Monte eliminate fnatic from playoff contention

Monte were good value for their victory, securing the two maps they won convincingly.

Monte have kept their playoff dream alive at IEM Sydney with a 2-1 win over fnatic, taking Anubis (13-4) and Vertigo (13-6) after losing Overpass (10-13).

fnatic couldn’t handle the firepower Monte brought to the table across the series, a lack of multi-kills seriously hurting the European combine. Sergiy "⁠DemQQ⁠" Demchenko may have topped the scoreboard for his team, but the entire Monte squad produced highlight rounds when called upon.

A plane home is up next for fnatic, whilst Monte progress to the qualification match later today, with Complexity awaiting them.

Date	Matches
IEM Sydney 2023
18/10/2023	Monte 10:45 Complexity	Match

fnatic’s pick of Overpass kicked off the series, and considering it’s one of Monte’s worst maps, they put up a good fight. A scrappy first half was won by fnatic, their brute-force offensive approach eventually winning out after a force-buy war ended in their favor. An immense William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman clutch put fnatic in the driver's seat in the second period, and although they laboured, they eventually secured victory.

Anubis came next and Monte showed why it is their home map, utterly outclassing fnatic from start to finish. Viktor "⁠sdy⁠" Orudzhev and Szymon "⁠kRaSnaL⁠" Mrozek combined for 31 frags to ensure a dominant defensive half, and the majority-Ukrainian side duly closed things out quickly after winning their T-side pistol.

Vertigo served as the decider, and it seemed a quick finish was on the cards as Monte romped to a 7-1 lead on CT thanks to Alexander "⁠br0⁠" Bro’s efforts. A late surge saw fnatic recover to a respectable 5-7 halftime score, but they lost to a second-round force on their own defensive effort, which spelled doom for the European squad. DemQQ produced a sneaky 1v2 clutch when called upon to ensure smooth sailing for his team, and they quickly wrapped up the map to stay alive in Sydney.