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What A1AL pros play in their free time

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Esports as an industry can be very demanding and pro players spend every second of their time improving and mastering their game. However, beneath the surface of intense training, some players like to unwind and relax with a different game. We asked our A1 Adria League participants if they play a game in other genres, which games they play, and why. Read on to learn more about some of A1AL’s competitors in Brawl Stars, CS2, EAFC, and FC Mobile.

Somzi and Nikolas talk about their FC Mobile’s nostalgic beginnings

Two of our best players in the 14th A1 Adria League season after the qualifiers are Nikola “Nikolas7” Seočanac and Miša “SPK_somzi” Todorović. I sat down with them and we talked about the importance of FIFA for both of these players.

I’m currently competing in EA FC Mobile, a game I discovered about five years ago. I was most impressed by the concept of the game, as well as the community where I met many good players with whom I played many nice matches in various tournaments. The biggest advantage of this game is that I can play anywhere using only my phone.

Apart from EA FC Mobile, I spent a lot of time playing CS 1.6 and CS: GO, where one of my favorite moments was when we won the gaming room for our faculty. I am also a big fan of sports games such as Football Manager, NBA, PES, and EA FC. One interesting thing is that I still remember part of the CD-KEY for FIFA 2004, said Somzi from Spartak Subotica eSport.

Nikolas7 also shared a part of his humble beginnings and a lot of us can relate to his experience.

It simply had to be a football game! I’ve been a fan of football pictures ever since I was little, and I spent every penny on opening bags looking for toothy Ronaldo, as we called him at the time, to finally finish the album. After that, we would all go and play football together outside, trade duplicate cards while being all muddy. The reflection of these childhood memories I saw in EA FC games, but of course now there is little time for the platform so we play the mobile version wherever we go.

However, ideally, it still reminds of collecting your favorite cards by creating your unique dream team and competing with others, and making new friendships along the way. Finally, I would like to wish all the participants of the top 16 phase good luck and encourage new ones to join next season as well, said this Youtuber, A1AL player and ex caster.

Nemanja Misko dedicated to the A1AL

Another football game in our arsenal is of course EAFC which has been featured in the A1AL since the fifth season. And so far one of the best, who finished first in the qualifiers, is Nemanja “Nemanja_Misko” Mišić. He told me that he only plays EAFC and that the A1 Adria League encourages him to do so even more.

I started playing FIFA from a young age. I was 7 years old. My dad bought me my first FIFA and from then on I had a desire to win tournaments and competitions. A few years ago, I started playing this game seriously and competitively, and the first serious tournament was the A1 Adria League. I have a clear goal in front of me and I fantasize and dream about becoming the best in the world one day.

There were a lot of difficult moments and losses, but if I’ve learned something in life, it’s that you should never give up and always push on and give your best. I would like to one day lift the A1 Adria league cup and in the future continue to play the best I can and achieve all my dreams and goals.

CS2 and BS pro players share their gaming focus

Apart from EAFC, a CS2 player and a member of team Kubix Atif “gejmzilla” Mustafa also gave his short comment on what he does in his free time.

I only play Sid Meier’s Civilization VI apart from CS. I like the game a lot and it helps me take a break from CS from time to time – short and direct from gejmzilla!

Furthermore, I wanted to know what Nikola “DzonDzon” Brajković, one of the most successful Brawl Stars players in A1AL, plays and his view on this. As you know, Frutas has been dominating the regional scene for quite a few years, and they don’t look like they are anywhere near the end. So when DzonDzon told me he is dedicated only to Brawl Stars I wasn’t surprised.

Most of the time I only play Brawl Stars because to be the best and among the best, you have to be active and dedicated to only one thing, so I don’t really have time to play anything besides that. I’m not a big fan of games in general, but Brawl Stars offered something that I hadn’t had the chance to play on a tablet before, said our seven time A1AL winner.

Best of A1AL – The most successful players and teams!

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The A1 Adria League has existed since 2017, and since then, we have hosted 13 seasons, while the 14th is ongoing. Many talented teams and players have competed in more than 10 games overall. If you’ve ever wondered who won the most trophies, who was most consistent, and who noted down the most TOP4 appearances, the answer is right below. Keep reading to find out who the best of the best are in the A1 Adria League.

