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KST survives DM-Deck chaos to win a 30:29 thriller

Nineteen minutes and forty-one seconds of pursuit came down to one Link Gun hit.

Granatnik drew first blood after 18 seconds with a Shock Combo on KST, Trefa answered two seconds later with a Rocket Launcher kill, and the opening made it clear there would be no calm phase. KST did not look like the eventual winner at first: he fell behind early, Trefa built a cushion, and Mlatic repeatedly lost points to unfortunate trips into slime. But a Deathmatch to 30 does not reward appearances; it rewards the last number on the board. After 1181 seconds that number belonged to KST — 30:29, after six lead changes, a pile of revenge kills and a finish decided by the final action.

Granatnik lights the fuse, Trefa starts rolling

Granatnik claimed first blood at 0:18, catching KST with a Shock Combo from 16.4 metres. Two seconds later Trefa removed Granatnik with the Rocket Launcher and immediately entered the fight for first place. Mlatic fell into slime at 0:25 and dropped to minus one, while Granatnik hit KST again with the Flak Cannon to lead 2:0. KST did not score his first frag until 0:47, when the Bio Rifle finally found Granatnik.

From the second minute onward Trefa accelerated. He rotated between the Link Gun, Stinger, Redeemer and Sniper Rifle, and at 2:12 chained fast kills into his first Double Kill. Eleven seconds later a Redeemer blast erased KST and Mlatic, but the explosion also cost Trefa his own life. Even so, he reached seven points by 2:45 and ten by 4:21 while KST still sat on five.

KST rebuilds with Bio Rifle and Link Gun

The Bio Rifle became his most dependable weapon, and at 4:10 he complemented that pressure with a 50.2-metre Shock Rifle kill on Trefa. Trefa answered with an even longer 70.2-metre Shock Rifle shot, but KST began trimming the gap methodically. At 5:44 and 5:47 he killed Mlatic and then Trefa with the Link Gun, the second hit completing a Double Kill. Twenty-one seconds later he added a Shock Combo on Granatnik.

The third minute was the busiest according to the computed data, producing seven kills, and similar spikes returned later. KST also collected more items than anyone else, 30 in total, while his average life lasted 47 seconds. Trefa was even harder to remove at 51 seconds on average, yet by mid-match both had clearly separated from Mlatic and Granatnik. At 10:47 KST tied the score at 19:19.

Trefa's six-kill run meets a calm answer

After repeated exchanges around the lead came the phase that could have decided everything. From 14:15 to 17:08 Trefa produced the longest spree of the match: six uninterrupted kills. He worked through Mlatic, KST and Granatnik, and at 15:36 and 15:37 added another Redeemer Double Kill. Shock Combo kills at 15:45, 15:58 and 16:10 kept him attached to the leader and continually pushed pressure back the other way.

At 12:51 Mlatic killed Granatnik with slime from 72.4 metres, the longest kill of the match. There was also a 43-second drought after 11:56, the longest pause without a frag, before the pace picked up again. When Trefa killed KST with the Flak Cannon at 17:05, he led 27:26 and his six-kill spree was still alive. Three seconds later KST ended it with a 54-metre Bio Rifle kill and tied the match at 27:27.

At 29:29, the final shot belongs to KST

KST reached 28 with a Rocket Launcher kill on Granatnik, Trefa equalized at 28:28 with the Stinger, and KST answered almost immediately by rocketing Trefa for 29:28. Mlatic then slowed Trefa again, but at 19:20 Trefa killed KST with a Rocket Launcher and made it 29:29. After more than nineteen minutes, the result no longer depended on a spree, an average or a favorite weapon.

Mlatic delayed KST again with a Link Gun kill at 19:28, but KST earned one final chance at exactly 19:41. The opponent was Trefa, the range was 8.8 metres and the weapon was the Link Gun. KST survived the exchange on 27 HP and claimed point number thirty. Trefa stopped at 29. The player with 33 kills lost to the player with 31 because Trefa accumulated four suicides while KST had only one.

Match moments

• Granatnik drew first blood at 0:18 with a Shock Combo on KST.
• Trefa built the early lead and recorded three Double Kills during the match.
• KST tied the match at 19:19 at 10:47 and started the long final battle for control.
• Trefa produced the longest spree: six kills from 14:15 to 17:08.
• Mlatic hit the longest kill of the match, 72.4 metres against Granatnik.
• At 29:29, KST killed Trefa with the Link Gun at 19:41 to close the match 30:29.

Trefa had more kills, the longer maximum spree and more damage dealt, yet four suicides erased his margin for error. KST spent much of the match chasing, collected thirteen immediate revenge kills and stayed disciplined enough to reach the final exchange with a chance. Granatnik owned first blood and both headshots; Mlatic owned the longest kill. The winner, however, was KST, whose final Link Gun duel converted a 29:29 deadlock into the only number that mattered: 30:29.