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BLAST Open Rotterdam 2026 - Day 4 - NiP vs Liquid, MOUZ vs 9z, PARIVISION vs Spirit, The MongolZ vs Vitality
03-21-2026 · 13h 12m
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Welcome back to Blast Open Rotterdam where we are kicking off our fourth day of action
here on the desk.
I'm Darth Mike, joined as usual by Voo and as unusual by Pimp with an iron sweater
for once.
How you doing Jacob?
for ironing my sweater, Mike. I owe you one. I'm so grateful for you. I think you're the
greatest American in the building right now. Anything else?
That's not what you were saying in the green.
No, I'm happy with it. Greatest North American. Voo, what do you think about that? I'm greater
than you.
I mean, I would not iron Pimp's sweater even if it was incredibly creased. So that is actually
a very noble thing for you to say.
What should I say?
That's why you two fools don't get it right. It's not about you, Mike. It's
not about you. You're better than the entirety of the team standing behind you
right now that was the dick that was the joke Mike and you didn't get it no I
caught it I just chose to leave it alone but we'll dive into it in just a
moment we're gonna leave liquid alone for now believe me I'll give you plenty
of time to bully your old organization let's take a look back at
yesterday's results we started with a little magic coming through from bait
and NRG specifically from the energy side of that phase tylu falcons now the
aurora furia to wrap up our day so let's talk and you know what usually
Tell us what you guys I'm gonna talk about this one in our G with the two oh over bait
Just you that you feel that magic because I'm feeling a little
What you
This is this is like the classic and a upset against a
Falling failing team and everyone gets so hyped like they've just beat vitality or they
He's trying to trawl it.
This is a good win for NRG.
It's a great win, but it's not that big.
We're so back.
We're so back, baby.
One win against a struggling bait, and we are so back.
That's the future of North American Counter-Strike right
there, and it comes in orange.
Yeah, there was a good win for NRG.
And as Rue kind of said, you're beating bait,
which by all means is a decent result coming out
for NRG, considering you just added Grimm.
I'm trying to keep it cool here.
Mike and say, yes, that was nice, you know.
I like what I saw from energy.
Unfortunately for them, we're at a tournament
where the best teams in the world are participating.
And then next matchup is going to be you crying
in a corner for two maps.
I will say, on a one more national nation identity note,
how great would it be if the team in Orange made it
to the Dutch event?
Well, I think, because they have orange shirts.
Is that what you're talking about?
Yeah, yeah, orange is like a big thing in all of this.
That would be amazing, Mike.
That would be astonishing.
Well, we'll see if they can do it.
That'll be for the future.
All of the games that happened, Faze, Tai Lu, what a surprise, perhaps not a surprise rather,
but more a state of where Faze is at, they battled to the end, but we had a bit of a heartbreaking interview on the end of that with Kerrigan.
It's a really tough spot for him.
Honestly, it's not often that I get emotional, you know, on behalf of teams, but I could almost feel the disappointment in Kerrigan
and feel the frustration coming out of him and then feel the...
I guess all the emotions that him and the team is going through right now,
It's never been worse than it is right now for face clean.
We kind of said the scene yesterday, we talked about it.
Face right now is in serious jeopardy of not making the major.
We're talking Kerrigan, Twist, Throeson, not going to be part of IEM Cologne 2026.
That will be a disaster and so it is for face in the moment.
Do I hear that correctly?
You're having sympathy for a team?
A little bit.
I think it's, now they're so far down that I don't even want to, you know, speak
badly about them anymore because it's, what's the point?
Like they're out of relevance at the moment.
I mean, as much as before the game, we said they need to be put out of their misery,
they need the loss, they need to miss the major, so they understand they need to make changes,
it's still hard to see when Kerrigan comes up after, he's clearly devastated,
he clearly understands how bad things are going for them,
and he still gives a great interview, he gives lots of insight,
and it's tough to watch, but at the same time, it's kind of necessary,
they need to eventually miss a major and make some big changes if they want to be a top team again.
I'll tell you what, Mike, I'll tell you exactly what was the most interesting thing about that interview from Kerrigan yesterday.
it was his one thing where he actually didn't speak up, you know.
There's a lot of things Kerrigan wanted to speak about.
There's a lot of things he could say, but now it's not the time.
That is the most you can ever say without saying anything.
I think there's a lot of stuff going on within FaceClean,
whether that has anything to do with the organization, you know,
spitting ties with the content creator department or whatnot.
If there's financial issues, if there's something else going on,
even the communication around him, you know, yeah,
the organization told us that Neo is not going to be here.
So what essentially was a major qualifier for FaceClean,
they show up without a coach. I don't know what the hell is going on with in
face-climbing, but I can't wait for Kay again to speak up about it. We'll find out.
We'll keep our ears tuned for that one. There's still one chance for them, but it
involves a drackey land and a whole lot of chaos to make it to the major.
Speaking of chaos, our third match of the day saw your favorite player, Pimp,
come back into the server and KSK, but that wasn't enough to put Falcons over
the top. Is he my favorite player? He did a good job on the first map to be
fair, but Navi's continuing to ride on from what we saw at Pro League. I'm
I'm very, very happy on behalf of Navi.
Falcons is a story for itself.
I'm not really too disappointed.
Don't really care too much.
I think they're at a point right now
where they're trying to figure out a lot of stuff.
Whereas for Navi, they're slowly but surely entering
the conversation of a team that we have to take serious
on a highly matter.
I love what I'm seeing from there right now,
a solid performance yesterday.
I think I'm happy to take them very seriously.
I think because he's really showing himself
to be the best of the new up-and-comers.
Jacob, are we saying he's better than Kiosuke yet?
He's more in form, maybe.
based on what we've seen in the last week and a half,
people need to calm the hell down.
Like there's a reason why Kyosuke
was called a generational talent.
I never heard anyone say a generational talent
around Mikase.
Now that doesn't change that he's playing absolutely
fantastic and the biggest issue Navi's having
and have had, you know, is like a firepower.
Guess who's stepping up to the occasion?
Guess who's bringing that firepower right now?
That's Mikase.
So if anything, he's a golden star
and I guess generational talent
at least within the Navi camp.
Speaking about firepower, right?
Our last match of the day featured that in spades
and in particular it started in one of the pistol rounds
coming on in, but maybe that was the good flash for Furia, because overall this one was
strong for Aurora, winning the overtime in the first, sealing the deal on Inferno.
You gotta be really happy if you're a fan of that Turkish squad.
Yeah, that was a solid performance from Aurora, again, just like with Navi there, riding
on the momentum from Polic despite Kacerado doing that.
Oh, shit.
That was a sick play.
I don't know about you.
I'm worried on behalf of Furia, and I've actually been saying it from the get-go.
I said it even after the major.
I don't think that's going to be the same team heading into 20-26.
Then obviously, the entirety of Brazil started to hate me.
And here we are.
Fuiro is funnily enough not the same team as they were in 20-25.
At what point did we get worried?
Yeah, I mean, if you look at the stats,
almost every player on Fuiro has dropped off quite significantly.
You can point to individual players.
Yuri's not playing as well as he was before.
You Kindars had some off-maps.
But at the same time, it's a team
that you looked at them previously.
They play like a team.
They win as a team.
And they do so many things right together.
And they're just not kind of putting the pieces together consistently this year for several events in a row now
But how about that pistol play from case, right?
If you haven't watched it a million times go back and watch it a million more because holy cow
That is about the best usp play that you'll ever see
I don't think it's enough to get us to buy in though
And now it is time to do some buying in because it's time for our Nova shots that IO courtesy of Nova wallet
This is the game that you can join at home Nova shots that IO go to it
You get points, you get to invest those points into your team, depending on how your team does.
You increase your portfolio, you decrease your portfolio, there's prizes at the end.
It's a wonderful game that requires no actual purchase.
So hop in.
Our portfolio is doing pretty well.
We've got 1,630 in value overall.
We've also got 593 points still to spend.
That means we've been doing a good job so far, fellas.
This is high pressure.
Can we keep it going?
What are we buying into?
Not energy.
Liquid.
Liquid.
Liquid.
Liquid, I have a feel, okay let's see what the, what is that right now, is it a good value for tokens so to speak?
Hold on, let me go down, they're actually very high, 1.7, they're the second highest value after Maus right now.
What about NIP then?
NIP based on it, shockingly strong as well, I think it's really just that there's a certain bump to the next game
as people make their estimation on how it's going to go, there's an investment in doing it.
So NIP a little bit cheaper than Liquid but not substantially, 1.5 versus 1.7.
I didn't feel frisky yesterday, do you feel frisky today?
NIP could be almost free.
They're going to lose.
So I don't know why I would invest in them.
In that case, we're investing in liquid.
I push the button.
Yeah.
How many blast box?
250.
250.
I keep typing 20 instead of 50.
That's my problem, but that's
what we're going to stick to.
I'm totally in favor of it.
Love me some liquid.
Love me some malbs being in that jersey as well.
I think this one's going to be pretty exciting.
And I think there's a lot of reason for optimism.
That'll be our first game.
but there are more games to come as well.
So let's check out what we've got coming up.
A full slate, a tasting menu, you might say.
Vue of Counter Strike coming through.
Like you don't want to leave.
The NIP, 9ZV, Mouse, perry vision take on spirit.
And to wrap the day, Mongols versus Vitality.
A game that we saw so often in 2025.
And that you'll remember, Mongols finally triumphed
for the first time on a blast studio stage.
So, history repeating itself.
I'm not sure about that, but the Mongols so far have looked great.
You know, I think they're exceeding all expectations.
I think they came into 26 with a lot of Christian-Max attached to them.
So if there ever was a time to take down a Vitality, maybe at a group stage,
that would be the time for the Mongols.
I'm excited about it.
I mean, we're reaching the point where you can't predict Vitality to lose even a series.
You just have to accept if Mongols make it close,
if they if they manage to even push Vitality to the brink, that's a win.
Vitality is just so dominant for so long now.
We can't say anything that Mongols is going to win this one.
Well, we'll leave that conversation to the late shift.
For now, it's time for us to get ready for our first matchup of the day, as Liquid take on NIP.
Here's some players to hear from.
And for you personally, we've seen a really big uptick in form over the last half a year or so.
It's been looking very nice. You've been one of the strongest performers in Liquid.
What do you credit that to?
I'm not really entirely sure, even though I don't think my uptick in form is really that drastic, I would say.
I mean, I was still trying to find my form and find a way to have good games and all that,
but it's slowly getting there.
I guess with time, we'll see more.
Your opponent today, NIP, you've played them a bit before.
What do you think about them?
NIP, obviously, I think they're a good team,
but I think they're also dealing with the same issues that we are.
I even read the snap interview where he said they're one team in practice
and they're one team in officials, and I was like, damn, that sounds just like us.
But overall I think they're good players, you know, Kasperovsky has been popping off, you know,
Rinkle always has potential to have good games. So overall, I think it's a good matchup to kind
of see where we're at so far and we're set again in the server and see how it goes.
A little bit of a mirror match with where your teams are at then?
Oh yeah, you know, it could just be a big hate watch for the fans.
I mean it's fun, it's the third time we play Liquid this season and they have
different lineup for all of them. So obviously Liquid, I think they're having their own issues,
But of course they have very skilled individuals. I hope we can take this one. It would be very sweet.
Naf said something about feeling like you teams are in similar places in terms of translating what you see in practice into the server. Do you think that's a fair description?
Yeah, I mean obviously I don't know how they are performing in practice, right? But I would say that it makes sense what he's saying.
sense what he's saying in practice we are playing no pressure you know everyone is pretty much
comfortable but I think that goes for almost every team out out there right I mean you always
perform better in practice I think it's always been like that but yeah it's something we need
to work on obviously to to be more comfortable in the officials and yeah hopefully we'll get there
soon.
Two teams with some similar problems, two teams on some similar trajectories perhaps,
but one thing's remained constant in all the recent tools.
It has been liquid that's come out on top.
Yeah, I think that's one way to look at it.
I also do think despite liquid obviously have been in a turmoil period, they have been
doing slightly better than NIP, at least they're getting to the tournaments and still
stay within relevance of the VIS, especially now considering the move over to America
is trying to stay in that position.
So I think it's fair to say that out of all the games
that we've had so far, I feel like this is the most 50-50
we can come up with.
I'm excited for it.
I think you want to look at this one as kind of a 50-50,
but at the same time, it's one where Liquid, just
firepower-wise, should not be capable of losing to an NIP.
NIP has Kaspersky, they have Wrinkle,
but Liquid has four potential star players on their roster.
They should just be able to shoot NIP off the server.
Who's the fourth?
Ultimate one of the day, ultimate day, okay maybe just three, all right, well there's three.
I'm trying to decide how to dig into that one, we'll leave the ultimate talk for a little bit later, we'll see what he's showing in terms of this one.
But the new guy in the new potential star, Malb's trying to refine the form that he had at the start of the G2 stint,
lost a little bit of that shine over the course of the last year, what do we think of him so far?
Well it's a very small sample size, so I'm curious to see how quickly he's going to slot into Liquid obviously.
to release it's gonna free up Malph's a little bit more. He will take care at least that is of the secondary calling
he'll be a big voice within the team so for Malph I think the foundation is laid out for him to play well and being
well-integrated. It's something that we keep hearing from this liquid team is the importance of Aleige both as a player and as a
as a voice as a mid-round caller
But as a player first and foremost what do we expect from Aleige?
I mean Aleige has been kind of on a bit of a downturn this year last year
I would say he was at times the best t-side player in the world
he's got a 1.05 at this year.
I think that's on T side specifically.
He just hasn't been himself.
And I think when you bring mobs into the roster,
mobs doesn't have to go first in all the time.
He can be first or second in.
He's going to create space or at least deliver on the space
that Elise creates himself.
And that's going to really change things up for him.
I think it's going to mean him going back to his previous form.
I'll tell you what, you know,
and I think he's going to have to go back to his previous form.
He's going to have to go back to his previous form.
He's going to have to go back to his previous form.
I'll tell you what you know and and please don't hate me for saying it but I know John pretty well from even playing with him many
Many years ago. He's the type of player that needs reassurance around him in order to perform
He only performs at his absolute best when he's on a team where he's able to know exactly what the people around him is doing
He's one of the smartest players one of the smartest guys that I've ever met
But a guy like that sometimes it's too smart for his own good
You're comparing to a guy like MacArthur that is playing on intuition that is just going for the duels
He will have a good time thriving in chaos whereas for Elise he needs sustainability around him
He needs to be able to count on the teammate next to him holding a certain position
So he can then calculate what is my next move etc.
So I think the more they get integrated the more they figure out how to play the more the build up a system within team liquid
The better Elise will perform it's as big as downfall that he may not be able to thrive in too much chaos
I just want to take a quick note of something I saw in that huddle
They're quite loud with their cheer and Elise literally covers his ears to protect those ear drums
That's optimizing right there. That is pure optimization coming through from Johnny Jablonowski
Talking about that system that needs to be around them, talking about their confidence that needs to be around them
We're looking at one guy, we're looking at the IGL, we're looking at Shuhei. What do we expect from Shuhei here?
Honestly, what has he done so far in Team Liquid? There's two ways of attacking this. I think Shuhei proved himself in Maus
So far in Team Liquid, it's been disappointment, after disappointment, after disappointment
How much is that on Shuhei? How much is that on the players around him? How much is that on the insecurity within the lineup?
It's it's hard for me to say that he hasn't done a good enough job
But so far he's found little to no success in team liquid. I think you have to look at they have ultimate people want to blame ultimate
He's not the most consistent player. They have nerds. They don't have enough aggressive players on the roster
They want to blame nerds
But then you look at Shuhei and liquid has the worst 5v4 percentage in the top scene
They've got some terrible utility usage no utility damage and Shuhei is not the most sacrificial player either
He's not the highest on entries
He doesn't even throw the most flashes on the team and he's not performing that well as an individual
I'm not saying that Shuhei needs to be cut that he's the problem
But I'm saying if mobs comes in and they continue to struggle
I think you have to put eyes on Shuhei because there's nothing he's doing right now
Or that liquid as a team is doing that makes me think this is a team with a great IGL at best
They do things
Inoffensively they just don't make huge mistakes on a tactical level
but they don't do anything impressive.
And this is where we've seen the opposite
in trajectory right between these teams.
Liquid for a variety of reasons.
Again, it's tough to nail it down to just one.
Have been on a slide through the rankings
in Chue's time within the roster.
And meanwhile Snappy, right,
he's been building this NIP team.
He's been forging it more and more,
adding new pieces, trying to sharpen them
into a squad that can really compete
at this level of play.
Yeah, it's two different stories
and two different ways of going around it.
One would argue is you also said,
Michael, a couple of days ago,
Liquid have turned the easy way out, you know now going for the America spot and fighting within
that region, which arguably is way, way easier than Europe where for NIP they have to stick within
in European Counter-Strike as well. So in terms of climbing the edge, in terms of grinding it
out right here, there's a lot of stake for both teams even more so for NIP in that European
region. They need the win, they need the points and if anyone is paying closer attention to
this game as well, it'd probably be face clean because it's between NIP and Face among
other candidates to nail some of those spots when the European counter-strike.
So if you're face right now, you're probably hoping for Liquid to win this game.
And if you're face, maybe you're doing a scouting report on this guy, XKASPERSKI?
You should. I hope they are, but the problem is I'm not sure if XKASPERSKI even wants to
leave if NIP can make a statement in this one if they can take down Liquid and make a run
at the Major. I'd love to see him continue under Snappy's leadership as much as he gets
a little bit of flak for the way he calls. I think he sets players up really effectively,
and this is one of the players he sets up perfectly.
The problem is, we have it.
The last game they played, he dropped what?
On second map, he dropped 31 kills and they couldn't win.
That's the NIP that I'm worried about seeing here.
That's why I said liquid fragging-wise
should just be able to frag NIP off the server
because even when Kaspersky plays well,
sometimes just the fragging doesn't come out
of the rest of the roster.
That has been a problem for them for sure,
putting the consistent pieces.
And then in that final map of play,
we saw what happens when you don't have
that carry performance.
He went just a little missing, which is completely reasonable across the three map series,
and the rest of the team couldn't pick it up.
I think that's the biggest issue NIP is facing right now.
And I think that's the biggest issue Snappy is facing as well.
He's figured out a way to use ex Kaspersky,
but he still hasn't figured out a way to get the most out of Winkle or Kane coming into the lineup as well.
He said it here when we spoke to him, it's been a terminal period.
Last year as well, Exist was out of the lineup, you know, for a short brief of time,
then he himself, Snappy, had to take a bit of a break.
Kits family, you name it, there's good reasons for it,
but it's been a period where he didn't feel he was able to build consistency.
That's kind of what they need. A bit more time is what he's saying.
I'll say it like this, unless you unleash another player not necessarily at the same level as X Kaspersky,
but you need at least two guys who can step it up because as you're saying,
if you can't even rely on X Kaspersky dropping 33 kills to be enough to win your map,
then against top European opposition or top American opposition that Liquid is now, you've got to do better.
Love a little top American opposition. Let's see where we might be fighting this one.
There have been a lot of bouts between NIP and Liquid.
Do we think the Vito's going to be the same?
It's time to find out.
What are you looking to see here, Voop?
I question if they're going to go back to Nuke.
I mean, last two times these teams played.
NIP picked Nuke, and they lost both times.
But you have Malves coming in.
G2 was actually banning Nuke for the end of his tenure.
Once Hunter became the IGL, they started banning Nuke.
So despite the ad performances on it,
I expect them to still go that direction.
And then you question where Liquid's going to go,
because they've also been inconsistent.
I think they dropped their Mirage the second
last time they played.
They might not go back to that.
No, they will.
Yeah, that's a wild one for me,
because I've been watching a lot of Liquid games,
and Mirage has been a stable for them to pick,
but they've been showing consistent on the map.
Even during the Major in Budapest,
I was like, you keep picking Mirage,
and you keep losing.
I was like, well, why are you doing this?
And obviously, there's been a break.
There's been some time since then.
But when I think of Team Liquid the past three
or four months, then Mirage has not really
been a stable for them yet it's still the map they're trying to force into every single
series.
On the bright side you can at least say Navi do the exact same thing and they are a real
top tier team.
And Flatchy came from that team so maybe a little DNA there.
I will say in my estimation Mirage might be one of those maps where the swap to mobs
could be one of the biggest reinforcements.
He's had a lot of success there before.
We know he can bring a lot of fierce aim in terms of going for some of those more
aggressive CT plays.
Might be a solution for them.
I will say though that Maltz CT side and G2 on specifically Mirage was struggling a lot his connector position
You know is not necessarily one that you think he'd struggled by but he didn't really do too much though
It's a good thing. I don't think he's playing connector on this anymore. Yeah, not anymore changing it up mixing things up
Well, what do we think fellas? We've seen the veto. We know this veto well with the NIP liquid matchup
Do we think it's gonna go differently today? It's not often that I agree with this guy
But I think I'm leaning towards seem like good as well to be completely honest
The NIP to me is a competitive team, they're decent, they're great, but they're not really up there just yet.
I think XKaspersky is the most interesting thing coming out of this lineup.
Outside of that, it's hard for me to get excited about it.
As for Liquid, I think even them struggling, even them integrating Malps, as you said, they should have enough firepower.
NAF playing well, it's got to be a Liquid victory, but it's not going to be pretty.
NIP are going to come in with a good game plan. They're going to put in a lot of effort.
They're going to show all their heart, but it's not going to matter.
You've got Elise, you've got Malps, you've got NAF.
It's just not it what nip have it's simply not enough to take them off the server
Well, it's time to find if the ninjas can sneak out a win or if the cavalry of liquid will try all over them to lead the battle chat here
We've got Anders and Henry G. Oh
Yes, indeed. You suddenly do my more hearts be broken here blast open and there's it's a lower bracket. We have liquid
We have nip. I tend to agree
I like liquid when they're down and out when you think on nothing left and it feels that the team is almost
that's when they seem to fight and play their best CS.
What do you think about that?
I think it's a strong case.
I also feel like they typically write
at the beginning of those roster changes,
Liquid could be pretty dangerous.
There's always like a good mood on the team,
everyone's excited.
So I think this is actually where Liquid
are the most dangerous,
but I don't wanna discount an IP quite so soon.
I feel like they can make this work.
I just trust in the process.
You're a big Kaspersky fan, I think.
I am, and there are things that I'm seeing
at a camp that I really enjoy.
I still think it comes down to whether or not
Wrinkle can fire up that AWP. I really really want to see him have a day when he just shocks and aurs us here
All right
Well, I think you might be on to something there speaking of Orbs ultimate. I have to step up
I think he's a pretty good this tournament if you ask me
Yeah, sure they didn't get the win against team spirit, but he had them on the ropes at one point
He was looking very good, and he's going toe-to-toe without further ado though, ladies and gentlemen
It's team liquid taking on NIP loser goes home
It will be the CT star right here right now for liquid and advantage of sorts
It brought out three sets of jewelies eight guns and this seems unfair
Well, the math is certainly working in their favor more must be better somehow
They don't have a lot of utility obviously they do not have the diffuse kid either
Which I guess I knew cuz not a big deal. Let's see what NIP have in store one set of utility here
So shush, is that gonna be the smoke for I think even what that lands
Is that going to be for hell over on the other side?
I think he might land in front of a window.
Yes, but I'm not sure.
Yeah, bounces off and he goes to heaven or window.
Oh, it's all the way up to heaven.
That's all the way up to the clock.
Very nice sledge.
It's such a next level.
Good read.
It could have been for the windows like Kanger shot out there,
but instead we start with Naflai getting the headshot on Snappy.
Oh, it's very awkward.
They are trying to rush to ramp here, but they should already know liquid.
They don't have to defend the ramp.
They could just ask fine.
Nafla is down below, I believe.
So he needs some backup though.
NAFTA needs at least one.
Maintain the advance edge.
Oh, and it's a really nice shot.
They're directly above him.
Awkward angles.
Now, as NAFTA's lighting them up with the jewel it leads.
Gets himself a triple kill.
Round over as Shush has got nothing to do about this one.
He's just going to be wandering around,
hoping for a couple of kills if possible.
But the round has been secured by NAFTA.
There's a round angle.
Reloading to get the last head shot.
Four kills for NAFTA.
The Naffas are feasting right now.
Oh, they really are.
Could you consider yourself a Naffa Henry?
Sometimes.
Sometimes.
Sometimes.
I feel like it's the last year, maybe not so much,
but I'm always wanting to see him do well.
That's fair.
Like the last year has been pretty rough, I would say.
Maybe for the first time in his career,
I feel like for the rest of his career,
he's just been mystic, consistent in some sense.
But yeah, this is great news.
What a way to get started.
You just wanted the one kill out of him down to the B-bomb
site.
He lived for in total.
Oh, you just love to see it.
What a flying start.
Means there's gonna be rifles available
and a four-spy in the hands of NIP.
Now, these are the rounds.
If you're gonna keep the morale high,
the comms good.
You need to convert this to your team, like,
we know their team with a weak mentor, unfortunately.
We'll see whether they can fend off the upgraded pistols,
smoke's down towards outside.
Be careful to see if snappies, you might expect,
he smokes off towards main entrance,
dropping down,
And it's going to be Kendor picking things up there, that's you got some space here towards up up.
Yeah, they do in the peak.
That's really scary Malves.
Got to be a little bit careful, he goes down that quick, he would do anything.
Rinko with a P250 as well, Naft goes down, just shush, and the techdine.
Three kills on the Danish player to pick that one up.
Okay, well, all of that hype from the first round, all of the kills from Naft almost nullified here because
that's actually much worse than losing the pistol.
But yes, if you lose the pistol, you get $1,900 extra on the CT side.
Lose the follow-up, you only get 1,400.
So, sure, you got a round under your belt, but now you're operating with almost nothing.
Excellent work from an IP. Nice pouncing towards up up.
Bit disappointing that they lose the fight in Mini, because you can see the shadow when you're dropping down.
Yeah.
You should have the advantage on the CT side.
Should.
Should.
Indeed.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have got a ramp stack here.
3 players hoping to fend off Shush.
Yeah, we're looking to silence them.
Maybe they could actually get a rifle here.
Might be possible dangerous work for Shush, but he's not going to get punished for it.
At the same time, Kairn is working his way across the map down towards lower, but
this is why they had so many smokes in the beginning.
I think this is the game plan for liquid in this round is to slow it down
Hope that you have one smoke left towards the sub 30 second mark something like that
Leash
He was forced to drop his over on the other side
So they have a couple left now, but not much to deal with there's the last ones. They use them pretty early. I
Think can successfully push to leashed in's using is down below
Can I be looking to see if they can put some pressure on this A-bomb side now?
It certainly can, Kaspersky with an MP7.
Managed to take down Malv's ultimate back here with the Deagle in hand.
A couple of headshots would be great, but I don't think it'll change the round really.
First kill coming through, team kill on Tarinko, doesn't really matter.
It doesn't really matter at all.
It's all going swimmingly, so far for an IP.
Comes Johnny Jabs though.
as an eagle doesn't fancy going for it got to go towards the T roof and see if
there's any stragglers to be found on the map here but that's it it's gonna be
two one NIP but he just looking to upgrade or hold on to the eagle and
Kevlar now for joining with the five seven that's about it now such a
tucked away all the way back in T city spawn tell you another reason why I
think it is NIP team could be you know better than maybe people expect I
mean I think one thing snap he got done pretty dirty in Falcons I think
He came out looking like he didn't really contribute, but I mean, he's better than that.
And I think Shush is still an underrated, hell for show, round face.
He's just, he can do anything.
It's a shame the train's been removing the map, Paul, because we were calling him the conductor.
Yes.
He was so good at that inside position.
Do you come up with that?
No, I think it was Harry and Hugo.
All right, makes sense.
And he was just so good there.
Yeah, you always seem to find three or four kills, but, uh...
Steve are here and all that, but yeah, I totally agree.
I think Shush is underrated in the current landscape of CS.
NIP on the up and up
It's been an interesting
year or so for them battling through the
Doldrums of the VRS system and now in the big tournaments regularly. It's great to see I
Agree, it's very nice because they are one of these organizations that got you know
Perma invited to everything and see his goal
Yeah, I think it's really admirable that they've taken that fight and come up stronger for it
Didn't like purchase a core for two million dollars. I think all right
We can just get back into this they started with young guns built from the very bottom and
Here they are now. Yeah, absolutely
Round number four here
Ultimate very nearly getting his little toes singed. You don't want that sausage is the fine for now
I don't even know what you're going with that
Let's see where this will go
Will be a bit of an issue
for an IP
They're looking very comfortable after losing the pistol ladies and gents three one on the T side
So it can quite nice indeed.
It's a very nice start.
You remind us all the time that winning the second round could be even more advantageous.
And I think NIP are proving that point right now.
Bruins the finances for the CT side.
Cause they're only like, we're going to go into round number five here.
They're only going to get $2,400 on top of what they have now, Anders.
Yeah.
So you're not going to have an AWP.
You're barely going to have the utility.
Elmis, Kits, so many sacrifices.
So yeah, winning that pistol, losing the follow-up.
So detrimental in MR12, it really does hamstring you going forward.
I guess in theory, if you got a bunch of kills in the round just for the $50 bonus, you could start to get a little bit more utility in some of these next rounds, but...
Gonna say they went off the wall. Ultima had $4800 on the nose, so he gets to purchase the AWP, but nothing else. It's okay on a map like new.
Okay. You can hold towards the garage, you can hold back around, you can hold heaven.
Heaven like you're unlikely to be grenade in those positions the problem is if any bullets touch you at all
Cross out goes all over the place aim punch becomes an issue. So you just have to be very smart with positioning
I think he's a pretty good this woman. He gets a lot of luck. I think he's a good all-per. He's just a bit inconsistent
Yeah, he's good to be said about many all-pers in the space right now
So I kind of agree with you might be a danger if you rotate heaven
But then not gonna be a lot of time to talk about that because we're already on the bomb site
There's fire and smoke everywhere just takes a kill on the suey. He is the man for it
He's got the mechanics bomb down in front
That is exceptional work from the American Rifler
Snappy now finds himself alone get yourself some refrag boys. That's the way it's that's how it's done. Oh, yeah
He's locked in he always is
That's so sick
This MP7, maybe you can find another killer again, this is where the lack of armor could
be fun, but theoretically should just be an easy end to the round here.
Ultimate, takes a second.
Great work for release.
Oh yeah, absolutely.
It was looking like a devastating upper attack.
We know over the years that Snappy loves his upper rushes, his upper executions, yeah,
he's looking at the pace real quick toward that A bomb side, but Johnny Gath's probably
position and pixel perfect precision and great movement playing around those smokes punishing
them for challenging him and there we go three to two liquid back on the board here very successful
round with three players surviving ultimate I'll get some Kevlar now we're off to the races there
full gun rounds and round number six trying a luck towards outside but Elise he's out of none of
him he wants to continue his domination here on Nuke will be also going to go down first
Can will find the AWP. Look at how aggressive he's being Can as well. I think he's looking to beat
Elise's timing. Might be onto something here. I don't think Elise realized he'd already pushed
through. That's a very forward position. He took the risk by walking the whole way there,
but definitely beat the internal clock of Elise. Now three versus four,
Naph is just barely going to miss the timing against Kaspersky. He might be on for the
timing against Wrinkle. Certainly is. It's a good head shot, but Sui's going to get Can as
well and suddenly in spite of the fact that they had a man advantage they were
deep on the map NIP they've been picked apart one by one. Not much Kaspersky you
could do about this. I got that opening kill as well it took that
ultimate early, found a leash but it's Chewie Mab's naff picking up the pieces
here Kaspersky we know he is a world-class rifle at this point but too
much on his plate to handle here 40 seconds to work with it would take
something miraculous to even stand a chance at timing some are working in his
favor as he get past Malbsiddy's bottom I'm not sure I don't think it has much
effective way bomb plants not nice it's gonna be pretty good actually we'll see
whether he can find a couple of kills there oh I mean in the vents like that
there was might have been one of the best positions to get like a random
headshot but that's not gonna be working out still bomb plants not bad in a
one versus three like that.
Okay, another round. This is the beginning. The foundation, so it could be a good match.
You get, you know, a little bit of momentum, but now Liquid are starting to make a bit of a comeback early on.
Strong comebacks as well. They recover AK-47s on the CT side.
That's really unfortunate for Ultima.
He did have Kevlar that round as well, gets spammed cleanly through the smoke. Beautiful shot from NAF.
It's another potential advantage for Liquid on this map.
map Sui is 7th in the world holding that A bomb site that particular position the
the A-side anchor really really good at it right now let's see if we can keep it
up he's actually got a pretty strong showing there so far round number seven
Mezzy number one who's surprised
Sush could be opening oh my god just repraising Sui he gets blown up Sush
with a double ultimate outside can still recover the round here gotta be
carefully might get shot down by Kaspersky who's very nearby in the garage and don't think ultimate is realized
But he does cheat his crosshair and it doesn't even matter at all if you'd had that kill it would have been on I
Would say the round still is on now
It's showing us some revitalization in the last month or so. He's feeding himself Anders
You're right
He was known for these sort of clutches in his heyday good effort though
It is gonna be wrinkled to take him down
But it's all done shush there isn't it getting out towards squeaky door getting the double kill ruffling the
feathers, sure some rebuttal from team Liquid but ultimately it's gonna be NID picking this
one up. So look the replay here, nice free control. So many players in front of him,
he finally takes it down but the damage was done. Kaspersky watching the extremities
towards outside. Ultima did what he could and we will go 4-3.
I remember you and I were laughing about how much Snappy loves those APOPs. He really
does. They are his favourite. The thing is you can condition the opposition now
You just keep dropping that Molotov, those smoke, the lurk smoke?
Yeah.
They're going to be on high alert at all times.
And speaking of which, we've got Ultima fully sending it towards outside to his detriment.
It's down to a lead to that UMP fighting to for Nail.
They get away with the trade.
4 on 4, not a disaster, but taking heavy damage on Root.
Chewie down to 30 HP, and a lead more than willing to stay in the thick of it.
Makes his way back towards the garage and mobs, ensuring that no one snuck through that smoke.
looked like a really good fight for Ultimate, with the HE landing on top here at a distance.
The FAMAS not going to be favoured on that fight, shush.
Pretty quick to react.
And he's holding that lobby position on his own right now.
The rest of the team, they're working their way outside, the bomb is there as well.
Snappy is making sure no one is lurking up behind them,
but they still got a minute on the clock here, so it is looking good
for an eventual sneak down towards the B bomb site.
Could always go up the vent if they get the right Q,
together right information because they've got shush holding that position up there but we'll see
what snappy cooks up in this one 40 seconds now there's nobody down here at all for the liquid
side that is plenty of teas unfortunately but obviously you can hear the door open it doesn't
really matter we got no one on the other side if you do anything about it is it a save
might have to be at this stage no one's down towards lullab you got no kits you got zero
You've got a UMP on the retake, Shui's 30 HP, need I say more Anders?
Yeah, well you made a convincing case.
I'm on your side now, Henry.
NAF saving that AWP, that is paramount.
Or is he?
I don't know, he's not.
It would have been.
It would have could have shoulda.
I think they might all go down here.
UMP not known for its range.
Did you run out of bullets? Did you not reload it?
I feel like you stopped shooting, or maybe after this.
Did you right, did you not go down?
Shersh will find four in that round.
Basically, Solo holding the lobby position.
So it is called the Conductor on Train.
What could we call them on Nuke?
Ooh.
It's gonna say engineer.
There is the nuclear engineer.
They have a lot of safety features on nuclear plants as well.
So there's like a safety officer.
There's like an officer.
They got like almost military language on those.
Yeah, it's true.
On those places.
The Conductor was just so good, wasn't it?
The Conductor is really hard to beat.
If you have any ideas, tweet at us, we're looking for names to do with nuclear facilities.
What can you come up with?
Never what you Google.
You could be on a list.
You could be on a list eventually.
But he is playing very well indeed.
It's Shosh up at 12 and 4.
Ken, opening things up.
The aggressive maneuver.
I respect it.
Give it a go.
My brain's so broken.
The first thing I wanted to say immediately when you said it was a radiologist.
It's not working, you can't...
No, it's okay.
It's got nothing to do with that.
Definitely not.
But...
The liquid comeback's been cut short.
It's starting to shrink, unfortunately.
It was a really exciting start.
As you mentioned, you said,
oh, we've got a good game in our hands here.
Things are looking up.
We've got a chance of liquid stepping up on the CT side.
It's not over yet.
Don't get me wrong, but with the full eco on the cards,
if we take a tactical time out,
they're averaging $2,000.
So I have the inside info, I have the radar, I have the buys in front of me, and they won't
be bringing much to the table at all.
It's going to be USP, you can't actually invest a single dollar going forward, you're averaging
2,000, you're going to get 2,400 at the next round, you can't even buy a P250 at this.
And Moses always says, you can always buy a P250, I think that's wrong, you can
not buy a P250 right now, you'd be a fool to buy a P250.
Personally, I'm tempted to believe almost anything Moses says.
It's fair enough, it's a very convincing man.
Yeah, he's got that aura around him, you know that dash strength as well. Yeah trustworthy guy, but I did have a motto EPL
I'm trying to be more like Moses in general. Yes. He's very calm stoic man
I I could I could have said a better myself kind of a role model for me first
So these are long
Would be my role model if I had any aspirations of trying to play that well
But he's gonna get shut down on this one ring call couple of good kills as well
Like you said hardly investment. I think they did buy a eagle and that was about it
That's what they could afford the restaurant usp's. Okay, but that's pretty cool now
He actually hits another headshot. What a sicko. We'll take yep couple of kills keeps the modest
But we're getting to the closing stages here
I don't think the finances will be a massive issue for an IP going forward even after those reinvestments
We've got a couple of players hovering around eight thousand dollars
I would say the bare minimum of this sort of stage of the game. You need five.
Um, that currently six three down. You can live trade this game on poly market.com.
The official prediction market of Blast Premiab.
All right. You are.
Carious position to try make any kind of predictions at the moment here.
Six rounds pretty good on the seaside, but the half is not over yet.
Liquid tentative bind. You don't have a lot to work with here.
to work with here. Sue, see if he can put that to work of the M4, but it's not going
to be possible, because Bersky in the opening, the flashes are so deadly. It's a good kill
for Shush, but I mean, Malbs couldn't see a thing.
Dude, we talk about these upper rushes, but if they work that effectively, why not just
keep running them every single time? They can't hold them off. There's nothing
they can do. This is something that'll have to hit them break down on the analyst
desk. How are they rushing up like that and taking zero damage on routes?
Also- These are the sort of rounds we need to look at, right? Why can't
liquid holdoff and upper rush right now. Also it's it's it is funny because it's
so well known for snappy that liquid obviously no there's no there's no
question that they they have the conversation you know snappy loves these
I guess I can answer my own question. I've talked about the money before they
only had like forty four hundred dollars going to this round snappy is very
aware he's got them on the ropes financially they're not gonna have all
the incendiaries they need to actually fend this sort of playoff I think
that's what it really comes down to but the fact you're doing zero damage
on an upper rush, and you've also five players.
Definitely cause for concern.
Yeah.
And a great round to break down, I would say,
as to why that's so effective
and how they could have prevented it, maybe.
Really disappointing indeed.
You could also see here, the position.
If they missed the incendiary,
I saw an incendiary on the floor,
but it is missed the incendiary towards squeaky door.
It could have been.
I think that's what happened.
Maybe that's the key detail.
Seriously, it was there for all of a second.
Yeah, maybe, maybe that is it.
Cause him and Malm's couldn't help each other out.
They were so far apart on the bomb site as well.
That is a real shame if that's what happened.
Maybe we could do another investigation.
We did one yesterday with the...
Yeah, that's a really good round to break down.
I hope we can do that.
Oh my God, that is Shush opening again.
Malb's, he just gets deleted.
He's up on the top of the smoke there.
Maybe he could have found a kill with a pistol,
but yeah, they're not allowed anything.
It's another air attack.
Should your teammates now again?
That's how fired up he is.
He's too excited.
All right.
I've seen enough, NIP are winning the major.
It's called it.
It's an early call.
He's made a big prediction.
It's a really happy call.
But yeah, this is a snappy masterclass.
I got fought winning the major, so.
Yeah.
That's OK.
I don't hate that.
They are very good.
That's a sleeper team for sure.
I'm excited.
I've been a juke's fanboy for like,
Wow, more than a whole year.
Yeah.
I was 16 when I first saw him play.
I wasn't.
Yeah, you definitely were. He's probably wasn't born when you were 16.
Definitely not.
Definitely not.
But, I think he's quite good. Anyway, he's not in this server.
The NIP certainly are. Round number 12. Henry's the last of the half.
It was looking so good, but now it's just a bit of a damn squib.
We need more. Ultima's got three kill malbs. Maybe more critically. He's got two kills.
Where are they? They need more. Elysia's gone down, but Ultimate did land a shot, shush!
Snuck his way in towards the...
B-bombsite...
Through the vent.
Ultimate goes down, so the AWP no longer a factor in the round.
Oh, God, that's Bursky.
They are everywhere. They're everywhere on the map.
I don't actually think Liquid can make any rational calls about the defense.
There's a T-player in every corner.
I think that's all she wrote.
Nath might be one of my goats.
But I don't think he's winning this.
The low HP, he just has zero information to work with.
Where's the bomb at least?
Okay, the bomb is lobby, right?
Or is it downstairs?
We go to the bomb?
There it is, okay.
Um, there is a chance he finds that.
They need to be very careful.
Yeah, especially with the wrinkle on 19 health,
you're absolutely right.
Oh, the timing again is so good.
Snappy survives on one health with a headshot.
It's a 9 to 3 half in favor of NIP.
Toad's ordomination.
Oh, here it is.
Listen up.
Listen up.
No.
I say.
I say.
Just say that.
There's been a lot of bad communication recently.
Oh, lots.
People are telling you that you need to learn to line up.
That is bullshit.
That is loser talk.
You're too close.
Hold this.
Like this, yeah?
Thank you.
Okay.
Yeah.
Which is why we've used science.
Science, bitch.
If you're not going to take this seriously.
I am taking it seriously.
Then stop, Peter Antron.
We use science to give you everything you need to win.
Power, power, power!
Made by gamers.
Made by gamers.
For gamers.
I drink it every morning so I can play like a pro.
You gotta turn it.
You gotta know it.
Rotation.
You can drink it whenever you like.
Just show them.
Show them.
Power!
Yeah.
All right, listen up.
Power formula!
Think less, win more.
Ready? Yeah.
Think less, win more.
We just read in the Twitch chat, the debris is no longer their goats.
I tend to agree, but a great performance from the ads.
I want some game of fuel.
Yeah, I was going to say that you've got one, like the Power Formula, the five-time major
champion is telling you, like obviously, I'm in.
And scrawny.
And scrawny.
Let's get into it.
speed. Oh, it's been a bit of a humiliation ritual here for Liquid. They couldn't get going.
