BBL Esports eliminates FURIA in early top seed match

In the first elimination match of the playoff stage at Masters Santiago, BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #5 Crewen Ali Eren Sargin Lar0k Yusuf Kaan Kanber Loita Utku Kart Rosé Eren Erzan lovers rock Umut Pekdoğan defeated FURIA FURIA Brazil Rank #2 nerve Michael Yerrow artzin Arthur Araujo eeiu Daniel Vucenovic koalanoob Gianfranco Potestio alym Torogul Baidyldaev 2-1, sending FURIA home. This marks the first top regional seed to go home at Masters Santiago, eliminated after only two pistol round wins across six maps.

Starting on Haven, BBL ran its standard Haven comp of double-Duelist Neon and Yoru with Cypher, as FURIA ran solo Duelist with double-Controller and Killjoy. BBL won the first pistol, but after failing to convert the bonus, FURIA fought back to tie the map early. Rosé shifted the momentum back towards BBL with some clean Sheriff shots, and a fumble from koalanoob only put more pressure on FURIA.

BBL ended the first half with a 9-3 lead, and looked confident as could be for a roster at its first international. The second pistol went in favor of BBL, but FURIA converted the eco to keep hopes of a comeback alive. Including that eco, FURIA earned four rounds in a row, but BBL took three rounds right back to win the map 13-7.

Breeze was next, with BBL choosing a double-Duelist with Yoru and Jett while FURIA ran double-Duelist with Neon and Yoru. BBL kept up the pistol wins with another to start the map, and converted the bonus off a nice flick from Lar0k . That lead was extended to 5-0 before FURIA had to take a timeout. That helped FURIA stop the bleeding, winning its first round on Breeze. Momentum started to build for FURIA, nailing retakes on both sites to win seven straight rounds, leading to a 7-5 lead at the half.

Finally, FURIA won its first pistol round of Masters Santiago to keep the pressure on BBL, and four consecutive thriftys from both teams brought chaos to the forefront. In that chaos, FURIA slowly built a larger lead. Reaching a 12-7 lead, FURIA just had to prevent BBL from five round wins to extend the map to overtime. There was a hint of a comeback as BBL won three in a row, but FURIA closed it out 13-10 to force Abyss.

For Abyss, FURIA ran double-Controller with Omen and Astra, running alongside Tejo and Waylay, while BBL stuck to double-Duelist with Waylay and Yoru, keeping Crewen on his signature Cypher. BBL nailed the pistol and converted the bonus, once again starting a map strong against FURIA. This time, the lead got to 4-0 before FURIA won its first round off a 1v1 clutch. BBL prevented FURIA from going on a similar run as the first half on Breeze, as the EMEA top seed entered the half up 9-3.

FURIA had to win the second pistol round, and the team did just that to keep its tournament hopes alive. The bonus round conversion was more important than ever, but BBL prevented that round win to reach double-digits. FURIA needed a hero, and the early vote was artzin playing aggressively on B site to prevent advantageous post-plants from BBL. However, after a late timeout, BBL was reinvigorated and won three straight rounds. The end was close, but eeiu took a fall, and BBL secured the map 13-11 plus the series 2-1.

With this result, BBL Esports will continue through the lower bracket and face a losing team from the upper semifinals. At the same time, FURIA is eliminated from Masters Santiago without a match win.