Sakura start 2-0 at ESL Impact League Season 8 Finals
Sakura have gotten off to a hot start at the Impact League S8 Finals. The runners-up from last year's Impact Finals will be looking to do one better this time around.
Sakura's journey at the tournament began v. BIG EQUIPA, who they handled in a 13-8 victory. Their next matchup came against Let Her Cook, who beat North American side FlyQuest RED in the first round. Sakura won a close 16-12 game against LHC to secure their place in the playoffs.
Sakura 13-8 
BIG EQUIPA
Sakura started out well v. BIG EQUIPA despite dropping the first two rounds. Sakura took the following nine rounds before losing the final round of the first half to hold a 9-3 lead. BIG EQUIPA closed the lead to 9-7, but that was as close as they would get, as Sakura took the match 13-8.
Lydia "Fawx" Dalton was stellar in the game, going 22-10 with a 1.63 rating.
BIG EQUIPA| K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia 'Fawx' Dalton |
22 - 10 | +12 | 74.7 | 81.0% | 1.63 |
| Lucy 'empathy' Verkaik |
15 - 16 | -1 | 112.6 | 85.7% | 1.50 |
| Wrenna 'Stx' Trampel |
18 - 13 | +5 | 80.6 | 61.9% | 1.24 |
| Raven 'raven' Sol |
12 - 16 | -4 | 78.1 | 81.0% | 1.00 |
| Sylvie 'Serendipity' Splaver |
14 - 14 | +0 | 66.5 | 66.7% | 0.84 |
| BIG EQUIPA |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alexandra 'kyossa' Tykhonska |
18 - 15 | +3 | 94.4 | 71.4% | 1.20 |
 Hania 'Hanka' Pudlis |
10 - 15 | -5 | 63.6 | 76.2% | 1.04 |
 Emma 'Emmsan' Mattsson |
14 - 18 | -4 | 88.1 | 66.7% | 0.84 |
| Wiktoria 'vicu' Janicka |
15 - 19 | -4 | 64.9 | 57.1% | 0.73 |
 Mayline-Joy 'ASTRA' Champliaud |
12 - 15 | -3 | 51.2 | 57.1% | 0.72 |
Sakura 16-12 Let Her Cook
Two flurries of rounds marked Sakura's start to their second game. The NA team started 4-0, lost the next three rounds, then won the final five of the half to hold another 9-3 lead at halftime. Let Her Cook came back in the second half with six of the first seven rounds to reduce the lead to 10-9. Let Her Cook had a chance to close the series at 12-11, but Sakura were able to force overtime in the final round of regulation. The overtime went entirely in the way of Sakura, as they didn't surrender a single round to win the match 16-12 and qualify for the playoffs.
Wrenna "Stx" Trampel posted an insane 31-16 K/D with a 1.89 rating to will her team over the line.
Let Her Cook| Let Her Cook |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jennifer 'JennyR' Irina Brea Rodriguez |
24 - 21 | +3 | 97.2 | 82.1% | 1.40 |
 Lea 'xia' Vagová |
20 - 18 | +2 | 84.6 | 71.4% | 1.03 |
 Melissa 'meli' Aylin |
22 - 22 | +0 | 90.5 | 64.3% | 0.92 |
 Selin 'spike' Sinem Alak |
14 - 23 | -9 | 48.8 | 67.9% | 0.69 |
 Yoana 'Joanana' Vlaykova |
13 - 21 | -8 | 50.2 | 53.6% | 0.59 |
| K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 3.0 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wrenna 'Stx' Trampel |
31 - 16 | +15 | 97.3 | 78.6% | 1.89 |
| Raven 'raven' Sol |
20 - 20 | +0 | 83.1 | 89.3% | 1.39 |
| Lucy 'empathy' Verkaik |
22 - 23 | -1 | 101.8 | 85.7% | 1.21 |
| Lydia 'Fawx' Dalton |
21 - 17 | +4 | 78.1 | 82.1% | 1.18 |
| Sylvie 'Serendipity' Splaver |
11 - 18 | -7 | 38.2 | 57.1% | 0.68 |
Sakura will be back in the server on Sunday in the semi-finals of ESL Impact Season 8.
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