Valiance deny Kinguin comeback; to semi-finals in Milan

Valiance have sealed passage to the semi-finals at the ZOTAC Cup Masters Europe Regional Finals following a 16-12 victory over Kinguin on Nuke.

The Group A winners' match began with Valiance on the CT side securing a quick 3-0 lead after picking up a near-perfect pistol round. The Balkan team remained in control in the following rounds, constantly shutting down the Terrorists to go up 8-0.

It was only in the ninth round that Kinguin were able to get on the board, on the back of a triple-kill from Paweł "⁠reatz⁠" Jańczak, but they could not follow that up as Valiance kept their defence very tight. Even though Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas then called a tactical pause in a bid to halt Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač and co., the Poles simply could not win any more rounds until half-time.

In the second half, Kinguin did not want to throw in the towel and went on a massive run to hit 12 rounds, with Jacek "⁠MINISE⁠" Jeziak stepping up to the plate on numerous occasions. The Polish team were now breathing down the neck of Valiance, who kept their composure and won back-to-back rounds to run away with the lead.