Today was the beginning of BGMI SHOWDOWN, a one its kind LAN that moved the fans with not one, not two, but 6 mind blowing matches. 24 teams began this race today and new records were created. Do you know what happened today?

Let's take a look into the match highlights

MATCH 1 - ERANGEL

The match began with the fight between Godlike and TSM. a good round of rotation by Godlike was seen. The first chicken dinner of the Showdown was bagged by Hyderabad Hydras. Great communication around the circle and between the fights. They were also credited with amazing finishes, especially during their fight with OG. towards the end, OR also came out with good fights. Surprisingly, the one thing that was common in all the fights was that Hyderabad Hydras’ players were getting knocked now and again. But, the synergy and timely revival that they executed made them win the chicken dinner. The MVP of the match was STRIKER, who striked off its enemies with 9 finishes and 26:32 survival time. The second match was going to be in Miramar, which was a strong suit for Hyderabad Hydras. Hence, it was expected that the team shall continue with the same momentum.

Another round of credits is also owed to Team Kinetic. When the entire team was finished, one player single-handedly kept the team alive. The iconic battle between Soul and Godlike was also witnessed where Soul prevented Godlike from entering the zone and eliminated the entire team.

MATCH 2 - MIRAMAR

OR Esports learnt from the mistakes of the previous match and decided to take the second chicken dinner home this time. They won this chicken with 10+ finishes. The match was indeed exciting as the teams who were expected to make a comeback actually did it. The previous winners, Hyderabad Hydras, seemed to have gotten a little too excited after the first win and that worked against their favour this time. The MVP of the match was AARU with 6 finishes and 22:50 survival time. He was tagged as the “support player” of the team for the match.

The Starting of the match was an example of how one should create their positional bling. OR cleared the back-angle of their zone. Back-to-back fights were seen where teams cleared the outer area of the circle to have a clear angle for the zone and reach the central area as soon as possible. OR took the advantage of higher grounds and imposed pressure on the teams that were stuck on the lower grounds.

“There are some teams that are consistently giving inconsistent performance, trying to redeem and revive themselves.” Our analogy: It is something that can be agreed as well as disagreed to. The time frame for individual matches is very less. The groups will be continuously shuffled across these days and there is a tendency that one might not even understand their mistake. It is all about adaptation. the sooner a team is able to adapt to the changes, the better they are likely to perform. Hence, the term consistency is hard to define in case of this tournament!

Nevertheless, OR made a strong and stable start. Like one of their players said, they shall “try to keep it natural and give their best”. Will they be able to carry it forward? Let’s see…

MATCH 3 - SANHOK

OR took the battlegrounds by storm by winning back-to-back chicken dinners. AARU’s support, Aditya and Attanki’s form and Jelly’s rotation, each and every member is worth the credit of this victory. A fight between OR vs SG vs Enigma was predicted before the match by the panellists, but surprisingly, OR was the only surviving team. The MVP of the match was Aditya with 8 finishes and 23:59 survival time. The number of finishes by MVPs was continuously increasing with every match! At one point of time, it could be said that Revenant had a chance of getting the chicken. Revenant landed on paradise resort and OR wasn't far from them but OR rotation was perfect and Revenant was caught. An interesting fight between Soul players and Nigma Galaxy was also witnessed. A very good performance was also displayed by Team XO.

It is assumed that the team who plays well in the league loses momentum in the finale. Is that possible in the case of OR now?

Our analogy: OR dominated during the league stages in PS. They bagged the 1st position even after not being able to secure the 10th chicken dinner. Then during the finals we observed that the team could not maintain that momentum. However, on the last day they made a comeback which none had expected.

Another astonishing highlight was that Reckoning Esports gave immeasurable damage but were eliminated with 0 finishes. Communication mistakes and the inability of players to parlay their actions to each other was what worked against them.

