It’s fair to say, day one of the UKLC’s second tournament did not disappoint. From Phelan’s upset win over MnM to Fnatic’s crazy but strong team comp. Yesterday’s games will be hard to compete against in terms of pure entertainment.
However, the best match had to be Barrage‘s clash with DarkSpawn. After nearly 47 minutes of back and forth action, DarkSpawn Gaming where the team to advance into day two. The game came down to which team could hold their nerve in the big team fights and unfortunately for Barrage, they never found a big enough team fight victory to defeat their opposition.
Straight after the game, Barrage’s team manager Froomie opened up about their narrow loss.
He says: “I think the game was ours to win, but some poor decision making gifted the game to DarkSpawn. Essentially, we beat ourselves. It’s a hard one to take really as every game is important this split, and we view them as an opponent we need to be beating if we want to challenge.”
The Welshman knows that every match is crucial this season. Especially, given the fact that his side cannot play another competitive game until next weeks tournament.
“The format is very cut throat as you can quickly lose ground, especially with there only being seven weeks. With it being best of one it doesn’t allow any room for error, as you can’t regroup to learn and rectify your mistakes from game one. Every game is like a cup final.”
Barrage will need to dig down in the next seven days as they work on their issues. The side has ambitions of reaching the playoffs at the end of the regular season, meaning that a top-four finish is needed. Right now though, the focus for this team will be on improving on their two defeats in the opening two weeks. Froomie knows that a complete re-evaluation is needed, so they can look fresh and ready for next Wednesday.
“Going into next week we have to make sure we bounce back mentally. We have to evaluate everything from top to bottom. It’s not a surprise that we need to work on our decision making, both in the draft and on the rift, as that’s what’s letting us down at the minute. Next week is crucial for us if we want any chance of making up for a poor start.”
Barrage Esports will look from the sidelines as the rest of the action continues. Nevertheless, expect this side to work hard to emend yesterdays loss. As for Phelen, DarkSpawn, Fnatic Rising and Diabolus, they have their eyes on becoming a tower champion. The question is when the challenger is decided, can they topple Excel UK?
Don’t forget to see the conclusion of week two’s actions live on twitch at 6pm!
By Tom Daniels.
Gromp News 