FURIA secure EPL semi-finals after taking down Astralis

Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's squad was eliminated after a very entertaining series.

FURIA will continue their adventure at ESL Pro League Season 15 following their victory over Astralis, eliminating them from the tournament. The Danes opened up the series with a win on Ancient following a great defensive half, taking their map pick 16-13. The South Americans were quick to respond with a 16-8 on Mirage, the result of an inspiring Andrei "⁠arT⁠" Piovezan performance, before closing the affair on Nuke 16-7.

It continues to be a solid tournament for the Brazilians as they kickstart their playoffs run with a solid victory following their great performance in Group B. The next stage of their journey in Düsseldorf will see arT and co. face off against the winner of the last quarter-final match between Natus Vincere vs FaZe on Saturday at 19:00

Meanwhile, their defeat in the quarter-finals marks the end of Astralis's first tournament with Asger "⁠Farlig⁠" Jensen. An overall solid performance that saw the Danes take the last playoffs spot in Group C before defeating Entropiq to secure an end among the top eight teams at the event.

The series got started on Astralis' pick of Ancient with the Danes taking an early lead after the opening pistol. It did not take long for FURIA to leave their mark on the CT side, stopping the offense on the A bombsite to kickstart a five-round winning streak. Kristian "⁠k0nfig⁠" Wienecke was on his usual shenanigans on the T side, aggressive as always, the 24-year-old was crucial for the Danes' success in the first half. Despite the resurgence from Astralis, however, the Brazilians were able to hold on and edge the half 8-7 ahead.

FURIA started the second half on the front foot, extending their lead to 11-7. Their offense would quickly run out of steam as the Danes' defense took control of the game after bringing out the rifles. k0nfig continued to be a nuisance for FURIA in middle, enabling the CTs to string seven consecutive rounds, flipping the game on its head. The Brazilians' flat T side would only get two more rounds before conceding the map 13-16, ending a tough individual for Rafael "⁠saffee⁠" Costa.

After the disappointment from the first map, the Brazilians came into their pick of Mirage with a tough task ahead of them, and they delivered. The offense saw FURIA take the opening pistol and proceed to dominate the half thanks in part to the signature aggression of their in-game leader, arT. A couple of rounds in the half from Astralis would limit their deficit to 5-10 going into halftime, a solid scoreline considering their defensive struggles. The South Americans would not slow down after swapping sides, closing the map 16-8 and evening the series score following a convincing performance on their map pick.

The decider on Nuke delivered a fantastic game. An incredibly close first half saw the Danes control the early stages of their CT half following, taking a 4-0 lead. After the opening rounds of the half, the game became a lot more chaotic with both teams fighting tooth and nail for every round. The highlight of the series came on Round 8 when newcomer Farlig pulled a fantastic 3k with the AWP while defending the A bombsite, stealing the round from the hands of the offense. After that, it was one-way traffic in favor of FURIA, with the Brazilians taking six of the remaining seven rounds to edge the half 8-7.

FURIA carried their form into the second half, taking the pistol and going undefeated all the way to a 16-7 victory, blowing Astralis out of the water with a dynamic CT side. Yuri "⁠yuurih⁠" Santos was unplayable on Nuke, proving crucial for the Brazilian comeback on the T side and completely shutting down the Danes on the defense. The 22-year-old would end the decider with an incredible 30-10 K-D and a 1.99 rating.