Kinguin win ZOTAC EU Regional Finals; qualify for ZOTAC Cup Masters

Kinguin have won the ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 Europe Regional Finals in Milan, booking their spot at the $300,000 global finals with a 2-0 victory over Windigo (19-17 on both Overpass and Dust2).

It all began with Kinguin winning their CT pistol on Overpass, Windigo's map pick, and following that up with the anti-ecos. The Poles did not stop shutting down the offence, who would only be able to get their first round on the board after losing six in a row.

Although Windigo managed to capitalize on that round win, Kinguin still had money to work with and responded with their seventh round. From there, the Bulgarians went on a great run to bring the deficit to a sole round, but Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas's men strung together the final two rounds of the half to go up 9-6.

The second half began with a chaotic pistol that saw Karol "⁠rallen⁠" Rodowicz pick up the round for his team with a 1v1 clutch. Windigo responded vigorously, however, racking up a series of rounds to lead by three, 13-10.

But neither of the teams was able to close out the map in regulation, with the Poles taking it to overtime thanks to a 1v2 clutch from Jacek "⁠MINISE⁠" Jeziak in the penultimate round. The 24-year-old then kept playing a key role for his team, denying Windigo from taking the map to a second overtime with a quad-kill to finish things off at 19-17.

With a double and a triple-kill from rallen and MINISE, respectively, Kinguin started off their map pick, Dust2, on the right foot. It was only four rounds later that Windigo, who were playing as CTs, managed to win their first round, but Kinguin remained in control.

Surprisingly enough, Windigo got back on the board with nothing but pistols, which marked the start of a great run from the Bulgarians, who lost a single round before half-time, 6-9.

In the second half, Windigo picked up their first pistol of the series, taking the lead for the first time on Dust2 after following that up with three more rounds. But the map was yet another back-and-forth affair that would not be solved in regulation, with Kinguin prevailing in a trembling overtime, 19-17, on the back of a 40-bomb from rallen.

ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 Europe Regional Finals

1. Kinguin - $10,000 + spot at ZOTAC Cup Masters
2. Windigo - $5,000
3-4. Imperial - $2,500
3.4. Valiance - $2,500
5-6. Não Tem Como
5-6. Gambit
7-8. x-kom
7-8. Winstrike

The ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 will run from August 24-26 in Hong Kong, where eight teams will duke it out for their share of the $300,000 prize pool. The team list currently looks as follows: