Sinners clinch statement victory over G2 in EPL Group B

The Czech side pulled off a stunning upset in their tier-one debut in ESL Pro League.

SINNERS have secured a statement victory in the opening match of Group B in ESL Pro League Season 14, defeating current No. 3 team in the world G2 following a convincing finish to a three-map series. The French-Balkan side had been considered the main favorites of the group, with SINNERS the biggest underdogs as the lowest-ranked team making their first-ever appearance at a tournament of this stature.

An impressive comeback in the second half of Vertigo spearheaded by Adam "⁠NEOFRAG⁠" Zouhar allowed the Czech team to get off on the right foot in the series, and although G2 replied on Inferno, SINNERS seemed to have little trouble closing out the best-of-three with a convincing showing on Mirage.

At first it looked like G2 would stroll to a comfortable victory on the opener, with only the first few rounds looking competitive before the favorites won a key momentum-swinger with just pistols. A 10-5 half going their way and a pistol round win on top made it look all but over for SINNERS, who had until that point struggled to find momentum after losing a couple of rounds to low buys, but a perfect defense ensued from the Czech side.

NEOFRAG stepped up with a quad-kill in the second-round forcebuy and over the next few rounds found three more big multikills and a 1v2 clutch to keep G2 at bay, as SINNERS claimed their first lead in the map in round 23. Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and company could not find a way to break through the defenses and conceded 11 consecutive rounds, with the 20-year-old Czech up-and-comer proving the key to the massive comeback as he finished the map with a staggering 2.53 rating and 23-4 K-D in the second half.

Inferno started out very competitive as well as the two teams were on even ground eight rounds in, but a key low buy victory featuring a crucial Deagle one-shot from NiKo swung the half into G2's favor, and from there SINNERS were on the back foot until the end of the map. Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač's ace and 1v2 clutch in the second pistol spelled trouble for the Czech side, who went on to lose a forcebuy back-and-forth to drop even further behind, and the match reached its deciding map at 16-10.

You could be forgiven for thinking the roles were reverse between the two teams when SINNERS got off to a blistering start on Mirage. The Czechs looked unstoppable following Sebastian "⁠beastik⁠" Daňo's quad-kill and clutch in the pistol round, stringing nine rounds together on the back of all-around impressive team performance, and G2 could only play catchup from then on.

huNter-'s team bought a lifeline at the end of the half with four rounds, but it was immediately taken away when SINNERS picked up the second pistol and didn't let off in the anti-forcebuys. Staring down the barrel at 4-14, G2's last-ditch effort was all for naught, as the underdogs completed the stunning upset at 16-9, 2-1.