The upper executions, the upper rushes were way too much for them. We will see Snappy try
to close things out early here on the CT side. I daresay they will. This is the map
pick of Nip. Bear in mind, they will give Liquid some space to work with. It's the
first event with Malm's in the roster and for now, they've got some decent map
control. Naph is very deep right now. This could be one of those moments where you
get one good kill on heaven and then the rest of the defense just completely
crumbles. Snappy's the one in charge here with the USP but again they're right
there. Okay they're sneaking under instead. I thought maybe ultimate would try and
set up a bit of an attack towards this. Kaspersky's well aware that something
could be happening. He's gonna get the first kill on Naph. Snappy! That's a great
observation as well. We're right on the kill with ultimate. He goes down
Sui fights here for his life Kaspersky
He gets one more shot with the dualies and suddenly the bombers lost its malbs and a leash to great
They are left in a one versus four now
But not gonna be happy Kaspersky's deleted all of them. You get no plan. You get no real kills
You're gonna have to force by his your 10 three down
It goes from bad to worse. I'll be thinking about a second map. I'm on the coach right now
Why did I have to say we had the foundations of a great game?
I don't know why you would send off the tracks immediately as soon as you said that didn't pick up a single
one-way traffic. I'm so sorry. It's all right. I mean, let's be real, with the new roster
and the way Lickard have been playing recently, they were never winning this tournament. Turning
up and having a good game, that's what we're looking for. This map hasn't gone well, let's
hope they can bounce back on Mirage. I just love the dream scenario of mobs coming in,
my mind creating the space for release to do even better like this it can happen
and is here anything can happen anything can happen I think it just
doesn't mean it will that's true okay a couple of kills are available it's not
the worst eco actually a little bit dangerous well threat neutralized
should be picking these ones up 11 to 3 you've kept them somewhat humble of
a couple of kills but they are one round away from that points
Looking too comfy. Glad you reminded us though, it is NIP's map pick.
So we don't want to get too carried away sometimes, especially with the new roster, you're just not going to be that ready.
Well, the key for an IP is right now, close this out as quickly as possible.
We've seen it so many times, you get to round number 12, you let them get 5 or 6 rounds,
they shake off the frustration, they get warmed up themselves and then they move on to their map pick
and they look like a different team. You want to close this out early, keep your foot on the throat.
I know it's really dragging at all. Don't let them get going.
11-0 in opening duals since the pistol. Holy shit. That's so wrong. I don't really
do say it all. Okay. Shout out to BTrams for helping us out with these stats in the background.
been really good. Yeah, we love it. Great tidbits. Every time. Snappy will take down
mouths to begin with Rinko. They just keep on going. Even pushing the lobby, that's
how much. Come on now, extra resources they have. Time to roll back the ears. The look
on his face doesn't suggest he's feeling too confident about this one. We'll give
it a good go. Yeah, Snappy. That's how we always look. There it is. It's happening.
Let's get the first one needs a one tap here pointy spin stuff in the back unfortunately
nice move for Ken doesn't give him the space to work with but man that face
looking good I agree it's 12 and 11 and I guess we'll take a tactical time out
it's gonna take nine rounds in a row actually what have you got for us it's
gonna have to be something truly special to make a recovery of this kind
It's awesome. Pretty sick comeback yesterday between Furia and Aurora.
It's always an up here, the new handshakes.
You see that one? They're going for one of these.
Isn't that what Tyloo have been doing a little bit?
Oh, maybe I missed there.
Touching finger.
New meta.
It's one of the least studied areas, like the correlation between handshakes.
Well, I remember back in heroic when it was Tessus and Shush,
they used to do the gentlemen's handshake of women.
That was funny.
That was a good era.
It made everyone laugh.
It did. And I think that was a problem.
When they started losing games, it wasn't so funny anymore.
Doing that handshake actually became quite annoying for them.
They did stop doing it.
Yeah.
Nobody was great though.
I appreciate it.
More research should go into that.
She was top-fragging on the server with 17 kills,
but that seems really not that far behind.
This whole NIP unit at the moment looking unstoppable.
The hardest round in the world to pick up
and this is number 13.
I know it.
You know it.
The audience knows it.
Have you had to do it?
There's NIP, no app. We'll see whether they can close it out cleanly.
They've got everything they need. You're not going to get a better opportunity than this
to close out a game. You're up against three pistols, two Galils.
You've got AKs, orps, all the Util, all the runway.
But it never feels that easy. You never see a 13-3.
Oh, here we go. The fire is not spreading to him.
It's actually not touching him, but the Galil most certainly will.
Kaspersky insane spraydown, mirroring that Elise triple from earlier.
And now it's Sue and Elysia. I don't know if they could hold on much longer.
They're on the site, because Bursky, we almost had the ace at the top!
Disgusting work from him.
Elysia to 1 vs 3.
If anyone could, but the problem is, he's got to pick up the bomb.
It's on the site itself, so he couldn't just escape and try to
navigate his way down to the B bomb site. He has to come back here,
and they know it as well. Strong headshots are beginning with,
but Ken will settle this on Nuke.
13-3, the scoreline in favor of NIP.
Oh, a lovingness from NIP.
Excellent work, and Shush, a nuclear engineer stepping up
with 17 kills.
Kaspersky with 15.
Everyone's on double digits for NIP.
It's full speed ahead as we move on to Mirage.
Full speed ahead for NIP, certainly,
but a little bit of a false start there for Liquid.
My goodness, that one was a one-sided affair.
All snappy, all NIP, all day.
Yeah, there's nothing I can really say that people who watched the game didn't already notice.
Very one-sided, pretty much from start to finish.
Liquid couldn't get started whatsoever.
Winning the pistol being up 1-0, you think to yourself, all right, good start.
Liquid on Nuke, a new map, in squinting Malph.
You lose the second round game over.
I mean, it's a little bit disheartening to see we knew that NRP was a favorite setting into Nuke.
We knew that Malph's, as you said, haven't really played a lot of Nuke in the G2 camp,
but for it to be this lackluster from Liquid, that is disappointing.
When you consider that there's still, I guess, the matchfair which is coming into it.
Can I temper the criticism for a second?
Temper it? How the hell temper it?
Yeah, go.
You win round one, you lose round two to an upper rush.
You almost lose round five, round seven, round ten, round probably eleven, twelve, thirteen, probably also upper rushes.
Malbs hasn't played this map in nearly a year in an official.
Yeah.
It's been nearly a year.
He is the upper player that needed to defend those hits.
Let's focus on the positives for NIP, because I think you're right to highlight it.
Those upper rushes were super deadly. Henry wanted us to talk about them on the cast, so
let's talk about them. We've got round 10 here, Vu. What's going so well for NIP?
This is just a super clean upper exec, where you notice if you're watching,
he has to turn from this flash. It gets the player out of squeaky because he turns from
the flash. The same thing mobs, not ready for the timing, full blind just as he swings out.
And I think that's also a little bit of an experience. You, as an upper player,
You have to know when and how to dodge those flashes and that's why I'm giving a bit of a break to an upper exact
Coming in on malts who hasn't played the map in that long
You have to know the timing of the flashes that are in the meta right now
I don't think malts really felt that he didn't have a good feel for it
I love the double layers
Well, you could see the Molotov from Malts that is sitting in the first time
That's you know the goal of that is to push him into an open position
Then a second layer of Molotov comes in that pushing me even further out
Which means that no matter what he does he will be exposed to the flash
So there's a lot of layers to this execute
I also do agree with you. Maltz playing inside for the first time in a long long time
It's a clear game playing coming in for an IP that they want to target that and I love it
Because there's a lot of teams out there and a lot of players and a lot of coaches who never in their wildest imagination
Could ever say something like yeah, we're targeting this guy. We know that this guy is poor
We know the Karrigan is playing over here
So we're gonna go a lot towards his bomb side
They don't want to say because they're like too nice and they feel like it's it's not a nice thing to say
But just watch how they play. Yeah, they're basically saying it on the server
Which to me is even more disrespectful to some regards. So I love it from NIP. It's a good game plan and it worked out
If I can swap back to being a little more critical
I think the round that that we showed there was a great round
It's a great exact from NIP, but the round where liquid really lost the game was a couple of rounds earlier
They had just broken the economy. They had put NIP on a barely buy
They just had Galil's in AKs they dry rushed out squeaky and
Double entry and that's the type of one where I can I can expect mobs to defend that type of hit
If he can't defend a layered execute with multiple mollies good flashes all that I'm fine with that
If you can't defend a dry squeaky rush
That's a problem time to keep an eye on certainly it also feels like just a stylistic dream for NIP that they're like
We love an upper bust. We love this. This is like snappy's go-to bread and butter and a liquid team
That's not prepared to defend it. That's never gonna be a good day in the office
You know who did have a good day in the office was shush a little bit more absent in the first series
But damn, was he hidden here on Nuke?
Yeah, him and Exkazpersky again, combined for a lot of the kills
and a lot of the impact that came out from NIP, especially in round two.
There's the execute here, coming out double entering, doing a good job.
Shoes at times a little bit underrated, maybe forgotten about.
Given that he's playing in NIP, he's still very solid, still a great player.
Obviously, I've had better times in any work, but still doing a good job.
Part of what you're seeing here as well is that every single round NIP also found the entry.
I know that the castles were being fed with information and highlighted it a couple of times that all the entry kills went the way of NIP
We're talking 13 to 2 in the favor of NIP despite starting T side on Nuke
Like what are you supposed to do if you're your team liquid when you're always playing 4v5 or even more so 3v5?
Yeah, when you're looking at an outer play
I think you can you can question the entries when you're looking at the upper rushes as an upper player
You just you have to get an entry you have to prevent the squeaky rush
You can't let someone run out and entry unique is one of the most CT-sided maps in terms of the engagements in upper bomb site
You're looking up in the sky. You're looking around
There's players can be everywhere you have to get the entry for liquid as much as I want to credit
Sure
He hit some really sick shots and they had really great execs
You just have to be better if you're liquid well
I can give some good news to liquid fans, which is that that that was my nip's mapping
It should be better on the other side of this break
NAF, in your time in Liquid, you've seen a few teammates come and go over the years.
When somebody joins the roster, how quickly do you get a sense for if they're a good fit,
if they're a good mash?
I mean, it's always really difficult, I'd say, like everybody that has joined over the years,
they're always, everybody's good people, you know.
I think it takes a little while to kind of understand what people, how people are as just, you know, just people,
and then also how they are in the game, you know.
Some players might join the first time and, you know, might want to do everything that they can possibly do for the team.
But then, you know, they once realized that, you know, I need to start doing stuff for myself.
And then that's when all other things start to come in.
But, you know, everybody that comes here is always good people.
is a good guy. I love Mario.
Let's talk more about Mario. Good guy. How is it to play with him so far?
I don't know. He's been really easy, really smooth. He has good communication, good personality,
seems to fit the team. Overall, everything is good so far and I enjoy having him here.
In terms of player fit in general, I want to talk a little bit about Nurtz on his way out.
Obviously he didn't quite match the way you guys were hoping. Didn't seem like he was
terribly comfortable in towards it. What do you think went wrong?
He's an amazing player, Nerts. The only thing that was not really a good fit with him is that he had too much of a voice, I would say,
because we already have two big voices in Shui and Alish, and I feel like there was just three big voices, and we could just not go in one direction.
So you're saying Malus is just going to shut up and shoot?
Kind of.
Speaking about your friend today, NIP, what do you make of him?
I mean we faced them two times this year already. We managed to win both of them, but we don't take this slightly because they're a good team.
Maybe a bit more time needed for mobs to be a good nuke player, but a good guy nonetheless.
And he's going to shut up and shoot, and maybe they could do some more of that here on the second map of play.
That's what I care about, Mike. I want my CS players that I want to win the game. I want them to be good people.
I want them to be really good guys.
You could join Liquid and he'd call you a good people, which says a lot, I'd say.
I want them to shoot the team in the head and win the game, Mike. That's what I want.
I think in isolation to this game, we can't use that for anything. However, for the future of Team Liquid, I think it is the direction, sorry, that they wanted to head.
If you have too many cooks in the kitchen, it's not going to work out.
However, as Ru also said, and I kind of alerted to before, if this doesn't work out, like if Shuhei is an annulish for that matter,
can't make this line-up work out where you actually get a player that's just gonna come in,
shut up, and be the aim star that you want him to be without interfering too much with the calling,
then we gotta start to have a conversation around the in-game leading, the coaching,
maybe even coming from Flashy, because I feel like the funny part of the question you asked
Nefly right here about all the players that have been coming into Team Liquid for the last
two, three years, sure there may be good people, but when was the last time Liquid signed a
player where you're like, great signing, you know, great, great signing, that worked out?
Well, I actually am going to disagree with you on this because I think every time I look at it,
Liquid signing on paper, I think, oh, that makes a lot of sense, great signing.
And then I see it after a few months of play and I think, what the hell just happened?
Yeah, that's the problem.
When was the last time you actually like took in a player, you signed a player and
you're like after two, three months, you're like, ah, we hit it, we nailed it.
It's not happening right now. Now as for the reasoning, Mike, is it internally,
is it the culture within the team, is there something not working out within Team Liquid?
Very tough from the outside to say, but it has been a
a terminal period for Liquid for a long, long time,
where the switching in-game leader between Twist
and going back and forth, you know, having Yakin Daliv
couldn't really find a fit for him as well.
So now this new iteration of Team Liquid
to a lot of different coaches have been behind them as well.
I lack some sort of consistency where at least,
you know, the vast majority of the team
or the core of the team is moving in the same direction.
But right now I feel like that's even up in there.
I think this is one of those things as well,
where we're gonna have really close eyes on Nurtz
to see if he gets the bounce back now and towards G2,
Again, we say maybe this is a liquid problem, but let's see if they can find liquid solutions because we are talking mirage
What are we expecting to see here though liquid have made some pretty good moves?
I think we need to see mobs actually showing up here
We I give them a break because nuke he hasn't played it in a while in an official
It's a tough map that's slot in mirage and if we get to map three
I believe it's ancient these are maps where mobs should be comfortable
He's played these maps a million times and this is a map where the individual skills should come to light
When we saw the last time they played on Mirage, it was individual skill, aggression, carrying them, and Nip simply couldn't respond.
Now they've got Shuz activated, they've got Kaspersky there. It's going to be a little tougher for Liquid, but I still expect a map 3.
Yeah, I would agree with that sentiment. I think NIP is not necessarily a Mirage specialist team.
Looking at where they're going to start, CT's out here on the map as well. Highest performer for them is not ex-Kaspersky.
Schuss by quite some margin actually in terms of putting out the output so a
massive win condition would be for Schuss to carry over the momentum yet from
Nuke into Mirage which historically speaking for him in NIP has been his
best-performing map. Well we'll see if NIP can shush the crowd and take a victory
here or if Liquid might search back and give us a series to bring us through
that it's Anderson Henry G. What is he trying to do? Oh yes thank you very much
Michael and the lads great breakdown as we get ready for Mirage. It was
We're sure showing off his Dr. Reds in Nuclear Fusion on the first map, but can he keep it up?
Can they find the 2-0?
I tend to agree, Mab should be more comfortable on Mirage, Braggas Paradise, he went 4 and
15.
We need to see a lot more output from him.
The only beacon of hope there was NAF on 13 kills, I think this one will be a lot
more competitive.
And they get to Ancient, then we've really got a game in our hands.
I really want to see everyone tested here.
It's elimination on the line, so no mess ups, liquid, now this lineup has to
Activate there's so much in the line in that number two is coming up, and I'm definitely excited
I think this NIP team when they look this good you can see the future for them
You could see that they could build something bigger than what they've been able to achieve for like a decade
Maybe it's been a really long time since we've seen such a powerful in IP lineup. It's exciting
Let's hope the second map delivers the first one certainly it did not
Absolute blowout says team liquid looking down the barrel of elimination going out last place in the tournament
They need to step up here show us there's still some life in them yet
Now we started on the T side ladies and gents. We've got a smoke flash and a Molotov
We're sending four players over towards the bee apartments
Shui and T spawn I assume he's got the util and indeed he does. Yes, so we'll slow things down
Shui will be waiting for any sort of T CT side aggression by the looks of things before we joined the boys and
Entered into the water be bombs. I gotta get past the raid boss though Kaspersky had a fantastic tournament
looked so strong individually.
Would they just want to see if somebody was there?
Maybe they've been studying up and figuring out
what exactly NIP like to play.
So it won't be the beef finish with mid-util going down,
mid-smoke towards the window.
Got himself another as well.
Smoke lands, love to see that, good start.
Oh, don't love to see that for a leash.
Straight delivery.
Actual max damage grenade there.
a bit more perfect connector for the other smoke that you mentioned that he
picked up in spawn so that means they can now make a bit of a split towards the
bomb site Kaspersky hanging around in the ladder room but it's gonna be
wrinkled that's the smoke we need to see replay how he's getting the kills I
don't even know he leaves Hubsi but he can't get it shush jumps into the corner and comes back out with a headshot snapping to go down with a kill or get the kill on a
left and he will pick up the last one as well. I don't believe it. How is he getting the first
kills? Did he shoot them through the smoke connector? There's no way. I don't know Anders,
but it's another nightmare scenario. Liquid get nowhere near a bomb plant. It looks like
they've got a clean read. They knew exactly what they're up to. The timing of that grenade
suggests you watch their demos, you know the tendencies, and you've timed it very
specifically and Elise. Yeah, he should have got Elise one there towards Kitchen.
I don't think it makes much of a difference, but either way, it doesn't feel good again has to be the full eco
Glocks across the board
From 2-0 for NIP looking to knock liquid out of the tournament
Bit disappointing you come off the the loss on new to pre devastating loss in some sense or at least a comprehensive loss
would be nice to win the pistol here and your I mean at least get a bomb down
let's make a competitive they didn't even get in that it's got absolutely
dismantled here we go then grouping up forming the snake in towards the
underpass you're just hoping for a kill steal a rifle that would be crazy
okay thanks coming out wrinkle definitely feeling the pressure here
that jumping to try and catch him.
Now back up is being called for though.
Pretty good at the moment.
Ultimate will go down and not a single casualty
on the NIP side of things.
Suddenly not Anders.
It's Ultimate.
We need to see more output from us while sure.
It was Malb to 4 and 14, but Ultimate also 4 and 14.
Shui, 5 and 15, like they didn't really turn up at all.
It's only Naph and Aleige finding any sort of impact
on that first map.
I agree with the desk though.
It's the first time in a while that Mario or Malbs has played Nuke, so we'll give him that.
Yeah.
It's gotta take some time, which is always the motto of Team Liquid.
We need more time.
And we'll go for an A-execution to kick things off, yeah.
Simultaneous to the most annoying response, but also the most true.
This is the fastest every tournament they've said any more time.
It's just, they're boring now.
Well, here we go. A full-on A-execute.
Everybody knows what this is like.
Even Ken, he's ready to catch a lease as they try to make their way up.
That's a big loss at the beginning of the round trying to get on to the bomb site. Seriously, can't ask that's a insane shot
I probably won that fight but the bomb is on the ground now in Kaspersky. Oh, so many bullets in the M4A4
He even does the damage on the naff fly. Come on, man. Trouble
They can do something with this ultimate. What have you got? What? There it is. Okay a lifeline
I look into the round now. It's not a foregone conclusion. They get this one up
They've made things uncomfortable. A thumb ball spray. Oh yes. Has opened up the door of opportunity.
You really slipped up on that one. That's an absolute gimme of a kill. It is. You could even see how he was crouching forward.
I don't know what happened. He dropped his mouse or something. They're going to get in that fly though. Good work for Ken.
They salvaged the situation, but that could have been devastating to the team morale there. Yeah.
And again, there's no bomb plan.
Yeah.
It's a great kill for Sui. I thought that might actually give him the platform there, but...
There's a big difference. If Sui can get into the smoking part of the bomb, obviously the clock now turns against NIP.
The pressure is on in a different way. They have to play that 2v3 very differently, but no bomb plan allowed.
They do have tech nines and a couple of beagles.
NIP though, they've stolen three AKs.
Oh dear.
That is not good news, if you're not aware.
Oh god, if you miss it.
I'm not gonna say miss that, I didn't catch it as a body block.
Maybe it was.
Intentionally missed.
I'm trying to be more charitable these days.
I forget the scenery.
We're gonna say it's a body block.
You really, you really are learning from Moses, aren't you?
I am.
Be like Moses.
It's my new motto.
We should all...
Money to work on the acronym, but yeah.
He live on this.
Oh, dear.
That's not what goes on.
Let's see if they can do anything with this.
What would Moses say in this game?
What would Moses say? He wouldn't be happy with this at all.
I don't think so.
Former coach of Team Liquid, he would be...
Stuart!
Spursky gets one ultimate.
It's a good headshot, but...
He was good on Nuke. He's looking deadly right now.
8's and 1 and even though on health he's just, he's ready to go.
He wants more fights.
Nathfly. Any kills. It all helps that he can all accumulate down the stretch of a game.
You're clutching his eyebrows now, holy shit.
Really, I'm trying to win this game.
Next bottle!
They're lollying themselves, dude!
Yeah.
Oh, no!
They have to keep themselves warm, because the counter-tracks certainly isn't...
Okay, early days. We're having some fun.
Hasn't been a great game so far. Not much to talk about, I'm afraid.
Nothing really to analyse. It is getting absolutely wrecked.
Every encounter, every fight, they've got the advantage.
Whatever they had in mind, shut down early.
They wanted to send two players towards the underpass,
Kaspersky as he might expect perfect position really making his name for himself as being one of the new
Dangerous rifles in the CS2 scene. Probably one of the hottest stocks at the moment. I think so. Yeah
Just because I am on that Kobe in many way maybe worth pointing out there on the T side of Mirage
Yeah, probably gonna increase a little bit one to get to the CT side if they have enough
Yeah runway to work. That's what I'm saying. Just to you know get a couple rounds at least
You know get up to like three or four and then then there's some of the build on here. All right
We'll give them the benefit of the doubt. It's early days. You lost the pistol first gun round wasn't great
Leisure real demon in that a connector. That's his best position
Best position in the map hole in all the maps. Yeah, okay. Oh interesting
Round number five
Great AK is back in the hands of liquid. They need rounds. Oh big opportunity wrinkle. That's super dangerous
He actually could have got himself killed there.
I'm sure she's been navigating the underpass position there, Malves and Ultimate.
Those are the openings that you are looking for.
They get one each, and now they can slow it down.
They've got so much time in the clock.
I actually, I like this.
Take a little moment of breathe here.
You don't have to do anything drastic.
Bombs to the top mid.
Looks like it could be an A-split, especially because Naph's position in the palace.
I don't think anyone even knows that he's there.
If you don't confer this 5 and 3, call it a day, lads.
Got to make sure this one goes in your favor.
You've got all the time in the wild.
Map control is yours.
They even smoked the window at the time.
They even made a window smoke.
In towards connector we go.
Molotov is short to allow them access in toward that connector.
So far so good.
Everyone's stacked towards B.
They've won the trap.
It's over.
We can take a cyber-relief.
I guess from NIP's point of view is a rational choice to just either defend B or save.
You want to hold onto these AKs, right?
Yeah.
Oh well.
Nope.
You won't be saving one of them.
Don't hold onto the AKs is apparently the way to go.
But the AWP wrinkled there.
A weird start to the round for him.
It felt like the smoke was a bit late.
I think it could have been faster.
So he had an opportunity to just crouch and shoot but instead he was jumping through the window and almost died. So
Not ideal
But here's the highest rated player for an IP on this map
on
Yeah, I'm thinking both sides
good
Map to be all pink if you know what you're doing difficult if you are
Don't enjoy being smoked out. You need some tricks to blow open the smokes. Maybe some teammates said you up for it
Regal, he's got some kills, so it's not the worst start for him, but finally liquid or
on the board.
They get the opening kills, they get the round, it's a 4 to 1.
So slow start, but very recoverable, Malps.
That's what I expect.
That's what I want out of my Malps, out of my doctor.
The doctor is in session.
showing us some of that brutal aim. Nice shot towards short denying one of the AKs.
They do have plenty of money for the follow-up purchase here.
Seeing Liquid need to start posting a few rounds in a row because Spursky
relented his aggression and he might expect to like sure he should have him here but it's
gonna be Ken with the swing. The Baton switch. Ali's trying to make up for everything to
to the face, down to 38 points of health.
Bit of a reset required here.
And if Lost Ian game leader, he'll be calling from the grave.
Right down towards connect up.
It's gonna work.
Really trying to blind that CT side as to what's happening in the middle.
So far so good, but he's...
Is that a friendly grenade?
I swear, that was a tracer from the T side.
Comes down to this. If Snappy gets more than one,
You can't win this round.
Spray's not good, but he does get the first one.
A lot of fire in the back, and it's a double kill for Snappy.
Unfortunately, Malibus is back.
Oh, my god, it's another headshot.
He's taking that wrinkle.
The problem is, you might think the bomb side's clear now.
Yep, you're running out with a bomb in your hands,
and Aleige left into the clutch.
Up against Ken, HP advantage for the CTs here.
It comes down to a one-tap headshot required from Aleige.
We'll have to use his brain, not his brawn at this point.
And now it is.
Positions well.
It's a very, very important round here.
He shuts down the finances for multiple players.
There still is a buy.
Kaspersky has 7k, she has 6k.
They can drop weapons here,
but it's a very important victory.
Keeps their head in the game as Team Liquid
do win out in the one versus one.
Educational moment there,
where they've already cleared out
the two bombsite anchors on B.
Yeah.
Very hard to deal with.
It's a good catch.
Second round as well for Liquid.
I did not think they were gonna win that round.
It looked like it was impossible,
He was so quick to clean up, he's starting to get warmed up now.
That's what he's here for.
Many have asked if he has the medicine to cure this team.
Might be the...
Eventually, sure, I don't think what they need.
I don't think we're going to see it in this tournament.
Could be the season where he gets back on my kid in instead, you know.
That's right, that's the pain.
3-Fab, we said Snappy needed one. The fact that he kind of fumbled the first frame or two was pretty impressive.
Mabzo, what a shot that was on the triple.
Elige.
Oh, I have to get a nice flick as well.
Looking locked in, low HP.
We said yesterday, we never doubt Elige's mechanics.
That's always there.
It's his mental, we need to keep track of.
They out.
A execution and there's all five players here.
Completing in front of the util, which I think is what they're going for.
Taking their way out of the choke point, wrinkle to strike first flight.
That's an important kill.
Those A executes, you lose a player early on,
it could get really wrong, can.
He's good for the one.
Picking up on top of Spurski, they've got rid of him.
Malps back in the driving seat again.
Three versus three, but he is very low on health here in Sui.
Unfortunately, check the wrong side behind the flashbang.
The bomb is planted, yes, but look at the health that's left here on Liquid.
This should be an impossible round, made even more impossible by that deep touch down on the mouths.
That's how you get rid of them.
Very convincing finish there. NIP will find their fifth round.
Saved their finances.
Remember, it came down to a 1v1 before as well.
We'll check out the catch for Elysian Co going forward.
I think they should be fine with the bomb game planted, but...
Look at how different this NIP team looks when Rinko is actually hitting some of these shots.
I know he messed up the split right here, but in general he's been hitting some good kills in this game.
He has the potential to be one of the great AWPers.
Did you see more consistency from him?
He's very aggressive, can do some very flashy impressive things, but sometimes that's not what you're looking for.
Sometimes having a more shiro style AWP that hits the shots to the count, plays a percentage, that's what wins you trophies.
Yeah
It
Should be a big warning to anyone playing that window when there's no
There's no tea smoke in the window and they do have the upper smoke because very often they'll blow it open like they just did exactly
You gotta be thinking about that and it could have cost them an early care there for sure
Yeah, a lot of teams opting to do that initial smoke on the corner
Yeah towards the mid boxes then smoke the window then smoke connector
So you actually get the 20 seconds out of it rather than trying to scramble up
I like that's
Around number eight here. It's not an all too late for it for liquid. They could do this. Elish he gives them an opening
Ken's been hitting some
Difficult fights at the start here not coming out on top of this one's a free chopper snappy. Unfortunately. He's not ready
Now we'll take him down and melds. I haven't seen him miss many kill opportunities at the moment
is their weapon to get back into this game and this round is one Shushin Kaspersky real far away
Elise is actually holding this connector so there's a chance even that he could stop the rifles from rotating out but
God it's good to see Malves do this much work early on on Mirage big chance I think when he keeps playing like this
I feel like a third maps looking very promising. Oh, absolutely
He's doubled his frag total that we saw on Nuke within eight rounds. He was at four and fifteen in the previous map
He's now eight and six. Let's go
There's a kill here as well
Look what there was at least should still find him
Now see we might find him but none of them we didn't expect him
See if the leash can
Funting you down with the 8k. Okay, good work
I would say this should be the first tactical time out I would say
Let's have a look whether it's going to be called. I think the money's in a
Pretty uncomfortable spot for an IP. They've saved an AK-47
They've been good at
Smoking off connector and window and putting pressure on snappy. I feel like that's been working out for them. Yeah
It's a good point. They don't need the timeout. They will save the AK and a few upgraded pistols.
No real Kevlar there because Bersky will get a D-Golf and some protection. Should be there
a little walk in the park here. NAV seems to think so. Recap it away nicely. Good damage towards the second.
And that's going to be an open invite into that A-Side. There's no cans being tagged
and Shui, lovely shot there. This is more like it from Liquid. They're not pick, but in the flow state right now
the problems are looking good. Coordination there. Night and day compared to what we saw on Nuke.
Yeah, Liquid fans in the audience gonna be enjoying this
break from what looked like a very ugly trend at the start of the game, but definitely turned it
around four rounds already on Mirage, T side. I'm super happy with that. I expect that they're
they're going to be stronger. Coming onto the CT side.
Leige, good mechanics.
We've got Malbs leading the charge between just the two of them.
That's a lot to deal with. Ring cool.
Just timing alone.
Curious if we'd see anything different here.
Spurski's playing that short position again very far forward,
but hasn't found a chance to see anyone yet.
They've got three people in the middle of Leige.
which just absolutely handles him.
That's very nice.
They had connector, short, and window,
and those three players on the CT side
couldn't really help each other out.
Oh, he knows he wants to press the advantage.
Hungry to find that shot, but it will be Suei instead.
Again, Ken, he's gone down a number of rounds here
without having to try to find anyone.
Should be no chance of a snappy.
One will do, no chance in the second.
Okay, Anders, that shouldn't be happening.
That should not be happening at all. The Molotov will flush him out, finally taken out by Ultima. The round's back on though.
2 vs 2.
It's a Legion, he's a backstab here. It all comes down to this. At least get this.
Oh my goodness.
Because he's a mass.
These kills that are looking like they're lock-ins.
There should be. Now it's Ultima. He makes the jump down. He's not trying to hide himself.
They already knew he was coming from this direction. Spray is good. He actually takes down Rinko on that.
But Shush is already out. He's reeled himself.
35 seconds. Crouched in the corner for the head shopper. Shush will somehow live. He should have died on both those fights.
Excellent work there from Shush. Top frag out on Nuke. Put on a bit of a clinic in the first map.
Huge clutch. Keeps NIB in the lead here. A two round game.
And it'll start with a 5 on 4 advantage as well. Like I said, you should not be getting...
It's just the spacing there dude, like...
Right.
You're giving him a chance to reset the angle, close range, like...
No one's even considering that angle, you give it a little face check, but...
The spacing's so off, there's...
No way he should be getting two kills that cleanly.
And that sort of position, just uh...
Mistaking the fundamentals there, I'm afraid.
Getting a bit too carried away.
And he've let NIP back here, and there was a great chance to tie things up.
Even winning that round, they have no money on the NIP side.
Yeah.
If it had been Liquid winning it, then that probably,
they could even walk away with a bit of a lead
going into the second half.
But they have to find in these openers each and every time
and that trend continues.
Five on three.
Last round coming up next, you pretty much
guarantee yourself eight rounds on the board here.
It's to the point where you've
got to wonder if NIP still want to fight from middle.
I know that if they don't, they
give over a lot of tactical control of the map to Liquid.
But at least if you're going to fight middle,
Maybe try and push top mid then if you really are doubling down on that nice shot from Alps.
Like God, shush, never stood a chance and NIP are already going to be saving him.
That was just a bump in the road in that last round.
I said, I obviously then six because you win this one and then the money we broke for the last one.
You'll tie things up.
I try not to do math on broadcast at all.
I try, it didn't work out.
I feel like it's an invitation to lose.
Yeah, and I fell into that trap.
Doesn't happen too often.
We didn't see the landing this time, but it's ultimate certainly has clean round
My point was when this round money's broken should be an absolute open goal to get the final round of this first half
Yeah
Have you seen twitch chat?
No, they're nice guys
You're not trying to antagonize them sometimes you have a poke them a little bit actually like get it riled up
Otherwise they just do the same copy past us all day.
So there's no loss bonus at all.
We're talking $1,400 or so per player into this final round of the first half.
Liquid right back into it, 6-6 looking very likely after how things went on Nuke will definitely
take this on the T side of Mirage.
They saved 1 AK-47, but it's going to be pistols, SMGs and surely a chance for Liquid
tie things up and give us that 6-6 goal line a bit. A tactical timeout called by Nip.
I feel like that's a bit late but I just would have loved to have seen a different mid approach
from Nip on this side. Like either maybe don't fight so much near the connector and catwalk or
again just double down and push top mid then. If you really really don't want Liquid to have
that space but I feel the way that they've been doing it it's been a lot of individual
fights. It's been one guy dying in connector and then another guy dying on catwalk and then
in the window and it's like it's all happening one at a time and I'm not
seeing many opportunities for for NIMP to actually refrag any of those kills.
Ground number 12. Last of the half we're seeing all the utility we know and love.
Support stats mid position here. And he does want to push. It's 5-7 but I still think this
is more interesting. You'll see who works.
I think I have to back on out.
Horns and their hallways snappy with an AK.
He's done a lot with less, but this time he runs in the Malbs first and that's a problem.
The GH lads, don't see how you bring this one back to life.
You've lost your AK, pistols on the retake and it's going to be a 5 on 4 which should
come to its logical conclusion moments later.
Yeah, right you are.
The Lige, hanging around in the connector, don't think they realized they've passed each other.
So it's a funny little moment here. Doesn't have any impact on the round really.
Except for Lige getting another one.
Wrap it up, Anders.
Yeah, we're good to go. We've got this half in the bag already.
Kasperzki's going down last and they tie the game 6-6.
I wouldn't say it's a mean team. I think they're trying their best. I don't think they're
contenta or even close to being that with a team. They're already out of the major contention.
I think that's weird. On paper, a busy game has a decent team. I think the Portuguese
core and they were good when they were playing for Seoul and also now they have more experience
They're in simple and electronic, but from what I've seen, they don't look the best as a team, I would say.
So I'm not sure if they need to do some changes or just change the way they play a little bit.
The level is super strong right now, even in tier 2 scene, and it's hard to
claw your way up to the ERS points and to be in the elite tournaments, but yeah,
they can make it happen if they are a quality team, actually. Maybe they need some more time.
I think S1mple can definitely stay there and be their main star there because everyone knows who S1mple is and how good he was and I think right now he's not on the level he was before in my opinion, but he can still be pretty good in my opinion in tier 1, tier 1 tournaments.
Do I think S1mple have what it takes? I think he has, but I don't think he reads the same level as we see of Dong and Syro today.
It has to be a unique scenario where he can come back to being a top 3 player in the world, but can it be a top 20 player in the world for sure?
And that's where I think PC Game has to look to put better pieces around him.
Somebody who looks up to Sembel and accepts how he can be sometimes,
because he's a straight shooter, this is what I guess.
and we go 6-6 on their map pick.
I'm feeling hopeful.
I'm feeling the third map could be possible,
but they need to win this pistol, revitalize the squad,
get their head in the game and show us that they can go the distance.
Five opening kills towards the end of that last half.
Very, very impressive.
I feel hopeful as well.
I think Liquid have got this, but let's see.
There's no one coming to be bombed.
It's not a good sign to begin with.
A retake is what's needed,
but they have the smoke kit combination,
so anything is possible here.
They're going to get smoked up themselves.
Yeah, it's going to be a full-on bomb plant, 5-on-5 retake,
but I'm never counting it out with that smoke kit.
Smoke kit is key.
Kill here for Shui.
I was about to say it looks likely,
but it's going to be snappy chucking himself in.
They have to respect the smoke to try and boost.
They're running out of time, and it all comes down to the kit.
Wrinkle to open things up.
That's a big kill to start with.
It narrows that retake coming in just from catwalk now.
More or less, just gets one point.
The smoke kit can't even get close.
They couldn't even throw it.
Let us all save it now.
Yeah.
Wow.
A full-on mid-take for Liquid, one
that they even turned it into a push.
I actually think it's a sick pistol idea for Liquid,
but it was the most counter-imaginable.
We've had pretty crazy counters from NIP today.
Remember that grenade down towards the underpass
that landed on the leash in the pistol?
I feel like they just got a good read
in exactly what they want to do in the pistol rounds,
and they just walked into an open B bomb site,
suggesting you that would be the case.
They've been studying.
I think so, they've been in the lab all week.
Who knew that was gonna happen?
I wish someone woulda told me.
Time out on round number two.
Okay, you don't see this too often.
I don't know what you would even say.
I guess if you're taking a full eco,
not really much you can do,
but you saved a kid and a smoke.
So are you force-fying?
The body language suggests he's not happy.
And I don't see any purchases on my screen.
So I guess there's more preparation for the follow-up rounds.
Very curious.
Maybe trying to use this kit, smoke, in some sort of giga-brain sort of set up and trying to get a ninja G-Fuse going.
But yeah.
Maybe there's comms, but maybe everyone was just measuring some bickering going on after the pistol.
Maybe just wanted to calm everyone down. I don't know.
Oh, you've teased me with a ninja G-Fuse.
That's all I can really expect, because there's not much you can really talk about in this sort of rounds.
I guess either the comms are falling apart.
or they're preparing for the next round or somehow they're gonna go for a crazy
defuse here I don't think that's really gonna be the outcome but let's see who
wouldn't love that so rare but everyone of the B bombsite so just a bit of a
stack obviously this is not how you wanted to set up for an inner defuse if
you're gonna do that you know hiding someone on the bombsite somewhere but
this could still work it's ultimate with the kid in the smoke it's a
notes yeah I don't think you'll be a talking point but flashy maybe maybe he's
been in the demos maybe he said they have their tendencies are always towards
B on these sort of rounds yeah to get that stat going if we can cause some
chaos and drop the smoke on the bomb quickly maybe we can get a five second
defuse and all the carnage that's going down they are heading towards B
okay where's also good so he's gonna be tucked away yeah he's somewhere in
the back there is a boost up on the box inside of the site but they are
They're gonna check everything. Once you find this many players on the website, you'll check for every corner.
Alright. It did go B. He was right. Yeah.
At least he could feel good about that. But, like I said, I assume the time I was with this follow-up.
Yeah, you're probably right.
And Morrow, you're doing Niko for Rollins.
Very interested to see how this one plays out because I think Malbs is playing a different role as to the one that Nurtz was playing on this map
I think Malbs is going to be playing that front of A site. I think Nurtz is playing more towards the connector at the B-bombs at the catwalk
So oh, that is a strong start. Elyse gets blown up, Rinkov gets killed on the 2A, F is not ready in the middle
Ultimate a follow-up kill there would have brought the round right back for them
But now it's a little bit tricky. It's good to say the round's not necessarily done. Malbs alive and kicking
Three versus two, it's not over yet.
NAF, vacates the B bomb site.
They pump the brakes for now on the NIP side.
Two players in CT spawn.
Hungry for information.
If you can just find one straggler,
they're onto something.
This weekend, really nice defensive position
towards the connector.
Even a one and done here would be absolutely fine
or secure the round.
There it is.
Almost looked like he was gonna mess that up.
Problem is now they know exactly where NAF is.
cover the bomb going towards B. Snappy's already locked down the kitchen.
Yes. That's a good point.
Naph is really good on Nuke, but he's had more of a struggle on this one.
It's fair to say.
He could clutch this one and all will be forgiven through the smoke.
He's just ready to charge on it.
He almost could have caught the guy behind the bomb,
but there was no way for him to know that and he can't complete the mission,
unfortunately.
So, to re-enroll for NIP to start the second half with,
that is pretty good for them.
but for Liquid, it's a nightmare right now.
You could kill their R2, going for the aggressive opening gun rounds here.
We have Roland from Poland, he flashed in from the connector.
Two players jump out the window, but Kaspersky with a great spawn, beats them to it.
They get a couple of opening kills, only one in return and no one's saving a weapon,
so looking very likely to be 10-6 here.
Also a lack of mid smokes in that last round, which again, on the CT side,
like you might not think, but it's a warning.
Because they know there's no all-perfectable right now they've got the AK-47 or anything. They want to take those jewels
Yeah, that's a really good point
Sneak up from Roland
Towards the palace so might find a she's gonna find him. I was hoping yeah
Not really much me down analyzing this round. I'm afraid five on three early trying to get those deagle kills
A little bit of damage inflicted towards Kaspersky
Chewie's already low
10 rounds pretty much locked in. See if Malb's gonna make a difference. He has got a devastating
eagle. There it is. Didn't look like a headshot but we'll take it. Third bullet headshot.
Saw some frustration the first half from Ken and he was, he did go down a lot in the
connector. I feel like he was, it was getting to him eventually. He's not got eight kills
So it's not like he's not having an impact on the game,
but maybe the second half he could shine a bit more.
Another bomb plant, another round.
The atmosphere has really changed for liquid.
Six-six was great, but the economic struggles
at the start of the second half
is making it very, very hard to build the comeback.
Can you find a way, not in this round, but in the next?
Okay, that's a great picture in picture.
We've got an EK.
Very tempting.
We're not close enough.
Well, got it.
It's a four-round lead.
Don't want to say it's the last chance for Lika.
We're getting close now to the point where it is.
Well, this would be indicative of whether it's
going to be a competitive game at least.
They've got the AWP now.
They'll have all the rifles.
gone for the motions of the opening stages of the half,
he lost a pistol, he lost a full-up conversion,
he lost the first gun round.
Yeah.
Navarroco.
Now, has to be very promising from here on out.
A lead making his way towards shore.
Ultimate in towards that window room is Shuey.
Maybe take first contact here, Kaspersky,
leaping up in towards the window.
Ultimate should be aware of this.
thing is that if you miss one shot and as you're done for you're cooked
come out showing us well he's not even gonna get a cast in the trailer
he had no idea he really had no idea Sui will
important return shots down Kaspersky
sure she's gonna be dropped by Malbs again like I said playing up front of
A position
I think it's move the leash around a bit
can take down Sui
round is not over 3 versus 2 now wrinkle
Very late at top mid you could see a leash was not ready for that fight
He thought he was gonna be battling someone in middle instead come on now
They are calling show us the magic
We need that he's already tagged up though
They know exactly where he is and they know where Malibus is as well cuz he got the kill earlier
At least you know he's in that area of the map
40 seconds now back
Investigating hugging the boys they go towards shore. They've got a nice flash here. They can alley you pet
smoke down towards connector. Are they gonna face check or flash your first part of the space?
It's awful, lads. It absolutely is. Mal is showing up on the other side and he gets both of them!
