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Published: September 8, 2023

Written by: Stefan Velikov

  • BIG shocks everyone by defeating Heroic and qualifying for the EPL playoffs
  • The Germans beat the Danes 2-0 in a hotly-contested series
  • The first map, Inferno, even continued to a very rare triple-overtime

ESL Pro League Season 18’s playoffs will be graced by the presence of BIG as the German squad qualified for them after unexpectedly defeating Heroic, the world’s second-best Counter-Strike team.

BIG Triumph Over Heroic

German CS team BIG have been slowly building a solid resume over the past few months which became apparent last night when they took on and defeated Heroic in a hard-fought match. The Germans almost fumbled a 14-4 lead on the first map, but managed to recover. What followed was a slugfest as both teams tried to take advantage, but all of this led to a rarely-seen triple-overtime before BIG eventually took the first map.

BIG’s victory comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Heroic is currently the world’s second-best Counter-Strike team. That being said, Casper “⁠cadiaN⁠” Møller, the Danes’ IGL has been noting his concern over Heroic’s recent form, with this defeat seemingly proving his point.

The match started on Ancient, with BIG quickly gaining the upper hand on the defense. By the time the sides switched, the Germans already held a huge advantage, but when the scoreboard reached 14-4, things got a lot more interesting. Heroic finally woke up and started narrowing the gap, largely thanks to the actions of Jakob “⁠jabbi⁠” Nygaard and Rasmus “⁠sjuush⁠” Beck.

It was not long before the Danish team forced an overtime in which both teams traded rounds mercilessly. However, this is where BIG’s Karim “⁠Krimbo⁠” Moussa shined as the player, who posted a 1.39 rating this match, powered the team’s attempts to win Ancient, which eventually ended with a 25-23 in favor of the Germans.

Despite the loss on the first map, Heroic were not planning to fall anytime soon. The Danes started strong on Inferno, running ahead with a 5-1 lead on the T-side. However, BIG responded with an aggressive CT approach and managed to inch just ahead of Heroic, posting a barely noticeable 8-7 lead by the end of the first half.

A back-and-forth battle ensued when the sides switched and many late-round situations were deciding the rounds. BIG, however, could rely on 20-year-old David “⁠prosus⁠” Hesse, who helped his team get just slightly ahead in most situations, which ended in the Germans taking Inferno 16-13 and finishing the match 2-0. This is not the first time the ESL Season 18 viewers have watched such an intense match, as yesterday MOUZ defeated Evil Geniuses 2-0 in a similarly hotly-contested series.

Now, MOUZ will have to meet EG in the lower bracket, while BIG will come up against ENCE on September 10.

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Stefan Velikov

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1
Live odds: CS:GO

18:30 PM

Home

Away

7AM
Ent
7.11
1.06

18:30 PM

Home

Away

Alt
Gen
1.09
5.26

18:30 PM

Home

Away

Los
BIG
1.78
1.82

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