BIG triumph over FTW at EPL Season 16

BIG secured their second victory of the group stage at ESL Pro League Season 16 to keep their playoff dreams alive with a relatively hard-fought 2-1 affair versus FTW. The Germans stole Inferno 16-7, fumbled Dust2 12-16, before getting the job done with a more comfortable 16-6 showing on the decider of Nuke.

The series was rather inconsequential for FTW, as they had already been knocked out of playoff contention on Friday following FaZe‘s 2-1 victory over Outsiders. The Portuguese side will be hoping to get at least one win on the board as they go up against MIBR in their final Group B matchup on Sunday at 19:30 .

BIG, while still in the running for a playoff berth, could still be handed a group stage exit by the end of day four should Outsiders and FaZe secure victories later on Saturday.

The action got underway on FTW‘s pick of Inferno, but it was the Germans who started off on the right foot as they got up to a 4-2 lead to start their CT-side. A 1vs4 clutch by Rafael “⁠arrozdoce⁠” Wing in the seventh round put smiles on FTW‘s faces, but this success would be short-lived with Florian “⁠syrsoN⁠” Rische and Karim “⁠Krimbo⁠” Moussa‘s high fragging outputs powering BIG to a comfortable 11-4 advantage by the side swap.

FTW began to chip away at the Germans’ lead at the onset of the second half, the two teams trading three rounds apiece to bring things to a 7-14 deficit. Johannes “⁠tabseN⁠” Wodarz‘s troops seemed unfazed, however, converting a force-buy in the 22nd round to reach match point before putting the final nail in the FTW coffin with an execute on the B site to close out Inferno, 16-7.

syrsoN put his team on his back with 27 frags and a 1.73 rating on Inferno

FTW got off to a flying start once Dust2 rolled around, André “⁠Ag1l⁠” Gil adding 12 kills to his tally to propel his team to an opening 6-2 lead on the defence. A lone round win by BIG in the ninth round showed signs of life in the German side, but the Portuguese roster’s clinical retakes and sharp shooting enabled them to extend their lead even further; a two-round spree in the dying stages of the half by BIG bringing the Germans’ deficit to within five rounds at the interval.

A 1vs2 clutch by Krimbo in the pistol round got BIG‘s comeback afoot, with the tabseN-led lineup clawing their way back to 9-10 on the back of unrelenting confidence and aggression. FTW got back in the saddle, though, the Portuguese squad consistently outmanoeuvring their foes with superior map control to surge ahead to a 15-10 lead. Another two-round streak by the Germans from here on out only delayed the inevitable, with FTW eventually stealing Dust2, 16-12, to get their first map win of the tournament on the board and tie things up.

Much like their series versus MIBR on Friday, BIG came alive in the deciding map of Nuke as they demolished their opponents 14-1 in the opening half. The trio of tabseN, syrsoN, and Josef “⁠faveN⁠” Baumann were the spearhead of BIG‘s opening half success, combining for 52 frags by the end of their CT-side effort.

FTW, who had looked like a shadow of the side that surprised the Germans on Dust2, did add five rounds to keep themselves in the game. In the end, however, the massive deficit proved too much to overcome, and BIG wrapped up Nuke 16-6 thanks to a 1vs1 clutch by Krimbo in the final round.