Bad News Bears claim second ESL Challenger Anaheim 2022 Closed Qualifier spot over Triumph
The second open qualifier for the ESL Challenger Anaheim 2022 Closed Qualifier has been wrapped up, with Bad News Bears putting a stop to a promising Triumph run after the latter upset Party Astronauts in the semifinals.
Most of the quarterfinals saw the favorites come out on top, with Bad News Bears beating ATK, Party Astronauts thrashing Eros, and Triumph taking down Strife. In the matchup between RBG and ChocoCheck however, the latter would be triumphant, in part due to a strong performance from Anthony "CLASIA" Kearney.
The first semifinal saw the aforementioned ChocoCheck face off against Bad News Bears on Dust 2. The Bears got off to a good start, securing their T-side pistol and the subsequent two rounds, but ChocoCheck answered back by taking the first gun round for themselves. That round would be one of only two they would win throughout the entire half, as Bad News Bears went on a tear, acquiring a 13-2 lead at halftime. ChocoCheck managed to pick up three of the first four rounds of the second half, but the lead of the Bears was simply too much to overcome, and they would go on to take the map 16-8.
Bad News BearsChocoCheck| Bad News Bears |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
22 - 10 | +12 | 90.5 | 75.0% | 1.63 |
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
23 - 14 | +9 | 103.6 | 79.2% | 1.53 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
19 - 15 | +4 | 95.6 | 70.8% | 1.24 |
| Gabe 'Spongey' Greiner |
14 - 15 | -1 | 58.7 | 62.5% | 0.94 |
| Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman |
13 - 15 | -2 | 56.8 | 70.8% | 0.86 |
| ChocoCheck |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony 'CLASIA' Kearney |
11 - 14 | -3 | 69.1 | 66.7% | 0.99 |
| Zack 'XotiC' Elshani |
20 - 19 | +1 | 75.9 | 70.8% | 0.98 |
| Carson 'nosraC' O'Reilly |
17 - 18 | -1 | 75.6 | 58.3% | 0.94 |
| Jeorge 'Jeorge' Endicott |
11 - 20 | -9 | 63.5 | 62.5% | 0.63 |
| Dominick 'JazzPimp' Dimpfel |
9 - 21 | -12 | 54.8 | 50.0% | 0.54 |
The other semifinal featured an encounter between Party Astronauts and Triumph on Nuke. The first three rounds would go the way of Triumph, but a 1v2 from Ben "ben1337" Smith in the fourth round propelled the Astronauts into winning three of their own. This closeness was not to last, however, as Triumph shut down Party Astronauts for much of the rest of the half, locking in a 10-5 lead. The Astronauts were not deterred, and went on a massive nine-round run to carve their own 14-10 lead. A 2v4 from Jeff "RZU" Ngo and Danny "cxzi" Strzelczyk got Triumph back into the game, and they would go on to string the last six rounds together to claim both a 16-14 victory and a spot in the grand final.
TriumphParty Astronauts| Triumph |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
25 - 18 | +7 | 81.8 | 73.3% | 1.25 |
| Jack 'xCeeD' Holiman |
26 - 20 | +6 | 87.0 | 63.3% | 1.25 |
| Brennan 'grape' Greer |
25 - 22 | +3 | 82.0 | 66.7% | 1.19 |
| Jeff 'RZU' Ngo |
16 - 23 | -7 | 68.4 | 46.7% | 0.71 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
9 - 22 | -13 | 48.2 | 53.3% | 0.58 |
| Party Astronauts |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gage 'Infinite' Green |
26 - 17 | +9 | 78.1 | 73.3% | 1.33 |
| Ben 'ben1337' Smith |
24 - 22 | +2 | 95.6 | 73.3% | 1.33 |
| David 'cynic' Polster |
22 - 21 | +1 | 82.4 | 70.0% | 1.06 |
| Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue |
18 - 20 | -2 | 65.8 | 70.0% | 1.01 |
 Jonathan 'djay' Dallal |
15 - 22 | -7 | 52.5 | 60.0% | 0.72 |
This grand final would be Bad News Bears' second in their efforts to qualify for the ESL Challenger Anaheim 2022 Closed Qualifier, following a defeat to oNe in the first open qualifier final, while this would be Triumph's first after an early exit in the previous open qualifier.
The final kicked off on Triumph's pick of Inferno, where Triumph started off promisingly, bagging the first five rounds of their T-side. Bad News Bears were unphased by this, and answered back with eight consecutive rounds to keep Triumph at bay. Triumph managed to piece themselves together at the end of the half, shrinking the Bears' lead to that of an 8-7 score. Bad News Bears captured the first three rounds of the second half, but Triumph again composed themselves and rallied together five rounds to take back the lead. The remainder of the half was a hectic back-and-forth, which was eventually dragged into overtime, where the Bears would come out victorious, stealing away Triumph's pick 19-16.
The beginning of the Bears' pick of Ancient made it clear the closeness of the previous map wasn't going anywhere. The first few rounds were a back and forth affair, with Triumph eventually taking the lead after they managed to string three consecutive rounds together. Bad News Bears answered back with some rounds of their own to stay competitive in the game, but Triumph would win out the half 8-7. For much of the second half, neither squad was able to get the upper hand on the other, until finally, Triumph pieced together a four-round streak at 12-12, snatching the Bears' pick of Ancient 16-12.
In the end, Triumph's work would all be for naught, as Michael "Swisher" Schmid and Paytyn "junior" Johnson put up phenomenal ratings of 2.47 and 2.39, respectively, in the third map of Overpass. Bad News Bears absolutely mauled Triumph on the back of the two performances, giving them nothing to work with, and closing out the series with a firm 16-0 scoreline to solidify their spot in the Closed Qualifier.
Bad News BearsTriumph| Bad News Bears |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paytyn 'junior' Johnson |
66 - 50 | +16 | 83.5 | 68.4% | 1.17 |
| Michael 'Swisher' Schmid |
61 - 54 | +7 | 80.5 | 69.6% | 1.16 |
| Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman |
49 - 46 | +3 | 67.4 | 81.0% | 1.13 |
| Brendan 'Bwills' Williams |
51 - 53 | -2 | 83.3 | 72.2% | 1.07 |
| Gabe 'Spongey' Greiner |
53 - 46 | +7 | 63.8 | 73.4% | 1.03 |
| Triumph |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny 'cxzi' Strzelczyk |
57 - 57 | +0 | 83.7 | 68.4% | 1.12 |
| Wesley 'viz' Harris |
53 - 54 | -1 | 70.5 | 74.7% | 1.07 |
| Jeff 'RZU' Ngo |
51 - 58 | -7 | 71.0 | 69.6% | 0.98 |
| Jack 'xCeeD' Holiman |
46 - 57 | -11 | 60.1 | 67.1% | 0.87 |
| Brennan 'grape' Greer |
42 - 57 | -15 | 57.5 | 64.6% | 0.77 |
The ESL Challenger Anaheim 2022 Closed Qualifier will take place on December 11th and 12th, where Bad News Bears, oNe, and two invited teams will clash for a single spot at ESL Challenger Anaheim 2022.
