forZe best Tricked to secure DreamHack Open Winter 2019 trophy

FORZE emerged victorious in the grand final of DreamHack Winter Open 2019, taking down Tricked 2-1.

Warmed up after a successful semi-final campaign against CR4ZY, Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen's men were pitted against Andrey "⁠Jerry⁠" Mekhryakov and company, who had earlier eliminated GODSENT in a three-map affair, in the grand final of DreamHack Winter. It was on Inferno, Vertigo and Train that the two sides would determine who would walk away with the better part of $100,000 in spoils and the coveted trophy.

Out of the gates, Tricked let FORZE know they meant business, securing a 5-0 lead on the CT side of Inferno off the back of impressive individual form from Lucas "⁠Bubzkji⁠" Andersen, who hit double-digit kills off the back of several multi-frag rounds. Mid-half turbulence saw the teams exchange blows, followed by a shift in pace, whereby FORZE were finally able to find a presence, knocking the Danes' finances into a rut. Exploiting their opponents' weakened state synced well with a reignition in form from the Russian squad's heavy hitters, as the team was able to secure a narrow 8-7 lead come the end of the half.

The Russians kept the ball rolling in early CT-side rounds, ensuring a double-digit score, but found themselves on the back foot once rifles were seen in the Tricked camp. After conceding four back-to-back rounds, FORZE regained composure, and despite a lacking performance from star player Bogdan "⁠xsepower⁠" Chernikov, gradually developed momentum. A struggling Danish offensive was able only to supplement their finances with two bomb plants in the remaining rounds, neither of which saw an explosion. Sporadic financial issues, coupled with difficulties breaching sites meant, an 11-16 loss for the Danish on FORZE's map pick.

The established momentum was translated into the second map for FORZE, as a quad kill from Evgenii "⁠FL1T⁠" Lebedev in the opening round of their CT half was succeeded by a triple kill from xsepower. The outstanding performances lacked longevity, however, as Tricked assumed the driver's seat, allowing their opponents an additional round only at 5-3, and even then, it was only thanks to a triple from Almaz "⁠almazer⁠" Asadullin. The general dynamic persisted to be in the Danes' favour, as a 10-5 lead was secured at half time.

Bubzkji ensured a pistol round victory for Tricked off the back of a USP-S triple kill, but a bomb plant from FORZE allowed for a second-round buy, which proved to be of great effect. The Galils crushed a brittle early CT economy and created space for an equaliser, which was achieved at 12-12. Unwilling to yield, Tricked found a second wind in the form of three conversions, which placed the team a single round off map three, a gap that was later bridged by FORZE, with overtime on the line. A timely save in round 29 proved pivotal to their success, as the Danes just about survived Vertigo with a 16-14 victory.

The concluding map of the series, Train, saw a similar development to Tricked's CT side on Vertigo, where an early success lacked follow-up. Having conceded two of the initial rounds, FL1T shifted the tides in his team's favour by posting a Krieg triple kill. FORZE assumed a lead thanks to this performance, and managed to stay ahead despite occasional conversions by Tricked. The consistency that they lacked was found towards the latter portion of the half, as the Danes closed out the final four rounds of their defense, ensuring an 8-7 half.

A flawless CT pistol round that saw all five members retain their lives in a post-plant situation marked a fruitful start for FORZE. who went on to dominate the early rounds of the latter half having survived their opponents' force buy. Six rounds later, Tricked got their first conversion on the offense, but struggles persisted past their small success, which cost the Danes map and series point at a six-round discrepancy. A 2v2 situation fell through for Tricked as Frederik "⁠acoR⁠" Gyldstrand ran out of time to plant, concluding the grand final in favour of FORZE, the DreamHack Winter 2019 champions.

DreamHack Winter 2019 final standings:

1. FORZE - $50,000
2. Tricked - $20,000
3-4. CR4ZY - $10,000
3-4. GODSENT - $10,000
5-6. SJ - $3,000
5-6. FURIA - $3,000
7-8. Marskalk - $2,000
7-8. HEROIC - $2,000