In a year with only a single international event, it can be hard to choose a best play of the year.
While online Siege is certainly entertaining, it often lacks the true high stakes that only LAN competition against the very best teams in the world brings.
Nevertheless, pino made a play that was as impressive as it was impactful.
In a tight group stage match against MIBR, he found himself in a 2v5 situation alongside Julio, who was on Clash. But even though that Clash would be helpful to delay their opponents, it only brought a pistol in terms of direct firepower.
Pino was going to have to come up big time to win the round for his team and he did exactly that, dispatching three MIBR players in quick succession, leaving the final two enemies stalled out and unable to pressure the site.
Finally, he dispatched the second-to-last MIBR player with his gun, before finishing the ace with a stylish C4 toss.
The round win was important in a very tight group stage battle between two of the top three teams at the event. While the Ninjas narrowly lost that match 7-8 in overtime, they ended up having the last laugh, taking down MIBR 2-1 in the Upper Bracket Final to secure a place in the Grand Final, and eventually the Caber.
You can watch the play with its full context here:
The following is the first award in our Year 5 Awards series. Click here to view all of the awards, the announcement schedule, and their winners. Check back in each day for new awards to be announced!