This may have been our third journey through the nerve-racking gauntlet that is Weekly Survival but it doesn’t feel as though any of us are more prepared for how intense these matches can be. Teams are fighting harder than ever for a foothold inside each zone in hopes that it could provide them the necessary position to collect a Chicken Dinner. We’ve already seen plenty of teams go directly into an occupied compound with the intention of winning the team fight and taking over a better position. This approach provided many breaching highlights that we otherwise wouldn’t have seen, but at the same time, it’s caused just as many premature exits from teams trying to advance into the Weekly Final.
Towards the end of this week’s matches, there were still numerous “favorites” fighting for a spot in Weekly Final #3. When the third and final day began, there were only five available spots, and Soniqs, Four Angry Men, Shoot To Kill, TSM, and Infantry had yet to qualify. Of those, only STK was able to sneak into the Final.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS AS A TWO-MAN BAND
After their top-four placement in the previous Weekly Final, Gen.G picked up right where they left off with a Chicken Dinner in the opening match to move directly into the team’s third consecutive weekend. As Phase 9 began to close, “Ionix” and “Esther” worked as a two-man against a duo from Infantry and the four-man squad of Afreeca Freecs. Allowing their two opponents to weaken one another, Gen.G collected the kills on the remaining six enemies and secured themselves a spot in this weekend’s final.
After their great performance in the previous final and the team’s ease qualifying for this weekend, it isn’t hard to imagine Gen.G making a statement in Weekly Final #3. While they may have gotten off to a slow start, this team is beginning to find its rhythm as the cash prizes slowly grow bigger.
AGAINST THE ODDS: OUTMANNED AND FIGHTING UPHILL
If you were to freeze-frame this fight and ask any PUBG Esports fan which team they think wins the match, I’m convinced that nine out of ten would choose TSG. Holding the high ground with a player advantage, TSG manages to lose this round to DayTrade down below.
vanOtica from DayTrade spots and knocked two members from TSG to open up the fight. Before you know it, TSG is down to a single player and DayTrade has advanced themselves into the Weekly Final. Luckily for TSG, they were able to win a match on Day Three, making this match result much easier to stomach.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Zenith Esports may not have entered PGI.S as North America’s frontrunner to take home the hardware, but they’ve put everyone on notice after having one of the most dominant matches we’ve ever seen on the global stage. Incredibly, Zenith racked up 22 kills during this match. That’s a whopping 36% of the entire lobby, which they eliminated while managing to keep all four members alive before ultimately winning the round. Kickstart and Roth played a major role in the staggering kill count that highlighted this match, though the entire team’s play, Poonage, and Shinboi, contributed to one of the most faultless matches we’ve seen in some time.
While it’s safe to say that this was the most dominant match since PGI.S started, from everything I’m able to find, it’s also a new record for the single-most kills in a match on the global stage. Zenith Esports have proven that they belong at PGI.S, and now they’ve proven they belong inside the Weekly Final. The main question for Zenith is now, do they have what it takes to secure a top-four placement when we return to a best-of-ten with SUPER scoring?
BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY
It’s been an up-and-down journey through PGI.S for T1 up until this point. After failing to secure a win in the first two Weekly Survivals, T1 showed they’re capable of putting together a couple of wins during their Bottom 16 matches. Following those wins, the team needed just four matches to secure themselves a spot in their first Weekly Final this Saturday. The way in which T1 advanced into this weekend’s final undoubtedly warranted a spot in our Week Three highlights post.
As Phase 9 began to shrink onto the road in South Los Leones, T1 placed “Daengchae” isolated on top of a building with no hope of him rejoining the team below. The decision provided high-ground vision and a pair of crucial knocks as Buriram United players slipped through the pluming smoke grenades. From there, “Adder” used the DPS, the previously-crated shotgun that rarely makes an appearance in competitive play, to eliminate the final two players of Buriram and secure the Chicken Dinner for T1.
IN CONTROL OF THEIR OWN DESTINY
The final match of Erangel during Day Two would provide us with another late-game finale centered around the junkyard compound between Museum and Shelter. This time, ENCE would make the proactive play of smoking off their nearest enemies and turning their focus towards their biggest threat inside this zone, NAVI.
A lengthy smoke wall provided ENCE with the necessary cover to get within grenade range following an opening knock from “D1gg3r1”. This quickly put NAVI on their heels and ENCE made no mistake cleaning up the remaining players to eradicate their fellow EU competitors. Once they had taken care of NAVI, ENCE was able to shift their focus onto the lone survivor from MCG and earn themselves a spot in Weekly Final #3.
AITZY HOLDS THE LINE AND DROPS MCG
Keeping track of the killfeed could be one of the most undervalued qualities of an excellent player. Whether you’re counting the remaining players on various teams or the number of points to move up the leaderboard, it can be instrumental at any level of play. So at PGI.S, it’s no surprise that every player in the lobby is doing this with so much on the line each match. Many times, it’s the determining factor in a team’s decision to push or pull off during a fight. In this scenario, MCG notices that FaZe Clan’s “Gustav” had been knocked by T1 so they react quickly and sprint towards a “weakened” FaZe Clan.
As they arrived at the rocks, “Aitzy” defended his position and knocked three members of MCG. He also got damage onto the fourth member, nearly getting the full-team wipe. This play was possible because “Aitzy” dipped in and out of cover, using the terrain he had to perfection. It would eventually lead FaZe Clan into a desperate descent off the cliffs to their North, but the team won their next match to punch their ticket to Weekly Final #3.