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ESL One Cologne 2017 - Day Two Recap

After day one gave us shocks, shots and a crazy marathon, day two had a lot to live up to.

 

3-0 Win/Loss2-1 Win/Loss

1-2 Win/Loss

0-3 Win/Loss

Sweden Ninjas in PyjamasBrazil SK Gaming

United States Cloud9

Poland Virtus.pro

United States Team LiquidFrance G2 Esports

Sweden Fnatic

China TyLoo

 Europe mousesportsDenmark North 
 United States OpTic GamingDenmark Heroic 
 Europe FaZe ClanBrazil Immortals 
 CIS Natus VincereTurkey Space Soldiers 

 

China TyLoo vs. United States Cloud90-1

de_Cobblestone – 16:9 (8:7, 1:9)

TyLoo kicked off on the defensive side of Cobblestone, where the team managed to get a solid start by fending off Cloud9’s offense. A further two rounds tipped in their favour, creating an ideal 3:0 start for the Chinese. On their first full buy the Americans were able to outperform their opponents, however TyLoo got right back on it by securing a further three rounds, extending their dominance to 6:1. This lead marked a change in dynamic for the match, as the Cloud9 boys started securing rounds of their own, contrary to the early game. The American roster went 6:2 in conclusion of the half, leading to a close 7:8 finish in favour of the Chinese underdogs.

The second half saw a distinct lack of competition, as TyLoo were unable to penetrate the defence of Cloud9. All the way from the first round the Chinese struggled to breach, leading to the team securing but a lonely round over its entirety. In contrast, Cloud9 managed to secure a grand total of nine rounds, just the amount then needed to meet the 16 round victory threshold at 16:9.

[twitter]https://twitter.com/Cloud9/status/882578464158748672[/twitter]

 

Ukraine Na'Vi vs. Turkey Space Soldiers - 1-0

de_Train -  16:9 (12:3, 4:6)

After their marathon last night, Na’Vi took on a buoyant Space Soldiers side in their day two encounter. The action took place on Train, with the Turkish side coming in as underdogs despite their 16-14 win over SK Gaming, and the first pistol didn’t disappoint. A disgusting shot from Flamie was the highlight, but some clever work from Guardian turned the tides in favour of the Ukrainians, and left them 1-0 up.

Space Soldiers saved into the second and lost it, and even though Maj3r walked up on Flamie to give his side a plant at least, and put the economy in their favour, they lost the third too. Space Soldiers (SS) took the fourth to claim their first round and a few clutches allowed them to level it out at threes, but when both teams bought into seven Na’Vi converted their CT position into another lead for the loss of just two men, and took the next to go 5-3 up, then 6-3. Double AWPs in round ten from Na’Vi saw Guardian drop Xantaras at the start to put Na’Vi in control, and subsequently 7-3 ahead. The rounds continued to fall in Na’Vi’s favour, with the economy just stretching away as it went 8-3 and then 9-3 despite a Turkish investment, and before they knew it Na’Vi led 12-3 at halftime.

The start of the second half came down to a 2 v 3 in SS’s favour before a horrible communication error from Na’Vi gave the Turkish team a free defuse to take a round they didn’t deserve, and put the good guns in their hands. The score went to 12-5 off that, before round 18 went to Na’Vi thanks to some awesome work from Guardian, again, as did 19 and 20. What was potentially the last round, with the score at 15-5 to Na’Vi, ended with Maj3r left last man again vs. S1mple and coming out on top, but at 15-6 the road was still long for SS, and despite some good work Edward managed to walk up on Maj3r  at 15-9 before cleaning things up to give Na’Vi the win, but the Turkish team gave a good account of themselves nonetheless.

 

Denmark North vs. Brazil SK Gaming - 0-1

de_Cache - 10:16 (7:8, 3:8)

North were faced with the tall task of taking down none other than one of the finest teams in CS:GO, SK Gaming. Off the get-go the Danes seemed to be struggling, as they gave up the pistol round to a successful aggression from SK Gaming. You give them an inch, they take a mile – this saying was applicable to the Brazilians as they ran away with the following two rounds, placing themselves at a 3:0 lead. Upon being able to secure proper equipment the Danes managed to equalise the score line at 3:3. SK snagged round 7, however North persisted with their game, securing a further three rounds to amass a 6:4 lead. Another sway in momentum, as the Brazilians outperform their opponents three rounds in a row, producing an ever so close initial half at 7:6, this time in SK’s favour. In culmination of the initial half the teams called it splits, with SK having the upper hand at 8:7.

Yet another outstanding pistol round from SK Gaming, as they managed to get the snowball rolling early on, securing the three initial rounds. The team did not stop here, as two additional rounds were accrued, extending their lead to a scary 13:7. In a last ditch effort North managed to secure three rounds in sporadic fashion, however needless to say it proved insufficient in bringing the team back into the match, as SK Gaming closed out with a 16:10 score.

