WolfY and ECSTATIC best Extra Salt in Pinnacle Fall Series 3 finals
Despite victories versus MOUZ NXT and DBL PONEY in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, Extra Salt were unable to carry the momentum into their final matchup and fell to ECSTATIC in a close affair, narrowly missing out on a direct invitation to LAN Sweet LAN 2022 and a cash prize of $40,000. Despite Extra Salt losing, North America is guaranteed to have at least one representative in the event as ECSATATIC features Adam "WolfY" Andersson who is known domestically for his time on Secret Club and Swedish Canadians.
Extra Salt initially found themselves in the quarter-finals for their first matchup, thanks to a direct invite, where they faced MOUZ NXT, a team who had been quickly rising through the rankings, breaking into HLTV's Top 30 two weeks ago. The series began on Johnny "JT" Theodosiou and company’s pick of Ancient where a pistol round victory coupled with a solid T-side performance saw Extra Salt lead 9-6 at the half. In spite of it being a more equal second half, a solid CT-side showing together with impressive individual performances from Edgar "MarKE" Maldonado and Ricky "floppy" Kemery (which saw the duo combine for over half of the team’s 93 kills) allowed the NA side to take their map pick 16-12.
MOUZ NXT’s pick of Vertigo was more of a one-sided affair in favor of the North American/South African roster. A stellar 11-4 CT-side by Extra Salt foiled any attempts at taking the series to a third map, and a fierce response met any round win by MOUZ NXT to prevent any chance of the academy making a comeback. Capitalizing on their momentum in the first half, the South African-American mix quickly sent their foes packing with only the aforementioned floppy posting a negative rating on the second map which finished with a score of 16-7 in favor of Extra Salt.
Extra SaltMOUZ NXT| Extra Salt |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
41 - 31 | +10 | 96.6 | 76.5% | 1.34 |
 Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
40 - 29 | +11 | 77.8 | 78.4% | 1.25 |
 Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
36 - 29 | +7 | 73.2 | 76.5% | 1.19 |
 Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
36 - 30 | +6 | 77.4 | 70.6% | 1.16 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
32 - 31 | +1 | 75.5 | 72.5% | 1.11 |
| MOUZ NXT |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jon 'JDC' de Castro |
44 - 38 | +6 | 96.2 | 74.5% | 1.23 |
 Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás |
35 - 32 | +3 | 63.7 | 68.6% | 1.02 |
 Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek |
20 - 36 | -16 | 66.1 | 66.7% | 0.82 |
 Dorian 'xertioN' Berman |
26 - 41 | -15 | 61.3 | 60.8% | 0.76 |
| Hubert 'szejn' Światły |
24 - 38 | -14 | 49.4 | 66.7% | 0.72 |
Looking to carry on the momentum from the quarter-final, Extra Salt took the semi-final versus DPL PONEY to their map pick of Ancient. In spite of a determined French resistance in the first fifteen rounds which saw an 8-7 scoreline in favor of Extra Salt, a dominant CT-side led by an impressive individual showing by JT helped lock out DBL PONEY entirely. An impregnable defense prevented the French from posting a single round, helping Extra Salt close out the first map of the series in a convincing fashion at 16-7.
Compared to the first map, DPL PONEY’s pick of Nuke was a much more grueling matchup. Despite a heroic CT performance, spearheaded by Josh "oSee" Ohm which saw Extra Salt lead 12-3 at the break, an equally strong showing enabled the French squad to claw back at the lead, eventually leading to the map going to Overtime to separate the two. In spite of the scare, Extra Salt were able to dispatch of their French counterparts, closing the map 19-17, and securing the series 2-0 to advance to the grand finals.
DBL PONEYExtra Salt| DBL PONEY |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aurélien 'afro' Drapier |
43 - 41 | +2 | 73.4 | 67.8% | 1.05 |
| Pierre 'Ex3rcice' Bulinge |
40 - 43 | -3 | 73.7 | 61.0% | 0.95 |
| Thomas 'Djoko' Pavoni |
41 - 48 | -7 | 75.0 | 64.4% | 0.91 |
| Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianaro |
27 - 41 | -14 | 62.3 | 61.0% | 0.72 |
| Lucas 'Lucky' Chastang |
24 - 41 | -17 | 52.2 | 57.6% | 0.66 |
| Extra Salt |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
59 - 34 | +25 | 86.4 | 78.0% | 1.44 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
52 - 36 | +16 | 94.3 | 78.0% | 1.38 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
43 - 38 | +5 | 87.9 | 78.0% | 1.25 |
| Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
32 - 35 | -3 | 63.5 | 67.8% | 0.97 |
| Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
28 - 32 | -4 | 57.8 | 62.7% | 0.94 |
Extra Salt’s veto throughout the tournament remained largely the same, with the team having Ancient as their map pick. The final versus ECSTATIC was no different, and Ancient began with Extra Salt facing their American compatriot, WolfY, from the T-side, where they accumulated a respectable 9-6 advantage at the end of the half. Things quickly disintegrated when the two sides swapped; as the European mix went on to dominate their T-side, garnering ten rounds before closing the map 16-13, forcing Extra Salt to have to fight in hopes of sending the series to a third map.
The second map of the grand final took place on Vertigo where a lackluster CT-side by Extra Salt saw them concede eleven rounds. Despite this, a valiant T-side of their own led by Justin "FaNg" Coakley denied the European team a chance at a quick victory, and the potential for a third map did look promising. Nonetheless, the initial deficit cost the hybrid team dearly, and one round win away from forcing overtime, Extra Salt lost the map 16-14 and conceded the final 2-0.
Extra SaltECSTATIC| Extra Salt |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin 'FaNg' Coakley |
47 - 39 | +8 | 78.5 | 71.2% | 1.22 |
| Ricky 'floppy' Kemery |
44 - 39 | +5 | 90.1 | 76.3% | 1.22 |
| Johnny 'JT' Theodosiou |
39 - 41 | -2 | 87.3 | 74.6% | 1.21 |
| Josh 'oSee' Ohm |
45 - 39 | +6 | 69.5 | 78.0% | 1.12 |
| Edgar 'MarKE' Maldonado |
28 - 43 | -15 | 58.1 | 69.5% | 0.84 |
| ECSTATIC |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jakob 'Daffu' Schildt |
49 - 39 | +10 | 91.1 | 83.1% | 1.37 |
| Adam 'WolfY' Andersson |
46 - 36 | +10 | 79.5 | 78.0% | 1.22 |
| Thomas 'birdfromsky' Due-Frederiksen |
34 - 45 | -11 | 76.6 | 67.8% | 0.94 |
| Marcus 'maNkz' Kjeldsen |
35 - 38 | -3 | 53.9 | 71.2% | 0.89 |
 Dion 'FASHR' Derksen |
37 - 45 | -8 | 71.6 | 71.2% | 0.87 |
The final standings for Pinnacle Fall Series 3 are:
1. 
ECSTATIC - $40,000 + LAN Sweet LAN
2. 
Extra Salt
3-4. 
BLINK - $4,000
3-4. DBL Poney
5-8. MOUZ NXT - $4,000
5-8. Copenhagen Flames
5-8. MAD Lions
5-8. 
Sinners
9-12. 
Dignitas - $3,000
9-12. 
Unique - $3,000
9-12. 
forZe - $3,000
9-12. K23 - $3,000
13-15. 
SKADE
13-15. Finest
13-15. ECLOT
16-18. 
HAVU
16-18. MASONIC
16-18. 
Nexus
19-20. AGF
19-20. 1WIN
