forZe win ESEA MDL Global Challenge Season 32 over Riot Squad
forZe have won ESEA MDL Global Challenge Season 32 following a 2-1 over Riot Squad in the grand finals.
forZe earned their place in the grand final with a win over INTZ to kick off the day, prevailing in a hard-fought 2-1 series. The Russian side seemed in early control as they took a 4-1 lead on Nuke to kick off the series, but INTZ were able to run back the scoreline to pull ahead 9-6 at the break. A trio of rounds of the back of a second half pistol win put the Brazilians up 12-6 before forZe were able to respond, but from there, Jenya "FL1T" Lebedev and company took control as they only conceded one additional round before taking a 16-13 opening map win.
INTZ were able to swiftly bounce back as they ran rampant on Vertigo, running up a 10-5 T-side lead before closing the map with a 16-7 victory. Gustavo "yel" Knittel's troops seemed set to dispatch of forZe as the decider map, Mirage, got underway, with the Brazilians dominating for the majority of the first half for another 10-5 lead at the end of their offensive effort. The second half of Mirage did unfold as planned for INTZ however, as forZe took firm control of the proceedings to cruise to a 16-12 finish.
FORZEINTZ| FORZE |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Evgenii 'FL1T' Lebedev |
55 - 56 | -1 | 79.0 | 71.2% | 1.08 |
| Andrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov |
60 - 57 | +3 | 75.3 | 76.2% | 1.06 |
| Almaz 'almazer' Asadullin |
53 - 52 | +1 | 71.9 | 72.5% | 1.04 |
| Dmitriy 'facecrack' Alekseyev |
53 - 64 | -11 | 85.2 | 65.0% | 1.01 |
| Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikov |
52 - 55 | -3 | 56.6 | 61.3% | 0.86 |
| INTZ |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bruno 'shz' Martinelli |
62 - 51 | +11 | 86.1 | 73.8% | 1.23 |
| Gustavo 'yel' Knittel |
52 - 49 | +3 | 67.5 | 71.2% | 1.11 |
| Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
60 - 58 | +2 | 87.4 | 71.2% | 1.11 |
| Marcelo 'chelo' Cespedes |
57 - 58 | -1 | 78.8 | 71.2% | 1.07 |
| Alexandre 'xand' Zizi |
53 - 57 | -4 | 67.8 | 68.8% | 1.01 |
The semifinal bout between Riot Squad and HAVU was also a closely contested affair, with Riot Squad assuming early control of Nuke by taking the first five rounds on the T-side. HAVU were able to fight back into the half by winning eight rounds in a row, but Riot Squad secured the final two rounds of the half before maintaining momentum with another seven round spree following the side swap to help eventually close the map 16-11.
Riot Squad continued to shut down HAVU as Train got underway, posting an 8-3 scoreline on the CT-side. HAVU managed to stave off a 2-0 series loss as they found their footing, with the two teams battling into the second half for a 14-14 tie. The Finnish squad refused to let the map slip out of their hands, winning two final rounds to push the series to a third map.
It was on Dust2 that Riot Squad seemed to run out of steam, leaving HAVU to take a dominant 11-4 lead at the break. A swap to the CT-side seemed to revitalize the team as they won six rounds to even the score, but it was HAVU who achieved match point first as they replied with four rounds of their own. Austin "crashies" Roberts refused to let the series end however, helping to fight back to 14-15 before clutching a 1vs1 to force overtime. There, Riot Squad stabilized, winning a single round on the CT-side before taking three in a row on the offense to take the series victory.
HAVURiot Squad| HAVU |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Joonas 'doto' Forss |
63 - 60 | +3 | 80.6 | 68.8% | 1.13 |
| Eetu 'sAw' Saha |
66 - 59 | +7 | 76.6 | 71.0% | 1.10 |
| Aaro 'hoody' Peltokangas |
64 - 62 | +2 | 78.5 | 75.3% | 1.08 |
| Lasse 'ZOREE' Uronen |
68 - 61 | +7 | 65.9 | 74.2% | 1.06 |
| Olli 'sLowi' Pitkänen |
62 - 65 | -3 | 70.2 | 69.9% | 1.01 |
| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
76 - 63 | +13 | 83.4 | 73.1% | 1.22 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
66 - 55 | +11 | 69.0 | 73.1% | 1.12 |
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
57 - 61 | -4 | 67.8 | 72.0% | 1.01 |
 Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
64 - 70 | -6 | 78.3 | 64.5% | 0.97 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
44 - 74 | -30 | 62.2 | 64.5% | 0.73 |
After the narrow margins of the two semifinals, the final series proved to be a more one-sided bout as Riot Squad began to falter. Seven rounds on the CT-side of Nuke was not quite enough for the team as, although they managed to narrowly pull ahead at 13-11 on the T-side, the AWP of Bogdan "xsepower" Chernikov proved too powerful, allowing forZe to take five rounds in a row and take the map 16-13.
Another close scoreline on the first half of Inferno left the two teams within one round of each other at the side swap, but once forZe were able to control the pace of the match on the offense, they quickly left Riot Squad in the dust as they only conceded three rounds on the road to a 16-10 finish.
FORZERiot Squad| FORZE |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bogdan 'xsepower' Chernikov |
52 - 27 | +25 | 86.0 | 83.6% | 1.52 |
| Evgenii 'FL1T' Lebedev |
43 - 25 | +18 | 77.5 | 80.0% | 1.31 |
| Andrey 'Jerry' Mekhryakov |
40 - 32 | +8 | 90.4 | 76.4% | 1.30 |
| Dmitriy 'facecrack' Alekseyev |
36 - 32 | +4 | 72.1 | 72.7% | 1.03 |
| Almaz 'almazer' Asadullin |
36 - 38 | -2 | 73.1 | 67.3% | 1.01 |
| Riot Squad |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch 'mitch' Semago |
35 - 38 | -3 | 67.5 | 70.9% | 0.97 |
| Austin 'crashies' Roberts |
33 - 42 | -9 | 73.9 | 72.7% | 0.93 |
| Jonathan 'Jonji' Carey |
28 - 45 | -17 | 64.6 | 56.4% | 0.75 |
| Pujan 'FNS' Mehta |
32 - 40 | -8 | 58.9 | 50.9% | 0.75 |
| Peter 'ptr' Gurney |
25 - 43 | -18 | 60.5 | 50.9% | 0.68 |
The final standings for ESEA MDL Global Challenge Season 32 look as follows:
1. forZe - $25,000
2. Riot Squad - $15,000
3-4. INTZ - $10,000
3-4. HAVU - $10,000
5-6. 
ORDER - $3,750
5-6. Spirit - $3,750
7-8. Rugratz - $3,750
7-8. Triumph - $3,750
Riot Squad will now look to prepare for the IEM Katowice 2020 Closed Qualifier and ESL Pro League Season 10 Pre-Relegation, with both events set to take place in the new year.
