VP eliminate 3DMAX from FPG 2

Perfecto tallies his second win as in-game leader as Virtus.pro head to 2-2 decider match.

Virtus.pro survived their second elimination match at FISSURE Playground 2 with a 2-1 victory over 3DMAX, sending the French team home and securing a spot in the Swiss group stage's 2-2 pool.

The Russians struck first on their Train map pick, but just barely, as they won it in the last round of regulation and needed the heavy lifting to be done by 17-year-old academy player Vadim "⁠tO0RO⁠" Arkov, who ended with his personal best rating, a 1.62, since joining the main team for the event in Serbia.

3DMAX struck back convincingly on their Inferno map pick, establishing themselves as the dominating team with a 13-5 scoreline. The trio of Filip "⁠Graviti⁠" Brankovic, Pierre "⁠Ex3rcice⁠" Bulinge, and Alexandre "⁠bodyy⁠" Pianaro led the way.

On Dust2, it looked like things were going to go sideways for Virtus.pro, who after winning the first pistol round fell to three Glocks, a P250, and a Scout.

It didn't go that way in the end, despite 3DMAX taking a 6-1 lead from there, as both teams went into the 20th round at a stalemate. 3DMAX then took the lead, 11-10, but Virtus.pro were first to hit match point tow rounds later, prompting the final tactical timeout to be called by the French side. It was in vain, however, as Virtus.pro deal the final blow, once again in the final round of regulation, to keep their FPG 2 hopes alive.

3DMAX's fantastic opening victory against The MongolZ became a huge letdown with losses to FaZe and GamerLegion before the final defeat in the Swiss stage at the hands of VP, and the Frenchmen will now have time to regroup ahead of ESL Pro League Season 22 Stage 1, starting September 27.

Virtus.pro are 2-2 after a terrible start with losses to Falcons and Astralis, and will play a do-or-die decider on Tuesday for a chance at reaching the playoffs at the Belgrade Arena.