Road to GC2: XSET - Retooled and Relocated

Origins

XSET’s original foray into the Game Changers scene wasn’t even in the North American Region. They originally signed a roster consisting of Petra, kr4sylya, zAAz, mimi, and juliano, who would compete under the XSET banner for only a few months before being released, although later four members would be signed to G2 Gozen. XSET would sign a new roster, previously known as NOTHING2LOSE, on September 29th, 2021. This roster consisted of ARIANARCHIST, artStar, maryna, Ellie, and starriebun, along with their coach, Ducky. In late 2021, maryna would leave, and ARIANARCHIST would become inactive in January 2022 before leaving in February. This would leave the team in search of two new members, and they would complete the roster in late March 2022 with the signing of Cille and Noia, both players originally from EMEA.

XSET would enter Game Changers Series 1 with their final roster consisting of Lynnie “artStar” Noquez, Elena “Ellie” Garland, Katherine “starriebun” So, Nicole “Noia” Tierce, and Cecillie “Cille” Kallio, along with coach Daniel “Ducky” Duong. However, visa issues prevented Noia and Cille from traveling to the United States in time for the tournament, leaving them to play from a “mini bootcamp” in London, while the remaining three players and their coach would bootcamp in Texas.

Swiss

Game Changers Series 1 would open with a 32-team Swiss stage, in which teams would need to win 3 matches before losing 3 in order to advance to the Closed Qualifier. After each series, teams would be matched up against teams with an identical record.

XSET would open the Swiss stage with a matchup against Team Kittenz, taking the series 2–0 with consecutive 13–6 victories, first on Fracture, then on Bind, with starriebun and Noia tallying a combined 88 kills on only 48 deaths. They would then fall 0–2 (6–13 Fracture, 4–13 Haven) to a newly signed Immortals team (who had only been announced 2 days prior), bringing their record in the Swiss stage to 1–1 at the end of the first day of competition. In an interview long after the tournament concluded, XSET’s Ellie said the loss did not get the team down, saying, “it’s not over until it’s over.” Starriebun also said almost instantly after the match concluded, the team watched the VOD to catch any mistakes they made and find things to improve upon heading into the next day.

XSET’s second day of competition would open with a matchup against Nori X, which they would win 2–0 (13–7 Fracture, 13–3 Icebox), with all five members of XSET recording positive K:D ratios in the series. Now 2–1, they would face Solaire for qualification, a series they handled 2–0, winning the first map, Icebox, 13–8, and winning a hard-fought Haven, 13–11. Four out of five of the XSET members again posted positive K:D ratios across the series, as they advanced past the Swiss stage of the tournament with a record of 3–1.

Closed

After completing their run through the Swiss stage and advancing to the Closed Qualifier, XSET was placed in a group consisting of Shopify Rebellion, Team X, and Roulette, with their first match being against Roulette.

In their opening match against Roulette, they won 2–0, with a 13–6 victory on Icebox, and a 13–3 victory on Split, with all five members again posting positive K:D ratios in the series. Ellie especially shone, tallying 44 kills on 21 deaths, for an ACS of 344 across the series.

After defeating Roulette in the opening round of the closed qualifier, they faced Shopify Rebellion. However, they fell early, losing the first map 3–13 on Icebox. They attempted a comeback, ending the first half of the next map, Fracture, with a tie score, but lost 7 rounds in a row in the second half, losing the map with a final score of 6–13, and losing the series 0–2. This loss would send them into the lower bracket, giving them one more opportunity to qualify for the main event.

This opportunity would present itself in the form of a match against CLG Red. After a dominant 9–3 half on Ascent, XSET was able to secure the first map with a final score of 13–11. The series would then move to Icebox, wherein they would once again have a strong first half, heading into the halftime break up 8–4, but they were unable to close it out, ultimately losing the map 11–13. The final map in this series was Split, where XSET struggled in the first half, ending the half down 2–10, and the deficit proved too large to overcome, with the map ending in a loss for XSET, 3–13, and the series went in favor of CLG Red, 2–1. With this loss, XSET’s run in Game Changers Series 1 came to a close, failing to advance to the Main Event.

Back in the Server

After their run had concluded with a result that was less than they expected of themselves, XSET got back to practice. When asked about their feelings after the loss that ended their run, Ellie said she was mad at herself as she felt she could have played better, and wouldn’t let it happen again. Starriebun added that they were not as prepared as they wanted to be, especially with the visa issues that prevented Noia and Cille from joining the team for their bootcamp in Texas, forcing them to play from London in a mini bootcamp. She added that as a team, they take defeats with a grain of salt, using them as learning opportunities, and try not to let them bother them too much as they look to clean up mistakes heading into Game Changers Series 2.

Looking Ahead

XSET is currently preparing for Game Changers Series 2, which is scheduled to begin on June 30th, 2022. Details have also been released about the eligibility for the long-awaited Game Changers Championship LAN tournament that is rumored to take place at the end of the year. According to details in the ruleset for Game Changers Series 2, North America will have two spots in the tournament, with the winner of Game Changers Series 3 getting automatic qualification into the tournament, and the overall circuit points leader in the region following the conclusion of Game Changers Series 3 receiving the second slot.