Apeks through to IEM Katowice groups over BIG

The sense-led team came back from 3-9 down on Ancient to secure the victory.

Apeks have eliminated BIG from the IEM Katowice Play-In in a marathon of a three-map series to secure their spot in the group stage. They began the event with a 0-13 loss against Spirit but bounced back against FURIA and BIG to make it to the main event.

The European team has recently transferred IGL duties to Ådne "⁠sense⁠" Fredriksen after Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski's departure, and the young Norwegian seems to have taken on the role well.

"When other players have a bad game, they are quiet, but I feel that I need to scream and help the team when I have a bad game," he said about his loud demeanor outside the server. "It was just about getting the experience for me, getting to the group stage is just a bonus."

For BIG, this is yet another heartbreak in what has been a terrible 2024 so far. The German team missed out on an RMR spot after a deciding loss to Nexus in the closed qualifier and also failed to progress to the BLAST Spring Final.

"It feels like it was just not supposed to be. When we come close to winning, we have a mental block, and we sometimes just can't win," said a dejected Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik after the loss.

Apeks opted for Inferno in the series, and they started well by winning the pistol round and the following conversion. BIG then slowly began to stamp their authority on the game, and they would have won out the half if not for Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski's well-timed flank in the final round.

After a 6-6 first half, BIG shifted into a higher gear and dominated proceedings all the way to a 13-7 victory after they won all but one round on the T side, with Karim "⁠Krimbo⁠" Moussa leading the way with a 1.77 rating.

Vertigo was a closer affair, with the first half once again a back-and-forth game as neither team was able to take control. Once the sides switched, so did the momentum, and Apeks won seven in a row with the help of Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk's and CacaNito's individual impact. They had some trouble closing out and fumbled three map points but reached the finish line after new IGL sense clutched out a 1vs1 against the red-hot David "⁠prosus⁠" Hesse, who finished the map on 27 kills.

The German side started the decider of Ancient well, running away with an 8-2 lead before a PC crash by Krimbo helped Apeks put together a two-round streak to end the half. They took that momentum into their defense, and STYKO and sense won two 1vs2 clutches to get them within touching distance of their opponents.

BIG looked mentally drained after losing all those clutches, but a successful A rush revitalized the German team. They quickly reached map point at 12-9 before Apeks brought it back to 12-12 with a couple of strong B-site defenses, including a 3vs5 conversion, and they carried that momentum into overtime for a 16-14 finish.