PWS perennial powerhouse Guangdong Freecs has once again won the PWS competition with a new player lineup.
The Grand Finals of Phase 1 of the 2024 PUBG WEEKLY SERIES (PWS) took place on Thursday at the Jamsil Vita500 Coliseum in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The PWS is Korea’s top professional Battle Royale esports competition and featured 16 teams, including 13 professional teams and three teams selected from Phase 1 of the official amateur competition, the PUBG Level Up Series (PUBG LVUP SERIES) 2024.
Match 11, which began on the Erangel map, saw the main island’s central magnetic field set up, with Pentagram becoming the first team to be eliminated after losing to EFM. Guangdong, who attacked GNL and DANAWA with their backs to the magnetic field as it shrank towards the ruins, were eliminated, allowing both teams to fight back, followed by EFM and Eleven. DANAWA, who had three kills in a chaotic situation that saw the top teams fall one after another, was unable to join them in the second half, and DK was taken out, leaving BSG, Sentinel, GCA and EOS as the top four. EOS, a target for all three teams, was the first to be eliminated, followed by GCA taking out BSG’s two remaining troops. With the troop disparity and magnetic field favoring Sentinel, GCA pushed hard, eventually scoring 17 points with a seven-kill chicken.
GCA’s Seung-won “Beetle” Ha was named Man of the Match for Game 1.
Moving to the Bikendi map, game 12 saw the first magnetic field fall south, with DTM and pentagram-damaged EOS the first to be eliminated, followed by GCA and game PT, who suffered heavy grenade damage. Facing EFM, Genji was eliminated without adding a kill, EFM took out Carpedium, and Sentinel gained momentum by taking out Danawa with a mortar. With Guangdong’s last troops taken and GNL, DK, Sentinel and Overwhelm remaining, Overwhelm was the first to be eliminated as they had the fewest troops, and after a fight between Sentinel and DK ended in DK’s favor, GNL, now at full squad, began to move in and DK’s two remaining troops eliminated themselves with Molotov cocktails, giving GNL 16 points with a six-kill chicken.
The Man of the Match for Game 12 was GNL’s Yu-naeng “Ning” Yoo.
Game 13, played on the Miramar map, saw the first magnetic field south of the border take hold in the form of Los Leones and Chumacera, followed by EOS and EFM with zero kills. As the top teams were quickly eliminated, the mid-tier teams continued to battle it out, with Dana, who had been steadily racking up kills, adding six kills before falling just short of the top four. With Genji, DK, BSG and GCA forming the top four, BSG and GCA, who were outnumbered, were eliminated first, while DK, who had regained their strength in the absence of a full squad, closed out the game and became the owner of a 10-kill chicken, adding 20 points to jump into second place.
DK’s ‘Magpie’ Bae-ho-jin was named Man of the Match for Game 13.
Game 14, which took place on the Taiyou map, landed on the eastern end of the magnetic field, with BSG and Zenji being the first to be cleared out, and then Eleven raiding Guangdong’s targeting of DK as the magnetic field shrank to five directions, causing Guangdong and Eleven to leave the battlefield amicably. After GNL and Dana’s fight ended in GNL’s favor, DK’s last troops fell and GNL’s last troops captured OM, setting up a showdown with GCA, Pentagram, and 토토 EFM. After EFM and GNL were cleared out, GCA, with a full squad, moved in with a Molotov cocktail towards Pentagram and won the engagement, taking another chicken with six kills.
GCA’s Sung-hyun “Hyun” Kang was named Man of the Match for the 14-game match.
Game 15 on the Erangel map, where the winner would be decided, saw Overwhelm pick up a kill against GNL after the magnetic field dropped to the south, but they were the first team eliminated as they approached to clean up. A magnetized DANAWA was eliminated for zero kills by Eleven and GamePT, and as multiple teams swarmed Guangdong, Carpediem and Eleven were taken first, before Guangdong, who were in hold mode, added just two kills before exiting the battlefield. With GNL eliminated in fifth place, Pentagram, DK, GCA and GamePT formed the final top-four, with GamePT and GCA taking the first picks, with Pentagram seemingly utilizing a magnetic field, but DK overpowering their opponents in the skirmish to claim the final chicken, earning 15 points for a five-kill chicken.
After all 15 games were completed, Guangdong won the tournament by one point with a total of 117 points from three chickens and 73 kills, and Kim “Heaven” Tae-seong was named the tournament MVP.