KCP Chronicles: KCPods nearly secures LAN, Split Finals upcoming

KCP Chronicles: KCPods Nearly Secures LAN, Split Finals Upcoming

Written by Trey Donovan

It was an active weekend for the Pioneers with both the Brawl Stars team and Apex Legends team in action. The Brawl Stars team had an excellent weekend, but we will focus on the Apex team’s weekend. The ALGS is currently nearing the end of Split two and the Pioneers held on to a top 10 spot, which guarantees a LAN spot.

In the group A vs. B games of round three the Pioneers looked to play a little slower playing for some placement points. They ran a comp of Bangalore, Caustic, and Bloodhound for the round which helps the slower-paced style. Game one saw this game plan in action as the Pioneers finished in fifth place with not many engagement opportunities till the end of the game.

Game two was a little different for the Pioneers. Again, they didn’t get any kill points, but they also went out a little earlier than expected at 13. It wasn’t exactly what they wanted in game two, but there were still four more games left in the round to build some points. In game three, they got some good points as they placed seventh and got three kill points tallied.

In a solid spot and with some other teams around them in the overall leaderboard not playing their best, the Pioneers could build on that. Game four did not help build on game three’s momentum. The Pioneers had their worst placing of the round finishing 16 and to add insult to injury they didn’t tally a kill. Sometimes that is how Apex is, and the Pioneers needed a bounceback in game five.

Well, bouncing back is what they did. Game five was the best match for the Pioneers as their slower game plan worked to perfection. They placed second in that game, losing to TSM, and tallied four kill points to round out the game. The Pioneers also had a shot to win it, but TSM had the advantage with the high ground, and they were loading up on kill points with 10 in that match.

While that first round wasn’t ideal for the KCPods, the second round of round three was great. Heading into their last match before the Finals, the Pioneers were in tenth place holding on to a LAN spot. With the recent patch notes, the team’s comp switched to Fuse, Seer, and Bangalore. That comp gives them a lot of information, damage, and crowd control and it showed in game one.

The series layout began with three games on Storm Point and finished with three on Worlds Edge. Pioneers also had the first pick in the POI draft and chose The Mill as their spot. In game one, the Pioneers played it slow until the last circle holding lower ground. As the circle closed and a team above them Gent popped Fuze’s ult and chucked some nades landing a team wipe of Oblivion. This would propel them to a top-two finish as Disguised took game one.

With a great start to the day, the Pioneers had momentum on their side heading into game two. In game two, however, they exited in fourteenth place with no kill points leaving with minimal points. Then in the last match on Storm Point, the Pioneers popped off. With some key rotations and fights, the Pioneers won game three and finished with 10 kill points to boost their totals. That was the first match win for the KCPods in this split as the Pioneers.

In the back half of the series on World’s Edge, the Pioneers would not have as much success, but would still build a lead through KP. Game four saw them place in eleventh but with three KP leaving with four points. Game five saw a lot of the same as the Pioneers finished in twelfth also with three KP leaving again with four points.

In the final game of the day, the Pioneers turned it up a notch. While they would place in ninth landing two placement points, they added eight KP to add to the total. When all was said and done, the KCPods finished round three in second behind FURIA Esports with 53 points. That translated to moving up from tenth in the overall rankings to seventh and all but locking up a LAN spot.

With LAN secured, the Pioneers won’t have to wait long until the next match day as the Finals are around the corner. Those will be played July 14, and the Pioneers discord will have a watch party to cheer on Gent, Deeds, and Onmuu. Congratulations to the squad, we will see you guys in Mannheim, Germany come August 29.