Heroic secure semi-final berth over VP; Gambit eliminate NIP to advance to quarters

Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali's side will also begin their bracket run from the quarter-finals as a result of the loss.

HEROIC showed utter dominance on the server as they made quick work of Virtus.pro in the Group A upper bracket final, dispatching of the CIS side with one-sided scorelines on Mirage and Vertigo to advance directly to the playoff semi-final.

Meanwhile, Gambit completed a gauntlet run through the lower bracket after they had been sent down by Ninjas in Pyjamas in their opening match, claiming revenge against the Swedish side as they saw to their elimination in their final series to secure a playoff berth.

It was a rematch on Vertigo and Ancient that played out, and this time both maps went the way of Vladislav "⁠nafany⁠" Gorshkov and company as they kept themselves alive in the event, looking to defend their IEM Katowice 2021 title that they had won online.

HEROIC looked a cut above Virtus.pro for the entirety of the best-of-three series that played out, making Jame's troops look a shadow of themselves despite them having shown a dominant face throughout the event thus far. It started on the Danish team's pick of Mirage as Virtus.pro scored a win in the first pistol round, but it was a quick turnover as HEROIC won an ensuing forcebuy to turn the tides.

Unrelenting on the T side, Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller's men then charged ahead, dismantling the VP defenses as they won nine rounds in a row to establish a dominant lead before four rounds at the end of the half gave VP some breathing room heading into the side swap. However, HEROIC wasted no time in bringing the hammer down in the second half, converting a pistol victory into a six-round spree to bring the map to a swift end, 16-5.

HEROIC's composure continued onto Vertigo, where they put up a stalwart defense. Despite giving Timur "⁠buster⁠" Tulepov room to lurk into B on the T side, the Danish team were always ready to recover, and great teamplay was showcased in full force as they pushed up to an 11-1 lead. Again, VP made an effort to grab a handful of rounds ahead of the break, but another pistol win for HEROIC put them just mere moments away from a victory, with the team eventually closing out the map, 16-10.

Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov and Sergey "⁠Ax1Le⁠" Rykhtorov were shining beacons for Gambit as they fought past Ninjas in Pyjamas on Ancient, a map that kicked off with Gambit winning six of the first seven rounds on the T side. The Swedes kept the scoreline close as they reduced the deficit in the latter portion of the half, bringing themselves within one round at halftime as they looked to answer back.

A comeback wasn't to be though, and it was sh1ro who stepped up to make sure of it, putting on a masterclass as he found a number of multi-kill rounds alongside Ax1Le. Just three rounds went the way of Ninjas in Pyjamas before their fate was sealed, Gambit taking the win 16-10 to move the series on to Vertigo.

There, Ninjas in Pyjamas showed a better face, taking three rounds to kick things off. Five in response from Gambit was finally answered back by the Swedish side after a late-round situation resulted in the CIS team not planting the bomb in time, and Ninjas in Pyjamas went on to edge out an 8-7 lead by halftime thanks in part to a strong individual effort from Hampus "⁠hampus⁠" Poser.

A pistol round win and subsequent conversions against a forcebuy and eco helped Ninjas in Pyjamas further extend their lead after the side swap, but once Gambit had rifles in their hands, the tides quickly turned. The duo of sh1ro and Ax1Le remained a dominant force as they shut down any attempts to gain entry to bombsites by Ninjas in Pyjamas, conceding just one more round en route to a 16-10 finish to close out the series.