VCT EMEA League: BBL and Karmine Corp secure victories

BBL Esports thrashed Team Heretics 2-1 and Karmine Corp overcame KOI to win their week 5 matchups at the VCT EMEA League. Here is how the match unfolded:

BBL vs Team Heretics

BBL won the pistol round to start the game on Haven, and despite some opposition, the group was successful in extending their lead to 7-5 before halftime. BBL kept the onslaught going thanks to Ali “AsLanM4shadoW” Balta, who picked 16 kills in the second half to keep Heretics under pressure. The brilliant performance of Óscar “mixwell” Colocho’s, however, allowed Heretics to claw their way back into the game and force OT, where the BBL eventually won two straight games to secure the map.

As the game moved to the second map Lotus, both sides put up a fierce fight to keep the score locked at 6-6 at halftime. After exchanging sides, BBL was able to break the tie by winning three straight rounds to go up 9-6. The team, however, failed to maintain the momentum and fell to the brutal attacks of Heretics as they secure a six-round streak to close the map 13-10.

While the first two maps of the series were extremely close, the decider turned out to be completely lopsided. BBL annihilated Heretics on Icebox, building an incredible ten-point lead while only giving up one point during the first half. The team easily secured the required two rounds without much resistance to close the map 13-2 and secure their second victory at VCT EMEA.

KOI vs Karmine Corp

The best-of-three series kicked off on Lotus, with a dominating showing from the French-Belgian lineup of Karmine Corp. Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko made valiant attempts to reverse the situation, but Karmine’s lead was sufficient to withstand his ferocious charge at the gate and punch a 13–6 win.

After a lackluster performance in the first game, KOI turned things around with a much more competitive performance on their own map pick, Ascent. The first half finished in a 6-6 deadlock, but after switching sides, KOI was able to get through Karmine’s tough defense and take a commanding 11- 7 advantage. Bogdan “Sheydos” Naumov continued to power the KOI assault, propelling the squad to a 13-8 triumph.

As the series entered the decisive Haven with the score tied at 1, KOI’s Sheydos put on another strong performance to help the team secure a 7-5 lead. Karmine recovers in the second half thanks to a fantastic gun show put on by Alexandre “xms” Forté for the spectators. With the help of the French player’s 26-kill performance and Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom’s cameo, Karmine was able to thwart the reverse sweep and win the map 13–6.

 Header: Riot Games