EPL Group B Favorites G2 Continue to Falter at 0-3 Record

The topsy-turvy nature of EPL Group B’s opening days presented a brand-new perspective of underdogs rising above the superstars. Sinners and forZe stole the reigns and stormed to the top of the table as opposed to the group favorites, G2 and Virtus.Pro. However, after today’s matches, Complexity threw the group into total and complete disarray and left the Samurai in the dirt.

The Sinners made a statement in their opening EPL foray against G2. A convincing Vertigo lulled the squad into consistently picking it against all their opponents thus far. After Complexity’s punishments against the Czech squad, Virtus.Pro went one step further and battered Tomas “oskar” Stastny’s crew 12-3 on their CT-half. Although the Sinners were able to pull back a couple of rounds, the CIS roster remained firmly in control on Vertigo and headed to Inferno.

                Sebastian “beastik” Dano consistently found himself and his squad on the backfoot throughout VP’s offensive half. Complete defensive collapses, clutches from both Alexey “qikert” Golubev and Dzhami “Jame” Ali, and disappearances from the stars of Czech roster found the Sinners had no chance at a comeback on the Polar Bears’ map pick. Like Vertigo, the Sinners were able to kickstart a small resurgence but failed to completely return on Inferno and fall 0-2 to Virtus.Pro. One of the EPL Group B favorites, Virtus.Pro, now finally start their campaign and look to compound their success tomorrow against Complexity.

                The two teams at the top of the table, OG and forZe, duked it out today in a grueling three map series. Regardless of the comfort OG had heading into Mirage, forZe played lights-out with clutch after clutch going in their favor. Aleksandr “zorte” Zagodyrenko and Evgeny “FL1T” Lebedev shone brightly under the spotlight and stole away a whopping ten rounds on their offensive kickoff. Propelled by Aleksandr “KENSI” Gurkin’s clutches, the CIS underdogs wrapped up Mirage neatly, 16-9.

                Inferno started off much in the same way as Mirage, and the aggressive maneuvers of the forZe men’s CT-side seemed too much for Aleksi “aleksib” Virolainen to handle. Even though the pressure continued to mount, OG remained resilient and battled back to an impressive 7-8 half. In pole position to take it to a third map after winning the CT-pistol, the international roster suddenly began stumbling to explosive calling from Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov. Inferno went back and forth until OG finally dusted themselves off in overtime 19-17.

                Perhaps equally a demoralizing loss for forZe and a fiery motivator for OG, Inferno led into a cut and dry Overpass. An absolute team effort from Aleksib’s squad stunted any chances for the CIS squad to return to their winning ways. Antics from zorte continued to delay the inevitable, but Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski quickly snuffed out forZe and OG now comfortably sit on top of the EPL Group B table.

Complexity did not have much riding on their EPL Season 14 run since Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke removed himself from the lineup due to a wrist injury. Bringing in Niels Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen into the mix, the Juggernaut continued their Danish core hopes heading into Group B. Dispatching of the Sinners in a swift 2-0, spirits were high against the titans of G2. Picking into Vertigo, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer’s men had a very slow start. Regardless of their slow comeback on their second half, could not complete the challenge and fell 16-13.

                However, Mirage remained even more grueling for Complexity. They managed only seven rounds on their CT-half thanks to some heroic rifling from Valentin “poizon” Vasilev. He continued his handiwork on the T-rifles as well, much to the community’s surprise and heaved the Juggernaut past G2 on Mirage 16-12. Out of seemingly nowhere, Complexity had amassed momentum and poise aplenty on Dust 2 where things would roar to its climactic end.

Dust 2 went all in CoL’s favor, especially on the defensive half. The usual suspect of Justin “jks” Savage disappearing at big turning points had seemingly vanished here. He banded alongside his Bulgarian brother and stacked 11 rounds on their CT campaign. Although the opportunities remained ripe for Complexity, G2 still had some fight left in them. Storming back on their CT-pistol, the Samurai battled through to temporarily take the lead 13-12. The Juggernaut remained stoic, however, and outlasted the G2 barrage and finally broke another win 16-13.

 Another shocking series from the international superstars of G2, places the squad dead last at an 0-3 record. The former Cologne finalists now find themselves on the cusp of elimination. They will seriously need to find a breakthrough if they have any chance of staying alive in EPL Group B. G2’s difficulties won’t stop here. They take on forZe, the CIS underdogs who have strikingly made their way to the top.

The ESL Pro League Season 14 has 24 teams battling it out for a $750,000 prize pool. There are four groups of six teams each and the top three teams will advance to the playoffs. All matches are streamed live on Twitch.

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