AGO win Global Challenge in a close match over Space Soldiers
The Grand Final of the Global Challenge had come upon us, and it was two European sides facing off for the $18,000 top prize. The Polish AGO team faced off against Turkey's Space Soldiers over potentially three maps, Mirage, Train and Cobblestone
Mirage began with Space Soldiers taking the inital advantage, with the pistol round and the following anti-ecos on their T-side. Their lead was quickly diminished as Damian "Furlan" Kislowski kicked off the first buy round with four swift kills as AGO evened the game out with their own three rounds. From there the Turkish side put the setback behind them and pushed on to take a strong lead, including a close round where Ahmet "paz" Karahoca managed to secure a 1v2 clutch.
After five rounds without a response, AGO managed to secure a crafty site hold to keep the tie close. Space Soldiers weren't to allow it much closer however, as a win in the following round caused their opponents to head into an eco. Although the Polish side managed to claim the final round of the first half, Space Soldiers went 10-5 ahead.
AGO started their Terrorist side off by taking the pistol round. Space Soldiers then forced up in the second round and managed to take it, thanks in no small part to three marvelous Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş Deagle kills. Unfortunately for the Turks, from there it was just about only AGO on show,as Mateusz "TOAO" Zawistowski helped lead his team back into the match, with multiple key interactions to get the scores evened out at 11-11.
From there the Polish side pushed on to take a lead, taking two more rounds to go up to 13-11. The Turkish team finally came back into the game, evening up the tie theirselves with two games, with Buğra "Calyx" Arkın taking two multi-kill rounds. AGO then took a 14th round, but it was the Turkish team who brought themselves to match point. From there it seemed to be all wrapped up for Space Soldiers as their opponents were on an eco, but three kills from Dominik "GruBy" Swiderski sent the match to overtime.
It was Space Soldiers who struck first in the overtime, with them taking the first two rounds before AGO answered back with four from TOAO. The second half saw Space Soldiers go into the driving seat, before AGO took two rounds to send the map into a second overtime.
From there AGO took the second overtime without any response. By taking all three rounds in the first half, they finished the fantastic comeback by securing the final round and saw themselves to a 22-18 win.
Train came next, and Space Soldiers went in with a good start on AGO's map. Taking the pistol round and the following anti-ecos on their CT side, they were then immediately answered back by AGO on the first full buy round. Space Soldiers then took the following round, sending their opponents onto an eco, but AGO started with three quick pistol kills that they secured the round for themselves. The Turkish side then repeated the feat straight away, then managing to not fall to the oncoming eco.
Space Soldiers found success by taking advantage of the map's inhernent bias, taking themselves to a 7-2 lead. Three kills from Michał "snatchie" Rudzki helped AGO to another round, before their Turkish opponents immediately answered back. Three further rounds sent them to double figures and a near unassailable lead, before AGO ended the half with a final round, seeing Space Soldiers 11-4 up.
AGO started their CT-side off with a strong pistol round, followed by taking the two anti-ecos with ease. From there they showed off how strong they are on this map, with Furlan leading the charge for his team as they swiftly evened the game up at 11-11. AGO continued this run, managing to go nine rounds without reply to a 13-11 lead.
The Polish side weren't to be stopped, remaining undefeated in the second half as they raced to the 14th round, AGO looked as if they were all but taking the game. But Calyx secured a magnificent 1v5 clutch to keep his side in the game. Unfortunately his efforts were in vain, as AGO powered through to claim the map, series, and first place.
Space SoldiersAGO| Space Soldiers |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ismailcan 'XANTARES' Dörtkardeş |
49 - 53 | -4 | 92.9 | 69.1% | 1.14 |
| Buğra 'Calyx' Arkın |
56 - 52 | +4 | 80.1 | 67.6% | 1.10 |
| Ahmet 'paz' Karahoca |
54 - 51 | +3 | 80.3 | 69.1% | 1.06 |
| Engin 'MAJ3R' Küpeli |
38 - 41 | -3 | 55.1 | 64.7% | 0.92 |
| Engin 'ngiN' Kor |
43 - 50 | -7 | 71.6 | 64.7% | 0.91 |
| AGO |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mateusz 'TOAO' Zawistowski |
60 - 42 | +18 | 89.7 | 76.5% | 1.29 |
| Damian 'Furlan' Kislowski |
54 - 46 | +8 | 91.5 | 73.5% | 1.25 |
| Michał 'snatchie' Rudzki |
49 - 50 | -1 | 73.5 | 67.6% | 1.02 |
| Dominik 'GruBy' Swiderski |
42 - 48 | -6 | 65.6 | 69.1% | 0.96 |
| Tomasz 'phr' Wójcik |
40 - 54 | -14 | 73.8 | 67.6% | 0.91 |
This leaves the final standings of the Global Challenge as:
1st: AGO - $18,000
2nd: Space Soldiers - $10,000
3rd-4th: 
eXtatus - $5,000
3rd-4th: 
Ghost Academy - $5,000
5th-6th: 
Chiefs - $3,000
5th-6th: SoaR - $3,000
7th-8th: 
Rise Nation - $3,000
7th-8th: GX - $3,000
