PUBG PCS5 Americas Grand Final: Week one highlights

Week one of the PCS5 Americas Grand Final is now in the rearview mirror, and it provided plenty of highlights to satisfy the appetites of fans.

Week one of the PCS5 Americas Grand Final delivered yet another series loaded with impressive plays and remarkable wins. Following 12 matches across two days, Soniqs look down on the rest of the lobby from their perch.

A strong performance in opening weeks has developed into a quintessential element of the region’s most cultivated roster. Collecting a triplet of Chicken Dinners over the 12-match series, Soniqs saw their first place bolstered by a lobby-leading 93 kills.

Soniqs continue to roll

During the opening week, the Soniqs needed three wins to isolate themselves from the pack and claim first overall. That performance was impressive and could very easily repeat itself during week two when the action resumes, on September 23.

One-third of the way through this Grand Final, the Soniqs sit atop the overall standings with a $17,000 award to their name.

In the Grand Final, the leaderboard resets and teams begin fresh with zero match victories. At the same time, the prize pool award for placement increases from week to week.

That gives teams who may not have played well early on a chance to catch up during the latter stages of the event. The built-in comeback system by way of increasing awards could keep the other teams within reach of the Soniqs.

Rounding out the podium

Wrapping up their week one outing with a pair of Chicken Dinners, Spacestation Gaming and Wildcard Gaming were the other two teams standing on the podium. The tie-breaker that ultimately settled their final placement was a four-kill advantage for Spacestation Gaming.

• Read more: PCS5 Americas Grand Final HUB

Heading into this event, it was believed that the SSG roster would be under the most pressure to succeed during PCS5. Since the Spicy Fish roster was signed by Spacestation Gaming in June, the team had yet to capture its first championship or podium finish.

On paper, the team is incredibly talented and their performance has been outstanding at times. That said, we haven’t yet witnessed this team piece together a complete event and come out of the other side victorious.

Prior to the PCS5 North America Group Stage, SSG announced the addition of George ‘oldless’ Muriel, formerly of Guadalajara Gascans, and optimism surrounding the team quickly grew. Since his arrival, the team has seen fluctuating results, which is to be expected with any roster move as players acclimate to one another.

After a shaky start in the NA group stage, the team survived the last-chance qualifier. In week one of the Grand Final, the team seized two Chicken Dinners and secured a $12,000 prize.