A huge two versus three for Liquid. Okay, we'll take that all day long.
Three versus two, low HP. Kind of fumbled and rushed it a little bit there.
NIP give one over. Money should be absolutely fine, but a lifeline gifted.
I agree it's there. Opening frag.
Luckily for Shuri there, forwarded back to an even keel.
And nice work there. Yes.
Yeah, very nice recovery. Agreed.
Let's have a look then.
Round 18, A-Into-Cution, an old classic.
A fan favourite.
All five players here.
They're gonna put mouths up to the test.
The doctor will have to be surgical with this one.
Yeah, he's gonna be swinging a scout bolt any minute now.
That is some good surgeries cut open the cranny of Ken.
Ha ha ha ha ha.
First incision has been made, man advantage.
Molotov will dislodge him.
This is where things start to heat up for him.
He needs a couple more, can't get it.
The spray is messy, but they maintain the advantage.
Naps like from way downtown,
makes it work with the AK-47 and liquid are on their feet.
3 on 1.
The money's not that good for NIP right now.
This is their golden ticket back into this series.
I don't want to say we're past that point yet,
but I was under the feel like this is going to be one of those liquid games
where they just choke up and disappear,
and the whole thing comes crumbling down.
One opening for Malbs.
Such a difference maker.
NAF stepping up.
Very slow mirage from him.
we can't escape that shot from wrinkle even as a positive now for holic myself
you're an apaholic I'd say so I gotta say he's been playing a little bit a little
bit poorly on this map starting to get there though oh dude those two kills
there from the ticket booth were beautiful can live trade this game on
polymarket.com. Official prediction market here, a blast premiere. Yes indeed, running
live at all times I do believe. It's kind of taking over the world right now. That is,
that is true. Do you want to find out what's happening across the world and any subject?
Go to polymarket. There's always something going on.
Oh, we are seeing slowly surgences here liquid.
Money could be better, but you're right.
Double spray down for NAPA and the ticket booth.
And now two rounds separating the teams.
They saved the AWP on Wrinkle. That's great news.
He's got 15 kills along with Snappy and Kaspersky.
All of them at the same small iron kind of.
opportunity ultimate drops very low behind that fight they're not coming back
for him either they're leaving shush in the palace underrated sometimes walking
out of palace with no warning oh absolutely let's just walk it can be your
your favorite team foot and jukes especially yeah that is signature move
yeah it's like on paper it seems like the dumbest idea ever but but in
reality but that's why it works so well no one expects it because once you hear
the flashes going over the side you're fully alert okay now my brain is firing
hmm but sometimes you fall asleep a little bit in there round of a 19 I'll
take any excuse for my juice smoke there at the top of connect Molotov in
behind we'll hands in the smoke so exactly ideal kind of smokes coming out
now. A-split. Yeah, you're right. Should be fine here. Ultimates in a nice spot.
Be careful of the flashes, but I feel like he gets the open and no problem.
Malbs hasn't missed many shots so far. 16 and 12 looking much better. Should we
to open up the fragging? Nice grenade. Should do some considerable damage there.
And we are looking comfy. Absolutely fine. Leesh gets one as well.
Snappy and Wrinkle. He's got that AWP back there. Wrinkle it again. There's
only 20 seconds I think moving forward here isn't it's never gonna net do
anything at all snappy can't really escape but wrinkle maybe stay back and
just get some some good damage and save the AWP that's got to be the plan here
snappy now even thinking about walking away good discipline here from
liquid go to commend them on that there was the temptation to swing and
try and take him down towards sandwich we've got the orb covering it do not
risk any kills at this point time runs low snappy hold on to his m4
that's absolutely fine now for going for that kill was worth it but didn't
workout for him and it goes to a one round game they'll save the m4a1s and
the AWP so sure the money is broken but the round is still going to be dangerous
going forward here. Liquid need to lock in cannot afford to let this one slip huge
advantage not gonna invest too much around it. Snappy will bring tech 9
in Kevlar. Well actually no he was the one who saved right so he gives the M4 over to
Kaspersky I suppose. I think you're right. Yeah. I mean who wouldn't want Kaspersky with
the rifle? Oh no he's an absolute demon. Weirdly actually a choice that a lot of teams don't
make it's one of the things that gets criticized a lot. You know the guy that saves the
rifle gets to keep it but if you can give it to Kaspersky why would you have snapped
you? 100% agree. It seems to be like a gentleman's agreement in the teams that
you don't want to do that. But Snappy is the real leader.
The best in game leaders, you'll see them do that. They have to be sacrificial in that
sense.
I could appreciate that.
Sui is the one playing this connector position now.
I could have a switch up, I think, if I lived with that he's here.
Nicely done.
Rinkle is down.
Some mobs setting up the flashbang going all over, but you've got to be careful
that Orb is on the other side.
who's picked it up and he makes great work of it. Ultimate decides to reposition. Elise
now coming in towards that window and towards the jungle as well. Can launch another kill
but they're down to 40 seconds here. And Malbs is still on the bomb site. Ultimate is back
there. This is a really interesting crossfire they've got going on. Out in the open. Malbs
just good for the one but that will do it. Shush nearly dies to it. A flipped up connecting
Incendiary going over trying to do some more damage to spray really really fantastic there
Elish will take down Kaspersky and shush. He might be good. He might be reliable
But this is asking too much double for a leash liquid a back-on-track and hunting for that third map
No, you'd be right Elish
Definitely a light buy around the save weapons. We will see a tactical timeout somebody does math
We'll see whether NIP can go back to their winning ways, feels like Liquid.
On cruise control right now, this CT side has been very promising mobs after any posting
four kills on Nuke, it's up for 18 and 14.
Ultimates finding the picks are really massive, Ali just having a good performance.
Shuie actually finding some nice opening picks as well, got that one towards Connector,
good teamwork, the Adiyu flash, yielded that five on four advantage.
There it is. Nice movement.
And then a pretty clean finish in the end.
He has the lead to deny the defuser, the planter as well. The bomb went down but he got him through the box.
Obviously not necessarily a highlight round for Malus, but there's the value of getting one instead of no kills.
It's underestimated sometimes. You can make yourself always find that one kill easier said than done.
snappy is playing very well 17 and 8 24 this 30 kills have been headshot that's
wild I he's not known for his mechanical ability it's one of the old boys yeah
they don't focus on that when using their Marines instead but everyone's a
lot of me look at car again yesterday you're trying to carry them through the
game trying his best wasn't enough and that's always what I say with those
phase game the car can stop fragging something's actually gone horribly
wrong for it. It's great for Karrigan, you love to see that, but it never normally equates
to a victory.
Sweet in front of him, once the play, the new smoke is coming up, like as Bersky gets
the double wrinkle, will find a leash. This is not good news. Well, you know he now
has to be anchored, and he's got the AWP, secondary AWP has been established, the
turret has been set up, mobs is burrowed away in CT spawn, so they've got some
open runway here in toward the A site, however they'll get in there quickly and
plan is yet to be seen but it looks to be absolutely fine here. I actually would
love to see Malibus try and go for like a just a late round here maybe. Sometimes
people exit this bomb site way too quick. I'd love to see him hide and just you
mentioned the ninja maybe that's on my mind now but it's been done before. No
one needs to hunt in CT spawn boys. Play together whole crossfires don't need
to take these guns away. Yeah but if they start hunting too early and he
gets one good kill on someone exiting they're not far enough away it's a nice
attempt that's the sort of savings born
money on two players they're on the liquid side with the saved AWP I mean
it's not you can still make it a dangerous round in the next one I'm
sure an IP get to 11 just as we put right in the middle of that comeback
They prove on the NIP side, they are not that easy to put away.
They said Nuke was going to be a close game, it wasn't.
But this one, this is a different matter, would still love to see ancient to the size of the third map.
If and only if we can get there.
Unlucky round there for Liquid. I don't think they do anything particularly wrong.
Kaspersky, beautiful spray. Unfortunately the second kill was through to Smoke.
Sometimes you can't really do anything about it. It felt like Sue had made the choice to already be on the fighting side of the smoke
Yeah, and then ultimately wanted to join him. Yeah, and then they just got interrupted in the middle of that rotation
Yeah, I don't think that's any massive mistake or anything like that
It's just really great play and a fortunate kill on the second from Kaspersky good awareness, of course
Enjoying this game releases competitive
Still fine for liquid a couple of concessions with the Malbs MD
for mass if you have kids though they have the ultimate all one round away
though from series point elimination points for liquid like now this is sort
of how you can give him us and still he could have a lot of production but maybe
he will be just fine he's playing a position that he's been very efficient
in right now early smoke but this could be a very quick hit for nip they are
all on the ramp. I suppose Gears top mid but there we go Valves he starts it with a kill on the shush
in ultimate. He follows if this is exactly what they need and he could have that kill too for sure.
I set up for it there it'll follow immediately afterwards. This is great work what a defense.
Very significant round as well. I do kind of like it though for for NIP sometimes in the
in the beginning of the rounds, the CTs are busy fighting taking mid control, you can execute
while they're doing that, you might find maybe not an empty bomb side, but you might find
a light defense, and it was kind of like it's only two people, one with a FAMAS.
Kaspersky, I'm afraid he just has to save here. Even a kill or two wouldn't really
mean too much for them for a whole minute. That's what he's going to have to do, I'm
afraid. Run some replays if you like, you ain't going for this.
You're worth pointing out if people are just tuning in.
We've got a long day of Counter Strike coming up ahead of us.
Should we go through those games?
We've got all the games, yeah.
I know you've got the knowledge.
You've got the inside info.
I do indeed.
You and I will be commentating mouse versus NZ.
What have you made of NZ so far?
There's a new plucky team.
They've got some players.
They've got some players.
But this is the, I think for me,
this is the test of how low can mouse sink
in a very short time.
Yeah, that's also a lower bracket game.
It was mouse crashing out to zero against the Mongols.
after where they normally do their best work.
The quarterfinals at EPL.
Yes.
They talk about their sick of being booed by the crowd
and the pressure gets them.
They had the home crowd advantage there.
They were in Sweden and had Brawland on stage
and still completely capitulated there.
Yeah.
Now losing to Mongols pretty convincingly yesterday,
they're on a downward turn.
Yes, they are.
If they lose to 9-Z, I feel like that will be
that would be the worst yet.
The beginning of the end for this roster.
Well, even the loss to FUT people
talking about roster changes immediately the community were up in arms this will do it this
this might do it um we will see obviously nothing will change before the major but
say that if i had new before the major yeah i don't know i'm still baffling that decision but
uh they're gonna force by just to know nip shirsh is a bit of a ump specialist
difficult weapon to operate with on the t-side
comes down to this doesn't it last two rounds in regulation at least everyone
has some money you and P maybe not ideal human mouths have really been going at
it it seems like shushing mouths just have their own private battle over on
this side of the map while everyone else is doing something else feel like
mouths coming out on top a lot so much so maybe that shush decides not
worth it. Can't do it. I don't want to be here any longer.
Flashed in. Doesn't investigate the bottom of the ramp. It is
risky.
They're gonna go for another split. It's gonna be heavy
connector.
Big choke point popping it open. Hello.
It even took an extra second. It's like snappy was holding
his breath in their thing. Is he gonna shoot? Absolutely
45 seconds this could be that third map for liquid if they win this one
I think it's almost in the back 40 seconds
Bob is now making its way down towards the underpass but only 35 seconds I hate this so much
They need both naff and Elise right now. I don't think there's a way you can win this. No
If they do they have dispersed you to catch rotation so but you need the kills naff will not allow it
catch them both down now to the primary operate seems doing all the work
that's gonna be map point the double all set up paying dividends here math
looking comfy get some stuff a couple sure once again no choice but to save
playing for overtime now liquid are on their feet no much celebration no not
It's also a nafla, so yeah, I'd say try and get a bit more fired up there out of the troops, but
One of my favorite positions to all from in the people ways there because sometimes when you people they fall back into town sure and it just looks
Yeah, now this is what a person would murder you and put you in a car
Display well, you won't get many better opportunities in this to close out a game
Galils, Mactens, Deagles, I'll say Decay.
Oh.
They know that the orb is over towards being the hands of Nath.
Decay, try and focus that.
I think that's it. You're exactly right.
That's got to be the plan here, hunting down the Macten, but...
Not sure who's doing the hunting right now.
Cairns, certainly with a good return kill.
Relief on the spray, but it doesn't connect for once.
The mechanics have failed in just a bit.
And now they're on the site, hunting for overtime.
It could well be happening.
Deed Grenade, it very nearly kills Shush.
Six health left. Malves now showing up to the fight and that's what they need to do anything and though
He's stolen an AWP somewhere along the line. They just get the kill on the Malves
So the super weapon is gone for liquid and ultimate and suey
If you want anything to get onto the site soon, he's actually smoked off on short right now
So I don't even know if you can really be part of the fight at the moment. Good spray a little bit of damage
Wrinkle goes down ultimate with one kill but time is running out and sure she'll get the job done on just a little bit
the health left they find over time.
Oh, it was looking so good now for the opening kill,
but Ken with the trade, they managed to find that space
in the B bomb site.
It comes down to the one versus one,
and they will be sure to close things out
with the Galil bear in mind.
They enter that with what?
Tech 9s, Mac 10s, Galil's 1 AK saving the previous rounds.
They can't hold on until reset.
All their hard work, unable to finish things off
in regulation, will be able to remain on the T side.
Those are the sort of celebrations I want to see from Liquid.
Yes.
Fucking nice, fucking nice!
That's what I want to see.
I feel like Kennes is an emotional play,
like a both sides of the coin there,
but when he's winning, he gets very excited.
I do love that.
Who is the hype man for Liquid?
If you had to choose one player,
who's the guy like that that's going to be
rallying everyone and getting them excited?
There's no one.
I'll be suing.
I guess so.
Maybe Malm's now.
But yeah, you're right, but that's a really valid question.
I really did question highlights a problem.
What we can as it goes down early again,
deep grenade attacks everybody down on that ramp.
Malves, oh, he's been a god at the same bomb site.
Very hard for NIP to make that way through
when he's playing like this.
22 kills, yes, they finally get one on him,
but Gaspersky's alone against the wall.
There we go.
That's it.
There it is.
More passion, a bit more passion.
as we like to see.
Smiles all around.
Execution.
Swept away there by mouths.
After a while coming up next.
Master class on the A-bomb side here.
Duncan and Weven dodging the flash
is a small detail.
Dodging that flash,
resetting himself with an X-dual.
Great reactions, great aim, great play up.
This is the idyllic scenario for Liquid.
You slot in a new player, he takes up a position and he just fulfills it
even more than you could have hoped for even.
Could mean that Mirage is a map that could be potentially really strong
backhand for Liquid in the future.
Some of it can pull out early on.
One of the big problems with doing roster changes in general is that
your map pool suffers.
You have to sort of reinvent a bunch of things.
So if Mirage would say already looking pretty good, like it's really early days.
But this could be one of those maps that they aren't dangerous on.
First round of overtime goes their way.
And it seems to air a little bit more of a fight here, looking for one that decides
to escape towards the connector instead, and a default for an IP.
I think it'd be funny if one round maps actually went into the palace of high-trash, as he's
been there the entire tea-side.
Just finding a single time.
Well, we won't be seeing anything too quick here.
The bomb's back in T spawn, essentially.
and he's in a head right now.
Bullets in their back.
Did they not see him go into
the ladder room?
I guess they didn't.
That's not.
That's one of those moments
where the information lacking
really cost them.
They weren't even checking
They weren't even checking that vents. 40 seconds, crouching on through the shush,
hoping for an opening, but he's dead. Knack is holding that crossfire.
They don't have a single casualty. Very defense.
Recover those AKs, boys. You're going to need them on the CT side here,
looking for the clean sweep at 3-0. Don't give them anything.
We're covering that massive loss they suffered on Nuke 33.
We have much more liking.
You can see they're a lot more comfortable.
No!
Nice!
There we go.
They're expecting you to fall back off the box there
and just fall back into the bomb site.
Oh, here we go.
Ultimate.
They know that Shush has been in the whole time.
Now they're hunting him.
I really like the attempt by Shush actually. He was ready for that one and can take that ultimate.
I said it'd be cool to see but it actually backfired.
I believe you saw the live and well, the Landers were not for long. Nice shot on the AK-47.
At least get one on the board here. NAV will have nothing to do, nothing to say.
They did try to change things up. The two-man place was a palace backfires.
Let's let NIP back into this one now. One round on a T-Sat and overtime that's enough.
All that util and sport as well. All for knots. Zero chance here, just playing the stats essentially.
Yeah, there is. Why not? Not like he was going to win it anyway. There we go through.
through snappy gets the headshot and and IP get one out of three rounds in the
first half over time I guess that's something but pretty good defense overall
for for liquid I must say it's gotta be it must have been tempting for them to
go hunt shish because when you know he's there all the time having that
information to always know where one of the two players is yeah it made
sense to me as well but it did not work out
Good shot from Ken.
14, 13.
Everyone's really getting warmed up in this game, like no one's really lacking behind enough that it's worth talking about.
Dare I say that's all the makings of a great game.
Maybe.
You might be on to something, Dan.
Well, here we go then.
In regulation, on the CT side, Liquid kept winning this mid-fight.
All the time they shut down these NIP players and Connector.
This time Kaspersky opens it up, but I'd love to see NIP handle it differently.
If they want to win this, I don't think they can just take the fight here in the Connector against Elysian Malbs.
They just need one round on their T side, and Elysian is going to be fighting for it, still alive for now.
NAF will make his presence known from the Palace, it's going to be can-tucked away.
They've got the man advantage here, very important kill.
Does NAF have the presence of mind to free fire this corner?
Shush has to help him out, get to be more aggressive in CT spawn.
There's Ken with the one, what a follow up.
He transfers it on to a leash,
and there's Shush on the ticket booth, will take down Ultimate.
Melbs, if anyone could, it might be him, gets the quick one.
But now Snappy's walking up behind,
and Snappy's been playing mechanically very well.
He sees the gun barrel, he knows he's there,
and that's an easy shot for him to win.
One versus one against Melbs.
Snappy has been playing very well today. Fair play to him 1914. Huge round, denies map point for liquid.
He was close, he was uncomfortable. But they live to tell the tale. We said it's all down the
can. Yeah, but he gets that double as massive. He stays alive long enough as well as teammates
Nice to rotate in.
Good job, you're a skill.
Nice, good job.
Let's see what they bring to the table next.
Malvda to 23 kills.
Aggression.
This is sick.
They only tried this once in regulations and those with pistols.
Finally, an IP decided to throw out a different defense,
turns it into a bit of an offense there,
pushing that top mid position.
traded evenly, and Liquid might be okay with that.
Happing away, dangerous game for Shush to be playing.
All right, Kisparovsky, so deadly at that sort of range,
M4A4 from way downtown.
Finds NAF, maintains the advance, he didn't snappy.
Again, one kill would suffice, zero would not.
Guess what he needs, Religes hunting him though.
So if he knew he was in that corner,
that was the other thing that worked for Liquid
try to put pressure on snappy over at the site even he's been playing well they
actually did convert a bunch of kills against him and got the bomb plant down
as a result difficult retake they'll go for the boost yeah they're all
retaking from the catwalk as well so it'll be very easy I think for liquid
to shoot down the range here ultimate certainly starts off well enough
wrinkle he needs a mistake he has to he needs somebody to beat you if that
doesn't happen you can see there's no way through it's too late now you needed
that peak from Malves at the start of the retake and obviously Liquid smart play
they don't give it to him good chance doesn't matter at all 15 for Liquid
that point found
ancient as our last map as well and bear in mind that's where Malves is an
absolute specialist he made a name for himself in tier 1 CS and that particular
map. Yes. It was antics towards middle. He will be feeling very comfortable there. He
couldn't get going on Nuke. Firing on all cylinders here on Mirage. It comes down to
this. NIP fighting for double overtime on the CT side. Uh oh. Is it only going to be
switched on the A bomb site? NIP all towards middle. You can see Likert want to go this
really quickly. I don't think they're going to be slowing this down right away. The speed,
they want to take the map. Find the third one. Shush! Oh dear. But for one's gray down,
it took a while, it took too many bullets, and the Legion's taking them down instead.
Bomb now following. They're not quite planting yet, they don't have the space to do it
and Snappy decides to brave the fire through the jungle and he takes down the Legion's
assault here. Naph's going to get out done. The bombs planted now, but Malph's
he's very low indeed. Even the bomb ticking in the back is not going to be enough
As per his people find him, double O.T. is on the line now as Ultimate has to find four kills to try and stop that bomb defuse.
It did not even give him a chance. And I think he don't give up so easily.
Great recovery. Nice move from Snappy as well. He saves the day there. Braves the flames, runs through the fire.
Realizing his teammates under a lot of pressure towards connector. Swings out, gets the easy kill.
His teammate's able to recover the man deficit.
It looked a bit rough there.
Shoshun is sprayed down here by his standards.
He knows he should be at least one and a half there.
If he didn't even get one with the miss spray, he heard them coming.
Couldn't hold onto it.
Fortunate to get one, but Ken, once more,
raised a shot for that M4.
Nice, Bliet!
Nice, Bliet is my favorite combination.
So we go again.
First round double overtime here. Liquid were up 2-1 in our first half, unable to convert.
Braze exchange damage inflicted towards Ken. Down to two points of health, the taps are
coming through. Malvz knows where you are. Can you get out alive? I don't think so.
I see you're alive. He's got the AWP now. Spurski's gone. Marine call. Okay, at least
he gets the kill on to NAF but Elysse is very fast to return that one.
Bomb is at top mid and there's plenty of time for liquidate. They got the men advantage.
Ken being this low he just has to think about his positions. He can't just
maybe as forward as he'd want to be otherwise. Snappy here taking a fight
straight to Malm's. That's dangerous but the way that
Snappy's been playing you just he's not afraid of anything at the moment
here packing on out 18 and finally big ultimate okay that should be enough for
the round here should being the operative word shush is alive can we'll
join him with the AWP shush will need three kills the land is not an HE
I mean if it land on me he's gonna have to have an HE it could be one of
those holy fangornades from Monty Python maybe no not even a little bit
Mm-hmm, excellent work, NIP, give that one up.
Liquid, pulling that B bomb site.
Huge man advantage, Shush can't hold on.
Trying to change up the pace, trying to get aggressive into all that underpass.
Picked up Shui, nice shot towards Ken.
Made a lot of work of them there. First round will be theirs, no problem.
Number two coming up next. No change of setup here when hosting a double orb coming in from NIP. We saw that from Liquid a few times
Actually work forward now. Oh, yeah, for sure. It's kind of sick
That's
Fast way to take this corner
There's nobody on the other side that he could fight they have left Kaspersky alone in charge of B
So this is an interesting like what a switch up snappy's been
anchoring that B bomb side alone quite a bit but now they've really made this
change. Is it enough to hold back liquid on this middle part of the map? I guess
it's the thing we're about to find out.
I'm totally wrong. It's a recoil. Not this person at all. Forget everything I said.
I'm trying. Yeah I'm lying. Dude this guy's an animal getting killed through
smokes. He's done that multiple times on the T side. Now just get to double
I've seen anyone who has mouths finally takes him down. We've got a three versus three mouths low
56 seconds remaining is wrinkle
AWP posted up and towards B. Gonna be surrounded soon. He's got mouths in the back tracks as well
Sizer Park up
45 seconds here
This position is so valuable if they can actually get onto the site
Yeah, cut like a thing at the top wrinkles alone at the bebomb side, Henry. So
Can he do anything here?
He's been staring down the line of this hall with the entire- I don't think he's moved
once now.
He's finally gonna go back and check.
Time is absurd.
Malph's goes down.
Rinkle, now he's gonna realize-
Take it easy, Rinkle.
Stay alive here.
Yeah, might as well.
He had to kill 21 in total.
You could see, though, how that round can work for Liquid.
if they can get past Wrinkle, then Mao's position
should support Drupal's value.
Right about this bursty as well.
Doesn't see anyone.
And gets a double kill.
He's using the MW system.
On, uh, is that?
It's so much conviction as well as positioning
across that placement,
and you know exactly what it is up against.
Yeah.
Oh, we're not slowing it down.
extra round straight into it. Ultimate has found two kills.
Kaspersky first and then followed up by Rinkel going down.
Malbs is taking care of. This is a five on three advantage. Here's the replay
from Ultimate. Double kill first towards Windows, second towards that connector.
Excellent work from him. Cadnose, they can't rest on their laurels here.
Needs information, needs to find some impact. The eight bombs are wide open.
If she just can find the skill, the round's back on.
Elysia hiding in the corner.
It's well played.
They're pushing on to it. They know they've got it now.
Okay, let's hear Elysia run back through T spawn, but that doesn't really matter here.
Once the bomb is planted, which will be any second now...
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
I actually thought he had that one, or at least would have done the damage.
It was the default plant, so it wasn't in the open.
It did look like we're even...
But Boxes meets. Thought there was a chance that he could have done that.
Sneaking up behind this Ken. How much could he do with the M41? It's the question. Well Alex, that'd be gone. It doesn't matter.
Good headshot. But now they know everything they need to. So we'll find the kill.
Liquid. Take a bit of a lead.
Two-one again. This time on the T side. Huge advantage.
The ultimate from his POV. Bits of spawn.
Nails the second the flashes just don't catch any times at the perfection of a leash aware of the shush push
They were hungry for information hungry for that rebuttal get a lot more than they bargained for
First team to 19 if my math is correct. Yes indeed 18-18 we do it all over again
Six in all the times this map for the year, okay
We're in the 40, so right at the start of the round, and they are pushing up onto that ramp,
they want to try to take a beat Malus, and finally, they do.
He has been a real problem for them on this bomb site, but they managed to break on through
because first, they're unleashed towards the connector.
A grenade over us, they may be trying to come through here.
He's so active.
He does get a lot of damage on the other side, and finds a double kill to start
with the bombers planted here looking real good for an IP right now to pick up
around here on the T side to start with. Snappy goes down, Shush though lands
another grenade I can't believe it doesn't kill Sui. It looked like it was
dead on top of him but only Naphis and he real health left it might not matter
for ultimate he's got the AWP he'll find the shot shooting Shush in the
back. I guess Bersky and Wrinkle have to do some more work that bombers ticking
very rapidly right now but they have kits on everyone headshot on that
how has he done that Wrinkle with the double spray down both side the
Oh
He finds the hill does he have enough time for it? Is that really the case?
It was over two I thought it was I thought he had that all day long but wasn't meant to be
So unfortunate such a great effort on the retake that now if I like you did enough
But it's just once again
cracking things open
So much out on your right every movie maker so consider every grenade every swing it seems that you know
So this intention is
getting maximum
Little cameras holding his breath. Yeah
I honestly for now thought that crazy work
It's one of those moments the bomb is planted in a slightly different position you will have it
Okay, here we go
This is the kind of counter strike that we get up in the morning for this what we want to see a new was a bit
Flanted it wasn't what we wanted. Oh new cause rubbish
this
This is exactly what we need I
Like the fact that they're really putting pressure on Malbs because he's had so much success
But the sheer speed with which they hunted him there
Even he couldn't stand up to it. He's 26 kills that helps only out on by ultimate
27th you said earlier thought he's got something
Yeah, I've been enjoying ultimate output
This is the ultimate you like to see a chance to open things up again. No double off set up to nose on the liquid side
This first ski though is the danger man
And finally taking care of great shot from a lead as he jumps up on the bench
He's more than ready for it double head shot to open things up
He's just pre-aiming at an angle, and he's got to see that shush, spending his whole team
side in the palace, even in regulation, they know he's going to be there.
Ultimates, that's pretty brave from Snappy, can't question his dedication to the cause
in that round, but maybe too brave.
I'm out of nose.
He's got somebody in there.
He's lured into it as well.
Like, I should be loading. I'm going to get him wrinkled alone.
Nice view in the middle of the east.
Don't know what else to say.
He's not going to win the round.
He's not going to win this round.
But can he hold on to the AWP?
Time will tell, they know where he is, might as well try and hunt him down here.
This is for a map point bearer mind as well, Liquid will have a huge advantage, I leave
you at a lot of pressure, you've guaranteed at least triple overtime, picking this one
up which they already have.
Rinkle just wants to get off to the next round.
Well, just sneaking him around the back here.
see how much they want to commit to fighting him.
Run out.
Finally missing a spot.
He's pretty sure he's going to be peeked from spawn.
Grenades as well, but he lives.
Needed that.
Would have been a difficult buy.
I'm going to say the tactical time out here.
It's called by NIP.
One more round would do it. They saved the orb.
Look at the triple overtime, Liquid trying to take us to ancient, down but not out, they
did not turn up to Nuke whatsoever, felt like another disaster class from the North American
organization but now they're in the driving seat once again, they were unable to close
it in regulation against the Mac 10s and Galils, another chance here to take us to
a third.
Well just because we spent so much time criticizing Liquid's mental both, you know especially
in the past maybe I feel like this is the kind of game that maybe they would have
crumbled in already like they're still fighting they're still looking like
they're super dedicated to this so it is actually a better look even though they're
having a hard time winning this map. I do kind of like the feel of it.
Ultimate in mouths at the top of the scoreboard is where you'll have to see
a lead to a huge output as well. Yeah. Here we go. One more round.
Descendants to ancient. Kaskursky flashed into the middle for their own
smoke and now he's just he wants to fight so badly back by the guy exactly I
think he's saying you know what a leash that was just a so fluke I'm ready to
go burns out to a dusting file
bombs they're at top mid and with a double position in the bee hallways
I wonder if it could be another B-Spot coming in here.
We've seen a couple of them already.
Ooh, naff.
Double-Alt.
Yeah.
You said it earlier.
You used the regulations.
They're bringing the bomb towards Connector now instead.
So maybe they changed their minds a bit.
Good start.
Kaspersky gets one.
Doesn't care that that's the Alpert CT spawn.
Wants to fight it in.
No way!
Dude!
Should take down Ultimate!
He's so deadly!
Molds are shot dead!
He's staying alive much longer than I was expecting there gets the kill on Kasper ski and has given his team a big opportunity
The bomb is lost 35 seconds here for shush
This would be a wild clutch if he could pick it up. Now if it's already in position here
All he has to do is keep his ears open
Listen for that bomb plant 20 seconds or just about
Sure, she can't find anyone should be done
Yes, they can plan going together. You've got him pincered
you said this many times yesterday make them tap the bomb don't fight them
beforehand ten seconds there's the tap on the first one math he goes down
he's on eight seconds left just enough the span decades of experience to pick
up that one right through the box and it's enough to bring liquid to a third
map it felt like it was gonna be a nuclear meltdown after the first map
13 3 it felt like liquid were evaporating on our screens if it
go home dead last but they keep fighting two for now world-class performance from Ultima he steps up
and goes above and beyond and we're going to ancient baby never in doubt only to kill through the box
and I want to be one to make sure that one didn't go third OT here Jacob that was a wild game of
Counter-Strike and I guess the game of Counter-Strike that we kind of anticipated we can't
expect to coming into this one as well we're labeled it as a 50-50 and I don't think you
get a much more 50-50 game like here on Mirage. I feel like Liquid were having the upper hand
for the vast majority, especially when we got into overtime. It was them being in match point
in pretty much every single overtime, so only a fan of that they finally closed it out in 1917,
but that could have gone either way. Jacob, I didn't doubt them for a single round.
Shut up. I doubted them for the whole game. I doubted them from start to finish. And the
fact that not only were they playing at a solid level individually, they were forcing NIP to
to go for execute after execute, because every time NIP went
in the mid, they just got picked apart.
But they still somehow let it get that close, little concern.
It's quintessential liquid, right?
When I went 12-11, it's like, well, you can earmark yourself
for overtime.
I do have to say I stuck my head in the liquid team room
to harass them when we were going to second OT.
And I got the demarged rover guarantee
that there was a 1917 finished scoreline.
So that guy knows something, apparently.
Apparently, apparently, Mike.
Apparently, it was good for Liquid to win that game.
It would have been a disaster for them to go out in this fashion and lose a 2-0, so for them to stay alive, it's not over yet.
That's a very good sign for Team Liquid, especially when you consider the win conditions in this game.
We spoke about Melps not doing anything whatsoever on Nuke. This map, he was full of impact.
He certainly was. Speaking of those win conditions, speaking of those positive signs, Malves was definitely delivering.
We saw in that final round as well, stuck in towards Sandwich, a position that really should be a one and done.
Somehow producing two out of nothing, making it happen for the team.
a team, a lot of those moments where you feel like he might not get anything and he managed
to deliver something for the squad.
And that's if you were paying close attention to how Malth's were performing and how he was
playing, that's why he's at his best, you know, he's playing A, he's playing in the
positions where he basically has to play as a turret, there's no communication, not
too much communication, there's no, you know, having to make a move that then will impact
the team and next to him, he just has to play as a turret, focus on his aim and
get the multi-kill if he can, that's when you get the most out of Malth's,
when he's not having to rotate, when he doesn't have to juggle with Nates all
time when you put him in sandwich, when you put him on A site, when you put him on balcony,
where basically all he has to do is focus on getting the kills. That's when you get the absolute
most out of Malph's. That's what we saw on G2 and that's hopefully what we're going to see more of
on Liquid. I said it before, I'll say it again. I think Malph could go down as one of the great
role players if he stays in that role. I think Liquid know how to utilize them. They know where
his strengths are. It's to be more quiet, not to be trying to move people around the map,
just be on that site. Like you're saying, hit the aim maps. In that last round,
Everyone thought it was over was going to another overtime mobs with the double and he buys enough time for his teammate to rotate in
Alee's gets the third kill. That's mobs at his peak and speaking about mobs and Alee's if we cast our minds all the way back
It's first half
We never would have gotten to this OT without some serious star impact from these two players
No round six is where NIP lost control of the game because they were actually off to a good start
I know it's almost an hour ago. You see right here. It's a 4 to 1 scoreline again
NIP in control they get the first couple of kills then it gets ironed out and all of a sudden they find himself in a 1v2
Elise and mobs are the ones to bring it back now. You can always count on Elise in a clutch
You can always count on mobs in a clutch when they rely on the aim and at this point had liquid lost this round
It would have been five to one obviously for NIP no economy for team liquid
We're looking at a very strong half a very strong start for NIP
I think this was the moment when they fought their way back into the game as the first half also
concluded six to six without this one liquid would have been out by now.
I think it's also very important that we heaps and praise on ultimate shoulders as well,
especially in towards overtime delivering for this team.
He's been under the spotlight.
We've criticized him our fair share.
He delivered here though.
He's been under the spotlight because his offing is sometimes a little inconsistent
and liquid rely on him with the off.
I think he did a great job with the rifle at times in this game
and a great job with the office.
He went into overtime.
I was questioning where the off really was.
He pulls it out and he just sits ticket and he hits shot after shot after shot.
I think Ultimate is a player that almost gets underrated a little bit.
I don't think he's a perfect offer, but he's not nearly as much of a liability as people want to make him out to be.
And this is a great example of what it was a stable performance.
It's one of those where you can you can trust him being posted up with AWP, especially a lot from ticket towards connector.
He's going to shut down that area of the map.
That's what made it so difficult for NIP to default and use connector and work connector.
We saw it with ex-Kris Bersky, who did everything he could in his power in order to carry NIP.
but when you have an AWP player you can rely on, when you can trust him hitting the shot,
at the very least closing down an area of the map,
makes the work condition for Mel, to make the work condition for Elise who's roaming around middle,
so much more easy. So a stable performance and something we want to see more from ultimatum,
that's the whole critique, we don't see it often enough.
It's something that definitely going to need. Now one of the pleasant surprises for NAP,
one of the reasons this has been so close has been the performance of someone we don't
normally expect to be showing up as an individual on the server, Snappy. I think we need to
give him his flowers because he has really been delivering something as an
individual here. Two maps in a row you know I don't know if he watched
Kerrigan play yesterday for face carry and be like oh wait so an in-game leader
from Denmark can actually flag out let me try it because that's what he's been
doing today on both occasions. You're right, Omirachi was doing an excellent job
I'd say in the first 24 rounds you know kind of sewn out in overtime
probably focused on the calling focused on the push and keeping the boys in
line but overall I want to give it to Snobby he's been a positive spark
So far for a not being this serious. I would say snappy is definitely outperforming what you would expect from him
He did cool off near the end as you're saying he was at 1.14 and 5
I think he ends this one 21 and 20
He doesn't really pop off the continued pop off your you're hoping from him
But at the same time he's not shuhei playing connector where you can constantly get activated
He's playing B site if he's doing a good job generally that means the the other teams not going your direction
They're just gonna avoid you. They're gonna try and hit the other bombsite
That's more or less what Liquid was doing. They weren't really going his way
So we didn't have too much opportunity to get activated later in the game
But when he did he still won a couple 1v1s he won the rounds he needed to
Yeah, I was just thinking about you know, cuz he played a great game, but there was one moment in the game
I think it was scoreline 11 11. It's a 3v3 snobby is alone on the B bomb side Elise walks out
He gets the ding on Elise, but he dies which means that Liquid goes up 12 to 11
That's sort of like the one kill in the game that decided that all had snobby gotten that kill
call for reinforcement call for backup state alive again NIP would have won this
game so in terms of you know where was this game going it was it was one kill
essentially at 11-11 that decided whether or not snobby was going to win or lose
this map sometimes it's gonna be like that especially if you're continuing to
rely on your 30-plus year old IGL to try and deliver the frags but we'll see
if they can go back to that well because there is one more map of play
we'll get into ancient after this break.
One more map to play here between NIP and Liquid, we said it might be a bit of a challenge
and it certainly was on that second map.
It was a battle through and through into double overtime to secure it.
Now we go the distance and it's all to play for between these two squads.
Yeah, I think again we're back to square one.
We're back to a 50-50 game, to be completely honest.
I can make a case for why NIP could win.
I can make a case as to why I think Liquid is going to win.
First and foremost, on the Liquid side, Melts.
A map he's comfortable on.
I also do feel it's a map that is easier to slot in.
We heard from Liquid that there has been a lack of practice.
It's been two, three days in total.
So in terms of slotting Meltson and making sure that he is comfortable, which we saw was a massive win condition on Mirage.
I think that's one way to put it to make it.
Yeah, I think Malb slots in on this map into a pretty comfortable position for himself.
It's the rest of the team that's made some adjustments.
Malb goes into his spot, but it was Nerth, so it was playing middle.
So you actually have a pivot from a different player in the middle.
I think it's Naft that's moving in the middle.
And then you have to make some sort of adjustments.
But I think the rest of the team, they should be pretty comfortable.
They should be able to play around it.
And Nip, when you look at the way they lost Ancient against ParaVision, with Kaspersky dropping 30 plus kills and not a single other player on the team getting above a 1.0, I'm a little concerned about their Ancient, even when we look at it from the realm of Liquid are what four lost streak on this map with losses to teams like OG and Game and Gladiators, I still have to lean towards Liquid on this.
Well, NIP have lost four of the last five times they played the map, so both are going in with a bad record, so to speak.
Well, it's a bad record until you change it, right?
And we know that Liquid are changing the position.
Speaking to Flashy, he had mentioned that they don't have the time after this to keep tweaking things.
So they've got to make the changes now.
They're going event to event to event.
So I guess we'll see. The proof is in the pudding, right?
The proof is in the server.
What are our expectations based on what we've seen so far from these first two games?
Which way do you lean?
More of the same.
I think it's going to be a close matchup.
I think it's a map that can go either way to be completely honest.
Again, we praise Mouth for being a massive win condition for Team Liquid.
It goes without saying that Elise will have to stare up as well.
And when I look towards NIP, the one player that is always carrying them on this map is X. Kaspersky.
I think his average rating and the last 10 times they played it is 1.32, which is not bad at all.
Even more so, his T-side rating on this specific map, 1.52 on average.
Without X. Kaspersky playing well, NIP will not be Tim Liquid. Simple as that.
I'm going to reiterate what I said at the beginning.
I think NIP is going to come in with a better game plan.
They're going to come in with better strats.
but Liquid is just too much better individually.
They have mobs, they have a leash, they're just a better team individually on the server.
No matter how well NIP play, Liquid should close this one out.
That's what we're maybe expecting to see,
but if it were going to go the other way, beyond Kaspersky,
what are we looking at? Who's going to be the key here?
Who could be that difference?
I mean, easy to say, Wrinkle, in some extent, with AWP,
he's doing an okay job on this map in particular.
If anything, I'd say Snappy.
You know, I think once you have your weakest link,
so to speak, playing as well as he is right now on the first two maps. If he can somehow,
some way find it in him to play three good maps in a row with the same amount of output he's had,
that could be a way of mitigating the one star that is ex-Kris Bersky. So,
I have some snobby to do well again in that cheer position, which we see a lot of in-game leaders
tend to like. I want to see Shuhei improve a little bit. Honestly, looking at him on Mirage,
he plays connector, he forced a lot of fights, didn't do very well. He's given a lot
of space on this team. He's not really necessarily supporting his teammates the same way you might
see a snappy where he's just throwing utility for his team. He puts himself in positions to frag.
He needs to actually show up. Eyes on the IGLs. My eyes turn to our big brains. Anders and Henry
take it away. I'm not sure about big brains but big hearts Anders. We're going to be giving
this from the beans. We'll do our very best indeed. Germany need the brains to talk about
I feel like it's easy to yell. Yeah, that's it. That's what we're here for. It's been great though.
There's been a lot to yell about that second map was fantastic. And now we're on to ancient. I know you love a bit of ancient.
I love a bit of ancient and I love the stat line as well that both teams have been sucking on this map.
So it means we're setting ourselves up for an all out brawl here. Rockham, Sockham, Counter-Strike is on the menu.
Ladies and gentlemen, tournament elimination on the line. Will it be liquid? Will it be NIP? Time will tell.
I'm loving the output from ultimate. It's good to see here firing at a world-class level
27 kills on that first map. They're gonna need him here as we move on to this final map of play
Flashy definitely enjoying what he saw on the previous map there. Remember Nuke was a disaster for them 13-3
They went down no one turned up, but it's snappy
He's providing some amazing output as well
It's he and game leaders showing up and they will have to lock horns here on the third and final map
Who have you got for it, Anders? Who are you taking?
Well, I said and I've had a chance from the beginning.
I feel like everyone else is on the liquid side, but I'm sticking with NIP for this one.
It's a bit of a coin flip for me, really.
Let's find out as we head into Ancient, the third and final map.
Like you said, elimination is on the line here,
so we need everybody to step up in this game.
Well, that was the good thing about Mirage as well.
No one was dropping off. Everyone was firing.
And we'll see who can get that first kill.
Wow.
It's Rinkle taking down Malb's MD, one of the specialists on this map.
Early 5 on 4 and even more damage from Rinko here, massive amount of damage, 5 on 3.
Aleige can save the day though, he's very good with these dual elites.
Shilin will bring it back to a favourable situation, but not much ultimate can do here surely.
Will take something miraculous and he's doing a very good job.
Can he find one more?
Not quite.
Yeah, two bullets left.
There was a chance.
There was a chance.
There was a world where he pulls that one off.
That's going to fire him up and they're going to force by around those kills.
