IEM New York EU: G2 and Heroic Out!

A third place in ESL Pro League and now the early exit at IEM New York… Heroic are really struggling to post consistent results lately. The same holds true for G2 Esports, who leave their group in last place as well.

FNATIC 2-0 G2

The Swedes had lost to Vitality in a close 1-2 before, which now meant that they had to contend with G2 Esports, who themselves hadn’t been able to perform versus Complexity. On Inferno, Maikil “Golden” Selim and his troops had the upper hand in the first half. They only had to collect six more rounds on the T side, but G2 really made them work for it. On a 16-13 scoreline, fnatic got the win and entered the second map, hoping to close the match out quickly. For a while, it looked as though they could actually do this. They started off with a solid 9-6 CT half, but were unable to break the French defense. G2 brought the game to overtime, in which fnatic finally managed to seal the deal.

This must really hurt for Kenny “kennyS” Schrub. The star awper has struggled lately to deliver a consistent performance. Now that he’s finally managed to post a 1.21 rating with 53 kills, G2 still lose the match. On the fnatic side, Golden was the top performer, which is quite a rare sight for the in-game-leader. However, it stands to question whether this is enough to compete with Vitality or Complexity.

BIG 2-1 HEROIC

In BIG and Heroic, the two favorites of Group B had been sent down to the Losers’ Match. The Danes had apparently used up all their energy during the ESL Pro League playoffs, as they seemed to be out of breath throughout this tournament.

BIG got to start on their map pick, Mirage, and secured an 8-7 half. The second half was almost evenly tied again, but the Germans managed to win the one round that put them on 16-14, instead of going to overtime. On Vertigo, İsmailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş played a fantastic game and earned himself a 1.47 rating with 29 kills. Unfortunately, his colleagues weren’t as successful and Heroic were able to clutch out a 16-14 victory. So the teams headed for a third map.

There, BIG were finally able to put an end to this match. Heroic only got a marginal lead on their Nuke CT side, but the Germans used their defensive advantage to its fullest extent. Heroic only managed to win two meager rounds, after which they conceded an 11-16 win. This means that they’re out of the tournament, whilst BIG survive and head to their next match. But FaZe and OG will make for some troubling opponents.

Before that, however, the Winners’ Matches between FaZe/OG and Complexity/Vitality are scheduled to take place. The winning sides of these encounters will advance to the playoffs directly. The losers will have to face off against BIG and fnatic. But after their close Elimination Matches, these two teams shouldn’t get too hopeful.