Russian esports players win the World Championship in Point Blank
Good news for fans of Russian esports. The domestic team AoeXe took first place at the Point Blank International Championship 2026, which took place over the last weekend of March in South Korea.
During the competition, the Russian team faced off against Indonesia — one of the most decorated teams in the world, consistently ranking in the Top 3 of each PBIC from 2017 to 2024. AoeXe lost with a score of 1:2. In the next match, the Russian team triumphed over the combined national team of Turkey and Azerbaijan — the favorites of the championship. The crushing score of 2:0 secured AoeXe's spot in the grand final of the competition.
In the final match, the Russians' opponent was the Brazilian team (RV), the champions of 2019. AoeXe lost the first map, but quickly came back on the next two (“Villa” and “Hideout”). The fourth map, “Secret Lair,” determined the outcome of the meeting: the teams were tied at 9:9 when the youngest player on the Russian team, Vladimir “r1chh” Lyashenko, clinched victory with a decisive shot. Vladimir was recognized as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and received the MVP award.
This is how the AoeXe team claimed the championship title and brought home 100K prize pool). And by the way, this was the third victory for the Russians in PBIC. In 2013 and 2014, we became the first country to win the tournament twice in a row.