Immortals have overcome Heroic to secure their placement in the grand final, awaiting the victor of Gambit Esports vs. G2 Esports.
Semi-final #1
de_Overpass - 16:14 (6:9, 10:5)
Immortals kick off to a strong start on the offense, securing the pistol round. Heroic opt for a force buy that turned out to be a very important decision, as Valde was able to land two kills onto Lucas and steel, to secure a man advantage for his team. Snappi followed up with a 2k, leaving a single HEN1, who was unable to hold down the B bomb site, allowing a round of Heroic. JUGi and niko step up in round three, grabbing a 3k and 2k respectively to close it out. After a strong performance from the Danes, Immortals were able to get back into the game, securing three consecutive victories. This lead to on-going economical issues for Heroic, allowing the lead to be extended further by Immortals to a rather worrying 7:3. Round 11 saw the Danes pick up their fourth round of the initial half, with none other than Team AWPer, JUGi landing four kills onto the Brazilians with what was an incredibly display of movement and aim. Needless to say his team was able to rotate over and help, closing out the eleventh round in favour of the Danes. This incredible display seemed to have awaken the team's thirst for victory, demonstrably boosting its momentum. Heroic went on to grab two additional rounds, closing the deficit to one at 6:7. Immortals refocused and shattered the developing confidence of the Danes, as the team restricted their opponents' round gain to six, securing the final two rounds to produce a 9:6 initial round lead.
Another strong start from Immortals, as a double kill from boltz followed by a defuse secured the team the second pistol round. Heroic force up, once again chancing the second round, and once again to great avail, as the round fell in favour of the Danes after a great team effort to bring the score to 7:10. With a weakened economy the Brazilians were unable to show up in the following two rounds, conceding them Heroic. Immortals snap back in round 20, able to produce a victory once able to buy up, however further retaliation was seen from the Danes in the next two rounds, equalising the score at 11:11. More back and forth from both teams to keep things equal at 12:12, however round 25 saw quite an astonishing performance from Heroic, as AWPer JUGi is able to land a crucial and incredibly low probability AWP kill onto an airborne Lucas. Valde followed up with a 2k to demolish the CTs on A, leaving a lonely boltz saving his AWP in T spawn at 13:12. In the follow up the teams exchange a round and the CTs are able to regain their foot, as a terrible monster push from Heroic saw the entire team demolished by Immortals' B crew. At 14:13 Heroic attempt to convince their opponent of an A fake, as they enter B bomb site, able to dismantle the local defence. In spite of dispatching four members of the defence, three members of the team were low HP, a perfect situation for an incredibly skilled fnx to clutch out. So the Brazilian did, securing his team a crucial round to bring things to equality at 14:14. Heroic follow up with a fast A take, able to catch their opponents off guard and consequently demolishing the economy of Immortals at match point. In a last-ditch effort Immortals force up, able to cut it down to a 1v1 situation with two opponents, both at less than 20 hp. Valde manages to out-aim steel, closing out the map for his team at an extremely close 16:14.
de_Inferno - 6:16 (4:11, 2:5)
MODDII opens up the pistol round for Heroic by securing a double kill onto Immortals' T side. The Brazilians managed to secure a bomb plant after storming the B bom site despite the disadvantage, however ultimately Heroic were able to fend off the aggressors and defuse the bomb, securing round one. Boltz and HEN1 play out of their minds in round two, as dispatch four members of the Danish roster, upsetting the team irrespective of the fact that the teams was at an equipment disadvantage. Heroic sway the lead back in their favour after an equaliser from the Brazilians, as MODDII finds himself in a 1v1 situation with a scout against an AK47 on HEN1. The Dane was able to snipe down his opponent and defuse the bomb, securing his team a crucial round at 3:1. A further round is accrued by Heroic to land at 4:1. Proving to be a pivotal point, round six saw Immortals gain their second round of the half. This success seemed to get the blood rushing in the Brazilians, allowing the team to fully awaken and start developing momentum. Round after round fell in favour of Immortals, able to extend their consecutive round win streak to a whopping ten, concluding the initial half at an unexpected 11:4 lead for the Brazilians.
JUGi takes the first step in the initial round of the latter half in an attempt to bring his team back into the game. After a brawl in middle, the teams were down to two members apiece. With his partner deceased, the Danish AWPer was able to clutch out in a 1v2 situation in archway to bring the score to 5:11. Immortals force up, and despite a team kill in the round were able to overpower the Danes on the A bombsite, destabilising the economy for Heroic. Round three saw the Danes run into the blender set up on banana by Immortals, dying one by one to make up for a very fast loss, edging the Brazilians even closer to a W at 14:5. Three additional rounds was all that the latter half saw, with the majority secured by Immortals on the CT side. The series enters map three after a 16:6 victory for the Brazilians.
de_Cobblestone - 13:16 (10:5, 3:11)
An action-packed pistol round was seen from both teams, with a bomb plant secured by Heroic. Four members of each team fell, with a 1v1 between steel on the CT and Valde defending the ticking bomb. The Brazilian proved to be the faster duellist, taking the head off his opponent and securing Immortals the first round of the half. On round two it was JUGi's turn to show up, as the young Danish AWPer managed to demonstrate a strong Deagle performance, decapitating two members to finalise the second round in favour of his team. The teams exchange a round each, with the fourth featuring a spectacular clutch from MODDII, where the Dane was able to clutch out a 1v2 situation, with the final kill landed at a mere 1 HP. In what turned out to be a reciprocating game, neither team was able to string together two consecutive rounds, all the way to 3:3. Finally at this point Heroic landed a lead at 4:3, following up with an additional W to produce a 5:3 lead. Having pushed the opponent's economy to the brink, the Danes exploit the weakened state of the Brazilians, furthering the surplus to 7:3. With their economy slightly better, Immortals piece together a buy to finally land their fourth round of the half. The following two rounds are exchanged equally between the teams, bringing the score to 8:5 in favour of Heroic. Rounds fourteen and fifteen are spearheaded by a fired up Valde, who managed to rake in a triple and double kill in each, leading to a 10:5 finish for Heroic.
Immortals opt for a fast B take, rushing into the site and popping heads just as fast. Heroic fall in swift fashion, culminating in a victory for the Brazilians. A force buy from the Danes is seen in the second round, unfortunately it proved ineffective, as a B site advancement from Immortals was not stopped, allowing for momentum to be developed. All rounds prior to the Danish full buy were taken by the Brazilians to tighten their deficit to 8:10. Valde once against steps up for his team in round 19, able to secure a triple kill in tandem with his teammates, producing the team their first round of the latter half. Despite a great performance that usually ends up inspiring his teammates to perform, the same couldn't be said on this occasion, as Immortals are able to accrue even more rounds on the offense, closing the round gap entirely at 11:11. The momentum continued in the following two rounds, wih the Brazilians pressing on to a worrying 13:11 for Heroic. Another equal exchange between the teams means the retention of round difference, however the Brazilians were slowly edging towards that 16 round victory cut off, something the Danes dreaded. Being on the CT side it was crucial for the Danes to retain as many funds as possible through either saving or efficient trading. The team was able to snatch two rounds, however due to an economy reset and only an AWP on JUGi to work with, Heroic fell to Immortals at a 16:13 score.
Image courtesy of DreamHack Flickr / Adela Sznajder
