Cloud9 barely edge out 9z to secure semi-finals at Roobet Cup
The class of Cloud9 was too much to handle for 9z!
The second quarter-final of the day saw Cloud9 take on 9z.
The series kicked off on 9z's pick of Mirage and the South Americans played a great defensive first half. With no weak links, 9z were solid everywhere on the map which resulted in nine rounds at halftime.
One of the reasons that 9z has been successful on Mirage has been their great offensive halves. That was not apparent in this matchup though, as Cloud9 shut down pretty much everything that was thrown at them. One of the reasons for 9z's struggles was the high level of 'sh1ro', who was both flashy and rock-solid in everything he did.
Staring down the barrel of elimination, 'dgt' and 'max' performed exceedingly well on the first-half defense. The strong duo, who were 17-6 and 17-8 at halftime, ensured that 9z had every opportunity possible to extend this series as they headed to the T side with a five-round lead.
Some of the Cloud9 players that had been missing through the first fifteen rounds put up more of a fight as the CIS squad arrived on the CT side. But even though it got a bit better for them, they were still not able to handle the South Americans who were not afraid of anything. A close second half meant that 9z, who held a sizeable halftime lead, took a pretty comfortable victory at 16-10.
After the loss on their own pick, Cloud9 got a good start on the deciding map of Overpass. 'nafany', who always shows up on Overpass, had a great performance. The Russians were however not able to shut down the South Americans, who were unwaveringly getting entries and making every round interesting. Cloud9 were up 9-6 at halftime.
As the teams switched sides, 9z were quick to equalize the score. Once again 'max's outstanding performance was critical to the defensive success of 9z. In the end, Cloud9 were able to just barely take the win in the 30th round and put an end to 9z amazing run at Roobet Cup.
Highlight of the Bo3-series:
Cloud9 - 9z 2-1 | Roobet Cup 2022
16-13 (Mirage) | 
sh1ro - 1.45 Rating / 28-15 K-D / 89.0 ADR
10-16 (Dust2) | 
dgt - 1.45 Rating / 22-12 K-D / 88.6 ADR
16-14 (Overpass) | max - 1.41 Rating / 26-15 K-D / 98.3 ADR
MVP: Maximiliano 'max' Gonzalez - 1.18 Rating / 64-52 K-D / 83.0 ADR
