As the ultimate fixture of the ESH Moray Menace Cup approaches, we look back on the journey to the finals

When the dust settles tonight one team will emerge victorious, weighed down with a bounty of Razer hardware, the other burdened only with regrets of what could have been and the promise of next time as their sole comfort.

The cup has augured excitement since its launch, riding on the resounding success of the previous Esports Heaven One Night Wonder events and with six of the top ten teams in Europe confirmed; expectations were high.

Perversely, the absence of the irrefutable kings of European TF2, Team Dignitas, has perhaps made the whole competition that little bit more alluring as the outcome has not been an entirely foregone conclusion. When the sixty four teams kicked things off, barely two weeks ago, our two remaining teams may have been the bookies’ favourites, but they have not been unshakable on their road to the finals.

Ranked number two in Europe, Illegal started well with a couple of comfortable wins on the first day of play, but were nearly caught with their pants down in the third round by fellow Finns, Breeze, who stretched them to a golden cap on Gravelpit. Things didn’t get any easier in the next round as Germany’s finest, [r@ts], put the pinch on them on popular new map, Obscure; the unfamiliar territory was perhaps to blame for the tight scoreline, but Illegal’s class proved to be enough on the day.

The Winter Assembly silver medallists seemed to find their stride in the next round against spirited Scandinavians, Broder, in a 6-1 slaughter on Freight which paved the way for their Upper Bracket showdown versus TCM-Gaming. Like a midfield general, Jani “hocz” Laakkonen, dictated the pace of play early in the game, carving open enemy lines with some well timed Soldier aggression. A vicious back and forth ensued as Illegal and TCM went round for round, but in final minutes Kalle “hymzi” Honkala did some decisive Demoman damage dealing and secured Illegal’s spot in the Grand Final.

TCM-Gaming produced flawless opening in the early rounds, keeping a clean sheet in their first three matches. Things took a turn for the worst though when they were nearly undone on Obscure, a map masterminded by their very own Ahmad Khalid “Byte” Fansa. New German gathering, notag, produced a tight game on what has so far proven to be a low scoring map, but the EMS titleholders managed to scrape through 2-1. The TCM war machine rumbled on to the next round where they would face their stiffest opposition so far, well on paper at least. Unfortunately, the inconsistent I Don’t Know were having a bad hair day and allowed TCM to regain their confidence with a 6-1 steamrolling, as their opponents collapsed on Freight.

Their next challenge was to be in stark contrast as Illegal turned up the heat in a fast and furious 30 minutes of Granary. TCM never seemed to be in the driving seat, continually chasing a one round deficit and playing a more reactionary game as opposed to setting the tempo. Ultimately, it was this which saw them dispatched to the Lower Bracket Final where they faced Broder in a rather one-sided fixture. As often seems to be the case in these David vs Goliath scenarios, the plucky underdogs struck first, taking an early lead which only served as a wakeup call to TCM who soon gathered the momentum required to take six rounds on the trot and put an end to an impressive run for newcomers, Broder.

The stage is set for the Grand Final tonight with Illegal already half way there due to the Double Elimination system. Having already been eliminated once, TCM-Gaming will need to win the first map to tie the series. Then it will be all to play for!

SourceTV: relay.toaster.fi:27020

SourceTV: pipino.n1ping.com:20008

Stream: Level Up TV, OnlineGamer.se & n2oTV.de
STV Demos: coolclan.eu

We’ll be keep this article and the match ticker updated with all the latest and greatest stream and STV information. Good luck to both teams and a well deserved pat on the back for the admins!

ESH Complete Bracket