After seven straight head-to-head defeats against LookingForOrg, Order have recovered to defeat their rivals 2-0 and qualify for ESL Challenger Anaheim.
The 2-0 (16-13, 16-7) victory in the grand final comes 24 hours after LFO obliterated Order in the upper bracket final.
Declan “Vexite” Portelli (47-34, 1.37 HLTV rating), fresh off the back of his first international appearance at the EPL Conference, took control for Order as they put LFO to the sword.
Yesterday it appeared to be keeping to the script, as far as OCE event form is considered. LFO fought off a brilliant Paradox squad 2-0 in the event opener, needing the full 30 rounds and a double overtime in each map, while Order dispatched of VERTEX 2-0.
LFO were looking for their eighth title/qualifier win of the calendar year, and it seemed no-one could match them after a crushing 2-0 (16-1, 16-8) win over Order in the upper bracket.
Euan “sterling” Moore (49-17, 105 ADR, 1.87 HLTV rating) was unstoppable on Overpass, while young gun James “SaVage” Savage (42-21, 95 ADR, 1.53 HLTV rating) saw off Order on Nuke.
Paradox saw the return of two of the original Rooster core in Corey “nettik” Browne & Tyson “asap” Paterson, but neither could stop VERTEX from a lower-bracket win, with James “Roflko” Lytras’ men coming out on top 2-0 (16-7, 16-13).
VERTEX were looking to capitalise on a weakened Order but couldn’t get the job done, falling in double overtime on the opening map of Overpass.
Mirage was split down the middle, but a combined effort from Jordan “pz” White (21-11, 1.34 HLTV rating) and Tom “apocdud” Henry (21-14, 1.33 HLTV rating) evened up the series for VERTEX 16-13, forcing Ancient.
An upset was well and truly brewing, with VERTEX claiming a strong 11-4 CT half. But Order didn’t give up, and with a 30-bomb from Vexite, the Melbourne-based outfit put on a 12-1 clinic to snatch away the series 16-12.
Order opted for Dust 2 in the rematch against LFO instead of Overpass, but a 10-2 run from LFO spelled trouble.
But like the Ancient map against VERTEX, Order’s resolve proved too strong — nine straight rounds with only one bomb plant, and a 25 kill effort from Ricardo “Rickeh” Mulholland meant Order were just one map from Anaheim qualification.
They’d only need the one more, with a combined 44 kills for Vexite & Karlo “USTILO” Pivac spelling the end of LFO’s stranglehold over Order in Oceania.
Order’s win and qualification for ESL Challenger Anaheim means that the top three OCE-based squads will get a crack at an international event in early 2022.
LFO had qualified for ESL Pro League via their win at Season 38 of ESEA Premier, while Renegades booked their spot at IEM Katowice via the ESL Pro Tour points system.
Just one event remains on the CS:GO calendar for 2021 — ESEA Premier Season 39 will wrap up on December 19 ahead of the player break heading into 2022.
