The former Battlegrounds Lobby Legends champion, rimgosu, couldn’t stop SeseiSei in a record-breaking final.

This last weekend Battlegrounds fans witnessed one of the strangest Lobby Legends finals so far. SeseiSei was cruising the final lobby until rimgosu, the former Battlegrounds Lobby Legends champion, stood in the way.

The finals went for three extra games, ending with six players just one win away from winning the $50,000 Battlegrounds event. Join us in this Battlegrounds Lobby Legends recap.

Lobby Legends promotion - Image via Blizzard
Lobby Legends promotion - Image via Blizzard

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends: Semifinals

Lobby Legends: Castle Nathria day 1 saw the 16 best Battlegrounds players, divided into two groups of 8, clashing for a ticket to the finals. During the semifinals, each group played three games, with the 4 best point-earners advancing to Day 2.

This time, viewers were also part of the show. The new Tavern Buddy Twitch extension allowed the audience to make predictions, challenging each other and even the casters to see who knew better. You can check out the details of this new feature in our previous article.

The predictions revealed Educated Collins and XQN as the favorites for each group. Unfortunately, Battlegrounds Lobby Legends isn't a popularity contest, and they couldn't make it into the finals. On the other hand, rimgosu, the defending champion, and SeseiSei, the last event's runner-up, got their ticket to the Top 8.

Lobby A Semifinals results - Image via Blizzard
Lobby A Semifinals results - Image via Blizzard
Lobby B Semifinals results - Image via Blizzard
Lobby B Semifinals results - Image via Blizzard

A nail-biting final

It's not a secret that the Asia-Pacific region dominates the Battlegrounds Lobby Legends scene, and the trend seems to continue. Four out of the eight players in the finals were from APAC.

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Finals - Image via Blizzard
Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Finals - Image via Blizzard

The finals started with all the attention put on rimgosu and SeseiSei. rimgosu won the first lobby, but this wasn't enough to stop SeseiSei, who won games 2 and 4. Remember that the Battlegrounds Lobby Legends finals are played under the Check format in which players need to accumulate +20 and then win a game, to become champions.

With this streak that included a second place in game 2, SeseiSei put the lobby in check. He was just one win away from owning the tournament, and this was when things got spicy.

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends: Check format magic

In the two following games, 5 and 6, SeseiSei and rimgosu made it to the final showdown. SeseiSei was one win away, but the Battlegrounds Lobby Legends #5 champion wasn't going to go down without a fight. rimgosu won them both, taking the finals to a game 7, at least.

Barov's Blessing prediction game from Tavern Buddy extension ft, SeseiSei and rimgosu - Image via Blizzard
Barov's Blessing prediction game from Tavern Buddy extension ft, SeseiSei and rimgosu - Image via Blizzard

By game 7, five players had put the lobby in check, which meant that the end was coming. The chances for a non-checked player to win started to go down dramatically. This seventh game was the one in which both our protagonists feared the most.

SeseiSei and rimgosu were eliminated in the early stages and PenguinSan, yet another APAC player, was about to win the lobby and the whole tournament. There is when an unexpected hero appeared, SleepyHS, who was bottom of the scoreboard pulled up an impressive win.

Everything went down to the eighth game. With rimgosu out of the way, everything was between SeseiSei and BetterBabbit, the last American region's hope. Despite BetteBabbit's efforts, SeseiSei took the last fight with some Divine (shield) help.

SeseiSei Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Champion - Image via Blizzard
SeseiSei Battlegrounds Lobby Legends Champion - Image via Blizzard

Record Breaking tournament

SeseiSei won $10,000 for first place, but that wasn't the only thing that he achieved. On top of that, he set a new record for most points, with a total of 43. The previous record was 35.5 points, owned by, you probably guessed it, SeseiSei too!

Moreover, SeseiSei and rimgosu also broke the record for the most games won in the final stage. No one before had won 3 games in the finals, and both achieved that mark this edition.

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends final scoreboard, with two new records - Image via Blizzard
Battlegrounds Lobby Legends final scoreboard, with two new records - Image via Blizzard

What's next in Battlegrounds Lobby Legends?

Battlegrounds Lobby Legends returns in October. The Top 48 ladder players from the three regions (excluding China) will battle in the Qualifiers on October 2nd. The best 12 from that stage will advance to Battlegrounds Lobby Legends' seventh event on October 15th and 16th.

We assume that there might be some balance changes or meta shake-ups before that. Perhaps Hearthstone's Maw and Order miniset would also bring some new Battlegrounds content.

Moreover, we might expect further development of the Tavern Buddy Twitch extension which was an interesting add-on to this weekend's broadcast.

Tavern Buddy Twitch extension for viewers to predict outcomes during live broadcast.
Tavern Buddy Twitch extension for viewers to predict outcomes during live broadcast.

Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Battlegrounds news and updates. また今度ボブの酒場で会いましょう!(See you next time, in Bob's Tavern).