EnVyUs move on in Malmö

The second quarter-final match in Malmö saw dignitas, riding the wave after sensational wins over NiP and Astralis in the group stage, go head-to-head with EnVyUs, who are desperate to return to winning ways after a series of disappointing results that not even the arrival of Timothée "⁠DEVIL⁠" Démolon has been able to turn around.

The series began on Inferno, EnVyUs' map pick, but it was dignitas who came out the brighter, taking a 3-0 lead after winning a 2vs4 retake in the pistol round thanks to three crucial keys from Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye. The 17-year-old pulled off a sensational ninja defuse just rounds later, winning a 1vs5 clutch after taking down the only opponent that was looking after the bomb as the remaining players were trying to hunt him down all over the map.

EnVyUs did not let that massive blunder get to them, however, and equalised the score at 4-4, but then they walked into the lion's den as they were caught off-guard by a full stack of ecoing dignitas players inside B. Despite bagging one round shortly later, courtesy of a triple kill from Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt, EnVyUs were never really able to recover as dignitas closed out the half with a 10-5 lead.

Kjaerbye carried dignitas on Inferno, but it was not enough

The French team got off to a great start in the second half, winning five rounds in a row to equalise the game at 10-10. Kjaerbye then put dignitas back in the lead with a 1vs3 clutch inside B, but EnVyUs regained control of the game and picked up six of the next seven rounds to lock down the map 16-12.

Mirage was a complete blowout as EnVyUs stormed to a 7-0 lead, forcing dignitas to call a tactical pause. Shortly afterwards, dignitas would finally be able to claim a round, thanks to a triple kill from Ruben "⁠RUBINO⁠" Villarroel, but with Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub playing out of his mind, EnVyUs kept pressing and took a commanding 14-1 lead.

kennyS put in an impressive display on Mirage

The second half began with dignitas taking the pistol round after overturning a 2vs4 situation, but EnVyUs hit back on a force buy to reach match point and leave the Danes strapped for cash. 

With no margin for error, dignitas kept themselves in the game with an all-out eco round and followed that up with five more rounds. But EnVyUs were not going to let a comeback happen and hammered the final nail into dignitas' coffin with a tec9 push towards B to secure a spot in the semi-final stage of the tournament.