Gozen Take Over London
The rivalry between North America and Europe continued in Red Bull’s Instalock tournament with Shopify Rebellion and G2 Gozen facing off in the grand finals.
Red Bull’s Instalock tournament saw three of the best teams in European Game Changers and the reigning world champions travel to the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London for a two day tournament with a new twist on agent selection.
Not unlike previous tournaments such as the Complexity Paradox Invitational, where agents were picked in a draft system, Instalock required each team to utilize three duelist agents in every team composition, a format which was met with mixed responses.
The tournament would use a double elimination bracket, with G2 Gozen and GiantX facing off in the inagural match. The first map, Bind went in favor of GiantX 13–11, but G2 Gozen were able to tie the series behind a 13–2 stomp on Ascent. The decider, as close as the opener, went in favor of GiantX 15–13, sending G2 to the lower bracket.
The other opening matchup pitted Shopify Rebellion against Karmine Corp, wherein Shopify stole KCorp’s map pick in a close 15–13 affair, closing the series on Ascent, 13–7.
Karmine Corp would not get too long to rest before fighting for their lives in the lower bracket against G2 Gozen, stealing their opponent’s map pick of Ascent 13–9. Gozen struck back with their own 13–9 victory on Breeze, and the decider of Sunset went in favor of G2, 13–8.
The final match of the first day was the upper final, beginning on Lotus, which Shopify Rebellion took in a 13–10 victory. Shopify continued their momentum onto Sunset, with a 13–8 victory, advancing to the grand final with a one map advantage.
Day two of competition began with the lower final between GiantX and G2 Gozen, beginning on Icebox, which went in favor of G2 13–10. Looking to close out the series on their opponent’s map pick of Sunset, G2 would win once more 13–10, advancing to the grand final.
Shopify, as the upper final winner, would receive a one map advantage, after which the series would begin on Breeze, which G2 took 13–8. Gozen continued their momentum through the next map, Lotus, 13–7, and closed out the series 13–5 on Icebox to win the event.
The format requiring three duelists lead to interesting team compositions, seeing agents not normally picked on the global stage utilized. Yoru saw a 40% pick rate, and Phoenix saw a 50% pick rate across the tournament. The only duelist to never be used across the tournament was the newest duelist agent, Iso. Viewers were also able to see one of the first appearances of Clove, as they were picked up by florescent on Ascent against Karmine Corp.
Bottom Line
Shopify Rebellion will return to North America to compete in Series 2, while G2 Gozen, GiantX, and Karmine Corp will face off again in Stage 2 of EMEA’s Game Changers Circuit.
