RBG beat Triumph to win ESEA Fall Cash Cup 5
With many of the mainstays of the ESEA Cash Cups like Bad News Bears and Extra Salt participating in iBUYPOWER Mythic Masters Winter 2021, new faces like Strife, RBG, and ChocoCheck made deep runs in the Cash Cup, with RBG ultimately coming out on top.
The first semifinal of the event saw RBG take on Strife in a hotly contested series that would go all three maps, two of which went into overtime. RBG managed to secure the first pistol round on Strife's pick of Mirage but dropped the anti-eco, allowing Strife to take four rounds in a row before RBG was able to answer back with four rounds of their own. The rest of the half would not be as close, as David "J0LZ" Jolin and Keller "SLIGHT" Nilan would power Strife through the remainder of their Terrorist side to secure themselves a 10-5 lead. RBG looked red hot on their Terrorist side, securing the first five rounds to even up the scoreline, but Strife managed to regain their composure, only allowing RBG to win two of the next eight rounds, closing the first map out 16-12.
The second map, RBG's pick of Inferno, was far closer, with constant back-and-forth rounds in the first half until RBG was ultimately able to string several together at the end of their Terrorist side to take the lead 9-6. The second half saw the return of the strong Strife from the map prior, as the team would win seven rounds in a row to bring their total up to thirteen. RBG would find it in them to make the comeback, bringing the scoreline back to 14-14 and were unable to prevent Strife from taking map point, but a force buy victory from the Counter-Terrorists would take the map into overtime. No clear victor emerged in the first overtime, with both teams trading rounds back-and-forth, taking it to a second. Strife won the first two rounds of the second overtime, looking like they would be set to take the map, but RBG would go on to take the remaining four rounds, taking the series to the decider map of Nuke.
RBG got off to a strong start on Nuke, taking six of the first eight rounds, but Strife again found it in themselves to bring it back, securing themselves the remaining seven rounds of the half and a 9-6 lead on their Counter-Terrorist side. RBG was able to secure the pistol and convert the anti-eco, tying the scoreline up, and then the series again devolved to the back-and-forth rounds seen on maps prior. Strife would go on to secure themselves map point with a 15-13 scoreline, but with RBG right on their heels, the series would again see overtime. With overtime secured, RBG was not going to let this series slip away, as they closed it out with Strife only managing one additional round, securing RBG their spot in the grand final.
RBGStrife| RBG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
73 - 69 | +4 | 76.7 | 73.3% | 1.13 |
 Jordon 'jitter' Ruggiero |
70 - 70 | +0 | 77.5 | 77.1% | 1.07 |
| Jerric 'wiz' Jiang |
69 - 67 | +2 | 68.2 | 71.4% | 1.04 |
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
67 - 67 | +0 | 68.9 | 73.3% | 1.04 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
71 - 69 | +2 | 72.3 | 65.7% | 0.98 |
| Strife |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett 'brett' Rhein |
70 - 70 | +0 | 76.3 | 74.3% | 1.12 |
| David 'J0LZ' Jolin |
72 - 75 | -3 | 79.0 | 69.5% | 1.05 |
| Keller 'SLIGHT' Nilan |
72 - 65 | +7 | 60.8 | 69.5% | 1.01 |
| Dylan 'SATURN' Finch |
67 - 70 | -3 | 70.5 | 68.6% | 0.97 |
| Bobby 'stamina' Eitrem |
60 - 73 | -13 | 69.0 | 66.7% | 0.92 |
The opposite side of the bracket saw Triumph face off against ChocoCheck in what would be another close series. Triumph got off to a rough start on their pick of Inferno, with ChocoCheck going on a run to secure a dominant 11-4 half on the back of strong performances from Zack "XotiC" Elshani and Carson "nosraC" O'Reilly. Triumph appeared unphased by this impressive showing from ChocoCheck, as they would go on to take ten rounds in a row on their Counter-Terrorist side, thanks to an outstanding performance from Jeff "RZU" Ngo, making the scoreline 14-11. ChocoCheck only managed one more round before Triumph secured match point, and while they were able to string two more rounds together, it would not be enough to prevent Triumph from taking the map 16-14.
ChocoCheck's pick of Mirage started off fairly close, with ChocoCheck edging out Triumph in the first half 9-6. But XotiC was determined to not let this map slip away like the last one did, as he put up an astounding 1.88 rating to assure his team's dominance. He was backed up by strong performances from teammates Jeorge "jeorgesnorts" Endicott and Anthony "CLASIA" Kearney, leading to a clean 16-8 victory for the side of ChocoCheck.
Triumph would find a return to form on the decider map of Overpass, carving themselves a 10-5 lead on their Counter-Terrorist side, but that form would begin to waver in the second half. ChocoCheck won the second pistol and subsequent conversion, putting them neck and neck with Triumph. The rest of the map would be a back-and-forth affair, but in the end, Triumph would take the map 16-13 thanks to consistent output from Wesley "viz" Harris, locking in their grand final spot.
