PUBG Esports, PCS and Pick’ems finally get some love in Patch 7.3

The PUBG Continental Series is kicking off next week and PUBG Esports went all out on event coverage. After almost half a year of lackluster competition, changes in format and general decline in interest, PUBG finally decided to give their esports scene another push into the spotlight. The game has seen better days however. Player decline, bots, cheaters, persistent bugs and competitors like Valorant and Warzone are chipping away at both the player numbers and the professional scene.

The new 7.3 patch comes a brand new refurbishment of the regional and main PUBG esports website and a dedicated Esports section within the client. The Continental Series are the one thing holding competitive play alive, and probably one of the few reasons people still tune in to PUBG lately.

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PUBG Continental Series Finals Overview

The Continental Series will feature two events termed PCS 1 and PCS 2, across all four competitive regions. The first iteration or PCS1 will be held between June 25 to July 5. The four regions are EU, NA, APAC and Asia.

Each region went through a qualification and a group stage beforehand, and we are left with 16 teams in each region or 64 teams in total. The prize pool of each regional tournament is $200,000 plus 25% of all PCS1 items sold during the event.

Europe

The European series is probably the second best in the world after Asia. Famous global esports teams like Team Liquid, FaZe Clan, TSM, NaVi and ENCE all compete in the European series. They were also the major part of the now discontinued PUBG Europe League last year. They are joined by new and up and coming rosters from all across Europe and the CIS region who are hell bent on establishing themselves as the new dominant forces in competitive PUBG. It was these new teams that dominated the Group Stage of PCS 1. The Nuclear Penguins, UNITY, Tempus, Tornado Energy and Istanbul Wildcats are all new and strong contenders for the European trophy.

Some amazing games were played in the European Group stage with the established powerhouses being challenged for each drop zone and every compound. The Final round is going to be a special fiesta for spectators.

North America

The NA PCS 1 Group Stage went down to familiar names. All Top5 finishers from the Group Stage are former NPL teams. The Soniqs, Shoot To Kill, Oath, Wildcard Gaming and Zenith all made it in as the top teams. One of these five is going to be the champion in NA as well. The competition has a definitive top and bottom with the bottom half below this teams underperforming heavily at PCS 1 NA.

The North American scene got hit hard at the end of last year, when premier teams like Tempo Storm, Ghost Gaming, Cloud9, eUnited and Lazarus all released the PUBG rosters and stepped away from the scene. 2020 has not been kind to PUBG Esports, and we belive it will take awhile for NA to rebound as a premier region.

For those seeking PUBG betting, STK and Luke are your best choices for most performance categories and an outright win.

APAC

The Asia Pacific region is by far the most convoluted and hard to scope. Four different regions held qualifiers to select the participants at PCS 1 APAC. 3 from the Oceania region, 5 from Vietnam, 5 from Thailand and 3 from Indonesia. Apart from Buriram Esports and Astra (ex-Athletico Esports) esports, most names are new to the western audience. The diveristy of styles between all four regions however, will bring some interesting matches as teams with similar landing patterns clash for supremacy at the different points of the map.

The APAC PCS 1 and PCS 2 series will definitely show us who the strongest wildcards at the Global Championship will be.

Asia

Finally, the crème de la crème. A literal who’s who in the competitive PUBG elite is to compete in the ASIA PCS 1 event. PGC 2019 Champions Gen.G are joined by OGN Entus and Smash Cup winners VSG. China once again sends us the 4 Angry Men and recent PCS Charity Showdown winners Tianba. GeX is also here to spice things up.

The Asia series is probably the most competitive and highly strategical region of all. A blend of teams playing edge, teams playing center circle and everything in between should give us a hint at how peak PUBG looks like.

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PUBG PCS 1 Pick’em Challenge

Spectators can enjoy the games even more with a dedicated Pick’em selection made just for them. The new 7.3 Patch introduced a new Esports section with all the information about each regional competitions. Pick’ems can be selected by using a ticket either won by watching the matches or by buying a PCS1 item within the game. Winners have a shot at winning exclusive PCS 1 items if they guess correctly.

We wouldn’t be Esports.net if we didn’t share our PUBG pick’em predictions:

Europe: Northern Lights
ASIA: OGN Entus
North America: Soniqs
APAC: Buriram Esports

Fans of PUBG betting should consider looking at esports odds for these four teams on top of exotic bets for best individual performers. For individual performers our choices are: Mxey, Ubah, Ceh9 and Pio.

Read next: PUBG Esports 2020 – Is PUBG Slowing Down?