Tales from Taiwan: food, markets … and making history!
A blog by Joey “Fernando” Marchand, the waterboy and chief social content creator for Ground Zero Gaming.
From discovering the hidden gems of Taiwan, with the bustling night markets, the underground shopping centres, and the cultivating food options; to making history for the Oceanic region, Ground Zero did it all in the two weeks we were in Taipei!
Considering that not even a week after we qualified for the Pacific Championship Series (PCS) we were on flights to Taiwan, it really came at us pretty quickly. We knew we were in a position to represent Oceania to the best of our ability, but the ominous fact that Oceania had never won a series in the PCS playoffs lingered over us at every step. But hey, we thrive on pressure. And we’re used to breaking down roadblocks.
The path to glory
The team celebrating Kisee’s 21st birthday over Hot Pot
Pictured left to right: Romeo “Thien” Tran, Joey “Fernando” Marchand, James “Tally” Schute, Aarsh “Aarsh” Nagpal, Samil “Leemas” Kip, Shern “Shernfire” Tai, Ben “Benvi” Moore, Ron “Kisee” Vo, Gian “Styled” Leon.
A strong display against Antic Esports and Team Bliss meant that we secured the number one seed from Oceania to the PCS Playoffs. The ultimate goal for any team out of Oceania would be to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) to take on the champions from every other region, but first we had to battle it out against the best that Taiwan and Japan had to offer.
The Ground Zero team came every corner of Australia to make the trip over to our Taiwan. After an 8 hour flight, and not much sleep, we arrived at the Grand Hilai Taipei at the spritely hour of 3am, filled with hopes and dreams of that first Oceanic international win since 2021, three years in the making.
With just under a week to prepare, scrim and of course get out and experience what Taiwan has to offer, we got to work quickly, battling it out in practice against the best teams in the Asia-Pacific region. Some results were humbling, but others reminded us we do have the ability to upstart the teams that would typically be favourites.
An experience to remember
When asked about the experience of being able to play abroad in Taiwan, Head Coach Aarsh said, “We all have a lot of respect for these teams coming in, and our main goal here as competitors is to take as much as we possibly can to grow and better ourselves.”
The team at the Shilin Night Markets
Pictured left to right: Romeo “Thien” Tran, Shern “Shernfire” Tai, James “Tally” Schute, Ron “Kisee” Vo, Ben “Benvi” Moore, Samil “Leemas” Kip, Aarsh “Aarsh” Nagpal, Gian “Styled” Leon
It’d be remiss of me not to shout out Chris from the PCS team for some incredible recommendations - including epic hotpot restaurants and the famous Taiwan Night Markets! Because of Chris, we were able to celebrate Ron “Kisee” Vo’s 21st birthday in style.
The Shilin night markets were a night to remember. The team enjoyed the food and experience the markets had to offer, including the fried chicken and stinky tofu (much to the dismay of most of the team). It was a surreal experience, and reminder of how far we have come as a roster who was largely counted out at the beginning of the split at the prospect of a strong Team Bliss and Antic Esports.
Making history
Monday the 11th of March rolled around, which was match day against Deep Cross Gaming, and the team were ready to get to work. Deep Cross came fast out of the gates and proved to be the stronger team on the day. Knowing that we had the full support of our fans, friends and family back home, we kept our heads up and prepared for the next one.
Ready to meet us in the lower bracket were the Japanese team, V3 Esports, the third seed from the League of Legends Japan League (LJL). With a day off to review where we went wrong, get some extra practice in and refine our strategy, we were well and truly rejuvenated to run it back and secure that first international win… and WIN WE DID!
Pictured left to right: Romeo “Thien” Tran, Shern “Shernfire” Tai, Gian “Styled” Leon, Ben “Benvi” Moore, Ron “Kisee” Vo, Samil “Leemas” Kip, Aarsh “Aarsh” Nagpal, James “Tally” Schute
Strong teamfighting, solo outplays and a refined strategy cemented Ground Zero Gaming in the history books, securing the first win at the PCS Playoffs for an Oceanic team, doing what teams the likes of Team Bliss and Chiefs could not. With MVP performances from Thien and Shernfire, the series was secured and we booked a date with destiny against Deep Cross Gaming.
However this Cinderella run was not to be, as Deep Cross Gaming proved to once again be the stronger team, putting on an epic show and knocking us out of the competition.
Back on the grind
Though we left Taiwan feeling a bit sorry for ourselves, knowing we could have done better and wanting to get a bit further, we’re still very thankful for the support we’ve received on this journey - from our LCO family, our fans and of course our own friends and family. Thanks as well to PCS for their hospitality during our stay!
We’re now looking forward to the LCO Grand Final at Dreamhack Melbourne, in front of a live crowd and taking on Antic Esports once again, this time in a best of five. Thank you once again to everyone or the unwavering support, and we can’t wait to bring home a trophy!
