Astralis have shown an amazing performance over the course of the Major, culminating in a 2-1 victory against Virtus.pro, crowning them Champions of the ELEAGUE Major.
Virtus.pro win on de_Nuke - 9:6, 7:7 (16:13)
Virtus.pro start on the Terrorist side.
Nicolai "device" Reedtz dispatches a utility-ladened Filip "Neo" Kubski at the start of the pistol round, greatly hindering the strategy of Virtus.pro. A bomb plant was secured by the Poles on bomb site B; however it was eventually defused after Astralis successfully dealt with the four remaining members of Virtus.pro. Fired up, the Poles decided to force buy going into the second round, a decision that proved to be crucial in bringing the team back into the game.
Eight players were dead, leaving Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and Jaroslaw "pashaBiceps" Jarzabkowski in a 1v1 situation, where the muscle man himself was able to outaim the Danish in-game leader with a UMP. With this T side momentum built up, Virtus.pro were able to keep the momentum rolling, perpetually destroying the CT economy. The fifth round saw a full buy from Astralis that was dismantled by the Poles, placing the Danes in a pickle and a half, as well as a 1:4 deficit and a broken economy. A triple kill from Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander during the 7th round of the map seemed to have upped the morale on the team, with Astralis grabbing a further three, equalising the score at 5:5. Reciprocating motion was seen between the two teams, up until Virtus.pro's Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski was able to stall the CT side during the last second of the 13th half, securing his team a crucial round and a single round lead in 7:6. A further two rounds were taken away by Virtus.pro, bringing the first half to a 9:6 conclusion.
Astralis' Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth shut down any possibility of Virtus.pro securing the pistol round as he swiftly dispatched two members of the Polish roster on bomb site B. The Danes obliged, securing the following two rounds, landing at a 9:9 score. In the 20th round Astralis manage to secure a victory on an anti-eco, resetting the Polish economy. The next saw Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye redeem himself following the unsuccessful 2v1 clutch, where he managed to remove a defusing Filip "Neo" Kubski through a smoke grenade, keeping Astralis close behind the Poles at an 11:12 score. Virtus.pro demolish Astralis in the 25th round, where the Danes run into a CZ-75 and four USPs that utterly shut down their aggression onto the A site., allowing the Poles a single round lead at 13:12. Ultimately Virtus.pro destroy the Danish economy, forcing Astralis into an incredibly weak buy on the 28th round of the map. Tec9s and a UMP were simply not enough, as Filip "Neo" Kubski defuses the bomb and secures the final, 16th round for Virtus.pro.
Astralis win on de_Overpass - 9:6, 7:8
Astralis on the Terrorist side.
An astonishing pistol round from Virtus.pro's CT side, as Jaroslaw "pashaBiceps" Jarzabkowski landed a crucial 2k onto the Danes, followed by a defuse by Pawel "byali" Bieli?ski that was mere milliseconds away from exploding. A force buy came out from Astralis, whith the team rushing onto the A bomb site with Tec9s. Crucial frags were landed, securing the Poles' rifles. Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen ends up clutching it out in a 2v1 situation, landing the team the second round of the half, in turn demolishing the CT economy. Astralis dominated the T side of Overpass, running away with a massive 6:2 lead prior to Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski 1v2 clutch on round, where he was able to secure a third round for the Polish roster. Virtus.pro were unable to demonstrate a dominant performance on the CT side of the map, allowing Astralis to run away with a incredible 9:6 terrorist half.
Astralis continued their dominance on the CT side, where they pushed back an A site aggression from the Poles. Virtus.pro ended up force buying on the second round of the latter half, with Neo opening the round with a beautiful scout headshot on a jumping Nicolai "device" Reedtz on A site. This was followed by a site storm, removing the defence one by one, in turn landing themselves a crucial round. The following also went in favour of the Poles, bringing the team ever so close to an equaliser at 9:10. The 20th round saw a spectacularly intelligent 1 hp 1v3 clutch from Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth, allowing his team a rebound back into a the lead at 11:9.
Two more rounds were racked up, post which Virtus.pro resurge with four consecutive rounds of their own, closing the gap between the two teams to a nail-biting 13:13. Having equalised, a side-effect of this dominant round rush was a very weak economy for the Danes, one that led to a loss on the 27th round, putting Virtus.pro in the lead at 14:13. Despite an incredible amount of pressure, Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye manages to bring his team back into the game on the 28th round of the match, taking out Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski in a 1v1 duel on the B bombsite. As a result of various mistakes and an incredible performance from their opponents, Virtus.pro were unable to close out the match having secured a lead, instead Astralis run away with a 16:14 victory, pushing the series into three maps.
Astralis win on de_Train - 6:9, 10:5 (16:14)
Astralis start on the Counter-Terrorist side.
An aggressive start from the plow, as they rushed onto the B bombsite like rampant bulls, decimating the local defence. A bomb plant was secured and the CTs were stalled sufficiently, preventing any possibility of a defuse. An anti-eco came out of Astralis, a loss on which meant a weak economy going into the following couple of rounds. The first buy round from the Danes was unsuccessful, as the Poles simply overcome them on the A site, securing a early 4:0 lead.
Astralis were all out of answers for a further three rounds, as the plow went to work on the T side of de_Train. On the eighth round the Danes managed to salvage a single digit on the score board. Upon reaching an each round aggregate, Virtus.pro slowed down the performance, conceding three in a row to Astralis, with the Danes closing the score gap to 5:8. The Danes manage to come back into the match, as they stopped the Polish domination at a 6:9 deficit.
Virtus.pro regained composure and secured the second pistol. Filip "Neo" Kubski's double headshot, along with a strong hold from the A site defence meant the team would be one step closer to bearing the Champions' title. The first buy round for the Danes was successful, as the Polish side had made numerous mistakes within the two minutes that it took. At a 12:7 score, the pressure was on for both teams. Round 20 saw a force buy from Virtus.pro, where Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski managed to do work with the close-range MAG-7, shutting down Astralis yet again. Eight rounds were secured by Astralis on the 20th round, where a force buy finally worked out for the Danes, coming down to a 1v1 situation between Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski and Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth, where the Dane's Tec-9 proved to be stronger than the Polish M4A1-S.
Astralis slowly pulled themselves back into the game on the 22nd round, as they secured a strong take on the A bomb site, closing the gap at 10:13. A continuation of Astralis' comeback seemed to be on the cards, as the team was incredibly close to contending the Champions' title at 12:13. An astonishing situation develops on the 27th round of the map, as Astralis demolish the defence of Virtus.pro and snatch away all rifles in possession of their opponent, destroying the Polish economy and placing them in quite the predicament at 14:14. An aggressive A site play on the 29th round of the map meant a devastating blow to the Polish morale. Astralis sit at 15:14, ever so close to closing out the dream. The dream had come true as Astralis were able to deal the killing blow to a weakened Virtus.pro, securing the Champions' title at the ELEAGUE Major!
