ECL S52 Cup 3 Day 1: DETONATE sweep EMPIRE, Iowa Stormboar outlast Wanted Goons
The first day of the third cup in ESL Challenger League Season 52 North America saw the higher-seeded teams largely live up to expectations, though one series pushed the limits of a full Bo3.
DETONATE secured their spot in the upper bracket second round with a 2-0 sweep over EMPIRE. While EMPIRE controlled the early stages of their map pick, Nuke, leading 7-5 at the break, they were unable to withstand DETONATE's dominant T-side performance in the second half, which ended 13-8. On Cache, the teams were deadlocked at 6-6 at halftime before DETONATE pulled away to win 13-9. The European duo of Milan "CrePoW" Libbrecht and Nils "ReFuZR" Groot proved too much for EMPIRE, combining for 78 kills throughout the series.
The most intense matchup of the night occurred between Iowa Stormboar and Wanted Goons. After Iowa Stormboar took Ancient 13-8 and Wanted Goons responded with a 13-7 win on Mirage, the series went to a decider on Dust2. Wanted Goons held a commanding 11-6 lead and looked poised for victory, but Iowa Stormboar mounted a comeback led by Brett "Scorchyy" Coolen, who tallied 15 kills in the second half to secure a 13-11 win.
Ukrainian star Nazar "H0NeST" Stefinko was named the man of the match, finishing with 59 kills. DETONATE now moves on to face top seed Chicken Coop, who received a bye into the second round.
Day 1 Results:
- FarmVille 2:1 Villainous
- Overtake Sector 2:0 Reign Above
- regain 2:0 New Legends
- Zomblers 2:0 Club 333
- Desi Boyz 2:1 OverKnight
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