EPIC.LAN is notorious for its screams being heard on the other side of Kettering. We have witnessed many stories that almost don’t feel real. Jägerbombs consumed during the quarter-finals signifying a peace treaty between the two teams, and goliaths being upset in the most unrealistic way… but this tops the lot.
The stakes couldn’t be any closer. 25AVG led by the content king Alexander “SashAFP” Fomin who is known across the scene for his LAN shenanigans appears once again. In the intermediate semi-finals, a tournament for fun, his squad valiantly fought back from a large deficit to force the BO1 into overtime. One key detail to understand is that these two teams sit very close to each other, on the same row for that matter. During the entire game, each team threw abuse at each other, belting their opponents at any chance they could get to gain an advantage. After pushing it into overtime, they gain an 18-16 lead, SashAFP gained two chances to put themselves into the finals, the odds stacked in their favour.
The nail-biting affair all came down to Timur “Freshness” Karimov who was plunged into a 1v2, with the odds stacked against him, he failed to step up to the opportunity and it all seemed like we were continuing the matchup in double overtime.
This is where the story gets wild. After Kai “Faite” Knight trades out his teammate to win the round, he starts to defuse the bomb, but without a kit. As he is defusing he stands and at the top of his lung, screams at his opposition who was sitting next door. Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your hats. In the heat of the moment, Faite accidentally tapped his right arrow key and stops defusing. With no time left on the clock, he had to sit there and watch the remaining seconds dwindle down as SashAFP in a moment of shock and confusion, leaps up from his chair to relish in the victory with his team-mates and the sizeable crowd that surrounds the team.
*Note the shock on SashAFP‘s face.
This clip above is from Ethan “DeeviL” Middleton . As you can see in the background Faite leans back to shout away from his microphone and as he leans back in, taps his keyboard and presses his right arrow key, gets off the defuse, and has no kit in overtime which is the salt in the wound.
Probably one of the best-documented events during the event with both POVs from each team, and our photographer on the ground lucky enough to catch the reaction of everyone pure shock. Still hours after the event, everyone is still shocked and confused at what has happened.
The reaction on Twitter afterwards was the cherry on top.
— kai 🕊️ (@faitemagi) February 25, 2023
The pinnacle of UKCS LANs is the trash talk that goes back and forth between the two teams, but never have we seen someone knocked out from a tournament due to their shouting. This should serve as a reminder to everyone… Don’t be a loser, buy a defuser!
