena Elites an inch; while on the other hand, they lost the plot 18 minutes into the game against TNC Tigers.
They still finished with a respectable 3-2 scoreline by the end of Day 1. However, both their games tomorrow are against the bottom 3 teams. So Fnatic should make it into the playoffs relatively easily.
Battle Arena Elites started off the day with a routine win against Sterling Global Dragons, before pulling off the biggest upset of the day with a win against TNC Predator which was primarily thanks to a phenomenal Phantom Assassin by Alacrity. However, they didn’t build on that momentum and finished the day with a 3-2 scoreline after losses to Fnatic and TNC Tigers.
Their most important match of tomorrow will be against Entity Gaming. A win in that match will guarantee them a place in the playoffs.
BOOM ID managed to finish the day with a 3-3 scoreline after beating Entity Gaming, Sterling Global Dragons and Alpha Red. Their only chance of qualification is a win against Fnatic tomorrow, and hoping that other results help them towards their cause.
It’s a difficult road up ahead, but stranger things have happened in the SEA regional qualifiers.
Alpha Red has been eliminated from the SEA regional qualifiers after they only managed to win a single game on Day 1. No matter what happens on Day 2, they cannot qualify for the playoffs. However, they have the chance to upset teams like Battle Arena Elites and TNC Tigers and play spoilsports
Sterling Global Elites lost all their games on Day 1 and in the process losing their chance at qualifying for the International 8.
Here’s how the table looks at the end of Day 1 of the SEA Regional Qualifiers.
Coming into Day 2, there's no doubt that TNC Predator and TNC Tigers have virtually secured their place in the playoffs. While Battle Arena Elites and Fnatic are the favorites to secure the 3rd and 4th places in the Group Stages, Entity Gaming shouldn't be counted out.
The one thing we know is that only four teams will make it to the playoffs, and whoever it is, have to be on top of their game for the last three days to secure a place in The International 8.