With the start of the Japan League 2024 Stage 2 being just around the corner, we have decided to put together all the information you need to know before the beginning of the competition.
Format
The Japan League 2024 Stage 2 is a competition divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoffs.
The group stage is a round-robin league where every match follows a BO1 format. By the end of the eighth playday, the best two seeds will qualify for the playoffs' semifinals, while teams between the third and the sixth seeds will start from the quarterfinals. All of the matches in the playoff bracket will follow a BO3 format.
Matches and calendar
Here are the matches and the dates for the Japan League 2024 Stage 2. Keep in mind that only the best six sides will qualify for the region's playoffs.
September 7
- CAG Osaka vs. VITE
- ENTER FORCE.36 vs. IGZIST
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. Father's Back
- KINOTROPE gaming vs. SCARZ
September 8
- CAG Osaka vs. ENTER FORCE.36
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. KINOTROPE gaming
- IGZIST vs. VITE
- Father's Back vs. SCARZ
September 14
- Father's Back vs. VITE
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. SCARZ
- ENTER FORCE.36 vs. KINOTROPE gaming
- CAG Osaka vs. IGZIST
September 15
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. VITE
- ENTER FORCE.36 vs. SCARZ
- CAG Osaka vs. Father's Back
- IGZIST vs. KINOTROPE gaming
September 21
- CAG Osaka vs. KINOTROPE gaming
- Father's Back vs. IGZIST
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. ENTER FORCE.36
- SCARZ vs. VITE
September 22
- ENTER FORCE.36 vs. Father's Back
- CAG Osaka vs. Crest Gaming Lst
- KINOTROPE gaming vs. VITE
- IGZIST vs. SCARZ
September 29
- ENTER FORCE.36 vs. VITE
- Crest Gaming Lst vs. IGZIST
- Father's Back vs. KINOTROPE Gaming
- CAG Osaka vs. SCARZ
Teams
Here's everything you need to know about the eight teams competing in the Japan League 2024 Stage 2:
SCARZ
After having won the last three stages, SCARZ are the favorites to take Japan's first seed to compete at the BLAST R6 Major Montreal. Since the team's promotion to the region's top-flight, SCARZ have qualified for three BLAST R6 Majors, one Six Invitational, and the Esports World Cup 2024.
With the team having only made one roster change in the last two years, SCARZ has proven incredibly consistent in their home region. Additionally, fans can't forget the fact that they have been the only Asian roster to sneak into the best eight sides of a BLAST R6 Major.
CAG Osaka
With SCARZ taking over the Japanese scene, CAG Osaka were relegated to the region's second spot. After missing out on Copenhagen and the team's short stay in Atlanta, the Japanese missed out on the Six Invitational for the first time since 2020.
In Manchester, CAG Osaka's victories against Team Cruelty and Geekay Esports saw them qualify for the Swiss Stage, where they beat E1 Sports. Although that itself is a great result for the squad, the other side of the coin was the team's 4-7 defeat against SCARZ in the first game of Manchester's Swiss Stage.
Crest Gaming Lst
Although Crest Gaming Lst qualified for the BLAST R6 Major Montreal, where they defeated SANDBOX Gaming and won one map against Ninjas in Pyjamas, the Japanese side have gone unnoticed so far this season.
Following a seventh-place finish in the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 and a Lower Bracket Round 2 exit from the region's Last Chance Qualifiers for Manchester, the squad decided to part ways with Yushi "Vbort" Arai to sign the former Varrel player Rento "Rento" Murase.
Moreover, on August 25, Crest Gaming Lst unveiled the signing of the former Bleed Esports coach and analyst Zhang "BruceZz" Jinghe.
KINOTROPE gaming
If there's a team that has a real shot at upsetting CAG Osaka and SCARZ, that's KINOTROPE gaming. The Japanese roster finished in second place in the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 and was one map away from winning against CAG Osaka in Japan's Last Chance Qualifiers grand final. In the Esports World Cup qualifiers, the team finished among the best four sides after losing to CAG Osaka in the quarterfinals.
IGZIST
Precisely, IGZIST was the team that lost to SCARZ on the other side of Japan's Esports World Cup qualifiers. Back then, the team could only win five rounds against the current Japanese champions.
It's fair to say IGZIST closes the top four in Japan. The team beat CAG Osaka in the quarterfinals of the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 and ended up finishing in third place. Unfortunately for the squad, the team couldn't qualify for Manchester after falling in the Lower Bracket semifinals.
ENTER FORCE.36
With two overtime and five regulation defeats, ENTER FORCE.36 finished at the bottom of the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 standings and missed out on the region's Last Chance Qualifiers for Manchester after a loss against the Tier 2 squad Realize.
Ahead of the second split of the season, ENTER FORCE.36 added the former NORTHEPTION player Sylvia, the former VITE player Akusu, and the Tier 2 talent Yamada.
Father's Back
Father's Back's sixth-place finish in the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 was followed by an early exit from the region's Last Chance Qualifiers for Manchester. In June 2024, the team unveiled the signing of the former IGZIST and Crest Gaming Lst player Yushi "Vbort" Arai to replace Apple, who had been part of Father's Back since August 2016.
VITE
Despite making their top-flight debut in the first stage of the season, VITE's players were the region's Cinderella after finishing in fourth place of the Japan League 2024 Stage 1 and in third at the region's Last Chance Qualifiers for Manchester.
Heading to the second split of the year, VITE have made two changes as they signed the Tier 2 talents Meira and Toasung.
Prize pool and SI Points
Here's a look at how the prize pool of the competition and the Six Invitational Points will be distributed among the teams:
- 1st: US$31,000 and 100 SI Points
- 2nd: US$21,600 and 95 SI Points
- 3rd: US$18,500 and 90 SI Points
- 4th: US$14,800 and 85 SI Points
- 5th: US$12,400 and 80 SI Points
- 6th: US$8,700 and 75 SI Points
- 7th: US$6,800 and 70 SI Points
- 8th: US$6,200 and 65 SI Points