Gambit Esports fought valiantly, but in the end SK Gaming was just too much to handle.
After three days of fighting, the stage (well, in this case, mansion) was set for an epic showdown between favourites SK Gaming and Gambit Esports. Since SK was coming from the upper bracket, they came in with a one-map-win advantage. Despite a surprising Gambit win on Inferno, SK once again proved why they are one of the best in the world, taking Gambit out 3-1.
Miss anything? Don't worry, here's a recap, from start to finish:
de_Inferno - 10:16 (8:7; 2:9)
Gambit won the first pistol round of the Grand Final, which they were then able to transfer into another three round wins in a row. With Gambit on the CT side, Abay "HObbitt" Khasenov hit double kills for two rounds in a row - the fourth and fifth, respectively. This included denying an AWP save from Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, which resulted in SK being forced into a buy round. Their buying paid off, with Marcelo "coldzera" David getting a triple kill to give SK the first round win of the series. Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and Fernando "fer" Alvarenga picked up double kills a piece in the seventh round, resulting in SK's second point. Gambit finally breaks through the Brazilian's push to bring the score to 3:6, but a clutch quad kill from Joao "felps" Vasconcellos allowed SK to steal the tenth round and bring their round deficit to two. Fernando "fer" Alvarenga once again hits a 4K to tie up the match in the twelfth round, all with the help of a MP9.
Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko had a chance to bring the thirteenth round back into Gambit's favour with an AWP stolen from Joao "felps" Vasconcellos, but Marcelo "coldzera" David picked up the slack with a double kill to wipe out the opposing team, resulting in SK having their first lead of the map going into the fourteenth round. Despite Gambit taking the fourteenth round, SK was able to finish the half up by one, 8:7.
SK now had to prove themselves on the Terrorist side. Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko's triple headshot kills on the pistol side had the momentum in Gambit's favour going into the seventeenth round, but it was Rustem "mou" Telepov's fantastic crawlspace play against Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo on 1 HP that allowed Gambit the second round of the second half. Mikhail "Dosia" Stolyarov wrapped up the eighteenth round for Gambit with a nice backstab on Epitacio "TACO" de Melo, but SK was finally able to answer Gambit's push and shut them down in the proceeding round to bring the game back to a difference of one, 9:10. Gambit quickly bounced back, however, picking up the next few rounds.
With Gambit three round wins away from taking Inferno, SK had their backs against the wall. They weren't able to deliver in the next two rounds and Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko cleaned up three of SK to finish off Inferno in an upset, 10:16.
de_Cache - 16:2 (13:2; 3:0)
SK bounced back from their loss relatively quickly on Cache, picking up the first three rounds relatively easily, including taking the third round without losing a man. This put Gambit into quite the economic bind that Gambit couldn't immediately recover from, resulting in them calling for a tactical pause once SK won the sixth round. Marcelo "coldzera" David almost clutched an amazing 1v3, but Mikhail "Dosia" Stolyarov ended his reign of terror to give Gambit the first point of the map. Gambit would later take the eleventh round, saving two AWPs in the process. That would prove to be a fruitless save, however, as the only kills from an AWP in the next round would come from Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo, who helped his team once again come out on top.
Except for Abay "HObbitt" Khasenov's saved M4, Gambit was forced into an eco, but neither that nor the proceeding round would be a successful one for Gambit, allowing SK to be up by ten going into the final round of the half. SK closed it out with a kill earned by each player on the Brazilian team.
The team had a perfect pistol round, which once again forced Gambit into an eco on match point. Faced with multiple m4's when they only had four pistols and an UMP45, it ended in the Brazilians' favour, crushing Gambit in a 16:2 win for SK.
de_Train - 16:13 (9:6; 7:7)
SK set the tone early one, winning the first six rounds, thanks in part to Marcelo "coldzera" David's triple kill in the sixth round. Epitacio "TACO" de Melo shoots and hits triple kills in the seventh and eigth round, causing for Gambit to call for a tactical pause. Despite a missed smoke from Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko, Gambit barely took their first point in the ninth round. When they grabbed the tenth round, SK called for the tactical call in an attempt to slow Gambit down. It didn't work, thanks to Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko's 4Ks in the two rounds immediately following. In the thirteenth round, however, it was all SK on the positive side of the kill feed, giving them a break. Regardless, Gambit picked up their push in the next two rounds, including a very nice double kill from Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev.
With the score 9:6 at halftime, Gambit needed to catch up quickly to keep their Grand Final win dream alive, and started to catch up by taking the next two rounds. Gambit successfully rushed B when SK planted the bomb, allowing them to tie up the map. Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko once again makes a big impact on the round, picking up two to give Gambit their first lead of the map. From there, Gambit took another round before SK was able to overtake a 3v5 and bring the round back into their favour.
SK was able to tie it up yet again, eleven a piece, but Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and Joao "felps" Vasconcellos picked up double kills to bring SK up by one. The Brazilian team ended up taking the next two rounds, thanks to Marcelo "coldzera" David and Epitacio "TACO" de Melo's double kills. With SK one round from winning the tournament, Gambit answers back with a close call win, with Mikhail "Dosia" Stolyarov being the only one standing with 19 HP at the end of the round. The comeback was almost real, with Gambit picking up the next round as well, but it wasn't meant to be. Joao "felps" Vasconcellos gets the final kill of the tournament, eliminating Gambit and winning the tournament.
Image courtesy of Beyond the Summit Flickr / Paul Robert
