Astralis, fnatic open ESL Pro League Group C with victories

Astralis and fnatic secured victories over Aristocracy and North in Group C of ESL Pro League Season 10 Europe.

The Danish favourites kicked off Group C with a solid series against Aristocracy, commencing on Vertigo. Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander and his men got off on the right foot as the defence as they raced to a 9-0 lead. The Polish side managed to prevent a complete blowout on their T side, cutting the deficit to five rounds to keep themselves in the game.

A second pistol round victory followed by more early-half dominance allowed the Danes to extend their position to map point off the bat. Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas and company did their best to claw the map back, but their efforts were insufficient, as the team subsequently fell 9-16, with Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen closing out the map with a 1v2 clutch.

Nuke was next on the agenda, where Aristocracy were able to secure their first pistol round of the series. Early on, the Polish team demonstrated presence, particularly Paweł "⁠dycha⁠" Dycha, who posted a spectacular triple kill on the B site, but their efforts lacked longevity, as Astralis bent the momentum their way towards the latter stages, ensuring a strong offensive campaign. Mid and late-half success produced a 9-6 T half for Astralis, a worrisome development for the Polish side.

Aristocracy came out of the break the livelier of the two sides and even took the lead, but then they once again lacked persistence as their approaches were figured out by Astralis. The underdogs were able only to secure an additional round over the remainder of the half as the Danes concluded the series in brief fashion at 16-12.

The concluding European series of the day saw fnatic butt heads with North, with affairs taking off on Nuke. The Danish offensive kicked off to a fruitful two-round lead but were stopped in their tracks by Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin, who secured his team a force buy round with a triple kill. The two sides proceeded to exchange four rounds apiece, with the Swedes taking control of the game towards the end of the half to secure a 9-6 lead.

fnatic continued their successful Nuke campaign on the T side, where they secured a pistol round plus one, and despite conceding to North's first full buy, had the follow-through needed to secure map point. Nicklas "⁠gade⁠" Gade and his squad managed to extend the first encounter by a further four rounds but were unable to complete the comeback, conceding Nuke 11-16.

Inferno was next on the program, where the Swedish offense continued to put up a strong showing. A Glock triple kill from Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell set the wheel in motion, inspiring his squad towards an immediate five-round lead. Philip "⁠aizy⁠" Aistrup single-handedly ensured his team's first CT-side round, but outstanding individual performances from North were not consistent enough to keep the team afloat as they found themselves trailing their opponents 4-11 at the end of the half.

A brisk B hit from North was shut down masterfully by fnatic's defence, resulting in yet another pistol round victory for the DreamHack Masters Malmö champions. A double Krieg force buy from North upset the momentum but it yielded no long-term benefits, as the fnatic train was back on track, halting just two stops away from closing the series. A pivotal 1v2 clutch from Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen gave North a fighting chance, and the team managed to string together four rounds off the back of it. The comeback was once again not to be for the Danes, as fnatic went on to secure map point thanks to a triple kill by JW, and closed the series shortly afterwards at 16-11.