- Astralis become one of the two finalists of Brazy Party after defeating Polish team 9INE 2-0
- The Danish team had a tough time winning against 9INE’s strong play on Vertigo
- 9INE failed spectacularly on Ancient, a map on which they have a 13-map loss streak
Astralis managed to best 9INE on Vertigo in a drawn-out map that required two overtimes, but eventually won the match to proceed to the finals of the online CS:GO tournament.
Astralis Defeat 9INE
Brazy Party is nearing its end and Danish team Astralis will be one of the online tournament’s finalists. The roster, headed by Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander secured the finalist berth after defeating the Polish team 9INE in a 2-0 match, breaking the Poles’ win streak on Vertigo. Astralis now have a chance of winning the grand prize of $133 000.
The match was a speed bump in 9INE’s road to dominance in the competitive CS:GO scene. The team has been making great strides in the upper echelons of professional CS in the latest months, relying a lot on its prowess on Vertigo. The Poles have scored an impressive 23-4 win-loss on the map, which also helped 9INE secure the playoffs after defeating Sprout a couple of days ago.
On the opposite side, the Polish team has been struggling a lot on Ancient. Astralis knew this and this is why they chose the map as their pick of the game, managing to exploit 9INE’s weakness, dominating them to secure the victory in the match. This marks 9INE’s 13th time in a row they lose Ancient. This is something they will need to address before the start of the BLAST Paris Major.
How Did the Match Go?
As expected, 9INE, who had the first map pick of the match, chose Vertigo. However, the first half did not go as well as the Poles initially planned, as they barely snuck an 8-7 lead by the end of the first half. But as the sides switched, it looked like 9INE was back to their usual prowess on Vertigo, as they quickly took the initiative and went up to 13 rounds.
But a half-buy push towards A ramp work from Astralis allowed them to string a few rounds and equalize the score to 13-13, pushing the game to overtime. However, 9INE was not about to let things slide from their grasp on their trump card of a map, so they fought bitterly into a second overtime. Despite the Poles’ efforts, Astralis thwarted an aggressive CT push from the 9INE down B stairs in the key moment to secure a 22-19 victory.
The Dane’s performance ended 9INE’s long streak of wins on Vertigo and paved the way for Astralis to win the match. Perhaps the Poles were too shocked by what had just happened, as they barely performed on the second map, Ancient, on which they have a long streak of defeats.
The Danes duly delivered in the first half with a dominant 12-3 offensive effort. Although 9INE showed signs of life in the second half by winning a few rounds, it was simply not enough. Astralis took firm control of the half soon after and closed the series with ease, ending Ancient 16-7.
https://twitter.com/AstralisCS/status/1653676747248812033
Astralis will now go up against Cloud9 in a battle to win the Brazy Party trophy and 1st place prize of $133 000.
