fnatic run over ESC in DH semi-final

The big semi-final clash at DreamHack Summer 2012 between fnatic and ESC Gaming took place this morning, and the recently crowned Swedish champions continued their rise by easily defeating the Poles 2-0 (16-11 on de_dust2, 16-3 on de_train).

After defeating SK Gaming for the first time in almost two years in the final of Swedish Championship 2012 the night before, fnatic had a tough task ahead of them this morning, as ESC Gaming was awaiting in the semi-final of DreamHack Summer 2012.

The two teams had a couple of interesting clashes in recent months since fnatic made their latest lineup change, and both times the Swedes came out on top, 2-1 at Copenhagen Games 2012 upper quarter-final and 2-1 in fnatic PLAY league quarter-final.

To kick off this match the map was de_dust2, and fnatic won their T side pistol round and shortly after went into a 3-0 lead. ESC took the first buy round in perfect fashion and it seemed they will be able to stop fnatic's attacks, but then Richard "Xizt" Landström led his team, not just strategically, but also on the scoreboard, to win the next 6 rounds for a 9-1 lead.

ESC Gaming called a timeout to talk things over before the match slipped away from them completely, and the pause resulted in the Polish team changing to aggressive style which, after an eco, brought them two rounds for a 10-3 score. But instead of further reducing the deficit, the Poles lost the next round after a close 2-on-2 situation closed off by Finn "karrigan" Andersen, which gave fnatic their confidence back and they ended the half by taking the last round as well for 12-3.

It was ESC's turn to attack now and they are known for making big second half comebacks, so nothing was settled yet. Indeed the Poles took the pistol round and a tight first buy round to get back in the match at 12-8.

However, fnatic didn't allow them to continue and they upped their lead to 14-8 which put the Poles in a tight position. They hung in there for a few more rounds though, but the Swedish-Danish squad proved to be better on this map and they defended successfully two more times for a final score of 16-11 and a 1-0 lead overall.

The match continued on de_train with ESC now starting on the favored side, as CTs. However, a repeat of the first map took place, with fnatic taking the pistol and then despite losing the first buy round, the Swedes went on a streak and dominated the half with a 13-2 scoreline, with Michael "Friis" Jørgensen's AWP particularly on fire.

Fnatic never gave the Poles a chance in the end and the second half turned out to be just a formality as they closed the match with a 16-3 de_train victory.

DreamHack Summer 2012Best of 0

fnatic

Matchpage

2

0

18th June 2012

ESC Gaming

16

Dust2

11

16

Train

3

Match statistics:

fnatic	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating-

ESC Gaming	K - D	+/-	ADR	KAST	Rating-

Fnatic have continued their successful run since adding Andersen with another final participation. They will be up against either Natus Vincere or Virtus.pro in the grand final of DreamHack Summer which is scheduled to start around 13:00 .

Note that the second map and a potential third map of that match will take place at the DreamArena Extreme, meaning there will be a longer break after the first map.

Also, we remind you that there is no 3rd place decider in this tournament, meaning ESC Gaming have ended their participation.