Sharks qualify for Americas Minor over Isurus

Sharks took the first of two spots at the Americas Minor after beating Isurus in the closed qualifier upper bracket final on Train (11-16), Dust2 (16-9), and Mirage (16-14).

Isurus and Sharks made the upper bracket final of the Americas Minor closed qualifier after beating local rivals 9z and INTZ, respectively, and went on to play for the first of two available spots at their regional Minor that will give access to the StarLadder Major.

Roberto "⁠reversive⁠" Themtham kicked off the proceedings with an ace on the first pistol round on Train, which Isurus were playing on the CT side. Down by two, Sharks got on the board in the first gun round with a B play. Double entries by Ignacio "⁠meyern⁠" Meyer kept Isurus in the lead, as the Argentines then started to run away with an early lead in the map. Nicolás "⁠Noktse⁠" Dávila and company kept it up throughout the half, dominating on the defense as Sharks were unable to respond. It was finally on the 13th round, after two entries with the Desert Eagly by Rodrigo "⁠RCF⁠" Figueiredo, that the Brazilians could get back on the board, with the half ending 12-3 in favor of Isurus.

The second half started the same way as the first, with the CTs taking the two first rounds and the Terrorists taking the third, making it 12-6. An eco-bash ace by reversive gave another round to Isurus as the Argentines won four rounds in a row to make their way to match point, 15-8. Sharks made one last push to get some rounds on the board, but Isurus closed it out, 16-11, to take the lead in the series going into their map pick, Dust2.

Sharks took the lead on the attacking side of Dust2 as Leonardo "⁠leo_drk⁠" Oliveira tallied four kills with the glock with the Brazilians taking a 3-0 lead before the first buy. A huge round by RCF with four kills then kept Sharks with the momentum going their way early on. Down 0-5, Isurus finally got on the board, following it up before leo_drk with double entries got Sharks back on track, 6-2. Despite losing the following, Isurus started to gain momentum, shifting the economic game, but a huge four-kill round by RCF during a full eco kept Sharks ahead as they closed out the half with a 10-5 lead.

Four kills by Raphael "⁠exit⁠" Lacerda in the second pistol round saw Sharks remain squarely in the lead and with the advantage going into the second half. Once guns were in play, however, Isurus started to once again take control, winning four rounds in a row before the Brazilian team could retaliate. Ultimately, however, Sharks had their grip on the map, closing it out 16-9 to head to the decider.

Sharks then got off to a great start on the attack in the decider, Mirage, with a triple by Jhonatan "⁠jnt⁠" Silva and double by exit with glocks. After a long technical pause due to Isurus having connection issues, the match resumed and Sharks kept charging ahead, taking a 5-0 lead before the Argentines could get on the board. Having lost a second, Sharks went with a fast B play, overrunning the solo defender to go on and take the round, making it 6-2. Sharks then dominated the half, ending 11-4.

Isurus didn’t give up, however, and won the second pistol round with Gabriel "⁠1962⁠" Sinopoli getting a triple. The Argentine team then took the reins of the match, with Sharks scrambling to try and find a way to stop the attacking team. It wasn’t until Isurus brought it all the way back to 11-11 that Sharks were able to get on the board again, but the Argentines quickly replied and took the lead for the first time in the map. Just as it looked like Isurus were going to turn it around, however, Sharks managed to take the last four rounds, sealing the deal in map three, 16-14, and booking their ticket to Berlin.