Most rewarded CS2 competitors in the A1AL

Since CS2 or CS: GO, whichever you prefer, has been our main game since A1AL’s inception, we can start with our best shooters. Firstly, I have got to say that there have been many successful teams over the years that are worth mentioning. As you all remember first two A1AL seasons were won by Valiance, while KlikTech made it to top 4. In those early days, Level Up Esports, Blink, and Team uNIQUE also showed their supremacy. Furthermore, Portugal, iNation, 4glory, and BLUEJAYS were all big regional names that competed in A1AL and secured high spots.

If we fast forward to Season 9 Zero Tenacity starts their reign. Even though that season they placed second, the next three they won without much resistance becoming back to back to back champions. Precisely because Z10 won three consecutive trophies, it’s our most rewarded team ever!

When it comes to the most successful CS2 players Filip “aVN” Belojica and  Milos “dEE” Marceta are the most rewarded ones. Former with five and the latter with three, respectfully. Filip won the A1 Adria League twice with Z10, twice with Level Up Esports, and once with ex-BLUEJAYS back in season 4.

A1AL Season 11 Zero Tenacity CSGO

FIFA’s unsurpassed and unmatched player

FIFA or EAFC is another game that has been in the A1 Adria League for the majority of the seasons. It was featured in the first season, with a little break, until in the fifth season we brought it back permanently. That year our trio of veterans was born, Tarik Novo (ex Amke), esad1memic, and brstimir. These three players would go on to compete in almost every season up until current. Furthermore, they didn’t just compete in the low stages of the competition, but they almost always managed to get to TOP 8 or TOP 4.

After Esad Memic won that fifth season, where Novo was in third place, the reign of Novo’s terror began. In the sixth season, Novo won his first title, followed by Memic and brstimir in second and third place respectively. This scenario repeated for two more seasons, except that in S7 and S8 brstimir was vice-champion and Memic third place. Novo continued to be dominant and win titles, and at this moment he has six titles!

I also wanted to mention Milos “brstimir” Majdevac, a player who never won the league but managed to win second or third place almost every single season! If we are talking about consistency, brstimir is our guy.

Furthermore, apart from Novo, players worth mentioning are Gruby and GAME ON Marac who both won the league.

When talking about FIFA I have to mention our newly added FC Mobile game that has been a part of A1AL since the 12th season. So far SHAQ has been the most successful, being the only champion in the game. The defending champion is back in the current season, and we will see if we have a new Tarik Novo on our hands.

Tarik Novo A1 Adria League 2

Best of Brawl Stars

A1 Adria League went mobile in season 2 but Brawl Stars was first introduced in season 5. At the beginning of each season, a new winner was announced up until team Salada de Frutas entered the stage. This team is without a doubt unpreceded and the most rewarded. Since the ninth season, excluding S10 where they were vice-champions, until the current 14th season, Salada won every single time amounting to four A1AL titles.

Moreover, when talking about individual talents in this game, Salada’s players would be the most successful ones. Nikola “DzonDzon” Brajkovic boasts seven titles and two runner-up awards, while his teammate Andrej “Andrey” Pausic has six A1AL titles and also two runner-ups.

A1 Adria League Salada de Frutas 2

A1AL mini tournament most rewarded teams

As I said at the beginning we have hosted more than 10 games overall. There were competitions in Clash Royale, Hearthstone, Dota 2, League of Legends, PUBG, Valorant, F1, Trackmania, and Fortnite.

In CR the most successful was Nikola, who won the title two times individually and one time as part of Joza Esports. LoL’s most rewarded team in the league was Harmony, while in the PUBG the most dominant was Entropiq who won three consecutive titles (S9, S10, and S11).

Salada de Frutas claims second place at Clash of Leagues

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The A1 Adria League‘s ninth-season winners Salada de Frutas won second place in the pan-European competition Clash of Leagues in Salzburg! Andrey, DzonDzon, and Lavvek bettered their result from the last season when they finished Top 4.

