ESL Pro League Season 7 SEA Closed Qualifier

Signature qualify for ESL Pro League S7 APAC LAN

7-4-2018 14:31

Signature upset B.O.O.T-d[S] in the upper bracket final of the SEA Closed Qualifier for EPL S7 APAC, taking a 2-1 victory (12-16 Mirage, 19-16 Cache, 16-7 Cobblestone).

The series started on Mirage, where BOOT-d[S] claimed the CT pistol and the followup round, but struggled to establish dominance early on. After a period of rounds traded back-and-forth, Signature took a 8-4 lead. The Singaporeans managed to bring the half back to 9-6, helped out by their new member Alikhan "⁠w1nt3r⁠" Kopzhanov securing a Deagle-AK47 ace in the last round of the half.

With a 5-0 start on the Terrorist side, Anthony "⁠ImpressioN⁠" Lim's team got into the lead quickly, and controlled the map throughout, finishing it 16-12.

Signature, ranked #169, claimed one of the SEA LAN spots

On the second map, Cache, BOOT-d[S] started off the Terrorist side with a confident, 5-0 lead. Signature didn't allow them to run away with it completely, however, adding three rounds to the board, with Warittorn "⁠RoLEX⁠" Kalanukarn's hat-trick sealing the deal in the third one. The Singaporean side then got back in control and ran up to a 10-5 half, with Manutsawat "⁠Reality⁠" Sangphadung's AWP 3K in round 12 proving crucial in Signature's attempt to hang in the map.

It seemed like the map and series was set after the opening to the second half, Kumaresan "⁠Tommy⁠" Ramani got three USP-S kills in the second round, which BOOT-d[S] followed up to take a 13-5 lead. Signature started rolling after that, though, picking up round after round on the Terrorist side, spearheaded by Kritthee "⁠Geniuss⁠" Sawatmuang. After Patiphan "⁠CigaretteS⁠" Posri and co. reached map point, 15-14, BOOT-d[S] managed to push Cache into overtime, but lost it 19-16 after the added rounds.

The series came down to Cobblestone, where Signature started on the Counter-Terrorist side. The team from Thailand started 3-0 down, but picked up round after round when the guns rolled in, quickly finding themselves 8-3 up. Benedict "⁠Benkai⁠" Tan broke the streak with a 1-on-1 clutch, but his team could only finish the half with five rounds.

Signature didn't let go of the match after the switch, and with the pistol round in their pocket, quickly closed it out, 16-7, to qualify for the APAC LAN and send BOOT-d[S] to the lower bracket.

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