Photo courtesy of ESL
Virtus.pro, Team Secret and Vici Gaming among the last squads standing heading into an epic clash for ESL One Hamburg title.
Team Aster appeared slated for final day contention during the group stages, but the magic fizzled out for the promising Chinese stack. After losing just one game during the group stage, Team Aster was eliminated in two consecutive series during the main event. Although they leave sooner than preferred, Aster proved mighty as the Kuala Lumpur Major, and commencement of the new DPC season, awaits them in a couple of weeks.
Servicing Team Aster the door was paiN Gaming who experienced an impressive little march in the lower bracket. After falling behind in the series, William ‘hFn’ Medeiros came up clutch in games two and three on his Weaver and Alchemist respectfully. With PaiN’s matchup against Team Secret secured, the spotlight shifted towards the upper bracket finals and two potential headhunters for the second DPC season.
Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming thrilled the crowd with a back and forth series that did not disappoint. Both teams wreaked havoc in their respective victories. When the dust settled, Roman ‘Ramzes’ Kushnarev’s Morphling dropped both games played and Vici Gaming claimed an appearance in the Grand Finals. Virtus.pro was pushed into the lower bracket, but afforded the luxury of scouting their future opponent, Team Secret or paiN Gaming.
Virtus.pro did not wait long to discover who they would be playing. PaiN Gaming was streaking through the lower bracket but got stonewalled by Team Secret. The sweep of the series took no more than 53 minutes, one game of which was just over 17. Team Secret has built significant momentum while not losing a single game in the lower bracket. They now face a rematch with Virtus.pro who dropped them earlier in the main event.
Gameplay is scheduled to resume tomorrow, October 28th at 13:10 CEST.
Main event format:
- Double elimination bracket
- All matches are 'Bo3'
- Grand-final match will be 'Bo5'
