Our journey at the Esports World Cup European Open Qualifier in Paris has come to an end after reaching the Round of 32, where we faced HEROIC.
It was a tournament that gave us another opportunity to test ourselves on LAN, this time against a field featuring some of the strongest teams competing for a place at the Esports World Cup.
A strong start in Paris
We opened our campaign with a convincing 2–0 victory, taking the series 13–3 and 13–1 and getting our run off to exactly the start we wanted.
The level quickly went up from there.
Our next match put us up against Inner Circle, a top-25 ranked team at the time. After a much more competitive series, we were unable to secure the win and dropped into the decider match, leaving everything to play for on the following day.
We responded when it mattered and secured our place in the playoffs, setting up one of the biggest matches of our run so far.
A date with HEROIC
The Round of 32 brought us face-to-face with HEROIC.
We entered the series as the underdogs, but the opening map showed that we were ready to challenge them.
We went for an unconventional Cache pick and put together a strong T side, building an early advantage before HEROIC began to fight their way back into the map. What followed was a close battle that went almost the full distance.
In the end, only two rounds separated the teams, with HEROIC taking Cache 13–11.
The series then moved to Inferno, HEROIC’s map pick. This time, they took control early and never allowed us to find the same momentum we had on Cache. A 13–2 result closed out the series 2–0 and brought our EWC campaign to an end in the Round of 32.
Another experience to build on
Paris didn’t end with the result we came for, but competing at this level is exactly where we want to be.
From a dominant opening series to testing ourselves against established international opposition and pushing HEROIC all the way on Cache, the tournament gave us plenty to take away – both the positives and the areas where we need to improve.
Every LAN, every series and every opportunity to compete against teams of this level is another step forward for this roster.
We leave Paris with more experience, more information and plenty of motivation to get back to work.
Thank you to everyone who followed the games, watched the community streams and supported us throughout our time in Paris.