Heroic move past Endpoint in BLAST Premier Showdown

The Danes were made to work hard to beat a stubborn and confident opponent who looked determined to cause an upset.

HEROIC have clinched a spot in the quarter-final stage of the BLAST Premier Showdown following a hard-fought win against Endpoint. With wind in their sails following their first-ever qualification for the ESL Pro League, the British team came out swinging and took the lead in the series with a resolute defensive performance on Train.

The Danes responded on Overpass — a map they dominated from start to finish — to level up the series before heading to Inferno. They almost let the decider map slip through their fingers, but in the end, their experience, as well as Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller's AWPing prowess, made the difference.

HEROIC, who will go on to face MOUZ, looked surprising off-colour at times but still were deserved winners in this keenly-contested series. However, credit has to be given to Endpoint, who were fired up with a tremendous will, even though they were coming off four official maps.

The Danish team made a lively start to the game on Train and raced to a 7-1 lead on the CT side. Endpoint, whose sole round victory up until that point had come on a force-buy, slowly grew in stature and dominated proceedings in the final stages of the half to reduce the deficit to five rounds before the break, with Max "⁠MiGHTYMAX⁠" Heath raising eyebrows with a 1v3 clutch in the 14th round.

HEROIC halted that momentum after switching to the T side with a clean pistol round, only to be caught off-guard once again in the following round as Kia "⁠Surreal⁠" Man picked up a trio of Desert Eagle kills. It was a key moment in the game as Endpoint took immediate control of the game, shutting out the HEROIC offense in style and winning every clutch situation, including another 1v3 by MiGHTYMAX, from there on out to secure the map.

Overpass followed the same pattern as Train, with HEROIC taking the game to their opponents, who appeared dazed during the early stages. Endpoint tightened up and gradually found their stride, but they could only muster five rounds in the half.

cadiaN lit up the server in the second pistol round as he won a 1v2 clutch in a round that seemed to be under control by Endpoint. After going down 5-14, the British team woke up from their slumber and put some rounds together, but a comeback proved beyond them as HEROIC quickly wrapped things up.

Inferno began with Endpoint taking a 3-0 lead off the back of a flawless pistol round, but they fizzled out as the game went on. HEROIC went into the break up 9-6, and indeed the scoreline could have been heavier as cadiaN's side lost a 2v1 situation to Robin "⁠robiin⁠" Sjögren and also an anti-eco round.

Endpoint came out of the break looking revitalised and took the lead after winning the initial four rounds of the half. Nerves started to kick in for both teams, with HEROIC winning an eco round but then letting Surreal get an ace when he was in a 2v5 situation. But after that blunder, the Danes put their foot down and held back their opponents for the rest of the game.