It gives a lot of money. Remember it's $50 per kill for each player on the team for every frag you find.
To him getting so close makes it very exciting.
The fact that he even got the fourth kill was unbelievable, but didn't have enough to hold on.
But you know they're going to force by. I can guarantee that right now.
Yeah.
That position for Elige was good.
And they actually drop the rifle over. Ultimate purchases it for a lead and gives it
to their star player
Company argue with that honestly. No, absolutely not. It's the way it should be done here to win. Not pad your stats
Didn't want to keep back into but he comes back for seconds. We'll take down Ken
That's worth it. So far the rifle has done some work
Question is how will NIP respond?
They wanted to go up the ramp. They were thinking about it
But I think they spotted Malbs to begin with and made them second guess whether or not they wanted to stick around here
Elise
We've seen him win these fights over and over again in that red room
But this time he decides to go further back a minute on the clock now bomb
It's done to be brought back towards the middle smoke down towards red room
Man advantage here and Elise is making all the right moves
getting himself tucked in towards the big box. He's using Ultimate as bait as well.
He might not even need him. If Ultimate finds one, the round is over.
A leash continuing to find damage. Kill after kill.
Shui chimes in as well. It's just snappy and they steal the round away.
Ultimate's kills were not in vain. That USB sequence netting four kills
and they were able to have the M4A1S and he puts it to work there.
There are three kills in the round, massive output, and we go 1-1.
Just going down.
Also around where they don't have molotovs to clear out of this position,
even if they got into a better spot there,
they would have had to afford the leash somehow.
Oh, that's such a good feeling.
Ultimately, they'd be loving it as well.
Knowing those four kills has led them to the victory round number two.
We've mentioned it many times before,
winning the second round fours by better than the pistol in many ways.
No plan especially backs that fact up
Makes you feel like you're really playing for the team and you get four kills you buy a rifle you give it to somebody else
They make it work such an important factor. What a great decision that was
The pressures are easy to deliver but my god, did he ever
so
Has to be the force in return, but we're only talking about pistols. Yeah, I don't think you can even afford a calil and deed
No tech 9s across the board
Now you have to put this one to better deal liquid you want to keep this hype train going
manage to recover
Galils AK 47 huge injection of cash here
It might just go very fast to the bomb site to be honest. You could see snappy setup. He's got the traditional utility
He can Molotov up towards the cave and he can throw a smoke towards the back line
And then they just flash on over and try to take a bit the tech times to use
I think it's gonna be fast and I think they could already know that Malus is calling it out saying I needed a little bit of help
the MP99 not be enough he's all traded out right away but he's good on that M4 he gets to
and assisted on the third and you know with that execution it comes from one spot it's outside
the double doors yeah snap he's the one throwing those grenades traditionally so you know
he'll be lurking around somewhere he won't be able to win this round maybe he finds one more
kill but i very much doubt it spotted taking care of any second now 30 hp yeah
Now, just a formality, surprisingly hard to hold some of those B attacks when they're coming
through like this.
And you could see that mouse at the beginning, you wasn't sure if they were going to play
retake and fall back behind the smokes or fight on the sights, but they made up their
minds just in time.
Here we go, Stalker, you got anything for us?
Moving into the firing squad now, he does get a dink, but yeah, at least nice
big smile on his face. Have a great round from in. Let's see what we have next. Should
be the full eco, no bomb plant once again. Leisure the double kill. More than enough with
Shui backing him up there as well. From that cave position.
Sort of flagged this earlier. I think the first NIP game that you are in covered here
in the tournament, I seem to remember Kaspersky had some wild shots in the cave.
Yeah, remember he channeled some of the story with the AK?
Yeah, he's getting one taps.
Should people miss that? Go back and watch the highlights, but it may be something to think about too,
is if he can replicate anything like that.
It's very hard to do because it was really outrageous,
but I'd love to see Kaspersky get put back in that cave to try and take some of those fights.
He's just got a great feel for the game.
The amount of smoke kills we're seeing him get,
and not just like random sprays who have conviction.
He knows exactly what he's up to.
We'll talk over this.
Yes, not really much to report.
sweep as Liquid go up 3-1. And now the game really begins here after winning the pistol
NIP offer up three rounds in a row. It all started with Adelige M4. He'll be operating
with the MP9 going to this round as well.
Even that's interesting.
Let's see what we've got.
I just feel like they're playing more for the team, right?
Like, they... Elysia says, fine.
I'm going to be playing aggressively middle.
MP9's just fine.
That's a good point. He's the one that's going to be battling towards the elbow.
Doesn't want to risk losing the rifle,
because Bersky wants to risk his straight through this smoke.
What a maneuver.
Finds Mal.
Snappy goes down, so not a foregone conclusion.
Can't find the deny of the plant through the wooden boards there.
Now begs the question, do they go for this one?
Very difficult retake, nice grenade, and good bait and switch as well, that should be what you wrote for the round.
NIP back to their winning ways.
Now, he's back side, Zip.
He said Kaspersky has a good feel for the game, I mean, oh my God.
He delivers, he just proved the point right there.
He's so confident in his own ability.
Doesn't even take any damage for that little play.
Yeah.
instant headshot opens up the bomb site mows them down he only gets one kill without
one kill wins around let me tell you I feel like that should be prep for anyone
playing Kaspersky when he's on the T side here you got to worry about the
cave and you got to worry about the B ramp yeah he will push it he doesn't
care if the smoke is up crazy work well they do save a few weapons that
We have the AWP in the hands of Ultimate, Shui with the AK-47 as well.
Contactical timeout. We get back into the action here, ladies and gentlemen.
Third and final map.
Loser risk map has eliminated last place in the tournament.
So beautifully, they've moved that round. They've got 8,500 on Shui.
They've got almost 6000 on Nath. They've got the AK and the AWP still in the CT side.
It's a pretty good template for building something here.
Resources are strong.
Playing some confidence here, can take some risks.
Delige posted up in towards Donut, he'll be getting some action soon.
Trying to find some intel across the map here, pushing down the B ramp, it's ultimate, and
Mao's confirming the B lanes are at least clear of the bottom of the B ramp.
Mao's done a challenge here, Kaspersky's out, found out, dealt with, and now they'll
retreat.
Take the man advantage and run.
Especially getting Kaspersky out of there, the damage on Snappy and Cairn as well.
Looking very grim at the moment
Spot it's
No reason at all ultimate to repeat this one
And these will take down wrinkle
So it's just getting better now
There's another shot because he's not the only one that could do that snappy one HP shush
Nothing to do. No space in the map. All they can do is save
Liquid extend their lead four to two
These are some interesting switch ups, I feel like.
NAF usually playing the doughnut a lot more than Elysia's in the past.
I feel like we've seen Elysia there a couple of times now.
So, I guess it makes sense.
Malbs isn't being slotted in one for one for nerds.
They're not just copying all the positions.
They're trying to make him feel maybe a little bit more comfortable.
Impact's the rest of the team, obviously.
Not hunting Eereva.
I kind of like that.
No, it's absolutely fine. Your money's already strong.
Let them save two rifles because Snappy and Shush won't get any further money.
And you'll save those two AKs and now you're in a pretty nightmare spot.
Like, okay, we probably should buy. We've got enough to get our buy out there.
There'll be a weak one.
And then you'll have the advantage once again.
They've actually salvaged three AK-47s on the CT side now.
At least through the smoke a couple of times there.
Spots are traces of Ken, takes him down.
And this is looking very good for Liquid,
the most promising performance we've seen for them in some time.
Their heads in the game, Morales high.
I think especially doubling down on that last point you made,
this has been a game that Liquid have been tested in enough,
in the past, they would have broken.
They're such a brittle team, but that's not really the case here.
I actually think it's really impressive.
Ken, at mid position.
Which means he's smoking the Molotov, can't find a kill though.
Oh, he was going to be dead right there, but still alive.
Still some mid-control.
Bombless with Shush.
He's back in T spawn now, going to be running and rotating on over.
They've got some cave control as well, the NIP.
All of the pieces down there, they've been put together, but, oh my God, that's the
in-game leader of Liquid taking down Gaspersky.
Snappy again.
They do need a little bit back here, swinging for Malbs as he tries to take down Snappy
and successfully so he should push up the wrap right now
he's thinking about it too i think you're right
wants to forget he shot in the back and he's in a lot of trouble
shushers on the other side so
they just had him sandwiched in elige he's very low on health here
they don't have any needs that's not the problem here but any extended fight
and he's gonna be in trouble naf
it's time to get there with the other reikey
still
still a chance to win this not going to be easy for liquid weapons it can be done elige goes down and can
Takes the fight straight, a bit of a war cry coming out from him.
Yeah, no love lost between these two teams.
Every round we're seeing brutal headshots, ruthless aggression.
This time it's NIP coming out on top there, dominating Appy, bombsite.
Shui, you thought that might be enough to win the round, but Snappi had other ideas.
Fantastic individual output from him so far in the series.
Let's dive to the ownership!
Oh yeah, I like that.
money's still strong though we talked about the resources of liquid liquid
having plenty of cash going forward
spam coming through not connecting was it tests as we were watching that just
Yeah, kept more money before, continuously on this map.
They've put ultimate here towards the doughnuts.
They're switching out the defense quite a bit, which I like.
They've snuck a player in towards the red room.
Such a powerful position.
Ken can do a lot of damage here, but they're aware of it.
They're addressing the situation right now.
Can't allow them to have free reign of the map.
And three forces attacked.
Good stuff. Good protocols after the liquid.
Yeah, they have two people coming from Donut as well. They were ready to really pincer the middle map, but they only find one.
But what can NIP do? They've got two on A, two on B.
This guy can do something about it. Shut down by mobs.
That should be enough to win this. Five on three. No low HP players, smoke down towards long, flashbang out.
There's nobody there, so in theory, Snappy, just stay alive. If he dies, I think it's over.
If he stays here and they can get rid of Ultimate or just plant the bomb out without him, that's a shot though that seals everything and they get snappy on the other side.
This one might be worth two as well, the money is going to be busted after this one, that's if they find Rinkhul cleanly and he gets no plant, Ultimate should have it, but he dies.
Yeah, I'm feeling this now Liquid.
That four man push to the middle to take care of Ken that cut the NIP team in half, like they would just split on the map.
I guess a great protocol. Yeah, you're allowing them to have middle
It's quiet on the map. You know, they're up to something. They're sneaking around flush it out
Get that man advantage and a tactical timeout due to the lack of money
Finances are broken
They are gonna force buy into it. I can confirm that we're talking one AK one galil and pistols otherwise
guys.
These are the sort of rounds you have to bring out his executions as a rush is those BXX.
Wait for the initial you till try no more overwhelming defender.
Big fan of the a rush is especially if the CTs through the double each in middle at the
start.
The thing is the fact you've taken a tactical time out here and you know their money's
low.
This is when you probably send ultimate towards the A side of the map.
Yes.
That's when you put him in temple.
You set up the turret and you shut down that prospect.
That's the only thing that could really go wrong here.
We'll see if they do it.
That's normally the sort of call you make,
especially when they make the timeout.
You know they're up to something here.
We'll see whether Ultimate is that way inclined.
And indeed, he's gone straight towards A.
Yeah.
He's posted up in A-Meg.
This is exactly what you want to see, Anders.
There it is.
Perfect call.
Hold it. He's all around.
Started Henry.
Now, whatever set piece they had,
Whatever gimmick player they'll bring to the table, he has shut it down with confidence.
Yeah, it's really well played. On the back of the timeout as well, nothing being allowed for.
They would have loved a bomb plant, they would have loved a bit of damage in a round like this one,
but Liquid are looking smooth right now, ultimate.
Back to back double kills, I believe. Looking very careful here, but it's going to be a leash to take it instead.
He is up to 8-3 though, ultimate, and the team is looking solid.
And that alleviates pressure towards A now.
Going forward you're going to be thinking, is Ultima going to be there with the AWP?
Is he going to keep making those sort of moves and now he has freedom to move around the map?
Keep changing his position. This is an open stream. You're in the zone, you're hitting the shots.
Every move you're making is finding an opening kill.
This is going to be very difficult to shut him down.
This is a rare world-class performance from Ultima.
This is what Twist saw in him back in the day when they first joined.
Yes.
They saw this potential and when it's realized, it's very impressive.
Spurski's back on the ramp. Not as trusty AK but a D.Eagle. He's still just as confident
but they're going to be interrupted. Sui shows off. Wow. Whatever plans they had they're
gone. D.Eagle, fine. It's a kill but it shouldn't really make a difference in the round.
Elise got caught off guard by how quick Spurski's been but it's wall bangable. Sui
takes him down. He's got the quad kill now. Is he going to be able to pick up the
I mean, they only had the Eagles here, they used to get the last one, but still, great work from the captain of Liquid.
Seven to three. This is fantastic work.
I'm really enjoying the game as well.
Yeah?
Every round is exciting. Everyone's willing to take Jules.
Chewy, mowing them down this time.
Tactical timeout.
Feeling the pressure, feeling the heats.
Looking down the barrel of elimination here.
and the blast open.
Fordham game of the VRS.
They could need all the points they can get.
AK-47 still out in full force on our CT side in the hands of a lead and Shui.
Shui's a 13 and two by the way.
We had Snappy popping off as the in-game leader on the previous map.
Now Shui leading the way, top-fragging through squad, a captain's performance.
I feel like that was one of the big selling points for him.
points for him even on mouse is that he was one of the more capable in-game leaders in that sense
absolutely true round number 11 got two AKs on the CT side they got all the money in the world
they're not gonna be in trouble for that no matter what happens here ultimate in front of the
smoke in the middle and it's a nice pickup can no flashes went deep enough to stop ultimate
they will get suey this time because burski's back every time through the bloody smoke
haha yeah he can't keep getting away with this well who's gonna stop him this is
where he did so much work in the previous ancient map that we saw from
nip but oh now if you're in trouble my friends they found the gap it needs to
ambers one will not do he's only on four kills a bit of a boring game for him
there's the one you asked and he shall deliver good work snappy he gets him
down and the bomb is gonna be planted here at a minimum don't know if that's
enough for NIP they do need this round they need more than three in this fall
no Kaspersky absolutely not the spree that you wanted we've been talking
enough of a good reason but now it's all on snappy one versus three and he's
not gonna get even a chance to start that comeback it's eight rounds for
liquid first real blunder that from Kaspersky being playing a great
series. Yeah, at least doesn't even consider checking that angle. Yeah. Misses the few
bullets gives him chance to reset. Oh, you're kicking yourself foot in your mouth. Yep,
you know you've cost him the round. That's refrag baby. He was quick. Can't deny it.
number 12. Then I peek at get four. It's not over. There's the server to fight for.
Three, however. It might be. That's a grim prospect. Quick mollets off to take cave control.
Again, he's so confident in taking these fights. Smoke is up. For just a minute
second I thought that he was going to push forward into it but he's not that crazy.
Ultimate, like you said, he's been let off the leash into the middle. Kaspersky finds him
he's scoping the other way so that's unfortunate but they lose Canada the front
of that A hallway so NIP either they want to go back and retake it or they
just go now and yeah they made the second call. Oh the smoke is on top!
That's devastating. Now this is a very readable map for liquid I feel like.
Nick must be feeling like they're out in the open.
Did they just stay here and recommit to the B bomb site and hope that Elige isn't flanking
them through T spawn?
He isn't, but they don't know that.
He might as well be there because he's looking for it in the Middle East.
It could be here.
This feels like such a telegraph play from NIP, but they have no choice.
Two incendiaries, two HGs.
How do you find the bomb?
Turns out you just do it. They were a little bit late. I don't know why. They had so much utility back there
I feel like they could have done the damage. It's gonna come a little bit too late
Shush gets tagged up
Nick quits. He could have had more of an advantage here. I think this Burski
He does get grenade out of that corner. Malv's crouches in for the spray, but he can't get the kill
They know he's low in that one. Naft goes down. Shush, that's a quick reaction.
And Su-8, he has a bit of health here, but he's in the 1 vs 2 and already tagged up.
He does get the first one, but that bomb is ticking away.
He has to go straight for it. I don't think it's a no fake. He just goes for it here.
A couple of seconds left. Snapping. He's got the internal clock and he gets the headshot.
A fourth round for NIP right at the end.
17 seconds left. So this is going to be just an all-out stomp to the bomb side.
No slowing it down. They just have to rush him in, get the kill instantly,
plant it froze in his drop and that's the ball on the ground oh it's brawling
with an insane transfer it keeps it going it's a quad kill he saved his team
nice I don't know the bell is ringing my dream now but certainly ringing for
astronomers right here one versus four and it's gonna get a head shot for the
What? No way!
He actually makes it work!
That has to be just pure out, just divine intervention.
Shut up!
I can't...
I've never seen anything like that ever before.
If they're gonna get a fifth in this first 15,
This could be the round he offers it at the helm of that monster hit, Apex comes around the corner, back of electronic turned.
A double man advantage that feels like surely vitality have already gone enough, but what about that flash from SDY?
How about this hold from Perfecto? Incendiary to the right, Sumdai young turns his attention.
Oh! All three! Sumdai young and Sumdai again and again and again.
11-4, 11-round straight and a dominant overpass CT side.
Man, you see definitely a big gap providing itself. They're going to come through this.
They're on their way, set-ups here, good flashes.
Ross, he is supposed to be the way in, but he's escorted out off the premises.
Shush, this is his site, and he continues to lay down more and more from Shush.
Oh, five from the Dane!
Sometimes these work.
See if they hit the flash or not. They do.
Oh, no.
That's how it was blinds well.
Oh, rain the double-deagle!
You're not gonna...
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
When it rains, it pours.
And then rain adds in that extra secret spice.
Gives you a round like this.
Of course!
Everybody falls at the hands of rain.
It was Shui leading by example, posting 15 kills, four deaths and finding liquid eight
rounds on their CT side.
They have turned up here to play today and NIP on the back foot.
It's going to be an uphill battle. And it's the fight their way back into this one and avoid elimination last place here at the blast open
For deaths as well. So someone about how much trouble and IP we're in in that first half
We'll see if four rounds is going to be enough for them here now. They're on the CT side
What if they gots limited utility?
There's just a lot of armor here and some dualies as well the fighting in the middle almost the entire
NIP force and wrinkly is ready for this one two headshots will take down a leash and ultimate
They put four people in there and that was worth it
So far so good
Brown all done. Yeah, but looking very promising here and I've been needed this one
Making their way
Towards the A sites objective get the bomb planted now if you're liquid
They got a lot of utility, honestly Henry, if they get Ken and plant the bomb, just with
the smokes on the molotov here, they've got two smokes here, so you can smoke spawn and
donut.
It won't be easy, but there definitely is a way to get the job done.
There's the smoke to CT, smoke lands towards that donut position Ken, but they're annoyed
if they can't just find that early kill.
So far so good, but it's the 5-on-3.
Bombing plants it here.
Noichi's on the CT side, of course.
The Joules are not nearby, so they can't really stop the bomb plant.
Rounds on.
It is back on again.
There was never a defuse getting around, so now it's a straight-up fight.
Rinkle finding a bird and a fourth.
He's shut them down in the middle,
and now he's doing the same on the A bomb site.
Surely going to be hunting for the ace,
and he'll pick it up.
All of them headshots.
What a round from Rinkle.
Yeah, I love to see that.
Your Alper as well, farming a ton of cash.
He could be bring up the AWP in the first well second round. I should say
It's the bomb planted those liquid. It's something to work with that
Oh, it's a nice little rumbuz as well. Get him in position picks up the ace farming a ton of money
I can guarantee he brings out that all
Yeah, that air control right at the end looks very smooth and see if he does it
There we go does another helmet
noteably and whenever you seem to buy there open the second round it comes back
to horny most of the time I know you and I have been accommodating for a long
time we've seen it time and time again because you have no helmet and it means
you're very vulnerable to a Mach 10 at tech 9 give the orb over he's gonna be
very careful with it liquid gold for us they've taken masses amounts of
down a chair, but can't should be able to get one in the cross.
There it is.
Yeah, they take down a leash.
The bomb is there for miles.
If you're trying to get it done now for the run and gun, no helmet,
and it gets blown up immediately because Bursky though,
who just sneak in with the kill on the ultimate, should we coming back?
He can't find it with your very nice attempt.
Obviously, the bomb is not planted here, so there's not a lot of pressure
to try and find that fly.
They will just group up, they got shushed on the flank,
and they will get him at the end.
That's a strong round for Kaspersky.
Like I said, that all.
It gets into enemy hands.
All hell break, can break loose, but there we go.
Well handled from an IP.
Sweeping away, the fourth spike of Liquid,
eight to six, two round game.
It's wide open once again.
Should go to eight, seven, no problem, nothing,
but an eco-available going into round number 15 here as we get ready for the comeback.
Both of these seems to be struggling on ancient as of late. Right, it's not a great track record
for either of them. It's been all out. Bruzil are fat. This round no different. Should
be quite comfortable for Snappy here, which it is. Just one player remaining is going
All the way back in elbow
Disappointing start to the series because nuke was just so one-sided but mirage delivered the action was
Pretty much non-stop. We had double overtime
Liquid bring us onto a third map now and this third map is looking to deliver as well
87 the score line
NIP with only four rounds in the first half, but
They are right back in the swing of things here
They got a little bit of money to work with
We'll see what Lick can do now on the T-Sites.
They do have some rifles coming out.
So now is their chance to have an impact.
See if Malbs can live up to some of the hype about the mid position.
If you can find even a couple of rounds with openings, that will be worth it.
It's actually a Lige who's front and center, but again, with a very quick trade, I think
Kaspersky was not expecting that.
He thought the smoke was enough to keep a Lige away.
Ultimately sees that they're at the bottom of the ramp.
Still taking a fight.
I don't know about that for Snappy.
I feel like they had already been found out.
The recommitting to that fight I think is asking for trouble.
The problem is now they're a man down.
You almost have to take another risk here.
How do you get back in this round?
OK, they swap it out.
They give it to Shush instead.
Liquid.
Probably a good idea to wait like they are now.
You think so?
Shush in the AWP.
Slow things right down.
They vacated the A bomb side bit of a gamble.
towards B with cannon towards middle.
Time ticking away though.
Ultimate with the bomb on his back towards double doors.
Ranked one into couple here.
Good damage, but unable to find it.
Shush low.
And I think he might be done for.
He gets away with one HP.
Bomb is down there on ultimate,
but I think, yeah, they gotta push everyone else first.
I don't think there's anything Shush can do at this stage.
If there was 10 seconds less,
maybe he could find the bomb kill,
But that's not going to be the case.
Cam back here.
Ultimate is there.
That's the bomb on the ground.
20 seconds.
There is a chance.
There is a chance to throw all the smokes they could possibly
have, but they're going to get him in return.
An expensive round, a scary round in some sense there.
But two people survive for liquid.
They get it, and now they're up to nine.
Great question.
They're late
Nothing that shush could have done
That's trading indeed all right, and I peep
Desperate times here finances running low the wrinkle AWP is out and P9 for snappy they call him the caveman
See where we can have some impact here.
Can't really go over the spams.
Needs the element of surprise.
Is his teammate to take the aggro.
He can sneak through those smokes.
It's an unlikely kill on Sui.
Are you surprised at this point for Kaspersky?
Maybe not.
Shouldn't be.
He's ready for more with it from us.
I'm afraid to take the fight,
but he's going to get out to do all this time.
Snappy comes charging in.
Nearly had a leash as well.
That would have been the bomb, but Rinkle
stops Malibs in his tracks.
Now there's a minute on the clock here for Relige.
But he's had a very impressive day of Counter-Strike already.
He could define this kill on a shushy absolutely can.
Doesn't even take a lick of damage for it.
Triple kill and a 1 vs 1 now.
Rinkle's been name-plated as well. We know where he is.
Yeah.
Denyze access from spawn, get a nice open plant down.
Relige will have a flash and an HE to work with. 100 HP.
Pops things open.
Oh wow, okay. Actually pretty considerable damage there.
Spam works out so far, but can he find the fourth kill, and he swings for it?
Oh, it's a lot of damage, but it's not quite enough. I think Ringer wanted to see if he could find an orb somewhere, but yeah, look at this can.
He's so excited about this one. NIP to pick it up, and they did need this.
It was a difficult round as well. You entered with the SMGs, the Famous, a couple of rifles, and the orb.
The fact he goes through the spam net towards the end as well, giving up his position.
Yeah, he ran the full way. Normally you would say that's one of the big no-nos in Counter-Strike, stomping through like that, but not for ankle.
They can't believe it. The fact you spamper the wall, give up your spot, somehow do 50 damage, and then go on to win the round. That's remarkable.
remarkable needed that the money was getting so desperate and it still is
you can see the operator with the SMG in the hands of snappy more than happy to
take the little gun very important round this could decide the fate of this map
both teams will be brokered if they lose it galils are out in full force
what's the play here what's the setup three players towards the elbow right
now also watching a main now fortune the B double doors and creeping
through
late take a middle but the advantages
you have to run for the fire
more of a calm activity this time
snapy in the cave
that's where he lives and breathes
wrinkle is there but
snapy they might be too far apart snapy is alone now with the mp9 and that's a very nice clear water
All down a wrinkled it even if he gets one with the spacing there. He's supposed to die after just the one kill
And they're already packing up. They're saving they don't want anything to do with this
They might not even be allowed to also let's walk them behind them. Wow save call isn't working out here for an IP
Ultimate looking fantastic today when they need him most
New roster. Yes teams in a tailspin generally speaking
He hasn't been performing this season, but my god has he ever shown up today
The only thing I can say about this Anders is, it doesn't get easier from here or now.
Okay. Because if you win this game, you go on to play the loser of Mongols of Vitality.
So you might not be going much further in the tournament after this.
That's a tall order. Yeah.
But at the same time, Liquid playing the way that they are with
you know, Malves on Mirage, like I feel like.
Yeah, it's obviously unlikely they win that game, but I'd love to see them test it
just from a viewership I mean just getting a win under your belt
showing that this team can cause damage like NIP are a difficult team to put away
they are very skilled getting better and better every tournament
off the back of a tournament victory as well yeah
it's be a huge scalp to take your old build some confidence and show they're
going in the right direction with this new addition of mouths
NIP would love to see one of that's gonna open in a half my god
Elige Cattelli's been running that practice over and over again
And it's the danger man Kaspersky as well removed early top fragger delwev
As a better say is the partial by them they're all in yeah, they really went for a gear this should be it
We've already said goodbye to baits and phase and yeah, he could be next
Question here very tough round time some minutes back again 16 kills for him
He's actually catching up to Sue in a leisure this stage
Nobody's matching that output on the other side. Not quite as close to the only real candidate for it
Defenses gone. That's 11 rounds. You got a week on next
It's definitely not ideal you can say that again. Yeah, it's a rough one
Can you got to say that a k-47 to even standard chance going forward? Yeah, that's suddenly become very important
It's not just a luxury item at this stage
11-8, good chance that it could be 12.
Curious to see, the thing is as well,
they're going to know Liquid that your money is very low.
They will have called that out.
So I would be surprised if Liquid aren't prepared for some shenanigans.
Like any kind of a hallway push in around like the next one,
it's going to feel more obvious, I think,
because you are desperate on the NIP side.
See if Liquid play a slow start to the next one and just let them let them
stew a little bit in the round.
Oh, things getting rough now and I appear in the bin. Yeah.
Headstrong Liquid. I haven't seen the normal signs of frustration.
Well, we haven't had one of those disastrous clutches of fall apart
You remember against teams here at like against magic say he had that right really woeful two or one of the eight bombsite
Yeah, that was hard
Nothing like that today no back breaking rounds where you said they should be winning that but they completely fumbled nothing like that's happened today. Yeah
That's fair
See if they could survive if that ever comes around but I mean right now requires and IP didn't do that kind of thing deep made
pretty nice when you have you know five seven and an AK and some USBs doing some
damage with a nade early on could easily make the difference
in position wrinkle swings this probably gonna go down pretty quickly
they are pushing the a-hole way but it's gonna be 20 seconds before that's
in the factor in this round oh my god it's once for elimination points wrinkle
doing everything he can. A lead watching the extremities will find Snappy, this kill could
decide the round. Recovering the AK-47 as can. They have to take the eco here. Take this
round on the chamber, they've done considerable damage and they're still in the round for
now. A couple of AKs under their belts and a 4 on 3 disadvantage. 35 seconds, that clock
is rotting away and they've got players in towards A and they can definitely win
this round. NIP can keep their head above water against Liquid here. You said they hadn't
had the collapse round yet. Well, maybe it's coming up right here. 20 seconds, USB in the
corner cannon with the AK. He's going to get the first one alive. Oh, he's going to Spursky.
He won't pick up the kill, but it's not enough. They needed more than that. Rinkle
is a million miles away in Teespawn. And that's the problem. If he was part of
the action, if he was backstabbing now, yeah, they're onto something, but he
One monitor of no cap. Yeah, what can you what can you do after about five or six seconds?
They'll be considering this backstop.
I don't think you can even justify going for it. Yeah.
Yeah, I don't blame them.
I think it's close.
It really is close to working out, but.
They keep it alive, 12 for liquid, one more way from knocking out NIP.
But it's the hardest round in the world to pick up.
And there's number 13. Oh, yes.
save an AK. Oh, they do not save an AK. Good shit indeed. This is it. This is your moment.
Yep. Close it out now. Send them home. I bet you and IP don't want to go. They've been
fighting to put this squad together. Post you jerks. I feel like they look better.
I feel like they look like a stronger team in every way. Bumping into liquid right
here I moved too much nice shot from Suey he's been so deadly on this map I'm not
even sure why you're taking that battle just save the AK bro yeah you did
something for this last round really would have helped out with the utile but
in we go snappy to open things up opening advantage it for an IP but here
comes Shuey to take so well today can't hold on you said it was the
hardest round Malves and Elysia left and actually wait a minute hold the
If he were to hit that headshot Malves, I think that round was gonna be active once again
I guess they're still a minute and twenty seconds. So maybe we give a leaves the benefit of the doubts
Here's one of the most decorated rifle as you could name in counter strike
Maybe he's got a chance still they know where he is now and that's a significant disadvantage
They're gonna slowly circle around in here
the bomb is back there so he has to show up eventually just about to get shot at the
back by Ringful but he's in the cave now instead and I think Ringful is calling that out saying
I don't see him here like you guys have to be ready. I think NLP are putting themselves
in a very nice position here. This is what you don't want to stand on the bomb just
be near enough by. As I always say that didn't have the bomb. Yeah. That's okay
you don't have to contend for it at all times. He has to pick it up then go
you will win the round. If you try and deny and picking it up and force the issue, that's when things can go wrong.
I don't like this. He's got the space for it. It is a scary crossfire. If they peak at the same time, he must know that they're in there.
Can he find the right headshot to begin with? There's one. Now he's got the bomb. It's so close to getting the flick on him.
Oh, my God.
I thought there was a shot there.
There was definitely a chance.
They did want to defend that bomb. It almost comes unraveled at the seams, but
ultimately they do win the round. No harm, no foul. We keep the game going here.
NIP will find one. Elysian able to clutch in the 1 versus 3. Just a note, Elysian 20
and 12, Shuie 22 and 11. I don't think anyone's had a bad series so far. I feel
like everyone stepped up and shown that they deliver a high level on the
server yeah that's one of the reasons it's been such a good game we're blessed
to start the day like this but the long day of Counter-Strike of course yeah
mouse NZ coming up next you know surely a game they put away but you never know
that team is difficult to predict they jumped on the team side as well but he
missed the shot Kaspersky he gets one but he can't follow it up and now
Now it might be on. Nath gets another kill. Malves double for him in the round. He's a bit quiet on this map, but there should be enough to close it out.
Shush, he's so far away. Liquid, that mid-fight worked out perfectly for them. I think Rinkle missed, or could have been an easy shot with the mid-air jump there.
If he has that, it's different. But now it's all in the hands of Shush, and he's just got six kills.
On this map, it's been very hard for him to produce anything.
I don't know what combination of failure would have to happen for Liquid to lose this round,
but they don't look like they're in the mood for it.
Now they've got this covered in every direction.
He's snuck out, but he's about to be discovered as well.
And now they definitely know, yeah, the game is up here.
Liquid will send NIP packing from Blast Rotterdam.
A great performance, great morale, great vibes.
Everyone's turning up, and shout out to Ultimate as well.
as well he had so many interesting high octane AWP moments there great sequences
the community was saying the liquid of beating a dead horse with this lineup
the mouth joining the roster proves there's still life in them yet
it's been really good to see i have to say i am impressed with them i feel like they were put
to the test i mean obviously on nuke they lost but even on mirage it was hard at times and they
looked like they just they never really stopped fighting that's what i want to see out of my
my liquid. Absolutely true going down 13-3 you think okay more of the same they're
just gonna roll over and die here but they avoid last place they keep fighting
on in the blast open and it was a great game as well I don't think NIP played
bad Kaspersky especially put on an absolute clinic here a masterclass in
Counter-Strike the amount of smoke kills he was picking up NIP are gonna
be a dangerous team going forward and it's so exciting for all Counter-Strike
seeing all of these teams find these unearthed gems and finding great
players each and every time. It's unfortunate for an IP. They do go last place but still I'm looking
forward to that future. Yeah I mean there's so much to think about for them. They definitely are the
strongest they've been in many many many years but I must say for Liquid as well getting ultimate
to activate is a big part of the successful the year. Mass and win for Team Liquid unfortunately
that means NIP is out of the tournament but before we dive into that we're joined by Shuhei
here at the disc to celebrate what is a much important win I guess for you guys and a good
good start with Malta and Alaino.
Yeah, we wanted this win finally, I think slowly but surely like these types of wins
against the better teams like they need to start coming our way for us to build back some confidence
and yeah, I think this win gives us a lot moving forward.
Bummer that we couldn't do it yesterday or the day before against Spirit would have been really nice
but yeah, we will take anything.
I think it goes without saying that it's been a rough period for Team Liquid for quite some time.
Obviously, you've been around now within the organisation for a brief time as well.
Adding Malps, do you feel already by now that that's a massive step in the right direction
or is it too early to tell given that you only had a couple of days of practice?
Honestly, I think it's a big step forward for us. He's a very selfless player, so that's kind of what we needed.
and we've been lacking throughout the last couple of seasons and we're still yet to implement him fully
so we still don't know what he's capable of fully for our roster but so far a lot of positive signs
from him to us so yeah very everyone feels very happy about it.
Being the in-game leader of Team Liquid is it a player that you also think that you can mold into
something more because we have seen obviously what he was able to do in G2 when he was playing his
preferred role stairs. Is that an interesting prospect for you to work with?
Yeah, I mean, so far he's doing an amazing job, so I don't really want to change anything
up.
Hopefully he's just going to keep it up, and I don't have to change anything to him, so
he's just going to be a Super Mario on the server, and I'll be happy with that.
But of course, as time goes on, there's going to be more issues and more team problems
coming up, so that's when things you need to start solving some things, you need
to start working.
So maybe the dynamics will change at some point, but for now, we're just trying
to go with the flow and with the work that we can do, because it's not been
long time as well. From an individual perspective a lot of people have talked
about you didn't have enough aggressive forces on the server. You had Nertz who
would like to be an opener but in the mid-round he wanted to be a little more
lurky. Now you have mobs coming in and the theory is that he's going to be a
duo with Elysse where it's an opening the one one and two coming into a bomb
site and that might push you back a little bit. Do you feel like you are
going to have to play more supportive now with mobs on the roster? Not
really I think that actually I really like playing aggressive in the opponent's
face and I think that what we kind of lacked last last couple of seasons is
that this kind of backup to that aggressive style and a lot of time we
were caught like it didn't look even like a team because one guy was playing
aggressive one guy was on a different island and he was thinking about doing
something else so now we were hoping that the bringing in Mario it kind of
fills in that gap of not having this separation anymore between that aggressive style and that
more calculated, let's say, passive style.
So that's what we're looking for with Mario, yeah.
When it comes down to it, working on that style, trying to build out a system, I want
to ask about Flashy because it was talked about a lot when he came into the roster.
He's a blade disciple.
He's coming in as this kind of interesting, interesting addition.
Can you speak to how he's helped mold the team or how he's implemented his ideas into
the vision of the team?
Yeah, obviously he comes from a very experienced background with Blade.
He's learned a lot of things and every day he's also surprising us with small gimmicks
and like ideas, not necessarily ideas but like concepts in game that you could think
about much differently than you would normally do.
But at the same time he wants to learn his own way into the coaching role, so it's still
a lot of things for him to find out.
I think he's been doing a really good job for the team, and yeah, I wouldn't say that
it's like, I don't want to say anything too much here, but no, everyone is very happy
with the work.
We're all still getting to get to know what, like, Victor is still capable of.
happy with his work and every day he's just improving.
It's not often we get to pick a big brain like yours and I know who have prepared something
that he would like to share with you.
Yeah, I wanted to show, I wanted to get Pick Your Brain as an IGL.
We have this round from Mirage, it's an overtime, it might be a little tough to see, but I'll
break it down.
It's that you go for this four man mid play with one player through underpass and
you get name tagged, it's NAF that dies in mid.
I wanted to ask about your thought process when you have your A player die in mid and
a round like that.
How do you play out the round from there?
We recognized that...
It was like a small adjustment we did. It was actually from NAV.
When we were defaulting, and we were like playing towards A, like NAV was not really getting any action on A.
So we wanted him to be part of the pack a little bit more. I think it's unfortunate he's the first person getting contact on mid.
That was not the ideal plan here.
But yeah, like mid-round situation, it's kind of like mind games at that point because you know, like the A player is dead but we also know that Mobs likes to play A with him, so they don't know if Mobs is on A at the end of the day or not, so it's a mid-round call.
We were ending towards A quite often, you kind of just have to change it up.
And yeah, we're still yet to work on a lot of protocols, small protocols like this.
But I think if even from like rounds like this, one thing that we do a really good job is like adapting mid-round.
And and John Elyse is helping a lot with it.
Mario as well as giving those ideas.
So there is this like kind of constant flow and it's not even necessarily me calling around like this.
It's also someone that sees an opportunity, for example, and Malbs on B.
He's going to say that something happened at the beginning of the round that we should utilize it mid-round.
and that's why we go with a call like that.
Alright, Shuhei, before we let you go,
you're facing either the Mongols or Vitality in your lower bracket run.
I guess it goes without saying who you're hoping for.
Well, it's a tricky one.
Well, Mongols has been playing really good, right?
They had a really good game yesterday,
so it's not an easy answer here no matter what.
Last year we had some really close games with Vitality,
and that we wish we could have closed out but that didn't happen so maybe there's
something that we were good or we like playing against Vitality maybe and but
now like either way no matter who we play it's a matter of testing us and what
we are capable to do and that's gonna be the challenge whether it's against
Vitality we still want to put up a really good game and we would be
satisfied with that and whether against the Mongols yes we can fight for a
win as well, but it's about us showing up and doing better than today, for example,
like Nuke where it wasn't that good, but moving forward to the next two maps, it was much better.
Work in progress. Shuhei, thank you so much for joining us and best of luck in the rest of the term.
Thank you very much.
There we have it. Shuhei and Team Liquid move on, whereas NIP has been eliminated move. Before
we dive into NIP, anything in particular that stands out from this in tune?
Yeah, I mean it's actually a really interesting take on how they're going to play with mobs on the roster.
I mean, he's talking about kind of a little diverge from what we're expecting, where you expect that it's going to be Shuhain maybe taking a step back,
being a little bit more of a supportive element instead of, and then allowing mobs and Aleesh to actually be the aggressive players, the aggressive tandem.
He's talking about maybe we have all three of us can be aggressive and we're more on the same page.
It's actually a really interesting kind of change up, I think, what we're expecting.
some interesting thoughts can we keep him sure whether yeah I'd say so I mean
overall it's a work in progress as he's describing right now a player and a team
you know that's been struggling for a long long time and and as he said like he
doesn't want to say too much but it was clear to to sense from that interview
that there's been a lot of struggle internally within that team in terms of
defining the roles in terms of defining what's going on in that
regard so I think it's nice to hear from him and it's nice to see liquid
finally finding a bit of success early days you know it's just one
win, but at the end of the day it's better than being an AP right now.
Speaking about the struggles, I was over talking to Snappy from NIP and he had some choice words
about their exit here.
Snappy full series here, but still out after two series.
What's your assessment of NIP's time here at the Blast Open?
I mean, we at times play really good series, but just had some serious issues with closing
out games and it's starting to become really frustrating to be honest and yeah I think
we do crucial mistakes at crucial points in the game really stupid mistakes we quite frank
and I know how to solve it to be honest because a lot of it is just individual decision making
that just lacks tier one experience I would say.
We do some really bad stuff at times and I mean I don't know how many times we
We should win Mirage, but we do overpeaks when we shouldn't, and we are hiding when we shouldn't.
It's kind of like a balance always how to play and starting to get really on manned
nerves also, perivision ancients, so what can you do?
I can feel the frustration obviously coming from you, not hiding that too much.
Is it a consistent issue that you see in those mistakes or what happens?
It's a sure one, it's pissing me off, it's consistent.
We need to keep thinking we break it, but then it's like we lose our heads and we lose
our vision as a team.
It's everyone, it's me, it's everyone.
We lose track of the map, we lose track of the situations and it's frustrating.
I guess we're going into some tunnel vision at times and people don't listen and we
just need to get better at it.
I think the only way to do it is to get some success experiences and to work hard and talk
about what it is that happens in these situations.
I think that's what we need to go home and do.
We still have a chance to go to the Major, at least if we play well at stake.
But everyone here would have made it a lot easier, so it's obviously frustrating not
coming out with one, especially because I think we've got to one both matches.
Understandable there.
Even though I was speaking to exist in the pre-game, he was echoing some of
these ideas that you sort of need that statement when to build a little bit of
confidence to turn the corner what's your your focus going into that next event
trying to make the major of trying to to battle through for the team I mean I
think go home crack hard and then like maybe try to see if we can simulate a
little bit of official or like try to maybe play with some higher focus I
I don't really know what to say to be honest because how do you solve this?
I don't know like I think it's maybe maybe we need to talk with our sport circle just a lot about what happens in these situations
Not mincing words there is snappy clear with his frustrations
I mean you could tell he's pretty hot coming off of the server
Just really trying to go at this tilting at windmills trying to fix the same problems over and over again for IP
I love the fact that he's saying it how it is
I think it was pretty evident to everyone who was watching this game in particular on Mirage the overpeaking the amount of times
I was sitting in the green room, you know yelling what are you doing? Why are you peaking?
There's a smoke landing in two seconds. Why are you repeat it? It felt like as he said every single player within NIP
We're showing a bit of that inexperience. You know, there's no doubt that the team is talented
There's no doubt that there's a lot to work on within NIP
But the constant issue of overpeaking and as he described it losing tech
track, sorry, of advantageous situations is something they got to solve because at
the end of the day I don't think NIP were much worse off than Liquid in this game.
I think it was a very close one. It could have been a 2-0 for NIP but when you
make mistakes that they say is almost at a kindergarten level then you're prone
to lose when you're facing better teams. One thing is losing to Team Liquid
but whatever NIP is facing someone better that will be punished nine out
of ten times. So I understand the frustration coming up from Snobby
because I was feeling it just an hour ago. That seems to be the mystery of
of NIP for the last quite a while now.
