BIG opened their Esports World Cup campaign with a 13-9 win over Aurora on Cache, a result that leaves the German-majority side one game away from the playoffs as the tournament's best-of-one stage got underway. HLTV reported that BIG carried the form they had shown in the last chance qualifier straight into the main event.
BIG were the standout team of that qualifier, dropping just a single map on the way through, with Gleb “gr1ks” Gazin posting a 1.58 rating across the run. Aurora, by contrast, came into the match still working out their new international roster, and the defeat was another setback for it.
Aurora could not handle blameF's side's pace and teamplay on Cache. They took both pistol rounds, but BIG were dominant once the rifles came out, and the 13-9 scoreline flattered the losing side more than the balance of play warranted.
It was a difficult game individually for Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo, who finished with a -7.80 percent swing. A 2v1 he lost against Josef “faveN” Baumann was a damaging round to concede at a point where Aurora could still have worked their way back into the map.
Aurora tried two-man plays built around Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş and Ali “Wicadia” Haydar Yalçın, but those were shut down as BIG's tactical play outmanoeuvred a side still getting to grips with life as an Anglophone team.
What the result sets up
The defeat sends Aurora into an elimination game against the loser of M80 versus G2. BIG will play the winner of that match for a place in the round of 16.
The other results from the opening round of best-of-ones included a heavy defeat for Luminosity, who were swept aside 13-3 by GamerLegion and continue to struggle in the absence of their former in-game leader Jack “Gizmy” von Spreckelsen.
