WGL APAC Season 1 Grand Finals Report: Birth of a New Champion

WGL APAC Season 1 Grand Final now has a champion! After over 2 months of intense battles between over a hundred teams in Asia, Korea-based Team ARETE are now recognised as the best team in the region.

Although PVP Super Friends and Team Efficiency ultimately became 2nd and 3rd runner-ups in the tournament, you can be sure that they poured their heart and soul into the fight, right until the very last second. And in the end, all three teams had a wonderful time at the Grand Finals held in Korea.

The members of Team Efficiency holding a serious discussion even while having breakfast.	Team Efficiency and PVP Super Friends all on board to the live studio venue.
T-E posing in their new battle uniforms!	PVP Super Friends testing out the PC rigs in the tournament booth.

Fans queuing up to catch a glimpse of their favourite teams battling it out to decide the ultimate champion of WGL APAC Season 1.

An interior shot of OGN Live studio, located within the iconic eSports Stadium at Yongsan I’Park mall

Day 1

Team ARETE, confident about their chances to be crowned Champion of WGL APAC Season 1 at the press conference.
Although not feeling at their best, PVP Super Friends remains a crowd favourite with smiles on every member's face.	One of the most feared teams in WGL APAC-Asia, Team Efficiency's members are all smiles during the press conference.

Payback

On 18th July 2014, Team ARETE, Team Efficiency and PVP Super Friends began their last round of battles in a Round Robin format, which would determine their seeding position for Day 2 of the Finals.

The first match saw Team ARETE going up against their old nemesis PVP Super Friends. Both teams had met one another once before prior to this event, during the WGL Grand Finals held at Warsaw, Poland. PVP Super Friends were the victors then, eventually moving onwards to 4th position before getting knocked out of the competition.

Team ARETE did not sit idly by during the months after that fateful encounter. A minor team shuffling took place, where they installed two new members previously from NOA (a rival World of Tanks eSports team). Afterwards, they set out on a rampage, defeating every single team in WGL Korea without conceeding a loss.

This time, they made sure that things were different. After a fierce battle between the two rivals, Team ARETE secured a 3:2 win and avenging their previous loss.

Old Rivals

The next match saw PVP Super Friends facing off against a familiar opponent: Team Efficiency. The latter's previous showing at TanksAsia Masters Season 2 was a relatively bumpy ride from start to finish, but with the recent acquisition of two ex-ISG members - Deathskyz and Elite - they charged back into WGL APAC-Asia stronger than ever.

The strength that they discovered served them well this match, as they defeated PVP Super Friends with a sound 3:0 victory.

Foreshadowing

After a short rest, the two victors went into battle for the last match of Day 1. Unlike their previous performance against PVP Super Friends, Team Efficiency constantly found themselves surrounded and outgunned by Team ARETE this time around. Perhaps it was the stresses of the day finally boiling over, or the fact that they were facing a new unfamiliar team.

Whatever the case may be, Team ARETE emerged as the victors of this round with a 3:1 score and the privilege of entering Day 2 as the 1st seed. Team Efficiency will follow in 2nd seed, with PVP Super Friends behind at 3rd. As 1st seed, Team ARETE has already secured a place in the Grand Finals, with the last remaining spot to be decided in a match between Team Efficiency and PVP Super Friends.

Day 2

Which team will be walking away with the trophy and the USD 60,000 cash prize?
PVP Super Friends saying their prayers before their match against Team Efficiency.	Team Efficiency's mascot preparing to do his duty and cheer on the team at the Grand Finals.
The lively crowd going wild before the battle commences.	The teams could feel the heat and the support even within the sound-proof booth
The casters introducing all three teams in detail, featuring short video clips of their respective captains during their interviews.

Friendly Support

With the tournament speeding towards the closing stages, the live audience seated inside the studio became louder than before, cheering for all three teams regardless of nationality. Although PVP Super Friends and Team Efficiency were not based in Korea, fans remained supportive of them, even holding up home-made boards to show their support for both teams. This was truly the spirit of eSports in Korea!

Race to the Top 2

The start of Day 2 also happens to be the Semi-Finals for the tournament, with Team Efficiency once again in battle against PVP Super Friends. Having faced each other twice during the Silver and Gold Series before, Team Efficiency wasted no time in getting the upper hand against their opponent as they cruised to a 3:1 finish, earning themselves the last spot in the Grand Finals and the chance to go up against Team ARETE once more.

Team ARETE, completely focused on their rematch against Team Efficiency
The casters liven up the atmosphere with their exciting shoutcast.	Fans holding up their self-made boards to support the teams. One doesn't need to understand Korean to feel it!
PVP Super Friends viewing the final match with T-E in the players' room showing their support for their Asia counterpart.
The Grand Final match commences!

The New Champion

Team ARETE proved truly unstoppable as they battled Team Efficiency one last time. Having played against them on Day 1, the Korea-based team went to work with all the knowledge gained from the previous engagement. It wasn't long before they established the momentum enough to topple T-E with a score of 4:1, solidly cementing their title as Champions of WGL APAC Season 1.

Team ARETE thanking the crowd for their support during the prize presentation, even going down on their knees in appreciation.

But the story doesn't end there. After the Grand Finals, the three teams gathered again for a great dinner that night, which proved to be well-deserved bonding session. Each of them promised the other they this was not the end - they will be seeing each other again sometime soon.

For more information about WGL APAC-Asia, feel free to visit us at our tournament page.