VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Group A Recap

The first half of VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Week 1 has come to an end with the conclusion of three Group A games. Here’s a detailed recap of each matchup in the event.

IGZIST vs FENNEL

Despite being relatively new to the scene, IGZIST had managed to earn the support of several thousand Japanese fans after their performance at VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Week 1 - Open Qualifier where the new signee, Kim "Lakia" Jong-min, proved his worth by earning a 1.30 rating and 268 ACS in the final against DetonatioN FocusMe. FENNEL run in the qualifiers wasn’t short of phenomenal either, as they managed to defeat all members of their respective group without dropping a single map.

Proceedings began on Breeze where IGZIST decided to take the initial charge and win the first couple of rounds. Their streak was soon cut short by FENNEL, who put up some rounds of their own on the scoreboard. The momentum continued to shift sides equally until halftime where both teams tied up at 6-6. Winning the first map would give either team the upper hand in the matchup; so, both teams increased the aggressiveness of their play. However, FENNEL’s offense was no match for IGZIST brick-like defense as the ensuing seven rounds went to the latter team and propelled their lead in the matchup to 1-0.

Haven, being IGZIST pick, wasn’t the best news for FENNEL, who desperately needed a map to stay in the matchup. After the initial half on Haven, FENNEL’s chances reduced significantly as IGZIST was able to control momentum for eight of the twelve rounds. Instead of stressing out on their current position and the subsequent consequences, FENNEL’s roster was able to channel their desire for vengeance through their gameplay and managed to reach 13 rounds by restricting IGZIST to only two rounds in the second half, which resulted in a final score of 13-10. With the matchup being tied at 1-1, both teams had an equal chance at winning. IGZIST, however, seemed to be even more determined after poor performance in the second half of Haven. Fracture, the decider map, had a similar start with IGZIST taking the momentum early on and taking 8 rounds to FENNEL’s 4 by halftime. The teams switched between Defense and Offense, and the second half witnessed IGZIST taking five back-to-back rounds to win the map 13-4, as well as the matchup.

REJECT vs CNCI BLUE BEES

With Shogo "takej" Takemori and Oshiro "Reita" Ryu, former members of ZETA DIVISION joining the REJECT, they were the favorites in the matchup but BLUE BEES’s demonstration of their abilities in the qualifiers couldn’t be easily disregarded either as even SCARZ, their finals opponent, couldn’t take more than a collective of 15 rounds over two maps and were forced to surrender the Main Event spot.

CNCI BLUE BEES were fortunate to start the matchup on Split, their map pick. However, REJECT’s formidable defense made it difficult for them to capitalize on this opportunity and they had to settle for a 6-6 score by halftime. Now that the roles were switched, CNCI BLUE BEES had a chance to show their defensive capabilities and they did so for seven consecutive rounds to finish the map 13-6.

Losing a map 13-6 was far from the optimal performance REJECT would’ve wanted, and they decided to turn the tables on the matchup starting with Breeze. Even though they ended up winning the map, CNCI BLUE BEES came extremely close to forcing overtime with a tied first half and an 11-11 score by round 23. One more round could’ve been enough to force overtime and give them a renewed chance at winning.

Haven was selected as the host for the final map, and REJECT decided to finally let loose. The first half was entirely dominated by them with a 10-2 score at halftime. They were three rounds away from winning the matchup, but CNCI BLUE BEES weren’t planning on giving up without a fight as they managed to add five additional rounds to their score before the map could end at a 13-7 score in REJECT’s favor.

IGZIST vs REJECT

After winning their respective matchups, IGZIST and REJECT were matched up in the final match of Group A with a VCT 2022 - Japan - Stage 1 - Challengers Playoffs spot being at the line. If the hype surrounding the matchup wasn’t already enough, the high stakes further elevated the audience’s excitement.

The matchup began on Haven with IGZIST on defense. REJECT managed to take the first couple of rounds and seemingly remained in control of the momentum. However, to their dismay, these two rounds ended up being their only score at halftime as IGZIST was able to control the vulnerabilities on it defense and take 10 subsequent rounds. A 10-2 lead almost guarantees a win, but REJECT was able to delay the inevitable for quite a few rounds and set up a 4-round streak of their own in the second half finishing the map on a 13-6 score.

REJECT couldn’t let the preceding performance decrease their morale and took a page out of FENNEL’s book in their matchup against IGZIST, where they were able to win the second map despite being down 8-4 in the first half. REJECT added a little twist of their own by not allowing IGZIST to establish a streak at any point during the entire map. They had realized that preventing IGZIST from developing momentum was the best counter. From the pistol rounds itself they clung firmly onto the map’s momentum and directed it through majority of the first half finishing with a score of 10-2 at halftime and taking the ensuing three rounds to limit IGZIST overall score to 2.

IGZIST’s loss on Bind was being attributed to the map pick advantage REJECT had, which made the latter more determined to win this matchup and secure the Challengers Playoff spot. With a 9-3 score in the first half, it seemed that REJECT had figured out IGZIST’s weakness and were able to exploit it repeatedly. A 9-3 score might seem demoralizing but there have been several teams who have made a comeback and IGZIST had the potential to do so, especially being on defense. Nonetheless, they were only able to take a single round and faced a heavy loss against REJECT courtesy of Shogo "takej" Takemori with a mind-blowing 1.66 Rating and 331 ACS in the matchup.