Windigo to playoffs of ZOTAC Cup Masters EU Finals over Gambit

Windigo beat Gambit 2-0 (16-11 Train, 16-6 Overpass) to take the second place in Group B of the ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 Europe Regional Finals and advance to the playoffs.

Windigo's map pick, Train, started off with Gambit's newest addition Nikolay "⁠mir⁠" Bityukov picking up three kills to give his side the CT pistol win. Gambit took a 2-0 lead before Windigo replied with rifles, stringing together four straight to make it 4-2.

Rustem "⁠mou⁠" Telepov got back on the AWP after an eco an instantly made an impact, getting the entry for his side, and continued to be a key player throughout the half. The sniper kept the Bulgarians at bay, and with the rest of the team chipping in, Windigo were unable to even put the bomb down eight rounds in the row.

The final round of the half seemed like more of the same, mou's quick hat-trick made it a 5v2 for Gambit, but Georgi "⁠SHiPZ⁠" Grigorov turned the situation around with a quad-kill, making the half time score 10-5. The youngster stood out in the pistol once again, this time one-upping his performance by netting an ace.

Those two rounds started the comeback for Windigo, who quickly took the lead on the CT side. Simeon "⁠dream3r⁠" Ganev's triple spraydown in ladder room saw the Bulgarians grab a three-round advantage 13-10, as they looked to close out the map. Gambit squeaked in their first T round with a force buy, but that was all from the Kazakhstani side, as they dropped the first map 16-11.

SHiPZ took his strong form into the second map as well, securing nine kills in the first two rounds of Overpass. With Viktor "⁠v1c7oR⁠" Dyankov chipping in as well, Windigo bagged a 7-0 lead, when Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov and Dauren "⁠AdreN⁠" Kystaubayev combined on a force-buy to get Gambit on the board.

Gambit didn't follow up on their first round, but after some ecos, managed to add more to their tally, totaling at four for the half. AdreN and co. managed to win the CT pistol, but an anti-force blunder saw Windigo bounce back swiftly. The score was 14-6 when Gambit had their first full buy, but Windigo still broke through the B site defenses and held off the retake, repeating the same in the last round to win the map 16-6, and the series 2-0.