Total Shorty Kills
Fight Night Arena #8: Team Underrated topples the Champs
Brandon "Mothman" Moore
07/15/2020
Fight Night Arena #8, presented by Giant Slayer, is all said and done. For those unaware, Fight Night Arena is a weekly event where the winner of the semi-finals match heads to the grand finals against the winner of the previous week. This edition saw hard-fought battles from each team, culminating in Way 2 French having to defend their title against Team Underrated.
Team Underrated moves on
The semi-finals saw Team Underrated take on Spot Up. The two teams very recently faced off in the finals of the Nerd Street Gamers – Open #14. Spot Up edged out that meeting 2:1. The squad is no stranger to Fight Night Arena, appearing in the 5th week, losing to then champion, Big Frames.
The series began on Bind with Team Underrated taking the first two rounds. Spot Up then won six in a row before Team Underrated was able to grab another round. Spot Up eventually took the map 13:8, squashing a comeback attempt. On to the second map, Haven, Team Underrated would defend successfully for 11 straight rounds, including a round seven ace by jmoh.
A similar situation to the previous map would occur as Spot Up had a fire lit under them after switching sides. Team Underrated hung on for a 13:9 victory, however, forcing a map 3 on Ascent. After a very even first half, Team Underrated avenged their loss against Spot Up by winning 13:7 as the attacking team.
Way 2 French fails to defend
Haven started the map rotation for the grand finals. Both teams surprisingly had their best half on the attacker side. Defending champions, Way 2 French, pulled off a comeback after being down 9:3 and took the map 13:10. The best of three series moved to Bind, where another ace from Team Underrated occurred, this time courtesy of Ange. That set up an unbelievable 13:2 victory.
Once again, Team Underrated forced a third map on Ascent. Team Underrated showed their attacking prowess several times during the tournament and this map was no exception. Finishing out the series on the attacker side, they wrestled the championship from Way 2 French 13:6. The series ended in their favor 2:1.
Way 2 French was ranked 9th by ESPN Esports and defended their championship handily last week. This week was a different story. Team Underrated needs to ride this momentum after beating two very solid teams. You can follow @GiantSlayerVAL on Twitter for all updates regarding future Fight Night Arena events.
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