G2 send fnatic packing; advance to 2-2 pool

G2 move on to the 2-2 pool in Katowice after defeating fnatic 2-1 in round 4 of the New Challengers stage.

The second best-of-three in round 4 kicked off on fnatic's map pick, Mirage, where the first round saw G2 win the retake to secure the CT pistol. The Swedes returned with a swift plant on B, which forced a sole Frenchman to save - a move that wasn't in their favor as Richard "⁠Xizt⁠" Landström & co. won four consecutive rounds to make it 5-1.

It wasn't until the seventh round where G2 rebounded off the back of Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug's triple-kill, then, Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon followed that up winning the team's third with a quad-kill (3-5). However, that momentum from the French squad was quickly doused, as they were unable to hold off an aggressive fnatic with Simon "⁠twist⁠" Eliasson looking sharp, helping his squad stamp six straight before G2 won their fourth to end the half at 11-4.

The second half saw G2 win their second pistol of the game, with Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub's knife in the back of Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin and two more headshots for good measure. The French squad made the A site their playground for three more rounds until a swift triple-kill from Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson broke the streak to earn fnatic's first of the half (12-8).

A shoddy buy from G2 wasn't enough to rattle the Swedes as Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell sniped down three with the Big Green, putting G2's economy in shambles. The Frenchmen tried to salvage something out of the game, but they were shut down immediately by fnatic's stout CT side, who claimed three more and won the map, 16-8.

The French side looked to get back in the series with their map pick, Dust2, as they proceeded to secure the CT pistol and stamp five more on the board for a slated 6-0 lead, with Lucas "⁠Lucky⁠" Chastang & JACKZ putting in most of the work. The seventh round saw Xizt and his men shake things up to earn their first, forcing Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro to save the AWP, but, in turn, hurt the Swedes as G2 followed up with a round win (7-1).

With great effort, Brollan earned fnatic's second by edging shox in a 1v1, which paved the way for his squad to win three more, cutting their deficit by two (5-7). G2 responded without dropping a single member to further their lead; however, fnatic would come right back earning their sixth, but the half still came to an end with a one-sided 9-6 scoreline in favor of the French.

G2 wasted no time in the second half securing the T pistol and hounding on fnatic's defense to win four more to make it 14-6. The Swedes managed to win the following round with time expiring in their favor, but G2 got right back to it, winning the next two out of three rounds to force the decider in the 16-8 map victory.

The series came down to Overpass. fnatic were the first to strike after JW best shox in a 1v1 to earn the T pistol, but the tides turned as G2's defense rolled over the Swedes, winning nine straight for a slated 9-1 lead. fnatic managed to string together a few more rounds, but G2 remained in the driver's seat to round out the first half 11-4.

The final half of the series saw G2 lock down the T pistol and the following anti-eco, but fnatic bounced back to keep their hopes alive earning their fifth. However, G2 piled even more misery on their opponents as a force buy earned them their 14th. Things then went from bad to worse for the Swedes as G2 reached match point before closing the map, 16-5, and the series, 2-1.