K27 have been eliminated from the Esports World Cup after back-to-back group-stage defeats, the second a 0-2 loss to MIBR that HLTV reported left the Russian side unable to compete on either of its T-side halves.
The exit puts K27 in joint-last place at the main tournament and closes out a run that had started far more promisingly. The team reached the event through the Last Chance Qualifier, beating SAW and fnatic along the way, but could not carry that form into the group stage.
A series decided on the attacking halves
K27 went into the match short-handed. Their coach, Gregory "balblna" Oleinick, had been forced to leave the Schengen zone the previous day when his visa expired, taking him out of the series entirely.
Without him, the team could not find a way out of its attacking ruts. On Cache, K27 managed a single round across a full half, leaving too little margin for what HLTV described as a respectable attempt at a CT-side comeback. The pattern repeated on Nuke, where they went 0-6 in the closing stretch on offence and never threatened the scoreline.
Between them, those two attacking halves account for the whole series: a team that cannot convert on the T side has to win almost everything it plays defensively, and across both maps K27 were never able to build that kind of buffer.
Individual rounds swung the series as heavily as the map halves did. Carlos "venomzera" Eduardo won two 1v3 clutches across the two maps, and Lucas "nqz" Soares added a 1v2, keeping the Brazilian-majority roster in control at the moments K27 most needed a break to build momentum.
MIBR now move on to the deciding match of the group, where they face a familiar opponent in Legacy with a playoff spot on the line. K27 leave the main event without a series win, their Last Chance Qualifier victories over SAW and fnatic standing as the high point of the campaign.
Join the conversation — sign in to comment.
Sign in
