[APAC] Looking Ahead: East Asia

Sitetampo at Worlds 2025 (Photo by Adela Sznajder)

The last season before the Brawl Cup in East Asia was one hectic fight for the teams seeking the final Berlin spot. FENNEL, SKCalalas, and Rival Esports had to deliver their best performances of the year in order to secure East Asia’s second seed, while also keeping hopes high that Crazy Raccoon won’t maintain it. Entering the Monthly Qualifiers, last month’s dark horses in Feasible Gaming failed to qualify after getting swept away by both Crazy Raccoon and KCN–a squad of fresh faces in East Asia. INSOMNIA, after suffering the new org curse by not qualifying last month, came back to the stage after their Lower Bracket enemies were disqualified. Entering the Monthly Finals, it was the chance for most teams to take Berlin away from Crazy Raccoon.

Quarterfinals

Opening the show with the region’s finest: ZETA DIVISION, who were facing down underdogs, KCN. In the opening set, KCN showed resilience against the titans, managing to even take their first Monthly Final’s game against ZETA. However, that’s where their groove ended. Not only did ZETA manage to bounce back in the first set, they took the other two in a sweep. KCN, seemingly nowhere to be seen, was eliminated from the Monthly Finals, and it seemed like ZETA would have another great trip to their destined spot: the Grand Finals.

Next was SKCalalas, who stared down REJECT. In the first set, REJECT were in full control of the game, maintaining position and consistent safe damage, while SKCalalas had to break their way through in order to play the objective. In the end, REJECT’s control was able to grant them their first set. Yet, being down a set isn’t the worst thing that has happened to SKCalalas, they sure showed how to bounce back from the deficit. Taking Set 2 in a dominant fashion, keeping their cool in Set 3, despite REJECT’s offense and showing REJECT who’s boss in Set 4, and as swiftly as that, SKCalalas turned the match around from 0-1 down to 3-1 in their favor, sending them to yet another semifinal.

Now it was time for INSOMNIA to prove that, despite qualifying thanks to a disqualification, they were able to hold their ground against the current World Champions. Unfortunately for them, what went down was the complete opposite. Crazy Raccoon wouldn’t let anyone get past them, showing that by not letting INSOMNIA get anywhere in the first two sets, and despite their resistance in Set 3, where they managed to take a game, their efforts were in grain as the World Champions brush off INSOMNIA like another bump in their road to Berlin. 

The fourth quarterfinal brought the most interesting matchup yet. FENNEL, who failed to qualify for March and were looking for redemption, versus Rival Esports, a strong and formidable opponent. Heading into the match, despite the odds, Rival’s double assassin composition was more than enough to hold off FENNEL’s control composition and give them the first set. To that, FENNEL responded with an interesting, yet effective, Clancy pick in Bridge Too Far, claiming Set 2 as theirs. It was looking like a very head-to-head clash; however, what Rival delivered instead was one of their best performances to date. They took the lead by playing a very well coordinated Knockout set and then took the match by capitalizing off of FENNEL’s many mistakes during the Gem Grab set. Just like that, East Asia’s 3rd seed would not be flying to Berlin and would instead have to watch from home.

Semifinals

East Asia’s titans against East Asia’s tigers was the next match on the table, and it delivered shockwaves through the whole region. SKCalalas, after losing to ZETA DIVISION in March, were not going to let that repeat for two months straight. Right off the bat they dominated ZETA in the first two sets, already looking to cause an upset. ZETA, despite taking the next two sets and preparing themselves for a reverse sweep, were not looking so dominant in the final one. In the end, ZETA had failed the reverse sweep against SKCalalas and for the first time this season had been eliminated in the semifinals, while SKCalalas secured their first Grand Final together.

On the other side of the bracket, Rival Esports were looking to cause another upset of the day by dominating the first set against Crazy Raccoon, but the World Champions were fighting to become the first seed in the EA leaderboards, and they would make sure no one would take that away. Set 2, though very close, was taken by Crazy Raccoon, equalizing the series. To finish off the performance, they did not allow Rival to take a single game until the match had ended. The second semifinal concluded in a 3-1 scoreline, favoring Crazy Raccoon, and this was all that was needed to be done to reach their goal: defeat the tigers.

Grand Final  

Kuru, Naipishu, and Ghost T had already exceeded expectations by taking down the region’s titans, but could they also overtake the current world’s best? Crazy Raccoon’s battle for 1st place concludes here. If they win, they overtake ZETA DIVISION in the leaderboards and secure a much better Brawl Cup seeding. A very back-and-forth battle in the first and second set didn’t seem to be the biggest issue for Crazy Raccoon, as they came out on top in both sets. It seemed like Crazy Raccoon would come out on top in a sweep despite SKCalalas’ efforts, but then surprise–they took Set 3 without much issue. The next set was probably the wildest set of the day, where SKCalalas pulled a wild card and picked up Bull during the draft phase, and despite the mode being Bounty, this set included some of the quickest games of the day. The strategy was simple: Bull runs down the map, while Byron and R-T assist him in the back. In the first game, it worked perfectly. However, in the second and third game, Crazy Raccoon adjusted properly, ultimately leading to SKCalalas’ defeat. Crazy Raccoon took the match, the Monthly Final, and most importantly, they overtook ZETA DIVISION in the leaderboards, and they will be heading to Berlin.

Looking Ahead

With the Spring Split of BSC26 wrapped up, we now know who will represent East Asia at the 2026 Brawl Cup: The 2025 World Champions, Crazy Raccoon, and returning EA BC representatives ZETA DIVISION. Both teams will have a crucial opportunity to earn BSC points, cash prizing, and most importantly, additional regional spots for the post-season. Crazy Raccoon, who went on to become the world champions last year, made their run through LCQ, proving the caliber of teams that can rise out of survival with backs against the wall.

Last year, ZETA DIVISION placed third place at Brawl Cup, earning their region an additional LCQ spot. With more teams, more competition, and less room for error, there is no such safety net this time around. Facing RLM and BC*, they'll have a favored group. CR will have to overcome their old nemeses RNTX from last year's five set loss at LCQ alongside South American newcomers ETN. EA is looking to continue their dominance over BSC, and a Brawl Cup win would solidify that their teams are still the best globally.

Outside the top two, the fierce race will kick off the Summer Split in style for the bottom EA teams hoping that CR and ZETA bring home extra spots. With only three spots total (two direct WF spots and one LCQ spot) to the postseason, SKCalalas EA currently sits in the third seed with their landmark win over ZETA DIVISION in April. Rival Esports' victory over February finalist FENNEL has set them in 4th place, tied on points but holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over their regional rivals. Most surprisingly, REJECT sits in sixth, a fall from grace for the consistent second place team in 2025 and the other direct World Finals contender from 2024 and 2025.

With Challengers Japan already in progress, some teams like INSOMNIA have opted for a different route, focusing on qualifying through their Challengers circuit to the Challengers FInals in Istanbul. While ZETA and CR will likely stick to BSC, it will be interesting to see how the circuit evolves across the next two months based on if teams opt to play out Challengers instead.