After an eventful day 3 in Cologne the top four teams have been determined. Tomorrow Fnatic will be battling Team Dignitas for a chance to show their abilities and prove themselves as the best whilest Team LDLC and the Swedish squad, Ninjas in Pyjamas will face off to earn the other spot in the grand finals. The first match taking place at 9.00 CEST.
Schedule for Day 4 Finals:
09.00 CEST- Fnatic vs Team Dignitas - BO3 - Semi Finals
12.00 CEST- Team LDLC vs Ninjas in Pyjamas - BO3 - Semi Finals
15.00 CEST- TBD vs TBD - BO3 - Grand Finals
The first game was played on nuke which was NiP's pick. Cloud9 choosed CT side first as expected and kicked off this match by losing the pistol round. The Swedes had 2-0 but then Cloud9 turned this around to 2-4. The first half was even, but in the end the North American team finished with lead 8-7. The second half was fully dominated by Cloud9. They won pistol and four following rounds for 13-7, NiP broke this streak to 13-8 but that was all from the Swedes at this map as the final score was 16-8. They'll be moving now to de_dust2.
The second map was greatly opened by the Swedes with 7-1 score. But the North American guys showed that they cant be underestimate by making it almost even. NiP had not very promising lead at the half time 8-7, so they needed a pistol round which eventually happened and they ended up with 13-7, but Cloud9 showed once again a great comeback making it 15-14 and the last round fall to 2vs4 for Cloud9 which was kind of impossible to win and NiP made it through to the third map.
The deciding map of the last quarter finals at ESL One Cologne was de_cobblestone. Cloud9 kicked off at CT side by winning the pistol round, but NiP didnt left them much space it it was even half ending up 8-7 into C9 favor. Cloud9 took the second pistol round too make it 9-7 but then NiP made a huge comeback for 11-14 and Cloud9 didnt had any more space for the mistakes they went all in. The North American guys already managed to make 2 big comebacks at this event so it wasnt strange to them, they went up to 14-15 and NiP was forced into eco round which ended up with the Swedes wiping Cloud9 with the pistols and mag-7.
The first map of this series were dust2. The French team, Team LDLC, kicked off at T side winning pistol round and making a decent lead of 5-2, however Virtus.pro made it even 5-5 and both teams were trading rounds until the end of the first half which in the end went into LDLC's favor with 8-7. The second half seen explosion from the Polish team, winning five consecutive rounds making it 12-8, but the French team managed to get a bit closer and at one point they were losing to VP 14-11. From that moment LDLC won 5 rounds in a row and scored the first point in this best-of-three series.
The second map have seen the same scenario as the first one. At the start, LDLC took a few rounds making it 5-0, but VP almost made it even with breathing down their necks at 4-5. The French team didnt allowed any surprises and finished first half with 10-5. apEX w as playing a perfect gaming, giving headshots one by one. LDLC won the second pistol round and they had 13-5. Virtus.pro managed to come close at 14-12 but that was the far they could go, LDLC is in the Semi Finals.
Dust2 was Epsilon's map of choice but Team Dignitas were more handy in the pistol round and they took the lead. However, the French team turned it around making 3-1 as they were at T side first. But, the Danes showed their real strength then pushing Epsilon far back and making it 11-4 at the half time. The second half was more less equal but in the end Dignitas came on the top with the score lead from the first half making it 16-9.
Dignitas has just shown how it's supposed to be played on the map of your choice. They choosed inferno and started on T side where they won eight consecutive rounds until Epsilon didnt manage to break this huge streak, but in the end it was 14-1 for Dignitas at the half time. With the big deficit, the French team had to step up and try to make a comeback. They won seven rounds which in the end wasnt enough and the Danish squad is in the Semi Finals.
Fnatic made the first pick in this series choosing inferno as the opening map. Na'Vi had chance to pick a side and they kicked off as CT. Pistol round went into the Swedish team favor, but then a huge snowball by the Ukranian team making it 9-1, however Fnatic stepped up and ended the first half with 9-6. The second half was a pure execution by Fnatic showing why they're currently one of the best teams at this map. The final score was 16-11.
Dust2 was Natus Vincere's pick for this series and they totally justify it. Fnatic choosed to start on T side, they lost pistol round and ended up with 6-0. In the end they managed to win 3 rounds in the first half which wasn't really enough to make a bigger upset to Na'Vi at their map. The final score was 16-7 and they are now going into deciding map which is gonna be de_nuke.
The last map was randomed and the pick fell to de_nuke. Na'Vi was once again starts at CT side winning three rounds in a row, but then Fnatic makes a comeback to make it 5-10 in their favor. Nuke is itself a CT favored side, however in this match it wasn't relevant since both teams showed how it's supposed to be played on T side. Na'Vi opened by winning the pistol round and two after, but then fnatic made it 8-12, however Na'Vi brought it back to 14-14 and Fnatic was forced into an eco round. Olofm. made some great plays and GuardiaN managed to kill his teammate which caused his team to lose this round and match point was up for the Swedes. The last round was a true heartbreaking thriller. GuardiaN vs flusha on 1vs1 with the bomb planted on B side, but at the crucial moment Na'Vi player turned his back to the opponent and it was an easy shot and a win worth of Semi Finals.
Quarter Finals schedule for Day 3:
09.00 CEST- Fnatic vs Natus Vincere - BO3
12.45 CEST- Epsilon vs Team Dignitas - BO3
15.30 CEST- Team LDLC vs Virtus.pro - BO3
18.15 CEST- Cloud9 vs Ninjas in Pyjamas - BO3
Headline image by Kelly Kline and ESL.
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