Welcome to another edition of Myztro Weekly Updates!

Every week, we keep you updated with recaps of matches and news about Myztro Gaming and the games we compete in.

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Quake Champions

Quake Pro League Stage 2 Finals

Day 1

On a backdrop of a COVID-19 concerned city, a government-mandated, empty and spectatorless Spodek Arena in Katowice Poland, Myztro Gaming emerged with thunderous power throughout the Quake Pro League Stage 2 Finals tournament.

Vengeur and RAISY entered the complex tournament bracket with a Round 1 Bye Saturday, with Vengeur taking on Xron and RAISY facing cha1n in Round 2. Vengeur defeated Xron 2-0, with a dominant 7-3 Awoken scoreline and a razor-thin 3-2 Molten Falls map win. RAISY demolished cha1n, winning 9-3 on Vale of Pnath and 12-1 on Ruins of Sarnath. Both survived Day 1 and would return on Championship Sunday.

Day 2

Sunday was a roller coaster of emotion, with moments that words cannot describe.

Round 3 started with Vengeur facing DaHanG. The American was hard to deal with, after Vengeur took a close 4-3 win on Awoken but fell 1-5 on Molten Falls. Vengeur closed out the match with a 8-5 Corrupted Keep win to face Rapha in Round 4.

When RAISY faced Av3k in Round 3, there was a split decision on the desk on who would win. Av3k threw the Stage 1 Finals Champion Cooller into the lower bracket, who would soon be eliminated by RAISY’s Round 2 opponent, cha1n. However, RAISY quickly put the desk at ease, making the match look easy, taking Molten Falls 6-3 and Corrupted Keep 11-3. He would face Quakecon winner k1llsen in Round 4.

As Round 4 approached, all eyes were on Vengeur and Rapha’s match. Would our Italian hero “liquidate” both members of Team Liquid? Sadly, Rapha had other plans. While Vengeur fought hard, Rapha swept the Best of Five match, taking Blood Covenant 6-12, Vale of Pnath 7-12, and Awoken 4-8. Vengeur was knocked down to the Losers Bracket for another shot at a Top 4 spot.

RAISY faced off against k1llsen next. They are 1-1 all-time in the Quake Pro League, with RAISY getting his win at Quakecon’s QPL Kickoff, and k1llsen getting his revenge in Stage 2 a few weeks prior.

And, once again, RAISY made it look easy.

RAISY took the first 2 maps, Awoken and Blood Covenant 20-6 and 18-2. Blood Run barely went to k1llsen after an overtime trade kill that went the German’s way, 4-5. Molten Falls wasn’t as lucky for k1llsen though, pushing RAISY through to Finals with a 7-5 map win and a 3-1 Match Score.

Vengeur had one last chance to get into finals. His opponent? The American Psygib. North American players weren’t as feeble as in the past, with Psygib and cha1n tearing up the losers bracket since Round 2. Psygib put up a fight, but Vengeur put a stop to his two map runs, 8-6 on Vale of Pnath and 7-6 on Corrupted Keep, putting him into his first Top 4 Appearance in a Tier-1 Tournament.

He would face baSe in the Lower Winners Finals.

RAISY would face Rapha in the Upper Winners Finals. Winner would proceed directly to the Grand Finals with a 1 Map Differential (As in, the winner would be up 1-0 before the matches even started), so there was a lot on incentive to win this match.

As I stated before, Rapha had other plans.

Rapha yet again swept a Myztro player, this time RAISY. Rapha took Blood Covenant 3-15, Vale of Pnath 6-8, and Corrupted Keep 9-20. This sent RAISY into the final deciding match against either baSe or Vengeur.

Vengeur vs baSe. What a match. If Vengeur wins, it would be a Myztro Bowl Rematch in the Losers Finals match, and Myztro would be guaranteed a spot in the finals.

Vengeur, try as he might, couldn’t make it happen.

In two close games, baSe took Blood Run 2-4 and Awoken 7-8, advancing to Top 3 to face RAISY, and eliminating Vengeur from the tournament.

RAISY must get revenge for his fallen teammate in Losers Finals. It’s the only way. The best storyline. Either baSe gets his first Grand Finals appearance in a Tier 1 Event ever, or RAISY appears in his second consecutive Grand Finals.

You can’t tempt fate.

In this Best of 5 Match, RAISY 3-0’d baSe, winning Ruins of Sarnath 6-2, edging past on Vale of Pnath 6-5, and shutting baSe out of any kills on Blood Run 8-0.

With that, RAISY was one win away from engraving his name on the belt.

He’s done it before. RAISY reverse swept and beat Rapha in IESO 2018 in Lucca, Italy, just over a year ago. Those matches were close, decided by 1-2 frags a piece. RAISY had tamed him before. Why can’t he do it again?

Rapha. Had. Other. Plans.

Rapha 4-0’d RAISY with wins on Blood Covenant 2-9, Ruins of Sarnath 1-15, and Vale of Pnath 8-11, including his Map Differential win.

Two Grand Finals, Two Shutouts for RAISY.

Rapha took home the belt in front of the world, as the smoke went off and they shook hands. Rapha didn’t drop a map the whole tournament. Even though the viewing area was empty and closed to the public, the emotions were mutual for me; empty.

Looking Forward

Look, this tournament was the strongest performance Myztro has ever had on the Tier 1 Level. Both Myztro players got 2nd and 4th, which is nothing to scoff at.

Vengeur is probably playing his best now than he ever has. He finished the Quakecon Kickoff at 12th, Stage 1 Finals 8th, and now Stage 2 Finals 4th. His steady climb and improvement, his grind and dedication toward the game means that the next LAN could very well be his. Don’t overlook the underdog.

RAISY kept up his usual dominant form in tournament play. The LAN environment he plays like a well-tuned instrument, and he has the background to prove his worth on LAN. It’s so much harder when he gets so close to getting his name engraved onto the belt, but every time he gets to the Grand Finals, the chance slips away. RAISY is also always grinding the game, always improving, always finding new ways to mold the game into his own, especially through his Galena totem placements and Clutch movement skills. I theorize that we will see him in Top 4 again, we will see him in another Grand Finals, and we very well might see him take the belt home for good this time, either at Stage 3 Finals or the Quakecon QPL Finals Event.

Time will be gracious to these two young heroes. The losses hurt now, but I believe they’ll all be worth it in the long run.

Quake Pro League returns with Stage 3 on March 15th on twitch.tv/quake. Schedules, Matches and more are TBA. Check back here for all your Quake Pro League and Myztro Gaming News!

In the meantime, our players will be streaming on their Twitch Channels! Make sure to check their Twitter accounts as well for updates on when they go live.

Vengeur Twitch Twitter
Raisy Twitch Twitter

That’s it for this week’s edition of Myztro Weekly Updates! Come back next week for the latest Myztro Gaming content!