NRG move past FURIA to seal ECS playoff spot

NRG punched their ticket to the ECS Season 7 Finals playoffs with a convincing 2-0 victory over FURIA.

The North Americans were a team on a mission as they sought revenge for the defeat at DreamHack Masters Dallas in a one-sided best-of-one game. This time around, and in a best-of-three setting, they were one step ahead of their opponents all match long. Despite the tight scoreline on Train, FURIA were on the back foot for the entire game, and their Nuke pick simply did not pay off - a sign that other teams are starting to see the cracks in the Brazilians' armor.

The series began on Train, where NRG got off to a blazing start on the Terrorist side, picking up the first three rounds of the game. A 1v2 clutch by Vinicius "⁠VINI⁠" Figueiredo in the first gun round put FURIA on the scoreboard, with the 20-year-old continuing to show his mastery of the scoped rifles in the following rounds to inspire his team to take the lead.

Down 3-4, NRG picked up the pace and ran all over the FURIA defence before the Brazilians secured the final two rounds of the half to make it a competitive 9-6 scoreline.

After switching to the CT side, the North Americans hit back immediately after losing the pistol round and put together a chain of rounds, hitting map point at 15-7. FURIA finally woke up from their slumber and made a climb back into the game, but their resistance was broken in the 29th round.

Next up was Nuke, the map where FURIA had defeated Astralis at the start of the day. The Brazilians enjoyed a promising start, taking a 3-0 lead, but they would struggle for the rest of the half. Any round they won was quickly countered with a round by NRG, who went into the break up 9-6.

Things quickly went from bad to worse for FURIA as they lost the second half pistol. Once they had money in the bank, the Brazilians strung a couple of rounds together, but NRG would not let a comeback happen and put the game to bed with a five-round streak.