degster shines as Espada win DreamHack Open December qualifier

The 19-year-old AWPer continues to put up huge numbers for his team.

Espada clinched on Sunday a spot in DreamHack Open December after they beat Apeks 2-0 in the grand final of the closed qualifier. Abdul "⁠degster⁠" Gasanov was once again key to his side's success as he averaged a tournament-high 1.47 rating during their run in this eight-team single-elimination tournament.

Espada began the tournament in fine style with a 2-0 victory over Lyngby Vikings before edging past x6tence in a three-map series to secure a spot in the final against the Norwegian team, who had in Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad (1.18) their best player in the qualifier.

degster was the top performer in five of the seven maps that Espada played and made the tournament's stats leaderboards in 15 categories. He continues carving out a reputation as one of the most promising players in the CIS region alongside Gambit's Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov and Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov.

Espada, who feature former Spirit duo Dmitriy "⁠Dimaoneshot⁠" Bandurka and Dmitry "⁠S0tF1k⁠" Forostyanko, are the fourth team confirmed for DreamHack Open December, which will take place between December 10 and 13. The final four teams for this $100,000 competition will be invited by DreamHack.

Below you can find the team list for the tournament:

Movistar Riders
XSET
Invite #1
Invite #3SAW
Espada
Invite #2
Invite #4Movistar Riders #43 Lucas 'steel' LopesSebastian 'larsen' LarsenAlejandro 'alex' MasanetAlejandro 'mopoz' Fernández-Quejo CanoKristjan 'shokz' Jakobson x6tence #65 Magnus 'Nodios' OlsenDaniel 'mertz' MertzJonas 'Queenix' DideriksenMarcus 'maNkz' Kjeldsen Espada #32 Dmitriy 'Dimaoneshot' BandurkaDmitry 'S0tF1k' ForostyankoVladislav 'FinigaN' UsovAbdul 'degster' GasanovRobert 'Patsi' Isyanov XSET Zainab 'zAAz' TurkieJulia 'juliano' KiranMichaela 'mimi' LintrupPetra 'Petra' StokerAnastasia 'kr4sy' Khlobystina Sergey 'Ax1Le' Rykhtorov Age: 18 Team: Gambit Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 588 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.63 Spirit #17 Leonid 'chopper' VishnyakovNikolay 'mir' BityukovViktor 'sdy' OrudzhevArtem 'iDISBALANCE' EgorovBoris 'magixx' Vorobiev Lyngby Vikings #66 Rasmus 'raalz' SteensborgMalthe 'Twinx' JensenThomas 'birdfromsky' Due-FrederiksenCasper 'Cabbi' JensenMathias 'Maccen' Madsen Gambit #20 Abay 'HObbit' KhassenovTimofey 'interz' YakushinSergey 'Ax1Le' RykhtorovDmitry 'sh1ro' SokolovVladislav 'nafany' Gorshkov Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolov Age: 19 Team: Gambit Rating 1.0: 1.22 Maps played: 525 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.54 Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad Age: 26 Team: Apeks Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1041 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.70 Dmitry 'S0tF1k' Forostyanko Age: 26 Team: Espada Rating 1.0: 0.93 Maps played: 1241 KPR: 0.63 DPR: 0.69 Abdul 'degster' Gasanov Age: 19 Team: Espada Rating 1.0: 1.19 Maps played: 387 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.61 SAW #29 Omar 'arki' ChakkorChristopher 'MUTiRiS' FernandesRicardo 'roman' OliveiraTiago 'JUST' MouraRenato 'stadodo' Gonçalves Dmitriy 'Dimaoneshot' Bandurka Age: 25 Team: Espada Rating 1.0: 0.99 Maps played: 1274 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.71 Apeks #95 Dennis 'dennis' EdmanJoakim 'jkaem' MyrbostadOle 'Marcelious' Kristian LanganSander 'Grus' IversenMartin 'Nasty' Garvik