G2 survive OG scare to secure ESL One Cologne semi-final spot

G2 recovered from the brink of elimination on map three to edge past OG and to set up a semi-final clash with HEROIC.

OG's tournament run came to an end after conceding a promising lead on the deciding Dust2. The international side turned around a uninspiring Nuke defeat by winning G2's pick of Train and led 15-10 on the final map, but Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen's squad ran out of steam in the closing stages of the series as the French-Serbian squad pulled through to progress to the next round.

Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković, the highest-rated player of the group stage, kicked off Nuke with a pinpoint triple kill with the P2000 in hand to give G2 an early lead on the defence. The French-Serbian squad racked up four rounds before OG could find a reply, with a double entry kill from Aleksib on the B bombsite helping his team string consecutive rounds for themselves. Audric "⁠JACKZ⁠" Jug then stepped up to the plate with a quad kill to put G2 in a confident position moving forward as the CT side shut down the international squad time and again to claim and dominant 12-3 half.

G2 refused to let their foot off the gas once they switched sides, rapidly securing a 14-3 scoreline with François "⁠amanek⁠" Delaunay leading the charge. Mateusz "⁠mantuu⁠" Wilczewski picked up four kills to post OG’s first round of the half, but the round difference proved too extreme as G2 soon closed out Nuke 16-6 with a Deagle buy to win their opponent’s map pick.

The matchup headed to G2’s selection of Train, where a revitalised OG came out strong on the CT side with a 2-0 start. Despite a vintage Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub AWP flick in the third round, G2 were unable to capitalise on the player advantage and kick-start their T side, as OG stormed to a 10-0 lead with Aleksib spearheading the effort with an 18-0 KDD. With the half on course for a flawless finish, the French-Serbian team finally broke through to secure five straight successful B site executes and salvage a 5-10 score at the midway point.

G2 wasted no time closing the gap on the defence to reduce the deficit to a solitary round, but with nexa’s troops breathing down the necks of OG, multi-kill rounds from the likes of Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt, Valdemar "⁠valde⁠" Bjørn Vangså and Issa "⁠ISSAA⁠" Murad put an end to G2’s hopes of a comeback as a 16-10 conclusion swiftly materialised.

Dust2 was left over to determine the team that would progress to the semi-finals, and OG put one foot there following a convincing defensive showing. Aleksib and co. rapidly attained a 7-1 advantage by consistently punishing individual errors from G2, who failed to find the synergy that was prevalent on Nuke. The disjointed T side eventually stabilised towards the end of the half as plays from JACKZ and nexa helped narrow the scoreline to 6-9 with the final few rounds.

G2 turned a 3v5 B retake in their favour off the back of a kennyS triple kill and went on to level the score at 9-9. However, OG found their footing once a full buy was purchased. The international side achieved a 13-9 lead after securing a series of rounds in which ISSAA continuously took control. The offensive team soon hit map point and G2 found themselves with their backs against the wall, but when it was needed most they produced the magic required to force overtime.

The momentum built up on the tail end of the defence in regulation was carried over to overtime by G2, with a phenomenal triple kill from JACKZ promptly putting his team on 18 rounds. OG pulled it back to a nail-biting final round and had a 2v1 advantage, but a clutch from Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač edged his team over the line and eliminated OG from the tournament.