KRÜ and Fnatic survive elimination, XSET qualify for playoffs
KRÜ Esports and Fnatic survived in the elimination bracket to see another round at VCT 2022 - Champions Istanbul. XSET have qualified for the playoffs while FunPlus Phoenix will come up against KRÜ to keep their trophy dreams alive. Lastly, it is the end of the road for FURIA and XERXIA. Here is the recap of the day!
In the first match of the day KRÜ Esports and XERXIA faced each other to keep competing in the tournament. The first map of the series was KRÜ’s selection, Icebox. The LATAM team made a dominant start to the map and won nine rounds in the first half. KRÜ’s attacks were on another level as two of XERXIA’s three-round wins came at the last stages of the half. The Thai team defused the bomb two rounds in a row to keep their hopes alive. Angelo "Keznit" Mori held a 1.66 rating on KAY/O with 13 kills on top to keep his team on the winning side. KRÜ won the second pistol round and had an important lead in the series. XERXIA won one more round until the end of the game and that was it. KRÜ Esports won the first map of the series in style, 13-4. Keznit finished the game with a 1.78 rating. Roberto "Mazino" Rivas followed him with a 1.73 rating on Sage.
XERXIA picked Haven as the second map of the series and it was their chance to hold onto the competition. This time the roles were reversed as the APAC team was the dominant side on the attack. With Thanamethk "Crws" Mahatthananuyut taking the leadership responsibilities, holding a 1.67 rating on Breach, XERXIA grabbed eight rounds in the first half. Mazino’s 11-kill Sage was only enough to win four rounds for the side of KRÜ. The APAC team won three rounds in the early stages of the second half and won two more to close out the map in 20 rounds, 13-7. Crws was very effective on both ends and he finished the game with 18 kills and 3 first bloods.
The last map of the series was Ascent. The first half was very close until the end. KRÜ won the opening rounds to the map but XERXIA managed to get in the lead. The LATAM representatives had the advantage at the end of the half with only a single round-win separating each team, 7-5. Keznit’s Jett was obviously the hero for the team as he grabbed 5 first bloods, losing only 1 to keep his team at an advantageous position. Panyawat "sushiboys" Subsiriroj was his biggest competitor on the individual level with a 1.37 rating on Killjoy. Even though the first half was close, the second half was one-sided in favor of KRÜ. The LATAM team won the series after finishing the last map with a score of 13-6 to prevent early elimination. Keznit’s individual show continued in the second half and the Chilean player finished the game with 23 kills and 7 first bloods.
Keznit
Klaus
sScary
The first elimination match of Group D was between FURIA and Fnatic. The European team picked Icebox as the first map of the series but FURIA started strongly on the defensive side. They won seven rounds on defense and held a huge advantage before switching sides. Douglas "dgzin" Silva had an impressive Chamber showing on defense with a 1.66 rating and Matheus "mazin" Araújo followed him with a 1.26 rating. Fnatic’s James "Mistic" Orfila did everything he could to help his team plant the bomb as he held a 1.69 rating on Sage. Fnatic started the second half with two defuses in a row but FURIA completed a 3-round winning streak to stay on top. The Brazilian team kept leading the game and saw the victory screen after 22 rounds, 13-9. dgzin grabbed 25 kills throughout the game on top of 7 first bloods.
FURIA had a huge chance to win the series as the second map pick was one of their comfort zones, Breeze. However, Fnatic had a one-sided performance in the first half, winning 10 rounds on the attacking side. The EMEA representatives played superbly, wiping all the enemy members in the first five rounds. Mistic led his team once again with a 1.53 rating on Breach but Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder also played a huge role with Neon in his hands, holding a 1.40 rating with 13 kills to his name. FURIA failed to defend the bomb sites against FNC’s impressive attacking strategies. The Brazilians started the second half by winning four rounds in a row but they were very much behind on the scoreboard. Fnatic won three more rounds to close the map and force another map in the series, 13-7.
Haven was the deciding map of the series and it was very close until the very end. The first half ended in a tie with Fnatic’s late aggression on the attacking side. The European representatives won four rounds in a row to tie the game. FURIA’s Agustin "nzr" Ibarra had a great half with Fade in his hands, holding a 1.41 rating and a 313 ACS and Alfajer tried to match him with a 1.24-rating Raze performance. Fnatic won the first two rounds of the second half by defending the bomb sites. It was a very close matchup until the end but with Mistic and Enzo "Enzo" Mestari’s defensive efforts, Fnatic won the match and dodged elimination in the tournament. Enzo finished the game with 19 kills and a 1.36 K/D on Fade.
dgzin
Mistic
Derke
Alfajer
EnzoXSET picked Pearl to start things off in the last match of the day against the last Masters winners, FunPlus Phoenix. The North American team started with a great attacking effort to win the first two rounds but FPX answered back immediately. The first half went both ways and it eventually ended in a tie, 6-6. Brendan "BcJ" Jensen played out of his mind with a 2.08 rating, 17 kills, and a 368 ACS on Fade. The other Fade of the match, Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky, held a 1.90 rating while grabbing 14 kills to keep his team in the competition. XSET dominated the second half as they only lost one round, successfully defending both bomb sites seven times to win the first map. It looked like the NA representatives came prepared with the Pearl pick. Bcj had a 1.79 rating at the end of the game.
FPX picked Fracture and it was their time to shine to keep their playoff hopes alive in İstanbul. The CIS team won eight rounds in the first half as their attacks were mostly unstoppable. FPX wiped the enemy team seven times and showed dominance on the attacking side. The star of the team, Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks stepped up with Chamber in his hands, holding a 1.99 rating and a 398 ACS. XSET’s Chamber, Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban tried to match him but couldn’t quite achieve the goal as he had 10 kills and a 1.10 rating. FPX did not lose a single round in the second half and defended both bomb sides successfully to force another map, 13-4. ardiis held a 2.27 rating with 29 kills and 6 first bloods to carry his team in the game.
Lastly, it all came down to Breeze. XSET had an incredible performance in the first half as the defenders. The NA team won 11 rounds and had the advantage in their hands to qualify for the playoffs. FPX’s attacking performance was not even close to their previous ones. Zachary "zekken" Patrone had a great KAY/O performance with a 1.91 rating. FPX won a couple of rounds in the second half but XSET closed out the series after 18 rounds in total, 13-5.
ardiis
SUYGETSU
Zyppan
ANGE1
BcJ
AYRIN
Fnatic will face 100 Thieves and KRÜ’s opponent is FPX. The winners of both matches will qualify for the playoffs. More information is on the events page.
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