Astralis’ quest for the Intel Grand Slam continues as they dominate Mousesports 2-0 in the semifinal match of the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals.
The best of three maps contest began on Mirage and neither side would yield an inch. After the first 10 rounds the score was tied 5-5. Every few rounds, the economies of both sides would be reset with how costly the rounds were becoming. What gave Astralis their edge was their ability to come out ahead in clutch situations. Astralis started to breakaway in round 9 picking six straight rounds, but Mousesports was able to take one back at the very end bringing the score at the half to 9-6. In the second half Mousesports could not seem to find their footing. As the CT-side, Astralis was suffocating while not allowing Mousesports to build an economy or even plant the bomb in the first four rounds of the half. Mousesports was able to chain some rounds together, winning rounds 20 and 21 bringing the score to 13-8. Mousesports picked up a round off of a questionable save in round 22 on the Astralis side. After the losing two straight, Astralis kept trying to save their economy from being reset. Instead these wins looked to have provided Mousesports a cushion with their economy and gain the momentum. By round 24, Astralis had to play and eco giving Mousesports their fifth straight. With the score tied at 13-11, Astralis came back on the back of device and his AWP. After a win in round 25, Astralis went to a double AWP setup and pick up round 26 and map point at 15-11. Mousesports would not lie down, winning the next round and extending the map 15-12.It was the master of the clutch, Xyp9x, who won the round for Astralis. Xyp9x was holding the B site alone and pulled off a triple kill to end the map 16-12. Mousesports gave Astralis a bit of a run on Mirage while putting up some decent numbers. It was suNny who was leading Mousesports with 18 kills. He had ropz and STYKO right behind him with 16 apiece. It was Mousesports savior from the quarterfinals, oskar, who was the quietest that map, only able to pick up 12 kills. Against a team like Astralis and the talent they possess it is hard to stop them when they get going. device easily led the server with the most kills at 27 and lowest deaths with 13. Other standouts were dupreeh and gla1ve with 23 and 21 kills respectively, and though being so low on the table, the clutch ability of Xyp9x cannot be overlooked. The second map was Astralis’ pick of Inferno. With Astralis and Mousesports on the T and CT-sides respectively, the map starts the same as Mirage with both sides trading the first couple rounds. This stalemate did not last long as Astralis led 4-1 after five rounds then 7-3 after 10. Mousesports was able to win round 11 and put themselves and Astralis into a precarious economic position. Despite that, both sides fight head-to-head with each other until Astralis came out on top at the end of the half 10-5. Astralis played a clinical CT-side to win six straight rounds, the map and the match 16-5. As a whole, Mousesports was fairly weak statistically on Inferno. It was oskar who carried his side with 20 kills, but that is not enough when facing Astralis and device. device was 11 kills ahead of the player in second for Astralis. The map ends with 26 kills for device on the map and 53 for the match. With this win, Astralis is now a best of five away from the championship and the first ever Intel Grand Slam. The team standing between Astralis and the $1 million will be the winner of the MiBR vs. Team Liquid match later today.
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The second of the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals quarter final matches was between the second and third best “Counter-Strike” teams in the world, Natus Vincere and Team Liquid. Vincere have had a lack luster showing this tournament and had one in this match as well.
