BLAST Twitch Invitational: G2 & FPX Win Openers

In the BLAST Twitch Invitational, G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix came out on top of their opening matches. Their opponents, NiP and Team Liquid, will now have to fight for their tournament lives.

G2 AND FPX GO ON TO THE WINNERS’ MATCH

Very few teams (if any) can claim to have won all official events for an esports title. However, G2 Esports have been the victors in every single European IGNITION Series tournament. With regards to this RIOT-sanctioned event circuit, the other teams have come out empty handed so far. And right now it looks as though G2 are on track for yet another victory.

In their Opening Match versus the Ninjas in Pyjamas, they claimed a rather quick victory. On Ascent, G2 played out a near-perfect defense and only let 2 rounds slip past them. The remaining few rounds were quickly gathered on the offense. On Haven, the Ninjas finally managed to show some resistance and tied the score 6-6 at halftime. But as G2 got back on the defensive side, they ran away with the rounds once again. Despite the heroics of Damien “HyP” Souville, the two maps went to G2 in 13-6 and 13-7 fashion.

PunPlus Phoenix managed to present themselves with similar dominance in their match. Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow secured 38 kills on Brimstone in this rather short game. In picking Split, Team Liquid had committed a huge mistake. After the first half, FPX were already in the lead with 9 rounds total. Despite Liquid performing much better on the defense, the round deficit was much too large. On Bind, they were met with a similar fate. FPX’s offense was led by Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky. With his Sova pick, he managed to gather crucial intel and to stack a sizeable body count for his team as well. On the defense, it was once again ANGE1 and his Brimstone who made the difference. With 13-7 and 13-8 wins, they secured their ticket to the Winners’ Match.

TODAY: G2 VS. FPX

Both teams have managed themselves beautifully in their Opening Matches. But Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas and his boys have the momentum and the history behind them to really put pressure on FPX. Obviously, this isn’t the first time that these teams have met and so far, G2 have come out on top in every instance. Their defense seems to be impenetrable, but of course NiP haven’t had the right tools to really make them sweat anyways. In FunPlus Phoenix, they certainly will encounter a much stronger opponent, one who will make sure that these 10-2 halves won’t happen again.

First, we’ll have the opportunity to watch the Elimination Match between Liquid and NiP. With regards to their recent performance, the Ninjas in Pyjamas definitely have a tall task ahead. Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and his players are more in tune and certainly more capable individually. One of these teams will have to exit the BLAST Twitch Invitational tomorrow. Later, we’ll finally see G2 and FPX clash for a spot in the Grand Finals.