LDLC defeat BIG to win ESWC 2017

LDLC have won the 2017 ESWC edition after defeating BIG on two maps in the final.

Following the end of the round-robin stage, the top two teams squared off in a best-of-three match, with LDLC touted as favourites after defeating BIG twice on Thursday by hefty scorelines (16-2 and 16-8).

But the Francophone team had to work hard for the victory in the title decider. The first map of the series, Mirage, began with BIG cruising to a 12-3 lead on the Terrorist side. After switching sides, however, LDLC turned up the heat and won 11 of the first 12 rounds to overcome the deficit. That was when BIG's defence finally shined, with the Germans scraping two rounds to take the match to overtime.

LDLC win ESWC 2017 after finishing in second place last year

The first overtime could not determine a winner as the teams cancelled each other out, but in the second one LDLC managed to pull through, picking up two rounds in both halves to secure a hard-fought 22-20 win.

Carrying their momentum into Inferno, LDLC stormed to a 12-3 lead on the Terrorist side despite losing the opening round of the map. A successful A retake in the second pistol round powered Kévin "⁠Ex6TenZ⁠" Droolans's to reach championship point, but BIG refused to throw in the towel. The Germans managed to string five rounds together to build up a strong economy, but then a 1v3 clutch from Mathieu "⁠Maniac⁠" Quiquerez on the B site gave LDLC the final round they needed to become ESWC champions. 

ESWC 2017Best of 3 LDLCMatchpage 2 0 3rd November 2017 BIG 22Mirage 20 16Inferno 8

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ESWC 2017 final standings:

1. LDLC - ~$29,150
2. BIG - ~$17,490
3. aAa - ~$8,745
4. ARES - ~$2,915

ARES #108 Simon 'Fuks' FlorysiakMatthieu 'matHEND' RoquignyCorentin 'MAIDHEN' LashermesYounes 'YOUYOU' Ait LallaLogan 'LOGAN' Corti Mathieu 'Maniac' Quiquerez Age: 27 Team: LDLC Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 730 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.67 BIG #17 Fatih 'gob b' DayikNikola 'LEGIJA' NinićJohannes 'tabseN' WodarzKevin 'keev' BartholomäusJohannes 'nex' Maget LDLC #23 Mathieu 'Maniac' QuiquerezKévin 'Ex6TenZ' DroolansAntoine 'to1nou' PirardAlex 'ALEX' McMeekinTimothée 'DEVIL' Démolon aAa #64 Benoît 'MetaL' GueletteBenjamin 'waneG' TaquetFlavien 'wallax' LebretonMatthéo 'nonick' CaneiMathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut Kévin 'Ex6TenZ' Droolans Age: 27 Team: LDLC Rating 1.0: 0.95 Maps played: 1137 KPR: 0.63 DPR: 0.65