Skyesports Souvenir 2023 saw Gods Reign represent India against the best of UAE in Shush in a best-of-3 match. With two teams representing the respective regions, Team UAE walked into the match as favourites while Team India has proven in the past that it would be foolish to write them off. Both teams with qualities to look out for locked horns in the Skyesports Souvenir 2023.
Picks & Bans
- Team UAE removed Ancient
- Team India removed Nuke
- Team UAE picked Mirage
- Team India picked Overpass
- Team UAE removed Anubis
- Team India removed Vertigo
- Inferno was left over
Game 1: Mirage [Pick: Team UAE; Winners: Team India ]
Shush started off strong in their own map pick going 5-0 up off the back of a pistol-round victory. Having dominated the scoreboard early on, Gods Reign took charge of the situation converting the following 3 rounds before Shush got back on the board again. The first half was mostly Shush but GR managed to squeeze out 6 rounds to end the half with a 9-6 favouring Shush.
God Reign having started off strong with the pistol, the 3 rounds deficit was quickly levelled and the Indians found their stride. A well-organised T side, saw them put together 10 rounds on the offence thus crushing all hopes of Team UAE to close the game from the lead they garnered in the first half. Team India won the map with a close 16-14 scoreline with Crazy_Gamer being the main man for their side with 29 kills.
Game 2: Overpass [Pick: Team India; Winners: Team UAE]
Gods Reign kicked off Overpass on the right foot by stealing the pistol round from their opponents on the CT side of the map. They managed to take the following round as well without much hassle as Shush struggled to get much value out of their force buy. It wasn’t until the fifth round that Shush could put up their first point on the board. They carried over their momentum through the following rounds as they equalized the score 4-4. The two teams traded rounds back and forth as Team India closed out the half 8-7 in their favour.
The second half of Overpass was pretty much a one-sided domination from team Shush. After winning the pistol round on the T-side, they kept winning back-to-back rounds, leaving no room for mistakes for their enemies to capitalize on. In fact, team India could only grab a single round in the second half before Team UAE closed the game out with a score of 16-9 in their favour. Shush star ‘HopeDaBeast’ was crowned as the MVP of the game, rocking a K/D/A of 33/15/6 with a whopping 133 ADR.
Game 3: Inferno [Pick: Decider; Winners: Team India]
Gods Reign having lost a big chunk of their momentum walked into the game as second favourites. Both teams traded blows with heavy hitters doing their jobs for their respective teams. The back-and-forth affair in the first few rounds caused either team to fail to get any footing whatsoever in the game. However, Team India was able to put together a string of rounds to close the first half with a 8-7 scoreline narrowing out.
Celebrating this victory is not just for the team but for all of India. We’ve shown that Indian esports cannot be taken lightly. Today we lift the Skyesports Souvenir trophy for ourselves, for our supporters and for our nation. I am proud to be part of Gods Reign, and this triumph reaffirms our hard work and dedication. We’re just getting started! – Parijat “reV3nnnn” Banerjee
The second half wasn’t any different, both teams kept trading blows until Team UAE reached a series point upon which Team India managed to win two in a row to force overtime. The T-side of Team India looked unconvincing but they managed to match their opponent and push the game to overtime thus giving them a second chance at the trophy. The overtime saw Team India get into shape and not let anything more than a single round slip which eventually ended up with a 19-16 scoreline that will see them win the trophy along with a huge chunk of the prize money. Garvit ‘EmbeR’ Nehra was the MVP of the third map with a 31-18 scoreline and a 1.41 rating which is beyond impressive since slotting into the main team only some time ago.
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