Clash of Leagues finals in Salzburg

The Clash of Leagues finals at LEVEL UP – The Gaming Festival in Salzburg saw the winners of A1 Adria League, Swisscom Hero League, and A1 eSports League battle it out for the trophy. The format was three teams round-robin for a total prize pool of 3000€.

The draw went in the way of opponents which meant Salada de Frutas had to play the first two opening matches. In their first match against Aurora Esports, the winners of the Austrian A1 eSports League they showcased some resistance and played well but didn’t manage to close it out. In the end, they lost 3-0, altho the result doesn’t tell the full story of how that match-up played out.

Lavvek and co. stayed on stage for their second match. The Swisscom Hero League’s winners mYinsanity stepped on stage. In the first map, Salada de Frutas had everything they needed to take the win but in the end, mYinsanity managed to clutch it out. Salada de Frutas then showed great mental fortitude and won the remaining of maps and games. Once Aurora Esports defeated mYinsanity, Salada de Frutas secured second place.

  1. Aurora Esports (1600€)
  2. Salada de Frutas (800€)
  3. mYinsanity (600€)

Congratulations to Salada de Frutas for their amazing result and sportsmanship. Another important thing to note is that Clash of Leagues will be back this year but with a different game, so stay tuned!

DzonDzon: We are going to Salzburg to lift the trophy!

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Salada de Frutas successfully defended the Brawl Stars title in the ninth A1 Adria League season. Without any trouble, they managed to reach the finals, defeat DOGS, and take their second consecutive title. We talked with the captain of the team DzonDzon about the season, Clash of Leagues, their plans, and more.

Congratulations on winning the title. How does it feel to be at the top of the regional Brawl Stars scene?

Firstly I would like to thank everyone for congratulating us. The feeling is great, it isn’t a small thing to be the best team in the region.

You finished the group stage, playoff, and the complete tournament without much trouble. In the playoffs, you didn’t lose a single match. What affected such good performance of the team? 

My personal opinion is that what influenced this performance is mostly knowledge about the draft. At the moment with six bans, if you do a good draft, that’s probably set in your favor.

What is your opinion about this year’s competition? Did someone at any point in the playoff come close to surprising you and would you single out some team as your hardest opponent? 

As I mentioned before, the competition this year was stronger than ever. Each team in the playoff was very good, but as I have said the lack of draft knowledge cost them the win against us. As the hardest opponent, I would single out DOGS. The guys from DOGS really made a noticeable improvement since last year.

You had successfully defended the title this season. Which one was harder to win, the eighth or this, the ninth season of the A1 Adria League, and why?

The eighth season was harder to win that’s for sure. Last season in the finals we were losing with a 1:2 score, our opponents were at match point, but we managed to reverse sweep and win the whole thing. So in my opinion that was the hardest and the most interesting final so far.

You don’t have much time to rest and gather impressions, seeing that the next month Clash of Leagues in Salzburg is starting. Have you already prepared for it?

We are always ready for new tournaments, especially if they involve a LAN event.

Last year you lost in the semifinals and you were really close to winning the tournament. What are your expectations and plans for the upcoming Clash of Leagues?

Yes, last year we weren’t lucky, because the first match that we played in Salzburg was against SK Gaming, and it is a known fact that SK was the best team in the EU, maybe even in the world. This year we are going there to lift the trophy.

Do you intend to be a part of the tenth A1AL season as well and once again try to defend the title? 

Of course, we are planning to sign up for the tenth season, and our plans are to win it again. Firstly though we would like to win Clash of Leagues, and then we are going to focus on the new A1AL season.

Salada de Frutas take the second consecutive A1AL title!

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The ninth season of the A1 Adria League is coming to an end, and you can follow the end of the season on our Twitch and Youtube channel. The Brawl Stars competition in A1AL has gotten its champion for this season. Salada de Frutas is again the champion, and they will take home the 1100€ prize!

Salada without any trouble takes the title

DzonDzon and his team in this tournament showed from start to finish an impeccable performance. None of the teams stood close to them, and in the end, they won the whole thing as expected.

