Pakistan’s MAXD Esports has dismantled India’s Team Villainous at Redbull Campus Clutch regional finals in a smooth one-sided game.
Redbull Campus Clutch Grand Final went sleekly in favour of regional favourite MAXD Esports, who booked its slot by defeating Sri Lanka’s Union Gaming in a 2-0 win. Conversely, Team Villainous’ journey to the Grand Final was relatively smooth, as the Indian team automatically advanced to the next round of tournament play.
The two teams locked horns for the title of the best team in the South Asian region on 5 June. Out of all the finals scheduled for the day, this game was expected to be cut-throat. All sights were set on the official showdown between India and Pakistan in a Riot backed event, but MAXD Esports wrapped up the anticipated event rather quickly.
On the back of top gun Anas “traNz” Ayub, MAXD Esports emerged as the stronger team on the first map Bind. Villainous’ Astra curveball failed to have as much impact during the initial games on a smaller map. MAXD Esports’ entered with a double controller setup, which paired well with the crisp aims of former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players. The Abdul “HSB” Haseeb led roster allowed zero round wins for the Indian team in the first few rounds, but Villainous managed to break the streak at the sixth round.
Despite a commendable showing, Villainous could only bag six rounds overall. The situation wasn’t much different on the second map Ascent, where both the teams had their Sentinels on top of the scoreboard. MAXD’s five had unique roster picks for each map, as opposed to Villainous, who didn’t change much in both rounds. Villainous tactics were top-notch, but MAXD Esports newly turned in-game leader HSB bought out an updated strat book for the grand finals. The team culminated the second map at 13-8, booking a slot in the World League set to take place in Spain.
The 2-0 win for MAXD Esports confirmed that South Asia would undoubtedly have a strong representation at the World Stage Final. The Pakistan team will now fly to Spain to compete with some of the best teams across 50 countries for the prize pool of $24,000.
