ENCE defeat FaZe; Astralis secure final spot

ENCE beat FaZe on Nuke, 16-9, while Astralis kept their clean record with a victory over Ninjas in Pyjamas on Dust2, 16-12.

FaZe took the pistol round on Nuke, defending the inner bombsite from a rush by ENCE, but the Finns were able to get on the board by winning the forcebuy with doubles by Sami "⁠xseveN⁠" Laasanen and Jere "⁠sergej⁠" Salo. Down 1-3, FaZe were able to get back on the board after coming out on top in frag trades during an A execute by ENCE. FaZe then took a 5-3 lead, but a huge quad-kill by sergej on a half-buy kept it close early on. The Finnish team were finally able to take control of the half, gaining the lead at 6-5 and going on to close it out 9-6 after a six-round streak.

FaZe then tried to rush inner in the second pistol round, but were quickly deleted by the defending team. ENCE then started to cruise on the CT side with a dominant performance until FaZe managed to win a forcebuy on the A site, getting back into the game and linking a second round after. It didn’t last long, however, as ENCE quickly got back to winning ways and closed it out 16-9.

On the C stream, Astralis kicked Dust2 off winning the pistol round on the CT side. The Danes then went on to dominate early on completely dismantling Ninjas in Pyjamas’s advances. It was finally on the fifth round that the Swedes were able to get on the board, but a great round by Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif with a triple with the AUG the following round helped further his team’s lead. Ninjas in Pyjamas were then able to get a couple of rounds on the board, but it was always Astralis who were in the driver’s seat, closing the half out 11-4.

Astralis kept their momentum into the second half, winning the pistol round without losing a single player, although they were unable to close it out immediately, as solid defensive plays kept Ninjas in Pyjamas alive. It would prove to be too little too late, though, as Astralis managed to bring it home, 16-12.