Ground Zero and Genuine Gaming to eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals
Announced on November 8th, Grayhound Gaming and ORDER have officially declined their qualifying spots to Shanghai, China, for the Zowie eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals. We had reported on October 19th that the dates of the Zowie Finals were to clash with ESL Pro League Season 10 Asia-Pacific, which meant that those who qualified for the Zowie Finals would likely decline in hopes of qualifying for the prestigious ESL Pro League Finals.
Although with the absence of Grayhound Gaming and ORDER from the Zowie eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals, it was thought that The Chiefs Esports Club and Avant Gaming would take their place; given that they were the other two teams at the Zowie eXTREMESLAND Regional Finals. But with that being said, both of those teams will also be competing in the ESL Pro League Season 10 Asia-Pacific.
Reported by HLTV, eXTREMESLAND themselves decided against inviting Avant Gaming and Chiefs, stating “over the past few weeks, and after countless discussions with all teams involved, as well as ESL Australia and ESL Global, we have come to a decision. Because there were so many elements to the equation (including visa statuses, logistics, fairness etc), we believe the final decision had to do it’s best to overcome these issues while remaining true to the competitive spirit of eXTREMESLAND.” (source)
Nonetheless, Ground Zero and Genuine Gaming, who both played in the qualifier for the Zowie eXTREMESLAND Regional Finals, have accepted invitations to attend the Asia Finals this coming weekend; whilst Grayhound Gaming, ORDER, Avant Gaming and The Chiefs will battle it out in the ESL Pro League with hopes of qualifying for the ESL Pro League Finals held on December 3rd this year. It’s important to note that Australasia only provides one qualifying spot for the EPL Finals.
Matthew Woolley, General Manager of Ground Zero, said in a statement to us “we’re excited to debut in our first international Counter-Strike event of the year, with the assistance of Noobster and Llamas. While we are empathetic of the situation back home, with scheduling and conflicts, we are determined to represent Australia and do justice for ORDER and Grayhound.”
Ground Zero's Active Roster:
- Cal "bURNRUOk" Henderson
- Andy "Noobster" Zhang
- Luke "Llamas" Merchant
- Charlie "zeph" Dodd
- Cooper "void" Farrell
With Royce An, Managing Director at Genuine Gaming, went on to state “we’re truly thankful to Grayhound and the organisers for giving us the spot at Zowie. Sadly Apocdud is ill, so he will be replaced be the team's coach, Oxey. Nonetheless, the boys are excited to compete in their first event outside of Australasia. We’ve told them to have fun and come back having learnt something. I hope it fuels their drive to push even harder next year.”
Genuine Gaming's Active Roster:
- Daryl "Mayker" May
- Chris "Jinxx" Moseley
- Jordan "Skullhunter" Newland
- Hugh "stat" Anderson
- Tom "apocdud" Henry
ORDER recently secured their spot in the Mountain Dew League S32 Global Challenge, so if they were to fail in acquiring the only spot available in the EPL Finals, they still will wrap up 2019 with an overseas event; whilst the other three teams don’t have current spots acquired in overseas events. But given recent performances, Grayhound Gaming will be the favourites to acquire the EPL Finals spot for Australasia.
Australasian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is set to finish the year with strong overseas presence, with events as follows:
- Nov. 14th / Zowie: Shanghai, China / Ground Zero
- Nov. 14th / Zowie: Shanghai, China / Genuine Gaming
- Dec. 3rd / EPL Finals: Odense, Denmark / TBD
- Dec. 13th / LoV: Bangkok, Thailand / Justice Esports
- Dec. 13th / GGF: Dubai, UAE / Carnage
- Dec. 14th / MDL S32: Dallas, USA / ORDER
Good luck to both Ground Zero and Genuine Gaming this weekend, as they look to take on strong talent from around Asia in the Zowie eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals.
Credits:
- Written by Ben Scott.
- Photos by Sarah Cooper / ESL.
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