In the semifinals, the champion played against DOGS, who had no chance of winning. They stomped DOGS without giving them an opportunity to fight back. In the other semifinal, Big F was against team Jazavci. The match between these two teams was, to say the least, intense. They both showed great performance until Big F lost the momentum, and that gave their opponents the only chance they needed to finish the game in their favor. Jazavci then went on to fight Salada in the upper bracket final.

On the other side of the bracket, the lower one, DOGS were now fighting to stay in the playoffs against Big F. DOGS came out victorious and Big F ended the competition in fourth place. As Salada once again dominated their opponents and took down Jazavci without any trouble, team Jazavci fell down in the lower bracket too. DOGS were once again the victors in the lower bracket where they took down Jazavci and earned another chance to take revenge over Salada de Frutas in the grand finals.

In the grand finals, we have seen Salada again sweep DOGS with the result of 3:0, and for that, they needed only 21 minutes. This team didn’t lose a single game in the playoffs, and with the perfect 9:0 result defended the title.

  1. Salada de Frutas – 1100€
  2. DOGS – 600€
  3. Jazavci – 300€

Brawl Stars bracket

 

Andrey: We have an advantage when it comes to the new drafting

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The qualifiers for Brawl Stars in season nine of A1 Adria League have already started. We talked with last year’s champions of Brawl Stars, Flow. They are now called Zidari, and the current champions Andrey and DzonDzon told us more about their experience in A1AL and Clash of Leagues, as well as their expectations for the ninth season.

You were big favorites last year. What influenced such good performance of the team?

DzonDzon: There are many reasons for it, but we as a team have been playing together for 3 years, and we have good synergy. Andreyy and me are in the top of European Brawl Stars tournaments so you could say we have a lot of experience.

How did it feel like to play regional Brawl Stars competition of this caliber? 

Andrey: The feeling is great, especially since we are at the top of the region. We also look forward to any new tournaments.

DzonDzon: Its a great feeling since this league isnt a small one, and being the best in the region is a big deal.

This year we are adding three additional games. What do you think about these changes?

DzonDzon: The change is a great idea because our region has a lot of talented players who play in the best teams in the world, so this is their chance to prove themselves and maybe enter the world stage.

Andrey: I think that for sure we should give chance to new games and new players to show what they can do.

 

What was your experience from the Pan-European tournament Clash of Leagues in Salzburg?

Andrey: COL (Clash of Leagues) was one of the best experiences of my life. It’s a truly special feeling to get up on stage in front of hundreds of people and represent your team.

Now, after some time has passed, what was your impression of Clash of Leagues, the Pan-European Brawl Stars tournament?

DzonDzon: A great tournament with the best European teams cant be bad. We hope that COL will be held this year too.

Andrey: The experience was great, it’s just too bad that neither DzonDzon nor Lavvek could be with us there. But I’ll do my best to be a part of the LAN again this year.

Are you also going to participate in the ninth season of the A1 Adria League, and if yes what are your expectations for the upcoming season?

DzonDzon: Of course, we will participate this season, we are more ready than ever so our expectations are high, which is of course first place.

Andrey: We believe we are going to take the first place because we have an advantage when it comes to new drafting in competitive. I believe that in this aspect we have more knowledge and more experience than others.

 

First qualifier for Brawl Stars went into the hands of Jazavci!

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The ninth season of the A1 Adria League has officially started. The first open qualifiers for the mobile game Brawl Stars are over. We have seen a lot of teams sign up for the qualifiers and their chance to become the best in the region.

As we mentioned already, Brawl Stars this year will have four open qualifiers, where the best 16 teams will be scored. Eight teams with the highest number of points will advance to the group stage. These qualifiers will be played on FACEIT platforms.

Great start for team Jazavci and Dogs

Some teams had a great start to the A1 Adria League while others struggled to get points. However, we have seen great, intense matches in the first open qualifiers from this year’s Brawlers. We have seen more than 30 teams compete for the most points in the first qualifier for Brawl Stars which is 100 points.

