MAD Lions knock Copenhagen Flames out of Flashpoint Phase 1; Chaos to Group B grand final over Gen.G

MAD Lions beat Copenhagen Flames and knocked them out after a three-map series that saw each team win their map comfortably before a close 16-13 on Nuke, while Chaos, now playing with Logan "⁠Voltage⁠" Long as a stand-in, beat Gen.G 2-0 to secure a spot in the Group B grand final.

The first team from Group A to be eliminated from Flashpoint’s Phase 1 is Copenhagen Flames, who were unable to carry the momentum from a win on their map pick, Dust2, to the rest of the series. They did, however, give MAD Lions a run for their money on the decider, Nuke, but they fell flat on the CT side as their regional rivals were able to cross the finish line 16-13 to proceed through the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, Chaos' first match without Owen "⁠smooya⁠" Butterfield ended up with the North American side beating local rivals Gen.G for a spot in the Group B grand final as their new stand-in, Voltage, managed to adapt to the team's style of play and offered an aggressive brand of AWPing to help them clinch the series 2-0.

Copenhagen Flames took the series lead on their map pick, Dust2, in a fairly dominant performance that showed MAD Lions struggle on the attack. Despite giving up an early 8-1 lead on the CT side, ending the first half up by only one, CPH Flames were able to show a strong T-side with an 8-2 scoreline by the end of regulation as René "⁠TeSeS⁠" Madsen led the way with 31 kills by the end of regulation.

MAD Lions were quick to turn the page, taking an even greater lead in the first half of Train than Copenhagen Flames had on the previous map, going 9-0 on the attack before the CTs could get a footing. After a 10-5 half, Asger "⁠AcilioN⁠" Larsen and company were able to shift the momentum to the CT side and after winning the pistol round pushed the series to a decider map.

Copenhagen Flames were able to take an early 3-0 lead on the attacking side of Nuke, but it was MAD Lions who quickly swung their weight around to make sure they were in an advantageous situation at the half, giving up just two more rounds for a 10-5 partial score before switching to the attacking side. Copenhagen Flames didn’t let up on the defense, bringing it all the way back to a 12-12 tie in the late stages of the game, but it was finally MAD Lions, the favorites, who were able to scrape by with a 16-13 victory to stay alive in Flashpoint 1.

Gen.G got off to a good start on their map pick, Inferno, winning six rounds in a row, but deflated half-way through the first half on the attacking side and won it by just one round, 8-7. Despite winning the second pistol round, however, Gen.G were not able to make good on their lead and struggling to find a footing on the defense, they gave Chaos a come-from-behind victory and the series lead going into their map pick.

Gen.G had a lackluster CT side on Mirage, giving Chaos a lot of space to make plays, and went to the half down by one round, and although they were able to kick off the attacking side on a positive note, they ran out of fuel despite Hansel "⁠BnTeT⁠" Ferdinand posting a 1.30 rating on the map as Chaos shut the Terrorist side down, 16-12, to bag the series and book a ticket to the Group B grand final.