Counter-Strike 2
Astralis take bronze at PGL Cluj-Napoca over FaZe
Astralis have taken third place at PGL Cluj-Napoca in a much-needed victory for a team in dire need of Valve Regional Standing points.
The Danes showed great heart to recover from a quintuple overtime 24-28 defeat on map one and beat FaZe convincingly on Inferno and the decider of Ancient.
Add in Nicolai "device" Reedtz feeling ill halfway through that Mirage — the game was paused at one point for him to "puke" according to Casper "cadiaN" Møller — and the win becomes even more impressive for Astralis.
The match itself does not move the needle in VRS too much, gaining Astralis 20 points, but the extra prize money and event placing will provide plenty more for the squad as they look to end their unfortunate streak of missing Majors.
10 European teams will be invited directly to Austin, with Astralis currently sat in ninth.
PGL's decision pays off in Mirage barnburner
The big question with PGL's decision to bring back third-place deciders was whether players would care.
The answer we got today was a convincing one: Yes.
PGL's logic is that a BO3 between top teams is more entertaining than showmatches and with an extra $63,500 on the line, even more so in a VRS era.
Mirage alone was better than any showmatch a TO has put on as FaZe and Astralis went blow for blow over five overtimes.
PGL were lucky to have Astralis present, who showed how much they needed the VRS points on offer, but even with that caveat they deserve credit for spicing up grand final Sunday.
To see the best highlights from overtime, catch up via our live post in this handy link that takes you to the start of round 25. Trust us, it's worth it.
Astralis recover from two chokes
A loss from 12-4 up on Inferno to MOUZ yesterday could break many a team.
This 24-28 defeat to FaZe on Mirage, where star player device fell ill as the team choked a 12-8 lead, would break even more.
But Astralis and cadiaN bucked the trend to reset and attack the series with the type of zeal they have sometimes lacked since the in-game leader's arrival.
A proud cadiaN told the stream post-game: "What happens in 9/10 times [after losing a map like Mirage], you go into map two and lose 13-5 because people have given up, they lost energy. I told the boys, 'this cannot happen.' And I'm so proud of how they handled coming back after such a tough loss."
The final two maps, even if FaZe were quiet, were a great blueprint for a team that is improving at a rapid pace. The heights of HEROIC's 2023 still feel a way away, but cadiaN-ball is up and running in CS2 at last.
FaZe end the tournament with a whimper
The context around VRS meant the game meant more for Astralis than FaZe, but Finn "karrigan" Andersen and company will still be disappointed by the manner of that defeat.
Upsets in the quarter-finals made FaZe clear favorites for the trophy but they were far from their best in yesterday's semi-final and today's decider.
Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski pointed to lost pistols – they lost five out of six today — as part of the reason for their struggles, but it is also clear that the Robin "ropz" Kool-less team remain in transition.
Astralis frequently looked to attack Ancient's A bomb-site, where David "frozen" Čerňanský recently swapped with EliGE, and it was a fruitful strategy that proved this FaZe team remain in transition.
The Danes showed great heart to recover from a quintuple overtime 24-28 defeat on map one and beat FaZe convincingly on Inferno and the decider of Ancient.
Add in Nicolai "device" Reedtz feeling ill halfway through that Mirage — the game was paused at one point for him to "puke" according to Casper "cadiaN" Møller — and the win becomes even more impressive for Astralis.
The match itself does not move the needle in VRS too much, gaining Astralis 20 points, but the extra prize money and event placing will provide plenty more for the squad as they look to end their unfortunate streak of missing Majors.
10 European teams will be invited directly to Austin, with Astralis currently sat in ninth.
PGL's decision pays off in Mirage barnburner
The big question with PGL's decision to bring back third-place deciders was whether players would care.
The answer we got today was a convincing one: Yes.
PGL's logic is that a BO3 between top teams is more entertaining than showmatches and with an extra $63,500 on the line, even more so in a VRS era.
Mirage alone was better than any showmatch a TO has put on as FaZe and Astralis went blow for blow over five overtimes.
PGL were lucky to have Astralis present, who showed how much they needed the VRS points on offer, but even with that caveat they deserve credit for spicing up grand final Sunday.
To see the best highlights from overtime, catch up via our live post in this handy link that takes you to the start of round 25. Trust us, it's worth it.
Astralis recover from two chokes
A loss from 12-4 up on Inferno to MOUZ yesterday could break many a team.
This 24-28 defeat to FaZe on Mirage, where star player device fell ill as the team choked a 12-8 lead, would break even more.
But Astralis and cadiaN bucked the trend to reset and attack the series with the type of zeal they have sometimes lacked since the in-game leader's arrival.
A proud cadiaN told the stream post-game: "What happens in 9/10 times [after losing a map like Mirage], you go into map two and lose 13-5 because people have given up, they lost energy. I told the boys, 'this cannot happen.' And I'm so proud of how they handled coming back after such a tough loss."
The final two maps, even if FaZe were quiet, were a great blueprint for a team that is improving at a rapid pace. The heights of HEROIC's 2023 still feel a way away, but cadiaN-ball is up and running in CS2 at last.
FaZe end the tournament with a whimper
The context around VRS meant the game meant more for Astralis than FaZe, but Finn "karrigan" Andersen and company will still be disappointed by the manner of that defeat.
Upsets in the quarter-finals made FaZe clear favorites for the trophy but they were far from their best in yesterday's semi-final and today's decider.
Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski pointed to lost pistols – they lost five out of six today — as part of the reason for their struggles, but it is also clear that the Robin "ropz" Kool-less team remain in transition.
Astralis frequently looked to attack Ancient's A bomb-site, where David "frozen" Čerňanský recently swapped with EliGE, and it was a fruitful strategy that proved this FaZe team remain in transition.
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