Yesterday in Brazil the Chiefs Esports Club began their campaign towards the League of Legends World Championship. But before they get there they will have to prove themselves at the International Wildcard Qualifiers (IWCQ) against the seven other hungry teams who are each domestic champions. As of now, no team from the Oceanic region has ever qualified for the World Championships. The Chiefs now have a chance to make esports history if they can place in the top two at this tournament stamping their ticket to Worlds.
In order of qualification, the teams competing are:
- INTZ e-Sports representing Brazil
- Kaos Latin Gamers representing Latin America North
- Rampage representing Japan
- Dark Passage representing Turkey
- The Chiefs eSports Club representing Oceania
- Albus NoX Luna representing the Commonwealth of Independent States
- Saigon Jokers representing South-East Asia
- Lyon Gaming representing Latin America South
With competitive roots similar to our own, teams that won their local leagues in Brazil, Japan, Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), South-East Asia, as well as Latin America North and South (often abbreviated to LAN and LAS respectively) will be represented at the International Wildcard Qualifiers.
The tournament’s group stage, a round-robin began yesterday morning at 6 AM AEST at Riot Games Brazil’s CBLoL Studio in São Paulo. In game two of the day, the Chiefs faced Russian rivals, Albus NoX Luna — after following through with an overzealous jungle invade call four minutes in the Chiefs dropped four kills for one, eventually trading back the buff Samuel “Spookz” Broadley had taken from jungle opponent Alexander “Stejos” Glazkov. After this disastrous start, there was little the Chiefs lineup could do against the barrage of harass of Kirill “Likkrit” Malofeyev’s support Brand, a pick that is largely unique to the CIS region.
Despite this disappointing start, the Chiefs have six more matches over the next five days to contend for the top four positions. The top four teams will move onto the playoff bracket which will be played at the Ópera de Arame in Curitiba.
Currently, the standings are*:
1. Albus NoX Luna 1-0
1. Dark Passage 1-0
1. Lyon Gaming 1-0
1. Rampage 1-0
5. INTZ e-Sports 1-1
6. Saigon Jokers 0-1
6. The Chiefs eSports Club 0-1
8. Kaos Latin Gamers 0-2
The International Wildcard Qualifier will begin at 6 AM AEST every day until Tuesday, August 30. Today’s set of matchups will begin with a clash between two teams sharing first place, Albus NoX Luna and Rampage. The Chiefs will face Kaos Latin Gamers and the Saigon Jokers later on during day two, the matches are scheduled for 7 AM and 10 AM respectively. You can stream the games live through LoL Esports official stream page. More information, scheduling details and VODs of previous games can be found on the official IWCQ 2016 page.
*Please note that both INTZ e-Sports and Kaos Latin Gamers have played one more game than the rest of the teams on day one.
