Gfinity Challenger Series Delivered by Domino's Week 1 Recap

We're only a week into Season 4 of Gfinity Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's, and we've already seen enough action and great play to fill a full season. Players are already laying down markers and racking up the G-Points to not only lock themselves into those all-important Top 30 spots in each division, but make a statement – and a great first impression on any teams scouting for prospective draft talent. Perhaps equally as surprising as all the players who have come out of the blocks are the ones who have started slower and are currently on the outside looking in – but a good run of Cup wins can turn it all around in a heartbeat.

Let's recap the first week of play and see where our contenders stack up, shall we?

FIFA 18

As we know, FIFA 18 is unique in that it has separate leaderboards for PS4 and Xbox One players – and with 30 spots available in each for the Elite Series Draft Delivered By Domino's, some interesting names are emerging at the top of their respective tables.

Leading the Xbox One standings so far is night_watch on 1180 points. The reigning eCopa Bulgaria champion, he was also a runner-up in the eCopa World Championship and made Top 64 in FUT Champions Cup and Top 32 in Global Series Playoffs on PS4. Unfortunately he was just one match away from qualifying for the FIFA eWorld Cup Finals this weekend, but fell just short – he will have a huge point to prove in this Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's, and has hit the ground running. In 2nd place on 850 points is BeastTekkerz, someone we identified in our Challenger Series preview – a draft pick from Elite Series Season 3 who is back on the free agent market, he will be keen to remind our Elite Series teams of his prowess. Rounding out the top-5 are elast1Cooo on 710 points, IiTZz MaXi on 690 points and Gabinho on 650 points. Elsewhere in the top 10 are notable names like Shawreyy in 7th on 400 points and Klutch_Ti in 9th on 340 points; the former is a Top 64 finisher in the FUT Champions Cup earlier this year, and the latter is an Elite Series veteran with exceL. Both will be challenging at the sharp end as this Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's continues.

Over on the PS4 leaderboard, Denisss tops the table on 1040 points in the early going – the young German player representing Tollenz Lions has made a very impressive start to Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's Season 4. The rest of the top 5 after the first week include KalanC (680 Points), NVD_Hyper (660), 0775_Arber (580) and EZ SNACK BRASCOO (500), with masi2K4, Renzo Parave, Gouvy, Giovhy69 and FCDM Klenoff rounding out the top 10. We highlighted LostInTheWavez in the Challenger Series preview, and currently he lies 23rd on 230 points – a slower start, but enough to get him into the top 30 for now and he'll have plenty of time to climb the standings.

Rocket League

As to be expected, a large portion of the Top 30 in the Rocket League Challenger Series standings are comprised of Elite Series veterans – but out in front are the duo of Kuxir97 and Yukeo, both of the FlipSid3 Tactics squad along with fellow Challenger Series competitor Mistik. Yukeo has plenty of Challenger Series experience and both have enjoyed great success in RLCS, DreamHack and Northern Arena Invitationals, but neither have competed in Elite Series yet – if this form continues, that will surely change for Season 4. Rounding out the top-5 are three Elite Series veterans; Metsanauris (1000 points), Shakahron (920) and Speed (920), with Deevo, Bluey, Alpha54_, Didris and Tylacto completing the top-10. Two members of the Season 3-winning Renault Team Vitality squad, Freakii and Fairy Peak, lurk elsewhere in the top-30 at 12th and 27th respectively, and fellow Elite Series veterans in Cheerio, Data, Al Dente, Waffle and Lauty all reside inside the top-20 after just one week of action.

Street Fighter V

Out in front in the early going in the SFV table is Manxas on 1330 points; with a Cup win on Thursday and a top-3 finish on Tuesday, it's been a very strong start for the Capcom Pro Tour veteran who we've yet to see in Elite Series action. That will surely change if he manages to stay out in front – and in particular stay ahead of the two players chasing him, two Elite Series stars in NastyNas (1175 Points) and Verdoyance (820). Neo_Kilzyou and Naught round out the top-5, with more Elite Series stars in Incognitus and Hurricane lurking in 7th and 8th on 470 and 425 points respectively. Just behind them is OneStepLayered in 9th on 368 points, a player Vitality's WireMan told us to watch out for in this series – the entertaining streamer and familiar face in the UK tournament scene has started the Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's in good form.

So that's where we stand after one week of Challenger Series Delivered By Domino's action. It goes without saying that we have a LONG way to go – especially as one Cup win can pay up to 1000 G-Points – but it's fascinating to see which names are out in front early on, an intriguing mix of names familiar to Elite Series fans and new names with a big presence in the international scene. And there's still more than enough time for you to get involved; go to challenger.gfinityesports.com and sign up to compete, and maybe we'll be writing about you leading the table in these recaps in the future.