Many familiar faces are again participating in A1AL. Many familiar teams from the region that we have seen in the past in our own A1 Adria League are back for more. The first playday was intense and we have seen a couple of surprises. Last year’s Brawl Stars champions Lavvek, DzonDzon, Andrey who had been competing under the Flow banner and are now called Zidari, have failed to qualify for the semifinals. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Dogs who advanced to the finals of this first qualifier. The second finalist were Jazavci, who made their way to the top.

The grand final ended in the favor of team Jazavci who have shown great performance and skill. Of course, team Dogs also sits at a great position with 70 points, and they will have an easier path to the group stage.

Brawl Stars first open qualifiers standings

 

Teams that reached the quarterfinals and further will have an advantage in the next qualifier and it’s a nice start to the season.

Our next Brawl Stars qualifiers will be played next Thursday, April 7th, and you can register for it HERE!

While the Brawl Stars qualifiers for this week are finished, tomorrow we expect a tense fight between FIFA22 players in the first qualifiers of this PlayStation game.

How does gaming on smartphones move the boundaries of esports

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Esports was at the beginning limited only to personal computers. With the development of technology, it became possible to compete on consoles, and later on smartphones too. It is exactly the smartphones that in recent years have been moving the boundaries of esports.

Regardless of which research you take into account, gaming on smartphones and tablets, popularly called mobile gaming, is a segment that should grow the fastest. Faster than gaming on personal computers and gaming consoles. Everyone who owns a smartphone is a potential “gamer”. A lot of people today play on their phones and unintentionally make the gamer’s statistics. They play games while traveling or while taking a break from daily activities. Among so many players there are those who compete in mobile games. 

This type of gamer exists in our region too and A1 Adria League is showing that for seasons including at least one mobile game in its tournament. Earlier it was the popular game Clash Royale, and in the eighth season, which was held last year, all the lights of mobile gaming were on Brawl Stars. 

Last summer it was the best domestic Brawl Stars players such as Lavvek, Adry, Andrey, and DzonDzon who represented the region in the Clash of Leagues tournament in Salzburg, in which the best players from five Central European Leagues and regional A1 Adria League participate. 

clash of leagues mobile esports

Discussions about whether esports on mobile devices are real esports are long over. Smartphones and tablets are today technically so developed that they can support more demanding games too. Big developers and video game publishers have in mind the potential that mobile gaming has. Riot Games studio which made the ultra-popular League of Legends and VALORANT, also published a mobile version of the most popular MOBA game: League of Legends: Wild Rift. Call of Duty mobile has been available for a while now for everyone who prefers shooting on mobile platforms. 

How can mobile esports help women enter esports?

With the growth of esports, the age boundaries of entering the world of competitive gaming are being moved. Regardless of the game, a lot of them are adapted to the youngest players, who very intuitively, using touchscreen controls can experience competitive gaming. 20 or more years ago to achieve this you needed to have some technical knowledge as well as a very expensive, and sometimes, unavailable device. 

Of course, some of them will in the future play on gaming consoles and personal computers, but will at that point already have experienced something that wasn’t available to the Millenials, not to mention older generations. Of course, mobile esports isn’t only meant for younger players.

Female players still make up a very small percentage of active participants in esports. The most popular tournament for girls is the Women Star League Invitational in-game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang if we look at data on an active number of audience and the number of watched hours.

One of the ways in which we could include more females in the world of esports is exactly mobile esports. You wouldn’t need any special equipment for it, and the community isn’t as defined and exclusive as those when gaming on PCs or consoles. 

Woman Star League

However, for mobile esports or any kind of mobile gaming, it’s important to have a smartphone. That’s how the best regional Brawl Stars players in the grand finale of Clash of Leagues in LEVEL Up Arena in Salzburg competed on Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G devices which at least gave them an even chance with the best players of other countries. 

When we talk about MOBA or similar games, which are more demanding to both players and devices, it’s important to have a fast response speed so you can run the game without any problems. This was exactly what Xiaomi provided to our guys. What kind of device is needed for the serious competition will depend on the game, and of course on the player. Even the smallest advantage in performance in crucial moments can be decisive.

Mobile gaming and mobile esports are already a part of the gaming industry or better esports industry. It will surely grow in the future, as we are even now raising new generations of gamers, professional or not.