Renegades repeat win over Cloud9 to advance to DH Open Leipzig playoffs

Renegades took down Cloud9 in Group A’s decider match with wins on Inferno (16-7) and Dust2 (16-12) to book themselves a spot in the playoffs.

With BIG already having secured a semi-final place from Group A, Renegades and Cloud9 faced off in a rematch of their opening-round best-of-one, in which Renegades emerged victorious following a dominant defensive showing, for one spot in the playoffs.

The best-of-three Group A decider kicked off on Inferno, Cloud9’s map pick, in intense fashion with Ricky "⁠floppy⁠" Kemery completing a quad kill off the back of a 1v2 clutch in the T pistol to give his side an early 3-0 lead. With guns in hand, Renegades tightened up their defence to get the ball rolling, locking down six consecutive rounds, with Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong proving difficult to contain, similarly to the previous matchup. However, a late resurgence in the half enabled Cloud9 to pull the deficit to 7-8 at the midway mark.

Another pistol round clutch on the map opened the second half, this time at the hands of Jordan "⁠Hatz⁠" Bajic in a 1v2, with Renegades refusing to let up moving forward as they steamrolled their way through Cloud9. The Australians wasted no time in closing out the game, with a Simon "⁠Sico⁠" Williams clutch ensuring the Johnny "⁠JT⁠" Theodosiou-led side did not pick up a single CT round on Renegades’ way to a commanding 16-7 map win.

Running with the momentum from the first map, Renegades maintained their dominant ways on Dust2 as soon as they got hold of upgraded weapons, out-duelling Cloud9 consistently across the board. With the Australian squad firing on all cylinders, dexter’s men posted 12 offensive rounds swiftly to take control of the game as the map headed into the second half.

A Liam "⁠malta⁠" Schembri 1v2 pistol round clutch edged Renegades closer to a spot in the playoffs, but staring elimination in the face, Cloud9 buckled down to find success in seven straight rounds. However, an incredible play from dexter secured map point for Renegades leaving Cloud9 chasing a 10-15 deficit. The South African-American side had no gas left in the tank, though, as Renegades closed out the map 16-12 to set up a semi-final match against MAD Lions.