N/A
Like starting a Game 7 up 30, the final day of the PUBG PCS2 Grand Finals in North America was essentially a victory lap for Soniqs Esports. Through three weeks of the PUBG Continental Series' second tournament, Soniqs dominated the field and put themselves in an easy position to cement the eventual championship.
After yet another strong performance on the first day of PCS2 North America's third and final week, Soniqs walked into the final four matches with a whopping 239 points, 101 from placements and 138 from kills.
Second-best coming in? Oath with...172 points. And, while Oath kept up to a certain extent in the kills column (with a second-best 103), no team eclipsed 69 placement points, proving just how impressive Soniqs' mental handle over rotations, positioning and engagements truly was.
In the end, Soniqs piled up 265 points, confirming their place atop the leaderboards despite some climbing from teams across the leaderboard. The rest of the top five followed with Oath keeping second, thanks to 201 points, Shoot to Kill in third with 179, Any Trolls in Chat with 174 and Zenith Esports with 169.
No other team surpassed 139 points despite Radiance's LosHD cracking the overall leaderboard for kills with 37. He was joined in the top five by three different Soniqs players: TGLTN (54), hwinn (37) and Shrimzy (37). Unsurprisingly, Soniqs' TGLTN and hwinn each cracked the top five for damage and knocks as well.
That flurry of kills from Soniqs continued into the final day, as they started off with a 13-kill win to further fluff the cushion between them and the rest of the pack. Although the team's placement points could push someone to think that their dominance is entirely due to camping and circle management, they simply displayed impeccable pacing in their engagements and moments of aggression, allowing the team a chance to rack up kills while ensuring quality placements.
Leading their North American competitors in kills and placement points, Soniqs confirms that they are the best PUBG team in the region. Thanks to three weeks of consistency, their wallets get to enjoy a $200,000 prize pool, and they can move toward PCS3 hungry to keep momentum going.
At long last, PUBG esports is back...and giving back too. After days of competition, Oath Gaming has dominantly emerged from the North American PUBG playing field, winning big money for itself and its preferred nonprofit organization.
The PUBG Continental Series announced that it would be returning for a series of Charity Showdown events in May, with $200,000 up for grabs—half of which goes to participating teams and half of which gets donated to a charity of the winner's choice in support of COVID-19 relief efforts.
With eight teams invited based on earlier qualifications and another eight qualifying during the PCS NA Charity Showdown Qualifier, Oath withstood some light pushes by Shoot To Kill and Soniqs to come out on top (with a little help from circle placement).
PCS NA Charity Showdown Final Standings
1. Oath: 206 points
2. Shoot To Kill: 161
3. Soniqs: 146
4. Zenith Esports: 129
5. 303 Esports: 129
6. Exodus: 126
7. Dodge: 106
8. Wildcard Gaming: 102
9. Comets: 100
10. Radiance: 96
11. Illusion: 90
12. Houston Hardshifts: 86
13. Livid Gaming: 83
14. Fabled: 83
15. Elus1ve: 82
16. Team Clueless: 70
Oath easily climbed to the top of the final day's standings by playing safely, working the circle and ensuring strong placement points—including four consecutive victories to wrap things up. But, in case detractors thought they couldn't quite frag out, the team thrashed its competition with a 15-kill win in the day's final match.
Oath's strong showing began and ended with impressive performances from Relo, who started off the weekend with a nine-bomb during one of the team's many victories.
But the truest testament to Oath's performance was not a highlight of its aim or positioning. Instead, it was the desperate extents that the team drove its opponents to. At the end of the final day's third match, second-place Shoot To Kill's luke12 found himself alone in the final circle against three of Oath's players—calculating his odds, luke12 decided to gift Oath the victory and die to the blue simply so that Oath would not earn an additional kill point.
The smart play by luke12 proved to be for naught, as Oath sought out that blood in the water and finished off the day even stronger than it started.
This showing will grant the team automatic qualification to the PCS1 NA Qualifiers, which include a $50,000 prize pool and the chance for entry into the PCS1 North America Pro League and its $200,000 prize purse.
With Thanksgiving drawing nearer, turkey is on the menu in America. But on the global stage, it was all about chicken dinner as guns were drawn by international teams duking it out in the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Global Championship Finals.
Over two days, 12 chicken dinners and $4 million in prize earnings were handed out during PUBG's 2019 esports climax. And, at the end of it all, the Korean team Gen.G came out on top and pulled in a calm $2 million for clicking heads, camping chokes and outlasting their foreign cohorts.
After proving their mettle by aiming down their iron sights and ranking among the best in the Korean PUBG region through 2019's three phases, Gen.G made the trip to Oakland, California, for the Global Championship and ensured that big money would be making the trip into their bank accounts.
