Ze Pug Godz, oNe, Whalers, and Yeah through to IEM New York
The IEM New York Closed Qualifier has come to a close, but the event did not transpire without controversy. Yesterday, two teams, Positive Vibes Only and Rebirth, were forced to forfeit after a number of their players were subjected to DDOS attacks. Numerous players and coaches from the teams noted on Twitter that ESL were not willing to be flexible with the match scheduling and were forced to forfeit the match, rather than simply delaying it until appropriate security measures were put in place.
On the first day, RBG and oNe kicked things off with a triple-overtime affair on RBG's map pick, Vertigo. Guatemalan Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa popped off with 47 kills to help his side secure the map, though Josh "pwny" VanGorder was not far behind with 42 kills of his own. In the end, malbsMd could not be contained as he carried the Brazilians to a 2-0 series victory, adding 27 kills on Train for a total of 74 in the series.
TeamOneRBG| TeamOne |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
74 - 47 | +27 | 98.7 | 78.6% | 1.48 |
 Bruno 'b4rtiN' Câmara |
55 - 41 | +14 | 90.1 | 75.7% | 1.38 |
| Matheus 'prt' Scuvero |
46 - 43 | +3 | 72.3 | 74.3% | 1.12 |
| Matheus 'pesadelo' Panisset |
46 - 51 | -5 | 76.2 | 70.0% | 1.03 |
| Pedro 'Maluk3' Campos |
39 - 46 | -7 | 59.5 | 72.9% | 0.91 |
| RBG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
54 - 51 | +3 | 84.6 | 70.0% | 1.05 |
 Josh 'pwny' VanGorder |
50 - 51 | -1 | 79.6 | 58.6% | 1.03 |
| Austin 'gmanchew' Vieira |
40 - 49 | -9 | 64.4 | 74.3% | 0.95 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
38 - 56 | -18 | 64.2 | 67.1% | 0.87 |
| Jerric 'wiz' Jiang |
45 - 53 | -8 | 73.4 | 57.1% | 0.84 |
Positive Vibes Only got things rolling with a narrow victory on their own map pick of Mirage. David "Sneaky" Polster led the way for the victors with 21 frags, but was actually outgunned by Jonathan "djay" Dallal who led all players with 26 kills in the losing effort.
Justin "FaNg" Coakley and Ramal "Rampage" Silva went frag for frag with 21 kills each on Overpass, but it was Positive Vibes Only who would double up Whalers to take the series 2-0 and move on to play for a spot at IEM New York.
Positive Vibes OnlyNew England Whalers| Positive Vibes Only |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
41 - 35 | +6 | 76.7 | 75.9% | 1.15 |
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
38 - 34 | +4 | 74.4 | 74.1% | 1.12 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
38 - 38 | +0 | 82.2 | 66.7% | 1.10 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
37 - 40 | -3 | 80.0 | 66.7% | 1.08 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
39 - 34 | +5 | 78.3 | 70.4% | 1.06 |
| New England Whalers |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
46 - 41 | +5 | 105.9 | 68.5% | 1.30 |
| Ramal 'Rampage' Silva |
40 - 37 | +3 | 76.3 | 83.3% | 1.15 |
| Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue |
41 - 36 | +5 | 73.0 | 77.8% | 1.09 |
| Brandon 'bew' Roberts |
31 - 39 | -8 | 67.5 | 64.8% | 0.91 |
| Ben 'ben1337' Smith |
23 - 41 | -18 | 49.6 | 64.8% | 0.70 |
Rebirth turned some heads early in this series by taking the opener on Mirage in convincing fashion. Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro led the server with 23 kills, but no one else on Ze Pug Godz managed more than 12 frags. Every player on Rebirth tallied at least 14 kills to take the 1-0 series lead on the back of some very balanced production.
Rebirth's success would be short-lived, as Ze Pug Godz got into a defensive groove on their own map pick, turning a slim 8-7 halftime lead into a dominant 16-8 final scoreline. Austin "Cooper" Abadir led Ze Pug Godz back into the series with 28 frags, then Will "dazzLe" Loafman took over in the Inferno decider with 23 kills of his own to help the team complete the reverse sweep.