MATCH 4 - ERANGEL

The map of Erangel was conquered not once but twice by Hyderabad Hydras. Team XO gave a tough fight but unfortunately, the zone was not in their favour. They were 15 metres away from the zone while Hyderabad Hydras were only 3 metres away. Hence, XO players were bound to drop dead. All Hyderabad Hydras could do then was to remain calm and patient and that's what they did. 3 of the players got together and stood still while waiting for the fourth one to join them for a delicious feast of chicken dinner. They displayed impeccable survival effort. Fierce, a Hyderabad Hydras’ player, with 4 finishes and 26:39 survival time, was sure to disseminate fear amongst its enemies. Striker’s remarkable utility usage during the intense heat of the moment is also what worked in their favour. The confidence and synergy that the team has shown till now is amazing.

Hyderabad Hydras have earlier been given the title of ‘the Kings of Miramar’ but after their continuous victory in Erangel, it seems like they also seek the title of ‘the Kings of Erangel’.

After a disappointing game in the previous match, Reckoning Esports improved their game and successfully made a finish this time. They started off really well. They ambushed their opponents, made finishes but were soon pressurised by their enemies and lost 2 players. The other 2 members were struggling with their rotation the rest of the game. Overall, it is important for the team to play more unitedly to ensure better performance. Similarly, Autobotz also need to up their game soon to maintain their chances of winning the league.

MATCH 5 - MIRAMAR

Till the end, everyone was in suspicion as to which team will take the chicken dinner. However, bringing their team to an overall rank of #4, Skylightz Gaming was the team who broke the ongoing streaks of Hyderabad Hydras and OR Esports to win the 5th chicken dinner of the day. They could not reach their primary drop location and the flight pass was also a bit different, yet the team managed to deliver a noteworthy performance. They took fight with Udog and made things difficult for them as well. They were under a lot of pressure. They had to enter the zone, Blue was in damage, there were opponents in three of the frontline angles. But they showed a good account of their experience to handle that pressure. What a flawless game from Skylightz Gaming!

Orangutan and 7Sea played well but succumbed to the match due to bad fights. So did Hydra Esports. At once, it could be said that the team had a chance of winning the game when they finished a player of Skylightz. They had a man-advantage, the circle was in their favour, but the team failed to make use of these advantages and stumbled towards the end. It is safe to say that the team is only learning from its mistakes and their graph is moving upwards steadily. Udog tried to fight hard for themselves. But ultimately, only a single player was left and he could not do much for the team.

The MVP of the match was Punkk of Team XO with 7 finishes and 21:31 survival time. Team XO seemed unstoppable and all the viewers were just loving this new avatar. The team usually tries to avoid fights which have risk factor but today, they showed a whole new aggressive form. But their positioning in the final moments of the match was not so good.

MATCH 6 - ERANGEL

Nigma Galaxy gave a great performance. Even though they did not win the chicken dinner, a huge token of appreciation was due in their favour. It is believed that if they are consistent with their performance, they will easily be at the top of the points table.

The perfect story of a comeback. Team INS gave a terrorising performance and bagged the last and the final chicken dinner of the day. They entered the battlefield with some roster changes and new strategies. The MVP of the match was Rexx of Enigma Gaming with 10 finishes and 23:02 survival time. The way he made finishes from his car in the middle of the sea was beyond words! Enigma’s players have now excelled in this unique technique.

Udog gave unanticipated flights to their opponents. Their troubles increased as soon as they entered the open fields. Team INS was giving a strong push. They are known to do early rotations but interestingly, in this match, they made quite late rotations. Blue too was doing late rotations and eventually, things did fall in favour of him. OG vs Global Esports fight. OG had the chance of winning the chicken but they could not make use of it. A sense of completion is missing from their gameplay.

6 back-to-back matches were just wholesome for all the players as well as the viewers. The upcoming days too are sure to bring all the more fun and thrill to all of us! Follow https://thegamingjournal.in/wiki/tournaments to stay updated with the BGMI SHOWDOWN.