FaZe 2 – 0 Astralis
The Group B upper bracket finals have finally reached an end and FaZe came out on top of the competition without much struggle. The team captained by Finn “karrigan” Andersen first denied the Danish comeback on Overpass in a 16-13 win, and then closed out the series on Inferno 16-11.
Astralis struggled to get T side rounds on the board on both maps, as they posted three on Overpass and four on Inferno, but aren’t headed home yet thanks to their own upper bracket run, which got them through to the quarter-finals. The Danes will now move on to face MOUZ in a match consisting of teams not many expected to make it to this stage of the tournament.
Overpass began with Astralis winning the first round of play, but FaZe were quick to fight back with their forcebuy to equalize the score at 1-1. From then on, the Danes were able to win just two more rounds on their offensive side, as Helvijs “broky” Saukants’s imperious AWPing performance shut out everything Astralis had to offer. But it didn’t take FaZe too long until they revved up their engines an rolled over Astralis in a 16-13 manner.
Going into the second map, FaZe started off strong on Inferno, winning the first 4 rounds with relative ease, before Astralis fought back and got themselves on the board. broky proved to be the difference maker once again, as he got a quad kill to make the scoreline 6-3, with the reigning Major champions eventually winning the half 8-7. Astralis couldn’t pick up more than 4 rounds during the 2nd half and FaZe closed out the series with a 16-11 score.
Team Liquid 2 – 0 FURIA
Team Liquid is through to the playoffs stage at IEM Cologne after taking down FURIA in the lower bracket final of Group B, securing a win in two maps after coming back from a substantial deficit on Ancient. They went on and played a 36 round Mirage that finished on an overtime victory to advance to the quarter-finals.
In the LANXESS Arena, Liquid will take on Movistar Riders, a team who have been on a hot streak after lifting the trophy at ESL Challenger Valencia. FURIA, meanwhile, head home as their tournament season comes to an end, having made deep runs in a number of notable tournaments but ending just shy of a playoff appearance at the final event ahead of the tournament break.
The first encounter was on Ancient, which was a Liquid pick. It was a very close 1st half as we saw a lot of very back-and-forth action between these two teams, finishing with a 8-7 score in FURIA’s favor. The Brazilian squad kept the ball rolling during the 2nd half, winning 5 rounds in a row. Luckily for TL, they were able to come back after a good CT-side, closing out the 1st map with a 16-14 score.
Mirage was an even closer affair, but it didn’t look as if it would be at the start. Despite a number of close rounds, it was a blowout first half from Liquid as EliGE dominated the scoreboard, helping his side to sit upon an 11-4 lead by the break as he ended Liquid’s CT effort with a 20-5 K-D. The Brazilian squad wouldn’t give up easily as Kaike “KSCERATO” Cerato stepped up to keep Liquid on edge, tying up at 11-11.
The two teams managed to force overtime, but it was there that the Brazilian representatives began to falter as Team Liquid found their footing thanks again to strong impact from both EliGE and NAF, finishing the series on a very intense 19-17 victory over FURIA.
