The North American team continue to show why they deserve to be at the top of the leader board.
As the Group stages wind down as the Champions Istanbul transitions into the Playoffs stage, we see more stories pop up in matches between big names. XSET, the number two team in North America met up with the top team in EMEA, FunPlus Phoenix to see who the first team from Group C will be to go into Playoffs.
The match started with Pearl, where the prowess of both teams was clearly shown as both teams drew by the end of the first half. XSET however clearly had an ace up their sleeves as in the second half, they brutally decimated the FPX roster as they immediately overcame the defences of FPX from the start and ended the game by round 20 with a score of 13-7.
FPX, spurred by the loss they saw on the first map, turned aggressors as they dismantled the carefully created fortifications made by XSET in Fracture to lead the first half by four points. That winning momentum was carried over to the second half as they quickly ended the map by round 17, winning with a score of 13-4.
The winds of change blew the other way in the last map, Breeze. XSET started strong with a couple of wins and then continued to win until the end of the first half, leaving the Europeans in the dust with a 10-point lead. FPX took offence to this and tried to catch up in the second half, but with only needing two wins, XSET ended the game by round 18.
With this, XSET became the fourth team to head into the Playoffs, while FPX will be fighting KRÜ Esports to see which of them will be the second team from Group C to head into the Playoffs.
VCT Champions Istanbul is happening from 31 August until 18 September in Istanbul, with the Playoffs set to be played in front of a live audience at Volkswagen Arena from 9 September 2022.
