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Vulgarus conquers DM-Diesel with an eight-kill finish

Hlavicka briefly held the wheel, but Vulgarus shifted Diesel into an unstoppable final gear.

DM-Diesel spent its first 35 seconds pretending to be calm, as if the arena were still warming its engines. Then Vulgarus detonated a Shock Combo on Uskok for first blood and the opening point. Hlavicka answered only four seconds later with the Shock Rifle, making it clear that this would not be a ceremonial drive for one favorite. Through the opening two minutes, the score moved between Vulgarus and Hlavicka, with Uskok repeatedly caught in their argument but never reduced to a harmless bystander. The match lasted 541 seconds, produced two lead changes and ended 30:11 for Vulgarus, although the route to that margin was far noisier than the final table suggests.

First spark and Hlavicka's counterattack

First blood arrived at 0:35 when Vulgarus hit Uskok with a Shock Combo from 16.6 meters. Hlavicka dropped Vulgarus four seconds later at close range and tied the score. Vulgarus moved ahead 2:1 with a Sniper Rifle kill at 63 seconds, but Hlavicka replied with the Link Gun, then eliminated Uskok twice and led 4:2 at 1:37. That was the first real swing in tone: the favorite opened the account, yet the opponent using Flak Cannon and Link Gun controlled the scoreboard.

Vulgarus refused to let the engine be dismantled. Between 120 and 186 seconds he collected six kills: Uskok three times, Hlavicka twice and Stvanec once. Shock Rifle, Shock Combo, Sniper Rifle and Rocket Launcher rotated so smoothly that his inventory looked like a menu. At 2:31, Vulgarus reached 5:4 and retook the lead; the second lead change was also the last. His kill on Stvanec at 186 seconds came with only seven health remaining, a margin roughly equal to one loud breath.

A Flak traffic jam in the middle

The middle phase was not one-way. Uskok ended Vulgarus's first meaningful run at 3:34 with the Flak Cannon and then added Stvanec. Seconds later Hlavicka also caught Vulgarus with Flak, before Uskok did it again with the same weapon. Eight kills landed between 214 and 248 seconds, and the corridors of DM-Diesel began to resemble an industrial blender. The Flak Cannon eventually finished as the match's deadliest weapon with 21 kills.

Even so, Vulgarus rebuilt the gap from 236 seconds onward: Stvanec twice, then Hlavicka and Uskok. Stvanec took revenge at 4:36, hitting Vulgarus with Flak from 19.7 meters while surviving on nine health. One second later Hlavicka removed him with the Shock Rifle, perfectly summarizing the phase: every small victory had the shelf life of yogurt on a hot radiator. After five minutes Vulgarus led Hlavicka 13:7, although Uskok and Stvanec could still break his rhythm.

Shock controls the range, Hlavicka lands the long shot

From 311 to 374 seconds, Vulgarus scored six points against Hlavicka, Uskok and Stvanec. Three Shock Combo kills and accurate Shock Rifle work were central, stretching the score from 13:7 to 19:8. Uskok, whose average life lasted 27 seconds, absorbed the most pressure, yet he also recorded three immediate revenge kills on Vulgarus. Vulgarus had nine such revenge kills, the match high, explaining why conceding usually triggered a return to the same area rather than a retreat.

Hlavicka produced the longest hit of the night at 6:27: a 37.2-meter Shock Rifle shot brought down Vulgarus and briefly interrupted the march. Tarydium immediately followed with a Flak Cannon kill. Tarydium's late appearance added new pressure to the finish; in 176 seconds he earned seven kills, including four on Hlavicka. Vulgarus reached point 20 at 7:03, but eight seconds later killed himself with the Shock Rifle and fell back to 19. Diesel was not closed yet.

Ninth minute: thirteen kills and the decisive escape

The pace broke open from 461 seconds. Vulgarus blasted Hlavicka twice in five seconds with the Rocket Launcher, Tarydium and Stvanec answered with kills of their own, and between 483 and 490 seconds Vulgarus died twice. Reaching 22 points was not a crisis, however; it was merely the pursuers' final exhale. The ninth minute delivered a match-high 13 kills. By comparison, the opening minute had only two, while the longest quiet spell was the first 35 seconds.

At 8:20, the run nobody would stop began. Vulgarus killed Tarydium with a rocket, then Uskok and Stvanec with the Shock Rifle for a Double Kill. He removed Hlavicka with another rocket and pulled out the Enforcer: Uskok, Tarydium and Uskok again fell within six seconds, producing a second Double Kill. Hlavicka still eliminated Stvanec at 531 seconds, and Stvanec blew himself up with a rocket seven seconds later, but Vulgarus owned the final word. At 9:01 he dropped Hlavicka with the Shock Rifle and sealed 30:11. The closing spree reached eight kills, ended by nobody because the target score arrived first.

Match moments

• Vulgarus claimed first blood at 0:35 with a Shock Combo on Uskok.
• Hlavicka turned the opening into a 4:2 lead, but Vulgarus retook first place at 5:4 and never surrendered it.
• The Flak Cannon produced 21 kills, more than any other weapon.
• Hlavicka landed the longest kill: 37.2 meters with the Shock Rifle against Vulgarus.
• The ninth minute generated 13 kills, the match's peak tempo.
• Vulgarus closed the duel with an uninterrupted eight-kill spree from 500 seconds.
• Vulgarus recorded two Double Kills at 8:29 and 8:46.

The final 30:11 looks like routine administration, but DM-Diesel delivered two lead changes, a noisy Flak-heavy middle and a finish in which the scoreboard needed a seat belt. Vulgarus combined the widest weapon range, nine immediate revenge kills and the longest spree of the match. Hlavicka owned the sharp opening and the longest shot, Tarydium supplied a fierce late burst, Uskok punished at close range, and Stvanec attacked from the highest average distance. The last minute decided everything: Vulgarus converted it into an eight-point sprint and remained on Diesel as the only train with no brakes left.