The first of eight Teamfight Tactics Regional Finals has just wrapped up with the Oceanic region crowning its champion. After four days of competition, with a field of the 32 best players across the region, the event reached a climax on Sunday. The final eight players fought for the lion’s share of a $6,500 AUD prize pool and the title of the best player in the region.
Although he did not dominate the tournament from start to finish, Razza showed that consistency is everything in TFT. After fighting off the entire 32 player field, Razza won the title of the best TFT player in Ocenia. But more importantly, he earned a trip to Worlds.
Razza played 24 games over four days of competition. At the end of each day, the eight players with the least amount of points were eliminated. He did not play exceptionally well in the first three days, but did enough to avoid the cut each time. He relied heavily on his Keeper play as well as his Vanguard Mystic Neeko. However, Razza decided to play his best TFT of the season when it mattered the most.
Razza’s final day run
After a poor start in game one of the finals, Razza faced an uphill battle as his main threat, Team Solo Mid’s Jang “Keane” Lae-young, started the finals with a game one victory. Keane was the favorite heading into the final day as he carried momentum from day three where he finished first overall. The TSM sponsored player finished sixth, but the placement was still good enough to qualify for the finals. Starting with game two, Razza started to close that gap.
Piloting a Dragonsoul Shyvana build, Razza placed third in game two while Keane broke out of Fortune prison a little too early and finished seventh. Game three is when Razza turned it up a notch. Keane bounced back with a third place finish of his own in the game, but Razza playing Dragonsoul Slayers grabbed his first win of the night. With the finals at the halfway point, Razza and Keane were dead even in the standings.
With the Oceania Region only receiving one spot at the world championships this season, the last three games were intense. Games two and three saw Razza play outside of his comfort zone. But with the championship on the line, he decided to go back to his tried and true strategy in game four. On the backs of a three star Neeko and Nautilus, Razza racked up his second win in a row. The win put him alone at the top of the standings for the first time all weekend.
Razza keeps his top spot
Game five saw Razza play his other comfort pick in the form of Keepers. With Razza just needing to play safe to keep his lead, he piloted Keepers to a third place finish. Because of a brutal sixth place placement by Keane in game five, the gap widened between first and second. By the final game of the event, Razza had a 50 point lead over the next closest player. All Razza had to do was capture a top four finish in game six to clinch the Oceania championship.
The tournament was all but over as soon as Razza hit a three star Nunu in the sixth game. Although a Nunu Brawler composition wouldn’t win the lobby, it was good enough for a top four placement. After Gages bowed out in the fifth round and with Razza still alive, the Exist Oceania content creator clinched the championship. Not even Keane winning the final game of the day would allow him to catch up. At the end of the event, Razza finished in first place with Keane in second.
Razza is no stranger to playing against international competition. He was one of the four Ocenia players who qualified for last seasons OCE/NA Finals. Although he didn’t do to well in that event, Razza will get another opportunity to prove himself on the big stage on April seventh as he will be competing against 23 of the best players in the world for a prize pool of $250,000 and the title of TFT Fates world champion.
Source: Read Full Article