Cloud9 eliminate Triumph in ESL One Cologne NA

Johnny "⁠JT⁠" Theodosiou's troops had a rough start but slowly got warmed up and finished the series strongly.

Cloud9 are through to Group B's decider match in ESL One New York's North American division after picking up a 2-1 victory over Triumph. The current world No.22 got off to a slow start, losing a keenly-contested Dust2 affair, but pulled away after putting up strong displays on the following two maps to set up a decider match against Liquid on Wednesday.

The series began at a frenetic pace as both sides took turns to win rounds for a fair portion of the first half of Dust2. With the score tied 3-3, Triumph were able to establish a grip on the game, with Kaleb "⁠moose⁠" Jayne and Erik "⁠penny⁠" Penny combining for 34 frags in the half as the team picked up a 10-5 lead.

Triumph dropped off after switching to the CT side as Cloud9 took the reins of the game after winning a second-round force-buy, eventually taking the lead at 13-12. It looked like all hope was lost for Triumph, but a successful B retake - powered by two stunning AWP shots by Paytyn "⁠junior⁠" Johnson -, put the young team back in the game. Alan "⁠Shakezullah⁠" Hardeman showed nerves of steel in the dying stages of the game, his gamble calls paying off as Triumph secured the final two rounds en route to a 16-14 win.

Cloud9 came in hot on Overpass, their strongest map in recent times, with Ricky "⁠floppy⁠" Kemery amassing 12 frags in the team's 5-0 run at the start of the game. Triumph still attempted a response, but they could only muster four rounds in the half and then failed to break through the solid Cloud9 defense afer switching sides.

Cloud9 were on the front foot for the majority of the first half of Inferno and went into the break up by three rounds, led by their South African duo. Triumph gained a new lease of life after switching sides and brought the deficit to a minimum, but their comeback hopes were buried when they lost an anti-eco round, giving the momentum back to Cloud9, who rallied to secure victory.