EU Apollo Open Day 1 Recap

Well, European RLCS certainly never fails to surprise. With top contenders already sent home, a tier 2 team guaranteed top 4, and upsets all across the board, the opening day of the winter split was not without chaos for Europe.

Group A:

BDS topped the group, as expected, but had to fend off an incredibly dangerous Luminosity who took them to a game 5 overtime needed to separate the pair. I’m the second half of the group, Team Singularity dominated 00 Nation, allowing in only 2 goals from their matchup to contribute to 00 Nation’s awful 0-9 day and go through to playoffs.

Group B:

Aside from Rix getting dominated throughout the day, this group was definitely not anticipated. Dignitas, one of the best teams in Europe, were taken down by an ice cold Queso, before being shut out in all three of their losses by Misfits, sending them to third place and on the brink of elimination. In the battle for #1 seed, Queso and Misfits had a tight battle, before at 2-2, Queso snapped a 6-2 domination to lock in winners bracket.

Group C:

We called it the closest group of the three, and C definitely delivered on that promise. If it wasn’t for a lack of finishing poise, Luxor’s Minions could’ve easily been out of 4th, whilst the other three teams all traded blows with one another, ending up at 2-1 each. As luck would have it, SMPR missed out on the tiebreaker, putting them in 3rd, as Williams Resolve took the opportunity to improve on their fall split by icing an overtime win through a Radiosin perfect read and finish, sending EG to lowers.

Group D:

NAVI’s internet issues meant they had to forfeit against Endpoint, and clearly had issues throughout the day. On the other side of the coin, Karmine Corp looked incredibly dangerous with a devastating sweep of Vitality, before narrowly falling at the hands of fall champions Endpoint. Vitality recovered well against NAVI and Endpoint, but they’re going to need to do more to return to the highest level.

Lower Bracket Round 1:

Some of the biggest contenders have been sent home early. Singularity shocked the region, taking down Misfits with two nail biting games to end the series on, sending the 7th seed from Fall home in 9th-12th, before Vitality regained themselves to find their scoring prowess late and send EG away. Having placed 2nd in Group A to BDS, Luminosity were in for a cruel surprise, getting jumped from the get go by an angry, piping hot Dignitas that ruined what could’ve been a promising run, before Karmine Corp confirmed their credentials by sending SMPR, who made top 4 at the major, home in 9th-12th.