Endpoint defeat DBL PONEY to qualify for BLAST Premier Spring Showdown

The international squad triumphed in the BLAST qualifier grand final after a 16-0 blowout on the last map of the series.

Endpoint have secured themselves a spot in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown with a 2-1 win over DBL PONEY in the Fantasyexpo Spring Cup grand final. The European qualifier winners will join a host of top-10 sides in the Showdown event, including Astralis, Gambit and Liquid, as well as many other tough opponents in the next stage for a chance to make the Spring Finals.

Max "⁠MiGHTYMAX⁠" Heath's troops made their way to the grand finals with wins over Pompa and LDLC in the group stage before overcoming Sprout 2-0 in the first playoff round. Meanwhile, DBL PONEY upset MOUZ and took down Sprout in Group A, with a 2-1 win over LDLC in the playoffs earning them a spot in the tournament decider.

Endpoint demolished DBL PONEY on the decider map

A standout showing from Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt—the tournament’s leading performer prior to the grand final—kicked off the series promisingly for DBL PONEY, who secured a 16-12 Dust2 opening win thanks to the 26-year-old's 1.62-rated performance.

From there, the grand final was flipped on its head. Endpoint battled with the Frenchmen in the first half of Inferno before pulling ahead as a result of a solid defensive setup. The UK-based team strung together a streak of rounds and closed out the map 16-11.

Endpoint took proceedings to a whole different level on Vertigo, the decider map. An impenetrable defence shut down DBL PONEY, who were unable to find a single round on their offence. All that was left was for MiGHTYMAX’s men to secure the pistol, and they did just that as they swept the Frenchmen 16-0 to emerge victorious in the series and book a spot in the Showdown tournament.

Fantasyexpo Spring Cup 2021 - BLAST Premier QualifierBest of 3 DBL PONEYMatchpage 1 2 25th March 2021 Endpoint 16Dust2 12 11Inferno 16 0Vertigo 16

DBL PONEY	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Aurélien 'afro' Drapierafro	48 - 49	-1	78.6	1.07
Thomas 'Djoko' PavoniDjoko	52 - 49	+3	74.7	1.04
Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittNBK-	42 - 48	-6	62.7	1.00
Alexandre 'bodyy' Pianarobodyy	44 - 54	-10	70.1	0.95
Lucas 'Lucky' ChastangLucky	41 - 52	-11	72.2	0.89

Endpoint	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Kia 'Surreal' ManSurreal	54 - 46	+8	81.3	1.19
Shahar 'flameZ' ShushanflameZ	56 - 42	+14	77.3	1.19
Joey 'CRUC1AL' SteuselCRUC1AL	47 - 48	-1	76.4	1.05
Max 'MiGHTYMAX' HeathMiGHTYMAX	49 - 47	+2	69.4	1.05
Robin 'robiin' Sjögrenrobiin	45 - 45	0	79.7	1.04

Sixteen teams will participate in the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown from April 13-16, with $162,500 and two spots in the $425,000 Spring Finals on offer. With two qualifiers left, the team list for the tournament currently looks as follows:

Astralis
Liquid
Vitality
HEROIC
Gambit
Spirit
SAW
Nordic MastersG2
OG
MIBR
FURIA
NASR
9z
Endpoint
VENN InvitationalNathan 'NBK-' Schmitt Age: 26 Team: DBL PONEY Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1945 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 MIBR #31 Ricardo 'boltz' PrassGustavo 'yel' KnittelMarcelo 'chelo' CespedesBruno 'shz' MartinelliDaniel 'danoco' Morgado OG #20 Valdemar 'valde' Bjørn VangsåAleksi 'Aleksib' VirolainenNikolaj 'niko' KristensenMateusz 'mantuu' Wilczewski Sprout #23 Timo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' HowellMarko 'kressy' ĐorđevićJosef 'faveN' BaumannFritz 'slaxz-' Dietrich 9z #88 Bruno 'BIT' Fukuda LimaMaximiliano 'max' GonzalezFranco 'dgt' GarciaMartin 'rox' MolinaSantino 'try' Rigal G2 #13 Audric 'JACKZ' JugNikola 'NiKo' KovačNemanja 'huNter-' KovačFrançois 'amanek' DelaunayNemanja 'nexa' Isaković Astralis #2 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif MOUZ #18 Christopher 'dexter' NongDavid 'frozen' ČerňanskýFrederik 'acoR' GyldstrandRobin 'ropz' KoolAurimas 'Bymas' Pipiras DBL PONEY #57 Nathan 'NBK-' SchmittAlexandre 'bodyy' PianaroLucas 'Lucky' ChastangThomas 'Djoko' PavoniAurélien 'afro' Drapier Liquid #5 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoKeith 'NAF' MarkovicJonathan 'EliGE' JablonowskiJake 'Stewie2K' YipMichael 'Grim' Wince Spirit #6 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovNikolay 'mir' BityukovViktor 'sdy' OrudzhevAbdul 'degster' GasanovBoris 'magixx' Vorobiev Endpoint #36 Robin 'robiin' SjögrenJoey 'CRUC1AL' SteuselMax 'MiGHTYMAX' HeathKia 'Surreal' ManShahar 'flameZ' Shushan NASR #120 Abd-Alrahman 'REAL1ZE' ArabiatAtif 'gejmzilla' MustafaBebu 'Bibu' AadilArbnor 'Dementor' PacolliMohammad 'BOROS' Malhas LDLC #47 Christophe 'SIXER' XiaLambert 'Lambert' PrigentAli 'hAdji' HaïnoussBryan 'Maka' CandaNicolas 'Keoz' Dgus Vitality #7 Richard 'shox' PapillonCédric 'RpK' GuipouyDan 'apEX' MadesclaireMathieu 'ZywOo' HerbautKévin 'misutaaa' Rabier HEROIC #11 Casper 'cadiaN' MøllerIsmail 'refrezh' AliMartin 'stavn' LundRené 'TeSeS' MadsenRasmus 'sjuush' Beck Gambit #3 Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovTimofey 'interz' YakushinSergey 'Ax1Le' RykhtorovDmitry 'sh1ro' SokolovVladislav 'nafany' Gorshkov Max 'MiGHTYMAX' Heath Age: 23 Team: Endpoint Rating 1.0: 0.90 Maps played: 837 KPR: 0.59 DPR: 0.66 FURIA #10 Andrei 'arT' PiovezanYuri 'yuurih' SantosVinicius 'VINI' FigueiredoPaytyn 'junior' JohnsonKaike 'KSCERATO' Cerato Pompa #84 Konrad 'koyot' HadałaMikołaj 'Miki' SzemrajDenis 'Grashog' HristovSebastian 'fr3nd' KuśmierzBartosz 'bnox' Niebisz SAW #30 Omar 'arki' ChakkorChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraRenato 'stadodo' Gonçalves