In this week’s In Case You Missed It:
- Schalke 04’s improbable 7-game winstreak sees them qualify for the LEC playoffs
- 140K viewers tune in to watch TSM win the FaZe Clan Valorant Invitational
- And Raptors Uprising complete the first perfect season in NBA 2K League history
Schalke 04’s miracle run
From a 1-10 standing and a measly 4% chance at making it into the playoffs to a rollercoaster seven-game winstreak to end the season, Schalke 04 Esports has been the feel-good story of the LEC Summer Split.
Coming into the last week of the season, Schalke 04 needed one last win to qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the team they would be facing was first-place team, MAD Lions.
Undeterred, the team rose to the occasion with both Erberk “Gilius” Demir and Felix “Abbedagge” Braun putting in career performances as Schalke went toe to toe with the league leaders. In the end, it was Abbedagger who iced the game with a huge quadrakill that led to Schalke’s victory.
The win not only booked Schalke’s ticket to the playoffs, but also cost MAD Lions their automatic qualification into Worlds, by knocking them down to second-place in the standings.
Schalke 04 will now face SK Gaming at the LEC Summer Playoffs lower bracket on August 22.
TSM win the FaZe Clan Valorant Invitational
Team SoloMid has reclaimed the North American Valorant throne from bitter rivals, Sentinels, by winning the FaZe Clan Valorant Invitational tournament in an exhausting 3-2 grand final series that went down to the wire.
With the grand final tied at 2-2, it all came down to one final game on Bind.
Sentinels started on attack, but the defense-favored map saw TSM take a slim 7-5 lead into the half. However, with TSM switching to the attacking side, they found themselves unable to get past Sentinels’ lockdown defense led by Hunter “SicK” Mims, as Sentinels won the next seven out of eight rounds, racing out to a 12-8 lead.
Just one round away from elimination, things were looking bleak for TSM, but the team managed to pull together, clutching out the next four rounds in a row.
Now tied at 12-12, and with the momentum firmly on their side, it was Matthew “Wardell” Yu and TSM captain, James “hazed” Cobb, who stepped up for their team, with hazed securing the early picks and Wardell cleaning up in back-to-back rounds to win the tournament in overtime.
Along with reclaiming their spot as the best team in NA, TSM took home US$25,000 in prize money, with Wardell also named the tournament MVP.
Raptors Uprising complete the first perfect season in NBA 2K League history
The NBA 2K League wrapped up its regular season on August 8 with Toronto Raptors esports affiliate, Raptors Uprising, making history by completing the league’s first-ever 16-0 perfect season.
In the final match of the season, Raptors Uprising defeated the Cavs Legion GC with two lopsided victories, winning 95-67 and 90-47, with the Raptors league-leading scorer and star Point Guard, Kenneth “Kenny Got Work” Hailey putting in another ludicrous performance with 41 points and nine assists in game one, and 48 points, six assists, and five steals in game two.
In addition to their perfect regular season, Raptors Uprising also became the first team to win both in-season tournaments, going undefeated in both The Tipoff and The Turn, and taking home a combined US$192,000 in prize money for their efforts.
Raptors Uprising will now look to cap their remarkable season by winning their first championship trophy when the playoffs start on August 19.
