M2 World Championship Day 3 recap: RSG, Unique, DreamMax, and Impunity drop out
The group stage of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M2 World Championship has concluded.
The tournament’s first round of eliminations saw RSG, Unique Deus Vult, DreamMax, and Impunity KH get sent home early, while 10S Gaming Frost, Alter Ego, Todak, and EVOS SG survive to make it to the playoffs.
Read on for a recap of all the action in day three of M2:
Match 1: 10S Gaming Frost 2-1 RSG
The third day of the M2 World Championship began with arguably the best match of the tournament thus far, as Japanese team 10S Gaming Frost upset Singaporean squad RSG 2-1 to stay alive.
RSG started the series strong with a perfect game, winning in just under 15 minutes with a clean 10-0 kill score. However, 10S Gaming Frost struck back hard in game two, taking the win in another 15-minute slugfest with a 17-7 kill advantage and forcing the series to a deciding game three.
With their tournament lives on the line, 10S Gaming Frost came out swinging once again in the decider, taking an 11-2 kill lead by the 7-minute mark. While RSG was able to mount a valiant defence, they eventually succumbed to the onslaught from their Japanese opponents after 16 minutes of action to become the first team to be eliminated from M2 in front of their home crowd.
Match 2: Alter Ego 2-0 Unique Deus Vult
In the second match of the day, Alter Ego bounced back from their 2-0 loss to rivals Bren Esports in day two by dominating Russian squad Unique Deus Vult, 2-0, and eliminating them from the tournament.
Both teams kicked off the series by spending the entire early game brawling, though Alter Ego dominated those clashes to take an easy 12-minute victory with a 21-6 kill lead.
Unique Deus Vult put up a better fight in game two as they challenged their opponents early once again, but Alter Ego’s teamfight expertise once again allowed them to pull ahead.
After another 12-minute beatdown, Alter Ego was able to eliminate Unique Deus Vult from the tournament and keep their championship hopes alive.
Match 3: Todak 2-1 DreamMax
Up next was arguably the most intense series of the tournament thus far as Brazilian team DreamMax almost pulled off an upset over MPL MY/SG champions Todak, who outlasted their opponents in a hard-fought 2-1 series to make it to the playoffs.
Game one saw Todak in control for much of the game, but a costly over-extension by the Malaysian squad was punished and allowed DreamMax to steal what looked like an easy win away after 19 minutes.
In game two, both teams brawled early with neither gaining the advantage until the 9-minute mark, when Todak won a huge fight to pull ahead and tie up the series with a 15-minute win and an 18-10 kill lead.
Game three was definitely one of the craziest games of the tournament thus far.
DreamMax started off looking dominant, leading in kills 12-4 by the 9-minute mark to give them the confidence to push.
However, Todak pulled off some masterful defences to equalize by 13 minutes. With the game and the tournament lives of both teams on the line, a huge clash for control of the Luminous Lord ensued at the 16-minute mark.
Todak showed the resilience of champions as they won that fight and complete the comeback to stay alive at M2.
Match 4: EVOS SG 0-0 Impunity KH
The last series of the day saw the last remaining home team, EVOS SG, take on Cambodian squad Impunity KH, with the Singaporeans living to fight another day in front of their home crowd after a 2-0 sweep over their opponents.
EVOS SG had a strong start in game one, leading in kills 8-3 by the 7-minute mark. Despite a stout defense from Impunity KH against their opponents’ push, EVOS SG powered through to take a 15-minute victory with a 20-14 kill lead.
Game two started off with EVOS SG in control once again, doubling their opponents’ kills 12-6 after 7 minutes.
Impunity KH showed signs of life at the 10-minute mark by winning a big fight and stealing Lord, but EVOS SG was still able to close them out after 14 minutes to secure the last spot in the playoffs.
What’s to come
With the conclusion of the group stage, there will be a one-day break on Thursday (21 January) to give the remaining teams time to prepare for the playoffs, which start Friday (22 January).
The top teams from the group stage — Bren Esports, Omega Esports, RRQ Hoshi, and Burmese Ghouls — will start the playoffs from the Upper Bracket. Bren Esports will take on Burmese Ghouls while Omega Esports will face off against RRQ Hoshi.
The winners of the first round of Upper Bracket matches will meet in the best-of-five Upper Bracket Final for the first spot in the Grand Finals, while the losers will drop to the second round of the Lower Bracket.
Meanwhile, 10S Gaming Frost, Alter Ego, Todak, and EVOS SG will start the playoffs from the Lower Bracket, where a loss means they will be eliminated from the tournament.
10S Gaming Frost will take on Alter Ego while Todak will face off against EVOS SG. The winners of the first round of Lower Bracket matches will advance to the second round, where the losers of the first round of Upper Bracket matches await.
To find out all that happened in the group stage, check out our recaps for day one and day two of M2.
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.
