Nexium POLteam: 4 zwycięstwa z rzędu w ESEA Entry.

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Recently, when we reported on POLteam’s performance in the ESEA Entry tournament, things unfortunately didn’t look too good for the team. A walkover victory and a 1–13 defeat against Questionmark. You can read more about these two matches in our previous article. (Click here to be redirected).
ESEA Entry is a new league, created by ESEA, which is the second tier of competition, between ESEA Open and Intermediate; we wrote more about this in the article above.

Since then, the Nexium POLteam players have played four matches, which we can definitely count as successful. Following an earlier 1–13 defeat against Questionmark, the team’s fortunes turned around, and the players representing our partner’s colours have won four matches in a row. This currently places them 15th in the league, securing their place in the play-offs (Bracket A). The play-offs in this league and bracket are played in a double-elimination format. However, there are still eight matches remaining in the league phase, so it’s worth being cautious with such calculations.

They kicked off their winning streak with a match won from behind. The entire match took place on the Anubis map, with Nexium POLteam having the decisive ban. As you can see, the map choice proved to be spot on. Our partners led 7–5 at half-time, playing as the anti-terrorists. After the sides switched, the opponents managed to win just two rounds, and the match ended in a 13–7 victory for Nexium POLteam. For POLteam, dvnio2k recorded the most kills (22), whilst dying 10 times, giving him an HLTV rating of 1.77.

On Wednesday (16/04), our partners faced off against “TheChampionGG” (Ukraine). The decisive ban went to POLteam’s opponents, who banned Train, meaning we got to see Mirage. Already by the end of the first half, it was shaping up to be a one-sided match. The scoreboard read 10–2 in favour of Nexium POLteam (the defending side). In the second half, just as in the previous match, the opponents won two rounds. It’s fair to say that every POLteam player shone in their own way during this match, but Pasiuu deserves special recognition for his performance, having achieved an HLTV rating of 2.06 (KD 23/6).

The next match was by far the most evenly matched encounter so far, as evidenced by the need for extra time. Last Monday (21/04), our partner faced the Finnish team ONLINEGOONZ. This time, our partner had the decisive ban; the choices were Anubis and Inferno, and as it later turned out, they decided to ban Anubis. After the first half, the Finnish team took the lead, with the score at 5–7. It is worth noting that in the first half, Nexium POLteam played on the attacking side. In the second half, as we mentioned earlier, the score was levelled at 12–12. Overtime, however, went in our partner’s favour. Ultimately, the match ended with a score of 16–13.

Yesterday’s match was a Polish derby, the second of the season for our partners. Their opponents were, of course, the ‘RazPoRaz’ team. The entire match took place on the Anubis map. Nexium POLteam started the match on the stronger side, as the terrorists. In the first half, they managed to build up a solid lead, bringing the score to 8–4. After the sides switched, it was Nexium POLteam’s turn to defend in the second half. The second half was no worse at all. The opposition managed to win just two rounds again, and the match ended with a score of 13–6. On our partner’s side, Pasiuu (19/9) was once again the standout player, achieving an HLTV rating of 1.67. The other four players also deserve credit, as none of them fell short, and this was undoubtedly the key to victory, not just in this match.

After six matches, Nexium POLteam currently has a 5-1 record. At this stage, this record does not guarantee a place in the play-offs, but certainly, if they manage to maintain their good form in the upcoming matches, securing a place in the play-offs should come as no surprise to anyone.

At the time of writing, we only know who their opponent will be on Monday: the “PewPewPioneers”. This will be the third ‘Polish derby’ of this ESEA Entry season for Nexium POLteam. The match is scheduled for next Monday (28 April, 8.30 pm), which is the standard kick-off time for matches in the ESEA Open and Entry leagues. Their opponents currently have a 4-1 record; they’ll be hosting their next ESEA Entry opponent today at 20:30, so that record will change before they face our partner.