The inseparable qualifiers and upsets

APAC Qualifiers & Upsets are inseparable - this month was no different. 

After last month's craziness in both the qualifiers and the finals, you would think that the traditional top teams of APAC would have a chance to get a breather this time. You would be wrong. This month, 3/8 teams did not qualify in March, with Octopus Primes and HOW missing out, whilst Gohan Oishi disbanded. But now, it's a chance for NAVI, coco loco, and 3R Gaming to make up for lost time and gain back ground that they lost by not qualifying previously. They'll need a deep run, as the headstart the other teams have is already sizeable, but the skill level of these players cannot be doubted.

Qualified Teams:

1) Crazy Raccoon | Moya, Tensai, sitetampo, Relyh (C) 

We start off with Crazy Raccoon sweeping their competition till the final round of the Upper Bracket where they finally meet their match. With their fresh roster, NAVI pulled off a 2-0 victory over the APAC Titans, knocking them down into the lower bracket where they faced Feasible Gaming. The Giants dropped a set but managed to reverse sweep their way into the Monthly Finals despite multiple close calls.

2) Natus Vincere | Achapi, Levi, Sizuku, Rin Hallward (M)

NAVI were looking dominant this month in qualifiers with Sizuku joining the team. They breezed their way through the upper bracket, defeating the 2 time world champions at Crazy Raccoon and didn't drop a single set in their run. This is their chance to catch up with the competition to shake the leaderboards up, as they look to make international tournaments.

3) Never Back Down | Melty, Milkreo, Shu

NBD had a strong showing during qualifiers, defeating some strong teams and clutching a double matchpoint victory vs F/A Nai Dug in the final round to secure their Upper Bracket qualification spot in monthlies. They have shown good promise so far in the first two months, and have proved to be capable of reaching top spots. Can they continue their good form into Monthly Finals?

4) Team S1 | Chovy, Gizaline, Stardragon, TERI, AarenSis (C)

With a few roster changes, TS1 stepped up their game, sweeping their way through the initial rounds. They then found themselves up against last month's Grand Finalists - Angelic. A clean 2-0 victory over both Coco Loco and AGC punched their tickets to the monthly finals. Without dropping a single set or game throughout the qualifiers S1 is looking dominant, but will that be enough to take on Crazy Raccoon? 

5) Revenant Esports | Ken-G, Menmi, Sergeant Clash, Kizuki (A)

A comfortable bracket and a strong team pair well together. With back-to-back 2-0s, they finally faced 3R Gaming in the qualifying round but managed to keep their win-streak alive with another 2-0 and secured their position in the Monthly Finals from the upper bracket. They now have a chance at revenge against Angelic in their quarter-finals matchup.

6) Angelic | Kanga, Megumin, Mizy, Soda

After a strong performance last month, they were looking to carry the momentum forward going into qualifiers, which they did until the final round before they dropped the ball. After some rough matches, they found themselves in the lower bracket having lost 0-2 to the new S1 roster. In the lower bracket they, once again lost the first set vs HOW, but refused to give up. They persevered against the odds and reverse swept their way into the finals despite being 1 game away from getting eliminated in the qualifiers. With their upcoming match vs Revenant, it's time for them to step up their game. 

7) coco loco | Hiroshii, Response, x9Jay

This SEA roster missed the first Monthly Finals, so the stakes in these qualifiers were pretty high for them. They got knocked down into the lower bracket by Team S1. Down in the lower bracket, they had a close call with team Over Power, taking them to the 3rd set. They faced F/A Nai Dug in the final round of the Lower Bracket. While at the verge of losing on matchpoint, they made a huge comeback to reverse sweep the game, clutch the next set and the match thereby securing their position in the April Monthly Finals. 

8) 3R Gaming | I see, Mameshi, Neko, Yume

With a good bracket and a clean 2-0 victory over Feasible Gaming, 3RG faced Revenant Esports in the final round of upper bracket. After a tough defeat they fought their way through the lower bracket to secure their Monthly Finals spot, where they now face NAVI. Both of these teams are qualifying for the first time this year and looking to close the gap between them and the LCQ and WF qualification spots. There is also a grudge match for I see, who left the Ukrainian org just a few weeks ago, and for sure will be looking to get a win over them.