ChocoCheckTriumph| ChocoCheck |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack 'XotiC' Elshani |
69 - 49 | +20 | 83.7 | 73.5% | 1.33 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
60 - 49 | +11 | 79.7 | 74.7% | 1.18 |
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
58 - 53 | +5 | 74.8 | 68.7% | 1.08 |
| Carson 'nosraC' O'Reilly |
51 - 55 | -4 | 71.0 | 68.7% | 1.01 |
| Dominick 'JazzPimp' Dimpfel |
47 - 57 | -10 | 61.9 | 66.3% | 0.90 |
| Triumph |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff 'RZU' Ngo |
67 - 58 | +9 | 81.5 | 71.1% | 1.13 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
55 - 55 | +0 | 69.3 | 69.9% | 0.99 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
54 - 59 | -5 | 74.7 | 61.4% | 0.98 |
| Brennan 'grape' Greer |
48 - 58 | -10 | 63.7 | 61.4% | 0.84 |
| Jack 'xCeeD' Holiman |
39 - 55 | -16 | 60.9 | 61.4% | 0.81 |
The third-place decider match saw the ChocoCheck and Strife face off, and the former got off to a phenomenal start on their Counter-Terrorist side on Strife's pick of Mirage, securing a 10-5 lead in the half, thanks to a strong showing from XotiC, who put up a 1.81 rating on the Counter-Terrorist side. With the pistol and subsequent conversion going the way of ChocoCheck, it looked like the map would be a done deal, but Strife clawed back five rounds in a row to stay competitive. Unfortunately for Strife, this newfound momentum was not enough, as ChocoCheck would go on to take map point, and despite Strife stealing away a few more rounds, ChocoCheck would take the first map 16-13.
ChocoCheck would have another flying start on their pick of Inferno, this time with CLASIA leading the way with a 1.52 Terrorist side rating, securing a 9-6 lead on the half. With the first four rounds of the second half going the way of ChocoCheck, it looked like this map was all but said and done, but Strife showed they still had life in them, bagging six of the next seven rounds to bring the scoreline to 14-12. In the end, Strife would fall short at the final hurdle, as they would lose the next round to a partial investment from ChocoCheck, who closed the series out the next round, securing themselves the third-place prize.
ChocoCheckStrife| ChocoCheck |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zack 'XotiC' Elshani |
50 - 42 | +8 | 97.5 | 64.9% | 1.36 |
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
36 - 36 | +0 | 69.7 | 68.4% | 1.04 |
| Dominick 'JazzPimp' Dimpfel |
40 - 43 | -3 | 73.4 | 61.4% | 0.99 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
34 - 39 | -5 | 71.8 | 57.9% | 0.90 |
| Carson 'nosraC' O'Reilly |
34 - 42 | -8 | 71.6 | 68.4% | 0.89 |
| Strife |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David 'J0LZ' Jolin |
48 - 43 | +5 | 84.4 | 78.9% | 1.13 |
| Dylan 'SATURN' Finch |
36 - 38 | -2 | 85.7 | 71.9% | 1.05 |
| Bobby 'stamina' Eitrem |
35 - 36 | -1 | 66.1 | 68.4% | 1.02 |
| Keller 'SLIGHT' Nilan |
35 - 32 | +3 | 60.6 | 66.7% | 1.01 |
| Brett 'brett' Rhein |
41 - 47 | -6 | 80.4 | 66.7% | 0.94 |
The grand final saw RBG and Triumph clash, with both teams looking to secure a strong result after a string of mediocre results in the Fall Cash Cups. Triumph kicked off their map pick of Inferno with a strong start, getting the first five rounds under their belt. RBG was quick to answer back, securing five rounds of their own. The rest of the half would see rounds being traded, with Triumph barely coming out on top with an 8-7 lead thanks to good showings from RZU and Jack "xCeeD" Holiman. The second half would be nowhere near as close, as RBG would go on an absolute tear, winning nine rounds straight on their Terrorist side, powered by an unstoppable Connor "chop" Sullivan, who posted a 2.69 rating in the half, securing the first map for RBG 16-8.
RBG took this momentum into their pick of Overpass, pocketing the first five rounds of their Terrorist side before Triumph managed to stop the streak by winning a couple rounds of their own, but RBG managed to secure a solid 8-2 lead. Triumph was not phased by this, however, as they would go on to string the remaining five rounds of the half together to keep themselves competitive in the match. Despite RBG winning the pistol and anti-eco, Triumph remained determined and took control of the second half, eventually securing match point with a 15-12 scoreline. Triumph couldn't get it over the finish line, and with impactful plays from Jadan "HexT" Postma, RBG was able to recover and drag the match into overtime. Despite losing the first round, RBG would sweep the next four rounds thanks to continued strong performances from HexT and Colby "Walco" Walsh, and an ace from Jordon "jitter" Ruggiero.
TriumphRBG| Triumph |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack 'xCeeD' Holiman |
48 - 44 | +4 | 97.5 | 67.8% | 1.19 |
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
38 - 43 | -5 | 66.6 | 69.5% | 0.98 |
| Jeff 'RZU' Ngo |
38 - 44 | -6 | 69.1 | 66.1% | 0.95 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
37 - 45 | -8 | 68.9 | 71.2% | 0.94 |
| Brennan 'grape' Greer |
26 - 46 | -20 | 56.4 | 55.9% | 0.73 |
| RBG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colby 'Walco' Walsh |
51 - 38 | +13 | 101.0 | 83.1% | 1.42 |
| Connor 'chop' Sullivan |
45 - 34 | +11 | 74.5 | 76.3% | 1.23 |
| Jadan 'HexT' Postma |
45 - 34 | +11 | 86.9 | 71.2% | 1.22 |
| Jordon 'jitter' Ruggiero |
43 - 41 | +2 | 75.2 | 67.8% | 1.05 |
| Jerric 'wiz' Jiang |
37 - 40 | -3 | 70.3 | 74.6% | 0.99 |
The final standings for ESEA Fall Cash Cup 5 are:
1. RBG - $9,000
2. Triumph - $4,000
3. ChocoCheck - $2,000
4. Strife
5-8. 
ATK
5-8. Detonate
5-8. Northern Forces
5-8. Green Tea Party
RBG, Triumph, and Strife will all be playing Premier matches tomorrow at 8:00 pm EST, against Extra Salt, Bad News Bears, and oNe respectively.
