Astralis and G2 win DreamHack Masters Malmö openers

Astralis bested Envy 16-7 on Train, while G2 took down FURIA 16-14 on the same map in their DreamHack Masters Malmö Group A opening matches.

Astralis began their DreamHack Masters Malmö campaign versus Envy on Train, where they secured an early 4-0 lead on the back of a Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen triple-kill on the offensive side. Envy managed to pick up their first round of the map at the hands of Bradley "⁠ANDROID⁠" Fodor on the AWP, with the North American side taking the following round also. The two sides then traded a round apiece before Envy evened out the score and eventually claimed the lead at 5-6. Noah "⁠Nifty⁠" Francis and his squad continued to press the Danish side for the remainder of the half, with Envy trailing by just a single round as the half came to an end.

As Astralis swapped to the CT side the team kicked their level up a notch, securing a number of rounds going forward, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz shining on the AWP. A 2v1 clutch from Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif on the B site meant Astralis rapidly hit map point as Envy was yet to post a single offensive round. The CT domination from Astralis continued into the final round of the match as a double-kill from dupreeh ensured Astralis walked away with a commanding 16-7 victory in their opening match in Malmö.

The best-of-one matchup kicked off with new FURIA signing Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles picking up a double-kill on the pistol on the T side of Train. G2 struck straight back, though, but a force buy from FURIA reclaimed the lead for the Brazilian side at 2-1. The force buy pattern continued moving forward as G2 levelled the score once more, with the new additions of Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković and Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač keeping B site on lockdown. The remainder of the half proved to be a close affair as neither side could secure a substantial string of rounds, however, FURIA managed to claim a narrow 8-7 advantage at the halfway mark.

Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos ensured the advantage stayed in favour of FURIA with three kills on the defence, with the Brazilian squad picking up the subsequent round too. A double-kill from nexa in the following round kick-started G2’s T side as they levelled the score at 10-10. FURIA managed to pick up their 11th round with just pistols in hand to keep the lead, with the Brazilians hitting 14 rounds soon after. A heroic quad-kill from huNter- kept G2 in the game, though, as G2 once more evened the score, this time at 14-14; with the squad soon hitting map point. FURIA looked to have done enough in a 4v2 retake in the final round to force overtime, however, a HEN1 blunder on the defuse handed G2 the 16-14 comeback and their first victory of the tournament.