Apeks return to action, qualify for CCT Europe Series 4

30-11-2022 19:24

The European mix had not played a HLTV-recorded official since September.

Apeks returned to the server after a two-month hiatus, taking three series victories straight in a closed qualifier to qualify for the CCT Central Europe Series 4.

The organisation withdrew their team from all competition at the end of September, a mere six weeks after completing an off-season overhaul that saw Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius and Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon join their ranks, with Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk moving to the IGL role.

The STYKO-led side struggled before taking a break from competition

The moves did little to improve the team's fortunes as Apeks failed to qualify for the IEM Road to Rio Europe RMR, failed to make the final of Fragadelphia 17, and slid from a peak of No. 28 in March to outside the top 60 of the world rankings.

Apeks withdraw from ESEA Advanced: "We need time to reflect and evaluate"

The final event Apeks played before taking a break emphasised their poor form as they crashed out of CCT Central Europe Series 2 in 19th-21st place, having lost to three opponents outside the top 60 in a row: eSuba, HONORIS and Enterprise. shox was allowed to explore his options outside the team not long after.

Their return has initially been successful as the squad secured back-to-back-to-back victories over Astralis Talent, LDLC and Nexus to secure a spot in the upcoming CCT Central Europe Series 4, dropping a single map in the process. Tim "⁠nawwk⁠" Jonasson was the man who powered their effort, his 1.28 rating over 7 maps comfortably the highest in the squad.

Apeks have yet to confirm who their fifth player will be since shox's benching, however their successful CCT qualification run was achieved with Michał "⁠MICHU⁠" Müller taking up the open spot on the roster; the Polish rifler reunites with Jakub "⁠kuben⁠" Gurczyński, who recently coached him during his stint on MAD Lions.

The Apeks Twitter account confirmed MICHU will continue playing with the squad for the remainder of the ESEA Advanced season.

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