Image credit: VCT Ascension Pacific APAC
Bleed eSports prevent the sweep to take down BOOM Esports 2-1 in the second semifinal of the VCT Ascension Pacific playoffs.
In a series that had the crowd going wild in almost every round, Bleed eSports would eventually take down BOOM Esports in an enthralling 2-1 win. This moved Bleed up to the grand finals of the VCT Ascension Pacific playoffs where they will meet SCARZ, who defeated NAOS Esports earlier today.
As XERXIA failed to make the playoffs, the local Thai crowd came out in droves to support the last standing homegrown player, Nutchapon "sScary" Matarat alongside the rest of Bleed. However, with BOOM being seen as the underdogs in the semifinal series, they made Bleed work hard in all three maps.
The first match on BOOM's pick of Lotus wound up being the longest match of the series at an hour and 12 minutes. BOOM started the first half of the map strong, winning eight of the 12 rounds with five of those coming from full-buy rounds. The Indonesian org would go on to take the first three rounds of the second half, which forced a change of strategy from Bleed.
This saw the Malaysia & Singapore representative fight back with six straight full-buy round wins. While BOOM did manage to get one back, Bleed would continue to push forward with two more straight full-buy round wins to tie the series and send it to overtime. Both teams would go full-buy in both rounds but it was BOOM who came out the winners in the end, taking both rounds after both Fikri "famouz" Zaki and Michael "SEVERiNE" Winata clutched up in overtime.
The second match saw Bleed go with Pearl, a map that they had mild success in. However, things were not looking great from the get-go. BOOM came out brimming with confidence and it showed, especially on their first half defensive performance that saw them take nine of the first 12 rounds, which includes six out of eight full-buy round wins.
Unfortunately, one can only stop the bleeding for so long before it becomese too much, which was the case for the MY/SG contingent. Bleed would once again mount a comeback in the second half, even after losing their first full-buy round. They would go on to win the next eight rounds in a row, which includes seven full-buy rounds.
And in the 21st round with both teams tied at 10-10, it was sScary who stepped up in front of the home crowd to take four kills in the round to give Bleed the lead and ultimately, the comeback victory to send it to a third and final map.
With Haven being chosen as the deciding map, neither team could get an edge in the series. While Bleed did win the pistol round, it was BOOM who hit back with four consecutive wins, three of which were full-buy rounds. Both teams would go back-and-forth the next four rounds before Bleed began to assert its dominance by taking three straight wins to end the half at 6-6.
Having come from behind yet again to even the score, Bleed looked to be the more comfortable side, especially given how late into the night it was. They took the first four out of five rounds against BOOM, which included a 16th round four-kill round for sScary, who also topped it off with a one-versus-one clutch.
BOOM would eventually respond in kind soon after, taking three straight rounds of their own. And with the score tied at 10-10, nerves were starting to creep into the crowd but Bleed would ensure that their wait was worth it in the end, taking the next three rounds in full-buy to ensure the win and a spot in the grand finals.
It was a great performance from both teams but in the end, it was Bleed who came out on top with the likes of sScary putting up a resounding show for the local fans. Gary "blaZek1ng" Dastin also deserves plaudits for his performance on the main stage, getting the most kills in the series.
Bleed will now face-off against SCARZ tomorrow at 4.00 pm GMT+7, which you can catch on the official VCT Ascension Pacific Twitch channel.
