Day one saw a colossal upset, as well as two teams proceed to the semi-finals of the tournament.
HellRaisers vs. 
Luminosity Gaming
de_Overpass - 16:8 (10:5, 6:3)
Luminosity kick off to a strong start, as the team is able to overwhelm the B bombsite on the T side and subsequently secure the pistol round. All attempts were made by HellRaisers' own, Vladyslav "bondik" Nechyporchuk as the Ukrainian attempted to clutch out a 1v2 situation. He managed to bring it to a 1v1, however not much else was achieved as a backstab came out from Vinicios "PKL" Coelho during a smoke defuse attempt. The following two rounds were accrued once again by the Brazilians, as a weak economy placed the European mix at a disadvantage. Getting back into the match, HellRaisers refocused and started producing rounds on the defence. Not only was the team able to equalise at 3:3, they extended the lead to 5:3 by round eight. At this point a round fell in favour of LG, however further rounds were predominantly accrued by the Europeans, barring the final, fifteenth round, leading to a 10:5 surplus for HellRaisers.
The latter half kicked off with a pistol round victory from HellRaisers, followed by a force buy upset from Luminosity Gaming. The momentum swayed over the course of the following three rounds, with the Brazilians coming out on top of the exchange at three to two. Following this back and forth, HellRaisers decided to close out with four consecutive rounds victories, culminating at a dominant 16:8.
Team Liquid vs. Immortals
de_Inferno - 11:16 (5:10, 6:6)
The Brazilians of Immortals kick off on the CT side of the map, able to secure the pistol round. With Team Liquid seemingly lost, further rounds were accrued as time passed by. The Americans were able to secure two bomb plants over the course of six rounds, however the defence was consistently able to dispatch the terrorists and secure defuses. Having said that, the plants allowed Liquid better buys due to an improved economy, despite this results weren't seen till round seven, when Liquid finally managed to secure the first round of the initial half. After collapsing the enemy's swiftly developing momentum the team was able to go blow for blow with the Brazilians. Said performance culminated in the final nine rounds toppling in favour of Liquid at five, however the overall lead was in favour of Immortals at 10:5.
The latter half saw the Brazilians once again secure a pistol round after flawlessly swarming the B bombsite. In large thanks to two kills each from Lucas "steel" Lopes and Ricardo "boltz" Prass the team was able to get their foot in early into the half. Team Liquid opted for a force buy in the following round, to great success, as the Americans were able to produce a round in their favour, dismantling the aggressors. This opened up the opportunity for a comeback, as Liquid started producing rounds, starting off with three consecutive victories following the force buy upset. In an unfortunate set of circumstances the team was unable to develop momentum on the defence, losing the occasional round to Immortals, that ultimately led to the team's demise at 16:11.
Gambit Esports vs. 
Heroic
de_Train - 25:23 (8:7, 7:8, 10:8)
Gambit kicked off on the defence, where they were unable to hold off the initial press from the Danes. Having conceded the pistol round, Gambit additionally coughed up the following two, creating an early 0:3 deficit for the team. Whilst the CIS mix was able to secure two in the follow up, the following two once again fell in favour of the Danes, extending their lead to 5:2. The latter portion of the half saw resurgence from Gambit, as the team went on to accrued six rounds to two, jumping into the lead at a close 8:7.
Heroic are once again able to snag the pistol round from their opponents, however in the following round the team was startled by an aggressive Gambit that was able to demolish the CT economy. What's more, the CIS mix went on to dominate round after round, all the way to a 14:8 score line. Heroic were not prepared to give up easily, refocusing and playing the game in the moment. This approach meant that the team was able to systematically accrue rounds with almost surgical precision. Round 28 saw Gambit secure the crucial 15th round, as well as stint the momentum of their opponents, however the Danes proved unstoppable and closed out the last two rounds to take the map to overtime.
