Game Changers Championship Day 1 Recap

In the first day of the Game Changers Championship in Berlin, attendees and viewers alike got a taste of what the remainder of the tournament has in store, including the first matchup between North America and EMEA.

Cloud9 White v KRÜ Fem (C9 2–0)

In the first match of the day, the North American first seed Cloud9 White faced off against the Latin American representatives KRÜ Fem.

Cloud9 White looked dominant through the first map, Ascent, winning the first 9 rounds, and eventually winning the map 13–4 behind 21 kills from Bob, stellar teamplay, and pop off rounds from both alexis and katsumi.

The second map was more of the same, as although KRÜ was able to win the pistol round on Haven, Cloud9 would retaliate with 7 rounds after KRÜ’s anti-eco, and would continue their success, winning the map 13–5, and ending with a very balanced scoreboard.

KRÜ moves to the lower bracket, where they will face X10 Sapphire in an elimination match on Thursday. Cloud9 advanced to the upper semifinals where they faced G2 Gozen.

G2 Gozen v X10 Sapphire (G2 2–0)

The second match of the day pitted the second seed from EMEA, G2 Gozen, against the representatives from APAC, X10 Sapphire.

In the first map, Icebox, despite some highly contested rounds that came down to the wire behind heroics from Poly and Babytz, X10 Sapphire struggled to put rounds on the board as G2 Gozen ended the first half up 8–4, and put up a shutout second half to win the map 13–4.

The second map in the series was Breeze, an aesthetic antithesis of the frigid landscape of Icebox. The gameplay, however was just as fiery, as although the first half was a masterclass from G2, ending 9–3 in their favor, X10 showed signs of life in the second half, winning the pistol and anti-eco, although they eventually fell 13–7 to G2 and their surprise agent selections, as mimi shifted from sentinels to initiators and Mary shifted onto Chamber.

X10 Sapphire moves now to the lower bracket to face KRÜ Fem in an elimination match on Thursday. G2 advanced to play Cloud9 in the upper semifinals following the conclusion of the match.

G2 Gozen v Cloud9 White (G2 2–1)

The third and final match of the day was one of the most anticipated matchups, pitting the two regional juggernauts, Cloud9 and G2 against each other in the tale as old as time: North America versus EMEA. As this matchup was thought of by many to be a possible finals matchup, seeing the two teams face off in the first day of competition only speaks to how intense the competition is in Berlin.

The first map of the fated series was Ascent, with G2 winning the pistol, but losing the anti-eco to Cloud9, giving C9 the boost to put four rounds together. G2 struck back, and the two teams traded heymakers, eventually ending the first half 6–6. After switching sides, Cloud9 looked like a completely different juggernaut, as they would win the first four rounds, bringing the score to 10–6. G2 would win the next round, but Cloud9 would win another three in a row, closing out the map 13–7.

The series would then shift to the sands of Breeze, as G2 would open with a four round streak of their own behind an aggressive anti-eco purchase which would allow them to compete against Cloud9’s rifles in round 3. Cloud9 would strike back with five rounds of their own, but G2 would counter with seven in a row, encompassing the halftime break and bringing their lead to 11–5. They would eventually close out the map 13–6, sending the series to the first decider of the tournament.

The final map in the series was Pearl, a map in which Cloud9 had not yet played an official match. G2 shocked many by bringing out Yoru as their main duelist, and without support from a Breach pick, the analyst desk wondered how G2 would unlock Yoru’s utility. However, G2’s experience on Pearl shone through, as they would end the first half 9–3 in their favor, behind Petra’s 14 kills. After a short halftime break, G2 closed out the map by winning four rounds in a row to win the map 13–3, and the series 2–1.

G2 Gozen advances to the Upper Final on Friday. Cloud9 White now moves to the lower bracket, where they await one of the four following teams: Guild X, Shopify Rebellion, FENNEL HOTELAVA, and Team Liquid Brazil.

Looking ahead

In the second day of the competition, the second half of the bracket will be in action, beginning with another NA v EMEA rivalry match between EMEA’s first seed Guild X and NA’s second seed Shopify Rebellion. Following that match will be the final quarterfinals match between FENNEL HOTELAVA and Team Liquid Brazil.

The winners of those two matches will then face off in the upper semifinals, with the winner advancing to face G2 Gozen in the Upper Final, and the loser moving to the lower bracket to face the winner between KRÜ Fem and X10 Sapphire.