- Rare Atom were obliterated 16-3 in Overpass, which was ironically their own choice
- However, they put up more of a fight on the second map
- Rare Atom will now have to face Astralis in the lower elimination bracket
ENCE will be going to the ESL Pro League Season 17 Group D upper final following a 2-0 victory over Chinese-majority team Rare Atom.
ENCE Triumph Over Rare Atom
Marco “?Snappi?” Pfeiffer and company have secured a place in the playoffs of the ESL Pro League Season 17 after triumphing over Rare Atom on Overpass and Nuke. ENCE’s opponents seemed like they would be very tough, considering Rare Atom defeated team liquid on the first day of the event. However, things turned out differently, as the European team defeated their Chinese opponents 2-0, absolutely dominating them on the first map.
Speaking of the first map, it was Overpass, Rare Atom’s choice, with the team deciding on it because it was the map they dominated Liquid on. However, the Chinese team would soon regret their pick as ENCE obliterated them 16-3. The Europeans took the initiative from the start with Pavle “?Maden?” Boškovic’s 1v2 clutch in the second round. Rare Atom could respond with just three rounds in the first half of the map, with the team scoring no points when the sides switched, allowing ENCE to take Overpass with a massive 13-round lead.
But Rare Atom was not going to just roll over and quit as the team put up much more of a resistance on the second map of Nuke. In fact, the Chinese team took the early lead on the CT side with ENCE taking several rounds to wake up, perhaps still dazed from their landslide victory on the first map.
Finishing the first half with seven rounds, Rare Atom finally showcased the same performance as they did against Team Liquid, The Chinese team even made a ludicrous late retake on the A bombsite as they defused the bomb in a 4v4 situation.
But despite heading into the second half with a few rounds advantage, ENCE quickly closed the gap, allowing Rare Atom to take just the pistol and the following two. Eventually, the European team’s defense proved too strong for rare Atom and ENCE took Nuke 16-12. Scoring a rating of 1.52 and a 42-26 K/D, Guy “NertZ” Iluz was ENCE’s brightest star in the match.
ENCE will now proceed to the playoffs of the ESL Pro League Season 17, while Rare Atom will have to face Astralis, who were recently defeated 2-1 by NaVi.
