Heroic, HAVU through to winners' match of DreamHack Open Rotterdam

HEROIC and HAVU are through to the winners' match of groups A and B after besting Hard Legion and CR4ZY in Rotterdam.

The second batch of matches kicked off with HEROIC facing the newly-signed quintet of Hard Legion. The two sides faced off on Overpass, where Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer and company kicked off to an immediate four-round lead off the back of a successful pistol round.

Svyatoslav "⁠svyat⁠" Dovbakh's men pushed back in round five, but proceeded to struggle after an AUG triple kill from Snappi caused their spiraling towards a steadily developing deficit at 1-9. Despite the seemingly dire situation, the Russian squad managed to pick up an additional three rounds, concluding the first half with a 4-11 deficit.

A 100% pistol round conversion rate was kept by HEROIC, but this time around the Danes were unable to prolong their dominance by quite as many rounds, conceding to a full buy from Hard Legion. Unfortunately for the defence, the momentum coup was short-lived, as the Ts ran away with the two following rounds, ensuring map point as a result. An exchange in blows saw Overpass conclude 16-6 in favour of HEROIC.

Concluding opening matches was an encounter between CR4ZY and HAVU on Dust2. The European mix squad kicked off to a productive CT-side start, as it was able to not only secure the first pistol round, but also maintain momentum after conceding to a full buy from the Finns, ensuring an early 7-1 lead.

An AWP triple kill by Lasse "⁠ZOREE⁠" Uronen inspired the offense in the right direction, as HAVU went on to soften the blow prior to half time, posting a 6-9 T half.

After swapping to the defence, the Finns took the second pistol round, and gradually brought the round discrepancy to an equaliser, albeit with two rounds losses in the process. Impressive form demonstrated by Joonas "⁠doto⁠" Forss played a crucial role in the team's steadily developing lead, as HAVU managed to extend their position to a 14-11 score before any additional retaliation was seen from CR4ZY.

The European mix made a last-ditch effort in the form of two converted rounds, but longevity was missing in their pursuit, as HAVU took the map after producing two of their own at 16-13.