It's that they play any team above them
and it feels that they don't have the firepower
to actually fight against them individually.
But then when they try and go a bit more tactical,
things fall apart because people are over peaking,
they're missing needs, they're doing plays
that they know they shouldn't be making.
And so they really can't,
they're not even an upset team at this point.
I think firepower is the least of the issues.
I don't disagree with that statement.
It's more so the decision making
that don't have at all,
which is why I want to revert back
of what I've spent saying a lot of the times when people at home criticized Snappy for doing
a lot of out of spawn calls, you know, and doing a lot of set plays, which he also did
in this game. The reason why he's doing it is most likely that he doesn't trust his individual
players to make the correct decisions in 3v3's 4v4's, which at the end of the day today
cost him the game as well. It was the exact same issue complexity had when Elise was
still part of the lineup, where JT could set up the team well from the beginning.
Whenever they would find themselves in a 4v3, 3v3, you know, Mike, you've been
watching a lot of the games, they would find ways to crumble. They would find ways to lose
scenarios they shouldn't be losing. I get the same sense that NIP is just the European version
of complexity, which is in this case, is not a company.
I think if you want to look at NIP and question their problems, why does Snappy call so many
execs late in games? Watch that Mirage game. Every time they went for a default, they
would get an entry some of the time, but it would just get thrown away and they'd
lose the round. He's got no choice in the late game. He has to go for execs,
Otherwise, the team is just going to fumble it.
NIP, the European complexity, well,
they both spent some serious time with config,
so maybe that's a connection issue as well.
I mean, I look, the thing is just
that it's struggling to find that answer to break through.
It's frustrating when you're the more experienced player,
when you're like, I understand how you be in these situations
and when when you're snappy, even when you're a shush
as well, right?
But the reality is just you have
to get there for the young players.
Exists touch on it in the pregame.
You need that statement win.
You need that breakthrough to have the confidence
to think we belong in this server.
We know how to play these situations to calm those nerves.
The problem is just that you do have to be able to beat them
before you really have it all set.
I think that's the positive angle for me,
that I firmly believe NIP have the talent to get there.
But even, I'm not sure I agree with getting a win
would solve those issues.
I think there will be underlying issues,
time and time again, even complexity.
If you want to keep holding on that one,
they also got big wins,
but that didn't remove the core of the issue.
So it takes time as Snappy was describing,
they have to go back, they have to discuss it out,
talk it out and as he also said it's not one player it seems like a culture within
the team that it's almost okay to overpeat because everyone's doing it.
It does also feel like there's a comparison to the team that's setting up behind us right
now in terms of mouths of being able to rise to a certain level and then seeing the same
kind of mistakes pick you apart although this is a caliber below.
We know for NIP they do have chance but we've already talked about it this stake
ranked event is pretty stacked actually there's some very tough teams there so it is going
be a real battle from NIP to make it out of that and make it to the major.
You know what? This matchup was the biggest win face head all tournament. It made
their chances of qualifying for the major slightly higher. So congratulations,
face. You got something. Yeah, I think if you want if you're a face fan in that
you want them to destroy and rebuild better, you wanted NIP to win that
game. Unfortunately not. NIP go out and that means face has a decent chance.
Yeah. Let's touch on some nice things for Liquid before we take the break here
because they did show up quite well in that final map in particular a leash
coming in with a really high calibre of play. Shuei having a really nice game and then joining
you on the desk to talk about it. What do we see from Liquid after this series?
I sense a certain amount of positivity coming out of Shuei and of course you do that when
you just win a game but as we discussed already I don't think this is the tournament where
we fully get a grasp of what Liquid is going to be for the future but we see early signs.
Not only did Elise play well on Ancient, not only did Shuei play well on Ancient but
Melts over the course of this series I think found an awful lot of impact. He was the
the catalyst behind the Mirage win that kept them alive.
So I see more positives than negatives.
And if anything, what my main takeaway
from that interview is that it sounded like there's been
a lot of issues, you know, in terms of the role
and voices within Team Liquid and removing nerds
and bringing in melts is gonna solve a lot of them.
At least that's what Shuhei believes.
And if he believes that, then I tend to do as well.
I think they have to be hopeful
because if they're not hopeful, then what are they?
They're just gonna lose, right?
Like you look at that Liquid team
and it's nice to get a win against NIP,
but they've already beat them twice in the past with different roster.
They had Crimbo standing in and they still won 2-0.
This time they go for a 2-1 win.
Look, I'm happy with the interview.
I'm happy with the way Malph's looked.
I'm happy with the direction the team's going in.
But does this win really say anything to me?
No, it says absolutely nothing,
other than, well, I suppose it says,
they're not completely collapsing from the get-go.
It's the upcoming game again.
There's either Vitality or the Muggles.
That's the big test for Team Liquid.
They didn't really pass it against Spirit, beating NIPs to be expected.
Now, can you punch or bob your weight already by now by beating a team like Muggles
who I anticipate will drop down in the lower bracket?
To me, that's the big task.
If they get Vitality somehow, some way, then they can ride this tournament
off and be like, good practice, guys.
Well, for Liquid, it's addition by subtraction and addition by addition.
And I'm no mathematician, but I'd say that's pretty dang good.
We'll see if it's enough to sink them further in this tournament.
But for now, we take a break.
And you're young and you're just starting. It looks hard. For me, it looked like maybe
I'll never make it because it's just there's so many things you need to do to get to the
top. It's obvious nowadays that you need to be good and face it. But I do think that
you need to start playing with a team because that's how you're going to stand out if
you have better communication than others. If you understand rotations, if you understand
how TMCS works.
That was one thing that stuck with me.
It's being a sponge to take in things
and you can't dissect it in a way what is useful to you.
I'll give you an example.
We must join Maus.
So I started watching him and I could see his mechanics
he was really curable of spray transferring.
And he just said he's doing a lot of aimbots before games.
And I started doing that.
I could see my spray transfer now improving.
If you have an individual Braille lens
and you have poor mental,
It's really not going to work.
Maybe it's going to work for a short time, but not always.
It's a combination.
Both of these things helping each other.
In 2005, 2006, I was really good at the game.
I was 16 years old.
Every time I played some of the better players in the month,
they told me I was cheating.
You needed to somehow make it to a team
or make your own team
and qualify for the biggest tournaments
and then play your mind off there.
I had like a team of me and a few friends
and then we started playing ESA Open back then.
And some of those games were shown on HLTV
and that's how we started playing some more official games
where people could watch us.
Nowadays, you can be number one and face it
and you're getting a contract and email
from 10 organizations who are top 15 in the world
because they wanna take chances of 16, 17 year old kids,
sign them on contract, low salary,
make them be able to play and lift the game
and by then selling them to for a $300,000.
I would say it was more difficult,
But then again, if you are so much better than the others,
someone's going to notice you.
There is one guy called Donk who I thought
would crush his performance on a catch
which is fine against us.
But I have never been wrecked as much as that.
He just handled like a pro.
To loop theirs, I would just say, if you just
keep believing and keep working hard,
everything is possible.
That's going to be on more cases in the future
where the players are not living up to expectations.
And then they'll go back to the ground
and perform even better later at the stage,
as long as they believe.
This was me just six weeks ago before I started my training program, commentating, stressed,
depressed.
But look at me now.
Headshots.
Another headshot.
Headshot again.
It really is that easy.
I'm here to teach you competitive Counter-Strike on maps such as Dust 2, the Power Plans, and
of course, Morang.
And that's not all.
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With the Henry G system, you'll get your professional player certificate in no time.
Have a look at mine.
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say, years of practice are required. They're wrong. I will teach you good habits such as
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need to memorize all of the smokes of course. Just the coolest ones such as mids, the other mids,
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and this smoke will land somewhere near a bomb site. The enemy will not expect it
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This state has been the beating heart of Counter-Strike for 25 years.
Personally, I'm going to be taking a trip to Henry G's spot as soon as possible.
What a way to intro this matchup, 9C entering the arena to match off against Maus.
Maybe not the team that are hoping to find a lower bracket.
Now, a little hard done by, if you're in IC, considering that you have to go up against a mouse who,
sure, as of recently have shown weaknesses and as of recently have shown that they are a team that
definitely can be beaten even by teams below them, but at the end of the day, anything,
I just want to say this from the get-go, anything but a mouse 2-0 right here would be a massive
disappointment. I think we're not in an arena right now, we're not in the playoffs, I think
mouse are safe to bring home a 2-0 right now. In the group stage, they are the most consistent
team, not named Vitality.
I'll take it, I'll allow it, we'll get into it, we'll unpack it a little bit more later
on.
9z as well going to be backs against the wall desperate here to prove that they belong
at the international level of Counter-Strike, taking them a long time to get back to an
event like this.
They need to show something here.
It would be nice if they showed something, I think that's a better way of putting
it because I don't think that that's the level that they should be aspiring
to for now.
You know obviously getting into Europe, getting some good practice within Europe, getting
some experience against teams like Maus, that's always going to help you, but I don't think
that's a realistic goal for 9C as of right now, so the way I kind of anticipate this
matchup is that anything they can give me that is exciting, that is interesting, whether
that being from how they approach the game as a team or any individual popping off against
Maus, that would be a positive, but at the end of the day I feel like this game
is a freebie in that sense that I have no expectations.
Unfortunately I have to agree that this is just, you know, you've played 9C
against almost any other of the top teams, you even play them against the Mongols,
play them against a liquid if we're saying sub top teams and play them almost
any other team in this event other than vitality in mouse and I can say this is
where they can prove themselves this is where they should show something bring
us at least the three maps but they're playing against the two teams in this
event that are the most confident the most comfortable taking down teams
below them regardless of style they've already lost a vitality I think it's
gonna be another loss to mouse well we'll have to find out about that
We'll have to check in but check in with Maus. I caught up with Jimmy
Jimmy coming into this matchup. I want to ask first off about the opening game a bit of a stinker by you guys the standards
What do you think happened?
To be honest, I think Mongols of course it was we didn't play up to our standard
We kind of let ourselves down in a way
but at the same time I feel like Mongols was playing like super good all of them were really sharp individually and they came
really prepared for the game I would say and
Yeah, I don't have much to say about that game in the bonus, I think they just were much better than us in that matchup, in that day, and yeah, that's about it.
I saw an interview with your guy, Brolin, where he said he thinks being in the lower bracket is kind of a good thing, because you can't lose anymore.
What do you think about those words?
I mean, I think there's some truth behind it, of course, and for me as well, like lower
bracket, you cannot afford mistakes, of course, but at the same time, you get to play more
games in a way, you know.
Now you need to win three games, I think, to get to the playoffs, and yeah, that's
what we aim for.
And yeah, I think we just need to take it like game by game and see who we will face,
and yeah, today we will face 9G, so I hope it will be an exciting match.
The conversation with you guys is always pressure, pressure, pressure comes up again.
This is a different kind.
Do you like this kind where it's elimination, it's do or die?
Yeah, I mean, I think in some way, of course, it puts a little bit more pressure, of course,
because you cannot afford the mistakes.
So I say it like, you need to play your best, or at least play better than the enemy to beat them, you know?
And yeah, even if you win like two games, you still have one more game to win,
and still you cannot afford any mistakes.
So I think there's a lot on the line of course, but at the same time I think usually we have been good in these kind of situations.
I mean we haven't been that much in this situation in the group stage I would say, it's more in the playoffs of course,
but still I think we are not, I mean I would say that we are still confident going into these games
and yeah, I just want to see how we will play to be honest.
Now, speaking about that opponent, you've got to play better than Nynzee on the other side.
What do you think about them?
Nynzee is a really interesting opponent because obviously they haven't played a lot in Europe recently
and the wins they have is against the Brazilian teams or from South America.
So I think there's not much to say.
Of course, we are really excited to play against them,
But at the same time I think we just really need to play our own game in a way
and just play like we usually do because I don't think there is much preparation we can do in a way.
And I think it will just be really interesting to play always like one of these teams
because they usually bring something new to the table with the style or
like with some new gimmick rounds or some new gimmick plays.
so I would be excited to see what it will be today.
Some thoughts coming through from Jimmy.
It sounds like he's confident, right?
If we read between the lines, he's saying,
well, you know, we need to play our best
or at least better than they are.
Seems like Maus expect that even their B game
might be enough today.
And I think that's a fair assessment.
You know, I would love to be lying.
I would love to be sugarcoating it.
I'd love to try to build excitement
that doesn't really exist.
But I think within the mouse cam as well,
they firmly believe that this is a game
that just needs to get passed.
Obviously, as he's saying, you cannot afford to make mistakes.
You cannot afford to come in unfocused or not getting the job done.
But for the mouse cam, you know, whether you get knocked out last,
the blast or second to last doesn't really matter.
The only thing that counts for them now is finding their way to the playoff.
I think his biggest struggle in that interview was holding in his will to say,
we're going to stop them.
We're going to destroy them.
They have no hope.
They have no chance, because that's reading between the lines
of what I would think if I was him.
That's what he would be saying.
I think it's very fair. I think it is very reasonable coming through, but I am a little bit concerned just with how one-sided that second map lost against the Mongols, right?
I think that's fair to touch on. Not just that the Mongols can beat Maus in a series, but that they stopped them on Maus's map pick.
That's where the distress comes in for me.
Me too, and then when you hold that up against what they did at Pro League in the playoff as well, now we see a pattern, you know, where it's not looking too great for Maus.
Clush wasn't a success either. It's been hard for them to give us that feeling of, okay,
it's still the team that is the closest to get into the grand final. It's still a team
we can count on showing up every time. Now for the first time, I think in basically ever since
they added Spinks, one Clush over a year ago and then they've been consistently the second
or third best team in the world, I think that position could be in Jebedi unless they
re-cope, unless they come back and make it deep into the playoff here in Rota.
I'm going to say that I'm worried about a Mao's implosion.
They are a team where they go into a tournament like they did,
and you're expecting vitalities not there,
that they're a team that should be at the very least in the final,
and they're starting to slip from that position.
And there's only so long you can retain being a semi-final at best team
before people start arguing, people get on each other's nerves,
and your team does eventually start to collapse.
And this could be the beginning of it,
but this would be a very surprising if this was the match where it showed.
I think the next round is where we're seeing it.
Well, maybe we're voicing some doubts here on the desk at times,
but I will tell you who's not doubting in the vision of Maus.
And that is Maus's management because they have announced extensions
for the contracts of their coaching staff.
That would be Cyclone, who's received a lot of praise
and ZipX is well coming in as the assistant coach.
So there's full faith coming through from the management,
putting them behind their coaching core.
I think that's fair.
You know, I think it goes without saying that Cyclone has done
a tremendous job with Maus to put him in the position they're in.
Sypniks as well, being his assistant coach, I think if you were to say it,
probably the best assistant coach in the world.
You know, the fact that he's willing to still have that position,
to take a step back and be the secondary voice in that partnership,
that's a great thing for Maus and it's a great resigning.
Don't let Apex hear that. He'll come out and fight you for that one.
But we can get into Coach of the Year awards and fight for the quality.
But we'll focus in right now on 9C
because they are going to bring their A-game,
and they are going to try and prove that they belong at this level of play.
They can knock a mouse off the pedestal, so to talk to them, I caught up with Max.
Max, coming into this matchup, mouse on the other side, tough opponent.
Where do you think your team's at?
What's your confidence on the roster?
Oh, I think our first match was not good for us, because they are the best team in
the world and we can play our game, so we talk a lot of things to change for this
game today.
And when we talk about that own game, you've been playing domestically in South America
for a while, right?
It's a little bit of a different style over here.
How much do you have to change?
How much do you have to adjust to show what you're capable of?
Oh, we are glad to be here in Europe because we can practice and play against the best
team in the world.
So it's so different.
The styles from playing in South America is everything more fast.
And here, the round sits ending with 20 seconds, 5 to 50 seconds, so it's a little bit different.
But we are learning from that and trying to be a better team.
And your opponent today, Maus, also a tough opponent.
They've had a couple of bad series lately.
What do you think?
Are they vulnerable?
Ah, they are the top three team in the world right now.
I see a lot of demos of them.
I think they are a great team.
They have a lot of fight power.
But who knows, if we play good CS, maybe we can chill Cheezer then.
Any tricks up your sleeve?
Yes.
Ah, try to sleep well and I hope to the game today was the communication must be really
good and be active, taking decisions and that will be good for us.
I think Max was about to reveal something to me and caught himself and was like, you
know what, we're just going to sleep well.
You know, well, Racer coming on into this one.
Still, it is the comparison, right?
9-Z aren't fools about who they're facing.
They know the opponent.
The other thing is that there is a lot of tape out here
about a mouse, and maybe some of those gimmicks
Jimmy was mentioning can come into play.
Yeah, true, and that to me is the interesting angle
when you look at this matchup.
But again, everyone expects Maus to win this game.
But if we can see something coming out from 9-Z
that gives us hope that next time they'll be back
in Europe, that they can be competitive
against the likes of Liquid,
as you name it, the team beneath Maus for now at the Verdi.
So whether that comes from individuals,
whether that's come from DGT,
who I think has been a great, I guess,
resigning into that lineup.
He had a short stint in pain gaming
where he didn't really found his footing,
didn't really do too well.
Now he's back in 9C, he's doing a great job,
you know, performing, putting out great numbers.
There's different storylines
that you can find within this game,
but they're all in isolation to 9C as a team
and not in relation to the game against Maus,
where I feel like we kind of know the outcome
or at least expect it outcome.
If we say there's any chance of an upset,
I would say we can look at that Mongol series.
We can look at that loss, the devastating loss
they had on their own map pick and say,
if 9-Z were to show up individually
at an incredibly high level and catch Maus off guard,
they could pull off something like what Legacy did
at the major long ago, where they could just,
they can topple the defense.
They can start running them over
and I think if you can get Maus in their own head,
you have a chance,
but the chance for that is still very slim.
On top of that, it's a team that's grinding.
I was looking up the HLTV stats yesterday in the prep for this game.
As you can see, DGT, he's been back now within this lineup for a couple of months, 78 maps.
I know a lot of them is against, you know, domestic opposition, not necessarily teams
that the normal viewer of Counter-Strike is familiar with, but when you grind out that
many games, you're learning a lot, you're getting a lot of playtesting, you're learning
what strat is working, what kind of communication is working when we're winning, what is
not, etc., etc.
And that has been the catalyst behind a lot of success from the up-and-coming
teams that they're willing to grind, willing to play qualifiers, willing to play online
tournaments 24-7.
I think this is something that's key to note for anyone who might be less familiar with
South American Counter-Strike.
It was something that Max was touching on the interview as well.
Even for teams that we know can be competitive that can play this sort of international
European style of Counter-Strike, your 9-Zs, your Imperials, when they go overseas they
can play that style.
When they go domestic, you have to adapt.
People play so fast, so balls to the walls in South American Counter-Strike that
But even teams that would prefer to play a slower style are just forced to match pace,
so there is always a little bit of that adjustment, and that's something that we're going to have
to see 9-Z adapt to very quickly.
Yeah, and it's going to be tough for them.
That's also why I'm saying, you know, I don't expect 9-Z to come in here and have
aspirations to win the game, but I would love to see them being able to do that, because
they are right now one of the more interesting teams coming out of their region, and if
they consistently will qualify for tournaments of this calibre, then they better learn
it one way or another against mouse and vitality.
Like it's very, very tough for them.
Let's be completely honest.
True off, if not the two best teams in terms of consistency in group states over the course of the last six to twelve months.
So if you're on IC, you're just hoping you get something out of this.
I wanted to hear a little bit more about what they might be hoping about this matchup.
So I spoke to both teams. Go ahead, give it a listen.
Yeah, I think it would be a brawl today. It would be a lot of trading.
And they will definitely try to force the game on us.
We definitely want to play the more intelligent game today.
So yeah, hopefully this doesn't backfire and then we close it out comfortably against them.
How are you going to beat them?
what's the key and not respecting them i think the first game we did that a lot
we respect much than they deserve and i think that's the guy so full disrespect
yes today yes i will press the w a lot sometimes you just got to press a little
w view yeah i think against vitality they tried to play it a little slow and then they ran into
rops and zywoo and realize that maybe that's not the solution and mous don't
have a rops or a zywoo but there's still plenty good enough to be fearsome
when you play a more slowed down more tactical style. We're gonna dive into the
maps here because it's almost time for the game so let's go ahead and check out
the veto.
Is there anything you could do here if you're 9z to give yourself an edge?
Not really but there's something mouse can do to give them an edge if
they're willing to gamble a little bit or a change up, you know, what map they'll pick
or what map they'd veto. Again, why would they? But at the end of the day, it is a bit
of a testing ground for mouse. So maybe they would be picking a map that they normally
on the normal circumstances wouldn't be entitled to do.
I would say the interesting thing here is the Dust 2 pick from 9Z, because you look
at their maps played, I think overpass is their most played map, overpass is one
of their highest win rates. But mouse look beatable on Dust 2. Mouse, once upon
a time they were one of the best teams in the world on Dust 2, then they perma
and now it's forced back into the pool because they permaband a new best.
So it is a map where they have a bit of weakness.
It is a map where they do look beatable, but still you're expecting it to.
Which is why I like that we're starting out on Dust2,
because that is to take it into this game for NIC.
If there's any hope, any chance whatsoever of a third map of a potential upset,
they have to win Dust2.
And I, we would rule, that is probably the best chance they have.
We'll have to see if they can do so.
Nuke to be our decider as well.
and I have to try and find the pressure points here to make this mouse team uncomfortable.
It seems like, if anything, it's a team where there's a lot of pressure on the line
versus a team that realistically doesn't have much to lose.
Doesn't I think the best we can hope for is that 9c gets off to a strong start.
You know, hit that W key from the get-go, apply a bit of pressure to mouse from the get-go.
We have seen mouse, you know, shown weaknesses that we haven't seen prior.
You know, it wasn't looking great at Pro League.
It hasn't been looking great so far this tournament.
The fashion, as you said, as well, they lost to Mongols was not pretty.
So maybe a strong start from 9c could you know seek some some doubt when the mouse came and that could open up for the match
But if they don't win pistol if they don't convert if the name good after a strong start if it becomes a game of grinding
Then we know mouse is the better team. Hey if Mongols with a chair with Mara tape to it
It's capable of blowing out mouse. I'm willing to say 9c have a chance
They have a chance give it a percentage. Yeah five percent five percent. That's generous
I'd give them four four percent five percent. We'll have to find out what poly market thinks but for now
It's time to find out what our casters think because it's time to dive into the server with Anders and Henry G
Thank you very much gents great work on the desk there
And yeah, I'm in the mood for a brawl and is dust to the perfect way to kick things off here
And I feel like it's the right mentality from 9c. They have the whole W
They have to get stuck in and maybe just maybe there's a chance
Yeah, bit of a luxury sometimes not being the, you know, the, the more favorite team you're the on the dog in this one
Nobody expects you to beat mouse. Maybe that's how you could do it in terms of thinking I try not to do it
Henry, I'm just here to watch the couch. I appreciate that Anders and we'll be getting ready
But a pic of 9z of dust to momentarily
I think it goes without saying mouse are beyond the favorites at this point
It would be a calamity to imagine a world where they lose this game, but bear in mind Anders
There is some pressure here and Maus on a team known to do well under pressure. This is a lower bracket game
We used to assume that they could at least always make the quarterfinals and then and battle their way through these tournaments
Right losing the foot losing among goals if they lose to 9c
That's a that's a totally different caliber of team to the other two. I don't really want to see it happen
I've been there for enough in that place and that's a pay from the community right now is that it's true
Let's see if they can step up today the plucky underdogs 9z taken on Maus
and we will see them start on the T side.
It's going to be a smoke couple of flashes
and three players towards the B-tannels, ladies and gents.
Torgie trying to assert his dominance.
You feel like him against Mayen is going to be an interesting battle,
but on this map, I think Mayen might be able to give him a run for his money.
Yeah, we're all about that, Henry.
You might not believe it, and you have to factor in the opposition,
but he is the third best CT side AWPer in the world right now, man.
So, that's part of us too.
Saewoo and Shearer 1 and 2 and then Mayhem sneaking in before Monosy.
It's a great hit there. Let's see what happens.
Okay, well here we go. They're on the catwalk though. 9c, I think the desk is right.
Winning a pistol round here could really be epic for them.
They're all set up for it and it's gonna be very fast. There's not gonna be a lot of warning.
In fact, there is just one flash in the sky. They jump down and that's the way to get started.
Spinks is out of it. Pro-Land's gonna go down next.
a couple of good kills to start with exertion. He's in the back. I'll buy that goose position, but nothing he could have done. That's a lot of power. Nothing too flashy there. Get some short short control. Flood in towards the A side hold W and hit your head shots on roots. That's what they needed. A pistol victory.
of nine Z four versus one Jimmy has got Jules and Kevlar, right? I know it's always a bit weird saving on the pistol
And he's he can get a helmet he can drop those Jules going forward get himself a Famous. Yeah super important
You're you're playing the percentages you're playing a long game in this one
And that's the thing like sure you won this pistol convincingly, but I dare say there's a good chance mouse will win the second round
They're definitely up for it. See if they could bring out a sculpt maybe even maybe roll and will be the one to pick
Probably would be broda. Why not?
So Jimmy comes he takes no damage gets the helmet for $350 going forward as I mentioned
He'll drop the jewelies for someone else give itself an MP9 or a Famous and the protection of the head
Really nice walk though. You can see that mid to B smoke down isolating the jewels and CT spawn was so deep
with the dry buys and
It's a good start so we can really hope for
So there it is Jimmy doesn't go for the helmet goes to the MP9
I think you have a sense of smoke as well.
Not a single SMG on the T side.
They really don't want to be losing this round. Are there any circumstances?
We could blame them.
All the classic utility being used, middle.
Smoke that has become just a mainstay of the scene.
Should be a bit of a gimmick at the beginning.
Novelty item, but now everyone does it. Clearing out catwalk, we all know what this looks like.
I mean, Dust 2, it's not a technical map. No. It's a good place to kick things off here with
UNI-NZ. There's not many tactics or fakes or ruleways that can pull you around the map.
It comes down to raw, fragging ability essentially. Everyone's running the same execution.
Every team will run these smokes. So that's why I think it's the perfect battlefield.
Let's see if you can get past it. Like I said, there's a good chance that mouse will win the second round forced by you might have had him in the pistol, but you've got a lot of work to do here.
You're getting dinked, you're getting owned, and Jimmy and Zersh can go to town. This is looking very convincing now.
Bomb goes down. It's an absolute scramble to try and get it towards B, which is technically open. Oh my God, this is combative, guys.
They didn't even want a bomb plant.
They crossed middle, and then they threw the smoke to CT spawn afterwards.
Yeah, they've already lost one player the bomb was down
I think Luchov they was trying he was trying to jump through the window to get into the bomb side, but that didn't even work
You said mouse could win the second round. That's actually what they honestly I thought they would
Like the fact that Jimmy's gonna have an extra firepower. Yeah, and bring out that Famous as well by him surviving
Yeah, it is felt like that was a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately
That might be all they get I'm not gonna lie to you mouse are just above and beyond this squad
Like pound for pound in every faster. Yeah after the game of Counter-Strike they're gonna happen be they played vitality yesterday
They got dumpster like 13 3 13 3 which used to be expected that would happen against even some top 10 teams
Oh, yeah, but 90 with the golden ticket here to get some experience against some of the world's best
Opening up against vitality that into mouse after they lose the Mongols. It really isn't a great route
Yeah, not not a challenge what they were hoping for but I think their mentality is the right one though
So try and keep the pressure on, see if you can find some way to make Mouse feel more uncomfortable.
Mouse himself said at the start of the game, I appreciate that from Mike.
He was asking them, you know, how they're going to approach the game.
He said, we're going to try and play the more intelligent Counter-Strike, you know,
the smarter Counter-Strike for Mouse.
That's probably how you win this.
Yeah, you don't want to get pulled into that chaos.
And well, not having any of it.
This was by, there's nothing.
Sons of things to calm him afraid.
It's likely.
spin you a narrative as to how 90 can win this but unless they converted that
pistol victory I feel like we're working down the barrel of a 10-2 half here but
Spinks as well he is in some rare form sure they crashed under the quarter
finals of EPL but he was at the number one player throughout stage two of the
tournament yeah by a long margin like he is playing incredibly well right now
you don't get it wrong either I mean we would love to see 90 come up with a
big surprise here. It ain't no board immediately. It ain't no
happen. I just but I doubt it as well. I'm only saying that's in
front of Manifesto. Okay. The counter jinks. The counter
jinx. Exactly. That's what I'm going for. Well, it's listen,
it's been known to happen before so I'm not going to rule
it out.
Fourth round here. Obviously, just a glock. So, there is
nothing that really can be manufactured in this kind of
around. Even then, you can see mouse are very
They know what's on the other side almost certainly already.
And in spite of that fact, we're not seeing crazy fights down the middle or anything else.
They are sticking to where they need to be pretty much.
Maybe you think 9Z have a chance here.
Maybe you've got a hunch in the back of your mind.
If you'd like to get involved, you can live-trade the game on polymarket.com.
They are the official prediction market of Blast Premiere.
Yes, be a crazy thought. I think they can do something with this game, but I haven't watched many 90 games. I don't know potential. I know they've got some good players.
They do have some very good players not to be underestimated. It's just that the opposition is very strong here. Spinks will handle makes it a quick quality before Jimmy comes in with the last one there.
But yeah, I would say they've got some interest. That's only GT is someone who's worth looking at.
It's just that at this level of counter strike you're up against such fierce opposition, but
Definitely, this is a team that could do some damage and even max and wazel peak
I think in the past have have delivered really great rounds of counter strike. So
They've got the talent for it, but
Not easy
Well, they got some rifles out once again
AK's couple of galeels
four people long for mouse that's wild at the start of the round they leave Jimmy
alone at B I guess they for it for my money he's the best B anchor and
dust two in the entire game let's go so I know that's a hyperbolic statement but
I think I might be on the something it is in good form very difficult to get
him out of that bomb site that's one of the huge qualities of him as a
rifle it's just a reliability. And he's like, again, I keep
bang on a bit. Yeah, but he'd be old Jimmy was like a
resurgence for him. Stage two. Yeah, we had old school Jimmy.
We're 2024 Jimmy.
See up.
Such a big part of the game now.
It's a pretty nice block of smoke. Yeah, since the last
day we had like it's a very significant body block you can
do these days. Yeah.
That completely nullifies it. Now in fact, he's playing in
front of it here if they don't know see how careful they're being another smoke
being set up but they're down to 40 seconds and this is a bit slow they're
gonna shut the back of the Brawlers oh no Mayan turns around Brawland was
flanking them from long that could have been the end of the round for them
right then and there but heads up play good work for Mayan. Good awareness but
you've got to get past the final boss here Spinks the absolute star player of
this squad chomping at the bit ready to be activated the H is being deployed
towards you trying to take the aggro the swing will come in momentarily can he
find multiple kills you better believe he can there's the double looking for
more Jimmy will back him up and spins rips off another head it's DGT the
backstab will do nothing two seconds remaining and that's the problem you
have to man advantage you have the space but you have to take down these
these sort of players. I wonder if they got tricked by their own Molotov because it clears
nearly the corner. Absolutely true. Oh, there's a set Molotov you can do here. I don't know
if they threw it on the fly, but there's a set Molotov you can do from shore that covers
that whole area. I don't think they threw it. On the fly might be exactly the key words
though because they were pressured by Brawlans. Yeah. Which even if he died, it's like
we need to go now and maybe that's what kind of screwed it up a little bit for them.
Oh, I'm such a Spinks fan.
Well, who wouldn't be playing fantastic cards like a boss?
Yeah.
Holding on to that site very nearly alone at one point.
I appreciate Jimmy's resurgence as well.
He seems like he's got some some Riz now as well. He's got an earring.
I know because your law confidence in the interviews is cracking jokes.
He's to be quite nervous and timid.
Like, he's found himself as a person, well, we're watching him grow up as Canis Road goes on.
I believe it's called Lux Maxing now.
Well, you are the leader of the Manusphere.
I'm surprised you aren't in that Netflix documentary, Anders.
There'll be a second episode one day.
Okay, the follow-up.
Yeah.
Where are they now?
What happened to them?
Um, round number six.
I mean again quick on the catwalk here they're set up to for it to be more of an explosion than a set execute
They've got some smokes, but they're right up behind the very fast exertions here and he's doing more good work
Kill him. Oh want to here we go an entry a ding
Something okay something's easier as well. I like the attempt
Getting shut down
Throw in the towel.
What do you make of this?
Can't defend themselves.
Jimmy's always been putting these anchor positions, like where you need a reliable play or put Jimmy.
Let's say in some future version of his career, I always wonder what would happen if you put him into a more high-stakes role.
I feel like Jimmy has like more, he could do more.
It's good that he's doing what he's doing, but I almost feel like if he could be in a more high-pressure situation, he's got the aim for it.
He's still very young.
He's still very young.
There's definitely room for development there.
We talk about Apex used to be the craziest entry fragger,
the wild guy, the tip of the spear,
now the calculated in-game leader.
No thinking.
Yeah.
Players kind of follow me.
They're still in the early stages of their career,
believe it or not, young kid.
And like I said, growing up,
getting more confidence in Counter-Strike.
And right now in this season,
looking very promising as well.
So yeah, I would say there's definitely room
for the change things up in the future.
But for now, when you're one of the world's best anchors,
I would say, stay in that role for now.
Yeah, that is the problem though for Maus, even if they've thought, oh, we'll give him another Royce, I'll cool you to replace him with.
Not a lot of those around.
So, I wouldn't try to make those changes either. Here we go, long spawn for Mayen, but he can't connect that shot.
It's a bit of a fly by almost with the AWP.
But they are taking lower dark control, they're outside of long as well.
So all of the standard set pieces for eventually getting mid and catwalk.
They've tried now a couple of times to basically set up on Catwalk and just be very, very fast on the A bomb side.
That seems to be one of the ideas that they're working with here in Ion Sea and I actually kind of like that.
You can do a similar thing in the middle by the way.
If you push deep enough in the middle, you can smoke off CT spawn and run for the B split instantly.
So they can try a similar idea there if you're interested.
This time, they've taken down a second player. Spinks is out of it, Mayhem!
I was through the wall over on Long, I believe.
I was down middle.
I'm not even sure.
Jimmy goes down next, Luchov able to get that one, and Torsche and Xershion, this is the round they need it here.
It certainly is, that replay.
It was middle, sick.
AWP, he could have a nice shot through the double doors.
Dust 2, it's all about hitting his shots.
Good spacing, good read of the mid rounds.
And this is pitch perfect from 9-Z.
I
So peak Luke of
May in all working together
Finding those pigs problem is the money is incredibly strong
Gonna hold on to the AWP for Torchy who hasn't got going yet
They haven't need to activate the AWP which is a scary prospect because he is a well-class author. We know that
Dershin 183 but pretty solid towards that a side of the map
We're gonna hold on to his AK now which you have great. It's actually a valuable pickup. Yeah
He was ready to risk it just to pick that one up.
Sometimes you got to surprise we've got a tactical time out here is it called by mouse
it's a technical I was going to say I don't think they need to tack pause right now.
No they got the momentum but they probably just want to keep going the way that this
is right now.
Sometimes you get the wires crossed and as we did say there's lots of counter strike
today we didn't actually go through all the games we said we were going to and
But right now, Maus has his NZ, elimination game.
You wouldn't have thought so with Maus and the server,
but yes, loser of the series goes home.
Then we move on to the more exciting games, the winners game.
This is going to be a sick game, this next one.
Haravision versus Spirit, the Derby.
I'm excited for this one.
I feel like Paravision might win.
What do you think about that?
Absolutely.
If you can't see that coming,
you're not watching enough.
I don't think Magix is ready to go toe to toe with the master,
the Time Lord.
I think he's going to absolutely demolish them.
even mentally the thought of like, you know, you're already in James world, he's already
been studying, I'd be worried too.
That's game of the day for me.
Yeah.
And it might even, that's crazy to say, when you have the Mongols and Vitality as well.
Yeah, but I kind of agree.
Like I am so curious about that Paravision Spirit game.
I sort of agree with you.
The last one's gonna be fantastic too.
Yeah, we're blessed.
The good news is Donk has turned up this tournament.
Yeah.
He didn't install Kerm.
Yeah, but I think that's gonna be a power vision victory, but here we go, fast long tater,
that's so blind.
Nothing you can do, easy picking to a mouse, round pretty much down I'm afraid.
Especially when you're making those solo plays, okay, Torgie, that's a crazy mess.
That's a crazy mess, that might cost you the round.
Torgie, why?
Torgie, why?
Why has he done it?
Oh, they've missed the molly for the car
They'll give it another go you got it this time
No, not all the way in the corner. I mean
Okay, I'm tricking them some trickery going on towards your makeup for it now
Jim fat
He might have already found the solution to that mess
They have zero idea. He's coming from T spawn needs to get himself down towards suicide if possible
Gotta go the long way around that's a kill
It is spinks to go down, but let's see how much Jimmy could do. You're right. He's snuck up behind
It's just might be the solution takes our man needs to be careful. He goes down here as well
Yeah, it looks like it's up 40 seconds. Oh, well played from Jimmy. That's disciplined right now
So Zershin covered that angle. He didn't need to swing out Zershin already had a cover
Really good recovery Torchy couple of weird misses, but we'll take it as miles find another convincing victory
That's a moment to just illustrate some of the teamwork that we do expect out of a like mouse
Was he blind? No, that's a massive way from the friend
I think he looked away it like might be I wasn't looking at his head to be fair
He just looked away. Yes, I really can read. Okay. That's it. Good catch from you. I
Was I was staring at his screen. Okay, let's have a look at his head like he's just looking like oh, what's up?
Yeah, you're right. Okay, fair enough. Yeah, we'll give him that good catch. It happens
We used to talk about this so much, but one of the upgrades are playing on land as you can see your teammates' monitors.
But one of the downgrades is sometimes you can see your teammates' monitors and you're looking somewhere else.
Hey, no ramifications, they still win the round, money's good.
Hold on long again.
It's a rush last time based off the spawn.
They go a little bit later this time, but honestly, if they can find Brolin in the pits,
Torshe is yet to get a kill there as the fine...
How's your peak?
Alright, Torge, we need to see some Alpo now.
Fresh on you, my friend.
He's not gonna be looking away this time.
He's got some backup on shorts.
Doesn't get that connection.
And they're gonna be running up the wall.
Can he get flashed in for the kill?
No, he just peeks it straight up.
They're all down there, and they will get him.
Man, quick on the connection.
And the A-plant's gonna follow here.
Man.
Oof.
Torge, yeah, looking a bit ropey.
Hard shots, don't get me wrong, but you'd think he'd be starting to connect some by now.
And Cendri will not deny the plan.
Chips away at Max, who will be converted.
Wastelpeak stepping up.
Made 10 of that man advantage, but here comes Zershin.
All guns blazing from shore.
Corviznay's out.
It's gonna be Sphinx too.
At least the winnable scenario, but his HP is too low.
I don't think he can do much with this.
Fires off a shot to master the dropping sound.
Yeah, great technology for him, but can you actually get through the smoke now?
Not at all, man.
There to catch him on the other side.
9C, pick up a critical round.
This half is sort of slipping out of their hands a bit.
After winning the pistol, they're losing immediately after.
This is a little bit more interesting.
Good work.
Yeah, he said they have to find Brawland.
I know some people in a discord that are dedicated Torshi doubters.
Which discord is that?
It's not important, Henry.
They're out there.
Okay, they're feasting right now.
They say he misses too many shots.
I mean, proof is in the pudding right now.
He gets even one that slows him right down.
Could be enough.
Could have been more than enough.
He's struggling.
Might have to slip into his B game for a rifle or two,
but he's still got the AWP.
Spinks 12 and 5 version 11 and 4 Jimmy rock solid over towards beige might expect if we're gonna be rush
And there's a rugby rush. I mean, they said they're gonna hold w. Yeah, they did promise that and honestly
They've been living up to a lot. It's gonna be with me and walking it in on the AWP
Is the body brought for a teammate? I think you tried to escape. Oh, no, we get that replay
I'd be very curious one of the ugliest rounds you get a scene count is right
I think he got blocked into this one Spinks takes a lot of damage. It's just doesn't matter Jimmy comes around the corner
He's looking for the ace. He's already got the first four. He's 12 and three and max not gonna
Like give him a chance to get the ace. He's trying to run away here
That's what it's like in a face hit pug when you call a B rush. Yeah one flash comes in
No one commits everyone. Yeah, you have a white blonde trying to fall back like yeah
It doesn't get much worse than that. That is a demoralizing round
like I have a Russian or going like
once it doesn't happen to get out of there, oh my god
flash works so well he just even bounced into the wall
oh well, I get what they're trying to do
they've got to throw in these avant-garde strategies and stay unpredictable
and you've just thrown away all of your guns
nothing to show for it and we're down to what looks to be a path to buy here
You're by here a little bit of investment with the pistols
Specting along rush once again mouse set up for it here
Here he comes
The best to ever do it at the back of the B bomb site. Yeah, look at the discipline first down the smoke in case they have a molotov
Yeah, doesn't really repeat it doesn't doesn't need to he's waiting for the teammate to get this now
Spinks is here now they can definitely repeat it
Every woman to slice of the action
That's the AK put in a pretty precarious spot
They don't have the utility to really grab it. You'd like to be able to smoke the tunnel and pick it up
I guess you can just jump across hope for the best, but I probably still can't you
Need a 1d here
And you're not pre-firing this angle, I don't think I'm gonna swing at the same time
trying to the AK
You can see them with the x-ray like looking at the AK
five-second intervals like it's still there. You can't do anything about it.
Certainly not. Well, we're having some fun here. You can see 9z a little bit out of their depth
against the number three team in the world. Understandably so. Just here for experience,
hit the pick into vitality yesterday. No many teams can make a dent on a squad like that.
They did their best. Got 13-3 twice.
Understandable. Not going to judge them for that.
And I like that from Torjido, like keep it up, do not take your eye off the prize.
These games can slip away. You even give them one extra round.
Yeah.
This team is going to be playing with their heart and their sleeve.
They play with a lot of passion. You just give them one round.
They'll be cheering, they'll be feeling it again.
You've got to keep them down in the mud.
Yeah, it's also, it's hard for mouse to secure any kind of a PR victory here.
You know, even if they win 2-0, people will say, well, that's what we expect.
Like, you are going to be celebrating that.
But if it even gets a little bit close, people will immediately say, wait a minute,
If there's another problem for mouse, even if they win, but if it's 13, 10, 13, 10, people start to say, hold on, you know,
look at what in contrast to what Vitality did, look at how much worse mouse sports are like. The headlines are right there.
Impressive stuff for mouse so far.
Lost the pistol in pretty much smooth sailing since then.
Yeah. Yeah, between Spinks, Xersion and Jimmy, it's a lot to be up against.
They don't even need to or you don't.
He's 0-3 right now. It doesn't even matter.
