G2 esports sailed through to the Semi-Finals of IEM Katowice 2022 after a solid performance versus Virtus.pro. They won the Bo3 in a cool 2-0 fashion to send the CIS side home while they punched a ticket for themselves to the semis to face Natus Vincere. Making his Arena debut for G2 was 16-year-old AWP prodigy Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov, and boy did he deliver. He took the game by the scruff of the neck and single-handedly powered G2 to OT on the first map and closed it out with 45 kills in triple OT, highest on the server to win on Mirage. Ancient was a team effort as VP were dealt with ease by G2.
MAP VETO
- G2 removed Overpass
- Virtus.pro removed Nuke
- G2 picked Mirage
- Virtus.pro picked Ancient
- G2 removed Vertigo
- Virtus.pro removed Dust2
- Inferno was left over
MAP 1: Mirage (G2 25-22 Virtus.pro)
MAP 2: Ancient (G2 16-5 Virtus.pro)
We kicked off the first game at the Spodek in 2 years on Mirage, the preferred pick of G2. With the T side start and a pistol win, G2 were up 3-0 and m0NESY was already fired up.
Once the guns came out, it was Virtus.pro’s turn. Jame on the AWP, supported well by Qikert and FL1T on catwalk and connector, took full control of mid, not letting G2 have any breathing space. Once that was dealt with they always had a flank ready to take care of any clutches G2 might look to pull off. They took a flurry of rounds and were up 8-4 before G2 brought two back. The half ended 9-6.
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VP started off on the wrong foot in the pistol yet again and with m0NESY out fragging everyone on the server, G2 took a 10-9 lead. It looked like the AWP prodigy felt right at home in front of the crowd as they cheered him on.
As the money started to flow, VP turned the gears as they exploited the extremities, hoping to catch Aleksib and JACKZ off guard on their respective sites. They went up 13-10 and G2 looked battered.
Quiet until now, huNter- showed up in spades to complement m0NESY who had become a human highlight reel at this point.
G2 took 4 on the trot and were up 14-13 and looked set for a win. VP came back with a partial buy win and then lost the next to be down 15-14. One final push from the CIS squad sent them through to OT and a brawling affair ensued once again.
Nothing could separate the two teams as FL1T and Jame went toe to toe with m0NESY and huNter- as the score read 18-18, followed by 21-21. In triple OT, G2 had a flawless CT side, courtesy of m0NESY yet again as they needed 1 T round.
A magnificent 2v5 from Aleksib and m0NESY on the B bombsite helped push them through to the final hurdle and take the map 25-22 with m0NESY popping off on 45 kills and a 1.39 rating.
On Ancient, G2 had the favored CT side start and they carried the moment from Mirage into the second map. A 7-0 lead to start was good but G2 wanted more and went up 10-1 before VP had a chance to get 2 on the trot. The half ended 12-3 in G2’s favor with a magnificent display of skill and reads from IGL Aleksib.
G2 lost the pistol but won the force buy on the T side, followed by another loss to VP’s force buy. Needing just 2 more, G2 forced again and made quick work of VP as the series ended 2-0, this time with JACKZ and huNter- popping off to take the map.
SEMI FINALS AT THE SPODEK FOR G2
G2 will face long-time rivals NaVi, this time in the semi-finals instead of the Grand Finals. They will play for a spot in the Grand Finals tomorrow at 20:00 IST.
Virtus.pro will go home in 5-6th position after an impressive performance throughout the event.
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