Na`Vi, C9 move on in Cologne

The second set of openers in groups C and D at ESL One Cologne 2015 promised slightly less one-sided match-ups than the first set, merely by going off of the storied histories of all four teams in the next two matches.

In the Group C game, a revamped Titan lineup went up against Na`Vi on de_overpass. The Eastern European team opened up the game with a CT-sided pistol win. Titan came into the first gunround with a smooth execute and picked up a round for the Belgian-Swiss-French team.

Na`Vi stepped up on defense and held down a B-site take with a four-man stack, to pull ahead 4-1. The team were up 6-1 when Danylo "⁠Zeus⁠" Teslenko decided to call a tactical pause. After the pause, Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon won a one-versus-three with low HP, outplaying Zeus when the bomb was down to boot. Na`Vi once again re-converted and put Titan on a save, bringing the score to 8-2.

Na`Vi finished the half with a domineering 11-4 lead with Titan looking a little letdown on camera. Titan's triple stack at park near A forced an easy rotate from Na`Vi that allowed them to take the second pistol of the game as well. Cédric "⁠RpK⁠" Guipouy however got three pistol kills on Titan's force-buy to pivot the game away from Na`Vi.

RpK's heroics gave Titan the momentum the team needed to pull ahead and win a consecutive series of rounds, bringing the score to 8-12. Na`Vi nearly won a two-on-4 in the next round, however Mathieu "⁠Maniac⁠" Quiquerez won a crucial one-versus-two clutch to move Titan ahead.

Na`Vi finally got a grip on the game and advanced to a 14-9 lead, however another shox-powered eco gave Titan another round to help counter Natus Vincere's lead. These antics once again gave Titan space to gain rounds, bringing them up to 13-14.

Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács solo-manned the ensuing round and picked up an ace to give Na`Vi match point. Titan doubled down on defense and answered back by forcing overtime.

The first half of overtime saw Titan take two rounds, with RpK and shox making individual plays, and Na`Vi take one. Na`Vi's CT-side on overpass proved to be the strongest factor in this overtime thriller, with the Ukrainian-Russo-Slovak side picking up three rounds to win 19-17.

ESL One Cologne 2015Best of 1

Titan

Matchpage

17

19

20th August 2015

Natus Vincere

17

Overpass

19

Natus Vincere	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating1.0
Ladislav 'GuardiaN' KovácsGuardiaN	28 - 17	+11	-	-	1.34
Ioann 'Edward' SukharievEdward	27 - 24	+3	-	-	1.12
Denis 'seized' Kostinseized	25 - 22	+3	-	-	1.09
Egor 'flamie' Vasilyevflamie	29 - 25	+4	-	-	1.08
Danylo 'Zeus' TeslenkoZeus	24 - 25	-1	-	-	1.06

Titan	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating1.0
Richard 'shox' Papillonshox	27 - 26	+1	-	-	1.09
Edouard 'SmithZz' DubourdeauxSmithZz	23 - 26	-3	-	-	0.97
Mathieu 'Maniac' QuiquerezManiac	25 - 27	-2	-	-	0.90
Cédric 'RpK' GuipouyRpK	18 - 27	-9	-	-	0.75
Kévin 'Ex6TenZ' DroolansEx6TenZ	19 - 27	-8	-	-	0.71

Group D's second game saw North American crowd favourites Cloud9 go up against mousesports, a team which had recently defeated Cloud9 on home soil at the CEVO-P Season 7 finals, on de_overpass.

The Canadian-American team won the T-sided pistol and then were promptly eco'd by a resurgent mouz team with pistols and armour. Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik had no problem shutting down C9 on B site on the first gunround, continuing mousesports' early lead.

C9 finally pulled off an A-site take on the seventh round but mouz consolidated and kept Cloud9 from repeating a similar take in the next round. With the score at 7-2 for mouz, Cloud9 began to opt for pure aggressive takes (primarily on the B site) to string more rounds together.

Tyler "⁠Skadoodle⁠" Latham's acquisition of the AWP was key to this mid-half comeback and the American AWPer continued to use it to full effect, with Mike "⁠shroud⁠" Grzesiek awaking as well and beginning to hit his stride. mousesports picked up a final round, finishing the half with a 8-7 lead.

mouz ran ahead with a pistol win, however like the Lannisters, Cloud9 returned the eco round favour and turned the game around yet again. This result forced mouz to eco twice and allowed C9 to pull ahead 10-9. With the mainly German team's economy in a state of shambles and not mirroring economic reality, Cloud9 pulled ahead to a 14-10 lead. C9 refused to let go of this lead, and shut mouz down, winning 16-10.

ESL One Cologne 2015Best of 1

Cloud9

Matchpage

16

10

20th August 2015

MOUZ

16

Overpass

10

Cloud9	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating1.0
Sean 'seang@res' Garesseang@res	24 - 18	+6	-	-	1.22
Mike 'shroud' Grzesiekshroud	19 - 15	+4	-	-	1.18
Jordan 'n0thing' Gilbertn0thing	17 - 15	+2	-	-	1.03
Ryan 'freakazoid' Abadirfreakazoid	15 - 14	+1	-	-	1.01
Tyler 'Skadoodle' LathamSkadoodle	16 - 14	+2	-	-	0.98

MOUZ	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating1.0
Denis 'denis' Howelldenis	21 - 18	+3	-	-	1.19
Fatih 'gob b' Dayikgob b	17 - 18	-1	-	-	1.02
Timo 'Spiidi' RichterSpiidi	11 - 15	-4	-	-	0.79
Chris 'chrisJ' de JongchrisJ	14 - 21	-7	-	-	0.70
Johannes 'nex' Magetnex	13 - 19	-6	-	-	0.68