Secret and Gambit move on in the ESL One Katowice playoffs

The representatives of Group A showed up to play for the start of the ESL One Katowice playoffs as both Team Secret and Gambit Esports moved on.

Secret started things off as they faced the second-seed from Group B, Ninjas in Pyjamas.

It really looked like playing the upper bracket matches so soon after the group stage finished helped Secret, seeing as their previous performance was a dominant one and they were already warmed up. NiP played well in game one, but they didn’t put up the fight Gambit did in their last outing.

With a big game one win, Secret went on to decimate their opponent in their second meeting and waltzed into the upper bracket finals on the back of their fifth sweep of the tournament.

The matchup between Fnatic and Gambit was a lot less clear on who held the advantage since both teams struggled in their previous matches against the NiP and Secret respectively. Fnatic came out with some kick to their offense, but Gambit fired right back.

The opening game was one of the longest of the event thus far at just over 54 minutes, with both teams reaching the upper 30s in kills during the final minutes. It turned into a slugfest down the stretch as neither team gave much ground.

Fnatic managed to pull away at the last second, reaching 40 kills and putting the contest away for a 1-0 lead—a lead that wouldn’t hold up for long.

Gambit controlled most of game two, and even with another highly competitive meeting in game three, they would not be denied a chance to rematch Secret in the next round. They took care of business once more to take a 2-1 victory.

With that win, Gambit set the stage for an upper bracket brawl against the team that took the top seed from them. Their last meeting went 2-0 in favor of Secret, but they are looking to reverse that outcome when they face off in the upper bracket finals on Feb. 23 at 8:50am CT.