BIG defeat Monte in EPL group opener

Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz's side traded map wins with the majority Ukrainian squad before running away with the Ancient decider.

BIG are through to the upper bracket semi-final in Group B of ESL Pro League Season 18 after claiming a 2-1 victory over Monte in their opening match (16-13 Vertigo, 14-16 Anubis, 16-4 Ancient).

The German-majority side have tabseN back as their in-game leader, but he didn't miss a beat in the fragging department as he proved key on Vertigo and Ancient to help his team take things over the line. BIG will need him to continue performing as they next face HEROIC for a spot in the playoffs of EPL.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
07/09/2023	HEROIC 16:15 BIG	Match

The first two maps of the series were quite close, particularly on Vertigo where the lead changed hands a number of times. That was in part thanks to Monte getting off to solid starts on both halves of the map, but individual heroics from tabseN proved key in helping BIG narrowly edge out a win on their own map pick.

Monte equalized with a win on Anubis, although the victory ended up being far more labored than expected. The Ukrainian side couldn't find an answer to Karim "⁠Krimbo⁠" Moussa early on, but managed to capitalize on some openings late into the first half and stole away the momentum for a lengthy period, moving up to match point at 15-9. A comeback effort from BIG then kicked off, only for it to be halted at the final hurdle as an ace from Szymon "⁠kRaSnaL⁠" Mrozek clinched his side a narrow 16-14 victory to force an Ancient decider.

Read more

Krimbo: "For me, it wasn't a problem to speak English"

That was where the back-and-forth ended, however, and the narrow battles of the first two maps gave way to a completely deflated end to the series. tabseN and Krimbo were unrelenting throughout the decider map and posted 1.94 and 1.80 ratings, respectively, en route to a dominant 16-5 finish for their side.