The final match up of the ELEAGUE Major has been decided.
After three intensive matches, the conclusion to the second day of the ELEAGUE Major playoffs saw Astralis and Virtus Pro continue on to the tournament’s grand finals.
Astralis became the first team to advance, after defeating Swedish rivals Fnatic in two maps. Although series closer Nuke ended up being extremely one-sided in favor of the Danish side, Fnatic were at one point looking primed to win the first map Cache.
Relying on the individual performances of Freddy “krimz” Johansson, Fnatic caused the Danish roster an incredible amount of stress and successfully pushed the map to overtime following an absurd ninja defuse by Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer. Astralis composed themselves during the overtime, however, and closed out the map.
While it looked as if Fnatic had stepped up for the semifinal, Astralis proved conclusively that they are the better team by decimating the Swedes in one of the most one-sided games of the playoffs. After a dominating first half, the Danes only conceded five rounds in total, and promptly secured their spot in their very first grand final at a Valve Major.
The second semifinal was an entirely different ordeal, however, as tournament favorites Virtus Pro took on reigning Valve Major champions SK Gaming. Known for their strength on series opener Train, Virtus Pro were off to a flying start on the first half, and established a 10-5 lead. But SK Gaming, despite competing with a stand-in in the shape of Ricardo “fox” Pancheo, staged a comeback and proceeded to play the Polish team extremely close for the remainder of the map. In fact, fox played a major role on Train, as the Portuguese player racked up a total of 26 kills and became a vital part for SK Gaming pushing the game to overtime. Ultimately Virtus Pro took their home map, and the lead in the series.
Cobblestone, a map which both teams have dominated in the past, would become the deciding map of the series. While SK Gaming got off to a much better start than on Train, six rounds was all Virtus Pro needed in order to stay in the game and eventually surpass the Brazilians.
The ELEAGUE Major grand finals will begin today at 10:00am ET.
