20 teams will vie for two coveted spots at VCT Masters 2 Copenhagen.
The groups for VCT APAC Stage 2 Challengers have been announced by Riot Games, with competing teams split into two groups of four in the play-in stage and four groups of four in the group stage. Taking place from June 9-26, 20 teams from all over Asia-Pacific will duke it out for their share of a yet-to-be-announced prize pool and two spots at VCT Masters 2 Copenhagen.
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Play-Ins
Set to start on June 9-12, the eight teams taking part in the play-in stage have been seeded into two groups. Among those teams will be BOOM Esports, Bleed eSports, Rex Regum Qeon, and Made in Thailand.
The Filipino and Thai teams to make it through their respective sub-regional competition, BOOM Esports and Made in Thailand (MiTH), have been paired up with CERBERUS Esports and Enigma Gaming in Group A. Meanwhile, the APAC Stage 1 second runner-up Bleed eSports have been slotted with Ghetto Artist, Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), and Team Big BAAM in Group B. The top two teams from each group will progress to the group stage.
Below you can find the group draw in full:
| Group A | Group B |
| 🇮🇩 BOOM Esports | 🇸🇬 Bleed eSports |
| 🇹🇭 Made in Thailand | 🇵🇭 Rex Regum Qeon |
| 🇻🇳 CERBERUS Esports | 🇻🇳 Team Big BAAM |
| 🇮🇳 Enigma Gaming | 🇹🇼 Ghetto Artist |
Group Stage
(Photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
The group stage will commence three days after the play-ins, in which only the two best teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. In Group A, ONIC Esports and Griffin E-Sports will be joined by Gaimin Gladiators (formerly LaZe) and a play-in team. Ingram “FREY” Tan’s side impressed by qualifying for APAC Stage 2 with victories over No Namers, Bleed eSports, Todak, BearClaw Gaming, and Paper Rex until the latter ended their Cinderella story in the grand final of VCT MY/SG Stage 2 Challengers.
All eyes will be on Group B, featuring XERXIA Esports and Alter Ego, current No.2 and No.5 in Asia-Pacific. The group will be completed by Global Esports and a play-in team.
Paper Rex, the highest-ranked side in attendance and Stage 1 champions, have been drawn in Group C, together with Oceania’s ORDER, the Philippines’ Oasis Gaming, and a play-in team.
(Photo courtesy of Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
The last group, headlined by Team Secret, will go up against teams like Thailand’s FW Esports and Vietnamese side Fancy United Esports. The Thai side of FW Esports had been turning heads in VCT Thailand Stage 2 Challengers, edging past X10 CRIT, FULL SENSE, and MiTH in the finals. However, this month will be a huge test of their strength against some of APAC’s finest teams.
The playoffs will commence on June 23, with eight teams advancing, and will conclude by the 26th of June. The top two teams will secure spots at VCT Masters 2, which is set to take place on July 10-24 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Below you can find the group draw in full:
| Group A | Group C |
| 🇮🇩 ONIC Esports | 🇸🇬 Paper Rex |
| 🇸🇬 Gaimin Gladiators (LaZe) | 🇵🇭 Oasis Gaming |
| 🇹🇼 Griffin E-Sports | 🇦🇺 ORDER |
| 🌏 TBD (Play-in) | 🌏 TBD (Play-in) |
| Group B | Group D |
| 🇹🇭 XERXIA Esports | 🇵🇭 Team Secret |
| 🇮🇩 Alter Ego | 🇹🇭 FW Esports |
| 🇮🇳 Global Esports | 🇻🇳 Fancy United Esports |
| 🌏 TBD (Play-in) | 🌏 TBD (Play-in) |
TL;DR
- Play-ins: June 9-12
- Format: 8 teams will play in GSL format. 4 successful teams will proceed to the next stage.
- Groups: June 15-20
- Format: 16 teams will play in GSL format. 8 successful teams will proceed to the knockout stage.
- Knockouts & Finals: June 23-26
- Format: 8 teams will go through a series of double elimination brackets. The final 2 teams will be invited to Masters 2.
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Cover photo courtesy of Lance Skundrich/Riot Games
