InderClap's Random Esports and Gaimin Gladiators win EU, NA Pokemon Unite May Finals

Just a few weeks after the Aeos Cup, two of Pokémon Unite’s top teams claimed victory again in the Pokemon Unite Championship Series May Finals. InderClap’s Random Esports, formerly known as Random Gaming, defeated Apprentice Unleashed 2-1 in the European May Finals, while Gaimin Gladiators dispatched IX Gaming 2-0 after a bracket reset in the North American May Finals. Both teams faced adversity but proved that they are the teams to beat in their respective regions heading into the regional championships on June 18-19. Here’s how they got it done.

Image credit: The Pokemon Company

InderClap’s Random Esports continue to embrace creative picks

Ever since inderClap’s Random Esports’ victory in the European Aeos Cup, Sylveon’s presence has risen significantly in competitive play. The Intertwining Pokemon is a fan-favorite in the series for its cute, pink exterior, but this Fairy-type Eevee evolution packs an early-game punch that will leave its enemies fearing ribbons for days to come. InderClap’s Random Esports’ Adesu embraces that early-game power by often taking the first Lillipup and Ludicolo camp, quickly evolving at Level 4, before rotating to the bottom lane and taking hyper voice to both pressure the enemy’s goal zone and protect their own.

This strategy is a strong response to the current popularity of items like attack weight and special attack specs, which grant permanent stats based on goals scored. As a result, many teams have adopted the early tempo Sylveon strategy, including inderClap’s Random Esports’ opponent in the finals -- Apprentice Unleashed.

“After the Aeos Cup, everyone was playing Sylveon a lot and I was like, ‘I like this because I love Sylveon,’” said Adesu in a post-broadcast interview. “Even if it’s the enemy team, I love this. I want more people to play Sylveon. I do not think they are copying us. I think they are just realizing that you can play the game in many ways, not just sticking to one meta.”

After taking a decisive Game 1 win with Sylveon, Apprentice Unleashed answered back just as strongly with Xante playing a Sylveon of their own to even up the series 1-1. It’s only natural that the original innovators eventually fell prey to their own strategy, but inderClap’s Random Esports pushed back with a surprise Greedent pick from Ghatlue to avoid a bracket reset, with Adesu switching onto the Blastoise.

“Actually, since some people were playing the comp we played in Aeos Finals, we tried to play to organize something against our own comp, and we thought that Greedent would be an awesome option to actually counter against Sylveon,” Adesu said. “And his Unite move is crazy against Sylveon, against Blastoise, and unstoppable. Greedent is just so tanky against this comp.”

InderClap’s Random Esports had no problem swiping up the win with the Greedy Pokemon, Greedent, and the team looks strong heading into the upcoming Europe Championship. After winning the Aeos Cup earlier this month and now the May Finals, inderClap’s Random Esports are the team to beat, and they’ll surely have a new Pokemon or two up their sleeve at the EU Championship.

Image credit: The Pokemon Company

Gaimin Gladiators stump IX Gaming with Trevenant

Gaimin Gladiators are North America’s most prolific team and almost always find themselves at the top of any tournament they compete in. Despite that, the Gladiators last won a monthly finals tournament in February and struggled to find that same success in the March Finals and Aeos Cup. At the May Finals, though, they found their footing against IX Gaming after losing the first series to trigger a grand final reset.

Gaimin Gladiators opened the first series running comfort picks and meta staples, with Lutano on his trusty Lucario and Goof on the ever-present defender Blastoise. Lucario and Blastoise are some of the strongest Pokemon in Pokemon Unite, but IX Gaming’s unique position as one of the only teams that plays Absol forced the team to reassess the situation after dropping the first series 0-2. Thankfully, though, they were plenty prepared.

“We had a bunch of comps in the works, like Toon wanted to play Cramorant, Aegislash in center lane. He had a bunch of stuff he wanted to play,” Gaimin Gladiators’ Zugrug said in a postgame interview. “We were practicing a bunch of different stuff in scrims this week, but when it came to playing against these guys, they’re the only team that really plays Absol, so, you know, we had to adjust our picks when we lost the first best-of-three in the bracket reset.”

Absol is strongest in the early game and quickly punishes players that find themselves alone in lane or the central area. As a response, Lutano took the Elder Tree Pokemon, Trevenant, to hold down the fort top lane and provide some extra tankiness later in the game. Absol deals a lot of burst damage, but runs out of steam once his combo is finished, making the tanky tree the perfect answer both in lane and in teamfights.

With Lutano’s bark making up the bulk of the team, Goof also made the switch over from Blastoise to Venusaur, another pseudo-tanky Pokemon that sustains through fights with giga drain. Trevenant and Venusaur are relatively unique picks in the grand scheme of competitive Unite, but as a team, Gaimin Gladiators trusts each other to execute no matter the composition.

“I think the big key to success for our team is just trusting each other. Lutano’s like, ‘Guys, trust me, the tree’s gonna carry here,’ and all right, if you think the tree’s gonna be good, just be the tree,” Zugrug said with a laugh. “I’ll be the Blissey, you be the tree. I trust that it’s a good pick, so I think that’s the important thing and what makes our team succeed for sure.”

And that trust paid off -- Gaimin Gladiators grew into their new sustain-focused composition and answered IX Gaming back with a 2-0 series win of their own to win their first monthly finals since February. Similar to inderClap’s Random Esports in Europe, Gaimin Gladiators are North America’s No. 1 seed heading into the North America Championship in June. Whether or not they’ll return to Trevenant and Venusaur remains to be seen, but it’s more than likely that this team built on trust will find their way near the top again.

Lead image credit: The Pokemon Company