Yeah.
Yeah, he should have hit some of the shots, but you're right. It's not having a thing is they've got that final form set up the royal flush
For AK 47s in the AWP on the CT side. Yeah, that's when you know you're in trouble
Yeah, you can't even get one of those fights where
You know, yeah, you're on 10 health, but at least you win the fight on the T side. That's not that's not a thing anymore
It's gonna be straight up against an AK on the other side clear out catwalk
They're going to be back to Middles, going to be a bit of a split here, I think.
Wouldn't be surprised if they did one person Middles just to kind of control some rotations for the rest of them.
That lurk smokers up, throwing in from the T side and Jimmy puts himself in the corner.
They actually don't want to go. They throw one in Sendiri and do they just pack it up a deep smoke into the hallway?
Brolan's going to be checking this out. Oh, 9C, they doubted themselves at that moment.
That is very hard now to walk away from that bomb site.
Roland has been more than willing to make this push time and time again. I
Don't think he catches an amazing timing for a kill, but he leaves confirms. Oh, I take it back. Yes. He does
Yeah, and unfortunately again, I think they wanted to do the fast emitting
I thought about earlier where you throw the smoke and then you go but now they've been found out
So doesn't really matter how fast it is. They know everything on the mouse side
Spinks is in the window Jimmy set up
Okay, the spray that we're looking for, there's only 14 seconds left on the front here.
They've got to get a move on, they get one more.
But Brolin is now showing up on the spot, are they planting in the open?
They're not, he still gets the kill on the Waozo Peak.
And just enough time for the bomb plant here.
Toshi, this is time to shine, he's thrown away, the AWP picked up an AK.
He knows that there's somebody on that side and he can't quite do it.
Man takes him down, 9C, they get one more round.
A full year as a eSports player, a really counter-track player, it is a lot of work, it is a lot of
spending time with your team.
As a pro player, you need to sacrifice.
It's not just going to tournament, having some fun, see a city, go around, being a tourist.
It's pretty hard with all the travel and boot camps and practice from home and all of
that.
But yeah, that's how it looks.
After all these, that's always so tough.
We are travelling like all together, like five players, coach, manager.
I mean, usually the year starts with a bootcamp before the first tournaments.
In Navi we are bootcamping quite a lot.
We tend to have a bootcamp at the start of the season, at the end of the season, before
the major, and sometimes we might even have a bootcamp in the middle.
You have now grinded practice at home for two weeks, maybe two days off, then you
go into a tournament and you get met by extreme happy emotions or extreme sad emotions.
The best part of all of this is definitely competition.
When you're making deep fronts, especially if you're winning a tournament,
you get the benefits of the hard work you put in.
When you're losing constantly, even if you might go home a couple days earlier,
you're thinking of what would have happened if we beat this team or win the tournament.
As a pro player you need to fight, the statement is wrong, you have to fix mistakes,
you have to adjust, you have to prepare for the next day,
you go into the game and then you repeat.
This year was pretty hard for us, I would say, because we had a bootcamp tournament,
just a few days off, then another tournament, then again just three or four days off.
Getting energy again is one of the most important things for me. I've done this for 25 years now.
I have my family close, I have my wife close, and those are the people I see the most, but not a lot.
You're traveling a lot of countries, sometimes even back to back,
Daughter turning home, I'm used to it, I guess.
I think one of the most important things as a team is the team dynamic.
We are five people on the server and if one person is missing outside the game,
it automatically feels very less.
In Nabi, we try to have the balance of not spending time 24-7 with each other.
I'm close with EMA, for example. I'm close with Macause.
We might spend more time with each other.
Overall, you're still going to be in the practice room with all your teammates
for countless of hours a day.
When we, let's say, go out for our dinner or we go for a team work,
we always try to be together like the whole team.
Everybody has to commit to the same amount, sacrifice the same things.
And only then, we can reach the trophies.
What makes the whole year worth it is the majors.
I always have the best feeling of my life when my parents were watching me
and my best friends were watching me.
So I just think that's the peak of the tournament calendar.
Everyone is looking for winning.
And this is what makes competition like being real.
I'm here for one reason. I'm here to win everything I can.
And the day I stop, I have time for everything else in my life.
9Z have been snared in the Maus trap.
They couldn't get going at all in Dust 2,
but Anders, they did manage to find the very last round at the first half.
Not all is lost, but the way they were losing the rounds was so convincing.
The stars are shining bright for Maus, but a couple of holes here and there.
Torgy 1 and 4 had zero impact with the AWP.
Yeah, he really got a couple of opportunities there.
Couldn't really make it work, so a bit of a flat half for him.
Ultimately still Maus with a sizable lead here.
A pistol round must be won, but more importantly,
they didn't even follow up round as well.
They did win the pistol in the first half
and it didn't really work out for them anyway.
They lost the following round immediately
and that pretty much set Maus up to go.
Man smoked off in the middle
With the USP and mouse
Open runway to try and go in now they're gonna be spotted when they get to the cap more corner
So at least they're gonna know what they gonna be they will
This is bold, but I do like it
You're gonna be quick enough they might catch Jimmy in the middle Spinks goes down max with the headshots Jim
That's gone max finds three. He's been so quiet
But this is what they need it. He's got five kills three of them are in this round if CS 2 is pistols only
This would be the best team in the world. There we go. He's said it
I mean you say that but case around us out there. True that's how he got yesterday
So maybe one of the best pistol plays of all time in Counter Strike. It was unreal
The thing is I'm gonna say my sister that might be one of the best pistol plays ever
It's it's certainly 100% it's up there
even when you rewatch it you can't really believe what you're seeing it's
it's okay I know you've got that Edward one from 1.6 on
Tuscany but that wasn't really like brutal aim it was just really cool yeah
the aim yesterday from Gatorato holy shit that was like something I've never
seen before yeah I still still cannot believe it what a thing witness all
right look what's coming in and we'll be shutting them down so second round is
looking good there was no bonfire under so there is no real reason for mouse to
invest into the rounds I guess that's sort of part of the cause here for them
to be picking up the round but I still think it's good again anything they can
get really they got demolished by vitality as you pointed out so for
Ninesie just the more more rounds more tape more experience at this level be
really good I mean yeah you can't really learn much from a 13 to 13
three flashing but if you do have some good rounds of your winning and
you have some close clutches and things that don't go your way then you do have something to work with
that. This is turning in to a competitive game. Bear in mind they did win both pistols but this
where the heat starts to get turned up. Round number 15 the AKs are out. Torji with the rifle in hand
and Zershin leading the way. He's getting it found out. Nice work that they blow open the smoke
the HE finds Zershin vaulting up. They're not looking scared at least. No. They're looking
more than willing to take these jewels. I think they sounded like they weren't
scared in the into you either and they kind of understood the mission ahead of
them. Play some hard kind of strike. That was the thing is vitality. They look so
tentative and slow. Right. They were like trying to play vitality CS against
them. You're never going to win that game. But if you can be aggressive,
surprising and a little bit unpredictable, they've got the skill to back it up.
That's the problem if you're one of the top teams, is that there are so many teams
you could run into in the top 50 even, that can do damage from the aim alone.
And you've got to be careful about that.
50 seconds on the clock here, and they ask them to make the way a cap wall gets you.
Do you be locking long?
A little bit of nerves here from Mayan.
Doesn't hit the shot.
The follow-up is a lot of damage, but it clips just the edge of the wall there.
But I'm going to be planting.
is the operative word there and then they've got a five and four advantage. Two players desperately
low on health, that's Torgy and Brolan. This Wii takes on and I'd give 9Z the advantage here.
Brolan has no armor at all. So that's interesting. Could be a factor. Jim Fat goes down man. It's a
really good shot. Torgy gets his head blown off and spinks at the catwalk against five. It's
too much to ask for. They're gonna be on top of the kits. Very good work here. Now up to
Seven and one round behind mouse
The bomb goes down boss bonus accumulating
It's five players surviving there for 9z. That's done to feel this
Yeah, I've got a retreat even though he misses some shots here right
Technically he is third in the world all pink CT side man. Obviously. Okay. No, it's good to read it right
People are gonna say well does it get different opposition? That's totally fair. Yeah, but still but this is his stomping grats
This is where he does his best work for sure
good intel and told she's doing his worst work maybe ever recorded hasn't
really done anything in his one and seven right now yeah saving up for the
off going forward they'll pass you by into this one
brawl on Haskell Kevlar this time oh wow not for long no head
DGT, look at the aggression is it even necessary in a round like this one I would argue this could be where the aggression backfires
Ah, I like it.
Well, okay then.
Keep them on high, Lab.
Give them nothing.
No respect.
They do trade one for one.
DDT's very low on health here, but...
...while it's on peak.
It's in a position here that very often gets overlooked.
And he's got DDT there, just to...
...play spoiler a little bit.
Okay, that's a lot of damage to start with.
Just the M4A1, three kills!
Expertly play, now the pistol!
Let's take the fourth.
Okay, we're all tied up.
This is where...
Doubt starts to creep into the minds of Maus who was going,
so well, you wait for up, you were dominating them.
We were having some fun.
We were.
And now, you're getting found on.
They're pushing you on the CT side.
They're getting four kills.
Better than managing to mow you down.
One player has dominated the whole team.
It was a partial by admittedly, but still.
What a sequence.
That's going to build confidence.
But this is again where playing Dust 2 is such
an advantage to Nying Seekers.
There are so many fights like that where it is about the individual skill and someone like Walsh would be absolutely has it nobody could doubt that
We haven't even seen really I think DGT and Max do even their best work, but they are really capable players
Oh dear
Oh dear oh dear watch a fair few 90 games in the past because Martinez was on the team
Oh, yeah, right my big fan. Mm-hmm. He's great
Still think he could go play, he played at the Gentlemates now they're doing well.
They're doing very well.
Round number 17 the game is tied.
They've got now the three AK-47s on the CT side.
They're the ones who are powered up at this point.
They're feeling it Jimmy, feeling the heat.
That's the fullback.
It's Endri, takes away a quarter of his health.
I didn't like what he was seeing out long, who could blame them?
Nice space found by Zershengrad.
That's a good point, yeah.
It's where you can
really be quick again to get to the B bomb site.
Or you could turn it into a lurk if you're actually getting catwalk and they go and find out what's in the middle.
Mkov is going to show himself there.
Smoke up towards CT spawn.
Falls down.
It's okay, still operates well.
I was nervous for a second.
I mean, it's not optimal, but it still works.
All right, thank you guys.
It's good of you.
I love it.
55 seconds.
Looks like it's going to be more of a split here.
Jimmy is out on long.
They're moving towards the catwalk.
Always hard to play these lurk positions.
Can't be too early.
Can't be too late.
They're faking it out middle here.
I want to go CT spawn.
Yeah.
This is a spirit strategy where
chopper and the parser have done exactly this.
Exertion is going to be taking out DGT.
Wanting up through CT spawn at the moment.
I was waiting there for Lukov able to find him.
I don't know how. I feel like Spink should have had that fight every time.
3 vs 3 now and a long scope from Mayen.
Will take down Toshi again. He can't win the fight with the AWP.
Exertion backs into the open place, but they'll go down Mayen to get the last shot on that CT side.
This is looking interesting now.
Alright, upset a lot. Tell your friends, tell your family, get everyone on the screen.
The mouse are fumbling an 8-4 lead.
The absolute favourites going into this one, it felt like a formality to play this series.
Torchings.
Game framework.
I don't even know what that means, I've heard people say it, but yes, I agree.
Obviously I don't know what it is, Henry.
But apparently it's a thing.
I've heard so many people say it, I don't want to ask what it actually means, but
it doesn't sound good.
No, exactly
Double smoke down towards double doors might not look a mistake. It is mean to see these come pop it open. Yeah
They have such little to work with we said at the beginning it doesn't really matter
It was one in three. We said that doesn't really matter in the game
But now you're looking at Brawler and you're looking at torsion. Now it probably does matter now
We're starting at the point where it actually is having an impact on the game. Unfortunately
But great work, 9C. You don't want to take anything away from them here.
They're playing hard Counter-Strike.
Mayhem back in his favorite spot on the CT side, Wauser peeking.
Lukav threw up, both playing fantastically.
I still think Max and G.G.T. are phenomenal players, so I'm kind of waiting for them
to be activated even more than this.
They've left mid open, but they're keeping a watchful eye from the B bomb site.
They know what's going to be happening in there that scaffolding position is dangerous.
It's so powerful in these sort of rounds.
You don't have the resources, all the information to do anything about it, that's double digits.
Maybe we get one kill, but it's another clean sweep for 9z.
Cruise control in the second half.
He's got to practice that, right?
He got the kill and the jump up was immediate.
That's kind of sick.
Fancy footwork.
Mouse, you in trouble here, boys.
Torgy's missing. It's home map.
We need all this paradise. It's two and ten.
What we really need is a replay from the beginning of the broadcast
where we're laughing at how much Mouse is winning.
I mean, like I said, they came into this one thing, okay.
Obviously it's a two-zero. Let's have some fun with it.
Let's try and make it entertaining. Yeah.
But now we've got a real game in our hands.
Mouse with their backs to the wall.
Series business here. They haven't picked up a single round in the second half
Through it out a sort of a what if what if they lost to foot and Mongols and then you can see well now
It feels like much more for that this would be last place in the tournament last place in the tournament
We're not there yet. No obviously is a long ways away, but all of those thoughts are gonna be creeping in
There's no question about that
Two-round lead here, 9C, what can you give us?
Three more rounds is all they are looking for, Toshi, he gets the leg shot onto Wauzupeak, but nothing's going in his favor, my heart bleeds for him.
Not a good feeling.
DGT is way up in middle and they're holding lower dark.
If Exertion's not very accurate here, he could be dead to Lukav and then we pretty much are stuck on long if your mouse.
Potemmy wanted the CTGT, Pete got even further and flanked them but he's gonna go back to try and hold the bomb site.
40 seconds on the clock, smoke for the cross again. There's actually a lot of utility on the CT side.
One of them, the incendiary thrown up there, they blow up on the smoke.
I think Maus could be in a bit of danger with the exertion in the middle. Oh, that's huge!
They dropped the grenade, Max died and he held the pin on the grenade and now the ET is blown up.
It's a catastrophe!
They're gonna lose a round on that!
They definitely are.
You hate to see that.
And finally, Miles will find the first round here.
Why don't you take away the pin?
Grenades, they're real dangerous.
That's Grenades 101.
Grenades.
Mayhem, Lukov.
They've got tons of money, no problem there.
Sure.
Five digits are pretty much all five players.
Let's have a look at the replay check this out grenade in hand taken down. Oh, yeah, he was dead if either way, but
Yeah, he was it's still a lot of fun. Yeah good comedy
That is so critical as an enormous round if he doesn't do that exertion
There's so much utility on that a bomb site
They would have had a lot of trouble. I think putting down that bomb or even getting onto the site
well played one round game sweating now our mouse timeout calls they should be
really should call some timeouts here try and make sure they keep things in
line obviously winners win if mouse walk away with the victory and that's
really and it's good enough like it's a team you know we're gonna be really up
for this one. They're going to be
fragging hard. They're going to be unpredictable. It's not a playstyle you're going to be used to.
I think Pimp said on the desk, right, they play an enormous amount of Counter Strike.
Yeah, and Ruh mentioned they play on Overpass. I checked as well, they've got 23 maps of Overpass
in the last three months. Holy. That's just outrageous. Now, we're not playing
Overpass today, but it just says something about how in-tuned to the game they are.
Yeah, map pool today is Dust 2, picked by 9-Z. Inferno by Maus, then Nuke to decide.
to decide. Yeah, thing is new. I feel like mouse will
they're gonna have to clear on that one. You can't just run
around and kill people on you.
Yeah, such a scary team on that map. I agree. That's if we get
there. It has to have in the desk as well. Dust who has to
be a big tree for 90 for this to even be a series while
talking about
I didn't make a very impressive case for themselves. So
again, they could walk away with their heads held high
and no matter what might even walk away with a first
that win. I've had the money. They still got a lot of weapons but that's
Tor- There he is! Third kill, finally!
Oh my god, I don't know if I'd be spraying that little bomb. You have to keep it alive here.
All through back brolan. He goes down DGT.
It's a risk to take that peek but one that they needed.
Don't shoot so far forward. Never mind, Spinks is here. Jimmy does go down long.
They're pushing both extremities on that at the same time.
The boost could be everything here.
Okay, I was going to say the bombs about to come through but Zershin's got him.
Yeah.
Double kill available for him as soon as he gets out of smoke.
Oh no.
Zershin, you've absolutely fumbled that.
That is a mess up.
Torshi.
He thought he had that first kill.
Yeah, he really did and he heard the footsteps.
He wanted to be quick with it now.
Could he save the round?
He will get another one.
Triple.
And now he's running for it.
He has no idea what the last pair is,
but he's just down the middle.
Lukov's already behind him.
Footstep there, so he heard him.
Not time.
He's got plenty of time.
Don't go, tunnels.
Don't overcoat.
Just go towards A.
Yeah, this is one of those moments
where you don't want to be
thinking that deep.
Just take your advantage.
You can even get a long climb down here.
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
And Lukov doesn't have the advantage of running.
He has to be way more careful.
If he just follows him on Catwalk,
he's going to be dead anyway.
And he's going to watch the huge round.
He's been under some criticism. He's one of the spotlight for this match, but this was a big one
Zershin man, I hope we get a replay of that one. I don't know what he was thinking that a
Chance to get three kills and he gets nothing
He played it to perfection in terms of the positioning the timing
Players of that backs turn to him and I assume in his head
He gets that kill and he's moving on to the second
But he gets nothing and he almost cost him the round
It's one of those like yeah brain working too fast moment almost like he's here in the footsteps
Yeah, what are you thinking with five steps ahead?
Take your time, relax a little bit.
At least guarantee one for God's sake, but...
Yeah.
As they always say, Anders, no harm, no foul.
We can say that.
Smoke his box.
Torgey opening things up.
This is the moment.
Oh, it's an absolute mess.
Absolute disaster.
Thankfully Torgey finds some form.
He's had a rough one.
Really needed that.
needed that sigh of relief from Zersh and let me tell you.
Yeah, he's going to be thinking of him later saying.
Really nice.
Help me out on that one.
10-10.
Money's still brittle, though.
The fact he's coming down to 1v1s,
they're not clean rounds at all.
They're not convincing victories.
Oh, yeah, that's a good point.
It was 8-4-1 half.
It now got two and a second.
Even winning this round, it wouldn't break the money of 9-Z.
Oh, yeah.
It's an uphill battle for Maus in that sense.
Kind of is a must win round for Maus.
Yeah, probably that point.
If you have lurk smoke,
but there's such a strong position
to counter that lurk smoke
to if you can play on top of the boxes.
Very nicely done.
They do have a big lean 9C towards the B bomb site.
So they are expecting
that something like that could be happening.
As long as Jimmy's out long,
I don't think we're gonna be seeing
those B splits coming out.
So Spinks is down to the road to it back as well.
Mayn here if he loses wazoo peek on long then he is in a lot of trouble he
absolutely needs his long player to stay alive even if he's been playing well
man gotta give them credit 12 kills but they're pushing into upper dark I think
9c they're gonna find out but it's gonna be too late they can't rotate
people over it's down to these two against the entire mouse team this is
not gonna be easy wazoo peek said to go a flash for long but Mayn is already
dead and now he finds himself without any backup yeah you can try but they're
gonna be all over it good all I get some we said this is a must win round for
mouse has plenty of money here the rounds on that's already over
Luke off can definitely cause a bit of a rock is it can he find the timing I
don't think so bomb planted there's any further utility towards sure you might
as well call it off and I think they already have do you want to give them
credit on 90 if you're gonna be stuck in B and you don't feel anything for
long it is a cool idea to move into a dark yeah they just got the timing wrong
it happens
Roland not the best map for him but that double kill here
is made a big difference certainly has
so a sigh of relief for mouse fans
well felt like a bit of fun but a death match and dust to a warm up into the
tournament started to turn into a bit of a nightmare
Actually, we're keeping five players alive.
We sit as a must win round
and they couldn't go any better for them.
Nice injection of cash and extra $3,500 per player
into the next rounds.
Let's see if they can close it out now.
Find that map points.
Yeah, heard the words jump spot from the door.
See what role that has been cooking up here.
One round lead.
Roller is at top mid with Jimmy and
Looks like they're gonna be setting up the smoke towards mid doors.
Lukov is gonna be seen out landing any moment now.
Okay, there's the boost up.
No one home at shop.
Time to the city setup. Three towards A this time.
Lukov towards middle.
Yeah.
They've got that double orb set up and it's just a note.
That's right.
Very viable in Dust 2.
Yeah, and again, why was it he calling that long position?
I mean, all he has to get is a kill.
Stay alive and they probably have this on lockdown.
Nice flash in the middle.
if you don't find anyone here the CTs will hear about this. They should be able to hear
that from the rebomb site and they've got to start to worry about whether or not somebody
has come here, especially with that smoke being up as well. Yeah, DGTs pulled away from the
A defense because of all this mid stuff, but it looks to me like we're still going to
be going up catwalk. And now Mayen in position again on the long corner there.
I would assume A execution with a mid luck. Yeah. Can fall back, cancel. See what they've
go to their sleeve yet.
It's all a smokes. What do you do? 26 seconds, but mouse are out. They're
going to get the bomb planted here. I don't see that being stopped. DGT's out
nearly a flick. That could have worked out, but it didn't. And now bomb
being planted four and four for the retake. They have to go for this nine
seed. They still have more money in the bank. I don't see them backing
out of this one. Man holding line. Wow. So peek sneaking up incendiary.
If that had been a Molotov, that would have burned them out. But
incendiary, it doesn't spread far enough.
Climb is ticking here, they're in trouble now.
Wauzupeak is dead, man, you've got to hit this next shot.
He's already low on health, his backup is coming though.
Max with the headshot on the one, but Jimmy and Toshi combine
and they hold on to the after plant just fine.
Maus, they look like they are recovering this 12 to 10 now.
If there's a tactical timeout left,
I suppose user now it is Matt Point.
Admiral will come back here from 9Z, they were 8-4 down.
He brought it all the way to 10-10.
But Maus, stretching their legs now, looking more comfortable.
9th positioning from Brawler.
Jimmy with the grenade.
Torji waking up with the AWP now as well.
As you mentioned, plenty of money still for 9Z.
And a leg shot to open things up.
Mayen down to 18 once again.
aggression towards middle being presented
that she's stuck past lower B
they know now
Toshi's calling it out, element of surprise gone
quite smartly ninesie back away from that
they realize opportunity is
already gone
mouse look comfortable now on this T side it seems like they got
all the control in the world okay that is a miss smoke that one is no good I can tell you that much
Yeah, thank you for highlighting. Sometimes if it lands in between the doors it's still fine, but that's a straight up miss.
If it costs you a kill here, you'll be kicking yourself. Seems to be fine.
At least it didn't do that. There's some good grenade damage though.
I think this will be the same smokes with a mid to B split. So we'll see the waterfall smokes come in like this and they'll fall back in mid to B.
It's the same from the CT side.
Yeah, they have one player dropping down.
He's called it, Henry.
It looks dead off perfect.
Dropping down a CT spawn.
Lukov though, he actually catches exertion.
He was already low from that earlier knee
that I think Lukov himself threw.
Nice burst, DGT on the crossfire.
No smoke to CT spawn.
So they're very vulnerable, trying to get out middle,
which would have been fine if they'd actually had
exertion in CT spawn, but they don't.
Spinks on the one side.
Torsche on the other.
Bombing right there.
20 seconds left.
Can they go and pick it up?
That burns out Lukov.
And then it gets Binks as well.
Oh, that is a close round.
And I actually think it was really well-designed by Maus.
It was a cool idea.
It was a very cool idea.
Couldn't quite stick the landing.
He had heavy damage on routes.
Bomber goes down in an awkward spot towards you,
unable to connect the dots with the AWP.
Lukov is ready for that drop down, though.
He knows that play.
Yeah.
Three positions well.
Just excellent movement as well.
Ducking and weaving.
Didn't give him a chance of a trade.
As soon as he gets one, different angle.
Yeah, he's been so good.
He's up to 17.
I'm really impressed.
We're doing a B-pop here, Anders.
OK.
Let's just try and close it.
OK.
Now the smoke is there.
They might reset it.
I think they are back towards T spawn.
Is Jimmy low up with the bomb?
Yeah, they'll try and turn it into something different.
Very powerful position.
You don't see it too often.
Yeah, there's a rat angle, isn't it?
Grasso pig.
Could find Jimmy here.
On the long look, they get mid control again, which has been granted a few times.
More of an alien here in the CTs looking for the knockout blow now.
Do not want this to go to regulation.
I said to overtime, I want to win it in regulation, I should say.
Oh yeah.
Yeah, imagine them a nightmare for mouse, if suddenly they have to play overtime.
Ended now.
There's a really good map here for 9C.
The next one is going to be potentially more tricky.
It's going to say that smoke is actually even helping the teams.
Yeah, you've actually killed yourself there.
Oh, you hate to see that.
You know, I mean, it goes like a couple of centimeters deeper
and cuts off that angle where you've given him a perfect gap
to take you down.
Well, now we're getting away from the bomb site.
Well, it has to win this fight.
Even then, it's not going to do so very hard
around the win right now.
But at least they get Jimmy and Long.
A is open.
Yeah, that's the problem.
Nobody, man, already wrote it away.
There is nobody there.
This is all about Spinks now.
Three players coming for the double doors.
If he times it well, he probably gets all three.
There's one, two, two.
Ooh, and a missed shot from in.
We got the pistol.
All three in the bag.
Wow, Zoopeak against four.
He's taking the first one, but they can just wait.
They unplugged their keyboards.
They probably win them around right now.
The only way they can lose is if they fight.
Oh, wait!
When they fight?
They should have unplugged them.
They should have absolutely done that.
Why are they facing?
I can't explain it bro, that's gonna be so mad.
All right, he salvages it, it's safe once again,
but they nearly threw it away in 13-11
as mouseballs are put to the test.
My God, that was close, a sight of relief.
It almost comes tumbling down there at three versus one.
All you have to do is defend the bomb.
No one needs to challenge, they gave him a look in
and it's 9-Z giving them a run for their money.
13-11 to kick things off.
A great showing, it has to be said.
I thought 9-Z were gonna get
Absolutely stomped their anders. They opened things up. It was eight to four. It looked like he didn't get a look into this whatsoever
But they do battle there all the way back. It goes 13-11 and we got inferno coming up next
Maus doing the best keep that one interesting but
9z try as they might couldn't get it over the line into overtime couldn't complete the comeback
Maus do take the victory here on Dust2. Normally we start praising the winner this time around
I want to change the course of that. I want to give credit to 9c
I think we built up this game as being a no-pointer that mouse were going to win 2o
The best we could hope for was 9c making the game competitive and so they did to an extent
Why I thought over time was on the cards right here
I think 9c did a tremendous job on that CT side sure we'll get into it
Mouse had moments in this game where they didn't live up to expectations where they kind of messed it up
I think the last round right here as well was a symptom of that as well
making mistakes this time around, getting away with it.
But overall, 9C were able to put up a fight
where they, they readily speaking,
could have pushed it into overtime.
Maybe you could even make the case
that they could have won this map.
To me, that's a big surprise.
Not only did they make it close,
but they made it close in a way that nobody predicted.
We were talking about, and I think in the pregame
interviews that we're talking about, you come in,
you hold W a whole bunch, right?
And you get in their face
and you make them doubt themselves.
But you look at how it actually went down.
Eight, four, first half, you're thinking,
they're just gonna get blown out of the server.
They go into the second half.
They do pick up the pistol, but that's where they start to make a comeback.
That's where they do start to make meows dealt themselves.
We were expecting if it was going to be close, that needed to happen from round one.
I'm really impressed with them in this game.
I think it's usually impressive.
I think that's very fair to credit the discipline, to credit the faith
that they had on their own comeback to know that, you know, it's not over
till it's over till that bell rings.
And I mean, even the last round, a little nervous.
I think that's a massive credit through to 90.
And we've seen them at times come out, make their way to an event.
surprised those are previous versions of those rosters with different stars
different teams but we do know that the DNA has been consistent and one thing
that's been consistent as well for them is Max he's always been willing to call
into a game to call into the comeback to make things happen to make something
out of nothing yeah I'm glad you know Bruce said to yourself like it's not
the way we anticipated it to be it wasn't based on one player popping off
you know having a life game so to speak that allowed them to be
competitive in this game this was a team effort you know mouse were
trying the B bomb site, they were trying to do a lot of B splits, they were trying to
hit the A bomb site going for long control as well, which means that they applied pressure
on every single player within the team of 9C and they all held up to it on that CT side.
So I'm happy the fashion it happened in.
To be completely honest, I'm also happy Maus ended up winning because I think they are
the better team obviously, but for 9C to make it so competitive in the fashion they
did, this is an awful lot of credit.
I think Maus are incredibly happy they managed to bring that one out and I think that
Torgie is incredibly happy they managed to bring that one out because there was one round I want to highlight here
This is round 20. Torgie had an absolute stinker of a map right up to this point
Yes, what I want you to pay attention to again, it's this beast that coming in exertion
You know not like exertion finding a great lurk through the smoke and look at this
He thinks he's getting the first kill turns around goes for the second kill doesn't get that either
When he realizes he didn't get either of them you leave Torci and a 1v3 and that's a tough one to win
AWP picks up the M4 right here, has to find and isolate another kill, which DDT you probably shouldn't have played as aggressive as you did,
then localizes the second player and ends up winning the round.
You're right in saying that Mike Costosi was at what, 0 kills, 10 rounds into the game or something like that, didn't find any impact whatsoever,
then comes in with a quad kill at a very important moment in this game.
It just shows me two different things, you know, exertion, 9 out of 10 times, he gives a double kill right there, round over, we don't just break a sweat, but Maus didn't play well there.
Yeah, you ever wonder why you play together in a 2v1?
It's for situations like that.
He picks up the one.
You immediately know there's no trade.
There's nobody outside B. I can push out B.
You don't have every player pick up that type of information,
but Torgy's never going to miss it.
And despite the first half I checked back,
he went one in four with the scoreline over 12 rounds
in the first half.
He was sleeping.
He was napping.
He barely saw anyone.
I think he was just bored out of his mind in the first half.
He comes into the second half,
finally pops off in what was at around 20, around 21.
And then you see Mao's activate.
I kind of feel like Maus went into that second half so confident
they just thought that they would just push out and the other team,
Ninzee, they would just miss and fall over and give up and die.
And Ninzee didn't have any of that. They fought to the bitter end.
It genuinely did feel like one of those moments where maybe Torji in that second half was like,
oh, I have to try. I have to clock in. I guess, I guess I can do it.
But the flip side is credit to Maus.
They are not a team that is well known for being able to turn around this mental state, right?
They are known for a team that's when they've gotten in the bad spot,
when they started to lose the momentum, that's where we see the disasters and this time they avoided and it is also big credit to some of their
Fraggers out here as well as Spinks coming in huge for this team
Managing to deliver kill after kill after kill Zershin as well outside of that one round some very big moments here for mouse
Yeah, they weathered this storm
I think that's the perfect way to describe that because as you said the first half was quite impressive coming out of mouse
I think a lot of the players showed up the way we'd like them to show up Spinks found impact
exertion found impact.
We're going to have a Jimmy moment later on as well,
where he shut down 9C single-handedly.
So in terms of, you know, putting out the wing conditions
for Marksville, who do you want to play well?
What do you want your engine for, an exertion?
You want your stable player in Spinks and Jim Fett
to do a good job?
And they did.
So in that regard, there is positives to take away.
I very much buy into what you said, Moe, as well.
It almost feel like the first half went so easy for them
and went so well for them that they forgot
to clock in for the second.
Looking back at the first half is where I think
what we predicted is what was happening.
It was, Maus were just holding their bombsites, confident in their individuals to hit their shots.
And we highlighted DGT before the game, going into that one.
He can't activate himself if you're just having Spinks and Zershin hold their sights.
You're having Jimmy pull up a 3K on B. He's the lurker.
DGT's trying to come in on the flank.
He didn't have any chances to do that in the first half because of those anchors,
because of those players from Maus actually popping off.
It wasn't until the second half where he could get a bit aggressive.
And that's where we saw DGT and the rest of 90 actually pop off.
There's a round we wanted to look back at round 10 here.
Yeah, it's just to highlight Jimmy, you know, doing what Jimmy does best.
And also at this moment in the game, it's six to three, nine seed desperately
needs something given the economical situation as well.
And they block each other, you know, it's, it's not pretty.
It's, it's not Carlos, right?
Did you like to see at this level?
And it, it's just a great showcase of what will be punished when you're
facing teams like Maus, you're losing a full by round after having just
had an eco, you're down 6-3, you're going down 7-3, you don't have a lot of money and
this is the way you do it. Maybe a bit unfortunate, first play against completely flashed out
of the blue, but I honestly don't know what they're doing right here. But you play Counter
Strike at that level, against a team like Mouse, you will be punished instantly.
And this is where we're seeing the fits and starts for 9-Z, right though?
Yeah, this is one of those spots where, I mean, you look at that player, get full
blinded and then he's in the middle of the open. He knows that's a mistake. It's
not like he's not going to get punished for that if he's playing South American
competition. I think that's one where you're starting to get a little worried.
You're playing against Maus. You're trying to play too perfect. You're trying to
change the way you play up and that causes a lot of mistakes like this that
Maus are always going to capitalize on. But there were also bright spots for
9Z and in particular I want to highlight Wasopique here right because
he's not the usual suspect that you want to be top of the board and he
delivered in a big way for 9Z here. Very much did. You know found a lot of
impact on the server and as I said I feel like you could pick any of the
players in this game especially on the CT side to find impact to to
Contribute mouse. They kind of tested them all over the map
Was a peak was one of the players especially in the second half stepping up and keeping them alive in the game
I like to see the aggressive plays actually coming out of not only was so peak but DGT as well
I'm calling them was so peak. I can't do what you know. I can't do it. You're awesome. I can't do it
You I think the aggressive plays are what really worked for 9z in the second half
They got aggressive up mid
They got aggressive in the lower tunnels in the early parts of the half when they could actually try and build
build their economy up and it didn't take too long for Malus to actually start to turn
it back around, to actually group up and prevent those aggressions.
But Wasopique was one of the main contributing factors to that ability to take lower, to
take mid, to find openings and to retake on sites when they allowed the short control
given up.
I can't say too much, I can't say too much about Wasopique.
He just played an incredible game.
I can say something about Wasopique.
For anyone who doesn't know at home, Wasopique means cowboy peak.
That's the general translation, Hwaso down in South America, little wranglin' of the
cattle out there and I think he might just be the lone cowboy that they need if they're
going to make a series of this one.
Is that a variation of his anteroids peak?
See, I want to leave the viewers with a cliffhanger, I think we're going and heading towards
a break right here Mike, we're having a second map coming up as well.
This was V-10s for 90, Dust2 was to take it into this matchup, they made a great
game out of it, they came close pushing it into overtime, maybe you could make a
a case that could have won in this world but looking at inferno coming up.
Indeed indeed there's some trouble there I will say though a teaser for next time inferno
is where mouse struggled mightily against the Mongols we'll talk more about that after
this break.
It's time to up the heat, because now Night and Z need to step into the Inferno and try
and outlast Maus.
Newly made a game of it on Dust2, couldn't get it over the line.
We expect this one to be a little bit tougher.
I would, I would anticipate it, you know.
I would anticipate this to be Maus stepping in now, getting the job done, leaving
no room for doubt.
However, I am welcoming another surprise coming in from Nightsea.
I wouldn't mind if they could apply a bit of pressure to Maus so we can continue to storyline that maybe maybe there's some shinks in the armor right now
Maus didn't look great at the player from Pro League Maus didn't look great whatsoever against the Mongols if 9C
Lose 2-0, but they apply pressure and make both maps competitive
I would even go as far saying that's not theoretically a win-win for Maus
So I hope that's the case if keep in mind liquid did that twice against Vitality last season
And it didn't really prove any any positivity for them
No, but that's liquid.
That's like hotly orange.
Oh my, oh my, an extra orange thrown in there.
What if I told you, Mike, that 9Z have a 72% win rate on Inferno?
I'm intrigued.
Against who?
Are you saying that you don't respect the wins against Marsborne and Fake De Biro
as on the same level as Mouse?
I'm a man of respect, but no.
Do you know anyone on the Marsborne roster?
roster not a single person well mr. CXC I might have something to say about that
one young gris coming on through looking strong MOTM the man of the match look
that's a tough team that can be a tough team maybe 9z have been battle tested
by the likes of Mars born I might be ready to bring it to mouse another team
that says for them absolutely not I think it's important for most to come in
here and actually make a clean key out of it I think it's important for them
to come in and establish a bit of dominance just so they can build on
that momentum but once it it maybe is a good thing for them to be in the
lower bracket, but the fact of the matter is that Maus will have to win three games in a row.
I've no doubt they're going to beat 9C, whether it's going to be uninferno or surprisingly on a
third map, but it only gets worse from there on right. The competition in that lower bracket is
going to be very, very tough. Theoretically, they could have a rematch versus Mongols.
Theoretically, Vitality could drop down in the lower bracket, so Maus had to get a go now.
Well, Jacob seems to think this is a sure thing. I think it could get interesting what
Say you Anders and Henry G.
Well, I am excited.
I hope that they're wrong on the desk.
I kind of want to see more of the 9C.
They just really surprised me on the opening map,
but I do feel like they could be right.
Unfortunately, this could be the end of the road for 9C.
I love the optimism from Darth Mike.
Always a glass half full kind of guy,
but yeah, I tend to agree.
I think the fun comes to an end here.
Dust 2 is a golden ticket into this series.
gets a lot more tactical now and Maus should be absolutely destroying them here
in Inferno. Torgy, bit of an Inferno specialist as well. I'm sure he'll be
having a much stronger performance than what we saw on Dust2. Ladies and gentlemen,
Buckle your seat belt. Kusuk could be saying goodbye to NINZ right here,
right now. Map number two is gonna be the pick of Maus. T side star for them.
They've got the two smokes. Oh just the one smoke, one Molotov and a couple
of flashes. Make it four. So we'll see what they can make of it. It's gonna
to be aggressive of course we know they like to press W. Wassel Peak gets himself
tucked away in towards the apartment all five players from mouse towards the
banana area waiting for initial aggression any sort of utility to be
deployed. Careful of those chickens and a B execution looking very likely here.
I assume you'll just be molotov-ing towards CD spawn. Sorry smoking CD
spawn Molotov coffins flash over in you go. And unfortunately they just
rotated that second man away so max this smoke it does nothing I hate this
smoking pistol rounds they will always run through I will never understand why
people do it in other rounds sure but I feel like in pistol rounds it's so easy
to discharge on through if you're already at the corner does get the kill
that's good news but they're quick on top and max out of the round
Luke was gonna be next Spinks will take down while the beacon man and GG T very
very fast. Straight onto the bomb site where Mouse, quick bomb plant as well.
He did very well in the pistols and dust too, but this one wouldn't be landing in their favor.
As mentioned, simple B execution, smoke down, Molotov in, flash over, trade up, he kills.
His spot is crazy in CS2. No one ever checks it. And that does farm a bit of cash here.
He can maybe get one more. If he does, he'll have a ton of cash. I still think
they're forced by the second round, may I look into punish and punish you shall.
So yeah, that guarantees a force in the second handers.
Yeah, he's got some Kevlar as well.
Well, then that's a very, very smooth beginning here.
I guess I should say if you're going to throw that smoke in B,
like if you have doolies, a couple of do like if you have a lot more people
on the other side of just the one smoke, I don't like it.
Anyway, second round is coming up and you have said we scourancy a force here.
That's absolutely the case.
Two five sevens, they're lethal on Inferno, Eagle on Mayhem,
yeah, the mass and an MP9.
I've said it a few times recently,
pound for pound five seven is the best gun in the game right now.
Five hundred dollars, the pocket rocket.
Yeah.
Well, with the new ammo,
it might even seem more of a of use.
Yeah, true.
Right, extra bullets there could really be helpful.
So far, they're not running into utility. That's kind of to be expected.
There's one HG coming up, but it's a bit too early.
Good pop. Still able to get the one, and the FB7, it's only going to be good for the one kill.
So far, they're trading evenly, but he's blindspick.
There's another one here. There he is with the eagle.
I don't think he should have taken that shot.
You had a chance. At least one more kill there.
You had the element of surprise on your side.
Pop shot through the smoke. A bit of panic, maybe.
Doesn't work out there was a chance of one more. I don't think it changes the outcome of the round unfortunately, but there we go
ruffling some feathers of the mouse unit, but overall gonna be to zero
You could see though how
In a perfect world with the grenade from inside of the B bomb site if they could have peaked at the same time
If you all was coordinated well from the CT side, it would have been pretty interesting
But mouse we expect them to be strong on this map and so far so good
A lot of chaos.
It's kind of been a theme, I would say, of the match so far.
It's been very chaotic rounds.
The exertion in that smoke in middle on Dust 2, nearly a triple.
But none of them.
A lot of madness.
Saving the MP9 will be the eco to follow things up.
Back to back. The executions.
Yeah, and why not some of these early rounds are some of the few ones
You're gonna see where you're not running into a bombardment of incendiaries and HEs on banana
At least less likely I guess they could in the pistol, but
They're feeling good with it now
Hate I would hate to be the entry on banana on the T side and any team just running in a cheese all the time
Can be a nightmare
They've purchased them for
to go with it. I saved the MP9, fitting a bit of a flush of cash, man. I'm gonna have the M4
and armor, see if they can make it work here. Going for the boost on the corner.
That's a surprise angle. You don't really have to bring out the little gimmick plays here.
Okay, even after getting double needed, Blaster Peak still gets one.
That's pretty surprising.
There's all the debris in his eyes as well, company actually found a ghost.
Looking on top of the smoke.
That works so well, okay.
Two openings in favor of 9C.
Exertion, you will catch Max, he's putting a lot of pressure on the bomb.
And Exertion goes down, Mayhem quick to react.
They picked up the bomb.
There's only one defender on A.
This was the eco, Anders.
They bought an M4, they saved MP9, and it's worth its weight in gold.
Wasipit needs one kill here. He goes down with nothing, they do not win this round.
I'll tell you that right now.
Do they check this position? Can he hold his nerve? Can he buy enough time?
Ugh, that's a shame.
Round still on, but advantage for Maus for sure.
Yeah.
They didn't have the wallet off here, they could buy a little bit of time so they can reposition.
Spinks going up into the apartment hallway there.
Torshe's inside of the bomb site.
If there was some utility here, they could put some pressure on Toshi, but they really can't.
They just have to try and see if they can jump in.
Maybe they can coordinate the jumps or ones on the box and one swinging, but I'm moving.
It's not easy. Yeah, you don't have a kit, so they're already running low on time.
There's Spinks and Toshi. Just the perfect time to peek up in the apartments.
Toshi gets the last one and a scary round, but Mouth survive.
Yeah, as soon as that bomb goes down, Master P gets nothing.
If he gets one, they definitely win it. I can't stress that enough.
