Outsiders overcome Sprout in Dusseldorf

The CIS squad’s future will be decided in the last day of group play in Germany.

Outsiders and Sprout faced off in a match that wouldn’t decide anything immediate, as Sprout are already out of playoff contention and Dzhami "⁠Jame⁠" Ali and company will have to wait until the final round of matches to know if they will make the next stage.

But the victory against Danny "⁠BERRY⁠" Krüger’s men has now allowed for Outsiders to hold their fate in their hands by taking out Sprout, as they could be in a position to lock themselves into a top three spot by winning against the French-Danish squad in their final round robin match on Sunday.

Sprout on the other hand will go on to play ENCE, one of the surprising dark horse teams in Group B alongside FURIA that already secured a playoff berth, to try and save face by taking home a single win and avoid the dreaded 0-5 record.

Outsiders, who lost Vertigo to FURIA in their opening Pro League match on Wednesday, got ahead on the skyscraper map this time around, taking a three round lead at the half after Jame aced while up by one, 7-6. Sprout were then quick to bring it back to a tie after the switch to gain early momentum, and although Outsiders called a timeout it was to no avail as they couldn't consistently crack the defense.

Sprout showed a lack of confidence as they gave up four match points, but became resilient in overtime to overcome adversity and secure their map, handing Outsiders their second of two defeats on Vertigo in Dusseldorf.

Outsiders were instantly at ease on their map pick of Inferno, where they got off to a 5-0 lead on the attacking side. Sprout eventually stood their ground despite the slow start to bring it all the way back to within one at the switch, but after losing to a forcebuy in the second round of the second half, Rasmus "⁠raalz⁠" Steensborg and company deflated and didn’t score another round as VP ran away to win 16-8.

Outsiders kicked off Dust2 with a B execute that went perfectly to plan until Timo "⁠Spiidi⁠" Richter turned around a 1vs3 afterplant situation, but after losing another anti-forcebuy, the German-Danish squad were unable to regain their footing as Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis and company ran away with a 12-3 lead.

After winning the second pistol round and with the wind in their sails, the CIS squad cruised to victory in 20 rounds, sealing the deal 16-4 to wrap up proceedings and secure that the qualification remains well within grasp.