ESL Pro League Season 15BIG secure first victory at EPL against Party Astronauts
The North Americans' hard run of games continues and go to the bottom of Group C with a 0-2 record.
BIG have secured a 2-0 sweep over Party Astronauts, claiming their first win at ESL Pro League Season 15 and a 1-1 record in Group C. Despite a hiccup on Overpass, the Germans were eventually able to take the map 16-9 without too many issues before securing their victory on their iconic pick of Dust2 16-10.
It was a much-needed victory for Johannes "tabseN" Wodarz's squad, who bounced back from a loss against Liquid on their opening game at EPL. Now BIG set their sights on Players, a match for which they will feel a little more confident following the CIS squad's loss against Movistar Riders earlier on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Party Astronauts's odds of reaching the playoffs continue to shrink following their second 0-2 defeat in Germany, and it is bound to get worse for them with games against GODSENT, Liquid, and an in-form Movistar Riders on the horizon.
The series got started with a disappointing first half for Party Astronauts on Overpass as the North Americans failed to make the most out of their surprise map pick. BIG immediately took the opening pistol and the following two rounds, gaining an early foothold in their defensive side. Despite this, the offense was initially able to adequately deal with the CT aggression, leading to a close 4-3 scoreline as the Germans struggled to run away with the half. Everything changed in round 8 when tabseN was able to transform a full eco into a round victory with a USP and a flashbang, bringing home three frags. From there, it was plain sailing for the Germans as they cruised to an 11-4 half.
The game seemed to have permanently gone the way of BIG when they converted the second pistol, but a Party Astronauts force buy managed to slow down the German offense. The Ben "ben1337" Smith-led squad proceeded to string five consecutive rounds, closing the gap to 9-12, but they were not able to go all the way. BIG quickly recovered and went flawless until the 16-9 end, with tabseN finishing the first map with a 31-13 K-D and a 1.85 rating.
Thanks to the heroics of Peter "ptr" Gurney and Jonathan "djay" Dallal on the CT side of Dust2, Party Astronauts were able to bring the fight to BIG on their home map. The North American mix converted a force buy after conceding their third pistol round of the series, leading to an early 3-1 lead. Despite an exciting performance from the super-sub AWPer, ben1337 and co. were only able to limit their deficit to 6-9 going into halftime. After switching sides to the defense, BIG only conceded four more rounds before claiming the map 16-10, taking the series 2-0.
  BIG |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 - 31 | +22 | 105.0 | 76.5% | 1.55 | |
| 44 - 25 | +19 | 90.3 | 72.5% | 1.38 | |
| 34 - 27 | +7 | 69.8 | 80.4% | 1.21 | |
| 34 - 31 | +3 | 75.5 | 64.7% | 1.07 | |
| 26 - 29 | -3 | 57.1 | 68.6% | 0.90 |
 Party Astronauts |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 - 39 | -2 | 75.9 | 66.7% | 0.96 | |
| 31 - 36 | -5 | 68.7 | 70.6% | 0.92 | |
| 31 - 37 | -6 | 62.0 | 60.8% | 0.84 | |
| 28 - 41 | -13 | 57.5 | 54.9% | 0.82 | |
| 16 - 38 | -22 | 54.4 | 64.7% | 0.65 |
Movistar Riders
Liquid
Players
GODSENT
Abay 'HObbit' Khassenov
Richard 'shox' Papillon
MaybeJuan
David_Beckham
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Jerry2805
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robo1234
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Zorrondo
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DELUSIONAL_PERFECTO_FAN
