Yellow Submarine needed two very different games on Tuesday 13 October to see off HULIGANI. The opener dragged on for 51 minutes before the higher-rated side closed it out, while the second was over in 23 minutes, less than half the length of the first. The sweep puts them through to a meeting with Power Rangers on Wednesday 14 October, with the qualifier running until 15 October.
The result follows a familiar pattern for Yellow Submarine in this event. They also beat Kalmychata 2-0 in the second upper bracket quarter-final, so they have yet to drop a map in the qualifier after four games across two best-of-three series.
A 51-minute opener, then a 23-minute finish
HULIGANI kept the first game alive deep into the late stages, stretching it to 51 minutes. That was as close as they came. Once Yellow Submarine had the first map, the second was settled quickly.
The gap between the two sides on paper was wide. Yellow Submarine are 24th in the Elo power rankings with a rating of 1748, built on a 160-114 record from 274 rated matches. HULIGANI are 95th on 1518, with a 6-12 record from just 18 rated matches. A sweep was therefore the expected outcome rather than a surprise.
The win extends Yellow Submarine’s run to three straight series victories, all by 2-0. Before this qualifier they beat Nemiga Gaming in the EPL Masters Play-In season 3, which followed defeats to Blasterbl and Team Synapse in the PARI Universe closed qualifier.
HULIGANI’s quarter-final win over Nemiga Gaming stands out
For HULIGANI, reaching this semi-final was progress in itself. They opened the event by beating Nemiga Gaming 2-0 in the first upper bracket quarter-final, a result that ended a run of four consecutive series defeats.
Those losses came against CyberHero and Team Synapse in the PARI Universe closed qualifier, Klim Sani4 in the BLAST Slam Europe closed qualifier season 9 and MOUZ in EPL Masters Season 2. Two of them went to a deciding third game: 1-2 against CyberHero and 1-2 against MOUZ.
The shared opponents tell a story too. Both teams lost 0-2 to Team Synapse in the PARI Universe qualifier, but Yellow Submarine beat CyberHero 2-0 in the same competition while HULIGANI fell to them. Both sides have also beaten Nemiga Gaming 2-0 recently.
Power Rangers arrive after two three-game series
Yellow Submarine’s next opponents took a harder route. Power Rangers beat The Warriors 2-1 in the third upper bracket quarter-final, then edged CyberHero 2-1 in the second semi-final. CyberHero had reached that tie by sweeping Shadow Dance 2-0.
That leaves Yellow Submarine as the only team in the upper bracket semi-finals to win both of their series without losing a game. Their meeting with Power Rangers is set for Wednesday 14 October.
Read also: Yellow Submarine sweep Kalmychata to reach DreamLeague qualifier upper semi-final
