With the final day of the M3 World Championships group stages upon us, the last four teams are looking to take their place in the playoffs.
After three days of epic group stage action from the M3 World Championships, which has seen some amazing plays, super teamfights, and massive upsets, it was time for the group stages to come to an end, as Group D would see its culmination today. With the likes of RRQ Hoshi, Team SMG, RSG SG, and GX Squad to cause some chaos, Group D was set to be the perfect ending to the group stages of the event.
Alberttt punches in the RRQ victory
First up today would be the champions of MPL MY, Team SMG, taking on the powerful Indonesia MPL runners up, RRQ Hoshi. After Onic Esports were surprisingly dropped into the lower bracket, RRQ were left to pick up the ID flag – and they did so with gusto today. While the early game period was a little slow, RRQ were able to build up a massive head of steam, especially with a Paquito jungle from Alberttt. While Sasa made moves for SMG, outplaying his opponents at time, a double Maniac for Alberttt would be all that was needed for RRQ to secure their first victory.
RSG SG start out strong
The next matchup of the day would see a home squad, RSG SG, taking on the newcomers from the M3 Arabia Major, GX Squad. Although not the winners, or even the runners up of the event, GX Squad had a chance to maybe cause a few upsets in Group D. However, that definitely was not the case, as the team were unable to really gain any footing against a roster such as RSG, who simply pummeled them into submission, taking a quick victory.
SMG is cursed by Pacquito again
Having taken down GX Squad, RSG were back on the stage again, having to now fight against SMG, who they had already seen lose their opening match. For the Malaysians, it was clear that RSG were looking to give them some PTSD as they went with a jungle Paquito for ly4ly4ly4, reminding them of Albertssss destruction of them earlier in the day. While SMG had some fantastic moments in the early game, it got to a point where they could no longer handle the RSG lineup, as Babycake’s Clint, as well as the Paquito, dominated – leaving SMG at a 0-2, as they look towards their final series later today.
Alberttt is unkillable
GX Squad were up again, this time having to battle RRQ, a team who already looked set to take Group D by storm. Although there were some fancy moves made by GX, such as Yato with a brilliant Flameshot snipe, they really had no chance against RRQ in the end. It took a little over ten-minutes, with Alberttt again on the front line with his Aamon dismantling his opponent’s lineup, ending with 14/0/5. For GX Squad, they will have one more chance to cause an upset in this group – but the lower bracket is where they will land up for the playoffs.
GX Squad’s struggles
The two teams without wins would be the penultimate matchup for the M3 World Championships group stage, as Team SMG and GX Squad went in search of a victory. Although the game would not matter in the greater scheme of things, as both teams were definitely going into the lower bracket, a win could get either team on track moving forward. GX Squad were still struggling to really find any real way to get into their games, especially against teams which far more experience. SMG were relentless, not allowing their opponent any space to maneuver around the map – taking their first victory in their group.
The first Savage of M3
One final matchup remained for the day and the group stage of M3, with the two unbeaten teams going head-to-head – RSG SG versus RRQ Hoshi. Both teams had been superb in their earlier games, dominating their opponents across the board, while controlling the map constantly. For Alberttt, in his two games so far today, had claimed 25 kills and not died once – so this would be a massive game for him alone. It was once again the Alberttt show, this time on a Roger, as he pounced from multi-kill to multi-kill, ripping RSG apart, eventually grabbing a SAVAGE as RRQ took the top seed spot in Group D.
With that, the group stage of the M3 World Championships comes to an end, with Group D seeing RRQ Hoshi and RSG SG taking the upper bracket positions, while GX Squad and Team SMG grab the lower bracket spots. We now go into a day break, as the teams all get themselves ready for the playoffs, where eliminations are looming and the trophy awaits those that can push through.