Unfortunate for him. There's a little bit of damage. That's about it.
Nice work to open things up at MP9.
The boost, like we said, the novelty play
gives him the 5-on-3 advantage.
Mayhem, did great work at the M4, but
didn't have the utility mentioned, running out of time, had to swim through.
It's all about that Molotov towards short as well. I mean, they have the three routes back towards long, wasted about
10 seconds at that point.
There we go.
That's a strong start. Pretty much for free from Mayhem. Took a little bit of damage, but that's about it.
Waslopeak, ready to take the fight. He did it last time with the SMP. Seconds away. Millie seconds.
That is another good opening, Xershin, he is ready to win this one.
That is a strong double, makes it a triple, he's wiped out the round on his own.
Absurd play.
Xershin had a few fumbles and dust too, must know to be their mid to B play, three kills
available to him, didn't find any, they still won the round, it wasn't a big deal
but that's much better.
Yeah.
That'll be a real low light that people are going to be circulating laughing at.
But 4-0 rings true. That was a 5-on-4 advantage as well. Zershin goes to town, cracks open to be
bombsite single-handedly. Makes him look foolish on the other side. Bailey takes any damage for
his troubles either and the hunt is on. Jimmy can smell blood in the water. Need to be right.
Two players here at the World's Appearance. You can just find at least one of these,
this would be great. Hasn't got the molly to flush him out. Does he commit and leap into the pits?
Don't show your head. Might not be worth it now.
Yeah, but the CT's gonna be so careful as well. I'm glad they don't try and fight him. I just
don't think it's worth it. He's dangerous. All right. Early rounds looking good right now
for mouse. And as an assault nine, see who decided to take a bit of a timeout. They want a chance
to discuss the rest of the half year. They are having a very hard time controlling them
and especially right now, Surtian playing that top banana position every time they make
even a single mistake they get punished by him in that position. That's a lot to deal
with. We'll see if they have any protocols, if they pick up some utility. There are
There are a lot of teams that have advanced nade strategies for trying to take some banana
control. I haven't really seen that out of line C yet.
And letting banana go to mouse. Maybe it's too easily.
Alright.
4-0.
4-0.
Scrambled a little high here, they've got a little bit.
It's a deep remage, they're not on the wrong side, but you can't always control that.
Man, that's a position.
He does have a teammate with him, so he's not completely exposed to his left-hand side.
What Jimmy to deal with though?
Wasp peek, feeding brave.
Get some self for more advantageous angle.
Retake U2 going over.
Jimmy spotted, no damage already inflicted.
Oh, it's a big kill.
MP9 now.
Alone to defend.
Back up coming in from CT spawn.
Nice.
Spray down.
Gets a little dink on Torgy through the wall as well.
Round not dead yet, 4-on-4, so technically favours the T side, especially on Inferno,
bomb making his way back towards Middles, so now it's Zershin's job to keep these two players on this side of the map.
He's got a plethora of utility. Molotov for new boxes, and Molotov's first Oranges as well.
Just a full-on one, man.
So it looks like two players are still down with that play.
It's hard to deal with. They even respond with an incendiary immediately. They think, okay, we could be under attack.
be under attack. So now you've got about 10 seconds before they realize nothing's
coming in you need to pounce about now with your mouse up towards short but
you've got to deal with the orb. Mayen has to save the day if he misses a single
shot here and is the round's over. Yeah they have him all of a sudden oh but
there was some spinks they have to pick it up now they've thrown it down but
it's behind him and he's in front. Mayen expertly played he had to step it
up like you said and he has the right now done enough I think 12 seconds on
the clock. Wow so he gets one and he's good for the follow up. That is so
well played. Cool idea there from Maus, Zershin showing a lot of presence towards B, managed
to hold those players on that side of the map, but as we mentioned, Maian, rock solid, as long
as he hits his shots they would be absolutely fine, delivers the goods here, had to hit
that first one, nails it on the second as well, Lasso peak, to mob things up. No,
it was nice boys, enjoyed that. Well handled, you've been pulled around the map there,
This is the world-class team a top three squad
You had them on the ropes and dust to recovering an eight-four deficit. You had them sweating. You had them making mistakes fumbling advantages
It's never over until it's over playing for that tournament life here. They'll take a tactical timeout this time in the mouth side
Trying to shut down any sort of momentum that they want to build up
Yeah, still early on in the half here. I mean, mouse been looking good, but it's not too late for a recovery for an INC.
One of the struggles has been the economy, which means worse weapons, but an inferno also means less utility.
And that could be the death of the CT side. This time it's different. Got a lot more in the bank.
And actually it's mouse that are falling behind on the money. Two Galeels.
Yeah, just no loss bonus.
Some of these rounds have been relatively close.
Let's get into it, shall we?
Important time of the game for 9-Z, especially if you don't convert this one.
You're in a lot of trouble.
Jimmy, this time, a lot more space under his remit towards the apartments.
Defensive hold from the CTs. You can see them holding right back here. AWP towards B as well.
The face check comes in there in trouble. I think they might grenade spawn though.
We'll have a look. There's going to be a smoke going down early.
Did the smoke miss? Yeah, it's going to stay. Where is it? How have you missed that, lads? Come on.
I don't know.
That is the absolute most vanilla smoke you can throw. If you're missing that, like, wake up.
What are the most thrown smokes?
Yeah, like that's the one smoke you need to know if you're playing Furno. How they miss it at this level
I'm actually kind of annoyed, but whatever we'll move on
Well, let's see
They don't know that there's nobody on banana yet, and I see they're still really far back
But they do a three people at the A bombsite, but 40 seconds on the clock. They've got some utility as well
Fortunately, so it's on me and he's on the other side. We'll see if they can actually hold on here down around the 30 second mark
That's a star isn't it?
Of course gonna be taking number all and that's the bomb as well. That was on that side now
It's been picked up by surgeon instead. He's made the rotation back around towards the pit
It's 20 seconds on the clock if they're trying to get off the mouse
Oh, wow spray. It couldn't have been any better
DGT he will clean up the pits, but that is maybe bit flat for mouse
Missed oh, yeah, definitely. You're trying to fake the B bomb sign you throw a smoke towards the skybox
So what are you up to? Oh?
Oh no.
Definitely not what we're looking for here. That's a second round. And again, they were already low on money.
That's going to be doubly true now. Mouse will have to take a bit of a breather as they let 9C back into the game.
Oh yeah, for sure. Has to be the Faleco.
We don't want any blowouts here. And the blast open.
They're no fun.
We want to see what 9-Z are made of. Like we said, they want some tape to take home of them.
Yeah, you don't really learn much from getting blown out of 13-2, but if you can get to double digits,
get the opposition sweating, you have a lot to work with and work on going forward.
It's going to say that it's almost a referendum on mouse. That's maybe too dramatic,
but it is at least a temperature check on how the team is doing after some of the recent losses.
it is still a group stage game so I don't we're gonna judge them too harshly but
we do expect them to win well it's an elimination game it's an elimination game
yeah that's probably worth emphasizing and one that everybody thinks is gonna
be a 2-0 it should look better should probably look better on dust 2 thanks
Nate on Berlin I guess for 9C as well these are the kind of rounds if you
somehow screw these up you can't take down the top teams you have to find a
way to hold on to everything here there's not a lot to work with on mouse
but it just takes a single mistake and everything good on a rabble do you have
four people at the A bomb site so the defense is as strong as it possibly be
Mayen not going to hit the shots but the rest of the cleanup crew are in
position as discipline low-hp players falling back trying to fall to give
Everything away here every dollar counts against the team like mouse
We have sweep good kill to close things out as well all five members survive there for 9z and
They close the score line to a one-round game
All we can shoot about it's all here 43 for mouse
Money's still a little bit compromised though. I don't think they have a case across the ball
They certainly won't have the AWP
Galil's likely to be brought out as how many we've got Jimmy and Brawland
Yes with the lesser of the rifle still very surface, but of course
But you've now got three AK 47s on the CT side
This is where things to get a little bit more complicated and those 1v1 jewels
Yeah, they're starting to accumulate quite a bit
Even spamming through some of the smoke if that ever happens with the
Crosshair on but he definitely had an AK
Spinks my god
He was deadly on the first map, back again this time.
I think they just popped through this smoke, executing towards B.
Oh yeah, look off of very well that prospect,
trying to scramble back to the safety of the bomb site here.
Smoke goes down.
That's fine, they're just trying to provoke a reaction of the CTs.
They've applied a lot of pressure there
and extended quite a lot of their UTIL.
Good trades.
It's about to say that's a great shot from Max,
but means nothing if he's tried to outthread away
and instead of four versus three.
Or you told that they even have left over towards the side of the map.
Really nothing at all. They've got one flash on DDT,
Wauzer peeks again, holding A alone.
The mouse have so much time.
They're back to check, they just gotta see.
All you have to do is execute towards B now, and there's unfortunately smoke off in,
smoke spawn, flash over, trade out kills.
You're gonna show a bit of presence with one player towards middle.
Keep one player here at the very least, tucking in.
Maybe overplay this hand a bit there.
Yeah, but it forced the rotation.
They're actually running one of the two people back, so now DGT.
That's taking so long, like I don't...
I think Brawlin's parked up there in the middle was the play.
Yeah.
You're right, it is taking long enough, because now the backup is starting to get there.
Remember, they got AK's on the other side. 15 seconds on the clock now.
Mouse trying to get onto the site, but they might have left too little time in the round.
Good headshot on the Jimmy. He goes down.
He goes down, loop off, picks up one more and with just five seconds on the clock he can't plant the bomb any longer, he is mixed.
It doesn't matter as long as you don't fight him, you can't lose the round any longer and they'll get him right at the end.
Spinks to go down.
He died after time as well.
Did he really?
Yep, $600 into the next round.
Yeah, I think they overcook.
I don't think Brawler had to go around swinging there.
Like he'd already shown presence with the flashbang, footsteps there.
He tucks himself into that cubby, allows him to execute.
All of a sudden there's no scramble, you're not worried about the backstab.
And you have the opening picks that and then it's just really kind of labored
Executing towards B
allow the CT to reposition
But even if he goes down the spine like you said now, they're so slow to to get the neck out going
Yeah, that that wasn't beautiful from miles to say that
Overcooking a little bit too much step on each other
They almost block each other in in the middle of all of that chaos through the incendiary all of coffee
Okay, DDT is definitely a game.
That makes a difference.
A double grenade.
A little couple of people up on the other side.
Yeah, round secure.
Zersh and one HP.
Got the M4, sure, but nothing you can do with that.
Hands it over.
Been a tough first half for Jimmy.
He's been lurking in the hallways for a while.
Hasn't really worked out.
If anybody wants to see a highlight
of how to do that. You should watch Grim playing up against Sizi, if you remember, in those
hallways.
Grim's been excellent.
He was wild.
Nice to see him like get rolls he wants and be more active in the squad.
Yeah.
I think we saw Nitro saying like we saw how good Grim's aim was and we should utilize
that, make him a star player.
Yeah, it'd be a fool not to.
And yeah, it's paying dividends. They are looking very good right now.
early victory for NRG. Kept them in the tournament. Wazopique just barely misses that. It's crazy.
They'll be playing against Furia on Sunday. Furia aren't in their best form. There is
a world where they at least give them a run for their money. No pressure I think on NRG
either. They can relax and play that game to the best of their ability. Now this
is a bit of a hunt. He missed it the first time Wazopique but I think he just realized
There's not a lot of places they could go.
It's grey down.
Yes, they let go of the bomb plant.
Doesn't really matter here.
5-4.
It's a lead now for 90.
Looking good, mouse making some mistakes.
We've seen fumble with smokes.
Overplaying their hand in advantages.
When they have these four on threes,
they're trying to go for big lurk plays
and separating from the squad.
It's not working out.
And in terms of mechanical skill,
90 have got that in buckets and spades right now.
That's the timeout.
Fading the pressure up once again.
Dust 2 felt so good in that first half.
8-4 lead, you know, in all the way.
Right down to the wire.
Lucky to get out of that alive without an overtime.
If the worst should happen, then Newcastle deciding map.
That's probably great news for Mouse, but again,
what is their mental going to be like if they end up losing this one
or an obstacle or third map?
could be not excited what they're expecting here so still obviously not even through the first half
yet here but still that is something to consider. Consider it we shall.
So I could try and keep everyone's head in the game.
And they can't be known to be a mentally weak team at times.
Yeah they have their moments where the frustration kicks in.
I like this, they're juggling over the HGs especially.
As we're probably all the way at this point, the meta is bouncing grenades
off that back wall that lands behind the half wall. Yes.
Doing massive amount of damage, you want to have the HGs over there for that.
Exact reason. Yeah. Ship away at them.
You don't know, you're definitely not utilizing the Henry G system.
Exactly. Gotta brush up on that.
All right, mouse. A bit of a trout of rounds here.
Things are going oh so well.
It's time to fall apart some more here.
We're punishing their grenades and spawning a ton of the cash.
Yeah, back to pick them up.
Oh, that could have been if you'd taken one more step.
I think you at least sees spinks on that one.
Could be a split coming in.
They take arch.
They can actually put some pressure on.
I love these plays.
But smoke is up in an absolutely perfect time for it.
Oh, it's close.
They would have heard those bullets above their heads.
45 seconds.
And because of that smoke, they're kind of waiting on arch.
They're not really sure what to do next.
It looks like it might just be more of a B-execute
with Spinks lurking.
Actually, a bit what you wanted Brolin to do last time,
perhaps.
Another failed smoke.
What is this?
Where is that supposed to go?
Is that sort of library smoke?
I think so.
I couldn't even work.
where it's supposed to be as a library smoke. What the hell is going on lads?
We smoked you guys so now, DGT, let's go down. We'll cover in the back unfortunately can't hold
on to it bro, and that's a really sick opening. It burns one, shoots the other, and the bomb is
going to be planted here, and all along Spinks was just holding here. And I think this is what
you want to brolin to do in that previous round. This time he's just you know,
there's an insurance policy, not that anyone's going to try and retake now, but
But, okay, fifth round for Maus.
Important kill that.
Sphinx can take the orb out.
Wounds the economy, there it is.
Mine is still very strong.
Fight for it.
Get the bomb, defuse.
You got the kit.
You get the smoke.
I agree, I agree.
If he had a smoke as well, he actually could do it.
Doesn't, so he's moving up there.
Ah, they're gonna hear it.
Unfortunately, it's such a sick idea,
but look who's locked in.
Can you imagine?
Yeah.
You got to respect that though.
Oh yeah, they've got so much money.
There's only two rounds left.
You've got plenty of cash.
You've got the $14,000 in DGT.
So yeah, get that a go.
Nice one, Zarshan.
Always so good at cracking up with these sort of bombsides.
Brawland.
Yeah.
Following things up with a double kill.
Sure, you remove the author.
Like we said, plenty of cash.
Do you fight that one to the next round?
So they've got more than enough money
for a buy for the final couple here as well.
I know at least three, but it could be more.
Rounds have been one at the B-bomb side by Xershin getting the opening.
I think he's really been the engine for them picking up those B openings.
And that's important.
Here we go.
Bro, I'm thinking about it, making it past the wall.
The grenade you mentioned earlier, it's a bit late,
but the off-shot is perfectly timed.
Man, it takes down Bro that was pretty aggressive.
Yeah, it goes to the face check on CT spawn.
Brave maneuver on this punished
And now you got to reset the round you've lost all the territory you don't know of the cities have retaken the top of banana
Which they have
Scrin at least
We go back into war day Jimmy's confirmed of the apartment to release under his remap
And two minds as to where this team is finishing up
DGT hovering between both bombsites and this is a great play from Max. The fact that he
now knows that he's completely clear they can rotate everyone over should be a 90 round
all day long Anders. Yeah, this is so sick. Pushing the bottom of that banana position.
Walking all the way through and they're going to know everything. Under 40 seconds.
Look off, taking the first one and now they're wrapping around this short side
But they are known the entire position has been discovered max one kill is all it took
Maybe no kills would have been enough for him
He did all the work in getting the intel on what mouse we're doing
Jimmy some good kills here, but there's still three left and not enough time. Yeah, never
They're gonna end up winning this half. Yeah, they are looking at the better team right now
I'm bear in mind. I think it was mouse that won the pistol right as well
Max pushes through his own smoke and the people.
Exactly, yeah, that was the genius part of it.
Because the timer's running low, you drop that smoke, you're trying to force them in towards A.
It's a massive risk to push through the smoke, but one, that pays dividends and then some.
You can see they're leaving M4s in spawn as well, so the AWP can transfer and pick up a rifle if required.
This is looking really interesting now.
Smoke's being deployed from the bottom up, banana.
6 5 7 would be a nice number for 9 C
they are the underdog team by a really long shot here look at that reservoir of
utility what Spinks walking with Jimmy this time towards the bedroom
why so peak has been a real thorn in their side although like ships in the
either through. He gets things here I think. Might be able to read. Is he ready for Jimmy?
Not quite. He could have escaped but I think he wanted to stick around for another headshot
and look like there was a microsecond of indecision that cost him his life. Often the case in
Counter Strike isn't it? 55 seconds. Bringing the bomb back to what's top mid.
We'll see if they actually commit. Exertion is alone over a banana and even he's gonna
start to fall away here. Not a bad call to go for the bombsite, there's only two defenders
at the moment. 4 on 4. We have got Mayen, hasn't missed many anders. This will be one of them,
the flash is pretty well timed. Forced back around the corner. He's got one more chance
here and you will get the headshot. DGC in the pit, so far the defense is holding.
That's a wild flick, but back up is there as well. Max! 5-7 comes out, 7-5 at the
The N9C once again on top.
This was me just six weeks ago before I started my training program.
Commentating, stressed, depressed.
But look at me now.
Headshots.
Another headshot.
Headshot again.
It really is that easy.
I'm here to teach you competitive Counter-Strike or maps such as Dust 2.
power plants and of course Moran. And that's not all. We'll also cover advanced maps such
as Inferno, the Egypt one and Aztec House. With the Henry G system you'll get your professional
player certificate in no time. Have a look at mine. It's already arrived. Some say years
of practice are required. They're wrong. I will teach you good habits such as smoking,
flashing and of course winning. For example, you throw the smoke and now you wait. The enemy
becomes confused. Come on, this is strategy. I've coached many players using this plan.
Some of them improved, and some were already professionals.
Now you don't need to memorize all of the smokes, of course, just the coolest ones, such as
mids, the other mids, a room, and ban banananana.
This is a very strong flash.
As you can see, it even blinded me, and this smoke will land somewhere near a bomb site.
The enemy will not expect it, and will run away.
And if the smoke misses, that's fine, as you are smarter than them.
I personally don't use smokes.
I simply know where the enemy is going to be.
And if you do lose a round, remember, it's not your fault.
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Well, if you ask me, it's mouse, then you decide up for the certified training program.
So many miss smokes and blundered rounds there has led them to a 75 deficit.
We all thought that Inferno would be the open shot case where mouse dominate, close
things out to zero and eliminate 9-Z, but that's not the case, Anders.
Yeah, we ended up being almost on miss smoke watch at some point in there.
What is going on?
Well, we need more. We expect more. And we should. We're right to export more.
Second part of mouse. They are a great team. And they need to prove it right now.
The two rounds down second half is coming up now on the TCT side.
So it's definitely going to be difficult. I think for nine C to make a breakthrough.
But so far they look on the phase. I'm not seeing a lot of fear and a lot of doubt in the nine C camp.
We've seen some mistakes. Sure. Every once in a while.
But they are fighting tooth and nail to beat mouse.
to detect anyone behind the half wall. Yeah, here it hits a body. You get free information.
And also any USP on the corner will divert that cross that make things uncomfortable.
So it's multifaceted decoy underrated. Yeah, that is the real nerd tech that
will do the decoy going to the boost spot as well. That's okay. That's kind of sick.
This is the most amount of decoys I've ever seen in a pistol.
Yes it is.
And look at what it's done.
It's pulled some people over. They think it might be me.
And the Toshi started to make the run back, but in the pit, Spinks and Jimmy are in position.
Not for you, you suck at the apartments as well.
Spinks are getting a kill yet.
There we go.
Edge of the smoke, I think, taking down Max.
No bomb plan has happened.
They've hunted down Spinks finally.
But they need a bomb plan.
And Toshi, look at it, you won't let them.
You thought that was safe for me, but it isn't.
Listen, you don't get the bomb, how to get one kill on Spinks. They never had control of that bomb site
Very interesting pistol there from 9z. I have to say it's avant-garde. It's creative
Yeah, involve decoys if you're not aware of your new viewer
You can buy Kevlar out of 650 and then you have 150 left over you can buy decoy for 50 bucks
And it's cool things you can do it like that and the idea of referring it towards spawn in a boost spot is
You're suggesting that's gonna be a smoke landing in and it will provoke a rotation or maybe the CT to drop their smoke as well
I know I'm talking about decoys a lot, but I guess it's just it's cool. You don't see it too often
I
Think I said this last time and I wanted to test it and then I never did some too lazy
But if you land a decoy on the reservoir grenades, does it blow them away?
I don't think so because if it did then you can land a decoy, you know the be reservoir
That's I serious saying, but I don't think it has that much explosive potential
That'd be fun. That's what it does blow up at the end after 10 seconds
Maybe it does. I don't know. I don't know for sure. Maybe it's something bad, but this time I really will test it
You should it's an interesting theory. I'm sure somebody. I mean it's our theory. I wouldn't say it's interesting
So theory one of many
Here we go
There's only glocks on the other side
So really test case the MP9 and the MP7 will find some kills
You clean it up, you'll make a little bit more cash on the mouse side of things.
Prime position for Brawland right now, must say, taking all the attention, exertion, and
maybe some of the kills too.
Yeah, you will.
They split it down the middle between the two, and the game is tied now.
7-7.
much right on this next one I think if mouse can start to put together a good half here then
I think they're gonna rely on the experience on the method in general to to pull it through but
nine see if they can upset with these early AKs maybe maybe there's no chance for a third map
there's always a chance handers seven seven for now
Now, bit of a bonus situation.
Oh, great.
They have no idea I think that he's in.
Oh, maybe they do.
What is going on?
I don't think anybody knows any more.
The knife has come out!
Surtians, stab Max in the middle of the madness on Banana.
Spinks fall back surely, we've had enough fun here.
Don't risk it all now.
There we go.
He's a stone.
Dude, relax.
This is not necessary.
Oh, he's left the bus, he's dead.
He's absolute.
Oh, let's go back to the bomb site, you're the last guy there.
You had an incendiary and a smoke, and he's sticking around for that.
I'm not gonna say cost you the round, Jimmy can still win this, but God, that was...
Silly manoeuvre.
He's got a smoke, so yeah, he's gonna recommit that one.
Yeah, he has to make plans another smoke, why not?
He smokes a bomb and defuses, should be fine, applies a lot of pressure.
Yeah, I think that's the right move as well.
If you re-smoke CT spawn, that's not going to help him all that much.
There's the smoke on top, like we're talking very low on the clock here.
He can't really fake it that many times.
There he goes, straight on, Thomas.
See, it's going to be an easy find.
Wiles will peek.
Able to get the job done.
That is not a round I want to see again from out.
I don't know what Spinks is up to there.
That's a round that should break down on the desk as well.
You had that one in the bag.
You've gone through all that chaos, your bonus round.
You're a man advantage of a guy alone.
You don't even need to fight that.
You've got utility and it's smoke and the incendiary.
And what, is this hoping to block them
for a few more seconds?
Put the smoke down and just reset the round.
What are you up to?
Soon as you go down, that round is over.
Massive mistake from Spinks.
Yeah.
I think that's absolutely worth criticizing.
No!
Like, fair enough, you missed the gap
of them walking over,
but like, you're playing such a dangerous game.
I could come back to horn them that's your bonus round and you were in smooth
saving at that point you shut down their finances and you're a player as well
there is talented player on the server you block them off get a good position in
the bomb so you're definitely getting one more kill yeah oh she I think they
need to control the start of this half here they had a chance just now see
they can recover it again very close to a double entry if he finds that
kill on Groland that's the round almost over immediately there's no
one is defending. So good job on Brawland holding on.
A little more interesting game than I would have thought at the
start of the day. I don't know the games today, but I was
going to be making it harder for themselves at times.
Yeah, that's true. Fred at the mouse, at least for giving us
that much. Brawland.
Always exposed. Be careful, call his name. Darling, what are
you up to?
jumped up too well that's around you're not gonna get over this one really wanted
to throw that grenade again you're alone yeah play the percentages play for
the information stay alive
realistically what is the most amount of damage you could really do with that
with that grenade at that distance is unlikely. They're just all stood on top of each other.
And the smoke was about to dissipate as well. Like, yeah. Oh, God. Okay, a couple of nightmare
rounds there. I hate to say it. I know I'm being quite critical more than usual, but those are
two stinkers back to back. I think it's worse being critical in this moment for a couple of
reasons. Like one mouse of the favorite team, we expect them to not get knocked out here today.
Also, these are mistakes that while they're getting punished by 9C, but if you're playing
the high level teams. You're gonna get crushed doing this. You don't want to see it. That's
a grass side though. Yeah. Yes indeed. He knows. Yes they are pretty smooth. That can't
happen nine seven here we go this is interesting the money's very intensive on
the mouse side isn't it
all the way up tooshi gotta be careful here the EGT's around the corner a miss
shot and you're gone you won't miss neither will Jim fat now play the
percentages. Nothing more needs to be done. Reset the round. We don't need to
refame territory of banana. We can just play a very traditional 3-2 setup here
and that would be absolutely fine. No one has to do anything. If anything, just
hold onto your grenades, keep your gun out. If they don't, I'll call for a time
out and I'll send you out there. Can Henry have a word with the map
sports team. So they chose in the right area of the map, it's up against Jimmy though, the
Prince of Pit. Yeah, she's got to stay alive here. She's very well done. This is the kind
of round I think they need right now. Stabilize the team, get the mental back here. Don't
let 9C run away with it. No casualties. And they get to upgrade some rifles potentially
there. They had a couple of FAMAS and everything else coming into the round. So this was a big
turning point in the second half. It's a huge reset of the economy, Torgie with the
money shop, Jimmy to back him up, solid hold, can't poke any holes in this round, this is
what the mouse we want to see. Yeah, and it's gonna be a floor spy. The levels and
technology. Yeah, fortunately it's it's not that impressive at the moment. DDT's
top fragging with 16 kills. He's actually in the entire server, he's playing a really
good game. I love to see that.
She's taking over for the rifle, so they sound off on the rifle. You think you're peeking into
an AK or an M4 on the other side and instead it's the AWP waiting. It's a simple trick.
It's an efficient one. Smoke up towards the little pit.
That's...
Omodo?
You're American.
Good to clarify.
Glad to keep it inclusive then.
Yeah, you always do.
Yeah.
I mean it on the clock and again, trying to distract.
AK right in your face to turn the corner.
What the hell where?
Okay, so now you're alone again bro.
Now we need to the block.
Yeah, there we go.
Let's buy some time.
Let's get good positions.
Let's not be jumping around.
I think they've had that conversation internally.
You can tell they're much more careful as well they should be 30 seconds there is nothing
you do is there they don't have the health just so far away you can pray that's about
it you run into a bomb site and you hope that towards you as a shop I don't think
you should even be going for this I think you save the AKC you've got no money going
forward. This round's already done in my book but fair enough. Give it a go.
Okay Max gets that. It's an instant headshot on Njimi and it's still doable.
Nine seconds to the clock but they've got their backs turned. Lukov gets that one and
now the bomb is gonna be planted. He's got enough time for it but the health is the
real issue after the fact. Eleven of them left. I like this. Get the orb.
Okay. He's got the two bullets. He hasn't reloaded.
He needs to head bow for them then. Yeah well two is enough.
No grenade, there is an incendiary though, he gets an incendiary towards the pet.
We can hit this.
Really good point there, it's the flick on the first and now Spinks is in trouble here.
Walks out for the next, he's absolutely ready.
What a crutch coming out!
We said they had to pray for a miracle Anders and the miracle is delivered.
Another round, a falls apart for Maus, four on two, no time left.
I was calling for the save.
Yeah.
they had no chance at all how you get that round up I will never know it's
another disaster for mouse here and fantastic work from 9z they have no
business winning now whatsoever it's the call to pick up the AWP got 10 points
of health the only way you run it's with that orb he had two bullets left in the
magazine and my god does he make them count
spectacular I think you got the kill at the bottom of banana as well to
start the round with so much production coming out of him in this one 10 to 8
and mouse I really put to the test this time oh my way too close this yes yes it
has but it's not over yet that was that forced by as well they'd have been left
of nothing yeah and now you're on the back foot financially you've given that
all back over it's in the hands of Mayan smoke pops no one home gonna try and
reclaim some territory towards the top of banana here Zershin tucks himself in
towards the sandbags they have got three players towards B I'm assuming they're
gonna try and drop those eight cheese towards the half all momentarily double
set up towards the apartment leaves middle wide open here's cuz
grenades they time them well these can do about 200 damage no miss one of them
another miss piece of utility and is I wasn't gonna say it Henry this level is
just not good enough no it's not good enough it all counts you know I did it
vitality doing that I'll tell you that much something is with them you can see
in those micro moments individually, some of the utility, a bit all over the place right now.
Now you've got a gamble stack. It's pretty much round as it goes into all day. It's over.
Yeah.
This used to be a really niche counter strike. The first person I ever heard bring this up,
the idea of gamble stacking, it's actually MSL. Oh yeah? And everyone's laugh to get it.
If you were saying it's a stupid idea, like why you just, what, do you just lose the round otherwise?
I had his time, so let's say.
So that would have got a kill.
They took him down to 43 HP, that second grenade would have got him a kill.
Yeah.
And it might have dissuaded them from the swing as well.
Yes.
You cannot afford to miss that piece of utile, like...
That's your job, you're being paid to learn these grenades and throw them, Anders.
I like, yeah, you're absolutely, I'm laughing, but you are not wrong.
And I don't think you're wrong for pointing it out either.
It's supposed to be one of the premier teams in the world.
It's supposed to be. This showing is not bad.
9-Z, don't take anything away from them. They are doing very well.
Well, yeah. Punishing your opponent's mistakes is one of the key ways to try and win a match.
That's exactly what they're doing all the time.
The desk, I have a field day with this one. I can tell you that right now.
Oh, Roo and Jake, they're savages.
They're gonna be holding these guys the shreds. These are your smiling animals. Do you think I'm being harsh wait?
Do we get on that desk? Yeah?
That's gonna be
It's very light for even even though Mike tries, you know
I'm trying to hold them back. He's not gonna be possible this time
Let him loose
Hungry analysts waiting
Another timeout called
11-8, I can't believe what I'm witnessing.
It was a struggle on the opening map of Dust2.
We didn't think it was going to be.
We're going to do a discount to 9C, more or less,
just given the tremendous difference between these teams.
But 9C, they changed our minds quickly.
They were good, really good.
I'm really impressed by them.
Yeah.
They turned out to play today.
They got nothing to lose.
No one expected anything.
Horrible route to the tournament.
Vitality into mouse.
What are you supposed to do?
But they are...
You're supposed to lose.
They're supposed to lose.
were there taking this opportunity and running with it. The money's busted again for Maus.
Let's see if they could keep the pressure on. Third map feels inevitable. Maus is their
head since not in it. Zershin's got a USP, hit the drop I guess an M4. Yeah.
Well this is another I think big opportunity for NyanC. If you're playing a top team you have
to kill them when they're weak. Oh, they didn't invest my bad. So they took a partial investment here,
Zershin, saving the cash of the USP. Maybe some grenades. I guess.
So you're allowing them essentially to get to 12 at this point.
How much in this bomb site? But I see a lot of damage.
You'll be low behind it.
it. Okay. I'm going to go back and pick up the bomb, but they've kind of been funneled
towards the A side, which for Maus's point of view is exactly what they need. Got the
stack here. Just makes this out though. Man, there's no utility here for Maus to actually
try and take this peak. Normally you'd have a Molotov landing before you go for a peak
or a flashbang in there. That's not really available at the moment. Give me back on
the other side but he's alone on this short side of a jumping back trying to reload into the pit
they're not hunting him yet 35 seconds to bring the bomb back broland's gonna find himself alone again
mp9 he's surely gonna get well there's one smoke he could get smoked off
oh that's on wiles repeat so yeah they they just have to try and take this fight
but broland now they know where he is split is coming in what a play here from the swedish
Captain 14 seconds to get the bomb down. They will get it down and there's still a player look if you've no idea
They think that was it that was the big part of the split
But DDT was waiting for all anus the next and now Jim Fats
He's been anchoring that pit for a long time. They know exactly where he's coming from. Well, this was the eco
They they saved weapons
It was a new USP desertion wasn't much of a chance of them winning it the only kills
They get at the MP 9 kills a brawling in spawn a banana split comes through and there it has
There it is, sorry, it's gonna be 9z with 12 on the board for opportunities to take us to nuke.
I expected that would be a very tough game. I rate mouse very highly on that map. I think it got some expert players, but they don't look like themselves.
No, they do not.
Hard to know what to expect then.
you said you like Jimmy at the B bomb side on dust 2? I think Jimmy on the T side of
Nuke when he's anchoring that lobby position? Sure. He's so good. So hard to find. We're
not there yet. 12 to 8 ladies and gentlemen, going into the very next round 21. And they
Are you pointed out? It was not a big investment.
Maybe some braids in the last round.
This round, they have the weapons.
Mouse hoping for some overtime.
Otherwise, 9C winning the mouse map pick
they could have won Dust2 as well.
Weird day indeed, but here's the middle.
Defense, Torshee and Jim Fat.
They get some good kills to start with
and it feels like 9C.
But we could say it again,
they should have no business winning this one.
Mouse need the discipline from earlier.
5 vs 3, they can't afford any mistakes.
They can't, but if they lock in, they can take us to overtime no problem.
We know they can.
Yeah.
We're frustrated because we know how good they are, and the level they're putting down today.
Yeah.
I think we're right to be a bit frustrated.
Back on banana.
What's the play? I mean,
It is a classic if you're down a man or two on this map just to compete
smoke CT spawn get one good entry and
There is a chance smoke lands on top of the boost
gonna be throwing another smoke landing towards the coffins here and
Repositioning on behind the fountain
Surtian is right there behind but he's ready to go through that smoke if he needs to 25 seconds
8 events have moved so technically this is sort of an isolated 2 versus 3 at the moment
Is it gonna work out exertion's gone run at the back by new box?
The 8 events is miles away. It has to be rolling and he can't get it done. That's happened
It is collapse
Should be GG Anders. They have two players on the site and don't they can't there's no refragging. There's no crossfire
They just died sing solo and you can't even take your time. You're gonna keep
It's a good start for it man. Go on DGT. He's low on health already. He could go down
But he'll get the headshot instead and now he's trying to wrap around
Time is the real factor here. Like you said no kid
They need to be lightning fast and they're not torsion hunting and now look what we can play ring around the
Rose all of the Molotov on top. That's enough. GG. That'll be a third map ladies and gentlemen
9c upsetting mouse on this second map. I can't believe it
Well, well, well. Take nothing away from Nynzee, an excellent
performance recovering from the deficit on Dust2, but it has to be said, Maus played themselves.
So many fumbled rounds, so many missed pieces of utility, and they find themselves down
in the dumps, they need to pick up the pieces and work all the hell is going on as we
get ready for Nuke.
He saddle up and ride us straight into a third map of this series magic coming through from the South Americans
What a statement map when here on inferno mouse in the dumpster?
Yeah, half the dust to I said I wanted to start to talk about 9c because I actually wanted to
Congratulate them on putting up a good fight and and start with the loser this time
I want to start with 9c because they're doing such a great job
You know winning inferno was not on my bingo card finding the way back into this matchup on a map like inferno
was not my bingo card.
I think the very last round of the game, the one that you just saw,
kind of summarizes what Inferno was for an experience for both 9C and Maus.
A lot of close rounds, a lot of back and forth,
but every single time it came down to the scenarios that you normally would describe as
here the more experienced team will iron it out.
You know, Maus in a 5v3 CT side, you're going to win this round nine out of ten times.
I don't know how Maus found themselves in so many advantageous positions and still lost,
and I don't know how 9C were able to bring it back in so many of those as well.
Credit to 9C for doing it.
Maus however, my alarm bells are starting to ring.
Yeah, I want to contextualize this one because I want to give all the credit in the world to 9C.
I think they played a great game.
DGT especially had some incredible rounds on the A and somehow on the B site defense as well,
even though he's usually in pit.
But the reality is you don't lose this as Maus in that fashion without playing terrible CS.
They lost to my count at least three two-man advantages in the second half two of them against four spies
This is completely unacceptable
That's not the mouse that you're looking at as a semi-final team a tournament winning potential team if they can get over their hurdles
That's pathetic gameplay for mouse. I want to spend just a little bit more time praising 9z
And I want to focus this up with one of our rounds round 18
This was magic coming through in the clutch, right?
The fact that this round even gets close that it manages to be brought back
Absolutely stunning here, Jacob.
This is where Maus for me lost the game
because you could argue first half, close back and forth.
Now Maus is in a position where they can stabilize,
control the CT side, run away with the game if they want to.
It is a 4v2 and one of the players down to no HP whatsoever.
Look at the time right here.
If you're Maus, if you stop the clip right here,
it is unloosable.
There's absolutely nothing you can do
in order to lose this round, yet you still do it.
I don't know why Tosca sticks around.
I don't know why Jimmy is in this position,
only getting one kill.
That's maybe fair enough.
but again, just one more bullet towards this guy,
leaving his two teammates in a 1v2.
I like the play right here,
the way that he's isolating the two duels.
He picks up the AWP, no he's a low HP,
but if your mouse in this scenario, unacceptable.
I don't know what the hell you're doing.
For me it's the balls to move out of pit,
knowing that you have an idea
where the second player's coming from,
that a Molly, that a Nade would end your day
to take the risk, to put it all in your shoulders.
I mean, praise on the looter,
if he said he was gonna do it in the pre-game interview,
he said he was gonna be holding W,
That's a W swing, if I'm right.
Yeah, but he's never supposed to be in pit.
He's supposed to be dead.
He's supposed to be born.
Jacob, be positive for a second.
How sick was that?
The clock stand itself was sick.
No doubt about that.
But if you're tossing in this moment,
why on earth are you sticking around with 19 seconds?
If your gym fed is well-playing in that position
on the bomb side, I to some degree get it.
It's kind of him being left in a bad scenario.
But again, one more bullet, or if you
take a slightly more passive angle on the bomb side,
you can play a better time, or you
can isolate the two duels.
I don't know what the hell they're
doing while they're putting himself in. I'm getting one kill and then I'm dying
scenarios over and over and over again. Alright, Torshee had a smoke and a flash
and a nade. He had full utility that is an actually
unloosable round and off the back of two rounds prior it was another anti-eco.
Brawlin pulls out a nade and throws it when they're just walking through the
smoke in a 4v3. He's 3v4 alone on a bomb site, pulls out a nade, dies with
a nade in his hand. They're trying to find advantages in these ridiculous
as if they're playing against vitality.
Just keep your gun out, hit your shots, you should win.
Wouldn't that?
I'm willing to now lean fully into the mouse doomerism.
I tried to drag you guys into positivity
for a second for 9Z.
I realized that's not going to happen anymore.
There's another round we want to look at here.
This is round 11.
Yeah, this is actually, this is the 9Z positivity
because I think 9Z understood their win conditions
in the first half of the game.
You have them get the initial entry
and by the time this A site hit comes out for mouse,
You can say they take a little too long.
There's five players on the A site for 9Z.
They understand, look, we can take some risks.
We are not mouse.
We don't need to play safe.
We can make some gambles.
We can make some reads and go for flanks like that
to have the play in the right position.
And this is around, I will pick up 9Z for.
I think this rotate made a lot of sense.
It was aggressive, even at a 5v4,
I think they're the team
that should be taking these risks, not mouse.
I think it's important for the viewer at home
to understand that it takes a good team
to punish the mistakes that mouse are making.
It takes a good play from Lutri
with AWP in order to win that clutch with 11 HP.
We're not saying that 9C is not playing well,
but we're saying that it takes Maus in the first place
to offer them the opportunity.
Then they strike, then they come in,
then they capitalize on the scenario,
then they capitalize on the situation
where they find themselves very much alive in this matchup
where elimination is at stake.
So in that regard, I'm all positive for 9C.
It's more so that we're talking about the,
what has it been like,
the second best team in the world
for the past 12 months,
maybe the third, depending on how you rate that,
playing so abysmally poor,
All of a sudden, after a poor showing in pro league,
after a not so great start to the year,
where's this coming from, from Mausaleg?
We're talking about you being the most consistent team
ever, maybe, outside of itality in group stages.
And now, all of a sudden, you can't even win
these kind of games and these kind of rounds.
It's almost like it's coming out of nowhere.
And it's especially troubling
because it's two infernoes in a row, right?
Where we've seen what is really a disaster.
They keep picking into it, their own map pick.
It happened to them against the Mongols as well here,
Voo, this inferno, what's going on?
I'm willing to write off a loss to Mongols at 13 three. I would be willing to write off a one-sided loss to 90 if your players just don't show up on the server
You can't hit your shots. You're whiffing everything's going wrong, but when the game goes long your players are in the server
They're in the game. You're finding advantages. It's not like they were just getting intrigued every time they were theory
They were getting their heads banged off. They were in 4v3's 4v2's 5v3's
They had advantages and their game sense their their decision-making fell apart
But that's where I get really concerned for our mouse team.
And the reason why we're so upset about it is that it's, as I said, the first time we
see it.
Like, it's not a typical thing for mouse.
It's not something I've ever remembered myself saying on a desk, you know, last year, this
year, whenever.
When mouse are losing games, it's usually down to a grind, usually down to some pressure
moments, usually down to a player not showing up.
It's not down to them losing, you know, 5v3s, 5v2s, 4v2s, you know, over and
over and over again against a team that is nowhere near their own level.
One of the things that was said the most about Maus last year is that they never lose to a team beneath them.
Sure they can lose to the likes of Falcons, Vitality, Furio for that matter.
They will never lose to teams beneath them and that's what they're starting to do now.
So that's an issue for Maus.
If you had to put yourself in the players' place, if you had to put yourself, try and get inside the mentality of the team right now.
Do we think this is something where the effects of the pro league loss are now spiraling into deeper despair?
Is it something that becomes like a deeply rooted problem?
It's a good question and I honestly don't know and I'm pretty sure if we were to ask
Maus they would say the same thing, they don't know because it's coming out of nowhere.
I think this is one where I don't want to predict the future too much.
They easily could come back, bang out the third map and come back more positively in
the next series.
But I do worry that there's only so long your team can be a semi-final team, your
team can be so good, good enough to potentially win events but not able to push it over
the line before your team does lose faith in themselves, before they do question
their ability to go deep, and then they start to really have problems where they drop out
in the quarterfinals where they can't make it out of groups.
I do wonder if that's where Maus is headed.
I just don't expect it to be the case yet, not right now.
I still think they should come back and close out map three.
It'll be the expectation, but expectations are there to be upset.
We've got another map.
