Elevate cash out at Void.gg Invitational
With ESL Challenger League Season 48 set to start tonight, we got a taste of what was to come in this weekend's Void.gg Invitational, with two sides set to square off on opening night, reaching the grand final of the homegrown event. Elevate would best LAG here and take the lion's share of the event's $2,800 prize pool that rewarded all comers to some degree.
Fluffy Aimers, LAG, Perseverance, and Take Flyte were all invited to the event, while four slots were available via qualification in the NuTorious NuT Cups, #1 and #2. Each Cup had two spots to earn, with the spots for the former event going to Revenge Nation and Amped, while the latter went to Detonate and Akimbo. Elevate ended up replacing Fluffy Aimers at the last minute, a decision that would be unfortunate for the other teams in contention.
In the quarterfinals, Perseverance swept Revenge Nation in a series that was closer than it appeared, 13-10 and 13-9 on Dust II and Mirage, respectively. Elevate, and Detonate went all 24 rounds on Ancient before Elevate prevailed and then comfortably won Anubis 13-6. LAG and Akimbo traded maps in a very close series, with LAG emerging victorious on Vertigo 13-10 and Ancient 13-9, while Akimbo took Mirage in 24 rounds. Take Flyte stomped Amped on Anubis 13-4, but then dropped Ancient 16-13 in overtime before bouncing back to win Dust II 13-9.
Elevate reverse swept Perseverance in the semifinals with convincing 13-4 and 13-3 wins on Mirage and Dust II after dropping Nuke 13-7 to their ECL colleagues. LAG swept Take Flyte on the other side of the bracket but required overtime to secure a 15-11 win on Anubis after winning the opening map 13-8 on Ancient.
Finally, in the grand final Elevate mirrored their performance in the semifinal. LAG jumped out to a one-map lead on Anubis with a 13-8 win, but then the tides shifted and Elevate found another gear on the T-side, winning 19 of 24 attacking rounds in the final two maps to dominate Mirage 13-1 and Ancient 13-4 to win the event.
As alluded to prior, LAG and Elevate will see one another again tonight in their ECL Season 48 opening match.
