Spirit win EWC as FUT's inexperience shows

For a moment there, we really thought this event would have another shock winner like last year.

FUT’s wins, Legacy knocking out NAVI and Falcons, Spirit and Vitality facing each other — it was lined up perfectly for an upset. What actually happened, though, was far more anticlimactic.

A spirited effort

Coming into the final, both sides had real cases to make.

Obviously, Spirit were the bookies' favorite; they're a two-headed monster with just enough support to beat any team. But they're also a flawed creature, as their refusal to make a massive change and their choice of internal shifts have left them vulnerable to stagnation in an ever-changing scene. Map one perfectly encapsulated this.

The young guns of FUT pulled at all of Spirit's strings with ease.

They didn't even need to change much, as the game plan was their usual, just brawl. Whenever the pack took space, they would keep pushing and looking for a fight. If the first guy dies, trade him.

This made sh1ro uncomfortable, and it let FUT's young, sharp aimers bully the “supportive” (aim-deficient) elements of Spirit's team. This worked so well that they took map one 13-10, opening the door for an upset.

Hell, it almost worked on map two, as well.

They didn't let up, pushing onwards and into space, but this time, sh1ro wasn't missing, going 14-6 in the first half. That gave Spirit a lead on their CT-side, which seemed like it could be Anubis wrapped up, especially when they took an 11-5 lead. Yet, FUT strung together seven of the last eight rounds in regulation to push the game into overtime. And then, as quick as they locked in… it fizzled out as they slowly capitulated to Spirit’s superior firepower and execution.

Ancient, map three, retold that story.

It was tighter this time, with both halves ending 6:6, but this time it was Spirit who had to salvage the map from a deficit. FUT got on match point at 12:9, in part thanks to dziugss channeling his inner ropz to win FUT their crucial 11th and mess up Spirit’s money.

At this point, the game was in FUT’s hands. All they had to do was win a round, go up 2-1, and take a chance to close out on one of the last two maps.

Unfortunately, experience took over.

FUT began to look a bit shaky, probably nerves, as is human. They gave Spirit more chances, and Spirit will always take them. Suddenly, they recovered to a 12:12 scoreline, sending it to OT. There, FUT still managed to win two of the first three rounds, only to lose three in a row on their T-side, two of which were retakes. Suddenly, a game that was entirely within FUT’s control slipped away, and now they were down 2-1 instead of up.

Frankly, FUT never recovered from here.

Nuke isn’t even worth talking about; FUT’s heads were clearly gone, as anyone’s would be after losing in the manner they did. Before anyone knew it, the game was over. You can say whatever you want about roles, structure, expectations, etc. At the end of the day, experience really matters, and it showed. Spirit could probably improve a lot with changes, but as long as they’ve got donk, these guys won’t stop winning.

As we said in yesterday's recap, sometimes the game really is that simple.

If only lifting trophies went as well for them.

To be fair, who cares if you’re bad at trophy lifts so long as you keep winning them.

Congratulations Team Spirit.