Heroic win WCA Europe Qualifier over Gambit-case battle cc

The Danish side won ~$26,000 by defeating Gambit 2-1 (16-7 Nuke, 14-16 Mirage, 16-11 Train) in the grand final of the WCA 2017 Europe Qualifier.

The two finalists, Gambit and HEROIC, already earned their spots at the final WCA 2017 LAN event, but there was still the majority of the prize pool on the line when they met in the BO3 grand final, with ~$26,000 going to the winner and ~$11,000 to the loser.

HEROIC picked Nuke to start it off, lost the pistol, but picked up the pace with Patrick "⁠es3tag⁠" Hansen's 4K in the first gun round starting their Terrorist-side run. Gambit interrupted it shortly, when Rustem "⁠mou⁠" Telepov pulled off a 1v2 on the lower site, but his team just ended up being reset in the following round, which opened up the half for the Danes.

A 9-6 first-half lead was extended when Andreas "⁠MODDII⁠" Fridh and Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen resolved a 2v2 after plant on A, extending the lead to 13-7 before Gambit could afford a buy with all the utility. The Kazakhstani team won that round, taking over the A site, but JUGi got an entry in the next won and MODDII closed it off with a hat trick of his own to get the map back on the track for HEROIC, who closed it out 16-7.

Snappi had a great series against Gambit

A frantic pistol round, that saw most of the action take place in CT spawn where Gambit pushed after planting the bomb on A, ended up going the way of the Terrorists in the end. No momentum could be built by Dauren "⁠AdreN⁠" Kystaubayev and co., though, as they fumbled the following eco and HEROIC took over the lead shortly. Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer climbed up to the top of the scoreboard for his team in the first half, which he finished with 19 kills and his team with a 9-6 lead.

Mihail "⁠Dosia⁠" Stolyarov and Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov picked up entries in the second pistol, but Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen stepped up for his side after that with Glock quad kill. The following force buy was a scary one for HEROIC, but this time it was Snappi who got four kills, including the final one in a 1v1, to extend his team's lead to 11-6.

Things turned around from the first buy round, where Gambit resolved a 2v1 on B to start a series of round wins. From a 12-6 deficit, Gambit came back to a 14-12 lead with multiple clean round-wins to their name, which saw their bank grow as well. In an attempt to stop their opponents from getting to match point, the Danes went for an A site execute. The round came down to a 2v2 that Gambit clutched with a last-second defuse. Snappi's side still put up a fight, but Bektiyar "⁠fitch⁠" Bahytov clutched out the final round to push it to Train.

On the last map, HEROIC were in control of the majority of the first half, which they played as Terrorists, with niko's 1v4 on the B site playing a crucial part in that, resetting Gambit's economy and making the score 6-1. The Danes cruised to a big lead off the back of the lead in the economy game, switching to the CT side with a 10-5 lead.

The 19-year-old rifler niko continued his great display on Train in the pistol, popping two heads with the P2000 as Gambit encroached upon B, HEROIC closed out the round and extended the lead to 14-5 soon. When all seemed set and done, Gambit put up a strong resistance, getting up to 11 rounds before HEROIC could close it out on Train and secure the first place in the WCA 2017 Europe qualifier.

WCA 2017 Europe Main QualifierBest of 3 Gambit GambitMatchpage 1 2 11th November 2017 HEROIC HEROIC HEROIC 7Nuke 16 16Mirage 14 11Train 16

Gambit K - D +/- ADR Rating 2.0
Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovHObbit 59 - 59 0 81.3 1.04
Bektiyar 'fitch' Bahytovfitch 53 - 59 -6 66.3 0.89
Rustem 'mou' Telepovmou 44 - 59 -15 61.2 0.85
Mihail 'Dosia' StolyarovDosia 47 - 60 -13 68.8 0.83
Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevAdreN 45 - 60 -15 70.0 0.79
HEROIC K - D +/- ADR Rating 2.0
Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferSnappi 72 - 53 +19 93.0 1.33
Jakob 'JUGi' HansenJUGi 62 - 47 +15 82.6 1.27
Nikolaj 'niko' Kristensenniko 64 - 53 +11 86.0 1.22
Patrick 'es3tag' Hansenes3tag 56 - 47 +9 72.5 1.12
Andreas 'MODDII' FridhMODDII 43 - 48 -5 63.1 0.91

Gambit	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovHObbit	59 - 59	0	81.3	1.04
Bektiyar 'fitch' Bahytovfitch	53 - 59	-6	66.3	0.89
Rustem 'mou' Telepovmou	44 - 59	-15	61.2	0.85
Mihail 'Dosia' StolyarovDosia	47 - 60	-13	68.8	0.83
Dauren 'AdreN' KystaubayevAdreN	45 - 60	-15	70.0	0.79

HEROIC	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Marco 'Snappi' PfeifferSnappi	72 - 53	+19	93.0	1.33
Jakob 'JUGi' HansenJUGi	62 - 47	+15	82.6	1.27
Nikolaj 'niko' Kristensenniko	64 - 53	+11	86.0	1.22
Patrick 'es3tag' Hansenes3tag	56 - 47	+9	72.5	1.12
Andreas 'MODDII' FridhMODDII	43 - 48	-5	63.1	0.91

The last WCA 2017 Finals spot will be decided between Natus Vincere and BIG, who were on the losing sides in the semi-final.

Standings:

1. HEROIC - $26,350 + WCA Finals spot
2. Gambit - $10,980 + WCA Finals spot
3. Natus Vincere / BIG - $4,390 + WCA Finals spot
4. Natus Vincere / BIG - $2,195
5-8. AGO
5-8. Japaleno
5-8. Space Soldiers
5-8. FlipSid3