Gambit win V4 Future Sports Festival after five-map affair

Entropiq recovered from an 0-2 start to set up a competitive series, but Gambit claimed the trophy on LAN after a convincing decider map.

"We are here to gain more experience on LAN," Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov said in an interview during the event, and Gambit did get as much of it as possible as the grand final of V4 Future Sports Festival went all five maps.

Gambit were massive favorites going into the match against CIS opponents Entropiq, with their AWPer Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov boasting a ridiculous 1.67 rating ahead of the BO5 game. However, it was all but a simple game, with the eventual MVP winner not able to carry on that same form.

nafany's team took a 2-0 series lead, looking comfortable as they claimed Vertigo and Ancient, but things got out of control as they needed just one more map to claim the title. Flat performances on Overpass and Mirage were taken advantage of by a well-performing Entropiq side, pushing the match to Dust2. However, Gambit woke up on the final map and put the series to bed, lifting their first LAN trophy with this five-man lineup.

Entropiq had great starts to both halves on Vertigo, the first map of the series, but Aleksei "⁠NickelBack⁠" Trofimov's team couldn't replicate the success they had on the same map at the Major a couple of weeks ago. nafany topped the board in terms of entry work (7 opening kills) and sh1ro put on another masterclass (1.43 rating), amounting to a 16-10 win for Gambit.

Things took a turn for worse for Entropiq on Ancient, as they could find no openings on their T side, with Viktor "⁠Lack1⁠" Boldyrev struggling in particular. Gambit cruised to a 11-4 halftime advantage, which they advanced to 15-7 after a good T start. NickelBack stepped up in back-to-back rounds to keep his team alive, but Entropiq were unable to bridge the massive gap and eventually conceded the map to a Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov 1v2 clutch.

An ace from NickelBack to recover a 2v5 for Entropiq was key to his team establishing themselves early on the CT side of Overpass, with Vladislav "⁠Krad⁠" Kravchenko's aggressive plays netting him 17 frags by the time they went 8-0 up. By the time the next round was finished, Gambit exhausted all four of their tactical timeouts, but it had little effect as they ended their offense with just two rounds. The game was gearing for a swift conclusion before Ax1Le clutched an unlikely 1v2, setting up a comeback attempt for Gambit. The favorites brought it all the way back to 15-13, but Entropiq converted the map with a coordinated B hit.

If cracks in Gambit's armor started showing on Overpass, they were obvious to see come Mirage. Entropiq brought a strong game on the Terrorist side, but losing two 2v4s and two 2v5s within a single half spelled doom for nafany's squad. They finished the defensive side 10-5 behind and Entropiq never gave them a chance to come back, IGL NickelBack leading by example and closing out with a 1v2 on A.

"They turned it off and on again," Adam "⁠Dinko⁠" Hawthorne said as Dust2 kicked off and Gambit looked nothing like the struggling team that was present on the last two maps, firing on all cylinders from round one. Entropiq struggled to find openings or get the bomb down as nafany and Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khassenov shut down approaches repeatedly for a 12-3 half. A pistol round win and conversion all but secured the map for Gambit, who closed out Dust2 16-4.

V4 Future Sports Festival 2021 final standings:

1. Gambit - $171,770
2. Entropiq - $68,708
3-4. Fiend - $22,902
3-4. BIG - $22,902
5-6. Movistar Riders - $11,451
5-6. Enterprise - $11,451
7-8. SINNERS - $8,588
7-8. eSuba - $8,588