Astralis secure IEM Cologne group stage berth over Apeks

The Danes won an overtime affair in the Ancient decider to progress to the next stage of play in Germany.

blameF averaged a server-high 1.20 rating in the series versus Apeks

Astralis have earned their place in the IEM Cologne group stage following a 2-1 victory over Apeks in the tournament's Play-in, drawing first blood on Overpass (16-10), suffering defeat on Anubis (10-16), before closing things out in an overtime affair on Ancient (19-16).

Astralis have enjoyed a considerable uptick in form since the conclusion of the player break, during which they signed Victor "⁠Staehr⁠" Staehr and Johannes "⁠b0RUP⁠" Borup and moved Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer into the in-game leadership role. The Danes first qualified for the $425,000 BLAST Premier Fall Final and have now advanced through the IEM Cologne Play-in undefeated, a significant boost compared to the previous Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander-led lineup's performance before the off-season.

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Official: Astralis add Staehr, b0RUP

Astralis enjoyed a hot start to the best-of-three fixture, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz and Christian "⁠Buzz⁠" Andersen joining forces with 42 kills to keep their European opposition at bay and ensure that their Overpass pick was the correct choice. Apeks didn't roll over, however, and instead mounted an impressive T-side streak — 10 rounds won to just one round lost — to steal away their Anubis pick and force a three-map affair.

It was there that Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski truly came alive. The Macedonian, who was brought into the fold as a replacement for Natus Vincere-bound Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius, was lighting up the server with high-impact rounds and an ace to boot, but even that wasn't enough to stave off defeat. Astralis found the winning formula as they stared down the barrel of an 11-15 deficit, exploiting Middle and eventually eking out victory in extra rounds, 19-16, to progress to the IEM Cologne group stage.

IEM Cologne 2023 Play-inBest of 3

Astralis

Matchpage

2

1

27th July 2023

Apeks

16

Overpass

10

10

Anubis

16

19

Ancient

16

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Benjamin 'blameF' BremerblameF	59 - 51	+8	80.8	72.4%	1.20
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	59 - 49	+10	68.6	73.6%	1.11
Victor 'Staehr' StaehrStaehr	55 - 60	-5	75.8	74.7%	1.03
Johannes 'b0RUP' Borupb0RUP	51 - 57	-6	68.3	80.5%	1.00
Christian 'Buzz' AndersenBuzz	58 - 55	+3	63.9	70.1%	0.98

Apeks	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating2.0
Aleksandar 'CacaNito' KjulukoskiCacaNito	67 - 59	+8	74.8	70.1%	1.12
Joakim 'jkaem' Myrbostadjkaem	54 - 64	-10	77.2	62.1%	0.99
Martin 'STYKO' StykSTYKO	52 - 56	-4	71.1	69.0%	0.93
Tim 'nawwk' Jonassonnawwk	47 - 51	-4	60.5	71.3%	0.92
Damjan 'kyxsan' Stoilkovskikyxsan	48 - 56	-8	64.0	70.1%	0.91

Apeks, on the other hand, will subsequently play a must-win fixture in the lower bracket for a chance to join the Danes in the IEM Cologne group stage. Damjan "⁠kyxsan⁠" Stoilkovski's troops will join the server on Friday at 16:00 , where they will play the winner of the series between Complexity and OG.

Date	Matches
IEM Cologne 2023 Play-in
28/07/2023	Apeks 19:30 OG	Match