Astralis battle past Legacy in double OT

Legacy put up valiant resistance but their journey from the open qualifiers has come to an end.

Legacy have been eliminated from PGL Bucharest after coming inches away from a spectacular upset against Astralis.

Down 9-1 on the decider, the Brazilians won 10 in a row to ensure a thrilling overtime finish but that was where Astralis stabilized with a flawless CT half in double overtime to put themselves in the 2-2 pool.

Casper "⁠cadiaN⁠" Møller's troops, on the comeback trail after disappointing losses to 3DMAX and Betclic, will have a chance at playoffs on the final day of groups tomorrow but were denied the confidence boost they should have earned with that 9-1 first half lead on the decider.

Every iota of energy was needed for Astralis to overcome the world number 31 but the win is what is important and the Danes did just enough.

Map pool concerns for Astralis even as stavn stands up

Astralis have struggled in their map pool ever since Overpass was removed in favor of Dust2, forcing the Danes to play one of the former HEROIC core's two permabans (Dust2 and Anubis).

They are 1-7 on Dust2 in their last eight, losing five on the bounce, and are frequently forced to begin series 1-0 down given the holes in the floor of their map pool.

Struggling to close Nuke from 9-1 up was also concerning, even if victory was eventually secured off the back of a much-improved Martin "⁠stavn⁠" Lund series in terms of fragging and energy.

But within the team they have to see the hard-fought victory as a positive, proof that their players can rally during adversity and that cadiaN can find the right calls at the right time. They'll need to do so again tomorrow.

Latto's career-best map goes to waste

Bruno "⁠latto⁠" Rebelatto posted his best-ever Big Event map rating on map one after a dominant 2.49-rated first half, ending on a 24-6 K-D.

He was also impressive on map two, helping Legacy to not just one but two 2v4s as they attempted a comeback from 11-1 down.

But all that was for nought after a whimper of a Nuke, where the firepower advantage Legacy had on Dust2 evaporated. Tactically they struggled too, facing a brick wall Outside on Nuke as Astralis prevented the Secret pushes time after time.

It was only at 1-9 that Legacy started to look like their Dust2 selves, as individual plays on CT side saw them get their way back into the game. When it came to crunch time in overtime, however, T side was the problem once again and a 15-18 deficit was what eventually damned the Brazilians.

The lowest-ranked team in attendance, Legacy can be pleased with their showing in Romania after beating Liquid and coming close versus GamerLegion and Astralis.

Ultimately, however, results (and much-needed VRS points for a team that rarely appears at Big Events) did not materialize.