Then there were four; London’s first major had already seen its fair share of action as Saturday played host to the hotly anticipated semi finals, MIBR took on Na’Vi before Liquid faced familiar opposition in Astralis, two fixtures which were sure to live up to the hype.
MIBR had well and truly earned their spot in the semis after a convincing display against Complexity, but the side knew they would have to produce an even stronger performance if they were to secure a spot in Sunday’s final.
Opponents Na’Vi had become serious title contenders after a ruthless 2-0 whitewash against BIG. S1mple and Electronic flew off the chain with ADRs of 125.2 and 118.8 respectively after the first map, performances they were determined to reproduce against the South American side.
Overpass got the first match underway and Na’Vi’s offensive push had MIBR scrambling for answers from the get go. Na’Vi took the first pistol round and the rounds which followed as MIBR’s force buy was snuffed out by a 3-k from S1mple. The South Americans briefly pulled their way back into the match with four straight rounds before the Ukrainians bought up and suppressed their opponents defence.
The damage to MIBR’s economy had left them struggling for form as Na’Vi pushed forth again and took a 10:5 halftime lead from the T-side. MIBR found themselves on the brink after Na’Vi won the second pistol and four of the rounds which followed. Not to be outdone, FalleN’s work with the AWP ensured a second wind for the T-side as they successfully detonated five bomb plants.
It looked as though a comeback was on the cards until Na’Vi’s patience with their economy paid off, their ensuing buy round granting them a successful bomb defusal and first blood from map one.
MIBR's hopes hung in the balance going into Dust 2, a map which actually favoured their opponents more if statistics were anything to go by.
The numbers did not lie, Na'Vi took seven ruthless rounds before MIBR could muster a response. Coldzera led the offence as Stewie2k and Tarik's support got the South Americans three quick rounds, but the Ukrainians remained resilient and responded with three straight rounds of their own.
The back and forth nature of both sides saw the first half conclude 10:5. Na'Vi then turned up the heat as they proved why they are one of the world's best. Winning the second pistol they continued their momentum through with five additional round wins to eliminate MIBR in emphatic fashion, booking their place in Sunday's final.
The second semifinal saw in form Team Liquid take on world leaders Astralis for a spot against Na'Vi in the Grand Final. After suffering a defeat to Liquid earlier in the competition, Astralis came out swinging on Nuke, taking the first pistol round.
However, Liquid swung back immediately breaking the Danes' advantage with a force buy to take round two. The clash of heads saw a rampant early start to the first map as Astralis went into the halftime leading 9:6. In a determined team effort, Astralis showed their class as they dropped only two rounds on the CT side to quickly take Nuke under their belt.
Team Liquid struggled to regain the form that had seen them beat Astralis in the BO1 period. NAF and ELiGE showed moments of promise but Astralis' defence on Mirage was too much for the NA side to breakthrough. Magisk and Xyp9x remained steady to guide the Scandinavians to a titanic 12:3 halftime switch.
Despite their best efforts, there was no way back for Liquid, Device's mid-AWP play sealed their fate as Astralis cruised to a convincing 16:7 victory and exacted revenge with a 2-0 win to book their place against fellow Grand Finalists Na'Vi.
MIBR had well and truly earned their spot in the semis after a convincing display against Complexity, but the side knew they would have to produce an even stronger performance if they were to secure a spot in Sunday’s final.
Opponents Na’Vi had become serious title contenders after a ruthless 2-0 whitewash against BIG. S1mple and Electronic flew off the chain with ADRs of 125.2 and 118.8 respectively after the first map, performances they were determined to reproduce against the South American side.
Overpass got the first match underway and Na’Vi’s offensive push had MIBR scrambling for answers from the get go. Na’Vi took the first pistol round and the rounds which followed as MIBR’s force buy was snuffed out by a 3-k from S1mple. The South Americans briefly pulled their way back into the match with four straight rounds before the Ukrainians bought up and suppressed their opponents defence.
The damage to MIBR’s economy had left them struggling for form as Na’Vi pushed forth again and took a 10:5 halftime lead from the T-side. MIBR found themselves on the brink after Na’Vi won the second pistol and four of the rounds which followed. Not to be outdone, FalleN’s work with the AWP ensured a second wind for the T-side as they successfully detonated five bomb plants.
It looked as though a comeback was on the cards until Na’Vi’s patience with their economy paid off, their ensuing buy round granting them a successful bomb defusal and first blood from map one.
MIBR's hopes hung in the balance going into Dust 2, a map which actually favoured their opponents more if statistics were anything to go by.
The numbers did not lie, Na'Vi took seven ruthless rounds before MIBR could muster a response. Coldzera led the offence as Stewie2k and Tarik's support got the South Americans three quick rounds, but the Ukrainians remained resilient and responded with three straight rounds of their own.
The back and forth nature of both sides saw the first half conclude 10:5. Na'Vi then turned up the heat as they proved why they are one of the world's best. Winning the second pistol they continued their momentum through with five additional round wins to eliminate MIBR in emphatic fashion, booking their place in Sunday's final.
The second semifinal saw in form Team Liquid take on world leaders Astralis for a spot against Na'Vi in the Grand Final. After suffering a defeat to Liquid earlier in the competition, Astralis came out swinging on Nuke, taking the first pistol round.
However, Liquid swung back immediately breaking the Danes' advantage with a force buy to take round two. The clash of heads saw a rampant early start to the first map as Astralis went into the halftime leading 9:6. In a determined team effort, Astralis showed their class as they dropped only two rounds on the CT side to quickly take Nuke under their belt.
Team Liquid struggled to regain the form that had seen them beat Astralis in the BO1 period. NAF and ELiGE showed moments of promise but Astralis' defence on Mirage was too much for the NA side to breakthrough. Magisk and Xyp9x remained steady to guide the Scandinavians to a titanic 12:3 halftime switch.
Despite their best efforts, there was no way back for Liquid, Device's mid-AWP play sealed their fate as Astralis cruised to a convincing 16:7 victory and exacted revenge with a 2-0 win to book their place against fellow Grand Finalists Na'Vi.
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