APAC Season 12: Final Four Preview

This matchweek will feature all remaining four teams playing matches, in a showdown that will culminate in the crowning of the VCC APAC Season 12 Champions.

Upper Finals:

MLK vs !sens | Saturday, August 22, 8pm SGT

Group A has dominated this season's playoffs, with the undefeated My Little Ken (MLK) facing off against #2 seed !sens, whose only loss this season was to MLK in an 0-2 blowout. This rematch will be a chance for !sens to finally topple the top dogs of this season, to be the first team to reach the grand finals.

MLK clearly possesses the top two players this season, with the Chinese duo of Boostie and iongers leading the squad, posting an impressive 1.59 and 1.54 rating for MLK respectively. In addition, iongers currently has the best overall rating throughout all archived seasons on the website, and had previously won Group Stage MVP in both Season 11 and 12.

All of MLK's players are versatile, but you will expect to see Boostie on his signature Cypher and Chamber roles, iongers on his signature lurks on Clove, alody on Neon, Ken on scan initiators, and Jam as a flex, but mostly on the Sentinel role as well. ab4yfx rounds out the team as a sixth man, previously being iongers' teammate on the All Gooners roster that made it to the grand finals last season.

!sens on the other hand, consists of newcomers, save for ColdBrew and Robed, who only played as a sub in last season's playoffs. The Singaporean duo of him and minirobed will be the rivals to MLK's Chinese duo, playing as the team's main two duelists.

They are supported by the rising Indian prodigy Sora, who has been an underrated force on the initiator for !sens, even playing Clove on some maps. BubbleCvm and ColdBrew complete the main five of the squad, with both flexing roles throughout maps.

The map veto will be interesting as MLK's most picked map is Sunset, which is also !sens' most banned map. MLK will have the choice between Team A or B as the higher seed.

Lower Semifinals:

LOZ vs FOIDS | Friday, August 21, 9pm SGT

Group B’s only representative in the top four, Legend of Zod (LOZ), is set to face an unexpected challenge in Hypergamous Foids (FOIDS). This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season, with the winner advancing to face the loser of the MLK vs !sens matchup in the lower finals.

LOZ, who also went undefeated in the group stage, enters the match as one of the most talented teams in the playoffs, with three of their five players currently sitting inside the top 10 in playoff ratings.

The key players to watch for LOZ will be Dorothy and kyo. Dorothy will be looking to return to his signature Clove, having posted a career-high 1.48 rating against Family Business. kyo will likely return to his comfort pick of Jett and remains one of the biggest threats with scoped weapons, leading the tournament in kills with the Operator and Outlaw.

qwert’s flexibility will also be crucial for LOZ, as he has shown to switch between roles depending on the map. Expect Ezra to hold down the sentinel role, and LOZ's namesake Zod to feature in this matchup after only being able to play one game during the group stage. The core of LOZ also brings championship experience, with Dorothy, qwert, kyo, and 7kay previously winning Season 9 with Kyo’s Knights (KK).

LOZ also recently added another player in chingg, giving the team even more options when it comes to rotations and substitutions, with Addie and 7kay rounding out the reserves.

FOIDS have been a surprise team in this season's playoffs, barely sneaking in to the upper bracket as Group A's #3 seed, despite only winning two games in the group stage (winning the 4-way tiebreaker). They continued their run in the playoffs defeating Group B's #2 seed Larpviatán in a close 2-1 victory, but were knocked to the lower bracket by MLK in a vicious stomp that sent them to the lower bracket, prevailing 2-0 over Red Horse.

They are led by returning players kizukii and RBK, who have been the team's go-to guys throughout the season. kizukii's Clove is one to watch, with him previously setting the kill record in all regions last season with the agent. RBK finally gets his chance on a playoff team after going winless with Ping Lovers last season, with him flexing between sentinel and controller roles with FOIDS.

The Malaysian trio of Neighbour, vulnara, and BananaSeal complete the roster, with the first two also flexing between roles and BananaSeal being known for his signature Neon.

LOZ enters as the favorite on paper, but FOIDS have already shown that they can upset higher-seeded opponents. If kizukii and RBK can continue their strong form, another upset could be on the cards.

VCC APAC action returns tomorrow, 9pm SGT, with the Lower Semifinals between LOZ and FOIDS, as we gear up for the final weeks of Season 12.