The second season of the Gfinity Elite Series is here. Presented by Alienware, this past weekend marked the beginning a new season of competitive esports. And it’s never been more accessible than now!
On Saturday, November 3, last season’s champions the mighty Melbourne ORDER took on Sydney Roar in Counter-Strike, Rocket League and Street Fighter. As with last season, the series is viewable by all on Twitch, Youtube, Facebook & Channel Ten’s Eleven.
The rivalry is fierce, so scream for your city and get behind your team as they prepare to do war. As for the results of the first weekend of competition, we’ve got you covered.
Gfinity Elite Series Season 2 – Week One
Melbourne Order vs Sydney Roar
Melbourne Order proved they are the champions with a dominant 16:3 victory over Sydney Roar on Inferno. Roar managed to get a couple of early rounds as the CTs against Order but was unable to close out rounds where they had the advantage due to the sheer aggression from the Melbourne squad.
Order established control of the map early with their T side strategies that Sydney Roar just had no answer for. As the tilt and despair set in, Roar started to give up rounds where they had a clear advantage as nerves took over.
Being a young side playing against last year’s undisputed champions, Roar will be looking to learn from their loss and add to their strategy and map pool.
Sydney Chiefs vs Perth Ground Zero
The second match of the day was Sydney Chiefs pitted against Perth Ground Zero. Again, the map that would host the showdown would be Inferno.
Chiefs elected to use a younger less experienced line-up in the season, leading many to believe that the match was in Ground Zero’s hands. With Ground Zero starting as CTs, early aggression from Chiefs won them the pistol round to kick things off.
Chiefs secured a quick follow up round with SMGs but were quickly silenced and Ground Zero showed their experience as they locked down bombsites and kept their composure. Perth ran away with the first half, taking 16 unanswered rounds in a row after losing the first 2.
Supreme control from Ground Zero’s bURNUOk kept some rounds from slipping away, winning clutch gunfights and helping his team maintain their lead, but there was no obvious weak link in the Perth team.
Melbourne Avant vs Brisbane Deceptors
The third and final match of the day was Melbourne Avant versus Brisbane Deceptors, fighting on the map Cache to add some variety to the day’s games.
A similar scene unfolded as Deceptors took the first two rounds before Avant forced their way back in with a bold strategy that swung the map momentum their way. Avant stormed off with five rounds before the Deceptors could adjust to the ferocity and map control the Melbourne squad was showing them.
It took bart0wski of Brisbane Deceptors stepping up, winning face to face gunfights and getting a triple kill to tie the first half up. Both teams flexed on each other back and forth until the first half saw the scoreline sitting at 8:7 in Avant’s favour.
Melbourne Avant won themselves the pistol round and ran away with a few rounds against the Brisbane side. Demonstrating a strong CT side, pushing Deceptors to concede five hard-fought rounds until the Brisbane squad got another round on their attacking half.
An amazing one vs three clutch from Brisbane’s YetiBacon kept the Deceptor’s dreams alive, but their chances were snuffed as next round himself in a one vs four. Melbourne Avant taking the map with a final score of 16:13.
Melbourne, just too strong?
With both Sydney teams getting thoroughly stomped, is Sydney Esports in trouble?
It’s only week one but there was very little fight in the Sydney squads. Both sides took a couple of early rounds in the match but there was little to no determination in them. Despair was painted all over the player’s faces as they fell victim to their emotions.
Whilst I’m a devout Melbourne Order fan, I am hoping to see other teams rise and provide a much more competitive environment for the second Gfinity Elite Series. I’m looking forward to next week’s Counter-Strike action, as well as Rocket League and Street Fighter on Ten’s Eleven every Sunday.
When to Watch Gfinity Elite Series Season 2
Starting weekly at 3:00 pm AEDT (that’s Melbourne & Sydney Time) is Counter-Strike. Arguably one of the most well-known team shooters on the esports scene.
Rocket League games will be played at 11:00 am on Sunday mornings, with different clubs going head to head each week for a shot at the finals series. You can catch up with all the video on demand (VODs) via TenPlay if you miss the action live.
Excitingly for the first time as well, select radio stations will help reach Australian esports fans and build the presence of one of fastest growing scenes in Australia. Score updates and results will be available on KII< The Edge, 97.3FM, 96FM as well as online at iHeartRadio.
HOYTS Gfinity Esports Arena’s Entertainment quarter in Sydney will once again play host to the series. So if you’re a Sydney local or find yourself about town and want to check out the action live, face to face, then check at www.gfinityesports.com.au to book your tickets.
Grab some merch and maybe get your favourite players to sign it while you’re there.
Also, check the Gfinity Twitter for more news & announcements as well as games schedules & results.
With Week Two of Gfinity Elite Series Season 2 kicking off this Saturday, who do you think will come out on top?
