After an action-packed week one, the 2024 Esports World Cup gave us two Grand Finals in week two.
In the early part of the week, we witnessed MLBB’s MSC Quarterfinals, along with the group stage of the Riydian Masters’ DOTA 2 tournament Additionally, we were introduced to the only new game of the week, Free Fire.
Then teams battled to be crowned champions throughout the week in all three events. This culminated in two Grand Finals on Sunday where Selangor Red Giants emerged victorious in the MSC Championship and Team Falcons secured first place in the Free Fire tournament.
MLBB
The Selangor Red Giants had a strong group stage as they qualified first in Group B last week. This strong start would not follow them into their match against Fireflux Esports.
The five-game series pushed The Giants to the brink of defeat squeaking out a 3-2 series victory. In round two, Selangor bounced back against their opponent Nip Flash who failed to capture a game.
This 3-0 series victory set up a Grand Final between Selangor Red Giant and Falcons AP. Bren. In the group stage, Falcons AP. Bren not only finished first in Group D, but they also finished with the best record in the entire group stage.
This dominance translated into the quarterfinals and semifinals as they only lost a combined one match between the two rounds. Yet, the Red Giant proved to be too much for Falcons AP. Bren.
In a seven-game slugfest, the Selangor Red Giants would eventually prevail, winning the set and the tournament 4 games to 3.
Free Fire
Team Falcons had a relatively underwhelming Knockout Stage in the Free Fire tournament. However, they showed some promise in the second half, giving them momentum for the next stage.
The Falcons parlayed this momentum into the Point Rush Phase, where they finished inside the top ten in seventh place.
Then in the Grand Final, Team Falcone put everything together and surged into first place to claim their team’s second tournament victory in this year's World Cup.
DOTA 2
The DOTA 2 Riydan Masters focused exclusively on the Knockout Stage this week after having its Play-In Stage last week. In Group A, Team Falcons had another strong showing, finishing in first place with a 9-5 record.
There was a three-way tie for second with Team Spirit, Gaimin Gladiators, and OG Esports all advancing with a respectable 8 and 6 record. In fifth place, Aurora would barely miss the cut by a game, followed by LGD Gaming and Heroic along with Blacklist International.
In Group B, Tundra Esports and Entity cruised through the Group Stage with 11-3 records. In third place, Team Liquid finished with a strong 9 and 5 record, firmly qualifying them for the next stage.
In fourth place, XG.WBG finished with a respectable 8-6 record becoming the last team to qualify for the Playoff Stage. In fifth place, PSG Quest missed the cut by 2 games, followed by BB Team, Beast Coast, and Mouz.
With the Playoff Stage now set, only one play-in team advanced past the group stage: Entity. They did so in impressive fashion, losing the second-fewest games in the tournament despite competing in 10 more matches than every other squad remaining.
Next week we will see if that hot start can propel them to an even deeper tournament.
After two weeks, Team Falcon has claimed first place. Their two gold medals and one silver medal gives them a total of 2600 event points.
T1 and Selangor Red Giants Esports are tied for second place. They each have captured one gold medal and 1000 points apiece.
Fnatic and Top Esports have subsequently claimed the 4th and 5th spots rounding out the top five.
To watch next week's games which include the conclusion of the Riydan Masters as well as the Conter-Strike 2 tournament, visit the Esports World Cup website for the full schedule and livestreams. The World Cup already had a plethora of twists and turns as Esports titans clash with one another.