Gaimin Gladiators win ESEA Spring Cash Cup 2

With many big names out of town, like Party Astronauts, MIBR, and Bad News Bears, the teams left back at home were given the consolation prize of playing the ESEA Spring Cash Cup 2 without many serious contenders. In the end, Gaimin Gladiators claimed the $9,000 grand prize over ATK, while Third Impact secured the $2,000 third place over Rectify.

With many of the usual suspects for Cash Cup victories out of town for the ongoing Americas RMR, there were only a handful of higher-level teams left behind to duke it out here. That isn't to say there was a lack of interesting teams here; on the contrary, there were quite a few notable squads in the mix.

En route to their Cash Cup victory, Gaimin Gladiators tussled with two such interesting teams, first narrowly edging out Goober, a team featuring Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk and Koby "kobruh" Higgs. After that test, the Gladiators made quick work of Chaos, a team featuring the ex-Chaos trio of Anthony "vanity" Malaspina, Nathan "leaf" Orf, and Erick "Xeppaa" Bach. After breaking up the Chaos reunion, Gaimin Gladiators swept aside Rectify in the semifinals to secure a grand-final finish.

ATK, the other favorite squad here, also had a pretty straightforward run to the finals. The team took down Thani, consisting of the X13 trio of Max "Makzwell" Sparrey, Matthew "scar" Bruni, and Otto "garfield" Netteberg. The squad eventually marched on to the semifinals, where ATK scraped past Third Impact to snatch a place in the grand final.

Gaimin Gladiators and ATK matching against each other set up an exciting duel between Brendan "Bwills" Williams and Michael "Swisher" Schmid, playing for the Gladiators and ATK. The two were former teammates on Orgless, and in the end, it was Bwills who came out on top in the encounter, posting a 1.47 series rating to power Gaimin Gladiators to victory in the Cash Cup. Meanwhile, in the third-place decider match, Third Impact dismantled Rectify to secure the $2,000 consolation prize.

The final standings for the ESEA Spring Cash Cup 2 are:
1. Gaimin Gladiators (JazzPimp, nosraC, jeorgesnorts, cynic, Bwills, Coach: SEMPHIS) - $9,000
2. ATK (Fadey, MisteM, motm, b0denmaster, Swisher, Coach: sprayxd) - $4,000
3. Third Impact (RZU, xCeeD, walker, grape, Danejoris, Coach: becker) - $2,000
4. Rectify (DJF, Waddill, Griizz, mesamiduck, bird)

The third ESEA Spring Cash Cup is a bit far off, not starting until April 30th. Interested teams can sign up for that event here.