Gambit Esports overcome OpTic Gaming with a 2-1 map score to advance and face SK Gaming in the grand final of the tournament.
Gambit Esports vs. 
OpTic Gaming - 2-1 (16:10, 9:16, 16:6)
de_Inferno - 16:10 (10:5, 6:5)
Gambit kick off the series by securing pistol round #1 where a double kill from Rustem "mou" Telepov cemented the early lead. All rounds prior to OpTic's first full buy were accrued by the CIS mix, creating a 3:0 lead. Round four came down to Gambit's Team Captain, Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko and OpTic's Rifler, Will "RUSH" Wiezba in a 1v1 clutch situation, where the American was able to outplay his European opponent to secure OpTic their first round a 1:3. Round five saw a catastrophic loss for OpTic Gaming, as Gambit were able to reset their economy after securing the round, placing the team at a full eco. Despite the immense advantage and an anti-eco situation Gambit choked, conceding the round to OpTic at 4:2. The tables turned, as Gambit found themselves in a situation reminiscent of OpTic's just a round ago. The team was unable to reproduce their opponents result, equalising the score at 4:4. The following four rounds fell in favour of Gambit as they successfully ran B site advancements, bringing the team back into the lead at 8:4. In round twelve Mikhail "Dosia" Stolyarov landed a beautiful spray-down onto two members of OpTic Gaming whilst in a 2v1 clutch on the B site, securing another round for his team. At a 10:4 score line OpTic finally are able to snatch another round victory, closing out the initial half at a 5:10 deficit.
The second half saw another pistol fall in favour of Gambit Gaming. Whilst the round fell in favour of CIS mix, OpTic were able to secure a bomb plant which proved to be crucial in the following round, where five AK47s were purchased and three members of Gambit were dispatched, leaving two members of the team that decided to save against a stacked opponent. Oskar "mixwell" Cañellas found himself in a 2v1 situation during round 19, where the Spaniard managed to dispatch one member of the defence, however a well-timed smoke from Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko secured his team a defuse and subsequently the round, extending the lead to 13:6. A flash of hope is seen for OpTic, as the team is able to slowly come back into the match following three consecutive victories. Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev frags four members of the American roster in round twenty three to bring the team closer to finalising the map at 14:9. The finalisation of the map was postponed by an aggressive middle push from OpTic Gaming, where the Americans were able to effectively dispatch four members of the defence, closing the deficit to 10:14. A disappointing situation was seen right after, where OpTic attempted to plant the bomb on bombsite B with very little time left, allowing Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev two kills onto the bomber and a defender, exacerbating the issue of time to a point where the Americans simply ran out of time in the round, missing out on monetary gain as a result. With a dire situation in terms of weaponry, OpTic unfortunately fall flat in round twenty six, conceding the initial map to Gambit with a 16:10 score.
de_Mirage - 9:16 (3:12, 6:4)
A third consecutive pistol round spills in favour of Gambit, as the team are able to come back from a man disadvantage, with Rustem "mou" Telepov and Mikhail "Dosia" Stolyarov killing two and three members of OpTic respectively. Round two was taken by OpTic Gaming, as the team bolt onto the A bombsite, startling the defence. A bomb plant was secured and in large thanks to a sneaky backstab from Will "RUSH" Wiezba the team equalised at 1:1, all the while severely disrupting any potential economic development on Gambit's side. A pistol buy was seen next round coming out of Gambit - one that was simply shut down by a superior buy from the Americans. With the opponent sporting a wrecked economy OpTic went into round four with the knowledge of the enemy sporting a full eco barring Dosia, who had conveniently saved a five-seven from the previous round. This made for a quick ordeal as OpTic systematically dispatched the defence, leading to a 3:1 lead. Another round fell in favour of OpTic, followed by a W for Gambit to break the winning stream of their opponent at 2:4. Catastrophe strikes once more for Gambit, as an unsuccessful push into A ramp is met by a prepared Keith "NAF-FLY" Markovic, who scores three kills, greatly contributing to yet another victory for his team at 5:2. Unable to answer the aggression to any extent, Gambit continue to spiral into a losing streak, conceding an unfortunate eight consecutive rounds. If it was any comfort for the CIS mix, they ended up being able to snatch the fifteenth round to conclude the half at 3:12.
