RLCS X: Winter Split (Week 3): Round-The-World Recap
With the Winter Split ramping up, Europe and North America kicking off their regionals, and The Grid in full swing, South America and Oceania took a back seat this week. However, that doesn't mean they didn't have any events. Rocket Street's second Prime Series and Midweek Mayhem, on top of RLOceania's final Masters event of 2020 brought us two days of intense competition ahead of each region's next Regional. Here's what went down.
South America - True Neutral falter as Ellevens push on
Yesterday was a hugely important evening, as True Neutral failed to reach the grand final for the second event in a row. Following four straight victories in the region, as well as almost qualifying for North America's WSOE Online III, a dismal finish in the second Prime Series and defeats to both Ellevens and Noble in last night's Midweek Mayhem has pushed the Fall Major champions out of the top two. Taking their place in second was Chromax, who pounced on the opportunity in the Prime Series as the former No Mercy side took four straight series on the second day of competition. A win over Ellevens was a huge victory for Felipe "repi" Pereira Chaves' side as they guaranteed themselves a spot in the first Grand Series.
In the Midweek Mayhem, Ellevens returned to the top thanks to back-to-back wins over Noble. It was another disappointing outing for True Neutral as, despite a strong lower bracket run (featuring a spectacular flip reset from Victor "Reysbull" Duran Parra), they ultimately lost the lower bracket final to Noble in a tense sweep. With just one Prime Series still to play, six teams (Ellevens, Chromax, True Neutral, Locusts, Noble esports, and PDHM) have each secured one of the Grand Series' 16 spots.
Oceania - Ground Zero pull out a masterful performance
The final RLOceania event of the year, Novembers RLO Masters Finals saw eight teams duke it out for their share of $2,000. Renegades headed into the event in fine form, having taken all three weekly events that they had participated in. However, Cameron "CJCJ" Johns and co. weren't ready for a surging Ground Zero side. With a regional victory already under their belts just a couple of weeks ago, Jonathan "Express" Slade, Luke "Amphis" Riddell, and star signing Daniel "Torsos" Parsons secured their position on top of the region by losing just four individual games across their four matchups.
Wins over Major champions Mindfreak, a surprising Canberra Havoc side fresh from upsetting Cringe Society in a sweep, and two wins over the seemingly-dominant Renegades meant that Ground Zero took home their first RLO masters event since the event's inauguration almost two months ago. With the second regional of the Winter Split starting this weekend, Ground Zero are on a tear and will be looking to continue their fine form as they aim to secure one of Oceania's two world championship spots.
That's it for this week, don't forget to stay tuned to GGRecon for all of your RLCS X content needs. We'll be back next week for more Oceanic and South American recapping as we reach the halfway stage of RLCS X's second split.
Images via Zeebo