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SAW Drops Imperial Esports To Lower Bracket

· Mar 03 - 4 minutes read

SAW are now advancing in the lower bracket of Group B of the ESL Pro League S17 after defeating Imperial. When the game came down to a suspenseful Nuke, the two teams exchanged impressive map selections: SAW won Vertigo 16-7, while Imperial responded on Overpass. After overcoming a 4-11 disadvantage on the terrorist side, the Portuguese team triumphed, winning the crucial map in extra time. Imperial is now one loss away from being eliminated, thus they will need to pull off a miracle run in the last-chance round in order to make the playoffs.

Story topped the charts with around 100 ADR on Vertigo despite not making much of an impact with the sniper. A successful initial stretch of the opening map, in which the Portuguese won the first six rounds without answering on the Terrorist side, was started by his 1v2 clutch in the first round and a vital triple in the one that followed.

Once FalleN gained control of the AWP and secured some crucial picks in defense of the ramp and the A bombsite, the Brazilians managed to escape with seven rounds remaining in the half, but it was all in vain. After JUST led a pistol round victory and conversion in the second half, SAW put together a faultless defense of their own to win the first map 16-7.

Instead of letting SAW get away with early leads this round, Imperial headed over to their own choice of Overpass and got a head start of their own. The Brazilian team provided themselves enough of a cushion with a 2v4 from “boltz” and “FalleN” in round four and a 2v2 victory against “pistols” in the next round to survive what ultimately proved to be a strong defense from SAW.

Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, player for Imperial Esports — Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, player for Imperial Esports

Despite only being ahead by one round at the half, Imperial easily won the second half thanks to many important multikills from VINI on the B bombsite, much like SAW did on Vertigo. When Imperial led 8-0 to force the decisive Nuke, the 23-year-old ended the CT side with a stunning 15-3 score and nearly 200 ADR.

When nothing went wrong for them in the first half of Nuke, Imperial appeared to be headed for a straightforward triumph. While SAW repeatedly forfeited beginning duels and Imperial took advantage of their advantages to assault vulnerable areas, they rarely appeared to be in danger even as they went on an 11-round winning streak on the terrorist side.

Contrary to what a seven-round lead might imply, finishing the match proved to be a considerably more difficult challenge. When Imperial decided to fortify the A bombsite, the SAW side switched to lower hits because the Portuguese team’s upper executes proved to be too difficult to handle. When Imperial eventually found a response, the game was tied at 12-12. Nevertheless, despite having two chances to close the map in regulation, Imperial was unable to do so since SAW won a 2v4 situation in the decisive round.

Following a back-and-forth overtime, SAW ultimately won thanks to the participation of ewjerkz. The Portuguese star stepped up with a 1v2 clutch from heaven, a swift rotation that caught Imperial off guard, and a quad-kill in the final round, all of which enabled his side put together a faultless defense.

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