B2B Wins First ESEA LAN Title

The Grand Finals of the ESEA LAN Finals came down to Ultimax Gaming USA versus Back2Back Gaming. Back2Back Gaming's road to the finals was unblemished with a perfect 4-0 record against Black and White and then CheckSix Gaming. Ultimax Gaming made a great run through the lower brackets after losing to Black and White the first night. They were able to beat MouseSpaz (2-0), High Rollers Gaming (2-0), and then Check Six Gaming (2-1). The fight would be hard for UMX Gaming has they had to beat B2B Gaming in two best-of-three's while B2B only needed to win one.

de_nuke
Back2Back Gaming started off the first map of the grand finals as CT's on de_nuke. They clinched pistol round with a good hold on the lower bombsite giving them the first few rounds. Ultimax Gaming was unable to really execute anything or rush anything with Back2Back's superior fraggers. Swag lead Back2Back Gaming on CT-side with 19 frags in his excellent hold of the upper bombsite. The second half started with another Back2Back pistol round win with Semphis's deagle buy helping a lot in dealing damage. Ultimax tried to comeback with a 3rd round buy win and then a followup round but B2B proved to be too overwhelming as they closed out the match with a 16-5 victory over UMX on de_nuke.

de_dust2
The first match point for Back2Back Gaming would be played on de_dust2. Ultimax seemed to start off well with a pistol round win on CT-side but this was quickly dismantled as Swag cut off the momentum by clutching a 1v3 on the third round. UMX would not be able to hold against the fraggers on Back2Back as the entire B2B team shared the frags and came out strong in a 12-3 first half. The second half saw B2B taking the pistol round to really put pressure on UMX Gaming. Despite a small comeback mounted by UMX Gaming which gave them 5 rounds on T-side, Back2Back Gaming was too far ahead at that point and closed the map, match, series, and grand finals to take home 1st place.




New Champions
For the past five season, Evil Geniuses were the crowned victors at the ESEA LAN Finals but in season 10 we have ourselves a new champion. B2B Gaming is the new ESEA Invite Champions. The team went undefeated at the LAN Finals and has proven to be undaunted by big names, big games, and LANs. In 6 matches, B2B Gaming only lost 39 rounds. Only CheckSix Gaming was able to get more than 10 rounds on the champs on one map. B2B Gaming might be a newer team on the scene with some new talent, but their dominating play could usher in a new dynasty for Back2Back Gaming.

Silver
Ultimax Gaming came into the LAN looking a bit shaky with a loss against Black and White but they regained momentum and confidence as the busted through the Lower Brackets by defeating MouseSpaz, HRG, and then CheckSix Gaming. A second place finish isn't bad for a team that reformed their roster multiple times throughout the season and with the fragging ability behind flowsicK and pauLy, it will be interesting to see this team play together for a whole regular season.