OB.Neon Dominates BIX Invitationals Summer Group Stage

OB.Neon dominated the BIX Invitationals Summer group stage, winning 12 of the 14 matches it played to take the top spot in the points table. All members of the team performed brilliantly in their roles, in addition to having superior drafts. OB.Neon has been without John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas but Timothy John "Tims" Randrup has stepped up admirably. While making some crisp early-game rotations, he is faring well with Michael Roi "Enryu" Ladines in the offlane. In the laning stage, OB.Neon seems to be getting more than their opponents, propelling them to early victories.

Team D and The Prime are the two teams eliminated from the eight-team competition.

Recap of the group stage of the BIX Invitationals Summer

OB.Neon, Team SMG, and Execration deliver big hits, while Army Geniuses impress

OB.Neon, Army Geniuses, Team SMG, and Execration proceed to the upper bracket of the BIX Invitationals Summer playoffs with a 12-2, 9-5, 9-5, and 9-5 W-L record respectively.

In the group stage of the BIX Invitationals Summer, OB.Neon was hands down the best team. Throughout this event and all of the other leagues the team is competing in, they stand out above the rest. In the carry role, Skem seems very consistent, versatile, and at ease. Tims has only enhanced the class, while Enryu's offlane performances have been refreshing. If you exclude iceiceice, Enryu's offlaner Broodmother is arguably the best in SEA right now.

At the beginning of the tournament, Army Geniuses were expected to be in the middle packs, but they exceeded expectations by finishing second. The team lost 2-0 to OB.Neon and Execration, but pulled off a clutch 2-0 victory over Team SMG. During the group stage, Army Geniuses relied primarily on the carry Axe, which led to many victories.

In the group stage, Team SMG also ended in the top four after putting up a strong performance. Their loss to Army Geniuses, however, underscored their inability to stay on top of their games. SMG sometimes falters at crucial times, even though they look great overall. As they enter the playoffs, they will aim to be more consistent.

Despite not having their full roster in this group stage, Execration produced decent performances. However, it is still unclear if Execration is still testing these two new players, Bob in the midlane, and Luciano in the offlane, who are playing in place of Yowe and Nikko. Regardless, Palos' consistent and outstanding performances in the carry role will be the highlight of Execration's group stage campaign.

Team Mystery and Moon Chasers keep the dream alive

Team Mystery and Moon Chasers ended their 14 matches group stage with the same score of six wins and eight losses, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. The two teams advance to the lower bracket of the playoffs.

Despite their excellent performance compared to the bottom teams, Team Mystery was simply outclassed by the top teams. Through thick and thin, they have stuck to their offlane Dragon Knight and safelane Spectre strategy. In order to stand a chance at making it big in the playoffs, Team Mystery will need to use some twerks in their drafting.

It was Moon Chasers that was the most hit-or-miss team in the group stage since they could take clean match wins over the likes of OB.Neon or Execration on some days. However, most of it was a miss since they never really carried the momentum from these crucial wins forward.

Team D and The Prime’s lacklustre performances

Team D and The Prime have been eliminated from the BIX Invitationals Summer.

Team D entered the BIX Invitationals Summer as one of the more experienced player stacks. They failed to put their experience to use, finishing in seventh place with a 4-10 win-loss record.

Additionally, Team D was seemingly experimenting with players in the midlane during the BIX Invitationals Summer. The starting lineup originally included Malaysian player, sorrow-, in the midlane, but he did not play a single game. Midlane duties were handled by former 496 Gaming carry, Andrew "Drew" Halim in the first two matches followed by an Indian player, Krish "Moon" Gupta, in the rest of the event.

In this stacked tier 2 tournament, The Prime seemed out of place. Although many may not have had high expectations from them going into this event, it is still surprising that they managed to win just one out of 14 matches. Although they had decent drafts in many of their games, they just could not match the level of gameplay their opponents displayed.

The playoffs of the BIX Invitationals Summer will begin on July 22, 2021, with the two upper bracket series. In the first series of the day, Execration will face OB.Neon while Team SMG faces Army Geniuses in the second one.