Game 1: Empire 2-1 Ence
Maps: Oregon (6-1), Bank (4-6), Consulate (6-2)
Empire: JoyStiCK, ShepparD, Shockwave, karzheka, Scyther
Ence: UUNO, Gomfi, Willkey, Bounssi, SHA77E
In a match that was highly touted as a meeting between two Challenger League powerhouses, former world champions Ence faced off against talented newcomers Empire, who only lost one game all regular season, that being a forfeit due to weather. The match did not disappoint, going the full distance of three maps. However, as close as the map scoreline seemed, the game was a different story. Empire was consistently dominant, even on Ence’s map win, and secured their ticket to Pro League convincingly. Despite their defeat, Ence still had one last chance to make Pro League against seventh-placed Vitality in the relegation match.
Game 2: Ence 2-1 Vitality
Maps: Consulate (6-2), Bank (4-6), Border (6-2)
Ence: UUNO, Gomfi, Willkey, Bounssi, SHA77E
Vitality: Spark, BriD, aPPROX, ZephiR, RaFaLe
In what was no doubt going to become a classic, former world champs Ence had one last chance to make a glorious return to Pro League, while longtime Pro League stalwarts Vitality were fighting to be the last purely french team in Pro League. Despite losing their best player in Biboo mere weeks before the match, Vitality clearly planned to go all out in trying to keep their Pro League spot. However, they got off to a poor start, losing Consulate in a convincing manner. And while they managed to pull back a map on Bank, the pure fragging power of Gomfi, SHA77E, and UUNO was just too much for the French team to handle, as they lost border in a quite convincing six to two loss.
One bright spot for the French team was Spark, who had a staggering 25 kills, and was the only player on his team to have a positive K/D ratio. Conversely, Gomfi had a phenomenal match for Ence, as per usual, having 26 kills to only fifteen deaths, helping him to a staggering 1.73 K/D ratio, and helping his team to a return to Pro League.
