Nongshim RedForce Went From EWC Giant-Killer to 0-2 in a Week
Ten days after eliminating Team Vitality at EWC, Nongshim RedForce opened Pacific Stage 2 by losing both of its week one matches.
Ten days ago, Nongshim RedForce looked like the scariest team left standing at EWC, sending Vitality home 2-1 in the quarterfinal. This week, Pacific Stage 2 group play opened and the reigning Masters Santiago champs went 0-2.
Two Losses, Same Pattern
Full Sense took them down first, 2-1. Full Sense opened on Haven and buried them 13-3, Nongshim clawed back Split 13-11, and Full Sense closed it out 13-8 on Ascent. Two days later, Gen.G beat them again, 2-1. Same result, different opponent, same week.
What Actually Changed
Nothing about the Vitality series was a fluke. I said as much when it happened: Nongshim won the actual objective while Vitality's stars padded stat lines on a losing map. That take still holds. But group stage round robin doesn't care about your last bracket. Full Sense and Gen.G aren't Vitality. They're teams that know exactly how Nongshim wants to play and had a week to prep for it, and Nongshim hasn't found an answer for playing without the element of surprise.
Where I Land
Group stage in the Pacific is long, and 0-2 in week one isn't a death sentence. Plenty of playoff teams have started worse. But the version of Nongshim that steamrolled Vitality's back line hasn't shown up since. If EWC was the ceiling, this week was the reminder that no team gets to live at the ceiling full time. They need a result against a real contender before I start worrying, and right now the standings say they haven't gotten one.