With the first of two round robins complete in the Pacific Championship, now is as good a time as any to take a step back and examine the state of play. As the tournament ticks over to its second stage, Libalent Supreme, MEGA Esports and Machi Esports look to be long shots to qualify for playoffs. However, the race for the fourth and third seeds is neck and neck.

PacificC2

HKA bring a winning attitude to Season 2

Hong Kong Attitude had a mixed showing in the inaugural season the Pacific Championship, upsetting teams like Blank and ahq but failing to consistently win games they should have. The departure of their star player K4 during the off-season was somewhat concerning, as he was the player that appeared to carry the majority of the weight during their victories.

Thus HKA turned to Moowe after his previous team Talon Esports disbanded. A talented player in his own right, having played for Team Hong Kong in the world cup, Moowe has settled in perfectly with his new team. HKA are now sitting in third place at the end of the first round robin, earning crucial wins against Blank and ahq. They also nearly took down Flash Wolves in a tense 3-2 loss. Despite dropping a match to the seventh seeded MEGA Esports, HKA appear to have solved their consistency issues, steadily handling the lower ranked teams in the competition and bringing their A game to their rivals for one of the four available playoffs spots.

If they can continue this in the second round robin Hong Kong Attitude will secure themselves a spot in the playoffs, a result which few would have predicted at the start of the tournament. Wins against Blank and MEGA Thunder this week will go a long way to realizing HKA's playoffs dreams, although both opponents should be a tougher match-up this time around.

Ardeont just miss out on a flawless run in the first round robin

I have sung the praises of these Koreans in previous weeks, but their incredible record at the conclusion of the first round robin requires me to once again highlight their intimidating win streak. Ardeont now have a flawless win-loss record and in fact only dropped a single map over their first seven matches.

Boasting a roster deep with talent at every position, only Flash Wolves have provided any serious challenge for Ardeont so far. Saying that, even their game against the Wolves was only a close affair on Numbani and Dorado. Don't expect the Koreans to slow down any time soon.

ahq's playoffs hopes slipping away

Week 3 was a big one for ahq, with impactful matches lined up against playoff contenders Ardeont, HKA and Blank. The team failed to earn a victory in these three games, dropping them to fifth place on the standings.

Their close loss to HKA as well as their defeat at the hands of Ardeont are perhaps forgivable. However, dropping their game against Blank has set the alarm bells off. The Australians still appear to be adapting to their roster changes, with gradual improvements noticeable each week. Despite this ahq failed to capitalize on Blank while they still could, falling to the team 3-1. The Taiwanese squad will need to look like a re-energized unit if they wish to attend playoffs once again, as this season's shortened two round robin format doesn't lend itself to comebacks.

Week 3 standings

The standings at the conclusion of Week 3 can be found below: