Players edge past BIG in nail-biter match at ESL Pro League
The defeat leaves BIG in a difficult position before the last two matches.
Day 3 of Group C at ESL Pro League started with a huge brawl between Players (Gambit) and BIG. The two teams were in desperate need of a victory that could put them in a good spot before the last two days of group play.
BIG started the match by throwing a curveball. The Germans picked Vertigo as their map pick, which on paper looked like a bit dangerous against the Vertigo-specialist from Players. But during the map, it quickly showed, that tabseN and his men were up to speed with their CIS counterparts on the map. BIG had map point twice during the match, but in the second overtime, Players stole the map away.
A bitter disappointment for BIG, who now had to reverse sweep Players starting on Ancient. A good start on their CT side actually gave hope for the comeback. At one point BIG was leading 14-8, but then everything went south. Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov stepped up and provided the kills, while Ax1Le was opening up the rounds going 9-1 in opening duels during the map.
It ended with a semi-meltdown for BIG, who threw away their big lead in a match, where they could have gotten the victory if they had been just a little more effective.
Now BIG will need to win their last two matches and also get some help from other teams in order to qualify for the playoffs. On the other side of the server, Players are back on track and in a prime position to make it further.
Players – BIG 2-0 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Group C)
22-20 (Vertigo) | 
Ax1Le – 1.37 Rating / 35-28 K-D / 93.0 ADR
16-14 (Ancient) | sh1ro – 1.64 Rating / 34-13 K-D / 93.0 ADR
MVP: Sergey "Ax1Le" Rykhtorov | 1.37 Rating / 59-49 K-D / 94.4 ADR
