ViCi upset Cloud9; Winstrike surpass NiP in Katowice

ViCi and Winstrike have successfully made it to the 2-1 club of the New Challengers stage following victories over Cloud9 and Ninjas in Pyjamas, respectively.

A triple kill from Andrew "⁠kaze⁠" Khong kicked off ViCi's CT side performance on a positive note, landing the Chinese side the first pistol of Inferno. The underdogs were efficient in their efforts to push back the offense, as Cloud9 were only able to sporadically secure rounds over the entire first half, struggling greatly to further their position on the aggression. Difficulties persisted for Cloud9, allowing for a commanding 11-4 half in favour of ViCi.

Success was seen for Cloud9 in the second pistol, however the team was economically reset after a pistol-buy A hit from ViCi marked disaster for the North American representatives. An economy in tatters meant that the opportunistic ViCi were able to extend their lead to map point at a 15-6 surplus. Cloud9 managed to claw a single round in their favour, only for a B hit in round 21 to put Inferno to bed, as another upset was seen at 16-6 for ViCi.

Winstrike's CT side kicked off to a successful start, as the Russian squad secured the first pistol round on Train after an aggressive push from Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov revealed Ninjas in Pyjamas's intentions. Having established themselves financially, the CTs proceeded to shut down the terrorists' advances with consistency, falling in all but two rounds in the earlier stages of the map. Aurimas "⁠Kvik⁠" Kvakšys proved to be pivotal in his team's success in round 13, punishing unfortunate bomb positioning, as well as securing a 4k. The momentum kept rolling for Winstrike, producing a 12-3 CT half for the Russian side.

The Swedes kept themselves in the match after switching over to the defence, fending off a fast A hit from Winstrike, albeit after the Ts secured a bomb plant. A couple additional rounds were accrued by Ninjas in Pyjamas, immediately succeeded by economic struggles as a result of a reset. This proved fatal for the match-up favourites, as they fell in four consecutive rounds, dropping to the 1-2 pool following 6-16 loss.