The Japan League 2024 Stage 2 started this week as the first two playdays of the competition took place on September 7 and September 8.
After only eight matches played the back-to-back Japanese champions SCARZ already lead the standings as the only team in the league with two regulation victories. However, SCARZ isn't the only unbeaten roster as IGZIST currently sits in second place with five points.
Meanwhile, all Crest Gaming Lst, CAG Osaka, VITE, and KINOTROPE gaming won one and lost another, meaning they are currently placed in playoff positions. Finally, ENTER FORCE.36 and Father's Back close the standings as the only winless teams in Japan's second split.
Keep on reading to know more about what happened throughout the first two playdays of the Japan League 2024 Stage 2:
CAG Osaka start on the wrong foot
CAG Osaka's start to the Japan League 2024 Stage 2 wasn't the one the fans had expected as the Japanese kicked off the second split with a 3-7 defeat against VITE.
The orange roster kicked off the game with three back-to-back successful defenses on Bank, a map that's usually attacker-sided. In round four, Sho "BlackRay" Hasegawa stopped VITE's winning streak with a 1v2 clutch while playing Buck. Only one round later, VITE's JiNm restored the team's three-round lead with a 1v2 clutch in a post-plant situation.
Although CAG Osaka won the first defensive round after swapping sides, VITE won the game after winning their remaining three attacks. With a SiegeGG rating of 1.75, JiNm was the best player of the match as he finished with a KD of 15-6 (+9) and a KOST of 80.
However, CAG Osaka's answer to their initial defeat was imminent as the Japanese crushed ENTER FORCE.36 with a 7-1 victory on Chalet. With SiegeGG ratings of 1.59 and 1.55 respectively, Ryuya "Chibisu" Hamasita and Sironeko were the best players of the game.
Despite the final result, the Cyclops struggled at getting entry kills as they could only get three out of a possible eight.
It's also worth mentioning that ENTER FORCE.36's Yamada finished the match with a SiegeGG rating of 0.00, a KD of 0-8 (-8), an entry balance of 0-3 (-3), and a KOST of 0.
SCARZ can't be stopped
The back-to-back Japan League champions SCARZ have proved again to be a couple of steps ahead of everyone else in the region. The team's rock-solid 7-3 victory against last stage's second seed KINOTROPE gaming was followed by a 7-1 win against Father's Back.
Nina "Nina" Abe had a wonderful weekend after averaging a SiegeGG rating of 1.86, including a 2.46 performance against Father's Back — which saw the Japanese registering a KD of 17-2 (+15) in only eight rounds played.
Based on this weekend's performances, SCARZ are the clear favorites to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Montreal through the playoffs. However, a tough test could be just around the corner, as the team will face off against Crest Gaming Lst on September 14.
Crest Gaming Lst feel like serious top two contenders
Crest Gaming Lst's first weekend of the stage left really good feelings after a 7-2 victory over Father's Back was followed by a narrow 5-7 defeat against KINOTROPE gaming.
The Japanese's first match saw Yuuta "Tyopi" Yanagi and Takashi "Arcully" Ono going berserk against Father's Back as they averaged SiegeGG ratings of 1.70 and 1.68, respectively, while getting a combined KD of 25-10 (+15) in only nine rounds played.
One day later, Crest Gaming Lst were close to shocking KINOTROPE gaming on Consulate as they reached round eight with a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately, their opponents reacted just in time and managed to win four back-to-back defenses, a run that included a Yuuya "Aokayu" Okazaki 1v2 clutch.
With a SiegeGG rating of 1.63, Shunnosuke "OkOmEsH" Koga was the best player in the game as his performance included a KD of 16-6 (+10), an entry balance of 4-0 (+4), and a KOST of 83.
Despite the team's result against KINOTROPE gaming, Crest Gaming Lst proved their potential under the team's new coach, the former Bleed Esports coach and analyst Zhang "BruceZz" Jinghe.
Rehost sees IGZIST missing out on one point
Last but not least, it's worth also talking about the match between IGZIST and ENTER FORCE.36.
After a rock-solid display by IGZIST on Consulate, it looked like the Japanese had clinched a 7-4 win. However, a rehost called in the final round that hadn't initially been given restored the 6-4. Additionally, due to connectivity issues, Akasu is replaced by the team's assistant coach and former REJECT player Ryota "Window" Hirata.
Against all of the odds, ENTER FORCE.36 won the following two rounds and pushed IGZIST to overtime. Despite the team's best efforts, IGZIST still won the match — however, the final result saw ENTER FORCE.36 getting one point while IGZIST's initial regulation win ended up being a maximum overtime victory worth two points.