Image: Ubisoft/Kirill Bashkirov
Here is how Day 6 of the APAC North Division looked like:
- DWG KIA 7-4 Spear Gaming
- SANDBOX Gaming 8-6 CYCLOPS athlete gaming
- FAV gaming 8-7 REJECT
- Talon Esports 7-3 Fnatic
Play of the day: ShiN quad-kill in 2v4
Each and every round counted in FAV gaming's 8-7 win over REJECT.
FAV captain Shinji "ShiN" Funai saw his team go down to a 3v5 and 2v4 on the second-floor in the 11th round. His team was effectively staring down the barrel of match point and a regulation-time loss against a team that was challenging for a place at the Jönköping Major.
However, ShiN stuck to his positions and gunned down three REJECT players with his SMG-11, before finishing off the final one in an easy shotgun kill to secure match point himself. That play likely was the reason FAV eventually took the win entirely, albeit in overtime.
Player of the day: Yura
Naoki "Yura" Takamoto was undoubtedly the best player on the day, though he only secured a SiegeGG Rating of 1.46. Kim "Demic" Dae-yeong and Park "Woogiman" Jin-wook both had SiegeGG Ratings of 1.67, but achieved those results in one-sided victories.
Yura's 20 kills and three entry kills came at a frequency of 1.33 kills per round and the new FAV signing had an impact in 87 percent of the rounds played -- all but two of the 15 rounds. There is no doubt that without him, FAV would have lost.
Surprise of the day: FAV gaming
FAV were talk of the day on Wednesday, stunning everyone a second week in a row. They managed yet another 8-7 victory that knocked out another team out of contention for the Jönköping Major.
The week prior this win against REJECT, they managed a victory over DWG KIA by the same margin. While they struggled at the start of Stage 3, they are looking to stick the landing after having integrated their new signings from Fnatic.
It is unclear if this form is just a flash in the pan, hence why their second win was still surprising, but a win this week against Talon Esports would no longer classify as a surprising result.
Top moments of the day
Here's a quickfire rundown of other top moments in APAC North this week.
CAG and SANDBOX qualify for Jönköping Major
SANDBOX Gaming booked their place at the upcoming Six Jönköping Major after they beat CAG in overtime and FAV gaming beat REJECT 8-7. They followed CAG themselves, who qualified after REJECT failed to secure three points against FAV.
As a result, CAG have a total of 15 points and SANDBOX have 14 points. With REJECT at 10 points and only able to climb as high as 13 points on the final play day this coming week, both CAG and SANDBOX cannot be dislodged from the top two.
Fnatic lose despite 7-3 Entry K-D
Fnatic came into their matchup against Talon Esports in decent form against the lower to mid-table teams, though after a loss against SANDBOX Gaming. They seemed to have settled on an identity and were making things work with eight points from five play days -- including matches against CAG and DWG KIA.
They showed flashes of the same against Talon Esports, but failed to make a lasting impact despite getting the opening kill in seven of the 10 rounds played. The failure to convert cost Fnatic, who eventually lost 3-7.
No CAG player has a SiegeGG Rating below 1.00 or a negative Entry
CAG are in remarkable form right now. None of their players have a SiegeGG Rating or a negative Entry K-D. The worst player on paper is Takuma "SuzuC" Nakajima on the hard support role, with both a 1.00 Rating and an even Entry K-D at 3-3.
What could be a concern for them, however, is the fact that they only have seven defuser plants across their six games played. While that figure is clearly enough in APAC North, they may need a lot more work for the upcoming Major to do what they have never done before -- progress to the playoffs of an international event.