On Day 1 of the Global Championship, Gen.G won two of the day's six matches and finished atop the pack with 56 points (31 from eliminations). The Chinese team, Four Angry Men, was nipping at their heels with 51 points (and a tournament-leading 34 from eliminations).
Four Angry Men did not let up on Day 2, as they capitalized on the momentum provided by Forever's absurd clutch factor and overtook Gen.G on the leaderboards going into Match 6—leading ahead by two points. North American fan favorites, FaZe Clan, also trailed by just seven points.
Once 4AM was taken out, though, Gen.G made their mark and persevered for long enough to pull out ahead of the competition and finish what they started on Day 1. This marks back-to-back championships for the Korean unit that has stormed into esports.
It remains unclear if Gen.G's prowess will flow into their organization's Overwatch League team, the Seoul Dynasty, but Chelator, Loki, Esther, taemin and Pio should be thrilled, and sighing in relief, now that they've pushed past all other diners and earned the greatest chicken dinner in PUBG.
That prize money is nice, too, as executive chairman Kevin Chou was quick to note on Twitter.
In the end, Gen.G finished atop the leaderboard with 111 points, FaZe Clan earned second place's $600,000 with 101 points and Four Angry Men grabbed bronze's $300,000 with 99 points. It was most certainly a dramatic feast to end the international season.
Phase 3 of the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds National Public League has wrapped up, and the teams representing North America in the PUBG Global Championship are set. While Tempo Storm handily ran away with the top spot in Phase 3 (and a nice $200,000 prize purse), the rest of the top five have also qualified for the PGC.
After three phases, Lazarus, Genesis, Team Envy and Ghost Gaming are all in the running to join Tempo Storm in competing for the forthcoming international tournament's $2 million prize pool.
Four of them were in the top five for Phase 3. Lazarus (255 kill points, 379 total points), Genesis (251 kill points, 372 total points) and Team Envy (226 kill points, 370 total points) were joined by a surging Riot Squad (218 kill points, 336 total points) in trailing Tempo Storm for the Phase 3 rankings. Fortunately for Ghost Gaming, that recent performance by Riot Squad wasn't enough to pull off a spot in the overall top five.
Tempo Storm is the heavy favorite to represent the NPL by earning wins at the PGC. Their 247 kill points were the second-highest of Phase 3, and their 421 total points were 42 points more than any other team could manage.
Despite some major performances in Phase 3, EUnited (206 kill points, 322 total points) and Soniqs (201 kill points, 308 total points) were unable to crack the top five or earn a qualification for the PGC.
In addition to the biggest cut of this phase's $200,000 pie, Tempo Storm also earned another accolade and cash prize for the phase's deadliest player. Sharky posted 81 kills in Phase 3, and while that number was equaled by Genesis' Kaymind, the award was given to Sharky because of Tempo Storm's higher overall placing.
With a potent combination of bloodthirst and calm efficacy, Tempo Storm goes into the PGC off back-to-back NPL phase championships and as a favorite to overcome their issues with international inconsistencies on PUBG's biggest stage.
It is the final week of the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds National Public League's third phase, and the competition is tight. As absolute proof of the phase's even talent levels, a different team won each match in Week 14.
After Lazarus raked out a 57-point performance in Week 13, Genesis stepped it up and got enough kills to get into the top five for Phase 3. Despite not winning a match in Week 14, Tempo Storm continued a reign of consistency by moving up from second in Phase 3 to the top spot overall. With 223 kills and 382 points, Tempo Storm now sits atop the phase's rankings by 52 points.
Riot Squad got the day going with a smooth seven-point chicken dinner in Match 1 before Ghost Gaming followed up with another seven-point win in Match 2. Unbothered by the day's standards, Genesis set a new height by notching 10 eliminations for the fowl feast in Match 3.
Our Week 11 standouts, Soniqs Esports, rocked out on Sanhok, the map most recently added for Phase 3, by utilizing the mountainside to grab Match 4's top spot.
Rumblers outlasted an incredibly tight final circle to win in Match 5, but big props go to Wildcard for exceeding expectations and rounding out the day with their win in Match 6 on the back of nine kills.
At the end of Saturday's matches, Tempo Storm is at the head of the standings with Lazarus in second (219 kills, 330 points), Team Envy is in third (196 kills, 316 points), Riot Squad is in fourth (197 kills, 303 points) and Genesis used its big performance this week to round out the top five with 201 kills and 301 points.
Phase 3's prize pool is set at $200,000, and candidacy for the PUBG Global Championship is on the line. The Global Championship's purse is $2 million, so this week's action has major consequences.
