After months of qualifiers, group stages matches, and hard work, the EU Masters 1v1 series has finally come to a close. With some of the world’s best individual players going head to head in some nail biting matchups, the final day certainly met all expectations.
DerLotus’ Spirit Broken
As the 1st seed out of group A, and having yet to even drop a series yet for the event, DerLotus was a huge favourite to win the event today. But in a tightly fought upper bracket semi final with Redredeyes, his offensive plays, with 22 goals in the final 5 games, weren’t enough to keep him in it. An overtime loss in game 7 would have been heart breaking, and being sent to lowers, it clearly had an impact on the German phenom.
In the lower bracket, DerLotus was completely overwhelmed by brofgod’s relentless attacks, unable to get within 3 goals for 3/4 games. He was swept, 0-4, and sent out of the tournament in devastating fashion. Top 6 is certainly still a solid result, but we have to wonder if DerLotus had more to give.
Spineur Dominates Lowers
After being dismantled by Mikalva in uppers, BS + Competition player Spineur was forced to run the gauntlet back to grands, and did so in impressive fashion. His mechanical poise on offence was far too much for Galaxio, including a 9-1 game 3, as he sealed the first series 4-1, setting up a matchup with 2s partner brofgod.
Having played in uppers, where Spineur was victorious, his streak over his partner continuing in strong fashion, winning 4-1 again to make himself the last remaining Frenchmen against the Dutch phenoms.
In the lower bracket final, playing a heavily in form Redredeyes, Spineur produced one of the best performances in Sideswipe history. He was unstoppable off the kickoff, with incredible variation and mind games, his gold shot finishes had great poise, and a 9-0 final gap capped off a brilliant 4-2 series victory, securing a spot in the top 2 and a place in Sideswipe esports history.
Mikalva Rises From The Grave
Many people praised Mikalva as the best in Europe, if not the best in the world. But with these expectations on his shoulders, Mikalva seriously struggled in the group stages. He slumped to a 3-4 record, and only qualified for the playoffs alone through the fortune of a tie breaker in the 3-way tie for third.
However, his demolition of Leny last week showed that Mika did indeed mean business, and that wasn’t stopping today. In his first match, Mika essentially nullified any attempts from Spineur’s otherwise unstoppable attack. He took his chances with counter attacks, defended his goal line, and did enough to get the 4-0 sweep.
In the upper bracket finals, Mika found his limits being firmly pushed by fellow Dutchmen Redredeyes, who tied up the series, 3-3, with a spirited late comeback. But with his turbo stalls, and iciness under pressure, Mika was still able to cruise to a 5-2 final game victory, cementing his spot in grands for a rematch with Spineur.
He had his number in the upper bracket semis, and it certainly wasn’t stopping here. Spineur found it difficult to remain consistent with Mika’s methodical game play, and found himself defeated in three consecutive overtimes, 4-1, a true testimony to Mika’s class under pressure.
Mika is a deserving first ever European champion, with Spineur a worthy runner up, and we’re excited to see their progress for the rest of 2022. Stay tuned for the EU Masters 2v2 final day on Thursday!