Day two of the IEM Katowice Major 2019 Legends stage began today. There are matches still going on throughout the day. However, we already know what two teams are advancing to the playoffs with a 3-0 record.
Astralis, the number one seed, played against Renegades in a best of three series to start the day. Renegades picked Mirage as their map, followed by Astralis picking their best map Nuke. Inferno was the map left over and was the third and final map.
Mirage did not look like it was going to be competitive at all. Astralis would end the half with a 12-3 lead. Surely Astralis would win the map with this large of a lead. However, Renegades managed to win 12 rounds and force overtime. In overtime Renegades would manage to clutch up and avoid making small mistakes to pull out the win. Justin “jks” Savage would lead Renegades with 81 ADR during map one.
Courtesy of IEM
This was the first time this event a team had taken a map off Astralis. But, Astralis had no need to be concerned. The next map was Nuke and they have won 30 consecutive matches on this map. Astralis would start as the terrorist side. Even with Astralis losing pistol on a heavily counter-terrorist sided map they still managed to win six rounds and finish the half down 9-6.
It was looking close and viewers thought it was possible that Renegades could beat Astralis. However, Astralis showed the world again how dominant they are. In the second half of the map, Astralis would win ten consecutive rounds to win the map 16-9. Both Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz and Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen would each drop 20 frags in their map two win.
Lastly, Inferno was the final map to be played. If Astralis were to win, they would finish 3-0 and advance to the Champions stage. They managed to accomplish just that. Astralis obliterated Renegades on Inferno. Astralis played with so much confidence and it showed. Dupreeh and dev1ce were taking gun fights left and right and winning each engagement. Astralis would finish he half up 13-2. The second half did not last very long as Astralis managed to win three rounds in a row to close out the game. With the 16-2 win on Inferno Astralis is the first team to advance to the Champions stage.
After day one Team Liquid is sitting with a 2-0 record. Day two is the day for them to get that third win and put themselves into the Champions stage. Team Liquid’s opponent for day two was Natus Vincere. Winning a best of three series against the best player in the world and a top three team is no easy task. However, Liquid did just that.
Courtesy of ESL
Mirage was the first map, and it was a very close game. Team Liquid would manage to squeeze out the victory with a 16-14 win. Jake “Stewie2K” led the way with 21 frags and a 1.21 rating. The next map was Dust 2 and the score makes it look closer than it really was. Team Liquid using their raw aim and talent would win 16-9. Team Liquid’s IGL Nick “nitr0” Cannella would drop 24 frags in the win. He also manage to have the highest rating between both teams. Nitr0 would finish the map with a 1.57 rating. Team Liquid, the number two seed, advance after finishing the series 2-0 versus NaVi.
This is what most people expected. With these two teams being the first two to advance, we are now being setup for a potential Team Liquid versus Astralis grand final. Astralis and Liquid will be on opposite sides of the bracket and the only way we see them play again would be in the finals. As of now, it looks like both teams are a notch about the rest. CS:GO fans still have much to look forward to in regards to seeing who else will advance to the Champions stage.
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