Japan Nationals 2020, the half-yearly tournament boasting total prize pool 500 million yen (approximately US$46,400) kicked off its Season 2 qualifiers at the end of June. From professional squads to newly assembled amateurs, all Japanese teams are given a great equal opportunity to grab the title of Japanese Champions.
Roadmap of Japan Nationals 2020. (Image: R6 Esports Japan)
Of the overall schedule in 2020, the Japan Nationals Season 1 has already concluded, with NORA-Rengo NRG, the domestic team of NORA-Rengo, winning the title. On the other hand, runners-up Faisaru secured one of the spots for the LAN Grand Finals planned to be staged this August, though the future impact of COVID-19 in Japan remains unclear.
And now, for the Season 2 title, as well as 2020 championship, the Qualifiers have started from June 27th, with 98 teams separated by 16 groups. Teams that win one of three qualifiers, or finish as runners-up twice, will be invited to the Season 2 Finals held on July 25th and 26th.
Day 1 Qualifier Roundup
While Pro League Season 11 competitors YOSHIMOTO G Lamy won the first day qualifier with ease, The second-day qualifier without the four Japanese giants from the APAC North Division saw some interesting games by lower-tier teams that had not been a focus before.
The Anohi-no, featuring former pro players.
In particular, one of the final matches in Day 1 saw a spectacular performance from amateur team Anohi-no, composed of well-known players such as former NORA-Rengo player Yuta "Yuta Inoue" Inoue (aka ReyCyil) and former Sengoku Gaming player Shinya "prototype_1z" Nishiwaki.
Also on the team is ex-NRG player Candy, as well as Kanata "YahooN" Saeki, who joined from the now-disbanded DetonatioN Gaming R6 team. The promising new team fully knocked down veteran team Obsidian on Consulate (8-7) and Kafe (7-2) respectively, setting itself up as a strong contender.
Day 1 qualifier thus saw a total of 16 winners from each group as follows:
- ELEMENT.36 JAPAN
- SchwarzerLand
- Reiwa Gaming
- Lst.
- GEARMIX e-sports
- TEAM Anohi-no
- Zeruel.Esports
- Nova. Manji-X
- Zepto.
- RepresentUnderground
- In Version
- :) (Nikkori)
- ShinoBeeGaming Rev
- YOSHIMOTO G Lamy
- SunSister
- Tsukumo Itimon vLt
With these Day 1 results, the Day 2 qualifier will be held today on July 4th over the remaining spots for the Seasonal Finals.
Schedule
- Day 2 Qualifier: Saturday July 4th
- Day 3 Qualifier: Saturday July 11th
- Season Final Day 1 (Online): Saturday July 25th
- Season Final Day 2 (Online): Sunday July 26th
- LAN Finals (planned): Sunday August 30th
Streaming
The Japan Nationals 2020 Season 2 Day 2 qualifier will be aired on the following three websites, as well as its official Twitter, cast in Japanese.
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