ESC Gaming win Eizo Challenge 2012

ESC Gaming has defeated MaxFloPlaY 2-1 (11-16 de_nuke_ve, 16-2 de_inferno_se, 16-11 de_mirage_go) in the grand finals of Eizo Challenge 2012.

First map in the series was de_nuke_ve where MaxFloPlaY scored the first five rounds, going up 5-0 on the much harder terrorist side. ESC wouldn't give up though, as they won nine of the remaining ten rounds to go up 9-6.

Piotr "peet" Cwiklinski cluthed a one-on-one with 15hp in the second half pistol round, and Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas falling short on round three allowed the former Banana Phone squad to go back in the lead, 12-9.

Two successful upper executions brought ESC within one round of MaxFloPlaY, but the former CS:S side won a save round followed up by a heroic one-on-two straight defuse masked by a smoke by Bartosz "Hyper" Wolny to extend their lead to 14-11.

Filip "NEO" Kubski almost kept the reigning Intel Extreme Masters world champions alive in the game as he turned a one-on-four situation into a one-on-one, but ultimately it wasn't enough as ESC lost the opening map 11-16.

ESC won their first pistol round on the CT side of de_inferno_se, allowing them to go up 3-0. A well placed incendiary grenade by in-game leader Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski forced MaxFloPlaY to save their weapons next round, making it 4-0.

Clearly having turned a page from map one, ESC stayed on a roll, hardly losing more than two players en route to a 9-0 lead. The underdogs won round ten, but a well placed incendiary grenade and a pair of kills by Kubski forced Cwiklinski to save his AWP.

MaxFloPlay managed to win round fourteen, but Kubski and Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski combined for five kills to make it 13-2. Second half started with Kubski clutching a one-on-two in the pistol round, allowing his team to finish the map 16-2.

ESC lost their CT pistol round on de_mirage_go, and quickly fell behind 1-5 as they were unable to string rounds together after a close round four win. Missed shots cost Kubski's squad the seventh round, and a misplayed three-on-two put them down 1-7.

MaxFloPlaY extended their lead to 8-1, but ESC rallied back to win all but one of the remaining six rounds, giving them a glimmer of hope as they changed sides one last time, now trailing 6-9.

Not willing to give up, ESC won the pistol round to even the game at nine. Two more successful bombsite A attacks followed, and the CS 1.6 heavy weights went up 6-0, 12-9 overall.

All of a sudden trailing after a 8-1 lead, an aggressive push from MaxFloPlaY gave them their opening round. Unlike ESC in the previous half, they weren't able to string together more rounds though.

With ESC Gaming on the verge of victory, MaxFloPlaY would win one more round before Kubski's squad scored their 16th round, proving they are still the best team in Poland, even in CS:GO.

Eizo Challenge 2012Best of 3

ESC

Matchpage

2

1

27th October 2012

MaxFloPlay

11

Nuke_se

16

16

Inferno_se

2

16

Mirage_ce

11

Eizo Challenge 2012 final standings:

1. ESC Gaming - 5x Eizo Foris FS2333 + 250€
2. MaxFloPlaY - 5x ROCCAT Isku + 5x ROCCAT Sense
3. GIVE IT ALL e.V. - 5x ROCCAT Savu + 5x ROCCAT Taito
4.  inet kox

Can ESC Gaming continue winning in Paris next week? Make sure to read our pre-ESWC interview with Filip "NEO" Kubski if you wish to find out what he thinks of their chances at a third ESWC championship.