As the ESL Premiership reaches the halfway stage, the pecking order is beginning to take shape after four weeks of competition.
Prior to week four, ReflexEU were still without a victory and the ex-London Esports roster had found a new home under the Vexed Gaming banner.
Endpoint v Royals
Starting the evening would be an in-form Endpoint team against Royals who were looking to move towards the top of the table.
Endpoint grabbed the early rounds on Nuke but it was still a back and forth battle between the two sides. Eventually, it was Endpoint who began to extend their advantage and at halftime, they were 11-4 to the good. Royals managed to take the second pistol round but Lainny was in fine form for Endpoint.
After 19 rounds, Royals began to show signs of life, closing the Endpoint lead to five rounds but Endpoint held strong to take Nuke 16-10.
Huge play from @znx_cs to buy enough time stopping the defuse attempt from #Royals 👏 #ESLPrem
📺 https://t.co/8oeFnsXC0F pic.twitter.com/UCu5QaA4zv
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) June 3, 2019
Buzzkill v Wind & Rain
With both teams needing a win to close the gap on front-runners, Fierce Esports, Train was set to be a hotly contested game and that’s exactly what we got.
After ten rounds, underdogs Wind & Rain were hanging on to a slender lead but as the half drew to a close, Buzzkill responded with a string of rounds to give W&R a 9-6 lead moving into the second half. Thanks to a crisp Entz 3K, Wind and Rain raced away to secure Train 16-10 and fourth place in the Premiership table.
Unreal from @entz_cs 👏👏 #ESLPrem
📺 https://t.co/8oeFnsXC0F pic.twitter.com/Z1dQpX7zfP
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) June 3, 2019
Vexed v Reflex
Still without a win, Reflex had the tricky task of taking down the newly acquired Vexed Gaming roster on Mirage. Vexed won the opening pistol round but an SG force-buy from Reflex saw them answer back immediately to level the game at one round apiece. As the first half progressed, Vexed began to display their prowess with Kray mowing down Reflex with a simple ace.
Reflex did pull some rounds back near the end of the opening half but Vexed still headed into the second half with a 10-5 lead. The second half was a much better showing from Reflex, fully utilising off-angles in order to move within one round of the opposition. Despite a solid second half, Vexed managed to take a 16-11 win, handing Reflex their fourth loss of the season.
It’s an ACE for @KrayCS as he mows down @ReflexEU with the AUG! #ESLPrem
📺 https://t.co/8oeFnsXC0F pic.twitter.com/qt9JIL9qOb
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) June 3, 2019
Fierce Esports v Pensioners
Intending on consolidating their position at the top, Fierce had to defeat the Pensioners on Overpass. It was a very convincing start from the Premiership leaders, showing their superiority over the Pensioners and quickly advancing to a 13-2 lead at the end of the first half.
The momentum was fully in the favour of Fierce, closing out Overpass with a dominating 16-2 victory, making them the only undefeated team in the Premiership this season.
Good luck getting through @ec1sCSGO on A site, dominating hold once again for @FierceEsports! 💪 #ESLPrem
📺 https://t.co/8oeFnsXC0F pic.twitter.com/LfWyKiwiM7
— ESL UK (@ESLUK) June 3, 2019
With the online stage of the competition moving towards the final stages, Fierce Esports stand strong at the top of the table while the mid-table battle begins to intensify. Reflex will be hoping for a win in week five in order to have any chance of securing a playoff place.
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