In what ended up being a triple overtime, pressure was mounting on the shoulders of both teams. Once particular individual from Gambit Esports proved crucial in the team's success, namely Rustem "AdreN" Kystaubayev. Throughout the match the Kazakh was showing phenomenal results and overtime was no different. Whether a 1v2 clutch, or numerous multi-frags, the player was able to single-handedly impact the match, leading his team to success at a 25:23 score.
G2 Esports vs. Cloud9
de_Cache - 10:16 (8:7, 2:9)
The pistol round saw an astonishing performance from G2 Esports, setting the bar high for the match. Alexendre "bodyy" Pianaro and Richard "shox" Papillon find themselves in a 2v4 situation and were subsequently able to secure the defuse on the A bombsite after beautiful coordination and precise shots onto the four remaining members of Cloud9. This gave the team a massive confidence boost and it was quite apparent, as the following five rounds were accrued by G2 Esports. After this early success the Frenchmen found themselves on a bit of a rocky road, as Cloud9 were able to exchange round for round with the team, following up with a string of successful rounds of their own. The Americans snagged six rounds in a row, followed by a W from the Frenchmen in round 15, closing the initial half at an 8:7 lead for G2.
Whilst the T side didn't see an absolutely spectacular performance from Cloud9, the defence couldn't have been more contrary. The team kicked off by securing three rounds, pistol included, to propel their score to 10:8. G2's first gun round was successful, however they were not able to build anything on top of it, as Cloud9 are able to answer all their aggressions consistently. In what subsequently proved to be an incredibly dominant performance, the local favourites slammed their French opponents, conceding but an additional one round in the latter half, to produce a solid 16:10 victory and a chance at securing a placement in the semis.
Gambit Esports vs. HellRaisers
de_Nuke - 16:7 (10:5, 6:2)
A T side start is seen from Gambit Esports, kicking off with a successful pistol round. None other than team superstar, Rustem "AdreN" Kystaubayev shows up with the Desert Eagle, dispatching four members of the opposition with ease, in turn earning his team a crucial round. With the CT economy in tatters, Gambit were able to extend their lead up until the opponents' first full buy with 3:0. HellRaisers dismantle the offense on their first gun round, however because Gambit were able to accrue a decent economy over the past rounds, the loss didn't affect the team's buy in the slightest, enabling them to secure the following round. Unhappy with their performance, HellRaisers buckle up and let all hell loose on Gambit in the following four round. The Ts were simply unable to do anything, falling time after time to the European mix. The dominant stint from HR was restricted to four consecutive rounds, as Gambit bring the big guns in the final six rounds, amassing all of them to produce a 10:5 lead.
The second pistol round was once again secured by Gambit Esports, allowing the team to further their lead in the following rounds as well. The T side was out of steam, conceding the initial three rounds of the latter half to extend their deficit to 5:13. Attempts were made by HellRaisers, however Gambit were set on the victory, snagging the last three rounds the team needed to close out at 16:7.
de_Inferno - 16:7 (8:7, 8:0)
Immortals were able to veto one of their finest maps, greatly increasing their probability of securing a placement in the semi-finals. The Brazilians kicked off with a shaky start on the defence, conceding the pistol round to Cloud9. The local favourites furthered their lead to a 3:0 surplus, one that proved to be fairly short-lived. The first gun round falls in favour of Immortals, followed by another solid defence in round five. Cloud9 resurge to clench a couple of rounds of their own, extending the lead to 5:2. The Brazilians place the past rounds mentally aside and start working from round to round. This mind-set meant for a string of dominant victories, landing six consecutive rounds in their pocket. Cloud9 close out the initial half with two of their own, producing a very close 8:7 surplus for Immortals.
The latter half was anything but close, as Immortals absolutely thrash Cloud9 in all ways imaginable. The pistol was secured by the Brazilians, as was this unstoppable momentum that systematically caught the Americans off guard and questioning. In an incredible performance Immortals were able to put together eight consecutive rounds in the latter half, conceding a grand total of zero to Cloud9. 16:7 for the Brazilians, as well as a placement in the semi-finals.
Image courtesy of DreamHack Flickr / Jennika Ojala
