Passion UA secures 2nd place at DraculaN 2
An impressive run by the boys on Passion UA at DraculaN 2 has landed them their best result since leaving Complexity, and potentially a sweeter starting spot at the upcoming Major.
After 2-0 wins against MANA and Zero Tenacity in the double-elimination bracket, Passion UA ran into their first roadblock against BASEMENT BOYS, losing 0-2 and falling to the lower bracket. Facing elimination, Passion UA needed three maps and overtime against both GenOne and Zero Tenacity again just to secure a rematch against BASEMENT BOYS.
Despite losing Ancient to start the series against BASEMENT BOYS, Passion UA rallied with decisive wins on Train (13-3) and Dust2 (13-5). In the grand final against an OG team that had only dropped a single map, Passion UA found themselves in a hole after losing 13-9 on Ancient. They would put together another impressive 13-3 showing on Train to even the series, but ultimately fell on Nuke 13-6 as they just couldn't find any success on the T-side.
OGPassion UA| OG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Olle 'spooke' Grundström |
53 - 41 | +12 | 110.9 | 80.7% | 1.56 |
| Adam 'adamb' Ångström |
49 - 39 | +10 | 76.2 | 80.7% | 1.25 |
 Christoffer 'Chr1zN' Storgaard |
36 - 43 | -7 | 82.2 | 77.2% | 1.13 |
 Rafael 'arrozdoce' Wing |
33 - 40 | -7 | 59.2 | 71.9% | 0.85 |
| Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidi |
28 - 37 | -9 | 55.5 | 64.9% | 0.71 |
| Passion UA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Michael 'Grim' Wince |
61 - 33 | +28 | 101.9 | 77.2% | 1.74 |
 Vladyslav 'Kvem' Korol |
48 - 44 | +4 | 95.8 | 80.7% | 1.25 |
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
40 - 40 | +0 | 76.2 | 73.7% | 1.01 |
| Nick 'nicx' Lee |
24 - 43 | -19 | 55.3 | 66.7% | 0.72 |
 Håkon 'hallzerk' Fjærli |
27 - 42 | -15 | 53.1 | 59.6% | 0.66 |
While the grand final loss stings, it was a successful outing for Passion UA. Michael "Grim" Wince's 1.26 event rating was the second highest of the entire tournament, and his personal best on LAN since the PGL Antwerp Major Americas RMR in 2022.
More importantly for Passion UA, it has opened a possible path to a direct invite to Stage Two at the Major, as both NRG and M80 have fallen to 0-2 in Stage 1 of ESL Pro League Season 22.
Passion UA also has the Urban Riga Open starting tomorrow, joining OG, Alliance, and BIG as high-seed playoff invites. Another strong showing on LAN could net Passion UA the 3rd or 4th spot in the Americas rankings, giving them a direct path to Stage Two in Budapest.
