LDLC knock BIG out of ESEA Premier season 37 playoffs

LDLC upset BIG 2-1 today in the ESEA Premier season 37 Europe lower bracket final, eliminating the German CS:GO team from the online competition.

BIG, the ninth-best CS:GO team in the world according to HLTV’s rankings, played this season of ESEA Premier to increase their chances of securing a spot in ESL Pro League season 14 since they aren’t a partnered team. Unless BIG gets the last partner spot that’s been vacant since 100 Thieves withdrew from CS:GO last October, Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz and crew will have to qualify for the Pro League via the ESL world rankings. But they wouldn’t make the cut at the moment with Team Spirit currently taking the last slot. They can still earn points, though, since the next edition of the league will kick off in August.

This loss to LDLC may stick with BIG for a while, given that it was such a nail-biting series where they were reverse swept to a technically inferior team considering that LDLC are ranked 43rd in the world, according to HLTV. The Germans won Inferno (16-11), lost on their map pick Vertigo (16-14), and couldn’t close things out on Dust II, even though they had a huge 10-5 advantage going into the second half. LDLC pulled off an impressive comeback, winning the first nine rounds of the second half and once again defeating BIG 16-14.

It was a dominant display by Bryan “Maka” Canda and Christophe ‘SIXER’ Xia, who combined for 135 frags to help LDLC take down BIG and remain alive in the competition. The French team will face the winner of BLINK vs. forZe in the lower bracket final of ESEA Premier season 37 Europe.