The highly popular ROG Showdown Team Edition 2 contest has been running for four weeks, which means it’s time for us to take a look at the current standings to see which of an incredible 77 teams are doing well. Right now, the Reddit /r/overclocking crew are topping the table, followed by the massive Overclock.net team and the ROG Czech OC Guys. Let’s take a look at one of the most active and well participated vendor sponsored contests we’ve ever seen here on OC-ESPORTS.

ROG OC Showdown Team Edition 2: September 22nd - November 6th 2017 - Firstly a breakdown of what the contest is all about. The ROG OC Showdown Team Edition 2 contest is broken down into five individual stages. Each stage involves a specific benchmark, a specific number of scores that are required, plus restrictions on cooling and the different hardware needed. Perhaps what makes the contest really interesting and unique is that there are also restrictions about which of overclockers, from which HWBOT league may compete. Each stage includes limitations about whether a Rookie, Novice, Apprentice, Enthusiast, Extreme or Elite league member may compete. The idea is to include challenges for all members of the team, from Rookie to Elite.

Stage 1: XTU 5GHz - Rookie and Novices - The first stage of the contest pits Rookie and Novices against each other in an XTU fight. CPUs are limited to 5GHz to prevent the stage becoming a straight up frequency and binning contest. No subzero cooling allowed as CPUs have to shown to be above 60 degrees. Like all stages in the contest, an ASUS motherboard is a requirement. Three submissions are needed.

It’s no surprise to find /r/overclocking topping the table in Stage 1 as the Reddit crew are known for having a strong and vibrant Rookie contingent. The team is reaping the benefits of some good work from Americans Frito and yee245 and GoldieFoxx from the UK. The highest XTU score of the three comes from Frito who tweaked a Core i5 7600K with DDR4 memory clocked at 1,962MHz (12-12-12-28) to score 1,593 marks. Other CPUs selected by /r/overclocking include a Core i7 7700K and a Core i7 6700K.

Find the full ROG OC Showdown Team Edition 2 contest update article here on O-ESPORTS.