Apeks relegate Imperial to Last Chance bracket

The Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski-led squad will face off against fnatic for a playoff spot.

Apeks have defeated Imperial in a close-fought two-map series to send the Brazilians down to the Last Chance bracket at ESL Pro League S18. The European combine came back from 7-12 down on Overpass to secure a 16-14 victory before they closed out the series with a 16-13 scoreline on Ancient.

"Today everything went smooth, they didn't really counter us or made us uncomfortable," said Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk in the post-match interview. The Slovakian veteran was then asked about Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski, who had some impactful rounds despite placing on the bottom of the scoreboard.

"He's been adapting really well, he's bringing a lot of ideas to the team, it's nice to see," STYKO said. "We actually changed roles before the event, we are still adapting where to utilize him the most."

STYKO and company will now face off against fnatic for a playoff spot, while Imperial will play 5yclone for their tournament lives.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
16/09/2023	fnatic 16:00 Apeks	Match
16/09/2023	5yclone 19:45 Imperial	Match

The series started on Overpass, and Apeks struggled in their opening half. CacaNito's 1vs2 clutch came to the rescue of the European combine, as the Macedonian's heroics shifted the momentum and meant that Apeks went into the second half 7-8 down. Imperial started their defense well and raced away to a 12-7 lead, but Apeks came back into the game after a couple of chaotic moments. The final round was no different, as Apeks converted a 2vs4 to secure the map with a 16-14 scoreline.

Ancient was next, where Apeks struggled massively on their CT side after a dominant 10-5 offensive half. They won the CT pistol but faltered against the Imperial forcebuy in the second round, which gave momentum to the Brazilians, who tied up the scores at 11. CacaNito's aggressive B push stopped the rot for Apeks, and they stabilized after that to secure a 16-13 victory.