Teamfight Tactics Players To Watch At The Fates Championship
After nearly two months of regional qualifiers, the Teamfight Tactics: Fates Championship kicked off on April 7. The tournament brought together 24 players from around the world to compete for a piece of the $250,000 prize pool.
Day one sorted the competitors into three lobbies determined by each player's showing during the regional competitions. Though over two dozen individuals from Europe, CIS, Turkey, China, North America, Korea, Brazil, Latin America, Japan, and Oceania entered the fray, only the top 16 point earners will advance to day two. The initial clash already brought some surprises and upsets, with players like INF Piehat, who YouTuber Gangly named as his dark horse pick leading up to the tournament, already knocked out of the running.
Of those who remain, here are the Teamfight Tactics competitors to keep an eye on as the Fates Championship moves into its final two days.
Razza is OCE's Chosen
As the sole Oceania representative, Razza came out swinging during day one of the Fates Championship. Pitted against Ging, Brank, Mismatched Socks, Ramkev, Thunder, Goat Lion, and Luovi in round one, Razza won his lobby, securing an early lead alongside Lyyyress and Huanmie. Razza lost some momentum in round two, which saw him slip to the number four spot in the overall rankings before he moved back up to second place in round three. Though he ceded some of his headstart in the final two rounds, he managed to finish day one with 25 points total, tying for fifth place with Ging, Juanzi, and Lallana.
According to Dot Esports, Razza earned the epithet "OCE's Chosen" after qualifying for the Fates Championship in late March. He first played Teamfight Tactics when the mode was still in beta, but didn't hit Challenger until Set 3. He was one of the first to adopt the Keeper composition in Set 4, which allowed him to counter some of the best units in the meta and ascend through the ranks of the Oceanic TFT crowd. His clever decision-making paid off, giving him the opportunity to face off against NA player Mismatched Socks in the World Championship, who he described as one of his biggest influences.
Pas de Bol has strong roots
Fates Championship day one saw French player Pas de Bol sorted into a lobby with Zykoo, Kurumx, 8LJayWalking, Bes Narkesh, INF Piehat, Huanmie, and Saopimi. While Pas de Bol had a rough first round, he slowly climbed the ladder before winning his lobby in round four and claiming second place in the overall rankings. Though he slipped down the ladder once more in round five, he finished the day in the top five with 26 points.
Pas de Bol was a favorite going into the Fates Championship. YouTuber Gangly identified him as his number three pick, largely due to France's reputation for having "the strongest tournament infrastructure for Teamfight Tactics in EU and maybe even in the world." Of the six EU competitors who qualified for the tournament, four hailed from France. According to Gangly, Pas de Bol "dominated" his regional qualifiers and has a reputation for making minimal mistakes during matches, a reputation Pas de Bol upheld through the first portion of the tournament.
8LJayWalking defies expectations
Korean player 8LJayWalking started day one of the tournament in the same lobby as Pas de Bol, beating his French rival to claim the fourth overall spot after the first round. He maintained that lead in round two, before dropping several spots in round three. Undaunted, 8LJayWalking climbed back up the ladder in the following matchups before finishing the day in the top three with 29 points.
One of three Korean representatives, 8LJayWalking consistently outscored sCsC (a.k.a Ding Deng), who both Gangly and Daily Esports named as the primary Korean player to keep an eye on going into the tournament. At the time of this writing, 8LJayWalking (팔차선) was ranked #64 on the Korean TFT leaderboard. Despite not being the top Korean pick for some, his showing during day one shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. As reported by Naver Sports (via Google Translate), he won first place during the regional championship back in March.
Kurumx aims high (but not too high)
All four North American players enjoyed a strong start during day one of the Fates Championship. However, Kurumx pulled away from the pack. Originally placed in the same lobby as Pas de Bol and 8LJayWalking, Kurumx finished round one in the top seven before shooting up to first overall in round three. He refused to relinquish the top spot throughout the remaining matchups, beating out all the other participants, including fellow NA competitors RamKev, DQA and Mismatched Socks, with a whopping 33 points.
Kurumx's day one triumph hardly came out of nowhere. He joined Team Liquid's professional TFT team in 2019 after securing the number one and number two spots on the NA TFT leaderboard. From there, he went on to win the North American regional championship in March 2021. According to an interview with Juked.gg, Kurumx started to build a following while streaming Set 1, momentum he built on and rode all the way to the top of the rankings.
Unlike some players, Kurumx admitted that he typically does not aim for first place while playing TFT, preferring a lower-risk approach centered on hitting top four instead. This less aggressive playstyle seems to have paid off, with his career clearly on the rise.