With day two of the main qualifiers for ESL One: Cologne 2016 concluded, we present a brief recap of the matches that took place.
OpTic Gaming vs 
Fluffy Gangsters 9:6, 7:3 (16:9)
Winner: OpTic Gaming
Maps: de_Train
MVP: Anatoliy “liTTle” Yashin
Today’s first match saw the one-man-army of Anatoliy “liTTle” Yashin, but his efforts were not enough for Fluffy Gansters to avoid the inevitable result. After OpTic picked up the pistol round of the first half, Fluffy Gangster managed only once to make the scoreboard even, at 9-9, by winning the second half’s pistol round and the two anti-eco rounds that came after it. Then the most important gun round came and OpTic didn’t hesitate one second to win it. After the 10-9 score line, the NA team didn’t show mercy to their opponents and won six rounds in a row to grab the victory 16-9. With this result, OpTic is now a bit more relaxed as they achieved a 1-1 record but on the other hand Fluffy Gangsters are on the brink of elimination with two defeats in two days.
Splyce vs 
Renegades 10:5, 6:9 (16:14)
Winner: Splyce
Maps: de_Cobblestone
MVP: David “DAVEY” Stafford
Usually, the T side of Cobblestone determines whether you win the map or not but today Splyce and Renegades showed us in a weird way that it could be otherwise. The whole match lacked quality Counter-Strike but it was surprisingly entertaining. Unusual kills, fake pushes that ended up with multiple kills and fabulous misses have written the story of this strange match. Splyce started off strong on their CT side by winning the pistol round. They’ve built upon this to secure a comfortable 10-5 score line at half time. Their T side looked good as well, until Renegades won the 21st round. With that round, the Australians reduced the round difference to 5. Their dreams were ended by Splyce on 29th round when the score line was even at 14-14. Next round, Renegades’ sketchy buy wasn’t enough for them to go overtime.
TyLoo vs 
Immortals 9:6, 7:5 (16:11)
Winner: TyLoo
Maps: de_Cache
MVP: YuLun “fancy1” Cai
The third match that involved 0-1 teams started with Immortal’s pistol round victory but until the last rounds of the first half, neither team managed to lead with ease. TyLoo then raised their game to the next step. Immortals were able to answer the powerful Brazilian side at the second pistol round. After a couple of successful anti-eco rounds by the Brazilians, the things were levelled out. As the viewers were starting to expect the match to go overtime, TyLoo started to dominate. Eventually, the Chinese secured an important victory. Many of us were expecting Immortals to qualify for the major but tomorrow they will play to survive.
Team Dignitas vs Team Empire 4:11, 12:2 (16:13)
Winner: Team Dignitas
Maps: de_Nuke
MVP: René “cajunb” Borg
CT side dominance on both halves proves that neither one of those teams mastered the new Nuke yet. It was a match that was going to be grabbed by the team that wins most T rounds with their quite random strats. It was like watching a matchmaking match with incredibly talented players. Actually, if Empire had a few decent strats for their T side, they would win this matchup easily as they were leading by 7 at the halftime. Even losing the second pistol round wouldn’t matter, but a combination of Dignitas’ strong defence and Empire’s readable strats made it possible for Dignitas to come back from a seven round deficit and win the match 16-13.
G2 Esports vs. 
HellRaisers vs 13:2, 3:6 (16:8)
Winner: G2 Esports
Maps: de_Dust2
MVP: 
Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom
HellRaisers and G2 were both a bit comfortable following their victories over Splyce and TyLoo respectively. In addition to their high morale, G2’s incredible form of late helped them grab an easy victory over HellRaisers. After a monstrous first half, G2 let their guard down for a couple of rounds but eventually they managed to close out the match 16-8 thanks to top level performances from almost every member of their roster. Picking up another victory tomorrow would mean ESL One Cologne 2016 will feature G2 Esports in their best form.
FaZe Clan vs 
Flipsid3 Tactics 10:5, 6:0 (16:5)
Winner: FaZe Clan
Maps: de_Cobblestone
MVP: Philip “aizy” Aistrup
Another matchup between yesterday’s victors and another match that showed us the strength difference between two teams. In fact, until FaZe’s time out at 4-4, the teams seemed to be evenly matched on Cobblestone, but after that time out FaZe took control and never let Flipsid3 take a breath. They’ve lost just one round of the following thirteen rounds after the time out. This might be a signal of FaZe’s strength when they enjoy playing Counter-Strike, as well as a signal of Flipsid3’s weakness when it comes to clashing against a top level team.
Cloud9 vs 
Mousesports 4:11, 8:5 (12:16)
Winner: Mousesports
Maps: de_Mirage
MVP: 
Nikola “NiKo” Kova?
NiKo, arguably one of the best Counter-Strike players in the world, demonstrated his talents and why he deserves the title. This win means he and his team Mousesports are one step closer to qualify for another major. On the other hand, with this defeat, Cloud9 have a rough path ahead of them. The Americans struggled to breach Mousesports’ defence and went to the halftime with just four rounds grabbed. Despite Cloud9’s decent CT side, Mousesports’ eleven rounds from first half were too much for them to catch up.
Gambit vs Team EnVyUs 9:6, 7:4 (16:10)
Winner: Gambit
Maps: de_Cobblestone
MVP: 
Rustem “mou” Telepov
The biggest surprise of ESL One Cologne 2016 Main Qualifiers day two came from Gambit as they beat French giants EnVyUs on Cobblestone. Mou was the key factor. The Kazakh player dropped an impressive 30-bomb and dominated the match from the first rounds. Despite this unexpected defeat, the Frenchmen showed a glimpse of their past, as they won a couple of their famous pistol force rounds; however they were too little against the huge performance of mou and Gambit.
