Extra Salt defeat paiN to set up rematch with oNe in Premier grand final
The end of ESEA Premier Season 37 draws near, as only Extra Salt and oNe remain standing. Triumph were eliminated by paiN on Friday, and paiN were then subsequently defeated by Extra Salt, setting up a rematch between Johnny "JT" Theodosiou's men and the Brazilians of oNe.
Things started off on the wrong foot for Triumph in the lower bracket, as paiN jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Mirage before the American side got on the board. They would at one time trail 9-2, before salvaging the half with four rounds in a row to bring the score to 9-6.
Triumph were again put at a disadvantage as paiN extended their lead to 12-6 and quickly reached map point, but Brendan "Bwills" Williams and co. dug deep to again put a string of rounds together and send the map to overtime.
It would take three grueling overtimes, but eventually paiN were able to pull away to take the first map and send the series to Nuke.
The situation did not improve for Triumph with a change of scenery, as Rafael "saffee" Costa ran wild, helping to power his side to a nearly flawless 14-1 Terrorist half. Triumph would prolong their season by winning the second pistol, but were soon put down 16-6, sending paiN through to the consolidation final against Extra Salt.
TriumphpaiN| Triumph |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
57 - 49 | +8 | 92.4 | 71.4% | 1.19 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
55 - 56 | -1 | 78.3 | 71.4% | 1.02 |
| Jeff 'RZU' Ngo |
40 - 56 | -16 | 63.5 | 62.9% | 0.78 |
| Tyler 'tweiss' Weiss |
35 - 56 | -21 | 62.2 | 70.0% | 0.76 |
| Austin 'Cooper' Abadir |
36 - 55 | -19 | 58.7 | 52.9% | 0.74 |
| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rafael 'saffee' Costa |
70 - 40 | +30 | 93.9 | 78.6% | 1.49 |
| Wesley 'hardzao' Lopes |
53 - 40 | +13 | 86.3 | 78.6% | 1.29 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
59 - 51 | +8 | 94.8 | 71.4% | 1.24 |
| Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
57 - 41 | +16 | 78.8 | 72.9% | 1.19 |
| Vinicios 'PKL' Coelho |
33 - 52 | -19 | 63.1 | 65.7% | 0.88 |
The aforementioned consolidation final kicked off on Vertigo, with paiN and Extra Salt trading three round streaks to start off the series. The back-and-forth half would eventually end up slightly in the North American/South African sides favor 8-7. An additional three rounds to open up the second half would be all that paiN would muster, as Josh "oSee" Ohm and friends played lockdown defense to secure the final eight rounds off the map.
Nuke looked poised to be a laugher, as Extra Salt continued their defensive prowess and secured a dominant 11-4 lead at the side switch. saffee and Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt were not yet ready to throw in the towel, helping paiN mirror Extra Salt's feat of eight rounds in a row, storming back to a 12-11 scoreline. Unfortunately for the Brazilians, this is where they ran out of steam, and were only able to secure one further round before Extra Salt closed out the map and series.
Extra SaltpaiN| Extra Salt |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
54 - 36 | +18 | 93.5 | 76.4% | 1.45 |
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
42 - 35 | +7 | 84.1 | 65.5% | 1.18 |
 Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
38 - 36 | +2 | 80.2 | 81.8% | 1.15 |
| Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
30 - 32 | -2 | 60.6 | 76.4% | 1.02 |
 Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
27 - 37 | -10 | 53.8 | 69.1% | 0.81 |
| paiN |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael 'saffee' Costa |
45 - 39 | +6 | 84.1 | 70.9% | 1.22 |
| Wesley 'hardzao' Lopes |
37 - 36 | +1 | 67.8 | 72.7% | 1.05 |
| Rodrigo 'biguzera' Bittencourt |
40 - 37 | +3 | 74.0 | 67.3% | 1.04 |
| Gabriel 'NEKIZ' Schenato |
30 - 39 | -9 | 68.3 | 61.8% | 0.84 |
| Vinicios 'PKL' Coelho |
23 - 42 | -19 | 57.9 | 61.8% | 0.71 |
The grand final of ESEA Premier Season 37 will take place tonight at 7PM EDT. Due to having remained in the upper bracket, oNe will enjoy a one map advantage in the best-of-five. As previously mentioned, the victor will earn a spot in ESL Pro League Season 14, joining Bad News Bears, the champions of Season 36.
