EG Black put a stop to Strife's streak
Playoffs for ESL Challenger League Season 44 continued last night, with Evil Geniuses Black taking on Strife in the lower-bracket final for a shot to keep their runs alive. In the end, EG Black came out on top in 2-0 fashion, securing them a spot in the consolidation final versus ATK.
The two squads had quite different paths heading into this match; EG Black narrowly fell in the second round of the upper bracket to ATK, and then swept past LOS + oNe to reach the lower-bracket final. Meanwhile, Strife dropped their opening match against ATK before claiming the scalps of timbermen and Nouns to secure their matchup against EG Black.
The series kicked off on Strife's pick of Nuke, where EG Black got off to a roaring start on the defense, accruing eleven rounds total in the first half. Although Strife managed to prevent a conversion after EG Black snatched the second pistol round, that was all Bobby "stamina" Eitrem's men could muster before EG Black stole away the map 16-5.
Despite the unfortunate circumstances on Nuke, Strife were able to keep their heads above water far longer on EG Black's pick of Inferno. A pistol round win on the offense kicked off an early 5-1 lead for Strife, which was quickly whittled away by EG Black, with the Blueprint squad ultimately wresting control of the half with a narrow 8-7 lead. Colby "Walco" Walsh's men laid claim to the second pistol round, propelling EG Black into double-digit rounds, but Strife were not content with just rolling over, as they fought tooth and nail to even the score at 11-11. What then ensued was a streaky back-and-forth brawl, with EG Black ultimately coming out on top to lock down their pick 16-14, keeping their playoff hopes alive at Strife's expense.
EG BlackStrife| EG Black |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
47 - 21 | +26 | 101.7 | 88.0% | 1.62 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
47 - 29 | +18 | 84.5 | 84.0% | 1.42 |
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
41 - 29 | +12 | 90.0 | 76.0% | 1.29 |
| William 'RUSH' Wierzba |
28 - 29 | -1 | 67.0 | 82.0% | 1.06 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
32 - 30 | +2 | 72.7 | 68.0% | 1.02 |
| Strife |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul 'aris' Wilson |
31 - 37 | -6 | 70.5 | 60.0% | 0.91 |
| David 'J0LZ' Jolin |
29 - 36 | -7 | 62.7 | 58.0% | 0.88 |
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
28 - 43 | -15 | 70.0 | 64.0% | 0.86 |
| Bobby 'stamina' Eitrem |
25 - 38 | -13 | 55.2 | 58.0% | 0.77 |
| Ryan 'Snakes' Amann |
22 - 42 | -20 | 58.6 | 52.0% | 0.62 |
EG Black will resume their playoffs campaign at 08:00PM tonight, facing off against ATK once again, this time for a shot at securing a place in the grand finals versus MIBR.