 

Brazil Immortals vs. France G2 Esports - 0-1

de_Cobblestone - 7:16 (5:10, 2:6)

The Brazilian roster of Immortals commenced Cobblestone on the defensive side of affairs, where the team was able to whisk away the first pistol, coupled with the second round. Despite securing a second digit, what the team didn't manage to prevent was a bomb plant from G2 Esports, a factor that proved to be lethal for the team. Entirely thanks to a strong economy the Ts managed to get a solid buy in round three, a round that proved to be the start of something big for the Frenchmen. G2 proceeded to accrue four consecutive rounds, going from a deficit to doubling up the enemy team's score at 4:2. In the remainder of the half a rather disappointing three rounds fell in favour of the Brazilians, whilst G2 Esports managed to claw the rest for themselves, concluding the half at 10:5 in the Frenchmen's ballpark.

Having switched over to the defence, G2 secured the pistol round, however also conceded the follow up to a force buy from Immortals. Luckily for the Frenchmen they were able to stabilise in round three, to go on to continue their dominant stint. Disheartened, the Brazilians managed to secure but a single additional round, whilst their opponents persisted with the pressure, cracking the nut. a 6:2 half for the Frenchmen led to a consequent 16:7 map victory.

 

Sweden Fnatic vs. Europe FaZe Clan - 0-1

de_Overpass - 12:16 (8:7, 4:9)

The two Europeans clashed on Overpass, where FaZe Clan got the first foot down after a successful T side pistol round. The following two round saw successful bomb plants, a great addition to the European mix's economy. Fnatic retaliated on their first full buy, dispatching all members and placing the team on the map at 1:3. This victory didn't set off a snowballing effect for Fnatic, as they conceded two further rounds, during the second of which the Swedes were struggling financially. After this difficult start Fnatic managed to pull their heads back into the game, landing five consecutive rounds to not only close the round deficit, but jolt slightly ahead at 7:6. Concluding this even half was a round exchange from the team, leading to an 8:8 finish in the Swedes' favour.

The latter half saw FaZe Clan secure the all-important pistol round once again, however on this occasion only a single additional round was accrued, as Fnatic had managed to secure a bomb plant in round 1, allowing them to get an earlier full buy. Despite seemingly stopping their opponents' momentum with a round win, Fnatic were unable to develop their own, conceding three consecutive rounds to FaZe Clan. The Swedes struck back with three of their own, equalising the match at 12:12. With such a close match, it was genuinely uncertain which team would go on to take the W, but on this occasion we saw FaZe Clan step up, smashing four rounds to culminate Overpass on a 16:12 score line.

 

Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Europe mousesports - 1-0

de_Cache - 16:10 (6:9, 10:1)

Starting on the CT side, mousesports prevented an explosive start from the Swedes on the T side, as they attempt to secure a bomb plant. The Swedes managed to get a few extra bucks for their performance, however ultimately the European mix snipped the wires, securing a 1:0 start. Despite the aforementioned addition to their wallets, NiP were unable to utilise the equipment properly, falling in three consecutive rounds at 0:4.  Unfazed, the Ninjas then went on to accrue five of their own, leaping into the lead at 5:4. Following these polarised performances we saw mousesports adhere to the format, crushing five of the final six rounds, and consequently finishing the first half at a 9:6 surplus. 

Ninjas in Pyjamas kept it lop-sided, as the team grabbed the second pistol round, coupled with an additional four, further the team's score to an 11:9 lead. Mousesports managed to wiggle a victory in followed this string of consecutive losses, however they were in for some more of the same, as Ninjas in Pyjamas were set on their quarter-final placement. Five additional rounds were unilaterally distributed to the Swedes, leading to a 16:10 finish.

 

United States Team Liquid vs. United States OpTic Gaming - 1-0

de_Cobblestone - 16:5 (10:5, 6:0)

The final match of the day saw two North American representatives face off for a place in the quarter-finals. Things were looking promising for OpTic Gaming as the team managed to steal the initial pistol round from Team Liquid. Opting to force buy, Liquid managed to upset the Green Wall, defeating the leading team against all odds and consequently reversing the momentum in their favour. With a broken economy OpTic were unable to pose a threat, and in addition to the aforementioned Liquid were feeling the moment, as they clutched the following four rounds in their favour, producing an early 5:1 CT side lead. Unwilling to give up, OpTic managed to secure two successful bomb plants, followed by a team ace, bringing the score line a bit closer at 4:5, with but a single round separating the teams. Team Liquid swiftly ensured this was no longer the case, as the team closed on five out of the six final rounds, ending up with double the round score of their opponents at 10:5.

The latter half was the Liquid show, as OpTic Gaming simply didn't have it in them to upset the leaders. Round after round fell in favour of the blue side, all the way through to a disappointing 5:16 finish for the Green Wall.

Image courtesy of ESL Twitter

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