Each of our partner teams would like to secure a permanent place in the Masters division of the Arrmy league. This is a highly prestigious division, featuring the best teams from the Polish underground scene. The Hussars secured their promotion to this division with their most recent match.
A tough promotion decider – Hussars vs Five Mana
The Hussars’ opponents in this decisive clash were Five Mana, a team not particularly well-known on the underground scene. However, such teams can spring a surprise, and that’s exactly what happened this time. It began with a battle on the map chosen by the opponents – Dust 2. Five Mana took the pistol round and got off to a flying start. Our partner took a risk with a force buy, but the attempt failed and we found ourselves trailing by three points. Then it was Hussars’ turn to take the initiative, which they capitalised on, levelling the score to a tie. Five Mana wouldn’t let that stand and extended their lead to 7–2. Our partner managed to win two more rounds before the end of the half, bringing the score to 4–8 at the break.
It was time to get back on track. The start of the second half, however, favoured our opponents, and they extended their lead to 10–4. From that point on, though, it was the Hussars who began to dominate, a run that only ended when the score stood at 11–10 in their favour. It seemed that closing out this map was merely a formality. Unfortunately, the opponents didn’t see it that way; they fought back to level the score and won the last two rounds, claiming the first map for themselves.
The first map didn’t go too well, but it was time for the second – and one chosen by our favourites. The de_train map is widely regarded as favouring the attacking side, whilst in underground clashes, the team tends to fare better on the defending side. But how did it go in this case? It started once again with the opponents winning the pistol round, giving them a strong start with a 2:0 lead. Hussars bounced back quickly from that, and we saw the score level at 2:2, and even a 3:2 lead. Unfortunately, this was just a taste of what lay in store for us later in the half. Five Mana picked up momentum and was unstoppable. As a result, the half ended with a score of 9:3 against us.
A comeback was, of course, possible, as we’d already seen a tougher fight on the first map. On the second map, our partner made their task even easier by finally winning the pistol round, which immediately brought the score to 5–9. Of course, they didn’t stop there, and just three rounds later we saw the score at 8–9. It was then, however, that our opponents woke up for a single round, and it already looked as though we’d see the map closed out, especially as the Hussars were playing an economic round; yet Siben’s magical clutch secured them a crucial round and, moments later, a draw. Although the opponents won the next round, this did not discourage the Hussars, who secured victory on their home map with a score of 13:11.
Inferno proved to be the deciding map. Despite initial problems and the opponents leading 5–3, from that moment on Hussars didn’t drop a single round, winning the map 13–5 and the entire match 2–1.
| Hussars |  |
2:1 |  |
Five Mana | | |  |
Rising S12 Play-offs | Dust 2: 11–13 Train: 13–11 Inferno: 13–5 |
Where will we see the Hussars next?
The Hussars’ main squad are now set to face the Arrmy Rising semi-final for higher currency rewards on the Arrmy website, where they will play against the ‘underdog’ team that knocked out SLAKE in the previous round. The date of this match is not yet known, but we do know it will take place between 3 and 6 April. In the Galaxy Cup, meanwhile, the Hussars are still waiting to find out their opponent in the quarter-finals.
Hussars’ social media:
(x.com), (Facebook), (team profile)
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