NRG knock out Virtus.pro; advance to semis in Malta

NRG have booked their place in the SuperNova CS:GO Malta playoffs after defeating Virtus.pro 2-0 in the Group A decider (16-11 on Inferno and 16-7 on Cache).

The best-of-three game started on Inferno where the T-sided Virtus.pro won a 2vs5 in the pistol round as Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski got a quad kill. NRG answered back in the fourth and fifth rounds, trailing 3-2.

NRG managed to tie the game three times and took the lead in the 13th round when they won a 3vs3 retake. The North American side followed that up by taking the last two rounds of the half and led 9-6 at halftime.

NRG had a thunderous start to the second half as they secured the first three rounds while only losing four players in total. Tsvetelin "⁠CeRq⁠" Dimitrov & company earned seven match points after picking up the victory in the 23rd round and went on to close out the map 16-11.

NRG started Cache on the T-side and took the pistol round victory. The North American side lost the fourth round but responded immediately by clutching a 2vs3 to lead 4-1. Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski got a quad kill in the eighth round to start a four round Virtus.pro streak (6-5).

CeRq and Ethan "⁠Ethan⁠" Arnold clutched a 2vs4 in the 12th round to stop Virtus.pro's momentum. After finishing the first half 10-5 ahead, NRG won the second pistol thanks to Ethan's triple kill and extended their lead to 13-5 by securing the next two rounds.

Michał "⁠MICHU⁠" Müller picked up quad and double kills in consecutive rounds to give Virtus.pro a fighting chance but NRG took the 16-7 map victory, winning the series 2-0 and becoming HellRaisers' opponents in the semi-finals.