Sprout secure semi-final berth; BIG, ENCE through to quarter-finals at Elisa Masters Espoo

17-11-2022 00:32

Elisa Masters Espoo is ready to kick off with the first of two round robin groups, featuring the likes of ENCE and BIG. Here are our updates from the first day of play in Finland.

The inaugural day of Elisa Masters Espoo has drawn to a close. Sprout finished at the top of Group A thanks to their head-to-head record over ENCE, and as such will kick off their run through the playoffs straight from the semi-finals. Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer's men, meanwhile, will begin their quest for the $100,000 cash prize and the spot in the IEM Katowice 2023 from the quarter-finals after ending the group as runners-up with a 4-1 record of their own.

Joining the European mix in starting the playoffs from the quarter-finals is BIG, who will rue not making the most of their ideal 3-0 start, dropping their two remaining games to end group-stage proceedings as the third-place team.

refresh and company end Group A as the top seed

HEET narrowly missed out on their own spot in the top three after suffering hard-fought defeats to all three of the playoff-bound teams. Similarly, GamerLegion will be saddened to end their run in Espoo in the group stage, putting up their own hotly-contested scorelines, most notably their 23-25 defeat to Sprout, to finish the group in fifth place with a 2-3 record.

HAVU performed admirably despite finishing in last place and without a win to their name. The Finnish team, who were fighting to make an appearance on stage in front of their countrymen, kept things close in the majority of their games. In particular, they were within touching distance of causing an upset versus the heavyweights of BIG, but couldn't get things over the line and were eventually dispatched of in overtime, 15-19.

The final standings for Group A are as follows:

Group A

TEAM

Live updates

00:06 HAVU exit Elisa Masters Espoo winless after defeat to HEET

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	HEET Finished 16:11 HAVU	Match

HEET reigned supreme over the hometown favourites of HAVU, 16-11 on Dust2, in the final game of Group A at Elisa Masters Espoo. The Frenchmen were in the driver's seat much of the first half, before getting the job done after a slight scare in the second period of play. With this result, HEET leap-frog their way to fourth place in the standings, however it still remains rather inconsequential given all of the group's playoff spots were already locked in before the game commenced.

With this defeat, HAVU finish their run through Elisa Masters Espoo in joint-last place and without a win to their name. The Finns did keep things interesting despite going 0-5, though, reaching double digits in four out of their five matches in Espoo, where they even took BIG to overtime.

22:51 Sprout to start playoffs from semi-final; BIG, ENCE clinch quarter-final spots

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	Sprout Finished 25:23 GamerLegion	Match
16/11/2022	ENCE Finished 16:9 BIG	Match

Sprout nabbed the sole semi-final spot up for grabs by taking down GamerLegion after a mammoth game, 25-23, on Overpass. The Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek-led squad originally enjoyed four match points, 15-11, but let this lead slip away as they ultimately required a triple-overtime affair to get over the line. GamerLegion, on the other hand, fall short of securing a playoff appearance. The European mix heads home from Espoo after posting a 2-3 record in Group A.

ENCE came out on top in the battle of the top dogs in Group A. The European roster brushed BIG aside 16-9 on Mirage to end their run through the group stage as the second seed and to book their ticket straight to the quarter-final. BIG will also kick off their playoff campaign from the quarter-final after letting their initial flawless record slip away from them. ENCE's victory over the Germans came thanks to heroics from Pavle "⁠Maden⁠" Bošković, who topped the scoreboard with 25 kills.

Maden was instrumental in earning his side a first-place finish in Group A

20:00 HAVU still searching for first victory, ENCE at the top of Group A

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	Sprout Finished 16:8 HAVU	Match
16/11/2022	ENCE Finished 16:9 HEET	Match

Sprout forced HAVU to remain on the hunt for their first win on home soil after besting the Finns comfortably 16-8 on Inferno, advancing to the 3-1 pool in the process. Laurențiu "⁠lauNX⁠" Țârlea was key in powering his side to victory, with the Romanian putting up 22 kills and a 1.45 rating.

ENCE jumped to the top of Group A at Elisa Masters Espoo by moving past HEET on Ancient. The European outfit drummed up a 9-6 lead on the T-side before putting the map to bed by winning the pistol and later adding a six-round streak to their tally.

ENCE now sit at the top of Group A

18:35 BIG and ENCE dealt first defeats in Espoo

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	BIG Finished 14:16 GamerLegion	Match
16/11/2022	ENCE Finished 16:19 Sprout	Match

BIG were handed their first group-stage loss after being upset 14-16 on Overpass at the hands of GamerLegion. The European combine ran riot over the German quintet in the opening half, going up 12-3 by the side swap. The game was flipped on its heads at the turn of the interval, though, as GamerLegion fought tooth and nail to eke out the win.

