Flashpoint Season 3: Who’s Getting the RMR Points?

The third season of Flashpoint already brings along the first European RMR event of the year. The teams can play for vital and crucial Major qualification points. BIG are also part of the pack, but after their most recent events, their chances don’t look all that great.

At DreamHack Masters: Spring, the German team bombed out early on. While they did set themselves on top of FURIA, Heric and Vitality eventually brought them down. Even worse, Team Vitality had just signed a new player, who really hasn’t been able to show up so far.

VITALITY SIGN KYOJIN

Jayson “Kyojin” Nguyen Van arrives to the French team as a total newcomer. So far, he had only played for minor organizations. Even though he has shown quite a few promising moments, this level of play appears to be a little too much for him as of now. He absolutely wasn’t able to compete with Complexity. When the team later dispatched BIG, he still didn’t manage to progress past a negative rating.

Early on, Vitality will meet either Astralis or OG. The OG management has really struck gold in the form of Shahar “flameZ” Shushan. His explosive skill was readily apparent in just the first few matches. On top of that, he and Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen perfectly fit the team composition. For that reason, they have already put up great results and qualified for IEM Summer. Even in their first official debut at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown, they managed to strike down Astralis. But a lot has changed on the Danish camp, so a repeat victory might not be on the cards anymore.

ASTRALIS FIELDING BUBZKJI

If only Astralis had put the young Dane onto the starting lineup sooner! His appearances until now were few and far between, but now that he is a part of the starting lineup, he is putting up a fantastic show. He managed to ramp up a 1.34 rating against Extra Salt, putting every other player on the server to shame. Playing versus Complexity, he secured 30 and 28 kills each. His overtime peformance was one of the deciding factors for Astralis taking the victory home in the end.

So the departure of Nicolai “device” Reedtz doesn’t seem to have left a scar as big as anticipated. Now, it stands to question how deep the Danes’ tactical pool really is. Did Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander have enough time to make victories against the likes of Natus Vincere possible? So far, they haven’t been able to beat Heroic, but maybe Astralis haven’t shown their full potential just yet.

DEVICE AT NIP

The Ninjas in Pyjamas didn’t partake in DreamHack Masters. So Flashpoint Season 3 will be their grand debut, for which expectations will surely be high. Over the last few years, device learnt the Swedish language, but this environment will still be new for him. In comparison to Astralis, he has to deal with a much looser team dynamic, which is sure to require some adjustments from him.

We shouldn’t expect device to perform on the first day the way he used to play during peak performance times. However, his freeing from the quite strict and managed reins of gla1ve could also unleash him individually. While their opening match versus Anonymo should still be an easy time given the circumstances, FunPlus Phoenix will probably be next in line.

HEROIC, BUT NO GAMBIT

Finally, the favorites of past events can show up without having their nemesis breathing down their necks. At ESL Pro League, Heroic first rose to victory in a grueling Best-of-Five, but Gambit later found revenge at the BLAST Premier: Spring Showdown. But since the CIS team is obviously playing the CIS RMR event, Heroic are finally free. So far, none of the other teams have managed to hold a candle to them.

They’re potentially facing G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, and FunPlus Phoenix in the bracket. In recent time, none of these teams proved to be an issue for Heroic, but G2 and FPX have gained strength these past few weeks. FPX surprisingly mounted a victory over G2 to qualify for IEM Summer, whereas G2 set themselves on top of the Spring Showdown. Later, they reached the DreamHack Masters playoffs via the Lower Bracket.

If Heroic manage to unleash the same kind of prowess they showed at their last three events, this side of the bracket should prove to be no issue. Even if they don’t manage to make first place at Flashpoint Season 3, they will secure some vital RMR points at the very least. After all, every placement awards points and each team will aim to place decently high.