Young Stars Talents fared quite well in the regular season of the 13th season of the Army Masters. They managed to secure a place in the play-offs with ease, even before all their matches had been played (more on this in this article). The play-offs, however, are usually a tougher nut to crack. Having finished in 5th place, our partner faced Energolek in the quarter-finals. They had come up against them in the regular season and failed to win on that occasion.
The battle for a semi-final spot in Arrma Masters S13 – Young Stars Talents vs Energolek
The first map of the quarter-final clash was Ancient, selected by Young Stars’ opponents. Our partner, however, earned the privilege of choosing the side and decided to start on the CT side. They easily took the pistol round, giving them a 2–0 lead. However, thanks to some strong play from Energolek, the score was levelled at 2–2, and Energolek even took a 3–2 lead. This wasn’t the end of the Young Stars’ troubles, though, as their rivals picked up the pace and pulled ahead to 5–2. Eventually, though, they hit a wall that stopped them in their tracks. We didn’t see the score level until the very end of the first half, when our partner won two rounds in a row.
A 6–6 score whilst defending on Ancient is quite good, but it must be accompanied by a strong attacking performance. Our partner started the second half very well, putting pressure on their opponents from the outset and even taking a 9–6 lead. They didn’t stop there either, and it was only when the score reached 10–6 that Energolka’s resistance finally halted their advance. However, this resistance lasted only one round, and immediately afterwards our partner returned to winning ways, which went on and on. It also lasted until the end of the first map, meaning Young Stars were just one map away from reaching the semi-finals of the Army Masters.
ANCIENT
(Energolek’s pick)
Young Stars Talents 13–7 Energolek
Nuke was chosen by our partner for the second map. It is a map our partner selects very often, and they are just as often successful on it. Our partner started on the defensive side and, although the pistol round didn’t go their way, they were better in the force round and thus took an early 3:1 lead. Energolek responded very quickly, and by the sixth round the score was tied at 3:3. However, once Young Stars got their hands on their high-calibre weapons, they dominated that half of the map and, with a lethal run, took an 8:3 lead. The opponents, however, took the final round, meaning the first half of the map ended with a score of 8–4.
In the second half, our team won the pistol round and the opponents’ force round, giving them a commanding 11–4 lead. At this point, however, Energolek decided to raise their game to new heights and managed to narrow the gap to 11–7, slowly threatening the young stars. However, our partner plays the crucial moments best and managed to close out the map 13–7, winning the entire match 2–0.
NUKE
(picked by Young Stars Talents)
Young Stars Talents 13–7 Energolek
A battle for the final, but without a fight???
Thanks to the above victory, Young Stars Talents secured their place in the semi-finals of Arrmy Masters S13. There, they were due to face Armitre, but the match did not take place. Our partner decided to concede a walkover to their opponents. This was rather strange behaviour, given that such things had not happened in previous matches. So I decided to write to the CEO of Young Stars, who replied that they did not wish to make the reason public for the time being. Of course, we can only speculate. The fact remains, however, that despite this defeat, our partner will remain in the Masters league next season and will be able to compete for the top honours.
Young Stars (x.com — Facebook — team profile)
English 
Polish 