Feather Cup T-1: poznaliśmy półfinalistów

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The final quarter-final took place yesterday at 9.00 pm. In an earlier article (click here to be redirected), we discussed what would need to happen for Gloris eSports to play against their academy team. We got our calculations wrong, as it was this very match that brought the Feather Cup quarter-finals to a close.

Before we move on to the derby match, let’s focus on the first quarter-final, in which Nisła Raków hosted the team ‘Ananaski’. Nisła Raków, who won 5–0 in the group stage, are striding confidently towards the semi-finals. They were certainly the favourites for this match, but if we look at the teams that haven’t lost a single match, there are as many as three contenders.

Nisła better than Ananaski

Ananaski finished second in Group B, where they recorded a 4–1 record. They lost only to ViBe Gaming, who advanced to the play-offs without a single defeat, so that’s hardly anything to be ashamed of. The match was played on 18 July at 8.30 pm. The first map in this clash was Dust2. Ananaski put up a fight, but not enough to force the match into overtime on this map. Nisła took the first map with a score of 13–10. The second map was Ancient, which also went to Nisła Raków; this time, their opponents won eight rounds.

Lunacy vs ViBe Gaming

The second quarter-final looked set to be just as entertaining. At least on paper. The match featured Lunacy Gaming, who had lost to Nisła Raków in Group A (only), and ViBe Gaming, who were definitely among the favourites to win the whole tournament. A round difference of +43 and a 5-0 record in Group B is impressive.

Although ViBe Gaming had steamrollered their opponents in Group B, things weren’t quite so straightforward in the quarter-final. At least on the first map. The Hussar team fell one round short of forcing overtime on Anubis. Unfortunately, the second map wasn’t as evenly matched as the first; ViBe Gaming showed exactly why they’d been so dominant against their opponents in Group B. Lunacy went down 5–13 on Ancient.

Gloris eSports derby

Since around the second quarter of this year, Gloris eSports has fielded a new Counter-Strike 2 squad, which regularly features in rankings such as Cybersport and is currently competing in Army Rising. They have not abandoned their academy project, however, and are constantly developing it, with the results slowly speaking for themselves. First Hussars, then Armitra, have shown that it is possible to field two teams at the highest levels.

Gloris eSports Academy is definitely aspiring to reach that level. Matches of this kind are interesting because they allow you to see what standard a particular division within the organisation is at. As it turned out, the academy showed its mettle. The first map in this clash was dust2. The academy fell just one round short of forcing a tie-breaker. On the second map, we saw a little less of a fight from them, as inferno ended with a 13–7 victory for the main squad. The academy are out of the tournament, but they can still count this as a successful outing.

Walkover

Probably the least evenly matched quarter-final of this edition of the Feather Cup. Horizon YG defeated Frags Easy 2–0 fairly quickly. It seems the opposing team stood no chance against a Horizon Youngsters side in such fine form. First up was Anubis, which Frags Easy lost 4–13. Next was Mirage, where Horizon YG won one more round.

Semi-final pairings

Captains can now set the dates for the semi-final matches. Both pairings appear to be very evenly matched. In the first semi-final between Nisła Raków and ViBe Gaming, it is difficult to pick a favourite. Although ViBe progressed more convincingly through the quarter-finals, Nisła Raków have been performing consistently well from the start. The second semi-final is the clash between Gloris eSports and Horizon YG. Here too, it is difficult to pick a favourite. On the one hand, we have a local derby between two fairly evenly matched sides; on the other, we have Horizon YG, who have been steamrollering their way through Frags Easy.