Evil Geniuses' Ethan "Ethan" Arnold exhibited an incredible show of skills with a first-round ace against Astralis, marking a heroic entry into 2021.
Evil Geniuses have been going through a slump lately. A confident and aggressive play from Evil Geniuses in the first map reminded the audience that the team's still in the game.
Ethan's performance in Evil Geniuses is often overshadowed by the likes of Tarik "tarik" Celik and Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz. However, this time the American rifler stepped into the spotlight from the outset by gunning down the entire enemy roster in the first round of BLAST Premier's initial opening match.
The quintet entered the map on the T side and took minimum damage in its effort to get the bomb down. Ethan had already taken care of Emil "Magisk" Reif defending inferno's A site. However, an aggressive squad of four was on its way to retrieve the site from Evil Geniuses' control. But Ethan had plans of his own.
With Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander shutting down Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte in apartments and tarik in the pits, the Danes took down the defenses of Evil Geniuses. Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov's failure to win a duel against Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen left Ethan with a massive pressure on him to create a one-versus-three win. The 20-year-old had already sent a deadly message to Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz from the A site.
Ethan wasn't exactly in an ideal spot to clutch. Exposed from A short, apartments, and arches, the American was up against Astralis' three ace riflers. In his critical position, Ethan pulled out his Glock and comfortably bested Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth and dupreeh in a smooth pistol spray, bringing the round down to a one-versus-one. Aiming for his final target at the balcony, Ethan avenged his teammates with a crisp headshot against Danish in-game leader gla1ve, wrapping the first-round win in an incredible fashion.
Evil Geniuses move to the lower bracket at BLAST finals
Evil Geniuses' Ethan fits nicely into the team's composed playstyle and averages a rating of 1.13. This wasn't the first time he had so impacted a game for his team. However, this stylish entry into 2021 allows the player to enjoy the well-deserved highlight at the BLAST finals.
Ethan's striking K/D in the first map helped Evil Geniuses grab the win after a tight-knit competition. However, the team's performance declined in the next two maps as Astralis pounced on Evil Geniuses for a 2-1 series victory.
Despite the loss, the American team gave quite a tough time to the world's number one squad with the help of CeRq's incredible AWP and Ethan's clutch plays. EG will now move to the lower bracket to compete against either FURIA or G2 Esports.
