Game Changers Series 3 Preview: Who Has a Shot at Berlin?

The conclusion of Game Changers Series 2 in North America marks the halfway point of the circuit’s year, with two major tournaments in the past, and two tournaments still to take place (Series 3, and Game Changers Championship). Following the conclusion of Series 2, now seems like a good time to look ahead to Series 3 and set the stage for what’s at stake for each team competing.

Doing the Math

The Game Changers Championship, which is an 8-team international tournament in Berlin, Germany, affords two slots for the North American Region, one through the North America Series 3 championship, and one through the Circuit Points accumulated throughout the year. The champion of Series 3 will enter Berlin as the North American 1st seed, and the leader in circuit points will enter as the North American 2nd seed.

In order for Cloud9 to lock themselves into a slot at the Game Changers Championship, they need to place at least 5th-6th in Series 3, which would be a Lower Second Round exit, assuming the format remains consistent from Series 1 and 2. This would give them 30 circuit points, which would allow them to overcome the next-highest possible point total (180 from Shopify Rebellion, as a result of three 2nd place finishes).

Additionally, with only 60 circuit points up for grabs, only a handful of teams are able to qualify for the championship outside of winning the event. The only teams within 60 points of the top spot are Cloud9 White, Shopify Rebellion, Dignitas, and TSM X. meaning they are the only teams who can qualify for the championship through their circuit points, whereas every other team must win the event to qualify.

Doing the Harder Math

Here’s where it gets complicated: because in order to qualify through the circuit points, a team must either have the highest point total (excluding the team that wins Series 3), or place highest in Series 3 out of teams tied for first place in points. Therefore, each team that can qualify through circuit points must outpace their competitors by a certain amount to get the spot.

Cloud9, as they are currently first in the circuit points standings, must place at least 6th to secure their ticket to Berlin. Shopify Rebellion, currently in second place by 40 points, must place at least 4th to secure their lead over Dignitas and TSM X (which secures their spot if Cloud9 White wins Series 3), but needs to both place 2nd and for Cloud9 White to place at most 7th to receive the points slot if any other team wins.

While Shopify Rebellion can qualify through circuit points if Cloud9 White do not win the event, both Dignitas and TSM X need Cloud9 White to win Series 3 in order to have a chance at winning the circuit points. Dignitas, 30 points behind Shopify Rebellion, needs to place at least 6th, while TSM X needs to place at least 4th to have any chance at winning the circuit points. (Both situations only work if Shopify Rebellion places lower than 16th and subsequently receives no circuit points.)

What To Expect

With 90 days between the conclusion of Series 2 and the beginning of Series 3, fans should expect lots of improvement in performance between the two tournaments. Teams such as Cloud9 White, Shopify Rebellion, TSM X, CLG Red, Misfits Black, and Complexity GX3 who added players before the beginning of Series 2 will now have time to develop chemistry with their new roster and deepen their playbook. Other teams such as Dignitas, Dart Monkeys, VersionX, and XSET get time to experiment with new agent lineups and strategies.