ENCE defeat BIG to claim top seed in Group B

Álvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" García was the star of the show across all three maps, averaging a 1.56 rating during ENCE's win.

ENCE topped Group B at ESL Pro League Season 18 following their 2-1 victory over BIG, completing an unbeaten run through the competition's first stage. Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer's men beat the likes of Evil Geniuses and MIBR to secure their place in the upper final, where they earned their quarter-final bye.

BIG showed a much-improved form in the group phase compared to their previous LAN outing at BLAST Premier Fall Groups. Their tournament highlight in Malta was their triumph over HEROIC, which secured the organization's spot in the playoffs.

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BIG had previously shown their comfort on Ancient against Monte and HEROIC in the tournament, and decided to pick the Aztec-inspired level once again today. They started well on the T side and barely trailed 7-8 behind ENCE at the halftime mark, but the situation capsized after the break.

SunPayus and Guy "⁠NertZ⁠" Iluz became too hot for BIG to handle in the second period, and the duo powered ENCE to a successful offensive half. The Germans only stole two rounds after switching sides, and could only watch as their opponents stole their map pick 16-9.

The Spanish marksman SunPayus continued his incredible performance on Anubis, but his contributions were not enough to keep ENCE ahead. The German core started the second map on the front foot and organized a successful offensive side. David "⁠prosus⁠" Hesse was on point today, and registered a 1.90 T rating while his team claimed a 10-5 lead.

Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski came alive after halftime with the AWP, holding ENCE back and slowing down their comeback. Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz's men barely avoided overtime and closed the map 16-14 despite SunPayus' heroics.

ENCE initially cruised on Vertigo and easily claimed a 14-4 lead over the German core, but slowed down significantly after BIG got their T economy in order. Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik's men greatly reduced their deficit thanks to the trident of prosus, tabseN, and Karim "⁠Krimbo⁠" Moussa, before the defenders closed the map at 16-11.