GZ League of Legends secures first seed going into PCS playoffs
After an incredible performance in the first split of the League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO), Ground Zero Gaming has qualified as the first seed from Oceania heading into the Pacific Championship Series (PCS).
After only joining the LCO in the 2023 season, we’ve quickly built a formidable team who’ve dominated the league in 2024.
With head coach Aarsh “Aarsh” Nagpal at the helm, supported by assistant coach Gian “Styled” Medina, our roster comprises strong local talent and seasoned international experience, including Tai “Shernfire” Shern, previously of Team Liquid Academy and Cloud9 Academy, and Ronald “Kisee” Vo, who represented Oceania at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in 2022.
Our roster is rounded out with the signing of Romeo “Thien” Tran, Tai “Shernfire” Shern, Ronald “Kisee” Vo, Samil “Leemas” Kip and Ben “Benvi” Moore providing enough firepower to establish Ground Zero Gaming as a serious contender.
“We’ve shown we’re the most versatile of the LCO teams.”
The journey to PCS
Heading into the Split 1 playoffs as second seed, we had a strong regular season record of five wins, one draw and one loss, splitting points with Team Bliss and losing to Antic ESC.
Our playoff run began with an upper bracket clash with Antic ESC in a best-of-3, with Game 1 falling the way of Antic ESC. Not a team to go down quietly, we roared back, with a late game pentakill from Leemas, securing Game 2 for Ground Zero.
Game 3 was record-breaking. It was the longest game in the history of the league, stretching for 53 minutes and 59 seconds. An intense tug-of-war between the two teams unfolded, leaving those watching at home on the edge of their seats. Inevitably, it was Ground Zero who finally secured the win, taking us into a in a best-of-5 against Team Bliss for the first spot in the PCS playoffs.
As game day came around, it was clear that Team Bliss were the favourites. Despite that, we went into the series with determination to show them just how formidable Ground Zero is. After Game 1 going to Team Bliss, we regrouped and changed tactic for Game 2, securing the win to tie the score at 1-1.
In Game 3, we made a risky call to counter-pick Volibear for Thien, to face off against Team Bliss’s BioPanther on Udyr, a champion who has historically given us issues. The back and forth persisted, but Thien’s excellent form, kept BioPanther at bay, enabling Ground Zero to take Game 3.
Our draft going into Game 4 was unexpected from Team Bliss, flexing the Twisted Fate champion into the Top Lane, as well as picking Heimerdinger for Benvi. Multiple early mistakes and overcommitments from Team Bliss allowed us to take a 4,000 gold lead in the first 12 minutes of the game.
From here, we took the opportunity and ran to the finish line, taking out Team Bliss 15 minutes later, and locking in both the LCO Grand Final, and PCS playoffs in Taiwan, where we’ll face off against the best teams from the League of Legends Japan League (LJL) and PCS.
The moment Ground Zero Gaming beat Team Bliss to make it to the PCS playoff and LCO Grand Final.
Realising success
When asked how he felt about the victory against Team Bliss, head coach Aarsh was glowing with praise.
“I couldn't be more proud of what we've accomplished in Split 1 together,” he said, “We're all very excited to be on our way to Taiwan and eager to test our mettle against the best of the LJL and PCS teams”.
The team has a difficult road ahead - an LCO representative has never taken a series in the PCS playoffs. Historic performance doesn’t bother Coach Aarsh though.
“We all have a lot of respect for these teams coming in,” he said, “and our main goal here as competitors is to take as much as we possibly can to grow and better ourselves, doing our region proud in the process.”
“With that said, we don't intend to be pushovers either, so expect us to put up a good fight!”, he added.
Beau Melia, founder and CEO of Ground Zero Gaming also commented on the team’s success, citing the preparation from the coaching staff and passion from the players as reasons for success.
“Having seen the strategy and preparation that has gone into every game, the team deserves to be here, to be heading over to represent Oceania in Taiwan, and to be on that main stage at the LCO Grand Final”, he said.
“The professionalism and passion that each player shows is second to none. Each of them brings their best self to every scrims and every game, and that perseverance and dedication shows.”
Catch the PCS playoffs live from March 11 on twitch.tv/lolpacific, and show your support for Ground Zero in their first League of Legends event overseas! Follow us on X to keep up to date with the latest details.
