NateHill Notches First Win In PogChamps

The second round of the Chess.com PogChamps saw Voyboy become the first streamer to clinch his spot in the championship bracket. With his win over Fuslie, the League of Legends talent will be one of eight streamers playing for the $10,000 first-place prize.

In other news, Hutch is now just an xQc loss or draw away from booking his ticket to the championship bracket, as his win against Yassuo now puts him on two wins in the PogChamps. Meanwhile, IM Danny Rensch dubbed NateHill's win over erobb as the most complete performance of the event so far.

The PogChamps' second round continues on Tuesday at 12:45 p.m. PDT (21:45 p.m. CEST) as streamers like xQc, moistcr1tikal, Ludwig, and Pappaplate return.

Make sure to tune into Chess.com's official day 5 coverage of the 2020 Chess.com PogChamps at 12:45 p.m. PDT (21:45 p.m. CEST) on Chess.com/tv.

NateHill's Perfect Play Knocks Erobb Into The Consolation Bracket

One of the best clips of the day happened before Monday's action in the PogChamps even started. After hanging mate-in-one against Fuslie in the opening round, erobb's fans continued their familiar chant of "Lrobb" in the chat. Before his game against NateHill, erobb was quick to learn about Chess.com's newest emote:

While erobb was looking to win, he fell once again to Hikaru Nakamura's pre-stream preparation. NateHill used Nakamura's anti-London recommendations perfectly, sweeping the board and eventually converting his overwhelming material advantage.

With two losses, erobb is the first player to clinch his spot in the consolation bracket. With the victory, NateHill will play Fuslie on Thursday to stay in contention for the championship bracket.

Voyboy Clinches Championship Bracket Spot With Win Over Fuslie

Voyboy became the first player in the event to clinch his spot in the championship bracket on Monday when he beat Fuslie out of a Caro-Kann. Fuslie did her best to keep the match close, but a premature 7...Ne7 made it difficult for her to keep pace with one of the most experienced players in the field:

On Sunday, Boxbox said his biggest motivation was to beat Voyboy head-to-head in his post-game interview. After qualifying for the championship bracket, Voyboy made it clear he was not worried about his League of Legends rival:

With Voyboy guaranteed a spot in the championship bracket, Fuslie's match with NateHill on Thursday at 12 p.m. PDT will determine which player will advance with him. Erobb, who vowed not to lose in this event again, faces the group leader at 1 p.m. PDT on Thursday.

Group A Standings

Hutch Holds Off Yassuo, Takes Sole Lead In Group B

After winning the most-watched game of chess since the 2018 world championship match, Yassuo faced an even tougher test in Hutch on Monday afternoon. While Yassuo's plan of a Stonewall set up challenged Hutch, Yassuo was unable to maintain the pressure and collapsed after strong defensive play from his opponent.

While Yassuo would have preferred a win, he did score his chat five gifted subs when he found the most challenging defense to Hutch's tactical play:

With two wins, Hutch will be rooting for moistCr1tikal on Tuesday, as an xQc loss or draw will make Hutch the second player to lock his spot into the championship bracket. Yassuo's next game will be against moistCr1tikal on Friday at 1 p.m. PDT, while Hutch's final game of the group stage will be against xQc an hour later.

Group B Standings

Ludwig Returns, Takes On Group Leader Papaplatte

Even with his loss to Boxbox, Ludwig has quickly become a fan favorite in the Chess.com PogChamps. If he wants to keep his dream of winning the $10,000 prize alive, he'll need to beat Papaplatte on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Chess.com/TV. Papaplatte, who beat Swiftor in the event's opening round, can qualify directly to the championship bracket should he win this game, and Boxbox were to beat or draw Swiftor on Wednesday.

xQc And moistCr1tikal Close Out Tuesday In Epic Clash

This match needs no introduction. Following moistCr1tikal's loss to Hutch on Friday, the American streamer called out his chat for favoring xQc to win the pairing, even telling Hikaru on the official broadcast that there is "no [expletive] chance" that he loses to xQc. On Saturday, xQc revealed that he had prepared extensively for moistCr1tikal on his stream following his loss to Yassuo. With both sides needing a win to keep their championship bracket dreams alive, expect shots to be fired early and often in this contest. The match will kick-off at 2 p.m. Pacific Time on Chess.com/tv.

Still deciding who to root for in the first-ever Chess.com PogChamps? Here's a quick sampler of each streamer:

♜ Here's a preview of all the streamers competing in the https://t.co/EufIHuV7ha #Pogchamps! Starts in 1 hour on https://t.co/kaTA3dFcqn and https://t.co/qaLMGLOA9W ♜ pic.twitter.com/aqGbbRPjGq

— Chess.com (@chesscom) June 5, 2020

Make sure to tune into Chess.com's official Day 5 coverage of the 2020 Chess.com PogChamps at 12:45 p.m. PDT (21:45 p.m. CEST) on Chess.com/tv.