Acend dethrone Heretics to win Masters Europe

The stage was set for an incredible grand final - First Strike champions Team Heretics against hungry upstarts Acend. And what an incredible series we got. It went all the way to map 5, with crazy plays and close rounds the whole way through. So who is the European Masters champion?

Split was first up, a map that had been so good for Heretics, and things continued that way. They dominated Acend on their defense, 9-3, with Žygimantas "nukkye" Chmieliauskas and Dustyn "niesoW" Durnas leading the way. As had been the case for most of the event and would continue to be, Mehmet Yağız "cNed" İpek was the star for Acend, consistently finding big picks to keep his team in it. But here, it wasn’t enough.

Heretics subbed out niesoW for Bind, and this would be the map where things came together for Acend. While cNed wasn’t as huge, they got secondary fragging from every member, evening the score up 9-3.

It was then off to Haven, where cNed would put together one of the greatest Jett clips the game has seen.

Haven was close, with the teams going back and forth, but Heretics managed to pull away big-time on their defense, only allowing Acend two round wins, as they took it 13-9.

Icebox was absolutely crazy. Rounds were back and forth, down to the wire. Žygimantas "nukkye" Chmieliauskas even picked up a 6k at one point. With the first half done at 6-6, Heretics broke out in a lead after taking the first three rounds, and looked set to run away with it. But they were promptly eco’d by Acend, and the teams would continue to go back and forth in wild fashion all the way to overtime. Once there, early picks and clutches from Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi sent us to a map 5.

If anything could top Icebox, it was Ascent. Acend came out of the gate looking amazing - while early rounds were close, they began to pull further and further ahead. Eventually, the score sat at 11-3 for them. But Heretics weren’t done yet.

They clawed their way back into it, taking out Acend early and negating their ultimate economy. With the score at 12-11, it was overtime or an Acend win, and after an incredibly messy fight in mid, with Resurrections invested on both sides, it would be the latter. Acend have dethroned Heretics to take the EU Masters championship.

Final Standings for Masters Stage 1 Europe:

1. Acend - $60,000 USD + 100 VCT Points 2. Team Heretics - $30,000 + 70 VCT Points 3-4. Guild - $15,000 + 45 VCT Points 3-4. FunPlus Phoenix - $15,000 + 45 VCT Points 5-6. Ninjas in Pyjamas - $10,000 + 20 VCT Points 5-6. DfuseTeam - $10,000 + 20 VCT Points 7-8. Ballista - $5,000 + 10 VCT Points 7-8. Alliance - $5,000 + 10 VCT Points