Luminosity, Fnatic qualify for semi-finals, Team Liquid, Team SoloMid qualify for the decider BO3 for a shot to qualify for the semi-finals.
We present a recap of today’s matches:
Luminosity v.
Ninjas in Pyjamas 9:6, 7:6 (16:12)
Winner: Luminosity
Map: de_Train
MVP: Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo
The first match of the ECS Finals was played on Train, with NiP nearly losing a 5v2 on their CT pistol on train. Led by captain Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo’s awp entry frags, the Brazilians took control and put up a very strong T side score of 9-6. The Ninjas recovered and swung momentum in their favour by winning the second pistol round as well, taking a 12-9 lead. Luminosity finally got a round on the board to reduce the deficit to 10-12 and they kept pushing and eventually closed out the all-important first map of the group 16-12.
Liquid v.
G2 9:6, 7:0 (16:6)
Winner: Liquid
Map: de_Cbble
MVP: Aleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev
The second match of group A started with G2 picking up the first three rounds on their CT side, before Liquid picked up three of their own to tie up the score. G2, responded, taking the lead once again, but they failed to control the rest of the half. Liquid ended their T half with a score of 9-6, including a 1v3 clutch from Spencer "Hiko" Martin. G2 needed the second pistol to get back in the game but Liquid was able to secure the pistol, the two following ecos, and the first gun round, ending the map unanswered with a score of 16-6.
Astralis v.
Team SoloMid 7:8, 5:8 (12:16)
Winner: TSM
Map: de_Cbble
MVP: Hunter "SicK" Mims
Astralis seemed to take a firm grip of the match on their T side, despite a slight hiccup due to a 1v3 clutch by Hunter "SicK" Mims, taking an early 4-1 lead. TSM strung together four rounds before Astralis managed to recover and following rounds went back and forth, for a score of 8-7 for TSM at the end of the half. TSM maintained their lead, winning pistol and the following three rounds to go up 12-7, putting pressure on the Danes to avoid an upset. Astralis managed to get one round back before a long technical pause interrupted the match. The Danes managed to win two more rounds before TSM pulled off the upset 16-12.
Fnatic v.
Cloud9 11:4, 5:9 (16:13)
Winner: Fnatic
Map: de_Dust2
MVP: Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer
Fnatic took the early lead on their CT side of Dust2 with a very characteristic 3k by Dennis "dennis" Edman. Cloud9’s force buy caught the defences off-guard and they managed to keep the deficit to one round, however the Swedes crushed the T economy and took an early lead of 5-1. Cloud9 regrouped and seemingly started to pick up momentum, winning three rounds in a row to again reduce the deficit to one round, 4-5. Fnatic reset their defences with a double-awp setup and won the half 11-4. Cloud9 were thrown a lifeline by Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert with a 3k in the pistol round, but they unfortunately lost the second round due to a strong force buy. Cloud9 showed incredible resolve in fighting back from a nine round deficit, 5-14 to 13-15, before “tec9-meister” pulled off a 4k in the B site to clinch the map 16-13.
Luminosity v.
Liquid 10:5, 6:7 (16:12)
Winner: Luminosity
Map: de_Train
MVP: Marcelo "coldzera" David
Luminosity were eager to clinch their spot in the semi-finals, coming out strongly and winning the pistol and ecos to go up 3-0 before Josh 'jdm64' Marzano picked up a 2k and Liquid won the fourth round. The Brazilians reset the CT economy and went up 6-1. Again, lead by “jdm64”’s awping, Liquid began to pick up momentum, before Luminosity seized control of the half to win 10-5. Again, Luminosity won the pistol and the following round, but Liquid won the crucial third round to go on a streak that saw them close the gap to just two rounds. The Brazilian defence’s economy finally recovered and they edged closer to map point, with Marcelo "coldzera" David closing the map out with an ace. Luminosity are now guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals of the winner of the decider match of group B, while Liquid will play the winner of NiP/G2 in the group A decider match.
TSM v.
Fnatic 9:6, 5:10 (14:16)
Winner: Fnatic
Map: de_Cbble
MVP: Hunter "SicK" Mims
TSM took early control of the map going up 3-0, before Fnatic’s first response. TSM destroyed the CT economy and took an impressive 7-2 lead over the Swedes before they managed to salvage some rounds for prevent a disaster. The first half ended 9-6 in favou r of TSM. TSM won the second pistol as well, taking an unprecedented 12-6 lead. Fnatic’s first gun round of the half was the turning point, as they took seven rounds in a row to finally take the lead in the match. TSM fought back, getting the score up to 14-12. However, the Swedes did enough damage to keep the CT economy weak so once they regained momentum, the Canadian side was helpless. Fnatic advance to the semi-finals to face the winner of the group A decider match and TSM will face the winner of Cloud9/Astralis in the group B decider match.
Clip of the day: Marcelo “coldzera” David’s ace
See our continuing coverage on the ECS Finals here.