ATK and Rap Gang qualify for ECS Season 8 Pinnacle Cup
ATK and Rap Gang have secured two of the last four spots for the ECS Season 8 Pinnacle Cup following wins over Tiny Meat Gang and Monstars.
ATK and Tiny Meat Gang were the first squads to go head to head, with ATK securing a 2-0 over the mixteam with confident wins on Overpass and Inferno. Tiny Meat Gang began Overpass in the lead as they won their opening T-pistol round and converted the next two rounds. Their lead would not last long however as ATK buckled down and locked Tiny Meat Gang out of the sites as they won the next ten rounds in a row, preventing Tiny Meat Gang from planting the bomb a single time.
The half ended with Tiny Meat Gang winning the last two rounds to trail 5-10 at the half. After switching sides, ATK continued to outperform Tiny Meat Gang as they as they rapidly outpaced the team to take a 16-8 victory.
Moving onto Inferno, it looked as if ATK were going to make quick work of Tiny Meat Gang as they won seven out the first nine rounds. However, Tiny Meat Gang ended up claiming the half after winning the last six rounds in a row. Following this, Tiny Meat Gang were the first team to find double digits as they won the first three rounds of the half in a row. Their lead and their chances of forcing a third map rapidly diminished as Robby "blackpoisoN" Da Loca and the rest of ATK rallied to claim the next nine rounds in a row win the map with a 16-11 scoreline.
ATKTiny Meat Gang| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ian 'motm' Hardy |
50 - 33 | +17 | 103.1 | 86.3% | 1.51 |
 Roberto 'blackpoisoN' Dall'Occo |
45 - 27 | +18 | 89.4 | 80.4% | 1.40 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
47 - 30 | +17 | 87.7 | 68.6% | 1.31 |
| Dominic 'Domsterr' Sampaio |
37 - 28 | +9 | 80.7 | 84.3% | 1.22 |
| Rhys 'Fadey' Armstrong |
33 - 35 | -2 | 73.1 | 82.4% | 1.11 |
| Tiny Meat Gang |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver 'figment' Thompson |
40 - 42 | -2 | 91.9 | 72.5% | 1.18 |
| Troy 'ara' Pollock |
32 - 39 | -7 | 67.7 | 64.7% | 0.89 |
| Reagan 'Reagan' Love |
27 - 43 | -16 | 71.2 | 62.7% | 0.83 |
| Garrett 'Bunny' Molle |
30 - 42 | -12 | 56.7 | 58.8% | 0.75 |
| Corey 'ChurmZ' Koch |
24 - 46 | -22 | 55.6 | 60.8% | 0.58 |
On the other side of the bracket, Rap Gang squared off against Monstars on Mirage, Nuke, and Train. Starting on Mirage, Rap Gang began the half in the lead, trading rounds with Monstars throughout the half before pulling ahead to claim a 9-6 lead. After they transitioned onto their T-side Rap Gang further entrenched their lead as they won four rounds to bring the score up to 13-6.
With the map on the line, Monstars nearly pulled off the comeback as they won eight out of the next nine rounds on their CT-side to tie the map up 14-14. Their comeback was not meant to be however, as Rap Gang regained their composure and claimed Mirage 16-14.
On Nuke, Rap Gang got off to a strong start as they won the first five rounds in a row on their T-side before stumbling, allowing Monstars to narrowly pull ahead and win the half 8-7. Following this, Monstars continued strong into the second half, winning five out of the next six rounds to climb up to 13-8. Following this, Rap Gang won the next five rounds to tie the map at 13-13 however they were unable to retake the lead as Monstars won the next three rounds to take Nuke 16-13.
With the series tied up, Rap Gang exploded onto Train finding themselves up 8-2 on their CT-side before Monstars got into the game, winning the majority of the remaining rounds to close the gap to three rounds.
Once Rap Gang moved onto their T-side they continued to outpace Monstars to secure Train 16-11. Over the course of the series, Kevin "4pack" Przypasniak led the way for his team with a 1.24 rating to help Rap Gang secure their spot in the Pinnacle Cup.
With the third open qualifier coming to a close, the list of teams currently qualified for the ECS Season 8 Pinnacle Cup looks as follows:
| Lazarus |
The Quest |
| RBG |
Rugratz |
| ATK |
Rap Gang |
 Open Qualifier #4 |
Open Qualifier #4 |
The date and signup link for the final qualifier, as well as dates for a variety of upcoming events, can be found on the Dust2.us Calendar.