Ze Pug GodzRebirth| Ze Pug Godz |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
62 - 46 | +16 | 83.7 | 71.2% | 1.21 |
 Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
47 - 42 | +5 | 78.5 | 76.7% | 1.14 |
| Austin 'Cooper' Abadir |
57 - 51 | +6 | 83.2 | 65.8% | 1.12 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
46 - 43 | +3 | 68.9 | 68.5% | 1.02 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
43 - 50 | -7 | 73.4 | 67.1% | 1.00 |
| Rebirth |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin '4pack' Przypasniak |
60 - 49 | +11 | 85.9 | 65.8% | 1.18 |
| Carson 'nosraC' O'Reilly |
50 - 53 | -3 | 79.1 | 68.5% | 1.05 |
| Zack 'XotiC' Elshani |
45 - 51 | -6 | 67.7 | 63.0% | 0.92 |
| Ali 'phantom' Sachs |
37 - 50 | -13 | 58.4 | 61.6% | 0.82 |
| Sebastian 'retchy' Tropiano |
38 - 54 | -16 | 56.8 | 61.6% | 0.80 |
Koby "kobruh" Higgs dropped 23 kills on Mirage in twenty rounds, good for a 1.86 rating, to launch Kinship out to a 1-0 series lead in dominant fashion.
Yeah would not be discouraged and struck back on Inferno, with Alef "tatazin" Pereira's 26 kill performance evening up the series up and send things to a Train decider.
That was where 16-year-old Anthony "CLASIA" Kearney would hop into the driver's seat, putting up a 24 frag performance that was supplemented by 23 more kills from kobruh. The two young guns from Kinship proved to be too much to handle as they sent the Brazilians to the lower bracket.
KinshipYeah| Kinship |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
60 - 42 | +18 | 75.5 | 79.7% | 1.28 |
| Koby 'kobruh' Higgs |
61 - 48 | +13 | 83.6 | 68.9% | 1.15 |
| Kyle 'Wolffe' Greenfield |
54 - 54 | +0 | 84.4 | 73.0% | 1.11 |
| Sean 'naes' Fontaine |
46 - 51 | -5 | 67.4 | 64.9% | 0.91 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
39 - 54 | -15 | 69.2 | 68.9% | 0.89 |
| Yeah |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodrigo 'RCF' Figueiredo |
54 - 49 | +5 | 70.0 | 73.0% | 1.12 |
| Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer |
52 - 47 | +5 | 75.0 | 71.6% | 1.07 |
| Alef 'tatazin' Pereira |
53 - 50 | +3 | 73.8 | 66.2% | 1.03 |
| Arthur 'f4stzin' Schmitt |
51 - 63 | -12 | 88.2 | 67.6% | 1.02 |
| Victor 'iDk' Torraca |
38 - 53 | -15 | 67.1 | 63.5% | 0.84 |
The knockout rounds are where the drama started to unfold. Rebirth couldn't even get their series with Yeah started as a result of two of their players, Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly and Kevin "4pack" Przypasniak, being DDOSed and the team being told by ESL that the match could not be rescheduled. Sebastian "retchy" Tropiano postulated that it could have been a security issue that left FPL players vulnerable, but the cause of the interference remains unconfirmed. Regardless, Yeah got a free pass to play for an IEM New York spot.
The other series went off without a hitch, as RBG got out to a roaring start against Whalers. All five players for the Canadian side had as many or more kills as the Whalers' top frag, Brandon "BOOBIE" Roberts, who had 12 kills.
The tides turned favorably for the Whalers on their own map pick of Mirage, as they were able to sneak out a thirty-round victory on the back of 27 kills from djay. They were able to ride that wave of momentum to the finish line, beating RBG decisively in the Overpass decider with Rampage and Josh "PwnAlone" Pigue combining for 40 kills.
