The eighth week of ELEAGUE has concluded, we present you a recap of every single match day that took place.
Wednesday, July 13th - Last chance qualifier
Renegades vs. 
Flipsid3 – 10:5, 6:0 (16:5); 10:5, 6:0 (16:5)
Winner: Renegades
Maps: de_Cobblestone, de_Train
MVP: Aaron "azr" Ward
Week 8 of eLeague, the last chance qualifiers - two teams will move onto next weeks playoffs. This high stakes week starts with Cobblestone. Renegades came out strong winning the first 3 pistol rounds whilest under constant pressure from Flipsid3's CT defense. Rounds were traded back and forth with neither team able to build up the best economy. However after the Ukranians strung 3 quick rounds together they weren't able to get much done after that, the half went 10:5 to the Australians. The second half was nearly the same, except Flipsid3 couldn't get very much done at all. They were able to apply pressure and bring the rounds down to 1v1 or 2v2 however unable to capitalize on the clutch situations. The match was won via Renegades in a surprising 16:5 scoreline.
Map 2, Train and it was as surprising as map 1. Renegades came out full speed with coordinated T sided attacks and making sure to team peak/pick up trade frags wherever possible. They won 3 rounds in a row on multiple occasions and would have pushed the scoreline much heavier in their favor before the first half if not for the fact that Flipsid3 was able to manage winning the last 3 rounds. At the end of the half the scoreline was set at 10:5 Renegades. Everything went the way of the Australians in this series as they all had strong individual performances and played some wonderful CS. The final score was 16:5, a surprising upset for the vastly favored Ukranian team.
Virtus Pro vs. 
Gambit – 8:7, 7:8, 4:2 (19:17); 13:2, 3:4 (16:6)
Winner: Virtus Pro
Maps: de_Dust2, de_Mirage
MVP: ? Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas
The first map of this match-up was Dust2 and it was a close game with solid performances coming from each team. It started with an early win from Gambit due to a spectacular 4k with the USP by mou. This projected the Russian team into a clean 5 round sweep however was answered back by a fired up Virtus Pro whom won 8 of the next 10 rounds. Both teams were performing very well, forcing each other to eco on separate occasions, most notably a force buy win coming from Gambit on round 14. The half drew a close at 8:7, Virtus Pro. The second half was largely the same story as the first, VP however came out strong at first only to be shut down by Gambit 4 rounds later when they tied the score 11:11. Virtus Pro came in with some questionable buys refusing to do a full eco. Rounds were traded back and forth however eventually, this long and exciting match came to a close in overtime, 19:17 VP.
Next up was to be Mirage and rounds were traded evenly back and forth at the beginning. Pasha had an amazing 1v3 clutch in the B apartments with the mag 7 to completely shatter the economy of the Russian side. Despite Gambit's strong first couple round wins they hadn't much to show after that, VP were too strong and formidable, their CT impenetrable. Adren had quite a few multikill rounds and near clutch opportunities but one player isn't enough to deal with the force of a strong Virtus Pro. The half closed out at 13:2 just after an ace and defuse from Polish player Neo. Virtus Pro come out with a quick 3 rounds and match point but Gambit finally gain some traction winning the next 4, however it's too little too late and VP win the map and the series.
Thursday, July 14th - Last chance qualifier
Mousesports vs. 
G2 Esports – 11:4, 5:5 (16:9); 11:4, 4:11, 3:3, 3:3, 1:4 (22:25); 10:5, 5:10, 4:2 (19:17)
Winner: ?? Mousesports
Maps: de_Dust2, de_Cache, de_Overpass
MVP: Nikola "Niko" Kova?
First map of the day is Dust 2 and at first it seemed as if we were going to have an even half when both teams pushed pistol wins to a 3:3 scoreline. But the Germans rallied back and won nearly all of the remaining rounds with team peaks and equal trade kills. More often then not we saw the French players down-man at the very beginning of the round(s). Mousesports took the half convincingly at 11:4. G2 gained some steam late in the second half where they picked up 4 consecutive rounds but do to some insane deagle skill and costly mistakes Mouz were able to steal rounds away and take map 1, 16:9.
Cache was the second map of the day. Mousesports started this map out extremely strong and were able to catch the French team's CT side off guard. Niko had quite a few multi-kill rounds and at every step the Germans were able to dismantle the G2's economy. At the end of the half it seemed like this was going to be an early exit for the Frenchmen but they, however, did not feel that way at all. Although Mouz were able to keep the rounds close, down to a few players left for each side, they ended up falling to the overpowering and meticulous play of G2. And finally, after a staggering 3 overtimes of amazing counter-strike on both sides the French team were able to pull away with the win to secure themselves a game 3, 22:25.
Another overtime! Another amazingly close game coming from this series. 40 kills overall for Niko. Most rounds went completely down to the wire, with neither team submitting easily at all. We had great individual performances all around in many tough and seemingly losable situations. Also, although certain rounds were at a close remaining players were able to find crucial exit frags to put a dent in the enemy teams economy. Round 29, Niko had an amazing quad kill which saved the round for Mouz which put them at matchpoint. But at the end of the day, one team had to win and that was the German team Mousesports. 19:17.
Faze Clan vs. 