Week 14 wraps up Sunday, as the final six matches of the NPL's third phase will determine if Tempo Storm maintains its spot on top or if a team like Genesis will be able to capitalize upon its performance and rise up the rankings.
Of all dinners, a chicken dinner is often the hardest to come by. Unless you're eUnited, of course. In Week 12 of the PlayerUnknown's Battleground National Public League, eUnited took over and set themselves up in a strong position for Phase 3.
The prize pool for Phase 3 is set at $200,000, and the winner earns candidacy for PUBG's Global Championship and its $2 million purse.
It was just the second week of a streamlined Phase 3, which features six matches per day between the North American pool's 16 teams (Days 2 and 3 on Sunday and Tuesday). The map pool has also been modified to include Sanhok.
After Soniqs Esports' secured the top spot in Week 11, eUnited fragged out in Week 12, scooping 21 points and ascending to the top of the rankings with 151 points (and 88 kills).
And they did it with a nutty Map 6 performance, as they got 11 kills and were the last men standing to secure the final chicken dinner of Week 12.
The day's matches shook up the overall standings quite a bit. By grabbing second place in Map 6, Team Envy got themselves the second-most points this week and earned a spot in NPL's top five for Phase 3. That seven-kill, 13-point performance landed them in the fifth overall spot.
Soniqs Esports were the top team in Week 11, and they kept the pedal down in Week 12. By earning 12 points, they grabbed third place this week and kept themselves in the top three overall. Now, the standings have eUnited on top (151 points, 88 kills), Tempo Storm in second (137 points, 80 kills), Soniqs Esports at third (129 points, 80 kills), Lazarus Esports in fourth (123 points, 76 kills) and Team Envy at fifth (117 points, 69 kills).
The standings are close and Phase 3 still has two more weeks of play to go. While eUnited set themselves up properly this week, Tempo Storm, Soniqs Esports and the others are still very much in the race for a shot at $200,000 and the eventual $2 million global prize pool.
Four NBA players—the New Orleans Pelicans' Lonzo Ball, Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons, Washington Wizards' Isaiah Thomas and Detroit Pistons' Andre Drummond—took center stage in Episode 2 of the PUBG Mobile Team Up Superstar Showdown.
Here's a look at the fast-paced PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds action:
The Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, was a special guest for the event, while pro players from FaZe Clan also took part.
Simmons is a bona fide gamer when he's not on the basketball court; he's even streamed his Fortnite and PUBG gameplay on Twitch.
"I started with Call of Duty shooter games, 2K ... I pretty much play everything," the Sixers point guard told ESPN's Tyler Erzberger in July.
Meanwhile, Ball admitted his brother, top 2020 NBA draft prospect LaMelo Ball, is probably better than him at combat games.
"It's [LaMelo] for sure. I don't play as much as him," Lonzo told Erzberger. "Sports games, I'm better than him, but when it comes to shooting games and stuff, he probably has that."
PUBG helped pave the way for the massive success of Fortnite by creating a larger appetite for the Battle Royale genre, and it remains the more popular option for players who are looking for a more realistic shooter experience.
But the Fortnite craze became almost inescapable at its peak, even for those who weren't elite gamers.
"The funny part about it is I really suck," Drummond joked during a conversation with Bleacher Report's Leo Sepkowitz in March 2018. "I'm just not that good."
He added: "I'm just a supply-grabber for my team. I gave myself that role. I just go around collecting supplies and giving it to the guys."
That's the cool thing about playing squad-based video games. You don't have to become the best player in the world to have fun and pick up some wins, and that was on full display in the NBA edition of the PUBG Mobile Team Up Superstar Showdown.
The National PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) League started Week 4 of Phase 2 on Saturday with four matches.
All four matches saw a different team capture victory. Tempo Storm, who entered Saturday atop the standings with 181 points and 114 kills, did not claim a seat at the winner's table this week. As a result, the Rumblers moved into first place after the first day of Week 4 while Tempo Storm dropped to third.
