ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 Asia Cup 2023: Tournament Preview
A complete event guide to prepare you for the tournament.
Cover-Credits:
The ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 Asia Cup 2023 is all set to take place throughout the coming weekend from 26th to 28th January 2024. This will be the eighth edition of the tournament which has been taking place since 2016.
It will feature a total prize pool of $50,000 USD and eight competing teams from six different countries - China, Mongolia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates.
Here is a detailed preview of the tournament which will provide fans with all the necessary information before tuning in for the live broadcast.
ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 Asia Cup 2023: Preview
ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) Asia Cup 2023 will take place in front of a live audience at the Perfect World Esports Center located in Shanghai, China.
The tournament will also be livestreamed in English and Chinese across multiple international and local streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Douyu, Huya, and Bilibili.
Out of the eight participants, two teams have been directly invited while the remaining teams qualified through various regional qualifiers.
Team NKT | Direct Invite - Thailand
The esports organization from Bangkok, Thailand currently operates a mixed CS2 roster consisting of the following players.
Lee "XigN" Hyun-pyo | South Korea
Gan "dobu" Erdene Batbold | Mongolia
Enkhbat "Xerolte" Munkhtogtokh | Mongolia
Sodbileg "cool4st" Batbaatar | Mongolia
Temuulen "MiQ" Byambadalai | Mongolia
This lineup was completed earlier this month and has since participated in only one tournament - PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: East Asian Qualifier.
The team made it to the closed qualifier but failed to qualify for the Asia-Pacific RMR, surely carrying the experience to ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 Asia Cup 2023 in hopes of winning the tournament.
NKT has previously stood as the champion of eXTREMESLAND Festival 2021 but the roster back then was completely different. The fight to reclaim the throne is on!
On Sla2ers | Direct Invite - South Korea
The full name of this team is Incheon On Sla2ers and it is a brand new CS2 team from South Korea, consisting of a bunch of players from the region.
Taeyoon "Almighty" Kim | South Korea
Juho "climax" Maeng | South Korea
Jongeun "ParkJJong" Park | South Korea
Taesoo "kiea" Yang | South Korea
Dohyun "Owen" Han | South Korea
Nothing much is known about this team as it is a brand-new lineup except for the fact that they might be from Incheon, a city in South Korea. All eyes will be on this wild card team which does not have much of a history and can spring a few surprises if taken lightly.
Lynn Vision Gaming | Chinese Qualifier #1
The team from China is one of the favorites to win the tournament, coming in hot with its well-established roster.
Niu "westmelon" Zhe [Captain] | China
Zhang "z4kr" Sike | China
Ye "Starry" Lizhi | China
Tang "EmiliaQAQ" Junjie | China
Ji "Jee" Dongkai | China
Dai "Gum" YiFei [Coach] | China
Lynn Vision Gaming is one of the best CS2 teams from Asia having already qualified for IEM Chengdu 2024 and PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: APAC RMR.
They will be the team to lookout for in this tournament with players having great synchronization between them. This will be a great win for them to kick-start their competitive journey in 2024.
TYLOO | Chinese Qualifier #2
The esports organization from China is one of the most popular names in Counter-Strike from Asia. Its current lineup is the former ViCi Gaming roster and consists of the following players.
Liang "advent" Zhuo [Captain] | China
Andrew "kaze" Khong | China
Yang "JamYoung" Yi | China
Wang "Mercury" Jingxiang | China
Liu "aumaN" Zhihong | China
Zhu "k4Mi" Xielin [Coach] | China
A second-place curse seems to have befallen TYLOO, who have attained a runners-up finish six times in the last three months. Somehow the team managed to qualify for the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024: APAC RMR and will be looking to build its confidence by securing a win here.
E9 Esports | Chinese Offline Qualifier
A local team from China which is not known outside of the regional circuit, qualified for the main event through a secondary Chinese Qualifier consisting of multiple small teams.
Its lineup consists of the following players.
Zhen wei "neverland" Wang | China
Keru "Salmon" Chen | China
Honglin "tikkk" Tao | China
Hanyao "t3rry" Wang | China
Huihuang "tuo" Jiang | China
This team is another dark horse in this tournament, not a lot is known about them but they could be capable of springing a few surprises that can catch any team off guard if taken lightly.
The MongolZ | Mongolian Qualifier
This esports organization from Mongolia is a heavyweight contender and has represented Asia at multiple top-tier international tournaments. Its current lineup has spent significant time together and consists of the following players.
Garidmagnai "bLitz" Byambasuren [Captain] | Mongolia
Sodbayar "Techno4K" Munkhbold | Mongolia
Usukhbayar "910" Banzragch | Mongolia
Ayush "mzinho" Batbold | Mongolia
Azbayar "Senzu" Munkhbold | Mongolia
Erdenedalai "maaRaa" Bayanbat [Substitute] | Mongolia
The team might not have competed in any tournament in 2024 so far but it did stack multiple first place finishes in the last quarter of 2023. The team is a formidable opponent to go up against and will be giving the absolute best at the event.
ACME | UAE Qualifier
The team from the Middle East might have finished third in its regional qualifiers but as luck would have it, here it is competing on LAN in China. The lineup consists of the following players.
Youssef "Faller" Mohamed Elgayar| Egypt
Zayed "Zayed" Omran Al Hallami | United Arab Emirates
Eisa "WIL1AM" Mohsen Almuharrami | United Arab Emirates
Nuralin "Marble" Slyamkhan | Kazakhstan
Alim "Xpouya" Amanzhol | Kazakhstan
Not a lot is known about this team except for the fact that they will be giving their absolute best and those who try to rush them might end up tripping in a hurry.
NCTDK | Vietnamese Qualifier
The full name of this team from Vietnam is Những Chàng Trai Đeo Kính which translates to 'Guys Wearing Glasses'. This could be a reference to all of them wearing spectacles, anyhow the lineup consists of the following players.
Tạ Phương "Pr0digy" Duy | Vietnam
Vũ Thượng "Tal3nt" Toản | Vietnam
Vũ Thượng "Differ3nt" Toàn | Vietnam
Nguyễn Lương "MrRaiJin" Toàn Thắng | Vietnam
Nguyễn Thành "Pixie" Đạt | Vietnam
Lê Hồng "FrostLi" Quang [Substitute] | Vietnam
Not a lot is known about this team except for the fact that they were an absolute menace in their regional qualifiers, making quick work of their opponents. They could end up doing the same in the main event as well but it will require a bit more effort from their side.
Apart from the teams, various top-tier talents will also be present to run the show in both English and Chinese. Here is a bit of information about them.
The English broadcast team will consist of four members who are as follows.
Victoria "ChubbyNinja" Cheng - Desk Host
Jordan "Elfishguy" Mays - Commentator
William "Chobra" Cho - Commentator
Kentrell "heyimquack" Kwek - Commentator
The Chinese broadcast team will consist of five members who are as follows.
Yuanmeng "baselineJ" Li - Stage Host
Zhengwei "alex" Bian - Commentator
Li "Freesty1e" Wenzhe - Commentator
Yunqing "Searph" Hu - Commentator
Zheng "Aiwa" Aiping - Commentator
This is everything you need to know about the upcoming ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND CS2 Asia Cup 2023 which will be making a return to LAN after more than three years.
All eight teams will be looking to bring their top game and start their 2024 campaign with a victory in one of the best regional tournaments that Asia has to offer every year.
