CSGO2ASIA.com has prepared you with a preview of the teams and recent form heading into ESEA Season 37 Open APAC
With 44 teams confirmed to participate, ESEA Season 37 Open APAC saw a higher turnout than the previous season. India have nine teams competing in the bracket, followed by Brunei Darussalam with four teams. Mongolia, however, is down to four teams from six the previous season.
ALSO READ: Renewal stun NG Esports to win ESEA Season 36 Open APAC Playoffs
Several top teams were also absent this season. One of them is Expendables (ex-Bren Esports), which will no longer compete in any CS competition as the squad will move entirely to VALORANT under the South Built Esports flag.
Meanwhile, The Black Company continues in the footsteps of D13 Esports by competing in the ESEA Season 37 Open’s Europe division. For D13 Esports, they are now up in ESEA Season 37 Main Europe, which took place on the same ground as YaLLA Esports and Germany’s Unicorns of Love.
Five teams to keep an eye on during ESEA Season 37 Open APAC are:
? Team NKT (ex-NG Esports) (xccurate, cbbk, erkaSt, ImpressioN, XigN)
Despite the lack of organizational support, at least for the time being, the ImpressioN-led side has the most diverse talent set among its players as opposed to the others. Looking at what happened last season, when they were defeated in the grand final by Renewal, a trophy should be ex-NG’s top target for this matter.
?? Renewal (dobu, kabal, neuz, nin9, rate)
Renewal, the APAC champions in ESEA Season 36, will be aiming to defend their throne this season. However, their recent performances have raised doubts about the outcome. They were not only defeated by Wings Up and ViCi, but also by Checkmate, their Mongolian counterpart, who also competed this time. One reassuring aspect is that they were one of the first Asian teams to return to bootcamp, giving them an advantage and proper training over the others.
?? Checkmate (H4wK, kaz, ROUX, bLitz, Techno)
Checkmate can be described as a dark horse among all of the teams. Should they manage to perform consistently, Checkmate are likely to bring surprises to the table. Not to mention the fact that Checkmate was seen in a bootcamp during their RMR matches, which may give them an edge. Checkmate could easily make the playoffs together with Renewal in the absence of TBC and D13 Esports.
?? HZ (splashke, moxie, spielz, Bobosaur, nephh)
Despite recent underperformance against East Asian teams, Huat Zai are still capable of giving the top five standings a run for their money this time. Even though Huat Zai is a player-owned organization, with other Southeast Asian teams leaving CS one by one, they should spare no effort this time as the pressure to deliver is higher with no Chinese teams in attendance and fewer Mongolian teams appeared. Anything other than a top-eight finish would be a slap in the face.
?? ZIGMA (RoLEX, Geniuss, Reality, Niffy, JUSTCAUSE)
A fourth-place finish in the playoffs proved that ZIGMA could deliver once more this season. The emergence of Kritthee “Geniuss” Sawatmuang was most likely a major factor in their rebound and a chance to break into the top three. Just four of the teams mentioned above are likely to cause them problems.
Worth Mentioning – ? ARTiSAN Esports (daBoiKNG, escudo, Rossi, sstiNiX, cara)
For this season, ARTiSAN Esports is a squad worth noting. The fact that Kiran “Rossi” R and Nikita “daBoiKNG” Larichev choose them over Asking Questions and Born in the East, respectively, posed questions regarding the team’s firepower. The outcome of this competition would almost certainly set the tone for the rest of the competition on their ability against Asia’s top sides.
Here are the complete ESEA League Season 37 Open APAC standings in the first week, May 10:
| # | Team | Wins | Loses |
| 1 | ?? Team NKT | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | ?? Unfazed | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | ?? Redemptions | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | ?? GR Gaming | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | ?? RedViperZ | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | ?? DoNotDisturbLa | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | ?? w2c | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | ?? HZ | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | ?? Renewal | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | ?? maGicDV | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | ?? ZIGMA | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | ?? Not Even Close HK | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | ?? ARTiSAN Esports | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | ?? Goodfellas Gaming | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | ?? SNRG | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | ?? Real N Mode | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | ?? NoTeamTag | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | ?? Asking Questions | 1 | 1 |
| 19 | ?? ARAVT | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | ?? Latte Esports | 1 | 1 |
| 21 | ?? SR Kwak | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | ?? Team Cillerian Asia | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | ?? 5 GAY DADS | 1 | 2 |
| 24 | ?? Headshot eSports | 1 | 2 |
| 25 | ?? SRWOLVES | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | ?? TEAM TeRR | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | ?? Yuth E-Sports | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | ?? 5YAT | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | ?? Alpha Creed | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | ?? Tetroyd | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | ?? Tantrum e-sports | 0 | 1 |
| 32 | ?? TRYHARDERS0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | ?? myRevenge Nepal | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | ?? Team Xeeno | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | ?? Checkmate | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | ?? Hardcore | 0 | 2 |
| 37 | ?? RedMonk | 0 | 2 |
| 38 | ?? HoneyCombS | 0 | 2 |
| 39 | ?? Lepak Minum Kopi | 0 | 2 |
| 40 | ?? DARK Esports | 0 | 2 |
| 41 | ?? Vencer | 0 | 2 |
| 42 | ?? FenrirBN | 0 | 3 |
| 43 | ?? Play For Food | 0 | 3 |
| 44 | ?? 5LAN | 0 | 3 |
How to Keep Updated With All of the Matches?
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Cover photo courtesy of HLTV
