Image: Ubisoft/Kirill B.
It may have been the first playoff game of the Berlin Major, but it was a serious contender for game of the tournament.
After a really tight 2-1 match, w7m esports knocked the remaining APAC side in the bracket, Elevate, out of the tournament to guarantee a Brazilian team in the grand final.
An abnormally attacker-sided Kafe started with the Brazilians speed-running the map, as w7m went up 5-0, before Elevate’s short-lived comeback was ended at 7-3.
Gleidson “GdNN1” Nunes got the crowd going with a rush in the very first round of the game, using Amaru to climb up to the site and plant, setting the tone for the rest of Kafe.
“I feel like w7m cracked our strats and they can predict us,” reflected Paramin “Onigiri” Suwanwattana in a post-match interview with SiegeGG. “We tried to use a new strategy like pushing back when they pushed us, but it was not working.”
Heading onto Bank, Elevate gave w7m esports a good run for their money, tying the score with a 7-5 regulation victory. Onigiri, who had been quiet throughout the group stage, stepped up for his team with 15 kills across the second map as Elevate seemed to finally come alive.
The Thai squad’s strong usage of Montagne gave them the upper hand in most of the duels on Bank, which did not impress w7m.
“Basement, they were holding Open Area, we used Montagne to be bulletproof, we just pushed them back to the site, when we had control of Open Area we could get the hatch open, set our strat and execute it,” explained Onigiri.
The Brazilians thus acted swiftly in response and banned it in the third and final match of the series, Border.
Elevate initially seemed like they would complete the comeback and the upset win. After eight rounds, they were comfortably leading 5-3 and looked confident in their play.
But w7m esports fought back, reeling off three rounds in a row to get to series point point. Though Elevate forced the overtime, an inability to hold onto man-count advantages meant that the Brazilians eventually secured a semi-finals spot after winning 8-6.
Onigiri was the best rated player in the game, with a 1.30 SiegeGG Rating. Throughout the group stage, he revealed that he had been focusing on supporting the team, choosing the operators his teammates needed to perform.
In today’s game, however, we saw Onigiri’s Six Invitational 2022 self, when he dropped 27 kills against Rogue to win the playoffs match.
“I am not trolling my team another time, but the moment I see no one can gain their focus, I am gonna step up and frag,” he shared.
Despite the result, Elevate must hold their heads high. They will surely be favourites to top the table in APAC South again and the squad will surely be back soon to an audience that loves them.