AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 21, 2023 - KRAFTON, Inc. has announced Soniqs as the champions of the PUBG Global Series 2 (PGS 2). The Grand Finals took place from 18 - 20 August as an offline event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After three days of intense competition across a total of 18 matches, Global Partner Team Soniqs of North America, comprised of Hunter “hwinn” Winn, Tristan “Shrimzy” Nowicki, James “TGLTN” Giezen, Austin “M1ME” Scherff, claimed the glory of becoming the PGS 2 champion and taking home $600,000 in prize money.
The 2nd and 3rd place were taken by EMEA’s Twisted Minds and Question Mark respectively. Other EMEA teams, who had also qualified to the Grand Finals, Natus Vincere and FaZe Clan, took 12th and 13th places.
Soniqs were a dominating presence throughout PGS 2, getting a total of 9 Chicken Dinners, more than any other team during the tournament. They plunged into the Grand Finals with two back-to-back wins but the fight for the crown was anything but easy. At the start of the final match, Twisted Minds were a single point away from Soniqs, and Question Mark followed them only 9 points behind. The deciding fight came a few minutes before the end of the tournament when Twisted Minds wiped out Question Mark, thus alerting Soniqs to their presence, who rushed over to eliminate the already injured Twisted Minds and claim their victory.
Soniqs had previously ranked 8th in PUBG Global Series 1 (PGS 1) and, since the PUBG Global Invitational.S 2021, PGS 2 became their first win in a global PUBG Esports competition. “TGLTN” was named MVP of PGS 2. He achieved a total of 29 kills and an accumulated damage of 4,934, showcasing sharp combat skills that ushered his team to victory.
After the conclusion of PGS 2, the PGS Points were awarded to the top 16 teams. Based on their final rankings from both competitions (PGS 1 and PGS 2), the four teams with the highest cumulative PGS Points earned their spots at PGC 2023, the premier global PUBG Esports event held at the end of the year. Based on the results of PGS 2, the teams with the highest PGS Points are Soniqs (330 points), 17 Gaming (260 points), Twisted Minds (245 points), and Danawa e-sports (200 points).
Twisted Minds qualifying through PGS Points opened up an extra slot for EMEA teams at PUBG Global Championship (PGC) 2023. The last chance to get additional PGC Points for them will be at PUBG EMEA Championship (PEC): Fall in October where six EMEA teams will be able to qualify through the accumulated PGC Points.
On the last day of the PGS 2 Grand Finals, KRAFTON revealed that PGC 2023 will be held from 18 November to 3 December in Bangkok, Thailand. The world's top teams that have proven their skills in this year's PGS and regional tournaments will once again compete for the ultimate honor of being crowned the champions of PGC 2023.
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