NPL Phase 2 Standings—Week 4
1. The Rumblers (135 kill points, 214 total points)
2. Ghost Gaming (129 kill points, 197 total points)
3. Tempo Storm (126 kill points, 197 total points)
4. Cloud9 (133 kill points, 190 total points)
5. Player One Esports (114 kill points, 187 total points)
6. Spacestation Gaming (128 kill points, 182 total points)
7. Endemic (105 kill points, 175 total points)
8. Lazarus (102 kill points, 169 total points)
9. eUnited (103 kill points, 160 total points)
10. Team Envy (99 kill points, 156 total points)
11. Wildcard Gaming (100 kill points, 147 total points)
12. Excelerate (88 kill points, 127 total points)
13. Denial Esports (64 kill points, 118 total points)
14. Simplicity (77 kill points, 114 total points)
15. Pecadores (70 kill points, 98 total points)
16. BluMartini Gaming (59 kill points, 97 total points)
Leaderboard courtesy of PUBG Esports
Phase 2 Prize Money
1st: $100,000
2nd: $40,000
3rd: $20,000
4th: $12,000
5th: $10,000
6th: $8,000
7th: $6,000
8th: $4,000
With just two weeks left and a $200,000 prize awaiting the winner, the 16 teams in the field had no time to waste. Team Envy proved that early by winning the first match of the day despite entering Week 4 in 11th place.
However, the second match of the day was more in line with how the competition has gone to this point with The Rumblers capturing a five-kill win. The Rumblers entered this week sitting in second place behind Tempo Storm.
The third match came down to the wire between Spacestation Gaming and Simplicity. Spacestation eked out the match with seven kills:
Ghost Gaming claimed the fourth and final match of the day. The squad was led by Ghost DrasseL, who led all players Saturday in survival time and was the second-best player in damage. The leader in both damage and kills was The Rumblers' LosHD.
Phase 2's second day of Week 4 will get underway at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Team Envy won the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) NPL Battle Royale on Sunday with 65 total points (38 kills) to hold off second-place Cloud9 and 14 other challengers.
Team Envy wins $40,000 in prize money for its efforts.
Here's a look at Team Envy's plays, the two-day Battle Royale results and the weekend's best highlights.
Format
The NPL Battle Royale round of Phase II included all 32 NPL and NPL Contenders teams. The competitors were split into groups of 16 and competed together in four matches over two different maps. The top eight in each group advanced to the Sunday championship round, where the teams competed in six matches to close the NPL Battle Royale.
NPL Battle Royale Championship Top-6 Results and Prize Money
1. Team Envy (38 Kill Points, 65 Total Points): $40,000
2. Cloud9 (34 Kill Points, 52 Total Points): $20,000
3. Ghost Gaming (31 Kill Points, 42 Total Points): $10,000
4. Simplicity (26 Kill Points, 42 Total Points): $5,000
5. Soniqs (28 Kill Points, 41 Total Points): $3,000
6. Halocline Gaming (23 Kill Points, 39 Total Points): $2,000
Group A Results (Top 8)
1. Soniqs: 29 Kill Points, 40 Total Points
2. Cloud9: 25 Kill Points, 40 Total Points
3. The Happy Campers: 20 Kill Points, 34 Total Points
4. eUnited: 22 Kill Points, 33 Total Points
5. Tempo Storm: 19 Kill Points, 30 Total Points
6. Simplicity: 16 Kill Points, 26 Total Points
7. Lazarus: 15 Kill Points, 25 Total Points
8. Endemic: 11 Kill Points, 22 Total Points
Group B Results (Top 8)
1. Spacestation Gaming: 27 Kill Points, 44 Total Points
2. Ghost Gaming: 30 Kill Points, 41 Total Points
3. Wildcard Gaming: 17 Kill Points, 37 Total Points
4. Team Envy: 20 Kill Points, 31 Total Points
5. The Rumblers: 19 Kill Points, 29 Total Points
6. Halocline Gaming: 21 Kill Points, 25 Total Points
7. YellowPike Gaming: 13 Kill Points, 24 Total Points
8. Excelerate: 15 Kill Points, 21 Total Points
Top Plays and Results
Team Envy used a 10-kill chicken dinner in the second match to help catapult itself into the lead:
However, Cloud9 posted the most kills in one match Sunday thanks to a 13-kill chicken dinner in the fifth round.
That launched Cloud9 into first going into the final match, but the team finished a disappointing 15th in the sixth and final match to all but eliminate itself from a first-place Battle Royale finish.
Wildcard Gaming took the final match with a 10-kill round:
However, Team Envy put its foot on the gas and finished second in that match, giving itself an easy victory after Cloud9's finish.
Other teams found success on this day: Simplicity got things going with a four-kill chicken dinner en route to a fourth-place Battle Royale finish:
Endemic took the third stage, but it wasn't enough for the team to finish in the money:
Endemic wasn't the only tough-luck loser, as The Happy Campers won the fourth stage but did not finish top-six:
The overall results were fairly surprising given the Phase II table leading into the NPL Battle Royale: Team Envy is in danger of relegation at 11th, and Cloud9 is just outside the top four.
The table flip-flopped in the Battle Royale, though, as first-place Tempo Storm couldn't get much going en route to a 12th-place finish.
The NPL schedule will begin Week 4 of Phase II on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. ET.
