FFPL 2021 Summer: Top 5 Contenders for Pro League

The Free Fire Pro League 2021 Summer - Group Stage was a lot of fun to watch but the Finals are going to be even better. We saw domination from some teams, tough comebacks from others, and bitter rivalry among certain teams. All these teams have some or other way to entertain us. No matter who wins, if you want to truly enjoy the tournament, keep an eye on these five teams. 

1. Team Elite

This one is a no-brainer. They lead by more than a hundred points, which, quite frankly, is unbelievable. Team Elite has always been a great team, but seldom does anyone get a lead like that, much less, make it look easy. Dominating performances like these are an anomaly. A feat that can only be pulled off by the most extraordinary teams. Unfortunately, this extraordinary team is also extra unlucky. Team Elite has performed really well in the Group Stage of several other tournaments, and they do really well over the course of longer tournaments. But they have not been able to perform well in single-day tournaments. i.e. never able to win the finals of any major tournament. Can they break the curse this time? 

A glimmer of hope says yes. Statistically, if you analyze every day of the tournament so far individually, you will notice that they have topped the score tables on all occasions. Does this mean that they have adapted to single-day formats as well? After several unsuccessful attempts at the throne, can they finally claim it for themselves this time? 

2. 4 Unknown

This team seems in surprisingly good shape. Their absence from the top-tier tournaments was surely felt in the last few months, as they missed out on important tournaments like FFIC and FFTS. Now that they are back in FFPL, it seems like they have taken the scene by storm. Have they suddenly improved significantly? Or were they always this good, and we just did not know because we did not see them in the major tournaments? Your guess is as good as ours. 

Their strategy looks solid, their flexibility is palpable. They cannot only keep up with the evolving meta but define it to some extent. Their zone prediction and rotation are top-notch. We rarely see them pick up a fight where they don’t already have an inherent positional advantage of sorts. Their game sense and the ability to pick up booyahs is through the roof. But can they frag toe-to-toe against a team with firepower as heavy as Team Elite?

3. TSM-FTX

The sheer significance of this team bears fruit in the Indian esports ecosystem, not just in Free Fire. Over the course of the last few years, several big names from European and American origins have been picking up teams in India. This is the first time an esports organization of this scale has entered the Indian Free Fire scene. But that was enough about the organization and what it means for the overall scene. What about the team itself?

TSM-FTX (ex-Sixth Sense) does bring a lot of talent on the board. The team that won FFTS does have a title to defend, but it seems like they did not improve as much as their competitors did. They were outsmarted by 4 Unknown and out fragged by Team Elite. TSM-FTX used to be the best, but will they have to settle for the ‘best of the rest?’

4. Total Gaming

The champions of yesteryear have been looking lackluster. The FFIC 2020 Fall Winners just don’t seem to have the same charm or charisma as they did last year. In fact, they were struggling to even qualify for the Grand Finals. On Day 5 of the tournament, they were sitting at 14th place on the scoreboard. Only on Day 6 of the tournament were they able to make a run deep enough to get them to 8th place, and thus into the Finals. Broken, battered, and bruised before the race even begins, Total Gaming takes their positions on the starting line; ready to make a run for the trophy once again. 

Another reason why this team is interesting to look at is their history with Galaxy Racer - yet another team who is a great contender, and the winners of FFIC 2021 Spring.

Keep in mind that FozyAjay, MafiaBala, VasiyoCRJ, and Golden used to play together at one point. In 2021, VasiyoCRJ and Golden left for Galaxy Racers to form their own team, while FozyAjay and MafiaBala stayed in the team. Things have not been the same for either team since then. They even clashed with each other and hot dropped each other so many times during the first few days of the FFPL Group Stage. Of course, they started to avoid each other in the later phases of the tournaments by changing their drop locations, but they both missed out on a bunch of points in the process of figuring that out. 

While there are several question marks regarding the consistency of the team, a silver lining is a fact that their new players are doing pretty well for themselves. Mafia and Delete have had decent showings, with Mafia even being one of the best players of Day 6 of FFPL. But will this silver lining bring them sunny days? The current lineup was formed only in mid-May. It’s been only two months since then. Will this mixed lineup of experienced and new talents be able to win the tournament? 

5. Survivors 4AM

There is always something about this team that doesn’t quite seem normal. There is always a weird aura around them that scares quite a lot of teams. The sheer unpredictability of Survivors 4AM can trigger a world war. They are the perfect storm. The monkey wrench in an already volatile lobby. Survivors 4AM are a team that has an inane sense of when their opponent is at their most vulnerable. They strike when the iron is hot and are pretty successful in squad-vs-squad battles. They can end fights pretty quickly, which is their strongest suit. The golden rule of Battle Royale is that the longer the fights drag on, the chances of you getting vulture-out increases. Their ability to wrap up fights quickly is their only advantage in a tough lobby. 

But things start to get out of hand when fights drag on for too long and there are multiple squads. If they are the ones third-partying someone, then not even god save their opponents. However, if they are the ones getting caught in a third party, their next move becomes murkier. 

They make unorthodox moves, such as pushing even when they have the disadvantage or maybe deliberately moving towards another opponent, hoping their enemies will start killing each other and they’ll escape through the cracks.  Their reckless playstyle often gets them into trouble. For these reasons, they are the last on the list, but the most likely to deliver some quality action and intense battles. 

These were some of the squads that you should be keeping your eyes on. Each squad has a unique story to offer. Feel free to choose which adventure you want to follow. Of course, even the squads that aren’t mentioned in this list have the chance of causing an upset and winning the tournament. But the squads mentioned in this article are the ones that have the spiciest storylines. To find out who takes home the title of the Free Fire Pro League 2021 Summer? Tune in to the Grand Finals stream on 18th July 2021, at 6 PM IST on our Free Fire Esports India Youtube channel.