RBGNew England Whalers| RBG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 'pwny' VanGorder |
51 - 49 | +2 | 79.2 | 71.8% | 1.14 |
| Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
50 - 48 | +2 | 79.3 | 67.6% | 1.10 |
| Jerric 'wiz' Jiang |
50 - 51 | -1 | 75.8 | 74.6% | 1.08 |
| Austin 'gmanchew' Vieira |
50 - 50 | +0 | 66.6 | 66.2% | 1.01 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
40 - 47 | -7 | 65.6 | 67.6% | 0.95 |
| New England Whalers |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
52 - 46 | +6 | 82.1 | 74.6% | 1.18 |
| Ramal 'Rampage' Silva |
49 - 49 | +0 | 82.6 | 69.0% | 1.11 |
| Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue |
50 - 49 | +1 | 68.8 | 70.4% | 1.01 |
| Brandon 'bew' Roberts |
48 - 48 | +0 | 72.9 | 67.6% | 0.99 |
| Ben 'ben1337' Smith |
45 - 51 | -6 | 63.6 | 63.4% | 0.90 |
oNe were the beneficiary of the second easiest sweep in the Closed Qualifier after Justin "FaNg" Coakley began having DDOS issues during the first map. Coach Max "TR1LL" Kesselhaut was forced to stand in for his technologically embattled player, going James Bond and then some, as he and FaNg went a combined 3-20 in the opening map loss on Inferno.
Danny "cxzi" Strzelcyzk and Sneaky had technical issues as well, which led to the same eventual fate as their MDL comrades on Rebirth. The matter forced Positive Vibes Only's roster to forfeit, knocking them down to the lower bracket and putting oNe through to IEM New York.
TeamOnePositive Vibes Only| TeamOne |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
31 - 13 | +18 | 113.2 | 91.7% | 1.94 |
| Matheus 'prt' Scuvero |
22 - 17 | +5 | 103.3 | 83.3% | 1.30 |
| Matheus 'pesadelo' Panisset |
16 - 12 | +4 | 75.0 | 87.5% | 1.24 |
| Pedro 'Maluk3' Campos |
18 - 15 | +3 | 84.2 | 75.0% | 1.23 |
| Bruno 'b4rtiN' Câmara |
9 - 13 | -4 | 51.4 | 79.2% | 0.83 |
| Positive Vibes Only |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
26 - 19 | +7 | 108.3 | 79.2% | 1.51 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
15 - 20 | -5 | 73.8 | 75.0% | 0.87 |
| Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
3 - 11 | -8 | 26.8 | 83.3% | 0.79 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
13 - 20 | -7 | 69.2 | 62.5% | 0.77 |
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
13 - 18 | -5 | 59.4 | 62.5% | 0.76 |
| Max 'TR1LL' Kesselhaut |
0 - 9 | -9 | 2.3 | 75.0% | 0.70 |
Despite Ze Pug Godz and Kinship being able to play without issues, the former team allowed their opposition just one round on Nuke, with Sean "naes" Fontaine being the only player on Kinship that managed even 10 kills.
Kinship showed some grit on Vertigo, taking Ze Pug Godz to map point and pulling within a round of taking the series to Train, but Ze Pug Godz would steal the momentum away in the final rounds of the match, fighting off two match points and winning four consecutive overtime rounds to close out the sweep. Kyle "Wolffe" Greenfield was huge for Kinship with 33 kills, but it wasn't enough to deny Ze Pug Godz their IEM New York berth, led by 29 frags from Gage "Infinite" Green.
Ze Pug GodzKinship| Ze Pug Godz |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
47 - 33 | +14 | 95.2 | 74.5% | 1.45 |
| Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
49 - 30 | +19 | 100.3 | 74.5% | 1.40 |
| Austin 'Cooper' Abadir |
38 - 25 | +13 | 71.3 | 76.5% | 1.25 |
| Jordan 'Zellsis' Montemurro |
36 - 27 | +9 | 76.5 | 88.2% | 1.22 |
| Will 'dazzLe' Loafman |
31 - 36 | -5 | 75.6 | 70.6% | 1.02 |
| Kinship |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle 'Wolffe' Greenfield |
38 - 39 | -1 | 77.7 | 60.8% | 0.99 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
29 - 43 | -14 | 73.0 | 60.8% | 0.87 |
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
29 - 40 | -11 | 63.7 | 62.7% | 0.82 |
| Koby 'kobruh' Higgs |
26 - 38 | -12 | 57.7 | 58.8% | 0.73 |
| Sean 'naes' Fontaine |
29 - 42 | -13 | 65.2 | 49.0% | 0.71 |
The first lower bracket qualifier series was as close as you could get in the first two maps, before the floodgates opened on map three to send the Whalers through to IEM New York. kobruh and CLASIA came up huge once again on the opening map of Train, combining for 50 kills as Kinship closed out the map on a four round win streak, immediately converting match point after failing to do so against Ze Pug Godz.