Counter Logic Gaming – 11:4, 5:0 (16:4); 7:8, 7:8, (14:16); 7:8, 8:7, 3:3, 4:1 (22:19)
Winner: ?? Faze Clan
Maps: de_Mirage, de_Cobblestone, de_Dust2
MVP: 
Håvard "rain" Nygaard
An utterly dominating performance came out from Faze Clan on the first map (Mirage) of this series. They showed very aggressive pushes on both their T and CT sides often resulting in quick flanks which would box in and annihilate the enemy side. CLG were never able to get their act together, on mostly all occasions they had a ruined economy or were facing a ruined economy while not able to chain multiple rounds together. This map came to a very quick close at 16:4, Faze.
Cobblestone, second map of the series proved to be much different a story then the first map. It seems as if CLG had a complete change - and a necessary one at that - in tactics from their first loss in map 1. This match was incredibly close with solid performances coming around from both sides. Neither team were able to string too many rounds together so they were both constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. Also, most rounds came down to only a few people left alive struggling to either win and/or save their weapons for the next round. CLG ended up walking away with this one, 16:14 and put the series into map 3.
The decider of the series is Dust2 and in typical style of this week it went into overtime. The map started out with Faze taking the first 3 pistol rounds, however once CLG could get a full buy they answered back with 5 of their own do to some solid performances from Cutler and Koosta. Most rounds weren't easy for either side with their economys on the brink of collapsing. The second half closed at a very close 7:8 in favor of CLG. Faze were a little shakey at the start of their T side and quickly fell behind in rounds nearly missing out on their opporunity to take this series. Round 16, rain clutches a 1v2 in amazing style on short towards the A bombsite. Despite amazing efforts from both teams Faze ended up taking this one in double overtime 22:19.
Friday, July 15th - Last chance qualifier finals
? Virtus Pro vs. Renegades – 10:5, 6:4 (16:9); 12:3, 3:12, 3:3, 4:2 (22:20)
Winner: Virtus Pro
Maps: de_Cobblestone, de_Mirage
MVP: Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas
Renegades barely manage to take the first pistol round due to a 1v2 clutch coming from azr. But despite their financial odds they lose the second round and the 2 after that. Virtus Pro took an early advantage running off their momentum and it seemed as if they were going to widen the gap to an extreme level but the Australian player Ustilo, with three insane clutch rounds kept the scoreline closer at 10:5 at the end of the half. Not much changed for the second half, Virtus Pro were too powerful. Although Renegades put up quite the fight, especially being the underdogs in this situation, match 1 went to the Poles 16:9.
Next up was Mirage, a very strong map for the Polish team. Virtus Pro came out hot from the gate and took 12 of the first 13 rounds with ease, destroying every attempt at penetrating a bombsite that the Australians threw at them. Renegades did manage to pick up the last two rounds of the half but it was a seemingly feeble attempt to save what little was left of this match. However Renegades, to everyones surprise, managed to turn this match in the complete other direction. VP had an extremely polished and well executed CT side but their T side was lacking in every direction. If not for Byali getting an amzing 4k in the 30th round, in a 2v4 situation, this would have gone to map 3. But after all that, after two overtimes and an amazing performance from the underdog team Renegades, VP take it 22:20 and will move onto the next weeks eLeague playoffs.
Mousesports vs. Faze Clan – 6:9, 3:7 (9:16); 13:2, 3:1 (16:3); 6:9, 4:3, 4:2 (19:17)
Winner: Mousesports
Maps: de_Train, de_Dust2, de_Cache
MVP: Nikola "Niko" Kova?
Train was up first for this series and Faze started out extremely strong winning 7 of the first 8 rounds. They were on the CT side and pushed aggressive positions which later in the rounds caused major confusion and disruption for the Germans. Mouz were able to take some rounds later in the half though, with 4 consecutive putting Faze in a tough spot economically. The half closed out at 6:9 in favor of Faze. Mouz won the pistol round on their CT side with an impressive 4k coming from Niko. But that was nearly all they had left and the first map went convincingly to Faze, 16:9.
This was not the Faze we just saw on Train. Dust 2 (second map of the series) went easily to the German side as they were able to walk all over Faze clan with little to no protest. It wasn't until round 6 that Faze were able to put a round on the board, the extremely fast setups from Mouz on their T side left Faze bewildered and frustrated as they had little time to even get in position before the Germans came flooding onto either bomb site. Faze take the first pistol round of the second half but are immediately set back in round 17 as Mouz manage to retake the A bombsite with pistols only and win the round also a little later, the match 16:3.
Cache was last and who would expect anything other than an overtime in the final match of this series and of week 8? Faze wins 4 of the first 5 rounds despite an unbelievable 4k eco round from Niko with just a USP and an astounding deagle ace in round 2 as he defended the B bombsite on yet another eco round. However Mouz answers back with 4 of their own to tie up the scoreline early at 5:5. And again after that Faze answer back with another 4 drawing the margin even bigger as they near the half but Niko clutches a 1v2 in round 15 to bring the score a bit more towards their favor at 6:9. Faze are extremely determined going into this second half while they take the first 5 rounds with ease (rain with an ace on the 20th round), their CT side is impenetrable from the likes of Mouz. Things were beginning to look very bleek for the Germans as they were 8 rounds behind in this final map. But they weren't ready to go home, they managed to claw their way back into this game. It wasn't until round 26 that Faze were able to bring the game to matchpoint, still though, a very tall order for Mouz. After a few more rounds, close rounds, the game gets tied at 15:15 and we will get to see overtime. The first 4 rounds of OT are traded back and forth and the score was tied at 17:17 until they got the awp in the hands of Niko who, in the last round, got another 4k and propelled his team to victory and to the eLeague playoffs a week from now.
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