The second day of the Six Major Raleigh saw every APAC team eliminated from the tournament. Fnatic, CYCLOPS athlete gaming, and NORA-Rengo have all fallen 0-2 to their respective opponents.
Rogue defeated CYCLOPS rather handily in the first elimination match of the day. Both maps in the best-of-three went Rogue’s way by a margin of at least four rounds. Neither Bank or ClubHouse could help CYCLOPS in their matchup and as a result, Rogue takes the slot in the decider matchup with Team Secret.
The fan-favorite and ANZ powerhouse Fnatic took a massively disappointing 0-2 loss to FaZe Clan on the same exact maps as CYCLOPS. While the matchup on Bank looked promising for Fnatic due to an early lead, FaZe struck back and took the match in overtime. From there, Fnatic failed to recover and look unrecognizable when compared against their regular-season form. FaZe just ran the show for the day.
The final nail in the coffin for the APAC division was NORA-Rengo’s tough break against TSM. Given that NORA’s Tsukasa “Merieux” Asano had been hospitalized due to illness just a day ago, it’s not a shock that the team wasn’t able to string a win together. Team owner and coach Yasuhiro “kizoku” Nishi had to fill in for Merieux during the previous match against MIBR, which NORA ultimately lost. Merieux returned for today’s matchup, but it’s safe to say the team was not performing at 100 percent.
It’s a difficult situation for the APAC division. There is a consistent flow of talent coming from the region, and yet, at international LAN, the division always seems to pull the short straw. Whether it’s just rough matchups, players being absent, or having to play fellow APAC teams in the first match of an international LAN, the deck is always somewhat stacked against the APAC division.
With the better part of the week to go, the Six Major Raleigh is far from over. Matches pick back up tomorrow, Aug 14. Fans can catch the official broadcast here.
