ATK reverse-sweep MIBR to advance to ECS Season 8 Week 2 grand finals
ATK have made their way to the grand finals in ECS Season 8 Week 2 after securing an upset win over MIBR.
Starting on Overpass, MIBR looked confident on ATK's map pick as they powered forward on their CT-side to take an early 6-1 lead. ATK was able to interrupt MIBR as they claimed three rounds in a row before MIBR quickly re-engaged, winning the last five rounds of the half to secure a strong 11-4 lead.
After switching sides, Ricky "floppy" Kemery and company briefly showed signs of life on Overpass as they won the CT-side pistol and the next three rounds to close the deficit to just three rounds. However, with recent addition Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe leading the way for his team, MIBR quickly managed to retake control and close out the map 16-9.
Moving onto MIBR's map pick of Dust2, the Brazilians started off strong once again as they secured a 5-1 lead on their T-side. MIBR's lead began to quickly crumble and the cracks began to show as ATK were quick to win five out the next six rounds to tie up the scoreline. Following this, the teams continued to trade rounds with MIBR narrowly pulled ahead 8-7.
Once ATK transitioned onto their T-side, the team surprised as they began to rapidly outpace MIBR, taking seven out of the first eight rounds of the half. MIBR would attempt to get back in the game, stringing together two more rounds but it was too little too late as ATK won the next two to take Dust2 16-11 and force the series onto Vertigo.
On Vertigo, ATK quickly overpowered MIBR's T-side thanks to strong performances from Johnny "JT" Theodosiou and Josh "oSee" Ohm. ATK won the first six rounds in a row before conceding three rounds in MIBR. ATK quickly regained their footing, keeping the pressure on as they won the half 11-4.
MIBR continued to flounder on their CT-side as ATK quickly climbed up to fourteen rounds. MIBR briefly were able to halt ATK's momentum thanks to clutches from Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles and Fernando "fer" Alvarenga however, ATK held strong and secured Vertigo 16-8.
MIBRATK| MIBR |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
62 - 56 | +6 | 86.0 | 68.4% | 1.13 |
| Vito 'kNgV-' Giuseppe |
53 - 50 | +3 | 74.2 | 59.2% | 1.03 |
| Lucas 'LUCAS1' Teles |
48 - 54 | -6 | 69.6 | 64.5% | 0.97 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
48 - 54 | -6 | 69.5 | 69.7% | 0.96 |
| Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo |
36 - 59 | -23 | 58.2 | 56.6% | 0.71 |
| ATK |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
64 - 52 | +12 | 87.5 | 76.3% | 1.20 |
 Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
50 - 46 | +4 | 73.7 | 80.3% | 1.16 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
54 - 47 | +7 | 75.6 | 71.1% | 1.11 |
| Aran 'Sonic' Groesbeek |
52 - 51 | +1 | 77.6 | 71.1% | 1.09 |
| Ian 'motm' Hardy |
53 - 52 | +1 | 75.4 | 75.0% | 1.06 |
With their victory over MIBR, ATK still have a slim chance of securing the first North American spot in the ECS Season 8 Finals. If Cloud9 best Sharks tomorrow, and ATK best Cloud9 in the grand finals, then there will be a three-way tie between NRG, Cloud9, and ATK in earnings.
As ECS have not commented on whether Evil Geniuses will be allowed to play in NRG's spot, there will likely be a grand finals rematch between Cloud9 and ATK to secure the first spot. If Sharks are able to upset Cloud9 tomorrow, then they will automatically qualify to the finals due to having more earnings than Cloud9 or Sharks.
