Virtus.pro send fnatic to consolidation final, secure Flashpoint 2 grand final spot

Virtus.pro came out on top of the Flashpoint 2 upper bracket after coming back from an opening map loss on Vertigo and a 7-13 scoreline on Overpass against fnatic.

Virtus.pro have already guaranteed themselves by far the biggest payout in the team's history as they await their opponent in the grand final, the winner of which will secure $500,000 while half of that amount will go to the runner-up. Meanwhile, fnatic have dropped to the consolidation final, in which they will face the winner of MIBR and OG on Sunday.

Just like in the previous series Virtus.pro played at Flashpoint 2 against BIG, the Vertigo pick did not pan out for Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and company against fnatic. The CIS side looked competitive at first, leading the map early on despite Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin's massive effort, but late in the first half fnatic's defense came alive, with Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell finding some key early duels with the AWP.

Brollan's aggression continued to yield great results for the Swedes once on the T side, where fnatic didn't allow Virtus.pro to string rounds together on the back of openings from the 18-year-old and clinched the first map 16-10.

The series was looking on course towards a quick finish on the second map. fnatic seized control of Overpass early on the Terrorist side to pick up a comfortable 9-6 half, and a good start on the defense put them three rounds away from a place in the grand final. Virtus.pro's forcebuy win at 7-13 turned the map on its head, however, with Jame starting to come online after a rough first half and leading the way in a dominant run that saw the CIS team equalize the series with a 16-14 victory.

Train started out with the two teams trading blows en route to a 4-4 scoreline, but from then on it was an all-Virtus.pro show as the Jame-led side racked up several clutches and won all the close late-round situations for seven in a row. Switching over to the preferred defense with 11 rounds to their name already, VP lost the pistol but then won another 2v3 situation in the next forcebuy, at which point they never looked back and rallied to a 16-5, 2-1 win.