Movistar Riders continue unbeaten run and bar BIG from playoffs

Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz's squad will go into their last game on Sunday without much to play for.

Movistar Riders claimed the top spot in Group C at ESL Pro League Season 15 after defeating BIG 2-0. The Spanish squad secured their advancement to playoffs after a marathon 25-23 win on Nuke before closing the series with a solid 16-11 victory on Vertigo.

Alejandro "⁠alex⁠" Masanet's team continues to surprise fans and analysts alike after going 4-0 and securing the top spot in Group C. The Spaniards will now be looking to go flawless, facing off against a struggling Party Astronauts on Sunday.

Unfortunately for BIG, the 0-2 loss eliminates them from playoffs contention, and the German side will go into their final match against GODSENT without too much to play for.

The series got started on Movistar Riders' pick of Nuke with alex and co. taking a 3-0 advantage after the opening pistol. Despite the early setback, BIG were able to respond once they brought out the rifles, swiftly retaking the lead after five consecutive rounds. As the defense got rolling, the Spaniards failed to replicate their initial success, falling prey to the timer on more than one occasion and only managing to salvage a 6-9 half.

BIG wasted no time in extending their lead, taking the second pistol and doubling their advantage to 12-6, standing in pole position to take the map. However, Movistar Riders and Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García had a different plant, locking down both bombsites and equalizing the scores to force the game all the way to 30 rounds. A flawless push on the A bite from BIG was eventually able to force the Spanish squad into overtime.

The two teams did not slow down after regulation, remaining neck-and-neck throughout the first two sets of extra time with no clear favorite on the horizon. The third sequence of overtime was eventually able to decide the winner, with Movistar Riders coming out on top at 25-23, more than two hours after the first pistol round. SunPayus definitely had the edge over his German counterpart over the course of the map, displaying a final 46-29 K-D and a 1.49 rating.

Everything seemed to be falling apart for BIG in the early stages of their pick of Vertigo, with Movistar Riders quickly going 5-0 ahead on the CT side. It took a while for the Germans to recover from the poor start, but once they found their footing on the offense they were able to deliver a very competitive half. BIG Clawed their way back to a 7-8 scoreline after exploiting weaknesses on the A site defense as tabseN continued to shine.

A chaotic start to the second half which resulted in BIG equalizing the scores at 9-9 eventually gave way to the Spanish offense finding consistent success. Raúl "⁠DeathZz⁠" Jordán Nieto and Alejandro "⁠mopoz⁠" Fernández-Quejo Cano really came alive on the T side, propelling Movistar Riders to a cracking half which ended with the Spaniards celebrating a 16-11 victory and a 2-0 sweep.