The final matches before tommorow's grand finale have been played; read up on the aftermath of today's round of semifinals.
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As the third day of the Global Esports Cup comes to a close, we are left with only two teams still standing after half were cut down in today's semifinals matches. First up on stage was Team EnVyUs vs Astralis, a matchup that promised to deliver a close series and it did not disappoint.
Map one was de_cache, one of the French team's stronger map, but Astralis gave them a run for their money right out of the gate. EnVyUs opened their T half with a pistol win, but their opponents were right back into it after force buying in the second, bringing the score to 1:1. The two traded back and fourth through the rest of the half, with Astralis pulling ahead in the final few rounds to 9:6. EnVy kicked into full gear on their own CT side, racking up nine rounds to the Dane's one, bringing them to the brink of victory, and while they were held back for a few more rounds, nV eventually closed out 16:13.
Astralis struck back de_overpass however; even with EnVyUs continuing their momentum into the first half with three rounds, Astralis remained collected, winning the following six rounds. Their run was cut short soon after though, with EnVyUs taking the rest of the rounds for themselves after suddenly snapping back into form. The second half looked grim, as EnVyUs took the second pistol and ensuing ecos, but the Danes put their foot down and turned the game on his head, shooting up to to a 16:13 win.
The final map, de_mirage, turned out to be slightly underwhelming with Astralis struggling through the entire map to find any sort of way into the match. Even after calling a tactical time out in a attempt find a way to stop the nV onslaught at 1:6, the French side continued to plow ahead through both halfs, taking the map 16:7 and the series 2-1 to win their spot in the grandfinals.
The last match of the day saw the other Danish team, dignitas, take on the sole remaining North American hope, Counter Logic Gaming. CLG looked to have strong series with a solid T side opener on de_overpass, winning the pistol and the next four rounds with relative easy. The map slipped from their grasp from their however, with Dignitas winning the half 9:6. The North Americans made it a bit more competitive in the second half, but their opponents still managed to sweep the map 16:10.
de_cobble was a perfect way to end the day, with the map going to the full thirty rounds. The first half was nail biting to say the least, as each team took turns trading round for round, with dignitas barely edging out CLG for a 8-7 scoreline. The second half was just as close, with both teams tying up the game at 14:14, but dignitas managed to pull through to win the game 16:14, joining EnVyUs in tommorow's grandfinals match.
