Gaimin Gladiators take ESEA Cash Cup: North America - Summer #5
After winning the third ESEA x Fragadelphia Cash Cup, Gaimin Gladiators get another $4,000 and 4,000 Frag points.
In the first event with the addition of Danny “cxzi” Strzelczyk, Gaimin had a calm journey to the finals. Notably, the squad did not drop double-digit rounds up until the grand final. Throughout the event cxzi was one of their main stars, showing good signs for the future to come as a team on his debut.
Gas Money, on the other hand, had a bit more trouble on their way to the final series. The mix of the former Bad News Bears core did not look as solid. However, Michael 'Swisher' Schmid was the difference maker in those matches, putting the team on his back many of the times.
The semifinals for each teams were contrasting. Gaming Gladiators cruised past Unjustified with a solid 2-0 series victory. Jeorge “jeorgenorts” Endicott was the most impactful player of the series despite a very good performance from all of team members. Gas Money, just like the rest of the tournament, had to work a bit more in order to have a spot in the finals. The team faced off against the up-and-coming Electrify Steel roster, in a 2-1 series in favor of Swisher and company. Each team won their map pick, meaning Inferno would be the decider. After an amazing 13-2 first half for Gas Money, Electrify Steel tried making a comeback, but it was too late for the team led by Umar “Umar” Qaiser. The map ended 16-10 and saw Gas Money making their way into the finals.
In the finals, Gaimin Gladiators continued the trend of not losing more than ten rounds per map. During the first one, despite being Nuke, their worst map according to statistics. The first half saw them take a commanding 12-3 lead and Gaimin Gladiators never looked back. Nuke ended with a 16-5 score and their own map pick, Ancient, ended 16-13, after an amazing CT-side by Paytyn “junior” Johnson that led Gas Money to an 11-4 half lead. Despite the efforts, GG came back with an even better performance and finished the map on top, winning the series and the $4,000 and 4,000 Frag points reward.
Gaimin GladiatorsGas Money| Gaimin Gladiators |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
42 - 25 | +17 | 81.1 | 78.0% | 1.35 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
47 - 35 | +12 | 92.8 | 78.0% | 1.33 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
36 - 27 | +9 | 80.7 | 80.0% | 1.25 |
| Dominick 'JazzPimp' Dimpfel |
37 - 32 | +5 | 79.0 | 74.0% | 1.18 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
30 - 34 | -4 | 71.7 | 74.0% | 0.96 |
| Gas Money |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
41 - 33 | +8 | 84.5 | 64.0% | 1.16 |
 David 'J0LZ' Jolin |
33 - 40 | -7 | 87.3 | 66.0% | 1.02 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
35 - 41 | -6 | 77.8 | 56.0% | 0.92 |
| Gabe 'Spongey' Greiner |
29 - 39 | -10 | 68.5 | 64.0% | 0.80 |
| Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman |
13 - 39 | -26 | 36.8 | 58.0% | 0.45 |
The fifth ESEA x Fragadelphia Summer Cash Cup finished with the respective standings:
1. Gaimin Gladiators - $4,000 and 4,000 Fragadelphia points
2. Gas Money - $2,000 and 2,000 Fragadelphia point
3-4. 
Electrify Steel - 1,000 Fragadelphia points
3-4. Unjustified - 1,000 Fragadelphia points
Fragadelphia 17 occurs from September 9th to September 11th, in Philadelphia and will have 24 teams fighting for the $100,000 prize pool.
