The NSTLGA League Season 2 kicked off its Swiss Stage yesterday with an exciting first round that featured two nail-biting overtime matches. Both SportsBetExpert and DETONATE emerged victorious with identical 16-14 scorelines against Axial and NuTorious.
SportsBetExpert faced an unexpectedly tough challenge from Dave "seziwana" Schrage's Axial squad on Mirage. Despite SBE's strong performance on this map at FRAG Midwest: St. Louis, Axial took a 7-5 lead at halftime and stretched it to match point with a four-round winning streak. SBE fought back to force overtime, with Ian "motm" Hardy delivering a crucial 4K clutch in round 30 to seal the victory.
The DETONATE versus NuTorious battle also required extra rounds to determine a winner, with both sides posting 9-3 defensive performances on Cache. Former Fisher College standout Milan "CrePoW" Libbrecht put on a dominant display, racking up 30 eliminations with over half coming from his AWP play. This result marks a turnaround for DETONATE, who previously fell 2-0 to NuTorious in ESL Challenger League Season 52 North America Cup 1.
The opening round also featured several upset victories, with four lower-ranked teams defeating their favored opponents. Other notable results included LAG's commanding 13-4 win over Beyond Limits and Iowa Stormboar's 13-4 demolition of Overtake Sector.
Round 2 matchups are now set, with winners facing winners and eliminated teams battling to stay alive in the Swiss format.
