Spirit, Tundra, and PARIVISION survive to final day of ESL One Raleigh
Lower bracket quarterfinals
Team Falcons0-2BetBoom Team
The penultimate day of ESL One Raleigh kicked off with BetBoom making quick work of a shorthanded Falcons squad with Quinn “Quinn” Callahan as a stand-in. Despite finishing the Group Stage as the top seed of Group B, Falcons lost back-to-back series in the Playoffs to get knocked out in 5th-6th place.
BetBoom started the series strong by stomping Falcons to the tune of a 19-5 kill lead in 34 minutes of action. Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko on Wraith King led the way with seven kills and five assists while Danil “gpk” Skutin on Sniper added six kills and 10 assists, with both players recording just one death apiece.
Falcons put up a better fight in game two, though it was not enough to prevent the sweep as Pure put on a masterclass with Phantom Assassin to lead BetBoom in closing out the 2-0 series sweep in 38 minutes. Pure paced his team’s 23-17 kill lead with a clean 12 kills and nine assists while Vitalie “Save-” Melnic on Ringmaster pitched in with four kills and 13 assists against three deaths.
BetBoom couldn’t rest on their laurels after this victory, however, as they still had to face PARIVISION in the final match of the day to determine the third team that will make it to the final day of the tournament.
Upper bracket finals
Tundra Esports 1-2 Team Spirit
The second series of the day then moved to the upper bracket finals, where Spirit pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep over Tundra to become the first grand finalist of ESL One Raleigh. The latest chapter in this brewing rivalry now sees Spirit score their second match victory versus Tundra after three losses this year, with their other win coming in the grand finals of DreamLeague Season 25.
Tundra were on fire to start the series, with three players finishing the match opener with double-digit kills in a 44-minute rout. Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov on Kunkka paced his team’s 45-14 kill lead with a clean 12 kills and 20 assists, Remco “Crystallis” Arets on Gyrocopter added 12 kills and 18 assists on three deaths, while Neta “33” Shapira on Sand King had 10 kills and 17 assists on four deaths.
Game two then saw Spirit strike back by overcoming a strong mid game timing from Tundra and secure a 43-minute comeback win. Denis “Larl” Sigitov on Ember Spirit led the way with seven kills and 15 assists on just one death out of Spirit’s 26-22 kill lead, with Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov also showing out on Silencer with seven kills and 12 assists on six deaths.
The series ended in anticlimactic fashion, however, as Spirit simply ran over Tundra in a 37-minute stomp to advance to the grand finals. Larl had another showstopping performance, this time on Storm Spirit, by finishing with 14 kills and 15 assists on just one death to fuel his team’s 37-9 kill lead in the closeout game. Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk on Medusa also racked up a clean nine kills and seven assists to help secure the 2-1 reverse sweep.
Despite their loss, Tundra still have a chance to qualify for the grand finals as they drop to the lower bracket finals. They will face off against the winner of the lower bracket semifinals to kick off the final day of ESL One Raleigh.
Lower bracket semifinals
PARIVISION 2-1 BetBoom Team
The day then closed with a showdown between two Eastern European powerhouses in the lower bracket semifinals. After the longest match of the entire tournament so far, PARIVISION outlasted BetBoom in a 2-1 reverse sweep to survive to the final day of the tournament and earn the right to challenge Tundra for the second spot in the grand finals.
The series started with BetBoom taking their sweet time to grind out a 55-minute win behind Pure’s Phantom Assassin and an unorthodox mid Slardar pick for gpk. Pure finished this slow burn of a series opener with 10 kills and assists apiece on just one death to pace BetBoom’s 27-12 kill lead, with gpk adding a clean six kills and 12 assists.
Game two was another drawn-out grinder, this time with PARIVISION striking back after 73 minutes to force the series to a deciding game three. While the game was ultimately decided by which team made better use of all the gold they accrued in over an hour of play, Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov on Tiny still topped the kill charts with 13 kills and nine assists on five deaths.
BetBoom seems to have run out of steam after losing the previous game, barely putting up a fight as PARIVISION closed out the series in a 28-minute stomp while up 27-4 in kills. Satanic once again led the way for his team, this time on Phantom Assassin, and finished with a clean 12 kills and three assists while Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko on a mid Sand King added five kills and 13 assists on zero deaths.