Whalers bounced right back with a close map win of their own, winning the decisive 36th round in overtime to even the series at 1-1 on Overpass. PwnAlone led the way with 33 kills for the victors, while Wolffe led the server with 34 frags in a losing effort.
The Mirage decider was all Whalers, though Wolffe had a respectable showing. However, the duo of kobruh and CLASIA dropped off at the final hurdle, combining for just 19 kills while djay and BOOBIE combined for 39 for Whalers, helping the Boston-based organization punched their ticket to compete in IEM New York with a dominant display in the server and some good sportsmanship on Twitter afterward.
KinshipNew England Whalers| Kinship |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle 'Wolffe' Greenfield |
67 - 61 | +6 | 86.3 | 69.0% | 1.24 |
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
66 - 67 | -1 | 80.5 | 69.0% | 1.06 |
| Koby 'kobruh' Higgs |
48 - 57 | -9 | 68.8 | 64.3% | 0.95 |
| Sean 'naes' Fontaine |
56 - 68 | -12 | 75.8 | 65.5% | 0.91 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
45 - 60 | -15 | 58.4 | 60.7% | 0.77 |
| New England Whalers |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
70 - 52 | +18 | 97.5 | 81.0% | 1.40 |
| Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue |
68 - 53 | +15 | 78.1 | 73.8% | 1.18 |
| Brandon 'bew' Roberts |
65 - 62 | +3 | 84.0 | 75.0% | 1.16 |
| Ramal 'Rampage' Silva |
63 - 56 | +7 | 76.6 | 78.6% | 1.14 |
| Ben 'ben1337' Smith |
47 - 59 | -12 | 63.2 | 70.2% | 0.95 |
The final series of the day started late, as Positive Vibes Only were tied up in their final series with Mythic in the grand final of today's ESEA Summer Cash Cup #1. This qualifying series was their third best-of-three in a row without a break and Yeah were merciless, jumping out to a 11-4 lead on Mirage and holding off a comeback attempt as they secured their sixteenth round on just their second match point.
Arthur "f4stzin" Schmitt popped off on Dust2, carrying his team to the final remaining IEM New York berth with 34 kills. Yeah's young star Eduardo "dumau" Wolkmer chimed in with 24 kills as well, while Sneaky's 18 frags was the best that Positive Vibes Only could muster.
YeahPositive Vibes Only| Yeah |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur 'f4stzin' Schmitt |
60 - 39 | +21 | 111.3 | 81.0% | 1.60 |
| Rodrigo 'RCF' Figueiredo |
46 - 32 | +14 | 84.3 | 70.7% | 1.31 |
| Eduardo 'dumau' Wolkmer |
44 - 32 | +12 | 77.2 | 75.9% | 1.19 |
| Victor 'iDk' Torraca |
36 - 34 | +2 | 70.5 | 77.6% | 1.02 |
| Alef 'tatazin' Pereira |
21 - 32 | -11 | 41.2 | 69.0% | 0.77 |
| Positive Vibes Only |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
42 - 41 | +1 | 68.6 | 63.8% | 1.00 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
34 - 42 | -8 | 71.3 | 62.1% | 0.92 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
36 - 40 | -4 | 80.0 | 58.6% | 0.92 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
27 - 42 | -15 | 58.2 | 60.3% | 0.74 |
| Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
30 - 43 | -13 | 49.6 | 53.4% | 0.73 |
IEM New York will feature the following teams:
| Evil Geniuses |
FURIA |
| Liquid |
Gen.G |
| MiBR |
 100 Thieves |
| Cloud9 |
Triumph |
| Ze Pug Godz |
oNe |
| New England Whalers |
Yeah |
IEM New York is slated to begin on October 6th.
