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FURIA and BIG one step away from ESL Pro League S17 playoffs

The emotions of the ESL Pro League S17 continue, and the team that will join Heroic and MOUZ as... Eduardo | 4. March 2023

The emotions of the ESL Pro League S17 continue, and the team that will join Heroic and MOUZ as the third qualifier to the playoffs for Group B is about to be defined.

We have FURIA and BIG, the other two teams that were called to be in the next phase of this ESL Pro League S17 in Group B, fighting for that third place in the Mid Bracket final. This match will be played today, Saturday, March 4, at 16:00 CET.

However, the road to this point has not been easy for both teams, and they will have to play for their lives in this match to secure their place in the playoffs. Likewise, the losing team will have a third chance in the Lower Bracket Final.

FURIA suffers but wins against Movistar Riders

After a flawless victory against their Brazilian compatriots Imperial Esports, FURIA was crushed by MOUZ in the Upper Bracket semifinals. As a result, the team had to play for their lives in the Mid Bracket in a series that, in theory, and on paper, seemed easier against Movistar Riders, but it was not.

The Mid Bracket semifinal between FURIA Esports and Movistar Riders was played in best of three in Inferno, Anubis, and Nuke. Thanks to the excellent performance of the Spaniards, the series was played on three maps, which put in doubt, for some time, the victory of FURIA.

Inferno

Movistar Riders started with all of them in Inferno, demonstrating why it was their Mappick, as the T-side managed to take a 10-5 victory that seemed a statement against FURIA in this first map. Antonio “Martinez” Martinez and his AWP were the protagonists of this first half. However, FURIA was able to wake up in the second half, and with nine wins in the first ten rounds, they managed to get 14-11 on the scoreboard.

The Spaniards tried to react with two consecutive rounds to place the map 14-13, but FURIA sealed the victory with an excellent performance of Rafael “saffee” Costa with a score of 16-13.

Anubis

The map selected by FURIA, Anubis, brought us a lot of emotions and, without a doubt, was one of the most exciting matches we have seen in this Group B of the ESL Pro League S17. Movistar Riders started again with excellent play in the first half. On the CT side, the team won nine rounds with a lead of 3 going into the second half on a map that is undoubtedly for either side.

After winning the pistol round and giving FURIA a big scare, Movistar Riders got complicated and could not stop the rush of the Brazilians and lost the second round. This sent the Spaniards to do three echo rounds that were victories for FURIA and placed the score 10-9. Then it was a give and take between both teams until Movistar Riders got to double match point, but FURIA could tie it 15-15 and send the match to overtime. Finally, after two overtime rounds, the Spanish took the victory 22-20 and forced the third and decisive map.

Nuke

Finally, in Nuke FURIA, FURIA finished hitting the table and showed what the Brazilian team is made of. Movistar again started with a great first part on the T side, winning seven rounds. After that, however, FURIA and their characteristic aggressiveness overcame all the defenses posed by the Spaniards and took the victory 16-8.

BIG delivers and sends SAW to the Lower Bracket

After almost upsetting Heroic in the Upper Bracket, BIG arrived as clear favorites for the series against SAW in the Mid Bracket, and they delivered.

The Germans were always superior to the Portuguese, although, in the second map, there was an attempt by SAW to get back into the series. The maps played were Anubis and Overpass; in both, we saw a very focused BIG with a lot of consistency.

Anubis

Nils “k1to” Gruhne became the executioner of the Portuguese in Anubis, as he finished with 91.4 ADR and a 1.53 Rating, according to HLTV. With a crushing 13-2 in the first part of the map, we all swore it would be a BIG thrashing against the Portuguese, but we were completely wrong. SAW woke up and made it seven consecutive rounds when the match was 15-4. However, BIG made the remaining round to finish with a 16-11 victory.

Overpass

In Overpass, the story was a little different, as the map was much more balanced than the first one. SAW managed to stop BIG’s offensives from taking a tight victory in the first half with a score of 8-7. On the other hand, the Portuguese showed once again that their T-side is very good on any map and managed to make up to 6 rounds, but BIG, with their experience in this type of competition, managed to win the first half with a score of 8-7.

On the other hand, the Portuguese showed once again that their T-side is very good on any map and managed to make up to 6 rounds, but BIG, with their experience in this type of competition, took advantage and took the victory 16-14.

Header: ESL