In the same vein, Sprout edged out ENCE 19-16 on Ancient to also move to the 2-1 pool in Espoo. Sprout utilised the CT-sided nature of the map to drum up an 11-4 lead by the switch, before ENCE did the exact same back to force a trip to overtime. The Danish-majority roster pulled ahead once there to spoil ENCE's comeback attempt and gift them their first loss in Espoo.

16:51 : BIG remain perfect in Finland, HEET pick up first victory

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	GamerLegion Finished 8:16 HEET	Match
16/11/2022	BIG Finished 19:15 HAVU	Match

BIG maintain their flawless record at Elisa Masters Espoo

HEET controlled their matchup against GamerLegion from start to finish, holding an 11-4 lead at the break and finishing off Ancient 16-8. Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro and Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug topped their side's scoreboard with 1.48 and 1.41 ratings, respectively.

BIG continue their winning ways at Elisa Masters Espoo with a 19-15 overtime victory over HAVU to improve their record to 3-0. The captain Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz led by example and dropped a whopping 38 kills accompanied by a 1.66 rating to steer his squad to a win in the first overtime game of the day.

15:20 : ENCE and BIG improve to 2-0 record

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	ENCE Finished 16:10 GamerLegion	Match
16/11/2022	BIG Finished 16:11 Sprout	Match

BIG picked up their second win of the day, 16-11 over Sprout. The Germans took control of the game early and remained in the driver's seat all throughout the contest, keeping Sprout at bay despite lauNX's server-high 28 kills.

ENCE delivered an outstanding defensive performance to claim the 16-10 victory over GamerLegion. Snappi's crew trailed by one at the half, but won nine out of eleven rounds in the second period behind Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García's 15 kills and 2.07 rating on the CT side to secure the map in convincing fashion.

13:26 : HAVU and HEET remain winless after first two games

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	ENCE Finished 16:12 HAVU	Match
16/11/2022	Sprout Finished 16:14 HEET	Match

ENCE dealt HAVU their second loss of the tournament with a 16-12 win on Nuke. The Finnish squad fell behind 4-11 at the switch and, despite their best efforts, came up short of a successful comeback in the end.

Meanwhile, the game between Sprout and HEET went the distance as the Danish-majority side clinched victory in the final round of regulation, 16-14.

HEET fell just short of their first win in Finland

11:33 : GamerLegion and BIG bag opening wins in Finland

Date	Matches
Elisa Masters Espoo 2022
16/11/2022	GamerLegion Finished 16:13 HAVU	Match
16/11/2022	BIG Finished 16:13 HEET	Match

GamerLegion kicked off their Elisa Masters Espoo run with a 16-13 victory over HAVU. They controlled much of the opening period and fended off a second half comeback from the Finns for their first group stage win.

BIG's first game against HEET was a back-and-forth affair until the final bullet dropped. The Germans closed out Dust2 16-13 with a five-round streak to secure the win.

10:30 : BIG vs. HEET and GamerLegion vs. HAVU start the day

After some initial delays the first games in Espoo are going live. The rest of the schedule and everything else you might need to know to follow the event can be found in our viewer's guide.

Elisa Masters Espoo viewer's guide

10:23 : Group A at Elisa Masters Espoo begins

The $200,000 LAN tournament Elisa Masters Espoo is set to kick off with the first of five days of play, where the six teams who have been seeded into Group A will compete for one semi-final and two quarter-final spots in a round robin format.

ENCE and BIG headline the group as two teams who had just missed out on the playoffs at IEM Rio. The latter arrives at the Finnish event hampered, once again forced to use substitutes as Josef "⁠faveN⁠" Baumann steps back into the German roster to replace Florian "⁠syrsoN⁠" Rische, who will miss the event due to contracting COVID.

ENCE headline Group A

Two more Rio teams play in Group A — Sprout, who eliminated Ninjas in Pyjamas before bowing out of the Major in 12th-14th place, and a GamerLegion squad that nearly made it to the Legends Stage, starting out the Brazilian event 2-0 and a win over Vitality, only to suffer three consecutive losses afterward.

HEET and HAVU round out the group as the lowest-ranked teams. The Frenchmen recently returned to tier-two play with mixed results after missing out on a spot in Rio, while the Finns are attending their first international LAN following the additions of Joonas "⁠doto⁠" Forss, Jarkko "⁠spargo⁠" Rahja, and Jesse "⁠zehN⁠" Linjala three months ago.