In an attempt to land a come back, Gambit kick off the latter half with a pistol round victory. A T-bone manoeuvre from Jason "jasonR" Ruchelski in middle proved to be the end of Gambit, as the player was able to headshot two members of the opposing team, securing his own a round to bring the score to 13:4. Momentum was not developed by the Americans following this performance, as Gambit slowly creep their way up the score board to 6:13. Three more rounds fall in favour of the CIS mix, showing great promise at a comeback closing the round gap to four rounds. This was not the case for long, as OpTic managed to claw a round in their favour on round twenty three, to bring it back to a five round differential. Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev finds himself in a 1v3 clutch situation, where a lot was banking on his performance. Two members of OpTic fell to his AK47 in round 24, however an on-site smoke prevented Tarik "tarik" Celik, the bomb defuser, from losing his life, escaping death with a mere 3 hp to his name. Finally OpTic were able to close shop, as Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko is found in a 1v3 predicament, taken apart by the defence on the B bombsite. The series transitioned to map three after a 16:9 victory for the local representatives.
de_Cobblestone - 16:6 (11:4, 5:2)
OpTic secure their first pistol round of the series on the final map. The defence was simply unable to cope with the sheer numbers of Ts on B plateau, resulting in a round for the Americans. In the follow-up round, Gambit were able to steal some rifles after dispatching members of OpTic, turning around the odds in their favour and subsequently securing the round to produce a 1:1 score line. The tables were turned right back at the CIS mix, as a pistol buy from OpTic dismantled the B bombsite defence once again. A ballsy pistol buy from the defence proved to be effective in the next round, keeping up the tradition of risky plays for both teams. After this force buy malarkey the scoreboard saw an equal 2:2. Finally the teams exited the reciprocating loop as Gambit were able to produce a consecutive round, leaving OpTic with a sub-optimal economic situation. A further round was secured by the CIS mix, extending their lead to two rounds at 4:2. Another successful B site storm from OpTic on round seven meant the lead for Gambit was short lived, pulling it back to a single round with 4:3. Insisting on retaining a round lead, Gambit proceed to secure two rounds in their favour, setting the agenda back to 6:3. A single round is exchanged between the teams, followed by two consecutive wins for Gambit, producing a 9:4 score. Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev dispatched two members of OpTic Gaming whilst defending the A bomb site in round 14, securing the team a much needed round going into the second half. An amazing play from Keith "NAF-FLY" Markovic was seen, as the Canadian was able to bring a 1v4 situation to a 1v2 and subsequently a 1v1 after baiting out a response through faking a jump noise in dropbox. Unfortunately for Markovic, Rustem "mou" Telepov was able to snipe him down from doors to close out the initial half at a dominant 11:4.
Gambit attempt to hit the B bombsite in the intial round proved to be a failure as Tarik "tarik" Celik shut down four members of the CIS mix to secure his team another pistol round. Making for an exciting second round, Gambit force buy and actually manage to out-aim the CTs equipped with Famas rifles, resurging with a 12:5 score. Edging slowly but steadily towards a victory, Gambit accrue a further two consecutive rounds, bring the team within hands reach of series point. Round 20 saw OpTic's first full buy in the second half, a buy that wasn't able to yield the team anything productive, as Gambit storm the B bombsite, securing entry frags and a subsequent W. The next round saw an inferior buy from OpTic, however a beautiful scout performance from OpTic's designated AWPer, Oskar "mixwell" Cañellas meant a triple kill, as well as retaining the team's spot in the last map. Round 22 proved to be the final straw, as an A site fake confused the defence enough for Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev to enter the B bombsite and dispatch two members of OpTic. Further fragging from his teammates on A left Keith "NAF-FLY" Markovic alone against the world. A 16:6 culmination to this action packed series saw Gambit Esports proceed to face SK Gaming in the grand final.
Image courtesy of Beyond the Summit Flickr / Paul Robert
