On the 28th of May 2022, WYLDE took part in the open qualifier for the upcoming Gamers Without Borders charity event where we were pitched against 15 other European teams from all tiers of competition in a bid to qualify for the European Finals which would take place the following week.
Throughout the qualifier, WYLDE showed why they are considered one of the favourites to make it to Challenger League 22 and get the promotion to European League for the 2023 season! Coming up against the roster that was runner up at Six Invitational 22, as well as NPL table-toppers Victus, fan favorites Viperio 86 and Mkers, we knew it was going to be a tough fight to secure our spot in the European Finals but with the Tier 1 firepower of AceeZ and Korey, combined with the starpower of Jay and Gisela, and the brain of in-game leader BZ, the team blew through the competition to secure their spot alongside EUL Stage 1 winners Heroic, and the former team of AceeZ and Korey, Rogue.
The opening day saw us matched against the highest seed – Heroic. Banter was exchanged over social media and the talent on the desk voiced their expectation that the EUL sides were poised to steam-roll the national leagues teams that had come through the open qualifiers, but nobody was ready for what came next.
Kafe was the opening map on the main broadcast – WYLDE vs Heroic on Heroic’s own pick. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, WYLDE bagged the first defending round, holding the site against a very quick execute from Heroic, who quickly answered back by taking the following round on their attack.
Heroic might have underestimated what life is like on the WYLDE side as they were only able to secure 2 rounds on each half on their own map pick, meaning WYLDE stole it away with a 7 – 4 score line. Oregon was up next, and both teams went blow for blow, taking 3 rounds each on both attack and defence, forcing us to go to Overtime, but it wasn’t meant to be as Heroic took that with a 2 – 1 score line. The final map of Clubhouse felt like a bit of Déjà vu with Heroic only managing to pull 2 rounds on each half out of the bag and eventually falling to WYLDE 7 – 4 and a 2 – 1 map score, meaning Heroic would need a heroic run through the lower bracket!
The next day subverted everyone’s expectations as it wasn’t Rogue, but Victus that met us in the second round of the upper bracket and once again it was Kafe to kick us off! The analyst on the side of Victus had clearly been doing their homework as they took our map pick away from us, but we instantly answered back by securing Oregon 7 – 3, giving us a nail-biting 3rd map on the recent competitive addition of Skyscraper! Up first was defence for WYLDE, and by the accounts of the casters, it was shaky, securing an even half of 3 – 3 on what most were calling a defender sided map, but opinions were going to change after we tore through Victus’s defenders to bag the map 7 – 4 and the series 2 – 1, securing our spot in the GRAND FINALS!
The following day, we watched with bated breath as the lower bracket finals took place. A rematch between Victus and Rogue, who had eliminated Heroic the day before! The match could not have been closer! Both teams traded maps to start with, with Rogue taking an Overtime win on Chalet, and Victus barking back with an OT win on Border, leaving only Skyscraper, which once again saw a 3 – 3 half to kick things off but it was Rogue who managed to take the W and lock themselves into the grand finals where WYLDE was waiting with a 1 map advantage!
Championship Sunday. Confidence was high in the air and both teams played into the AceeZ and Korey revenge arc across social media. The former Rogue duo were brimming with confidence that they were going to show the enemies they used to call friends that they still had it and could bring a new team of rookies to the top!
The day kicked off with Border. WYLDE were in the driver seat from the get-go taking their attack with a dominant 4 – 2 split, and closing out the map to lead the series with a 2 map lead. The EUL behemoths on the opposing side answered right back, taking Clubhouse 7 – 5 and proceeded to carry their momentum into the 3rd map of Skyscraper where they DOMINATED the first half defence. WYLDE were able to show that the pressure doesn’t faze them, and the mountain in front of them wasn’t going to be their downfall. We stepped into our defence, only to tell Rogue that anything they could do, we could do better. Swatting away their attacks with ease, with Korey and AceeZ both turning back the clocks to double up for an incredible 2 v 4 clutch!
There's no way @AceeZ & @koreyr6s won that round! 😱 This is the revenge tour indeed! pic.twitter.com/s9lUhqOtVt
— Gamers Without Borders (@gwbps) June 5, 2022
All five members of WYLDE stepped up to bring the map to yet another overtime. On our first attack, we’d primed ourselves to take the round, finding two opening picks but it was Rogue’s latest signing, Spoit, who would shut us down. With no information on the flank, he was able to take down 3 and put Rogue on yet another match point, of which they’d already had 3 in this map. Looking down the barrel of defeat once again, WYLDE persevered. Not only taking our defensive round, but DOMINATING our attacking side too, closing out the game with a near-flawless round, securing WYLDE’s spot in the Global Finals in August and a $250,000 donation to Unicef!