Gen.G Went 5-0 in Groups. Nongshim Beat Them Anyway.
Nongshim RedForce beat playoff favorite Gen.G 2-1 in the Pacific Stage 2 upper semis, their second win over a regional contender in as many days.
Yesterday I said I was done calling Nongshim's form a fluke after they beat Paper Rex. Today they beat Gen.G too, 2-1 in the Pacific Stage 2 upper bracket semis. Two contenders down in two days.
The Scoreline
Gen.G came in 5-0 in groups, the only team in the region that hadn't dropped a map series all stage. They still lost. Nongshim took Ascent 13-8, Gen.G answered on Summit 13-9, and the Sunset decider went the distance before Nongshim closed it out 13-11.
t3xture's Numbers Didn't Save Him
Gen.G's t3xture put up 70 kills across the three maps. That's a monster series by any measure and it didn't matter. I wrote basically the same thing about Vitality back in July: good individual numbers on a losing map usually mean you won your gunfights and lost everything else. Same story, different team.
Where This Leaves Everyone
Gen.G drops to the lower bracket, done being the safe pick in this region. Nongshim moves on to the Busan finals weekend to face Global Esports in the upper final, and they've already banked enough Championship Points to lock their spot at Champions Shanghai no matter how that game goes.
I Said I Was Done Calling It a Fluke
I meant it. This is a team that won Masters Santiago and just ran through the two best teams left in the Pacific back to back. Call it whatever you want. I'm calling it the best team in the region right now.