Monte maul MIBR to grab EPL playoff berth

Monte easily brushed aside the Brazilians, who seemed to lack energy having played earlier in the day.

Monte have grabbed the final EPL Group B playoff spot, taking down MIBR 2-0 to get the job done. It was a one-sided series, with the majority-Ukrainian side taking big victories on Vertigo (16-6) and Anubis (16-3).

Considering their performances throughout the group, particularly against ENCE, MIBR will be disappointed with their showing here.

Having played a slog of a series against Evil Geniuses earlier in the day, the Brazilians were sluggish and short of their best throughout their battle with Monte. Still, despite their failure to qualify for the playoffs, they gave a good account of themselves in this group.

As for Monte, they grew in stature as the group progressed, needing a Last Chance bracket run to get them to the playoffs. It was a run they completed with aplomb, taking relatively comfortable wins over HEROIC and MIBR, and now they have plenty of time to prepare for the playoffs.

Volodymyr "⁠Woro2k⁠" Veletniuk was the most impressive player today, he has struggled for form in this group having recently taken back the IGL role, but the entire Monte squad provided impact when it was needed.

The series kicked off on MIBR’s pick of Vertigo, and the Brazilians were made to rue their selection. From the very start of their offensive half MIBR seemed out of sorts, sluggish in their spacing and trading and one-dimensional in their approach. They also repeatedly lost rounds to the clock, so much so the broadcast was left baffled. Monte, by contrast, were on point, particularly Woro2k, and they stormed to a 14-1 lead.

MIBR did show a little bit of fight on their defensive half, but it was too little, too late, and they slumped to a 6-16 defeat.

Over on Anubis, Monte’s pick, it was much of the same. Woro2k continued to have a field day with his AWP, and MIBR continued to seem lethargic on the server, once again giving up a nearly unrecoverable first half. Monte duly ran with their 13-2 halftime lead and closed the map easily, 16-3.