It was an impressive start for Exalt at the PGS Berlin: Europe Qualifier finals, as the side topped the leaderboard after an action-packed first day.
There was no love lost in the first match up as Omaken Sports announced their arrival with a commanding performance that saw them smash their way to the top of the leaderboard. The squad was simply relentless. Finding themselves in a 4v4 against TSM at the final hurdle, they worked hard and smart to take down their opponents – skillfully pushing them to the edge of the circle before picking them off one by one.
Miramar was our second host for the evening, with Match 2 starting in a tense fashion. Omaken Sports played it safe and took somewhat of a back seat, leaving other sides to take risks while they cemented control of key positions.
WTSG asserted their dominance early on. Led by top fragger vard – who finished with a whopping 7 kills – they carefully worked their way across Miramar, showing little mercy to opponents as they swept through the map.
The standout performance, however, came from Inside Games. Spurred on by an underwhelming opening battle, where they finished with 0 points, they showed class and determination to put themselves back in the running – carefully dismantling WTSG to take home the chicken dinner.
Match 3 took place on Sanhok, offering up the mouthwatering prospect of a battle across land, bridge and sea. It was hard-fought, with a final four of TSM, Exalt, Tornado Energy and YMCA Esports closing in on one another as they chased top spot.
As the circle shrank in its typical unrelenting fashion, TSM took an aggressive approach which saw them gain a stronghold on the map.
Often in the final moments on the battleground, it comes down to either luck or brilliance… and this time it was the latter. TSM’s Jembty showed why he is one of the best PUBG players on the planet. The casters looked on in awe as he skillfully took down Tornado Energy to ensure it was chicken dinners all round for the team.
Erangel made its tournament debut in Match 4, with Pochinki playing host to much of the action. Omaken Sports, who had shown so much promise in Match 1, fell by the weigh side early on. While Team Liquid showed the value of experience, locking down almost the entirety of the southern tip of the map and forcing their counterparts to come out and play.
In the end the battle evolved into a chess match, with teams working hard to outmaneuver each other and desperately try to predict where the circle was heading next. WTSG, Tornado Energy, Blaze Esports and WinStreak15 slogged it out, but were picked off eventually, with Adepts and Exalt making the final two.
At 4 v 1 in Exalts’ favor, the final moments were little more than a forgone conclusion as the team asserted their dominance to close out the game
The penultimate battle saw the 16 sides return to Erangel for what promised to be a frantic affair – with a palpable sense of tension and excitement gripping the studio.
In what proved to be one of the highlights of the tournament so far, final two sides WTSG and Team Liquid locked horns – both being at full strength as they hunted down one another.
The sides spread out in an almost mirror image, exchanging bullets and hand grenades as players desperately tried to take control.
It was Team Liquid who took the win, but there was still much cause for celebration for WTSG as they finished with more kill points.
Not many had predicted that Exalt would be among the PGS Berlin: Europe Qualifier finals’ top teams, but they went on to win the final match – taking down YMCA Esports, Se7en Esports, and Adepts in the final four. It was a second win for the currently unsigned roster, meaning they finished day one at the top of the leaderboard.
Of course, there are still two days to go where it could all change so quickly. Can they hold their nerve?
If you missed day one, you can catch up with all of the action here.
