WYLDE Top Group C at Challenger League 2022

Oct 25, 2022

Oct 23rd. 16 of be best upcoming European rosters entered Challenger League 2022, all with the goal of proving they have what it takes to play alongside the best of the best in the coveted European League.

With so many familiar faces competing, including Jesse Lingard’s Jlingz and David De Gea’s Rebels, WYLDE entered Challenger League with confidence, fully intent on repeating our success at Gamers 8 earlier this year.

Being placed in Group C, along with French League side Acend, NPL and fan favorite Viperio 86, as well as an unsigned team from NPL, playing under the name Jobseekers, it had been dubbed the Group of Death by most analysts. The first week of play commenced with us taking on the French side, who put up an incredible fight, but WYLDE were able to take the win in Overtime, securing our first win of the tournament, with a massive showing from the youngster, Jay, putting up an impressive 1.4 rating!

Following the high of our first win, came an unknown, the unsigned team of Jobseekers, who made it to Challenger League by the skin of their teeth due to last year’s runner up not registering a roster in time for this year. Jobseekers proved they deserved to be there just as much as anyone else, and handed WYLDE our first and only reality check of the groups after their shutout victory against Viperio 86 the previous day.

Play day 3 saw a rivalry that everyone has come to love, WYLDE vs Viperio 86. The NPL side had been looking underwhelming thus far with losses to Acend and Jobseekers in their first 2 games, but they came into the match against WYLDE with their heads high and hungry for victory. Viperio were so close to securing their first points, but today wasn’t their day. With 5 rounds back to back, WYLDE snatched away victory and walked away with the win.

The mid point of the groups gave the players a 5 day break to sit down, go through their games and figure out what needed to be done to step up and reach the next step, and step up they did. Our first match was a rematch of the final game in the previous weekend, and we continued the trend, winning 7 rounds back to back to take the match 7 – 0, a 12 round win streak total! Jobseekers were next, and they managed to put up better numbers than Viperio, but had to sweat for every inch they got from WYLDE! A close 7 – 4 win over Jobseekers moved us to the top of the group by the narrowest of margins, and our final game vs Acend would seal our fate. 

With the current standings, the winner of this game was guaranteed to advance to the playoffs of Challenger League 2022 where they would meet leaders from the other groups, and the games would only get harder. From the get-go, it was a barn burner. Both teams proving they have what it takes to move to the next stage, and at the half, WYLDE were leading by 2 rounds and looked clear to take the win. Acend had other plans though. Being on the favored side of the map, they bounced right back, and with each and every round, momentum swung back and forth and it was going to come down to another overtime. Luckily, performing under pressure is where WYLDE excel! We took the map with a 8 – 7 scoreline and locked our spot in the playoffs for Challenger League 20022!

Unknown to both teams, on the other side of things, Viperio had managed to secure their first win of the groups stage and defeat Jobseekers with a dominant 7 – 2, meaning both WYLDE and Acend qualified for the playoffs, before the match had even finished!

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