Astralis trump OpTic in Danish derby

Astralis top the ESL One New York group B opening match after securing a 2-0 series with victories on Vertigo (16-14) and Dust2 (16-1) over OpTic.

Vertigo kicked off with an explosive performance from Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen, who single-handedly dispatched four members of Astralis to ensure early momentum for his team. OpTic accrued an early 3-1 lead off the back of their captain's showing, later conceding the momentum to a fired up Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth, who accounted for two round victories with triple kills. A back-and-forth ensued after Astralis managed to assume a temporary lead, concluding the initial half in slight favour of OpTic's offense at 8-7.

A consecutive pistol round set affairs up well for the Green Wall, but the squad was unable to recreate the initial half's performance, allowing Astralis five consecutive rounds and as such a two-round lead. OpTic kept on the heels of their compatriots, who consistently managed to slip into the lead, all the way to map point at 15-13. A close round from Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen that nearly saw a 1v3 conversion fell through, but that did not stop Astralis from closing, as round 30 went their way, ensuring a 16-14 victory.

Dust2 saw a confident start from Astralis, whereby an immediate five-round lead was accrued off the back of a successful pistol round on the defence. Round six saw OpTic place themselves on the board, thanks to Nikolaj "⁠niko⁠" Kristensen and René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen, but the momentum halt lacked longevity, as Astralis continued to cruise to a convincing lead, made sweeter by a spectacular 1v2 clutch by Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz on the A site. Persistent dominance, coupled with another nail-biting 1v2 clutch from device concluded the first half of Dust2 with a lop-sided 14-1 scoreline in favour of Astralis.

The second half of the map was kept brief, as a triple kill from Xyp9x effectively served as the last nail in OpTic's coffin. dupreeh ensured a closure with a triple kill of his own, closing Dust2 16-1.