To say that the PGS 5 Grand Finals weekend was historic would be an understatement. Not only was it the first time that any team has won two back-to-back global tournaments, but it was the second stage of a dramatic and dominant return to form for Twisted Minds’ roster of xmpl, BatulinS, Lu and Perfect1ks.

Here’s your recap of Twisted Minds’ path to victory, from start to finish:

Group Stage

Between their PGS 3 win and their absolute dominance on the regional stage in EMEA, Twisted Minds have been having a phenomenal year. However, when they arrived at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh last and got knocked out of the tournament during the group stage - a rare event for such a strong team - some may have worried that the star-studded roster had begun to lose some of their momentum. 

As the Group Stage kicked off for PGS 5 in Bangkok last week, the one word on everyone’s lips was that Twisted Minds were angry. And if you saw Twisted Minds playing on either of those two days, you’d understand why. The team certainly seemed keen to put any doubts about their momentum and ability to dominate on the global stage to rest, with a rip-roaring performance in the Group Stage. After just twelve games, they finished with a landslide 41-point lead over an extremely competitive lobby.

Top 8 Group Stage Standings, PGS 5

Grand Finals

Following their blistering performance in the Group Stage, it certainly seemed that the Twisted Minds that fans have come to know and love were back. 

The team got off to a slow start in the first day of the Grand Finals - after the first six games of the Finals, they had fallen to the back of the pack with just 22 Points in thirteenth place. 

On Day 2 - following two similarly poor matches - the team had fallen to fifteenth place after Match 8. Such a setback might have broken any other team’s mental - but Twisted Minds aren’t any other team.

With the halfway point of the Grand Finals beckoning, Twisted Minds would need to put on a mesmeric performance if they wanted to make it back to the top of the leaderboard. So by the time Match 9 of the Grand Finals came around - they got to work.

This was the turning point of the tournament for Twisted Minds - a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner with a stunning 16-kill win on Rondo catapulted the team up in the leaderboard - from fifteenth to eighth in just one match!

From there, it was onwards and upwards. The team snatched another magnificent Chicken Dinner before the day was out, and their trajectory to the top of the leaderboard was well underway.

Going into the final day of the Grand Finals, the atmosphere was electric - the top 8 teams in the leaderboard were all perilously close in points, and any one of them could realistically snatch the tournament title (including Twisted Minds, who had now clawed their way up to fourth place).

Twisted Minds are often associated with a considered, exceptionally consistent playstyle that gets them across the line with calculated lethality - even if they don’t necessarily win a big portion of the individual matches. Never has that been more true than in the last six matches of PGS 5 - where, despite not winning a single chicken dinner, Twisted Minds were able to just edge out the championship victory by capitalizing on every possible opportunity to gain kills and take full advantage of the opportunities that were given. When holding a top spot in a high-pressure environment, many teams would opt to “play to not lose” - but that has never been Twisted Minds’ style. 

Standings before the final match - PGS 5

Going into the final match, it was almost a dead heat for the championship title between the top five teams. Of those top five, 17Gaming was the first to fall. After NAVI and Soniqs fell, only Twisted Minds and CERBERUS remained in contention - but both would need to pick up a few more points in order to overtake 17Gaming’s final tally of 128. In a final showdown for the ages, the two teams faced off in a 3v4 pitched teamfight - in Twisted Minds’ favor. As had been the case throughout the previous twelve games in the Grand Finals, Twisted Minds wasted no time in seizing the advantage, converting a golden opportunity into championship win at the PUBG Global Series 5.

Final standings - PGS 5

Of course, that’s not the end of the PGS action - PGS 6 is just around the corner and kicks off from November 4! Stay tuned to our social media and pubgesports.com for all the latest news about PGS 6.

Until then - see you on the Battlegrounds!