Invictus completed a comeback of gargantuan proportions. Down 1 map and 4-12 in Nuke, the Hyderabadi stack not only took nuke, but ran over Entity on the decider, winning Inferno by a scoreline of 16-8 to grab the ESL INDIA Premiership Summer LAN Finale trophy.
Entity started their map pick on the CT side. Despite a lack of defuse kits in the pistol round, a quickfire 2k from Amaterasu ensured the round for the Blues. Excali though, responded with a 2k of his own – a snappy effort from the deagle – to successfully defend the bomb planted on the A site.
Invictus then decided to hit the B bombsite and secured the round, with Ribbi converting a 1v1 to push the score to 3-1 in favour of the Hyderabadi stack. Falken then responded with a 1v1 clutch of his own before Hellranger pulled off a brilliant 3k in defence of the B bombsite to level the scores at 3-3.
A team ace saw Entity take the lead. But, Hellranger, unfortunately, decided to reposition himself in a more passive position outside the B bombsite with the Auto Sniper just as Invictus were about to enter the site, which saw the T side grab the round.
Entity thwarted consecutive attempts from Invictus to hit the A bombsite through long to run away to a 6-4 lead before Marzil shut down a Mid-to-B take with a 3k to extend the lead.
Invictus finally found success at A long and subsequently won another round to close the gap to just 1 round. But, Falken pulled through with a 3k, with Entity grabbing the next round to end the half at 9-6.
Entity seemed to have broken through the B defence on pistol round before Pashasahil did the unthinkable, with a 4k on the B retake to secure the round for Invictus. Entity got their first round on the board on the back of a B rush, before securing two more rounds to push the lead to 12-8.
Invictus gave Entity a taste of their own medicine, shutting down the A long take attempt. Entity then chose to execute a Mid-B split, which saw Falken open up the Invictus defence with a 2k as Entity won the round.
Falken then opened up the A site to push Entity closer to the map win. But, Invictus showed they are no pushovers with a win on the quasi buy, shutting down Entity’s attempt to take control of the A site.
Entity though, did not let it make a huge fuss, securing the two rounds needed to take their own map pick with a scoreline of 16-10.
Invictus did not look comfortable starting on the CT side of their own map pick, Nuke, as Entity not only secured the pistol round but got seven rounds in a row without response. Invictus finally got a round on Board, shutting down Entity’s attempt to move to the lower bombsite through connector.
Invictus won another round before Entity hit back with a successful hit at the lower bombsite, with Hellranger having a blinder of a half. Entity extended the lead to 2-11, with Hellranger hitting the 20 frag mark already.
Invictus then showed their presence on the map, with a Team ace, before ending the half with another round win.
With the scoreline heavily tilted in favour of Entity, they started off well on the CT side, looking to secure a quick 2-0 win over Invictus. They executed a successful retake of the A bombsite to secure the pistol round.
Entity though, fumbled on the following round, losing the round to Invictus, who broke back on a quasi to pull one round back. Amaterasu though, broke back with a 2k, to push Entity closer to the map and series win.
5-13 and staring a 2-0 loss in the finals, it was the Invictus IGL who took matters into his own hands. A 1v1 clutch from Huntr paved the way for the start of a comeback at 13-6. Invictus then managed to string together 7 more rounds to level the scores at 13-13.
Invictus mixed it up in the rounds after it to push themselves on to a map point. But, Hellranger, who was having a blinder already, refused to sit back down and responded with a 3k of his own.
But, just as it looked that the game would be heading towards an Overtime, Huntr opened up the A site and pushed Invictus to take their own map pick 16-14.
With Invictus on a high after a brilliant comeback on Nuke, Inferno almost served the trophy on a platter for the Hyderabadi stack. Entity though, looked bright, securing the pistol round on the T side.
But, Entity hit the B site again. This time, Invictus defended with more guile and conviction, winning the round, despite a 3k from Amaterasu. A retake on B site saw Invictus get another round on the board.
With the score at 1-3, Psy unleashed his inner beast, with a 1v3 – 4 kills in total – on the B site, with some insane shots to pull a round back for Entity.
Invictus thwarted consecutive Entity attempts to capture the A site. The scoreline read 6-2 in favour of Invictus and it could have been 7-2, with Excali pushing at the opportune moment through Mid. But, his tick on his own Molotov gave away his position and Marzil eliminated him, which ultimately cost Invictus the round.
Confidence though, was running high in the veins of the Invictus players. And it showed on the server – Huntr with a 3k and then Manan came up huge on the B bombsite with an ace in the Anti-Eco round to push the lead to 9-3.
One of the absolute legends of the Counter-Strike scene, Ribbi then showcased why experience matters on the server, with a brilliant 4k as Invictus executed a successful retake of the B bombsite. A 4k from Huntr saw Invictus close out the half 12-3.
The comeback trail showed no signs of letting up, with Invictus winning the pistol round and the subsequent rounds to move to 15-3.
With Entity facing 12 series points, Psy came up huge again, with a 3k to deny the inevitable. But, Entity slowly began eating into the Invictus advantage, putting up 7 rounds on the board. And as Marzil hit two through the smoke and the coffin at B, there were echoes of a potential turnaround.
But, Invictus remained patient and used the experience to whittle down the Entity defence. A miscall or misread of the situation saw Entity draw players towards the B site. Invictus capitalized and took control of the A bombsite. Psy tried his best to complete another ridiculous 1vX situation, but only managed to kill two of them before falling down.
What seemed impossible at 5-13 was made inevitable by Invictus and their players. The Hyderabadi stack lay their hands on the ESL INDIA Summer trophy and the crown of the best Indian team, at least for the Summer season.
There are changes in the offing though. Marzil is set to be part of a historic Optic-INDIA venture. And, according to reports, Entity are set to bring in Excali from Invictus to replace the Optic-bound hybrid support player.
With Ribbi hinting towards a potential retirement, it will be interesting to see if Invictus return for the next season for the ESL INDIA Premiership with a new-look roster.
For now, Invictus reign supreme over the Indian CSGO scene.
