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The Japan League is back as the first eight matches of Stage 2 took place this week. All the teams in the competition have already played two group stage matches, which means next week we will know the six rosters that will move to the Japan League Deciders.
As of now, both CYCLOPS athlete gaming and NORTHEPTION have confirmed their presence in the next stage of the competition after winning this week's games on regulation.
Fnatic, who find themselves in the group of death, have kicked things off with two losses. The team must defeat Crest Gaming Lst next week to qualify for the next phase.
Keep on reading to know what happened in the Japan League this week!
CAG are back on track
The Japanese side have won their first two games of the group stage as they defeated Crest Gaming Lst and Fnatic in game days one and two, respectively. This is an improvement compared to their Stage 1 start, where they began with one win and one loss. As of now, the Cyclops are still favorites to earn the group's top seed.
Takashi "Arcully" Ono was the best player for the Japanese against his former teammates in Crest Gaming Lst. The 19-year-old obtained 14 kills in only nine rounds played, finishing with a SiegeGG rating of 1.77.
In their second match of the week, the Cyclops secured a spot in the Japan League Deciders after defeating Fnatic, who had lost by 0-7 against SCARZ the day before. Ryuya "Chibisu" Hamasita, who represented Fnatic in 2022, was the best player against his former teammates with a SiegeGG rating of 1.68.
With these results, the Japanese have already secured a spot in the Japan League Deciders.
Ups and downs for SCARZ
The current Japanese champions and BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen quarter-finalists SCARZ kicked off the week with a flawless victory against Fnatic but lost to Crest Gaming Lst the day after.
Riku "REChaaN" Katou led his team against the orange organization with an impressive SiegeGG rating of 2.30 as he went 4-0 (+4) on entries and registered a KD of 13-2 (+11).
Despite the team's successful start to the competition, SCARZ fell to Crest Gaming Lst on Day 2. With a SiegeGG rating of 1.40 and a KD of 15-9 (+6), REChaaN kept his strong form. Unfortunately, his performance couldn't get SCARZ a point.
Heading to the final day of the group stage, REChaan leads every statistic in the league except for Clutches and Plants. However, with three CAG players in the Ratings' Top 5, it feels like the Cyclops may have the upper hand next week.
Varrel struggles in RIN's Japan debut
One of the main storylines this week was Jang "RIN" Byeong-uk's debut in the Japan League. The South Korean player, who represented DWG KIA in three Six Majors and one Six Invitational, was Varrel's star signing following the Japanese's participation in the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen.
In Varrel's first game in Stage 2, RIN was the team's best player with a SiegeGG rating of 1.29. Despite his performance, the Japanese lost the game by 6-8 after leading IGZIST by 6-4 on Clubhouse.
Varrel's second match of the week ended in a 3-7 loss against FAV Gaming, which currently moves the Japanese team to the bottom of Group B's standings. The team's next game will be against the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen bound NORTHEPTION, who currently lead the group with a perfect match record.