- 5yclone dominated 9z in the early game, defeating them 16-6 on Overpass
- However, the South American team woke up and responded in kind
- 9z obliterated their opponents on the following two maps
After finding themselves in the Last Chance bracket following two consecutive losses, 9z recovered and eventually took on 5yclone to claim the final Group C playoff spot.
9z Beat 5yclone
It has been a real adventure for 9z at the ESL Pro League Season 18 as the team has had numerous failures, yet has somehow managed to earn the final playoff spot on offer in Group C of the Maltese event. The South American team did so after defeating 5yclone in the Last Chance Stage’s decider match, which itself was somewhat of a microcosm of their run through the ESL so far.
Now, Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez’s men are looking toward the bracket stage of the event. The team’s relief must be huge, as they were almost kicked out of the event thanks to two consecutive losses. The first of these was against FaZe who defeated 9z last week, dominating them on Inferno and sending them to the lower bracket.
Unfortunately for the South American team, this was not going to be the end of their troubles, as they soon found themselves against their regional rivals of Imperial. Although this match was much closer than the one against FaZe, Imperial still managed to defeat 9z on two maps, relegating the team to the Last Chance Stage.
However, 9z’s fortunes finally seemed to go in their favor, as the team scored two curial victories against M80 and Apeks which kept their tournament hopes alive. These encounters also put them on a collision course against the Chinese organization 5yclone, with the resulting match echoing 9z’s bad early start in the tournament, only to become much better later.
The encounter started in Overpass where the Chinese team and in particular Jingxiang “Mercury” Wang laid waste to 9z and quickly scored a dominant 12-3 first half. Once the sides switched, things were not much different as 5yclone quickly wrapped up the map, posting a score of 16-6.
It seemed like Inferno, would be more of the same, with 5yclone quickly taking the early lead. However, viewers were about to receive a big surprise, as 9z finally woke up and started scoring crucial rounds. Not only that, but the South Americans completely turned the tides of battle, as they dominated their Chinese opponents, who managed to score just two more points until the end of the map. This resulted in 9z taking Inferno with a solid 16-8 difference.
Nuke, the decider, saw much of the same, 5yclone managing to get just some sporadic wins here and there. By the end of the first half, 9z had a 5-round lead against their opponents, a difference that only grew once the sides switched. Everything ended with a 16-6 victory for 9z, who have now earned the final playoff spot on offer in Group C of ESL Pro League Season 18.
