After the first day of quarterfinals in Turner and WME|IMG’s ELEAGUE, Fnatic and Natus Vincere have moved on to the semifinals to face one another next week.
The playoffs are the final phase of ELEAGUE’s season. The top eight teams have made it through six weeks of group stages and a week of last chance qualifiers with the exception of Cloud9. The North American team was suppose to play in the last chance qualifiers, but due to SK Gaming being removed from the league, they were pushed into the playoffs.
The first matchup between Sweden’s Fnatic and the French Team EnVyUs ended in Fnatic taking the series 2-0. The series showed, once again, that Fnatic is unstoppable once the team gets in the groove.
On Cobblestone, the score was closer as both teams battled it out. Shotguns were in play in many rounds, as using them has become meta for holding or taking the drop room. In the end, Fnatic won the first map 16-13.
EnVyUs looked strong as the teams entered Dust II by taking the first half 7-3. However, Fnatic meant business and didn’t allow the Frenchmen to score a single round after the sides switched. To end the series, Fnatic took Dust II with a 16-7 scoreline.
In the second match of the day, Natus Vincere was favored by the casters and analysts. Even though it wasn’t easy, Na’Vi took the series 2-1 over Cloud9.
Overpass is known to be a key map for Na’Vi, but Cloud9 was ready to give the European team a run for their money. With Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham going toe-to-toe with Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács with the AWP, Cloud9 looked strong. As the game came to a close, it was Na’Vi who was victorious with an overtime score of 19-15.
Cloud9’s pick of Dust II was up next and the North American team meant business. Though they trailed a little bit in the early rounds, once sides switched, Cloud9 allowed only two more rounds to be stolen from them. Cloud9 ended the map with a 16-9 win.
The deciding map was Cobblestone, and both teams came in ready to move on to the semifinals. Early on, Cloud9 was up with strong CT plays, but Na’Vi was able to stay in the game. As the end of the game neared, Cloud9 started to come back, but it was Na’Vi who took the game 16-14 and won the series.
Tomorrow, two more quarterfinals will be played with Astralis versus mousesports and Virtus.Pro versus Ninjas in Pyjamas. Which teams are you rooting for to move on to next week? Let us know in the comments and make sure to follow us on Twitter at @GAMURScom for live coverage of ELEAGUE and other esports events and news.
