With the PUBG Nation’s Cup a few weeks away we’re going to be looking at what each of the four regions (Americas, Asia, Europe, and APAC) is bringing to the table at PNC. 16 nations have selected their country’s best players to represent them at this tournament, and it’s one of the few opportunities we get to see each nation’s PUBG crop go head-to-head. PNC will not only give us an idea of the esports talent coming out of individual nations, but also a sense of the talent coming out of each region, how they differ, how they’re alike, and which has the best chance of winning big at PNC. Finally, Europe.
Second Chance.
Three years ago, our returning European teams had a similar experience at PNC 2019 to Americas teams, an overall underwhelming performance. Other than Germany and Canada, pretty much all western teams didn’t rack up enough kill points to stay towards the top of the leaderboard. This time around, knowing a bit more about what to expect out of other region’s playstyles is certainly going to help them craft a good gameplan. European teams, particularly Germany and Finland, have outstanding esports records across multiple titles. Finland, despite having a smaller population compared to other countries, regularly punches above its weight class in esports competitions. This PNC, another country to watch is Turkey, with two of their players recently finishing 4th at PCS6: Europe on BBL Esports.These two nations will certainly be the ones to watch coming out of Europe at PNC. Germany performed the best out of the teams in this region in 2019, securing 5th place. (although they were only a single point behind Vietnam in 4th). Finland, on the other hand, was one of the most anticipated teams to win the first PNC and had a disappointing performance, but we have a feeling mxey (the only returning player for Finland) and company are out for vengeance this year.
Underdogs.
The UK tends not to be the most closely watched by the global community when it comes to these international tournaments. They came in 15th in 2019 and their record internationally is something they’re looking to improve on. That being said, everyone loves an underdog. Their PNC players this year come from four different esports organizations, a roster setup that has paid dividends for other teams in the past. Only Canada, South Korea, and Australia have that same player distribution and they’re all expected to put up some impressive play this year so perhaps that spells good fortune for the UK. Their lineup comes from the best teams Europe has to offer, vard from Team Liquid, Fexx from FaZe Clan (came in 3rd at PCS6: Europe), and TeaBone from Heroic (the 6th ranked team in the world right now) are all playing for the UK. Two players from Heroic, one player from FaZe, and one player from Team Liquid make up Team Finland, who once again comes in as a favorite to win it all. This player/team crossover is much more common in Europe and the Americas than it is in Asia and APAC. Teams in those regions tend to all come from the same nation meaning they aren’t likely to battle against a teammate at PNC. This could be an advantage those teams have over European or Americas teams, not having to play against teammates..
Performance Invite.
Europe’s selection process for PNC is also rather unique. Two of each team’s players are selected by pro player vote, the most common method across all 16 teams, but the other two are chosen via performance invite. This method elects these two players based on their performance across multiple recent PUBG tournaments in Europe. Both mxey and vard from Team Liquid are representing Finland and the UK based upon their stellar performance in PCS6: Europe. It’s fair to say, no matter what country or region they’re playing for, no matter how they were selected, the players at PNC are the best in the world. We have high expectations for European teams this year so hopefully this pays off for all the teams looking to win big at PNC 2022.
Keep up with the teams from the other three regions this week, as they prepare to battle it out at PNC 2022, June 16th to 19th at Bangkok’s True Icon Hall for a piece of the $500,000 prize pool.
WHERE TO WATCH / FOLLOW
Check out our PCS6 Americas content channels for VODs and streams:
Be sure to follow PUBG esports on social media to stay up to date on all the action.