Sus Squad almost scored an upset win over Enigma Gaming, who persevered over the three maps (8-13 Haven, 13-5 Breeze, 13-6 Bind) to go clear atop Group A of TEC Gauntlet Season 2.
Sus Squad went for a conventional lineup while Enigma favoured the Sova-Skye combination in their composition, sacrificing their usual Sage pick. Bhuvanesh ‘Drixot’ Sunderraj opened up things with a quad-kill to bag the pistol for Sus Squad but the scores were soon level at 2-2, once the full buy kicked in for Enigma. Praghalad ‘AEZ95’ got a Sheriff kill on Akram ‘rawfiul’ Virani, punishing his B push. However, Enigma kept their composure to deny Sus Squad a thrifty and take the lead. PS ‘Kubrix’ Sanjay brought things back, with Sus Squad taking the lead at 4-3, with the Sova bagging a double kill in a 2v4 situation to convert the afterplant. Rishabh ‘ezzyyy’ Gupta got three kills on the A defence to ensure Enigma go into the second half with just a two-round deficit. Another triple from Drixot with the Ghost and Sus Squad won the pistol. However, Enigma chose to burst onto the A site to take control of the site and win the thrifty. Enigma came close to levelling up the scores at 8-7 but Drixot and Yeshwanth ‘Zoid’ Thomas defended the B site valiantly to make it 9-7. Enigma got one back but Sus Squad soon started shutting Enigma’s Attacks down with authority. A beautiful spray down at C site towards the Garage entrance got Kubrix a triple kill, bringing up the map point. Sus Squad closed out Haven 13-8 after retaking the site, thanks to another triple from Kubrix.
Enigma persevered with the Skye-Sova combination on Breeze while Sus Squad went for a rather conventional Reyna pick instead of Sova, allowing more room for individual plays. Sus Squad started the map with two clean retakes to make it 2-0. With the score poised at 3-2 in favour of Sus Squad, Enigma started piling on the pressure with lightning fast executes, catching Sus Squad off-guard often to make it 7-3 in their favour. Sus Squad brought one back, with a retake at A site but Enigma chose to go for another A rush, finding success in the post-plant this time around to make it an 8-4 lead going into the second half. Sus Squad were stifled at mid doors by Enigma, with the A split denied and the pistol in the pocket. A triple kill from Shakir ‘hikka’ Razak in the 2v3 retake situation at B site to convert the bonus round as well. Another triple, this time from Sameer ‘godvexy’ Sharma denied AEZ95 the 1v2 clutch at A inside Viper’s Pit. Sus Squad denied the first map point for Enigma, who sealed things with an A retake, with hikka getting another triple kill on the map.
Enigma opted to continue with their usual Bind composition featuring the Brimstone, Sage and Skye alongside Jett and Viper while Sus Squad went for another individual-styled lineup catered more towards allowing more freedom. Ezzyyy clutched the 1v2 situation in the B post-plant to make it 1-0 for Enigma. Sus Squad though, levelled things at 2-2, with AEZ95 getting the defuse in to deny godvexy the 1v3 conversion at A site on the 4th round. Godvexy redeemed himself with three kills in the subsequent round at B site to hand Enigma the lead once again. Thereafter, Enigma ran rampant on the Attack, not giving Sus Squad any margin or room to exploit, racing to a 9-2 lead. Rawfiul got the initial kill at A short on Naveen ‘Chobzx’ Vijay but Kubrix responded with a double from A short cubby to hand Sus Squad an advantage that they converted into a round win. Sus Squad rushed B and overpowered Enigma with their aggression to bag the pistol. At 9-5, rawfiul opened up things at B long, winning his gunfights against Zoid and Chobzx as Enigma entered into double figures. Enigma moved on to match point at 12-5 after successfully defending the A site. A successful skirmish near octagon at B long saw Sus Squad deny Enigma the first match point. But, Enigma saw rawfiul take three kills at A site with the Operator to complete the retake and close out Bind 13-6.
Rawfiul was once again the shining light for Enigma, with the Jett putting 28 kills on the board on Bind to take away any opportunity of a potential upset on the decider from Sus Squad’s hands. The VLT Academy product ended the series with 57 kills and 183.4 ADR, making him the WD Black MVP of the series.
