Natus Vincere has put an exclamation point behind its title ambitions at IEM Cologne. The boombl4 lead squad knocked Astralis down to the quarter-finals in three maps, securing a semifinal spot in the process.
Astralis somewhat surprisingly opted to pick Ancient as the first map. The Danes haven’t played too much on the newest inductee to the map pool, while Na’Vi has proven to be one of the strongest on the temple-themed map.
To no one’s surprise, Na’Vi absolutely dominated the map. Boombl4 was unmatched in his SMG aggression on the CT side, s1mple was his usual incredible self, and electronic had a solid performance. A 16-7 victory was the result.
Astralis did not have a good record on Na’Vi’s pick of Dust II, but the Danes showed that they came prepared. With gla1ve transitioning to AWP duties, dupreeh was free to use his trademark aggression to open up rounds. Astralis pushed Na’Vi to their limits, and eventually over them. It took a double-overtime, but Astralis sole Dust II.
On the third and final map, s1mple had had enough. He ran through Astralis, ending the map with an almost impossible 2.21 rating. Na’Vi got their spot in the semis, Astralis is going to the quarterfinals.
FaZe make it to the play-offs
Spearheaded by a strong performance from broky, FaZe managed to knock out Heroic in the lower bracket final, securing a spot in the playoffs for themselves.
The result is a huge boost for the international roster, as they’ve struggled with performance over the past few months. With the re-addition of olofmeister to the roster being a permanent move, the future looks bright for the content squad.
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