The 8 emerging regions started off in the Play-In Stage and were split up into 2 groups. Group A had Ascension Gaming, Gambit Esports, Kaos Latin Gamers, and Rainbow7. Gambit Esports were probably favorites to come out of Group A and they showed it by going 3-0 after Day 1. Kaos Latin Gamers tried to keep up with a 2-1 record.
Group B had Dire Wolves, KaBuM! e-Sports, PENTAGRAM, and SuperMassive eSports. It wasn't as clear who would come out of Group B, but KaBuM! and SuperMassive were seemed like strong candidates. SuperMassive came out strong going 3-0 on Day 2, while Dire Wolves surprised people taking 2nd at 2-1.
Day 3 started off with a bang with both Gambit and Kaos losing to the lower teams, Ascension and Rainbow7. Gambit pretty much secured their 1st seed by beating Kaos for a second time. They finish 5-1, while Rainbow7 took 2nd at 3-3.
On Day 4 KaBuM! made a run by winning their first 2 games of the day, putting a little pressure on SuperMassive. SuperMassive stayed strong and also won their first 2 games, securing the 1st seed. Their final match had no bearings on the standings so they decided to do a crazy role swap and draft which resulted in a 25 minute bloodbath.
Gambit Esports and SuperMassive eSports advance to the Play-In Knockout and there was a mini draft to decide each of their opponents. EVOS Esports and Flash Wolves were waiting for them. SuperMassive drew EVOS and Gambit drew Flash Wolves.
No one had much expectations of EVOS Esports as they were coming in from the Vietnam region as the new representative who beat out last year's Cinderella story Gigabyte Marines. SuperMassive looked ridiculously strong against all their opponents in the Play-In Groups and so they were pitted as favorites in this match. EVOS showed that they aren't the Gigabyte Marines by playing a bit more standard, but one similar thing is that their guerilla warfare is on point as they rampaged the jungle. EVOS' jungler YiJin showed that Vietnam is a region to watch, after Levi bursted onto the scene last year at MSI and Worlds.
The other match was Gambit and Flash Wolves, where Gambit seem like the fan favorite but Flash Wolves were considered better. Game 1 was a close contest with Gambit showing they had what it takes to compete. Their early lead got them the first baron, but while they were trying to siege through bottom lane, Flash Wolves were able to spread them by attacking from multiple angles and squash baron powerplay. The game progressed with Gambit still in control, which led to the second baron, but even though it was 5v1 in the baron pit, the jungler Moojin lept in and won the smite fight. Right as this happened, Flash Wolves showed up and won the subsequent team fight and rolled to a Game 1 victory. After this Flash Wolves took the momentum and ran with it, sweeping Gambit 3-0.
The Main Event Group Stage is now set with all major regions represented. EVOS Esports and Flash Wolves advance and join Fnatic, Kingzone Dragon X, Royal Never Give Up, and Team Liquid. Let the games begin!
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