Counter-Strike 2
BIG send Wildcard packing in Romania
BIG will continue their PGL Cluj-Napoca campaign after a 2-1 victory over Wildcard, eliminating Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz's squad from the competition.
Ancient was an entirely one-sided affair as BIG ripped Wildcard's defense apart, their preparation apparent in the way they systematically targeted Wildcard's weaknesses.
Wildcard were far more comfortable on Inferno, racing out to a 11-5 lead before some overeager CT manoeuvres, particularly in Banana, allowed BIG to work their way back into contention and make the map close.
Nuke was a relatively hard-fought affair, but Wildcard gave up man-advantage situations time and time again, and BIG duly accepted the gifts and ran with them all the way to a series victory.
Wildcard's slide continues
Wildcard were considered a relatively exciting prospect heading into 2025, following a strong end to 2024 and a win in online event Frost and Fire to kick off this year. That excitement has died out quickly amidst a string of early exits from tier-one events.
In this series, Wildcard were the architects of their own downfall. They almost threw away an 11-5 lead on Inferno, seemingly far too keen to end the map quickly and repeatedly finding themselves punished for aggressive CT plays. Then they did throw away Nuke despite finding more opening kills than BIG, unable to effectively coordinate in mid-late round scenarios and thus squandering multi-man advantages.
Wildcard are now 2-8 in series across the last three events. As a result they are haemorrhaging VRS points, and will find invites to top events harder to come by.
Do BIG have potential?
As an organization, BIG have been on a steady downward trend ever since they hit No. 1 in the online era in 2020. Finding the firepower necessary to compete at the top has been a problem, and they have experimented with a myriad of lineups in the attempt to find a winning formula.
On the surface, it seems this latest iteration might have some legs. In particular Marcel "hyped" Köhn has been a force to be reckoned with at times and in this series he was again a powerhouse, dominating Ancient and finding key frags on Nuke. Solving the AWP position since the dramatic decline of Florian "syrsoN" Rische is a significant piece to BIG's puzzle.
Admittedly Wildcard shot themselves in the foot in this series, but BIG still needed to show some chops to seize the opportunities they were presented with. With Jon "JDC" de Castro effectively making space with his aggro plays, hyped providing firepower, and Karim "Krimbo" Moussa serving as an effective closer, perhaps this BIG can be the best version of the team we have seen in many years.
Ancient was an entirely one-sided affair as BIG ripped Wildcard's defense apart, their preparation apparent in the way they systematically targeted Wildcard's weaknesses.
Wildcard were far more comfortable on Inferno, racing out to a 11-5 lead before some overeager CT manoeuvres, particularly in Banana, allowed BIG to work their way back into contention and make the map close.
Nuke was a relatively hard-fought affair, but Wildcard gave up man-advantage situations time and time again, and BIG duly accepted the gifts and ran with them all the way to a series victory.
Wildcard's slide continues
Wildcard were considered a relatively exciting prospect heading into 2025, following a strong end to 2024 and a win in online event Frost and Fire to kick off this year. That excitement has died out quickly amidst a string of early exits from tier-one events.
In this series, Wildcard were the architects of their own downfall. They almost threw away an 11-5 lead on Inferno, seemingly far too keen to end the map quickly and repeatedly finding themselves punished for aggressive CT plays. Then they did throw away Nuke despite finding more opening kills than BIG, unable to effectively coordinate in mid-late round scenarios and thus squandering multi-man advantages.
Wildcard are now 2-8 in series across the last three events. As a result they are haemorrhaging VRS points, and will find invites to top events harder to come by.
Do BIG have potential?
As an organization, BIG have been on a steady downward trend ever since they hit No. 1 in the online era in 2020. Finding the firepower necessary to compete at the top has been a problem, and they have experimented with a myriad of lineups in the attempt to find a winning formula.
On the surface, it seems this latest iteration might have some legs. In particular Marcel "hyped" Köhn has been a force to be reckoned with at times and in this series he was again a powerhouse, dominating Ancient and finding key frags on Nuke. Solving the AWP position since the dramatic decline of Florian "syrsoN" Rische is a significant piece to BIG's puzzle.
Admittedly Wildcard shot themselves in the foot in this series, but BIG still needed to show some chops to seize the opportunities they were presented with. With Jon "JDC" de Castro effectively making space with his aggro plays, hyped providing firepower, and Karim "Krimbo" Moussa serving as an effective closer, perhaps this BIG can be the best version of the team we have seen in many years.
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