Home Ground, High Stakes: Why Day 2 Is Make-or-Break for Nepal’s PMGO Hopes

On Day 2 of the PMGO Hopes, the goal is to reach home and it is a matter of life and death for Nepal.Day 2 of PMGO Hopes will be make or break for Nepal as the objective is to reach home.
Day 1 of the PMGO South Asia Finals at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu was a blessing in disguise as playing on a home turf is a pressure cooker.

The atmosphere outside the stadium yesterday was electric—except for the leader board, which left locals with pride and anxiety. Pakistan's big boys 4Thrives Esports had set a strong example with their 72-point start, while the two leading teams of Nepal, Treated to Kill (T2K) and Horaa Esports were in 4th and 5th place respectively. They are not out of the running, but they are not in the top three, either, which is why Day 2 can't be 'just' good, it's got to be 'statement' good.

These are some of the things local fans should be watching as the teams return to the arena today.

The Transition from Playing Safe to Playing to Win

T2K was playing classic and calculated PUBG Mobile on Day 1. Their Match 3 Miramar Chicken Dinner was a super-beach of positioning. But, when teams such as 4Thrives and A1 RG are going to work on the finish points, calculated play is only part of the equation.

T2K collected a good number of placement points yesterday but the number of points they eliminated was lagging behind. They must play with a beefier side on Day 2. Top-four placements are good, but if a player doesn't engage in any gunplay or map control, he'll never catch up with 3rd place.

Horaa Esports Needs to Own Rondo and Miramar

Horaa played the first game of the tournament with a great Match 1 victory on Rondo, outplayed 4Thrives in a tight final circle. It demonstrated to all in the hall that if Horaa can get on rhythm then the mechanical skill of any person in South Asia can be equal to that.

But later in the day it caught up with them. Rondo and Miramar are layouts which tend to favour Horaa's aggression. If they can take the lead early today in Match 1, it may be the mood for the rest of the afternoon.

Tackling the Erangel Gatekeepers

Erangel is where Day 1 was won and lost. 4Thrives controlled the central compounds in the first three games and the gatekeeping rotators at the end of the games.

Today they have too many power positions and Nepali team can't let them comfortable. T2K, Horaa and lower ranked local teams such as Hidden Leaf will need to put 4Thrives and Maxebels on their back early on in the game, either with hidden entries or an early choke point hold.

The Dasharath Stadium Advantage

When the local team gets to the final circle, it's as if they are in a Kathmandu crowd. The floor seemed to shake yesterday during Match 1. Today could easily turn the leaderboard upside down as that home-court roar is a double-edged sword, but if the rosters off Nepali are able to feed off the pressure instead of getting frozen, then this day may be able to tip the leader board.

T2K and Horaa are just 10-13 points behind 3rd place. It's all about momentum right now and Nepal's best are poised to take action.