device shines as Astralis take down Cloud9 in Atlanta

Astralis have defeated Cloud9 in the Group A opening match at ELEAGUE Premier 2018 with a 2-0 (19-15 on Inferno and 16-9 on Overpass) series win.

The Group A opening match kicked off on Inferno, Cloud9's map pick, where a chaotic pistol round saw Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth tap down three in an A-site retake, securing the CT pistol. The Danes went on to secure the following anti-eco, but a force buy from Cloud9 stopped Astralis in their tracks and earned them their first of the half (1-2). The black and blue jerseys then marched on, tallying four in a row to make it 5-2.

Astralis finally broke the streak holding the A-site with a shoddy buy, but Cloud9 struck right back in the following round to keep their three-round lead (6-3). Astralis once again got right back into the thick of things, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz and Xyp9x putting in most of the work, winning 5 out of 6 rounds to secure the 8-7 score at halftime.

In the second half, Astralis came out of the gates red-hot, securing the T pistol and the following anti-ecos to take the 11-7 lead. It wasn't until a huge triple-kill hold from Maikil "⁠Golden⁠" Selim on the A-site that Cloud9 got on the board, with the CTs remaining keen on their retakes to even things out at 11-11.

Cloud9 went on to secure their fifth in a row to take the 12-11 lead, but a relentless Danish side fired back to equalize the score (12-12). The Danes kept their composure to add two more to reach map point, but the black and blue jerseys rallied back, winning three in a row with Tyler "⁠Skadoodle⁠" Latham ending the chaotic 30th round with a triple-kill to force overtime.

However, in the extra rounds Astralis walked over the Cloud9 defense with three in a row before the sides switched, which then saw the Danish side claim the 19-15 victory and the series lead.

The match then landed on Overpass. Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen got things started for Astralis with a double-kill entry on A before planting in a 1vs2 and outplaying Martin "⁠STYKO⁠" Styk and Golden to secure the T pistol. A firm hold on A granted Cloud9 their first as CTs, but Astralis didn't back down and claimed five on the board to make it 6-1.

Cloud9 finally put an end to Astralis' reign with another firm hold on A, which enabled the team to string together two more, reducing the deficit by two. The two sides then traded rounds before Cloud9 secured their second in a row, but a massive quad-kill from device earned their 8th of the half, with the Danes following that up with another round for a 9-6 half.

The second half saw Cloud9 swiftly claim the T pistol and the following anti-eco by the skin of their teeth, until Astralis finally secured two of their own (11-8). An aggressive approach from Cloud9 paid off in the following round, but a stout CT-side from the Danes put the team in control, and they would win the next five rounds to claim the 16-9 map victory and the 2-0 series win.