ArtFr0st's addition pays off as BetBoom secure FPG playoffs over BIG

The Russian sniper makes the playoffs at his first event as a stand-in for BetBoom.

BetBoom have secured the final playoff berth at FISSURE Playground 1 after beating BIG 2-1 in the Group D decider match.

The German side made costly mistakes throughout the series that will haunt them on the flight home, conceding several advantages and making sloppy plays that gave Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov's men far too much room to work with.

ArtFr0st's stand-in stint pays off

It is the second playoff berth for BetBoom this year after the team advanced to the BLAST Bounty Season 1 Finals in January, an event they were forced to play without Boombl4 and Aleksandr "⁠zorte⁠" Zagodyrenko due to visa issues.

This time, the team's captain will be present for the arena stage, as will stand-in sniper Artem "⁠ArtFr0st⁠" Kharitonov, who ended the series with a 1.32 rating and had several impactful rounds across Dust2 and Nuke. Kirill "⁠Magnojez⁠" Rodnov's entries also proved crucial in turning the tide for BetBoom, but it was Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov who stole the show on Dust2, mustering a 1.93 rating and taking over on the T side to shut BIG down.

Ax1Le resplendent as BIG squander advantages

A vintage performance by Johannes "⁠tabseN⁠" Wodarz saw BIG dominate the early stages of Mirage, leaving BetBoom scrambling for purchase late in the half. Piecemeal wins came by way of entries from Ax1Le and Magnojez to help their side up to five at the break, but that effort seemingly came undone after BIG won the second pistol and hit double digits soon after.

The trio of ArtFr0st, Boombl4, and Ax1Le presented a staunch defense to turn the tides, with BIG only managing two as BetBoom tied the game at 12-12. Several of the Russian team's round wins were clean sweeps in regulation, but they were only able to add one more in overtime as BIG romped to a 16-13 victory to steal away BetBoom's pick.

BetBoom responded with aplomb on Dust2, punishing costly mistakes and misplays from BIG early doors. The German side gave up advantages and overextended in multiple rounds, errors which proved costly in a half dominated by ArtFr0st and Magnojez.

Any hopes of a comeback after BIG's pistol win were dashed by Ax1Le, who won BetBoom their first gun round with a quad kill and 1v2 clutch and followed that up three rounds later with a 500 damage, all headshot ace to pull back a 3v5 that let BetBoom romp to victory.

Magnojez and ArtFr0st continued the tear on Nuke, where BetBoom were up 5-2 on the T side before BIG put an end to the onslaught. The respite was only brief, however, as BetBoom won the final round of the half and ran away with an impenetrable CT side, tallying eight straight to send BIG packing with a whimper.