Eyes Bleed And Eval Bar Screams In Agony As LydiaViolet, Linzor, Sapnap, And Steve Advance
PogChamps 6 continues to amaze fans and commentators alike. Players found new and creative ways to blunder their queens, throw games, and entertain the audience on the first day of the knockouts.
Sapnap and Steve Nedoroscik defeated Sambucha and Inoxtag to move on to the semifinals of the Championship Bracket. In the Consolation Bracket, LydiaViolet and Linzor beat Macaiyla and Hungrybox in two chaotic matches.
PogChamps 6 continues May 2 with the Semis and Finals of both brackets, starting at 12 p.m. ET / 18:00 CEST / 9:30 p.m. IST.
Championship Bracket
Consolation Bracket
Consolation Bracket: LydiaViolet vs. Macaiyla
Chaos everywhere. There’s no more right; there’s no more wrong. We’re now entering a world where knights cannot be taken, rooks cannot be destroyed, and kings can live forever. The match between LydiaViolet and Macaiyka was like something out of a Dali painting, where nothing made sense—yet, one could not help but marvel at its unique beauty.
Things started out normally in the first game of the match. Macaiyla went for the Cow, Lydia refused to castle. Yes, that’s our standard for normal these days. Lydia eventually won that first game after taking all of Macaiyla’s pieces. So far, so good.
But then things got weird.
It is hard to describe what happened in that second game. Attacked knights could just laugh at enemy pawns without ever being taken. Queens could come and go as they pleased without fearing the guillotine. Rooks were hanging everywhere, but they had to beg to be captured.
And when the dust settled, leaving Lydia with a king and a rook, the game would simply not end. At one point, even Macaiyla was begging for it all to end:
Those who appreciate chess (or art) can check the full game on our Events page.
Lydia shared her thoughts on her stream after the game: “You know when people are like, ‘Is it about the journey or is it about the destination?’ It’s about the destination, ok? Because that journey, that was not it. The journey was a little cooked.”
Meanwhile, DrLupo, who was replaced by Macaiyla due to a Fair Play violation, offered a new explanation during a stream today after incorrectly saying on Wednesday that he had dropped out of the event. “I lied to you yesterday. I cheated against Wolf. He is a better player than me.”
DrLupo went on to say he is “apalled and embarrassed” by his own actions. “It sucks that I f***** up. I deserve 100 percent what people are saying. Using an engine to fix my own fragility, is f****** pathetic,” he admitted. “I am sorry for that.”
Consolation Bracket: Hungrybox vs. Linzor
The previous match was clearly too much for anyone to handle, as our official broadcast crashed and burned, delaying the start of the second match.
No one knew what to expect of the match between Linzor and Hungrybox once everything came back online. But when anything can happen in PogChamps, one thing always happens. Hungrybox hung his queen. And then Linzor hung her queen.
Ultimately, Hungrybox got into time trouble and let the comeback slip.
In their second game, you’ll never guess what happened. Linzor went ahead and hung her queen. And then Hungrybox hung his queen. But this time, it was Hungrybox who prevailed, leading us to believe that the secret to success is giving the queen back.
And this time, you will never guess what happened in the tiebreak game. Well, need I say more?
Linzor ultimately won the match after delivering her “nicest checkmate yet” and moved on to the semifinals.
Championship Bracket: Sapnap vs. Sambucha
By now, we’re all used to pog players giving up pieces. In the first game between Sapnap and Sambucha, it was Sapnap’s turn to give up a rook for a bishop.
But what if I told you it was not a blunder?
One does not need calculation when armed with vibes. Sapnap went all in and played an epic sacrifice to go after Sambucha’s king.
And just as Sapnap was wondering if he had overcooked, Sambucha could not resist and left his king open for a checkmate. And thus, Sapnap won the first game and made history.
The second game was a more balanced affair. Both players played well and took the game to a knight and rook endgame. Sapnap then found a fork to win a crucial pawn:
From that moment on, Sapnap played a perfect endgame, promoting one of his pawns to a queen and checkmating his opponent to end the match.
In the post-game interview, Sambucha offered an interesting analysis that showed a deep level of understanding that few chess players could display:
Oh, yes. That had nothing to do with chess, but the important question of who would win a fight between 100 men or one gorilla. But great insight, nevertheless.
Championship Bracket: Steve Nedoroscik vs. Inoxtag
Inoxtag and Steve Nedoroscik were the two highest-rated players in the quarterfinals. Naturally, their match featured good chess.
Both players made mistakes throughout the first game, but both also failed to duly punish their opponents. This led to a relatively balanced endgame, at least to PogChamps standards.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned is that it’s never too late for disaster. Despite being a pawn up, Inoxtag allowed Steve to promote first. With a rook against lone pawns, Steve had the game on his hands. But then, WFM Alexandra Botez just had to jinx it.
A tense second game ensued. Steve went berserk, but Inoxtag found great defensive resources to keep his advantage. Steve eventually turned the tables and got a winning attack against Inoxtag’s king.
It was then that Steve went for a genius tactic. Yes, the tactic shouldn’t work, but it turns out it did work, and that’s all Steve needed to take the match to tiebreaks.
Both players fought well in the blitz tiebreak, but Steve found a tactic first to win material. To make matters worse, Inoxtag was playing too fast and allowed Steve to penetrate with his queen. After that, it didn’t take long for Steve to win the tiebreak and the match.
With this, we now move on to the semifinals, where Group A and B leaders will join the party. For the first time ever, no one has stalemated in PogChamps. Will that change tomorrow?
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