Astralis prove themselves against fnatic

Just like the Bo3-series between G2 and FURIA, everything was on the line when fnatic and Astralis entered the server for an important clash. Having to come to terms with the fact that they are no longer a consistent force to be reckoned with, Astralis needed a victory against fnatic in order to prove themselves, as well as to stay alive at the event. At first, it seemed as if the Danes were destined to fail against fnatic, however, once things turned around, they proved themselves a difficult beast to handle. Claiming a 2-1 victory after taking home Ancient, it was the Danes of Astralis to secure a spot in the Lower Final of Group B.

The first map of the Bo3-series was to be played on the soil of Inferno. Being the most played map of 2021, you would imagine Inferno to be a map that both teams would feel comfortable on. However, once Inferno had kicked off it seemed as if Astralis were everything but comfortable. A relentless offensive from fnatic, led by “Brollan”, tore Astralis apart for the first 9 rounds of play. It wasn’t until the 10th round that Astralis finally woke up, strung together 6 consecutive round wins, and salvaged their CT-sided half. Once the two teams had switched sides it was clear that Astralis had woken up. With confidence, the Danes managed to break through fnatic’s defense and ultimately secure a 16-11 victory on Inferno.

The second map of the Bo3-series took place on Overpass and was picked by Astralis. Despite Overpass being Astralis’ map pick, it was fnatic to take control from early on. An on-fire “smooya” occupied the top of the leaderboard for fnatic as they dominated a seemingly discombobulated Astralis roster. Not allowing the Danes more than 6 rounds on Overpass it was the British-Swedish roster of fnatic to force a third and final map in the Bo3-series with a 16-6 victory on Overpass.

The third and final map of the Bo3-series was set to take place on Ancient, a map that both teams are fairly unfamiliar with. After having been dominated completely on Overpass it was an Astralis roster that would have to pick themselves back up of the ground and regain some of the momentum lost on the previous map. The Danes managed to do exactly that and brought the fight to fnatic. A close decider ensued as either team refused to give their opponent an inch. Ultimately overtime was needed to find the better team. On the day it proved that the better team was Astralis as they closed out the, otherwise messy, series to their own advantage when beating fnatic 19-15 on Ancient.

Highlight of the BO3-series

Astralis - fnatic 2-1 | IEM Katowice 2022

16-11 (Inferno) | k0nfig – 1.23 Rating / 21-16 K-D / 89.5 ADR

16-6 (Overpass) | smooya - 1.80 Rating / 24-12 K-D / 105.3 ADR

19-15 (Ancient) | Brollan - 1.35 Rating / 30-22 K-D / 93.1 ADR

MVP: Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin - 1.33 Rating / 70-54 K-D / 99.8 ADR