Riders win Iberian clash at ESL Pro League

SAW finished Group B in sixth-seventh place after falling to their regional rivals in the last-chance stage.

Movistar Riders won the Iberian clash in ESL Pro League Season 17's Group B, beating SAW 2-0 (Overpass 16-7, Nuke 16-11) to move on in the last chance bracket. The Spaniards have advanced to the fourth place decider, where they will face off against the winner of BIG vs. Complexity on Sunday at 19:30 .

SAW had been a difficult matchup for Movistar Riders ever since the Spaniards lost Alvaro "⁠SunPayus⁠" Garcia to ENCE, but after losing the last three matches to the Portuguese squad, Alejandro "⁠alex⁠" Masanet and company picked up a comfortable victory against their Iberian rivals when it mattered most.

Despite not seeing much success on the map in other matchups, Movistar Riders opted for Overpass to start the series and saw that decision bear its fruits. SAW had brought BIG to the edge on the map earlier in the tournament, but their losing streak was extended to six in a row after meeting the Spanish team.

The Portuguese stayed in contention throughout all of the first half. A few crucial rounds such as a chaotic B site pistol round and a near-miss defuse in smoke in round 8 went the other way in close scenarios, though, and Pere "⁠sausol⁠" Solsona Saumell's openings towards the end ensured that Movistar Riders would remain ahead going into halftime.

After sides switched, sausol gave his team the second pistol round through great timing and positioning with Dual Elites in hand. SAW's offense came crumbling down after that and Movistar Riders ran to a quick closing unanswered to pick up the first map 16-7.

The Spaniards got off to a great start on the CT side of Nuke as well, but this time SAW stopped the rot early after Christopher "⁠MUTiRiS⁠" Fernandes won an extended 1v1 clutch on the lower bombsite. After getting on the board, the Portuguese team picked up the pace and surprised Movistar Riders with a few quick upper hits to go on a seven-round run.

alex's clutch on the upper bombsite in round 12 denied Tiago "⁠JUST⁠" Moura a smart 1v2 attempt, and from there the Riders finally stopped SAW's rampage and picked up the last four rounds in the half. With a pistol round to boot, they were the first to hit double digits and looked to close the series.

SAW's aggression towards lobby once on the defense worked for a time, but after picking up three consecutive rounds Movistar Riders found the answer and picked off the aggressing CTs the next time around. That instantly broke SAW's economy and the Riders never looked back, reaching match point shortly after that and converting their second attempt, losing a 5v2 scenario only to win a 3v5 of their own the next round thanks to Antonio "⁠Martinez⁠" Martinez's play on the AWP.