The match started on Na’Vi’s map pick Dust2 and there is no way around the fact that they got crushed. Liquid played a near perfect first half only dropping two rounds in the first half. They switched sides for the second with a 13-2 score in favor of Liquid. Na’Vi started showing some signs of life after losing the pistol round. They won round 17 cleanly then should have won 18, but overextended and wound up losing the round and putting Liquid on map point. Na’Vi was able to pick up their final round in round 19. In round 20 twistzz set TACO up for a great clutch situation by. TACO stepped up and knocked down the remaining Na’Vi players and got the defuse to end the map 16-4 in favor of Team Liquid. The first map was not a strategic win. It was a brawl all the way through and Liquid battered Na’Vi every chance they had. TACO and twistzz lead in kills with 18 a piece, but it was TACO who was the clear MVP. He was getting every entry kill he could, at times looked to just waltz on to a bomb site clearing away any opposition with ease. s1mple’s performance was about the only silver lining Na’Vi could find. s1mple led his side with 18 kills, but that is not going to cut it against a squad with two players putting up those numbers and the other three holding their own. Onto Liquid’s pick, Inferno, for the second map. Liquid came out swinging winning the four straight. Na’Vi was somehow able to stop Liquid with just CZ75s in round 5. That round began a comeback for Na’Vi as they were able to win three more tying the score at 4-4 after round 8. Each side won one of the next two rounds, tying things at 5-5 after 10 rounds. The win in the tenth round gave Liquid some momentum and, despite some close rounds, won four more to end the half 9-6 in favor of Liquid. Liquid took over as the CTs in the second half and ran away with the match. Liquid won seven straight and the map. This map, Na’Vi had a better showing but still could not play as a wholly cohesive unit. s1mple led Na’Vi in kills again with 18, but his rating on this map shadowed that of his teammates. It was the polar opposite for Liquid, as the difference between the highest and lowest ranked player was much tighter. The better team won here and it should be clear that Team Liquid is the second best “Counter-Strike” team in the world. This win solidifies Liquid’s spot in the semifinals against MiBR tomorrow. The winner of which will go on to face the winner of the Mousesports-Astralis match. The ESL Season 8 Finals quarterfinals began today with Mousesports taking on Renegades. Mousesports were the heavy favorites in this matchup, but Renegades gave them a run with the first match ending in favor of Mousesports 2-1.
The first map on Cache was almost the definition of dominance from the clear underdogs Renegades. The Australian squad crushed Mousesports 16-4. Renegades started on the T-side and only conceded one round in the first half. After losing the second half pistol, Mousesports was able to string three straight rounds. Round 20 came down to a 1 v 1 and Rengades came out on top. The first map was a team effort for Renegades with every player breaking into double digits in the kill column. It was Gratisfication who led the charge with his great use of the AWP and 21 kills. He was backed strongly by jks and jkaem with 17 and 15 kills respectively. Mousesports fought an uphill battle the entire map with three of their players unable to break 10 kills. oskar and suNny top fragged for Mousesports 15 and 14 kills respectively. Renegades started off strong on the second map, Mirage, as jks finished the round with a quad kill on the USP. That and the last map looked to have woken a sleeping Mousesports squad as this half was extremely competitive. Every time Mousesports looked to break away, Renegades stayed on their heels. Going into round 14 it looked like Mousesports was going to win the half 10-5 as Renegades had to force buy. Renegades powered through being underequipped in round 14 and brought the score at the half to 8-7 in favor of Mousesports. The second half was the same as the first with Renegades setting the pace. Renegades looked to have the match after round 25 with a 14-11 score. Mousesports battled back forcing Renegades to eco in round 28 then getting to map point after winning round 29. Mousesports were able to go the distance needing all 30 rounds to win the map 16-14. Both sides put up numbers on the second map befitting of a 30 round shootout, but it was oskar of Mousesports who stood head and shoulders above them all. oskar’s skills with the AWP gave him an impressive 32 kills. jks came the closest to toppling oskar with 28 kills. With the score tied one map to one, it all came down to Train. Mousesports on the T-side wins the pistol and gets off to a strong start in the first few rounds. The first half looked like a bigger kid beating up a smaller kid. The smaller kid may get a few shots in, but can’t overcome the difference in power. That is exactly how the first half of Train wound up, as Mousesports led 12-3 at the half. After the smothering performance of Mousesports in the first half, Renegades took over the T-side and won the first three rounds of the half. Round 19, Mousesports were able to win on the back of ropz with the Deagle. That play gave Mousesports a 13-6 lead. Renegades began fighting back winning rounds 21 and 22 bringing the score to 14-8 as Mousesports gets to series point after winning round 23. Facing elimination, Renegades were able to win one more round before losing to Mousesports in round 25 16-9. Oskar was the key player for Mousesports again on this map, picking up an ace in the first half pistol round and 26 kills on the map. His skills with the AWP completely suppressing Renegades. ropz was behind him and made a few key plays on the final map. Ropz finished Train with 22 kills. jkaem was the biggest wrench in the machine that was Mousesports, bagging 25 kills. Sadly for him, the rest of his team could not match his numbers as they lost the final map. Mousesports shut down the Cinderella story before it even got started and will move on to the semifinal to face the tournament favorite and best in the world, Astralis. |
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September 2019
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