With the qualifying phase now over, it is time for the main part of the Lunacy Cup to begin. The previous stage of the tournament determined which teams would start their campaign directly from Stage 2. But it also determined those who must start the competition from the first phase. We have already covered the course of the qualifiers and their results in our previous article. Now, however, the focus is on Stage 1, which is being played under the Swiss system. The first two rounds of this stage are now behind us, having produced both closely contested matches and a few one-sided results.
A strong start to Stage 1 – closely contested matches and early dominance
The first round of this Stage in the Lunacy Cup was an opportunity for many teams to make their mark in the main part of the tournament. Right from the start, there was no shortage of evenly matched encounters… One such clash was the match between Pirtus Vro and Oseven played on the Dust 2 map. Ultimately, Pirtus Vro proved slightly the better side, winning 13:11. The narrow margin in rounds shows that both teams were able to respond consistently to their opponent’s moves. This resulted in a very close final score.
The match between Project Z and Nexium POLteam, played on Mirage, was of a similar nature. However, this time it was Nexium POLteam who emerged victorious, closing out the map with a score of 13:9. Although the four-round difference might suggest greater control of the match, it was still a contest in which neither team was certain of success for a long time. This result, however, allowed POLteam to start the tournament with a valuable victory and a good starting point ahead of the next rounds.
In several other matches, however, one team’s dominance was much more pronounced. TEB Esport PRO put in a very confident performance on the Ancient map, where they defeated NPK Esport by a score of 13:4. The ‘organiser’s’ academy, Lunacy NXT, also got off to a solid start to the tournament, beating Carpathian Roja 13:6 on Ancient. Nexory Team also made a strong start to the tournament, defeating Vetogaming 13-5 on the Nuke map, controlling the match for most of the time.
The most one-sided clash of this round turned out to be the match between Panica Gaming and SH4RKS. The SH4RKS team completely dominated their rivals on the Nuke map, conceding just one round to their opponents and closing out the match with a score of 13:1. In another match, Kruliczki defeated Poważna Drużyna Esportowa 13-6, also securing a comfortable victory to kick off the tournament. The only match not played on the server was the clash between Ignis Five and ONYX. This match ended in a walkover, meaning Ignis Five added their first win to their record without having to play.
Lunacy Cup Round Two – top teams build winning streaks, others fight to get back in the game
The second round of the first stage of the Lunacy Cup brought more extremely close-fought matches, though there were also some more one-sided results. To start with, the teams that had begun the tournament with a win faced off. The most evenly matched contest in this group was the clash between SH4RKS and Ignis Five on the Dust 2 map. However, once again, SH4RKS proved to be the better side. The match ended 13–10, allowing the team to remain unbeaten after two rounds and take an important step towards the next stages of the tournament.
Unfortunately, some of the matches in this part of the bracket were not played on the server. Oseven added a walkover victory against Nexium POLteam to their tally. Meanwhile, Lunacy NXT were awarded a win in their clash with TEB Esport PRO. A similar situation occurred in the match between Kruliczki and Nexory Team, where a walkover also took place, and it was Kruliczki who finished the round with a record of two wins. Although such results do not allow us to see direct competition between teams on the server, they have a significant impact on the league table. Of course, matches were taking place in parallel between teams that had to concede defeat to their rivals in the first round and were now fighting to even their record.
One such encounter was the match between Project Z and Pirtus Vro, played on the Nuke map. This time, Project Z emerged victorious, closing out the map with a score of 13:8. Thanks to this, the team managed to bounce back from their first-round defeat and level their record, remaining in contention for further progression in the tournament. ONYX and Poważna Drużyna Esportowa also recorded their first wins in the tournament. ONYX defeated Panica Gaming 13-6 on the Inferno map. Meanwhile, Poważna Drużyna Esportowa beat NPK Esport 13-7 on Mirage. The final match of this part of the round was the clash between Carpathian Roja and Vetogaming on Anubis, which ended in a 13-8 victory for Carpathian Roja. Thanks to this, the team has also improved its record and remains in contention for further victories in the first stage of the Lunacy Cup.
The table is starting to take shape
After the first two rounds of the Lunacy Cup, the picture of the competition in the first stage of the tournament is slowly taking shape. Some teams can already boast a record of two wins, which puts them in a very good position ahead of the upcoming matches. On the other hand, several teams have had to quickly recover from defeats to still be in contention for a comeback. What is certain, however, is that the upcoming matches should be even more evenly matched… After all, the third round will decide the first teams to progress to the next stage, whilst the first teams will bid farewell to the tournament.
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