BIG defeat Sprout to qualify for Elisa Masters final

BIG overcame Sprout in the semi-final of Elisa Masters Espoo with a 2-1 scoreline to book their place in the grand final. Both teams were not at full strength, as Sprout were forced to use coach BERRY in place of lauNX for the first map after the Romanian rifler suffered medical issues before the game. He returned for the second and third maps but was unable to prevent his team’s exit from the tournament despite providing a crucial clutch to close out Nuke.

On the other side of the server BIG are playing without Florian “⁠syrsoN⁠” Rische, who tested positive for COVID-19 before the event. Despite the last-minute replacement, the team qualified for the grand final, where they will face the winner of the match between fnatic and Astralis at 18:00 on Sunday. The German team has a chance to win their second title in a year otherwise plagued by forced roster changes, having previously won the online Roobet Cup 2022.

Overpass began with BIG winning the pistol and following conversion, as Johannes “⁠tabseN⁠” Wodarz had a hot start to a half with eight kills in the first three rounds. Sprout fought back despite playing with coach BERRY, clawing back the deficit and engaging in a back-and-forth that ended with the scores tied up at 6-6. Just as it looked like Sprout were going to edge ahead, Nils “⁠k1to⁠” Gruhne showed up with a massive triple with a picked-up AK-47, giving his team the platform for a 9-6 lead at the half.

k1to kept up his fragging on the T half, securing the pistol round for his team with a triple-kill. Sprout successfully force-bought in the second round when Victor “⁠Staehr⁠” Staehr proved to be the difference maker, making his Deagle sing with a well-timed flank on the A site. Ismail “⁠refrezh⁠” Ali and company reduced the difference to just one round, but that was as close as they got. Once BIG got the economy under control they took over the map, losing just two more rounds to end the map with a 16-11 win. BERRY held his own on the T side but failed to record a single kill on the CT side, with BIG exploiting that to full effect.

Next up was BIG‘s pick of Nuke, where lauNX returned to the server after his medical issues lessened. Motivated by the return of their star rifler, Sprout started the map in great form as they raced to a 6-0 lead courtesy of Staehr‘s performance. With BIG in a spot of bother, they started the comeback attempt as Josef “⁠faveN⁠” Baumann won a 1vs1 clutch against his former team. That revitalized the German side that won all but two rounds in the remainder of the first half, faveN continuing to find impact with his vent dives. Karim “⁠Krimbo⁠” Moussa finished the half off with a 1vs3 clutch, setting up the half-time score at 8-7 in Sprout‘s favor.

BIG struggled on the defense despite winning the pistol round that got them the lead for the first time on the map. tabseN locked down the outside portion of the map, but his teammates were much less successful, which resulted in a lackluster defense. The majority-Danish team reached map point and needed lauNX to step up with a clutch and move the series onto the decider.

BIG started Mirage in absolutely dominant fashion, winning the first five rounds without breaking a sweat. Sprout eventually stabilized and fought back with a five-round streak, but that was all they got. With the scoreline sitting at 6-5 in the German’s favor, BIG won a round with just Deagles and ran away with the half after that. k1to, who picked up the AWP on the T side of Mirage, also got a Deagle highlight of his own, getting an incredible kill on Staehr in a 1vs1 situation.

Sprout picked up the pistol round to give themselves a chance and got within one round of their opponents. BIG then answered with an eco but lost immediately after with the scoreline standing at 11-10. The German squad was once again forced on an eco, which delivered another round win for them. After that, BIG finally won a gun round to increase the deficit to three, eventually reaching series point at 15-10. faveN ended the game against his former team with a collateral AWP kill, with BIG booking their spot in Sunday’s grand final.