They say everything comes in threes — three winners, three points separating the top four. That's the situation after the first day of PUBG play in PCS3 APAC, with Buriram heading up Australia's FURY, Filipino side Angel Alliance, and regional powerhouses LG Divine from Vietnam.
PCS3 APAC — Match 1 Results
The day started as you'd expect — LG Divine, the Vietnamese winners of PCS2, took the first match with a scrappy 2v2v1v1 closing circles win over Daytrade, with CERBERUS Esports and VictimRise rounding out the top four.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Buriram, who had started aggresively — a match-leading tally of ten kills was not enough for them to place higher, and they had to settle for 7th and a single placement point.
PCS3 APAC — Match 2 Results
Angel Alliance and CERBERUS had both racked up 11 kills each, but with the circle nulliifying both teams' high ground advantage, they were eliminated in sixth and fifth respectively.
This left a low-kill battle between Divine, MagicEsport and Victim Rise, with Buriram managing fourth despite just one kill.
With a superior circle placement and the other teams decimating one another, it was easy pickings for the full four-man Divine squad to claim back-to-back wins.
PCS3 APAC — Match 3 Results
For once, Divine didn't claim a win, eliminated early in 11th for a low six-kill haul with no placement points. In their absence it was Buriram who stepped up to claim the chicken dinner with a monster 14-kill game.
Australia's FURY took second, with Vietnam's Hydra Gaming securing third with just two kills, ahead of countrymen DivisionX Gaming in fourth.
PCS3 APAC — Match 4 Results
The final match of the day saw Oceania's best team, FURY, finally claim a chicken dinner in a high-kill game.
The Australian side narrowly missed out on PCS2 glory, tying with Divine for both total points and kills — meaning it went down to the highest-kill game — and are looking for revenge this time out.
They secured 11 kills in their win, taking down the 13-kill Angel Alliance in a final battle, with Hydra Gaming securing back-to-back third places.
PCS3 APAC Standings — Day 1
Two chicken dinners and seventeen kills was not enough for Divine for secure top spot in what was a close day's play across the best teams. However, they are within touching distance of those above them, with just three points separating the top four.
Angel Alliance lie in third largely thanks to their 29 kills, with FURY a further two points ahead in second. Buriram take a single-point lead into Day 2.
Three of the top four suffered zero-point games, so consistency will be what the teams look to as the action resumes.
As a fun aside, it appears fans of PUBG in the APAC region may not know the relative strength of teams... 83.3% of Pick'Em Challenge participants have Unicorn Cyber Danang down to win, yet they sit bottom of the table with just one point after four matches...
The PCS3 action resumes in just a few of hours, when Europe gets under way.
Check out our guide for more info and where to watch!
The final major event of 2020, PCS3 sees the best PUBG teams in the world compete across four regions for a hefty prize pool and regional glory. Here's what you need to know about the schedule and teams before the action gets under way!
