9z eliminate Apeks, advance to last chance final against 5yclone

9z won a quick 2-0 series to keep the playoff dream alive in Malta.

9z are through to the ESL Pro League Season 18 Group C last chance bracket final, where they will play one last match for a shot at reaching the playoffs. They smashed their way there with a dominant 2-0 against Apeks, winning on Overpass (16-8) and Mirage (16-9).

The series kicked off on 9z’s map pick, Overpass, where the South American team took charge early on against a side that could only sprinkle five disjointed rounds on the defense. David "⁠dav1deuS⁠" Tapia Maldonado and Franco "⁠dgt⁠" Garcia, 9z’s two star riflers, were at the helm with 1.81 and 1.60 T-side ratings.

Apeks won the crucial pistol round after the half to keep a sliver of hope alive, but it didn’t take long for 9z to build up an economy and regain control. Having become strong on the CT side, Gustavo "⁠tge⁠" Motta’s men won out their pick without a hitch, 16-8.

Missed shots in the first pistol round of Mirage and the failure to convert impact frags hinted at Apeks’ form still dragging after the map change. 9z, looking more comfortable in and out of the server, quickly put space between them and their rivals on the defense.

Poor decision making on the defense by 9z, possibly stemming from overconfidence, allowed Apeks to regain an advantageous 2vs2 from a 2svs5, but even then the South Americans recovered it in the afterplant situation to go up 8-0.

Down 1-11, Apeks planted on B to set up a 3vs3 afterplant situation, but a 1vs2 by Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal with the AWP, including a flash no scope, kept 9z firmly in the drivers’ seat.

Trailing 2-13, Apeks had only a 0.2% live win probability and 0.4% chance of OT at the half. Losing the pistol round all but sealed their fate. 9z hit match point and although Apeks briefly kept the game going it was nothing more than a cosmetic comeback. Consecutive fast plays that hit a wall built up anxiety in the 9z camp, but in the end the map and series was closed out by the South American squad.

Date	Matches
ESL Pro League Season 18
17/09/2023	5yclone 19:30 9z	Match

9z’s quick victory was a dream start to the final day of Pro League’s Group C, since they can now prepare ahead of the last chance qualifier’s decider match against 5yclone later on Sunday. The two teams will go head-to-head for the first time as they were on opposite sides of all three of the group’s brackets until the final series of the last chance bracket.