BIG scrape past MIBR to book final playoff spot in Cologne

BIG are the last team through to the playoffs at ESL One Cologne after edging past MIBR in an exciting three-map series.

The final group stage lower bracket match kicked off on Cache, BIG's map pick, with the German side winning four rounds right off the bat as CTs. MIBR then finally got on the board following a quad-kill from Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga on a shoddy buy, but BIG instantly responded to put the Brazilians' economy in shambles.

BIG continued pressing on, with the scoreline blooming to a 7-1 advantage in their favour. It was only then that MIBR managed to put their foot down and hold back the German defence, with a Jake "⁠Stewie2K⁠" Yip 1v3 clutch in the 11th round bringing the deficit to just three rounds.

The German side were not impressed, however, and rallied back in an eco round before putting together another run of rounds to close out the half with a commanding 10-5 lead.

Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz went huge in the second pistol round of the game, picking up an ace following a quick B execution to kick BIG further into the lead. That was the start of another great run from the German team, who increased their lead to 14-5. The ex-SK team then tightened up their defence, winning four rounds in a row, but their efforts were in vain as BIG secured back-to-back rounds to seal a convincing win.

The map that followed, Overpass, followed the same pattern as the first as BIG cruised to a 7-1 lead, with MIBR's sole round coming on the back of a clutch from Ricardo "⁠boltz⁠" Prass, who killed two opponents on just 2hp.

Things were starting to look bleak for MIBR, but then the Brazilians picked up the pace, going on another great run to bring the deficit to a sole round by the end of the half.

The second half was a complete blowout. BIG, now playing on the Terrorist side, simply could not find a way to get through the packed Brazilian defence. Their first win came only six rounds into the half and was immediately countered by MIBR, who proceeded to win the next three rounds to level up the series.

It all came down to Inferno, where MIBR came out the brighter of the two sides as they picked up the pistol round and the subsequent anti-ecos for a 3-0 lead. But the landscape of the game changed dramatically as soon as BIG had money to work with. Every round that the Brazilians picked up was instantly countered by the Germans, but Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo's men somehow managed to keep their cool, winning the final two rounds of the half to make it a 7-8 half.

MIBR got off to a flying start on the Terrorist side, winning six of the first seven rounds of the half to earn a 13-9 lead. The Brazilians looked superior, comfortable and in control, but BIG then set up a very strong defence and hit series point, inspired by a series of multi-kills from Johannes "⁠nex⁠" Maget.

FalleN stepped up to the plate and clutched a 1v2 situation on the B site to rescue MIBR, who would follow it up with the next round to restore parity at 15-15 and take this nail-biting series to overtime.

The first overtime could not determine a winner as both teams won two rounds on the Terrorist side, but then a flawless CT half from BIG saw them overturn a 2-1 deficit, booking the final spot in the playoffs and sending the Brazilians home.