Challengers EMEA Weekly Recap: All of the Action (Jan 19-24)

Jan 26, 2023

Looking to the present, however, below are all of the current standings for each region, alongside the highlights from each different league.

DACH: Evolution

Some unicorns may be cute and fluffy, but the Unicorns of Love are anything but. Tearing through their opponents they sit at the top of the leaderboard having dropped just one map. After taking down third-place rivals CGN Esports these horses are in full gallop, and it’s up to AEX-1 to try and halt their charge next week.

East: Surge

The early stages of East: Surge have seen Acend return to their former glory, beating out Zero Tenacity, Cyber Wolves Esports, and Anorthosis Famagusta Esports to claim their spot at the top of the table. Many teams are hot on their heels though, one of whom is ENTERPRISE Esports, the team that handed Acend their second loss. It’s been proven that champions can bleed, so Acend better watch out next week; their backs are well and truly marked.

France: Revolution

Following some stellar performances against JobLife and HEET this week, SBG has secured the top spot for now, with Mandatory looking to challenge them for the lead next week. Second place, however, is dominated by five different teams, all of which will be looking to break away from their competitors and emerge at the top end of the table. The pressure is on in week three, and we can’t wait to see some mind-blowing VALORANT as a result.

Italy: Rinascimento

And so Italy: Rinascimento finally begins! DSYRE and HMBLE are straight out of the gates, racing ahead of their competitors without dropping a single game in week one. HMBLE steamrolled the adorably named Axolotl Esports, while Outplayed met a similar fate at the hands of DSYRE. An explosive start to an exciting tournament, we can’t wait to see what the teams bring to week two - especially Axolotl Esports, because come on! Look at that little guy!

Northern Europe: Polaris

Retaining their spot at the top of the table, Apeks has continued to impress this week, easily sweeping aside FOKUS and Who Cars?, the latter of whom only managed to take one round on Ascent in map one, but took Apeks deep into overtime on Pearl to conclude the series. HSDIRR also evened the playing field between themselves and Les Petit Bouffons, who lost out during a back-and-forth series across Breeze and Icebox. Apeks and HSDIRR are set to clash next week in what is bound to be a close series.

Portugal: Tempest

Topping the table following yet another flawless week, SAW are emerging as one of Portugal: Tempest’s most threatening teams. Dunking on both Impulse Gaming Warriors and Panthers Esports, they remain the frontrunners where others have faltered. Next week, however, they go up against second-place squad EGN, who’ll be looking to give them a run for their money - and if their performance against Vikings Fourteen this week is anything to go by, they will. 

Spain: Rising

Bringing the fire to Spain, KPI Gaming has risen above its competitors, demolishing everything that has got in their way. Taking down Falcons in a fabled 13-0 to start the week, Movistar Riders then gave the team more of a run for their money, taking six rounds, but failing to really dent their armor. Next week, however, KPI Gaming face off against second-place squad Team Queso, who reached a 7 game win streak this week before losing to Falcons. Will they bounce back to slow KPI’s charge? We’ll have to wait and see.

Türkiye: Birlik

Another week, another dominant showing from Papara SuperMassive, who remain undefeated at the top of the table, largely a result of series MVP Efe ‘Elite’ Teber’s insane performance on German Sentinel Killjoy, whose utility came in clutch when locking down sites on both Fracture and Icebox. However, Papara SuperMassive is flanked by fellow flawless squads Fenerbahçe Esports and Fire Flux Esports, so going into next week the race remains as tight as ever.

MENA: Resilience

The MENA Challengers League will be starting on January 28th, stay tuned!