MOUZ battle past Astralis to make IEM Dallas semi-finals

They were forced to dig deep in the first map, but MOUZ were ultimately good value for their victory.

MOUZ have sealed a place in the semi-finals of IEM Dallas thanks to a 2-0 victory over Astralis, winning Inferno 22-20 and Ancient 16-9.

Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz was in immense form on the first map and made MOUZ sweat, proving that he is more than ready to carry at a tier-one level, but it wasn’t enough to haul his team over the line. MOUZ were far more comfortable on Ancient, with Jon "⁠JDC⁠" de Castro posting a strong CT-half before they swept through their Danish opposition with a clinical offense.

MOUZ’s pick of Inferno kicked off the series, but the European combine were almost left ruing their choice after a slow start. Astralis began on the CT side and romped to a convincing 7-1 lead early doors, crushing the MOUZ offence thanks to the superlative device whilst rarely losing a defender. MOUZ adjusted their offence, opting to slow down their defaults to avoid early utility damage, and this allowed them to earn a reasonable six-round haul on their T side.

A pistol victory allowed MOUZ to grab a 10-9 lead in the opening stages of the second half, but device managed to sneak his way into CT spawn on a Tec-9 buy and halted any momentum MOUZ were threatening to build. The half then became a hotly-contested brawl, with the teams trading rounds back and forth and often relying on clutches to get the job done. In the dying moments of the game Astralis managed to break MOUZ’s economy, allowing the Danes to get to 15, but David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský stepped up with several multi-kills on the B site to help haul MOUZ to overtime.

There continued to be very little separating the teams as they battled across two periods of overtime, but Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong stepped up with a couple of high-impact moments when MOUZ needed him most, sealing the game 22-20 for his side.

Ancient was up next, with Astralis starting on the T side of their map selection. MOUZ had an easy time of things early on their defensive half, their crossfires holding true and their aggression in middle usually successful. An accidental quick-switch from dexter granted Astralis a freebie and the chance to grab a few rounds, but it was ultimately only enough to give the Danes five going into the second period.

Astralis grabbed a pistol win to give themselves a chance of mounting a comeback, but once MOUZ got guns up they were comfortably the better side, and they marched confidently to a 16-9 victory to win the series.

The stock of this youthful MOUZ side hit a peak with their top-four showing at the IEM Rio Major last year, but progress has stagnated since, with the team flopping to pre-playoff exits at the majority of the LAN events they have attended in 2023. They have been much improved during their campaign in Dallas, with frozen in particular in fine form. There have been questions asked by analysts and the community about what MOUZ’s roster might look like moving forward, but the players currently on the lineup are making strong cases for themselves with this deep run.

Since promoting Alexander "⁠Altekz⁠" Givskov from the academy roster in April Astralis has put together a solid resume of results, one that suggests they may be on the right track to recapturing some of their former glory. device has been key in the ongoing revival, especially during their Dallas run so far, but the team around him seems more capable of capitalizing on his talents since the change. The Danes couldn’t defeat MOUZ on this occasion, but their future looks promising considering recent performances.

MOUZ will take on HEROIC in the semi-finals, with that match taking place Saturday 18:30 .

Date	Matches
IEM Dallas 2023
03/06/2023	HEROIC 18:30 MOUZ	Match