QuakeCon 2018 has come and gone, bringing to a close PC gaming’s annual pilgrimage to Texas to celebrate custom computer rigs, the mass consumption of energy drinks and of course, North America’s largest bring-your-own-computer LAN party.
Also in the wake of this year’s QuakeCon was the Quake Champions 2v2 Open and Duel Showdown – an action-packed double feature of the best Quakers around vying for a cut of $200,000 in prizes!
The 2v2 Open was a two-day series pitting over 40 pairs of Arena combatants this past Friday, August 10, until only eight remained to duke it out in the Finals the following day.
Once the dust had settled on Saturday, American pro organization Team Liquid, comprised of Shane "rapha" Hendrixson & Tim "DaHang" Fogarty, seized first place - earning $60,000 and their very own life-size Pummel Gauntlet trophy! Taking second place and $30,000 was European team Blind Trust, featuring the duo of Nikita "clawz" Marchinsky & Johan "toxjq" Quick.
The following Sunday, August 12, began the Duel Showdown, in which the top eight teams from the 2v2 Open split into 16 individuals who were now out for themselves in a single-elimination solo bracket for a shot at a winner-takes-all pot of $25,000.
In a reversal of Saturday’s events, clawz from Blind Trust defeated Liquid’s DaHang in a 3-0 win on Blood Covenant in the final match, earning clawz the championship title alongside ample bragging rights (and cash).
The tournament showcased the skill of several other Quake Champions pros, with special shout-outs to organization BIG placing in the 2v2 Finals with Maciej “av3k” Krzykowski and Marcel “k1llsen” Paul, as well as Myztro Gaming for landing an impressive three pairs in the 2v2 Finals with Dmytro “Xron” Sakharuk & Kyle “Silencep” Mooren, Sebastian “Spart1e” Siira & Adrián “RAISY” Birgány, and Gareth “GaRpY” Marshall & Michael “dooi” Dewey.
QuakeCon 2018 also included the first-ever Collegiate Quake Tournamentfinal, bringing in four university teams from across North America – RIT, UT Austin, Appalachian State University and Carleton University – to battle it out for $100,000 in scholarship prizes. The championship match saw Greg "cha1n" Bouevitch & Erik "Burnton" Burton of Carleton University square off against Patrick "pthy" Barton & Kevin "nuBKi" Tian of Appalachian State University. After four heated rounds, Carleton took home the first-place prize of $25,000 in scholarships.
We would also like to commend our international competitors who travelled across the globe to try their hand at this year’s Open, such as Sweden’s REunite, Australia’s Team Corvidae and Japan’s JP Tears and PACO THE RESPECT.
To all who came out for the Quake Champions 2v2 Open and Duel Showdown – not just our many talented competitors, but also our committed esports fans and casting team – we thank you for your support. With more competitive events to look forward to and more players in the Arena thanks to the game being fully free-to-play, things are only heating up for Quake Champions!