Revenge match slated for ECL Season 42 grand finals
The lower bracket of ESL Challenger League Season 42's playoffs has wrapped up, seeing ATK move past the Brazilian sides of oNe + LOS and MIBR in order to clinch a place in the grand finals. ATK will now be squaring off against Nouns in a BO5 match for a shot at reaching ESL Pro League Season 17 Conference.
The evening's games kicked off with ATK facing oNe + LOS, beginning on the latter squad's pick of Mirage. oNe + LOS snagged an early 3-0 lead thanks to a pistol round victory but were quickly shut out for much of the rest of the first half as ATK put up a staunch defense, securing the international side a 10-5 lead at halftime.
oNe + LOS looked sharper on the defense, eventually narrowing ATK's lead to only one round with a 12-11 score, but ATK soon composed themselves to steal away Mirage 16-12.
ATK took the momentum from Mirage and ran with it on their pick of Dust2, taking an early 6-0 lead that soon became a 13-2 half thanks to a phenomenal 1.99 T-side rating from Michael "Swisher" Schmid. ATK locked down the second pistol round to eviscerate any hopes that oNe + LOS may have had of staging a comeback, with the squad closing out the game shortly after with a dominant 16-3 scoreline.
ATKTeamOne| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ian 'motm' Hardy |
37 - 26 | +11 | 85.0 | 80.9% | 1.36 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
38 - 27 | +11 | 87.9 | 78.7% | 1.32 |
 Jonathan 'b0denmaster' Bodenmalm |
32 - 20 | +12 | 67.1 | 83.0% | 1.28 |
 Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
32 - 28 | +4 | 83.2 | 78.7% | 1.22 |
| Gareth 'MisteM' Ries |
31 - 31 | +0 | 70.5 | 68.1% | 1.04 |
| TeamOne |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pedro 'Maluk3' Campos |
24 - 33 | -9 | 65.9 | 68.1% | 0.95 |
| Victor 'iDk' Torraca |
32 - 36 | -4 | 73.9 | 72.3% | 0.92 |
 Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa |
25 - 37 | -12 | 68.4 | 59.6% | 0.80 |
| Matheus 'pesadelo' Panisset |
25 - 33 | -8 | 56.6 | 61.7% | 0.77 |
| Alencar 'trk' Rossato |
26 - 31 | -5 | 53.7 | 57.4% | 0.77 |
While ATK were certainly pleased with themselves after their win over oNe + LOS, their work was not yet done, as the squad now had the daunting task of facing MIBR in the consolidation final. This series began with ATK's pick of Overpass, where a 7-3 T-side lead for ATK was soon whittled down to an 8-7 lead at the half. ATK did not flinch on the defense, however, as Gareth "MisteM" Ries and Swisher powered an eight-round run for ATK on the CT-side, seeing the team lock down their pick 16-7 before heading into MIBR's pick of Vertigo.
ATK maintained their stalwart defense on Vertigo, and although MIBR were able to snatch occasional rounds, the Brazilians had a significant amount of difficulty putting together a streak in large part due to Swisher continuing to put up fantastic numbers. After claiming a 10-5 half, ATK marched into their T-side with the wind in their sails, only dropping one round in the second half as the squad snatched MIBR's pick 16-6, securing their place in the grand finals.
MIBRATK| MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henrique 'HEN1' Teles |
33 - 31 | +2 | 75.6 | 71.1% | 1.03 |
| Matheus 'Tuurtle' Anhaia |
26 - 36 | -10 | 72.4 | 62.2% | 0.86 |
| Raphael 'exit' Lacerda |
24 - 32 | -8 | 62.8 | 57.8% | 0.82 |
| Breno 'brnz4n' Poletto |
21 - 34 | -13 | 47.6 | 57.8% | 0.67 |
| Jhonatan 'JOTA' Willian |
16 - 37 | -21 | 47.4 | 57.8% | 0.56 |
| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
49 - 29 | +20 | 126.2 | 84.4% | 1.84 |
| Gareth 'MisteM' Ries |
42 - 21 | +21 | 91.8 | 68.9% | 1.40 |
| Jonathan 'b0denmaster' Bodenmalm |
28 - 20 | +8 | 67.8 | 77.8% | 1.23 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
29 - 25 | +4 | 63.4 | 77.8% | 1.02 |
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
21 - 25 | -4 | 56.1 | 75.6% | 0.94 |
ATK will have an arduous matchup tonight, as they will be facing Nouns in the BO5 grand final. Although ATK have historically done well against Nouns' core, the Americans have not only bested them in their most recent series earlier in the playoffs, but they will also have a map advantage in the series as a result of coming from the upper bracket. This all-important match is scheduled for this evening at 08:00PM.
