Gambit defeat MIBR 2-1 in ESL Pro League Group C opening match

The IEM Katowice champions claimed the first three points in play in Group C.

Gambit have made good on their condition as favorites in the opening Group C match by beating MIBR, although they needed all three maps in the series to do so as the Brazilian squad, who fell in their own pick of Inferno, were able to edge past the CIS squad on Overpass to force the decider map.

Ultimately, however, the team led by Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov was too much for Marcelo "⁠chelo⁠" Cespedes and company to handle, as Gambit came out on top on Train, 16-8, to start their Pro League run with a 1-0 record.

"We had like three days off [after IEM Katowice] and started to practice hard because we understand that we are not underdogs anymore, enemies are going to prepare for us," Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov said regarding no longer being underdogs in the post-match interview, "it’s hard to be a top 5 team because everyone wants to beat you. We played a tier 2 tournament and lost to CPH Flames, I think that showed us that we need to prepare for everyone and stay 100% focused because we’re not in the same position as before."

Gambit got off to a flying start on the CT side of Inferno in the series against MIBR, denying the Brazilians back-to-back plants early on before going on a tear and dominating both as a team and individually to take a big 12-3 lead at the switch. MIBR bridged the gap on the defense, winning six of the first seven rounds, but were ultimately unable to hit double digits as HObbit and company closed the map out 16-9.

The Brazilian side started out Overpass on the defense with a much stronger showing than on Inferno, getting off to an early lead including a crucial pistol buy win when up 7-3 to secure winning the half before hitting double digits, 10-5. Ricardo "⁠boltz⁠" Prass and compnany weren’t as strong on the attack, however, as Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov tied things up with a 1vs2 clutch in the 26th round, but MIBR nonetheless rallied the following round to edge out their CIS rivals, 16-13, and push the series to a decider map.

MIBR brought their momentum into Train on the attacking side with an early 4-0 lead, but Gambit quickly took the reins of the map once stable on the defense, accruing a hefty 10-5 lead at half-time before continuing their dominating performance on the terrorist side, allowing just three rounds before closing the series out 16-8.