3DMAX defeat Kinguin to win ESEA MDL Global Challenge

3DMAX won the ESEA MDL Season 29 Global Challenge after defeating Kinguin 2-1 in the grand final.

The final began on Nuke, Kinguin's map pick, where the Polish side got off to a blooming 5-0 start on their T-side. The Frenchmen of 3DMAX finally made some noise, winning their first of the half, off the back of David "⁠Davidp⁠" Prins' triple-kill with an automatic shotgun. This sparked a great run for the French side, who held off Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas's men for five straight, tying the game at 5-5.

A timeout called from the Poles was enough to get their wits together and retake the lead, in hopes to inspire their T-side, but it was to no avail: the remainder of the half was all about 3DMAX, who bagged four in a row to take a 9-6 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Kinguin were the first to strike, locking down the CT pistol, but they could not follow up with an anti-eco win, as 3DMAX hit back to reach double digits (10-7). The Poles fired back to reduce their deficit by two, but it would be the last round Kinguin would win as 3DMAX fired on all cylinders to secure six rounds that led to the 16-8 map victory.

The series then landed on Cache. After losing their map pick, Kinguin once again got off to a blistering start, locking down the six initial rounds to kick off the first half as CTs. 3DMAX then put an end to the streak, with Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug & Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang, G2's newest recruits, putting in most of the work.

The momentum from the round win put the French back on track, with the team continuing their march on the T-side, adding five more to their tally. The rest of the half was a highly-contested battle, with Kinguin managing to take the edge over 3DMAX as they closed out the half with an 8-7 score.

The second half saw 3DMAX swiftly take the CT pistol and the following anti-eco, but they were promptly stopped by an aggressive Kinguin squad. The Poles didn't look back as they thrashed 3DMAXs' defense, adding four more on the board to make it 13-9. 3DMAX weren't out of it just yet, as the French began to knock on Kinguin's lead winning three of the next four rounds, but, in the end, TaZ & co. would lock down the map, 16-12, forcing the decider.

The series decider came down to Dust2. Right from the start, 3DMAX wasted no time on their CT side, giving the Poles no room to breathe with a perfect 6-0 start. Kinguin managed to snap the streak in the following round, but the French side continued their dominance, immediately countering every round win from their opponents to secure a 12-3 halftime lead.

The second half began with Kinguin securing the T pistol and the following anti-eco, before 3DMAX won their 13th round to force the CTs to save. With the game slipping away, TaZ called a timeout - a move that did not change the course of the game as 3DMAX quickly wrapped things up to seal the victory and the title of ESEA MDL Global Challenge victors.

The Global Challenge final rankings are:

1. 3DMAX - $18,000
2. Kinguin - $10,000
3-4. Singularity - $5,000
3-4. Grayhound -$5,000
5-6. Virtus.pro - $3,000
5-6. Vireo.pro - $3,000
7-8. Swole Patrol - $3,000
7-8. cantwinalan - $3,000