Nuke on the other side of this break.
to the absolute brink here, Mao's clinging to this series by their fingers, and Mao's
clinging to this series by their fingertips. A nail-biter in the first and
Inferno didn't even get that close. Nine Z are pushing this team to the absolute
limits and they could do the un-binkable and eliminate Maus last in the group.
That would be shocking. That would be stunning. It's nuked to decide it.
My question to you fellas is what does Maus need to show you to quiet the demons for another day?
Basically, none of the stuff that we've seen in the first two maps would be great to start off with.
I think Maus, again, I would love Nincie to honestly put off this surprise just to put a spanner into the work.
I can't say that I think they will. Maus is still the firm favourite to go in here on Nuke and win,
but in all honesty, with the way they've been playing so far, I see no reason why Nincie can put up another great fight.
I don't know what it is right now. And Maus, as I said, it's atypical to see them make mistakes like we saw in Inferno.
It's atypical for them to play like they didn't do so.
So in terms of that, shake it off,
but I will also refer to it like this,
no matter what happens from now on,
they've already lost in my book.
Like even though they win two to one right here,
they move on into the tournament,
to me it's still lost for them
to find themselves in this position.
No matter what way they win this map,
if they won it 13-0,
it would still be a question mark
heading into the next series.
We would still point to this
as them mentally collapsing on the first two maps,
potentially both of them really,
going into third map and finally bringing it home.
When I look at Maus, what I want to see is I want to see them play clean counter strike
and if they lose, 9-Z get the better of them.
I want to give credit to 9-Z.
I want to say they played a great game if they win, not that Maus played terrible CS
like they did on map 2.
Well, the question becomes who is going to survive?
Because for one of these teams, the music is going to stop here at the Blast Open
Rotterdam.
This will be their final dance on the stage.
And so, we will take it into our final map with the conductors of our particular orchestra,
Anders and Henry G.
I knew the boys wouldn't let me down on the desk there, Anders.
They were stewing with anger.
I love to hear that.
And Mouse deserved it.
Yeah, that was one of the most shocking performances I've ever seen them put down on the server.
You did not expect that at all.
We've got a night front to kick things off here before we get into Nuke.
And there is a chance Naisee can win this now.
If Maus continue to bring that level and 9T continue to hit hard, they could be knocking
out Maus out on the group stages here.
It is not out of the question and I and the analysts are right to be a bit upset here.
We've got high standards for a team like Maus so it's through the lens of that that
we're a little bit critical with it.
Knife round out of the way, Nuke though is a really cool map for Maus going all the
way back to when Surya was still the IGL for this team, they've been good at
it for a really long time so I expect something cool from them here but the
mental doesn't seem to be all there a couple of mistakes punished by 9c
couple of mistakes I said generous couple of mistakes holy shit on this come on I
tried to get away with it I tried to sneak one in I think I could count
about six missed grenades just for a kickoff before we even got into the
team play but a wealth of mistakes I'm going to reset myself we're gonna go
into this fresh eyes deeper we're gonna let this map play itself out we'll
see how it goes. Yeah. What would Moses do? That's good. I need to be more like Moses.
Moses wouldn't be as upset as I am right now. Yeah. No, definitely not. We'll take, we're
all taking a deep breath now. We get ready for the third map. I'm a mouse fan. I'm not
even a hater by the way. No. I said before we got into this one. Spinks is my favorite
player. How could you like, we're talking about a team that consistently makes it
to the top of every tournament they attend.
Yeah, I'm a malware defender of anything.
That's it, like, Pro League was the odd one out.
Everything else has been fantastic for them.
Like, the results ought to speak for themselves.
People are mad because they're not winning the grand finals.
But how many other teams would love to be in mouse issues
where they can actually keep making these runs?
You make it to every major.
You make it to every player.
You've got fantastic players.
And sure, you don't win many trophies.
But yeah, they're in a great spot.
Let's see if they can keep the run going here at the blast open.
Last chance to loon.
9z versus mouse.
Battleground will be the power plant.
That is exactly right.
See if Torsche can find an opening.
He's got a one on one outside, inside of the bomb side though.
Searching and brolan.
They found a kill each.
This is not a good start for INC.
EGT maybe could bring it back.
They still have the bomb in their control.
They didn't lose that in the first start here.
So, she's been caught off with that particular push so many times.
He just... I'm not even gonna get into it.
It's fine.
It's okay.
They lose Jimmy as well.
We don't have time to get into it because it's a 3-3.
The bomb's gonna go down.
There is not a kit in play either.
We're immediately on red alert here.
We're in the twilight zone.
Yeah.
It didn't even take long.
We're halfway through the first round and already mouse...
Five on three by your mind.
Yep.
Could have been making a couple of mistakes that could cost them the round
and who knows what happens when they're on out.
Time running low.
What a shot from Wiles O'Pique and DGT next in the unjust, crisp, clean headshots.
Again, you get the advantage and you get ants in your pants.
And for some reason you can't just hold strong positions.
You have to start wandering around.
You let them back into it and they punish.
This play here.
What's the intention?
Yeah.
You can watch the vent from a deep angle.
You do not have to walk Lazae into a crosshair.
You can just park up.
Hold a deep angle.
You have five on three.
And you've led them back into it and win the round.
Now you're on the back foot again.
Four spy.
That takes something out of the mental again.
You know that you were supposed to win the round.
It's a five on three, Anders.
Yeah.
Against 9-Z, a team you should be dumbstaring.
Like Vitality did.
Yeah, they showed you how.
Can't replicate it.
Crouching on through on the other side.
So four, one split here, classic on Nuke.
Got one player holding that lobby position,
everyone else working this side.
Now I was gonna do the same thing
when it comes to that T-side.
It'll be Jimmy who is gonna be playing over
on that lobby position alone.
Like I said, I think it's very, very good at it.
It could have been devastating.
Still good.
It's okay.
But, if it had been just a little bit earlier.
Good thing is you spotted a lot of players. They can call for rotations here.
We have got Jimmy down there with them.
Still a good chance they can win this round. Don't get me wrong.
Crossfire, yeah. You're right though.
It's broken open. That is very nice.
That's right.
Again, I really want to make it clear. 9Z are playing exceptionally well today.
Yeah.
It's just mouse fumbling over and over.
The amount of five on threes they've given up today is simply unacceptable.
Nicely done.
Yeah, even new player to the team, look off, I feel like he's been very, very good.
They find everybody, not a single casualty on the T side.
They clean up that round.
Mouse, not the hot start you're thinking about here on Nuke.
Certainly not.
full eco, three-zero, really nice team work here, great peaks, good jiggles, the
cup is there for the swing, dotting their eyes, crossing their T's, aware of every
angle, this is really nice CS, no real mistakes there for a mouse, it is
for our class.
Third round.
Malus haven't had a group stage exit with Spinks and the Rosser now, and that's a narrative
to follow.
That is not a medal they want either.
Well, after EPL and crashing out in the quarterfinals to foot, you think that was the wake-up
call.
Yes.
have something to prove it at the blast open.
It feels like there have been a lot of wake up calls.
I would say Dust2 in this series was the wake up call.
Yeah, and they won that map.
But it should have been a big wake up call.
That's pretty nice.
Well, it's not actually the Mac 10 that got the kill,
but still, out of the vent, catch on a Jimmy.
Of course, with the formality winning this round,
we're not going to be very excited that they were doing it,
Um, again, it matters that they're not losing anyone they all live. There's so much money available now
We normally call this a bonus round. It's like the lottery round. You've got so much cash available to you
You're drowning in gold
You're rich
And that can really go
a long way
Means miles have to fight their way through that money winning round of the round before they can start to relax
Let's have a look at the helmet situation.
Four players are out.
So the Galils now are as powerful as AK.
Smack 10 can do serious work.
That's a really good point.
Yeah.
Normally we're on helmet watch to see,
you know, one or two players without the helmet,
but right now, Jimmy is the only one that has one.
There's only one AK in the first gun round.
This is like...
This is very unusual.
Yeah it could turn into a real dream even if they lose almost everything in this
round as long as they win it's they're gonna have so much money going forward
What could mouse do? They have two kills so far in the first three rounds on that
mouse side that surely is gonna change here. Spinks testing the smoke and then
jumping back on top of the huts. Jimmy's playing that ramp position. He's got
Porsche with him down there. Awkward timing for Olan. It could have been
the worst for him. Spinks has gone next exertion. He needs some help here. Surely someone's going
to be coming in from the high ground. They know that he could be here.
Oh, the timing's going to be sick.
Yeah.
That's a three-man peek.
They just own them. They just absolutely own them there.
But that is great.
That's crazy discipline, right?
Yep.
They wait for the mini player to be part of the peek.
That's just really well played from 9-Z. He'd be now classed again, Mouse.
It's not a good look.
I didn't catch exactly what it was that threw Brolin off,
but he was shuffling back and forth between something
you could see he wasn't ready.
It's one of those moments presumably from his point of view
where he's thinking that that was the worst possible timing.
And now those Mac 10s, those Galils have been upgraded
to M4s, they're getting so much right.
This is really impressive.
This is the Super Bowl for 9-Z.
They don't get to come to many tournaments like this, Anders.
No.
And yet they're rowl here, yet they're open up against Vitality.
What are you supposed to do against that?
Now you're up against Maus as well.
It's the hardest rule you can possibly imagine
in a group stage of tournament.
And you've got to commend them for what they're putting down right now.
Look at this discipline.
He just takes the aggro away for helping his teammates to swing through.
It's absolutely beautiful.
Pitch-perfect counter-strike.
That's how it's done.
put that in the textbook.
I think the VRS implications like plus 60 points for,
for, for now and see if they can thrive.
I mean, I don't know if that matters
where they are in the world, but my God,
timeout has been cold.
Mouse reeling from that last round.
They saved the AWP in an M4, not all is lost,
but they really need to turn up now.
I haven't seen this look of mouse really ever.
I don't know what's going on with them today.
are usually such a reliable team.
Their mission for the longest time has been figuring out
how can we win that game against Vitality finally?
Yeah, that's the only discussion we've had last year.
That was the only discussion.
That was the only discussion.
Mouse have lost four 5B3s in the past nine rounds.
Yeah, thank you.
Oh, so deaths.
I'm glad we're reiterating these stats
because this is just tragic.
they lose surgeon at the start of this one.
And that pistol really punctuates that point.
Yeah.
Like I said, we're at that angle.
All you have to do is watch the van.
And for some reason, Zershender's goes walking past the squeaky door like,
what are you doing?
Yeah.
Those are the those are the easier rounds to win.
Get them on board and oh,
that's a lucky pump.
OK, fair enough, then.
P.G.T. takes a qualified guess and works out what a check as well.
Wiles O'Pete, bro, I'm gonna get one, but the bomb is down below.
Yes, yeah, save.
It's not a conversation, it's not a question.
Poor she just has to be quiet, see if he can escape this without anyone discovering him.
That's five in a row with how many kills in total?
Four on the mouse side.
Um that was was it a full investment? Yeah pretty much we got 1200 on Brawland 800 on Zershin
They'll get maximum loss bonus torch on the cd side will get his cash as well
So he can drop a rifle
Yeah, but it'll be more of the same there'll be a lot of concessions and you might just have to
partial buy around the M4 as we're around the FWP
A 5-0 on a shot that is brilliant
You're right. This is unlucky. Perhaps some spanks, but almost every other peak here is
really well designed. Everything about it is terrific. Files of peak, I think it's up
to seven. DDT's at seven one as well. They've got a couple of players that are way ahead
of the pack here. I can't believe what I'm seeing. Round of six. Yeah, here's the
partial buy. Needed Miracle here. Torgie will have to do the heavy lifting. He
He was MIA on Dust2.
Picking up the pace, he's getting stuck in. Looks like he gets his first kill.
I do like that, yeah. He's trying to play in front of the pack here.
Really getting seen back into it, but it's only the one.
They're right on top of him.
Two players down lower.
Yeah, maybe they were expecting a vent drop. I'm not really sure, but...
That's round.
That is the round and the ult was gone.
But you know what? I actually do like seeing Toshi make that play.
Sure.
Even if it doesn't work. I think...
Because they need somebody right now to revitalize the team.
They need a miracle.
Six.
She's signed a liver.
Zero.
Well, the analysts were savages before.
Yeah, they went harder to me.
What do you think they'll do now?
I don't know.
I don't want to know.
My temper heads it off of that one.
Yeah.
There's not much more I can say.
I think I've said it all.
This is just not good enough, unfortunately.
Make sure no children will just
in or anything for the analyst test. I'm not sure that doesn't happen.
Well, they don't save much, but it was the partial buy. They lost the orb. That's the main thing.
So you bring an MP9 into the next round.
Pretty beautiful shots. Again, I'm going to reiterate this. Don't take anything away from 19.
You still have to hit your shots, capitalize on the mistakes,
find the weaknesses, and they're playing a very fast and loose game.
great coordination, stifling pressure, no mistake so far.
I normally love to make wacky predictions.
I had NIP potentially beating Liquid.
I thought that could happen.
Maybe it could have.
I did not think this was going to be happening at all.
9C to Humble Mouse.
There we go.
First advantage if that's in the pistol.
But they had a 5 on 3 man advantage.
Can they find a way to throw it away?
They've done so before. Okay. There we go. Now it's locked in. We have this discussion
on inferno. You want to be making mistakes, you want to be playing around each other, make
sure that you can always get some punishment if anything goes down. Should be possible
here. There's a lot of time on the clock and that is to Nincie's advantage. It means
they can look for something. There's no way you can lose this round, Anders. You
Gotta say that, I'm saying it, I'm saying it right now.
They put an orb, one smoke, and a five on three.
If you hold the bomb sites, you have one player down lower.
If they do lose it, you give nothing away.
The mouse fan will be on you.
Oh, miles of heat does go down.
That's potentially an interesting spray.
If you're gonna land it there, we're down to 40 seconds.
Hey man, at least he's bold, he's trying but they're very low now and I think it's, you know, it was probably impossible before like you said but now it is all the way done.
Nice shots, 25 seconds.
If anything, just protect that orb I would say.
Yeah, I'm kind of wondering.
Just deny that for the next round but we're going to go for it.
Let's see what can be done here, Zershin we'll get this last kill no problem.
Low HP and just go defend that orb, make sure they can't recover it.
Would be my advice. They won't be to buy it in the next round. I guess Jimmy might be able to cut you got 32 50
Well, at least you want them to make them why not make them to spend the cash
We're only halfway through the half. So
Yeah, so Jimmy can drop it. So there is that there it is
Couple of good kills think
Yeah, this one straight up from spinks the other one outside. I don't want to say it's lucky
But that's you know good fights
they needed this nice flash from Torgy the discipline playing the advantages for
once first time they've actually played together played passive and made them
come to them here we go then can it keep it going they need six six
Such tense game. I really cannot believe it.
Just holding my breath, waiting to see if they could find an opening.
Even when they get them, I'm not sure they're going to win the round, but mouse is struggling
to stay in some of these rounds here.
open no one on the other side it's actually the AK that's challenging this
position so can't keep doing that forever we'll see if they have another
wall to set up or if they're just gonna try and go outside here a minute on the
clock now it is looking like that very similar for one splits are they gonna
wrap around this time I don't know if they will but they have to smoke for it
Oh, what a shot.
He's been deleted.
And because he's normally the ramp player, they must know where the orb is.
Zershin did spot two or three members outside.
That's valuable information at the very least, even the five on four.
Mouse can still win this round easily.
Get a reclaim from territory towards the lobby, but DGT is waiting for them.
Oh, he's ready.
If he brought on face checks, he's dead.
Yeah, even though he got the head shot, pretty quick reaction, to be honest,
but there's only 23 seconds.
Molotov's perfect. Yeah, pushes them out of the hut here.
Sertian, what could you do? That is a good spray. 15 seconds for an aid on the DGT and suddenly
mouse are backing them around. They need some miracles right now and this could be one of them.
The bomb planted, but this was for just a second, a five on three. And now mouse themselves
have brought it back into contention. Spinks is around a heavy position. Torsche unfortunately
in heaven instead now, and...
Xershin, yeah, how did they get up?
I don't think they could do anything here.
You might be right.
A save has been called for 7 to 1.
Oh, god.
I mean that opening kill on Jimmy is wild.
Yeah, super nice.
But I think the fact that it's the ramp player they find in the yard, they know
where that orb is playing immediately.
This is a beautiful start from 9Z.
No real thumbles or mistakes from mouse this time that is getting absolutely destroyed in
the 1v1 jewels.
Great awareness.
Great reader situation there from DGT.
Mayhem with the AWP watching for the smoke to dissipate knowing they had to wait for
that to go down before they make their next move.
Yeah, I mean I'd support to say for anyone that's watching or criticizing mouse a lot
But we're not trying to take anything away from 9C.
Absolutely.
They're playing fantastic Counter-Strike right now.
We just expect something similar, if not better, out of mouse.
7-1.
Job's not done yet though, Anders.
It's a great start.
Couldn't ask for much more here on the T side of Nuke.
She had an interesting thing as well.
I was saying to you before we went live here,
in the past when we said South American Counter-Strike,
we just meant Brazil.
But now we've got all this representation
from Argentina, from Uruguay, from Chile.
It's kind of cool that kind of spread out as far as it has in that region.
Absolutely true.
Money is out of control on the T side.
I don't even need an eco this half.
Picking up the pay sanders and call that one off.
Oh yeah, got a bit locked in the door.
The nade, incendiary combo.
Give them the opening pick.
Oh wait a minute, did I get one in return?
That's...
Oh that's rough.
Super unlucky that the Spengs they did so well to get the opener and now we're
gonna be collapsing it towards the upper bomb sides. What timing he walked through
the smoke there, no idea at all she's gone. How did he find that? So risky, a 2 vs 3.
The bomb is gonna be planted here but it's being held and that's a very
dangerous job. I don't know if I want to do that. Max is on the other side.
they grenade the heavens Jimmy has yet to get a kill in this one he's oh and
five they're calling his number they do need him to do something search and goes
down Jimmy money bad as well money's busted the half has gone already 8 to 1
in favor of 90 I can't believe it they might just have to force this they
they're averaging like 4.2k it's like it's not as terrible as you might think
So there'll be rifles available for them that is lacking grenades. They have to buy this one in my opinion.
I'll see what it's enough.
They've been saving a couple of weapons so I'll have a look at the overall complexion of it.
So yeah, Famous for Brawl and no grenades at all. She got the AWP, no helmets to be seen, no defuse kits, no nades on Jimmy.
Yeah.
this is such a difficult round to win nuke it's all about blocking off the
choke points isolating the fights yeah running down the clock and if you ever
want a dream of having a retake with a defuse you two also need some smokes to
be especially one side and a kit ideally yeah that's to make it even clear
for a good position though this is great for one I need to skate afterwards
the question yeah this one okay yeah he's done a very good job one and done
that's all you need keep it slow and simple like this find a kill go somewhere
else well I was a peek not afraid to take the fight out here but you might not
realize that surgeon is right out there by CT spawns very hard position it's
not gonna get a chance at it even so five on three thing is as well at least
in the last three months, Mouse do much better work on the CT side than they do the T side.
That has me worried. If you go back further, their T side was actually better a while ago,
but lately it's been the CT side most of it. Good defence here.
Good round. Yeah, they need all four. They got to make this an 8-4 half.
Nice positioning there from Torji. Like we said, playing for one, dropping down, forcing
their hand is a very weak buy with no U-Tilt. He had to step up, dodges the
flash, gets away, what an angle.
They hear them shouting as well on the outside. They've got to believe now. Yeah.
Towards your nose. They've got to keep their head in the game. They've got to keep
believing. Trying the same maneuver again. This time successfully. Max is
down the vents. Is there a rotation at towards lower? I'm mouse aware of it.
I don't think so. No one's moving. I actually don't think they know yet. Now the push is
in Jimmy. Haven't got any kills yet, but now he's going to start to pick one up there.
Trying to throw out a grenade. Torsche burns alive. Jimmy gets run over. No one's down
lower. Yeah, I don't think they realized. I don't think you can win this round.
Yeah, it's very unlikely. You've got DGT parked up. Unless you get a quick one tap from
Spinks him he's looking for it. He gets a kill. He knows
Now the rounds back on
They do have kits as well and they've got a lot of utility so if they could get a bit closer
It's possible, but there's also a molotov on max
I'm gonna be careful of where that lands on the retake. It's already been thrown out here
And now they're trying to put some pressure on coming in for the reposition
Oh good with the first one man takes one more, but he's in a very still wins the fight. What's how does that happen?
happen was he shooting him in the back he must have been what else would he be
doing we need one more investigation this time into our man survived anywhere
triple Kevlar I should be getting that kill I just yeah there's no excuse
should be getting that kill all day long yeah yeah dude that's rough I don't
want to beat up on them for that one that one hurts it's gone too far for
you Henry yeah yeah I even I'm tapping out we'll leave it to the analyst yeah
I feel bad well round number 12 unfortunately oh okay it's more like
You can't get off the right Henry
Or she's trying to get back
Five versus three very cool shot
Rings to the yard
Container
Yeah, it's nice
Five on three
Last time mouse won this one without any real trouble very disciplined. I feel like they're starting to get troops under control
final round and is five on three yeah there is no world where you can give
this one up otherwise it's GG it's over you do not recover this 9-3 we can have
a conversation okay well she quick on the trigger make sure they pay you take
Down Jimmy. Very cool shot though coming in from the T side
GT
Hearing them I think but they're running low on that clock
25 seconds the bombers on G.G.T. As well. He's actually
Head back a little bit man gets that one on the ground alone. Yeah, he is a little near
Two players down towards lower of brawling goes down with nothing the rounds over
Oh, he knows they're coming heaven as well
He can hear it. He's calling it out here spray is a lot of damage, but they
And he's around the corner on three
It would
Seem impossible
They shouldn't have been allowed to even get into the round, but this is a really cool to come back into it
I really can't believe it man two kills spanks sneaking out
He's got the hell for it and he's looking for the corner player
He knows man could be there out in the open against the first one and now DGT
11 kills to his name and he's one more here for the clutch
And that would surely split mouse not a part, but no, it's gonna be spits instead
He saves the day for them one more time nine to three at the end of the half
Yeah, you're right you're right Georgie's office here
But it's only gonna be that first shot until Magic before it beat Penny drops the info flows
Torchy looking for more. Oh, he's got it another
Georgie racking him up
Start chopper up towards Talos instead. He'll have Jimmy inside
Shirou giving just enough space to get around that box deals with this
Chopper tries to escape gank is on the scene and he's not gonna waste a moment
Splot in the water, Spinks with the answer.
This is a two versus five.
Set against them.
Magic's back from behind triple.
Spinks a quad kill needed.
Three frags deep.
15 seconds.
The H.E.E.S.
Oh, no!
Rock solid.
On my zershin, he's gonna find the kill
in the back line instead.
Apex stays holding on him now awkwardly
behind this red train.
Spinks it, and he's left.
He's got the difference.
Oh, and the team.
The Spins were so elusive.
And Rops is the most elusive.
The esteemed Estonian to try to clutch this,
stepping forward into 2024.
He doesn't have anything to do with it, but he won't come yet.
Oh, he's overstressed. He doesn't even realize it,
but he's watching two positions.
But here's Jimmy. Does he have to let this go?
Brolin, you've got to watch something.
From both sides, Jimmy.
He's gotta stop it up, he's gotta search him to work with.
The attack's still on after this, here on high.
Searching on the back.
Yeah!
Things going from bad to worse for Maus here, a lifeline, a miracle granted by Spinks.
He manages to win out the 2v1 after they had the 5 on 3 advantage.
There's three rounds for their name on the CT side, but we said three.
At least we can have a conversation with the comeback handers.
And I still think they can do it.
There's always room for that conversation.
Of course there is.
Maus have earned, I think, that much respect at least.
We just haven't seen anything like themselves yet.
But maybe the second half of Lucas gonna be it now. They're on the T side
9c really making a name for themselves here. Absolutely true
But the Molotov for the hot roof
Smoke for main
But the Julie to get past mayhem has been impressive
nine and two so far
Smoke goes down
Strong position here a lot of the grenades will land behind him
But he has to be very quick jumping down trying to see if he can cover his head good kills
He returns binks and tall sheet of Jimmy to add to the mix
And Molotov will clear out the heaven position so picture perfect reading for mouse in spite of the early death there
Exertion is like a human flashbang being thrown into that a bomb site true
We needed this. Looks like it should be a comfortable close. Should be in the
operative world there. No real reason to force by in the second with this massive
lead you've got on 9-Z. Yeah. I'll give it a look in to see if they can cause any
further damage. A little bit here. Could even just be something he checked to see
how rattled are they. If you could have got a couple of more alright. This
This is the thing that I do love about Torsche, right?
I appreciate the hype man mentality of getting the team back.
That's true.
I think it's really nice.
He hasn't given up one.
No.
And you're right, he was a decoy almost running into the bomb site.
Leaps in there, sets up his teammates.
It's a nice pistol from mouse.
Like even the way he ducks his head down.
Yep.
This makes him outspot.
Like it now, boys.
As I said, I don't think you have to force by this one, but let's see what they go for.
They have chosen to do so.
Man with the scout, 5-7s.
Scout doesn't connect.
This is the 4-1 split. Like I said earlier, Jimmy's going to be holding that lobby
when he's on his A-game.
Very, very annoying player to try and find.
And actually he's going to join the team now, so he'll be covering for a late,
you know, potential flank from 90.
Sometimes the CTs will try to follow the T's into the hallways here, but
down below, there's nobody from the CT side.
Any part of the lore map here, so
Everything is pretty much set up for for an easy win
Theory as well as an IMC if they're not in position soon, they should just save yep. Good point
That might be the case we'll see if any CTs want to rotate down towards lower just one so far
Maximilian
Hoping to cause a bit of a rock is it they've allowed the CTs into this
That's a scout connection on Spinks. That's a headshot of exertion. This is a little bit worrisome. Torshee the next to go down
And I'm already down to the field nervous on behalf of mouse. It should be fine. Yeah, maybe I'm okay with this
Are you really? Yeah, the bomb is down there. They can pick it up 35 seconds. I'm not okay with this
It's the low HP on max. They don't have control of the bomb. I
Think it's fine for mouse. Okay, well, let's see bro. You might be right
That's an important kill speaks for the Mac tend to follow it deep-nade could catch him
Oh, no as man. He had more health on that side
18 seconds the bomb is picked up on Brawland. It's gonna be you need to get the kill and now brawl and escaping
Yeah, it's fine. I think you've got it Henry
So under control scary
Not clean scout from the head like no chance winning this I'm afraid
No, stepping out onto this one can't even really imagine what it would take, but he's still there and I think that speaks to how they're feeling right now, Nainzi.
They feel like anything could happen, because they've been winning a lot of weird rounds so far.
Stepping around here, looking for a scope, it's not going to happen.
Brolin, triple, good work from Maus.
An arduous task ahead of them, an uphill battle, but so far so good, nice pistol.
Clean his second round but you get past it.
Excellent shot from me and it has to be said but the Maktan's doing the work.
This is the kill that decided the round.
Yeah.
And it did force into this one.
So the next one, gonna be pretty muted.
We've got three HEs, I'm excited about that.
Not enough triple nades in counter-track in my opinion.
Well, maybe that's why I didn't really do too much.
Take a exertion.
be another six months we will see.
They're out here in the smoke, causing havoc on the A yard.
Not enough damage though to really put any real threat to Maus here.
Man, position known, we'd love a headshot.
We needed this to be clean as well with five players surviving.
Yep.
It's gonna be very important going forward.
Can't afford to lose anyone here.
And they shall not.
All right.
Back to their winning ways.
Yep, that's true.
Couldn't put a better myself.
He's got the math nail down.
Yeah.
I still think mouse went this, by the way.
I know that sounds like a crazy thing to say, but, uh...
They are the better team.
They haven't played great today.
They're playing like their C game right now.
but they will still win this.
You've watched a lot of Counter-Strike Henry, or a little mouse as well.
A lot of mouse, yeah. They will still be winning this.
It's just, this is not a team that's winning this tournament.
I can tell you that much.
Let's see.
When I see it, it's another interesting test too, right?
How do you close a game like this when you have to be up a hand?
Got the mental advantage?
You seem to be playing the better game,
but sometimes all of those things just still aren't enough.
The game drags on.
You don't win quick enough and some of these mouse players, they are very experienced.
They know what it's like to make these comebacks.
So maybe you are right.
Round number 16 and it's very thin on the utility for that CT side.
Limits what they can do.
No HEs to blow up in the smoke and yard.
Just as an example, they're going to be guessing on the other side of it here.
Oh, wow.
They do guess correctly.
They didn't have the HE, but they had the M4.
towards ramp we go it's a difficult off angle to manage yeah realizing he's got
the advantage doesn't need the one and done to stay alive that's a really great
decision Anders yeah I say one and done it's even difficult to get one from that
spot so I think the staying alive here providing self-preservation that's the
aim of the game maintain that five on four situation really like that move
get a thing on his feet had a split second there to decide on my staying
am I leaving the area that was the right call 30 seconds on the clock yeah and
that's why it's one of the greatest resources the CT have run the clock
down okay so bronze and strong position Jimmy's got the bomb he's over by the
lobby they're gonna try and see if they can wrap this bomb site from three
different directions but if any one of them fails it might not matter at all
I don't think this can work any longer shut down for many peeking in is
Luke Hoven and me, Spinks, it's nothing you do.
To be fair, Anders, it's the bonus round.
That's, that is fair.
It's a convincing win for 9-Z, but that's the bonus round.
You see how I'm trying to be a bit more positive now?
I'm trying to bring it back.
I can feel it, Henri, I know you are.
I still think Miles win this.
That's the bonus round, you had a Mac 10,
Galil's like, it's always gonna be a rough one.
You gotta kill through the smoke, that's unlucky.
It does help to know that we've offloaded
the negatives to the analysts.
Yeah.
We know they're gonna...
anything left left inside me so so happy thoughts from here on out then I
think so double duty server 9z losses will be proud I hope so
grenades and a yard again quick position with the AK out there can't
stress enough though this is a very important rally lose this one yeah
money's in the binning or eleven six down do you need to do need to win this
one feeling some of the negative thoughts no no no I'm just saying
Okay, so context you do need to win this round, okay?
Not a utility spent
Roland
Setting up a smoke
Nice one waterfalls down the 8k here. It's a quick trade
They peaked right before the models have really had an impact and now they're losing more spanks to the smoke and man
You find a shot of EDT. I should have been dead right there. The trade might not matter
Wow, so Pete takes him down and it's 11 to 6, 9c, 2 rounds away now from knocking Mouse out.
You only have second stage loss bonus, that's $1900.
I don't need to say anything more.
You've all watched enough Counter-Strike, you've all heard me talk about the economics of 10 years.
He told to me, Henry, about the timing of throwing the Molotov to the secret stairs, and then peeking.
The fact even if one killed, that is ridiculous.
Like he's done so well there. He should be a dead man. They've read it well. Yeah, he was there
The fact he gets one is crazy. It's unlucky for mouse of eminem
He should not be getting a kill there. It's they didn't do anything wrong. He just did very well and
Then with all the chaos the orb table to rotate in
Join the party and what are they gonna do now? Are they going all in? Oh, and as I think they are
This is for all the marbles. Honestly, I don't do anything. That's a wrong or a right approach
Pick your poison. Yeah, one way or another you're gonna be in trouble
You either give them 12th round in which case it's over time
What if you offer is brought on maybe it's a snappy approach you go for the upper rush doesn't seem to be the case
So what have you got to work with three tech nines one Mac 10 and assertion galil
What are the classic mouse mouse executes on this map is the wrap around around heaven and yard like they love to do this
thing where they go outside and then they end up at the ramp anyway and sometimes they even do it
through their own smokes which are just being thrown in the yard but this time we'll see if they are
going to be able to do that. They've got the bomb in lobby. So you confirm they've forced war here
in those tech nines? Yeah. You know they've got a force by here that changes everything changes
the mentality. Yeah they're gonna be calling that on the CT side. We have a CT player down
down towards lower. Good position as well. Nice defense
point. It's playing for one kill and survive. That's the aim of the game here. You do not
need anything fancy. One kill will do. Even if you don't get it.
Okay, that's not ideal. And Max was back in that all-in position. Miss shot for man.
He'll be left down. Couldn't pull the trigger on the pistol, so very good for
mouse though. They're in this round. They should be winning this one, no problem.
Yeah, I don't see a way out to be honest.
You have to drop down the vents and let's hope for the best there.
That's all you can really do.
And Zershin's playing it well.
I'd say, Dad, don't give too much away, lads.
Two unwind. He's all both players.
One versus one. Toshi's burning as well.
He's only got the MAK-10 to work with. Couldn't find a rifle.
DGT. No time to waste.
Has to go straight in there. Doesn't have a kit either,
but he's walked underneath him.
Is he going to be looking behind him? Toshi,
if he goes out right now and looks, he might just have it,
But he's escaped back through and now I think the clock has run down here a 10-second defuse be very hard to come by at this stage
And look at how he's running your way. Oh played. Yeah, he doesn't need to fire the gun just has to run down the clock
And it's a seventh round for mouse. Oh
That got so uncomfortable close once again
He did that miracle round they get a
Well played to Torgy especially. Yeah
Now, like I said, one kill in surviving.
That was the end of the game.
Couldn't quite get it.
Nice double swing from Maus.
Comes right down to the wire here.
Ring around the rosy.
It's all he had to do.
Can't get a thing away from Maus.
They did very well.
It's a round and all supposed to win.
Keeps their head above water for now.
They've got a nice full buy here.
If they win the next one, the money is very low for 9C.
Maybe the dynamic will change a little bit
in the second half.
So they've already done this sort of comeback in Austin against Legacy.
I still think they're going to win him.
Get a stick with my guns on this one.
I appreciate that.
Deep Nade.
I think the pressure is going to get to 9-Z.
It would not be the first time that we've seen an underdog team crumble when the stakes are really, really high like this.
And it could be higher.
You lose here and you get sent packing.
multiple smokes outside no one using them though just trying to force
rotations down towards lower it will be an upper execution to close things out
here Molotov the bomb site a plethora of flashbangs to be delivered what does
Wow so peak do on that hut when it's on fire I guess that's the big question
get all and first down in this end here to show them that is pretty sick
all of the utility kind of for nothing now they're waiting on the other
trying to get through the smoke Jimmy strong entry so she gets another one
tall she with the kill on to me in at the back and that was the last defense on
the A site so in spite of the delay it works they're doing it making all the
right moves all the right plays outside smokes to keep one player down
towards lower yeah keep interest well that's out of the map all the meanwhile
they're getting ready for a very nice upper execution you can see how
discombobulated they were. Flash out of position, no safety on the bomb site, they only get one kill.
Mouse, still very much in this game.
What an absolutely critical frag that Jimmy gets coming through the smoke.
That was crucial because he really had a dreadful first half.
Yeah, but those are the kind of high impact kills you do need.
If he doesn't get it, it's possible that the rest of the push coming out of the hut
is foiled by one player playing in that corner. You never know.
Not the case here. Mayhem started this kill here.
He's absolutely huge.
Good work from Torsche as well.
He's holding that left-hand side of the silo
inside of the A-bomb side.
Timeout called now. This time for 9C.
Scoreline is 11-8.
This is only the second best of three of the day.
The highlight games are supposed to be coming up in a little bit,
and they are really interesting highlight games.
Obviously, Paravision versus Spirit.
We got vitality versus Mongols.
It really couldn't only get better from here.
Absolutely stacked tournament. Doesn't get better than this.
But this game is delivered far beyond anyone's expectation.
Thanks to 9Z.
9Z, whatever happens today, they can leave this tournament with their heads held high.
Still don't think they can come by this one unfortunately.
The fact they've made a name for themselves and got mouse sweaty in this sort of fashion.
A 9-3 first half should have been 10-2 after the Sphinx clutch.
Yeah, well, they could even have they could probably even won the first map
True that was even an option
So yeah, I really knows I mouse have woken up now. We haven't seen any crazy mistakes there converting their advantages now
Yeah, everyone's just running around with nades in their hands
And fair play to Torchy he has not given up the entire time even when he's having a poor performance
He's been the centerpiece. Yeah of the morale making sure everyone keeps their head in the game and keep believing
I do think you need somebody like that on a team yeah pull them out of the ruts and
He's always there. He's always got that attitude that we can win this no matter what really yes quite admirable
Smoke going down
Obviously as you could tell they're very limited with the weapons 5-7 though is pretty good and the timing was nearly there
Oh, they're not they're gonna check DDT. Sorry. They saw him now. Yeah, if he could have got into the corner
I think that would have been a big surprise max though. I don't know how but he's snuck in a kill on the brolan
Escaping with the reload. They'll still find me and down there
Exertion is out here
Throwing bullets towards heaven
Got the man lead plenty of time in the round. This is looking pretty good for mouse
Yeah, should be no problem
11 9 all day long
Down be bomb planted
What a bit dicey towards the ramp room, but fantastic, it's all out of flashes, right?
Yes.
You know you're walking into a federal crossfire there.
You flash them off, you make their jewels very, very difficult to manage, there's no
chance of a multi-kill there.
Get the rifles.
I think you're right.
Oh, to be fair, there's a three on two right now, hold on.
They don't have a kit, fucking such a long way before they can actually get this bomb.
Defuse in, Spinks running low on health.
They find them in the corner, and they're already on the defuse, there's absolutely
No way, surely did not have the time for it.
Yeah they do.
I cannot believe it.
Yeah they do.
Oh no.
That's, it was one rifle, two USPs against four
mouse sports players with the bomb already planted.
They definitely had time.
Oh God.
Say something positive, Henry.
There's still four rounds to go.
All right.
There's still plenty of time to take this two over time.
It's all good, it's all fine.
I'm so shocked.
I don't know how they give that round up though, they had the opening advantages, everything was going in their favor, they get down towards Lower, the SMG, the 5-7s, peppering away at them, swarming.
The bombsite in general, final timeout for Maus, they're in the dark now of no coach.
One round away from being eliminated, near a blast opening the group stages.
Was he defusing while they were still taking a fight?
Yeah, it's on him now.
That's because these eight seconds seven seconds before that kill comes in they started it so much sooner than I realized
That's impressive. I think it's so fine Anders. I
Admire your optimism Henry. I'm not sure if I'm sharing it necessarily
Let's get into it. I'd love to be wrong here over time
Could be the final round of the tournament for mouse the crashing out in the quarter finals
Yeah. Now equipped with a
technology for a case and need
four rounds in a row on the T
side of Nuke. No one expected
90 to make a dent here today.
Mayhem finds Brawling. He saw
him walking through the smoke
or they passed each other.
Oh, okay. It's surgeon
coming out and Max has gone
down to Spinks three versus
four here. They need four in
a row. It could start right
right here. Wauserpiek was there on the ladder.
Man, they know he's out here, so that's not a surprise.
They should be able, if they want to fight him,
they can, but they could dodge him completely.
There's no one on the A bomb site right now for 9C.
So if they get the bomb in there,
it's better to save, I think,
if you're on the second time.
Save it on, surely.
Wauserpiek, he's actually come back up again.
They've been waiting in heaven for 15 seconds now.
Finally, they go down.
I see Vwazopee can find anything to set up this retake with.
They're already a man down, and it's very risky if you lose the rifles here.
That's how Maus can get this game into OT. Spinks.
That's a safe headshot. Yeah, save is called now.
Oh, comfortable round there. Many twists and turns.
Passing each other for this smoke, if Zershin goes down,
it's a very different outcome, but they keep the head above water once again.
Can he save over here?
Where is he right now? Can we go on Mayhem?
Uh, he would blow up here.
Yeah, for sure.
But I think you almost have to run to CT spawn.
He knows better than me. I'm sure he knows that it'll be safe.
Oh, well, he certainly cannot safe there.
I think he's fine.
EGT.
Oh, no.
There you go.
Question asked the answer.
They've taken all five down.
talking every time I love it it's the kind of passion that can really bring a
team back isn't it three more rounds you are mr. overtime Henry hey it's what I
do 12 9 I still have cash how do they still have cash I don't know it's not
greatest weaponry but you know it'll get the job done potentially. Surtian finds a player trying to
be aggressive behind the cover of the AWP but it doesn't work out. Not for 9c this time.
I really admire the fight at 9c for some of these rounds but I still wonder if there aren't a
couple or more rounds where they could have saved a bit more. Keeping the economy intact I think
that's going to be pivotal. Man here. Set himself up. Footsteps in front. Oh don't do that.
We won't see them starting to crumble a bit here.
Like I said, the pressure's gonna get to these inexperienced players.
Yeah.
Sure, you've got map points, but losing those early picks.
That's the firepower here.
They've got almost no grenades on the CT side.
I don't see how they hold on.
They've rolled the dice and stacked the bomb site.
So that I think is the answer.
If it's an A hit here.
Which is not.
Good smoke.
Do they respect it though?
This is that
Added to the list Henry
Man, don't you get again land enough you done enough?
Yeah, you definitely have all the back wait for them to try and see if they could jump if they jump past
That's fine. There is a player down below as well. Now's your peak fine. So yeah, and this is trouble now
He's holding the lobby gets a dink on the torche
But 20 seconds on the clock and this could be where mouse end up exiting the tournament
Three people trying to get on to the site itself may and misses the shopper on the heart
Can you believe it the underdogs getting smashed by vitality yesterday
13-3 13-3 they go on to play mouse today. You didn't think they stood a chance
They get absolutely walloped in the first map and they come back fighting.
They show to us that they can keep up with the world's best.
And it's one of the most disappointing mouse performances you're ever going to see.
Inferno is terrible. I didn't think they'd let go of Nuke Anders.
This is really a shocking result.
The community were already up in arms when they lost to Futt in Stockholm,
but this is going to be headline making.
They will be wanting more.
The community expect more from them, and that is not what they got here today.
But a lot of credit all the credit in the world to 9c. What a great performance from them
This is hands down the biggest surprise we have so far at blast one of them
No, 9c not only making a fire out of this but getting the W as well. How surprised are you right now?
It's what biggest surprise at Rotterdam. This is one of the biggest spreads of the year
Yeah, this is one of the most insane upset victories and not only that but I mean 9c played some incredible CS a
100%. We're joined by one of the winners on Desk right here. First and foremost, congratulations.
We could hear and see a lot of emotions being left out by the team right here right now.
How proud are you of your boys?
Yeah, very proud. I think we beat one of the best teams in the world. So yeah, this
is very important for us because we've been only playing teams in South America,
in South America. So yeah, this is a very important win for us to gain the confidence
for the next match as well.
Yeah, we spoke about it. Obviously it's hard for us from the outside to judge your team when you're playing domestically the most of the time.
So going up against European top opposition in Maus, to be honest with me now that you won the game, coming into this one, was it realistic for you guys to think about the win or was it more learning experience?
To be honest, we have the same feeling, I think, because it's hard to know because, yeah, of course we practiced here in Europe and we played some good teams.
And, yeah, of course, the first game we had was against Vitality.
It was, yeah, they are just in another level of everyone right now.
So it was like, we lost the game and we're like, we didn't play our best, maybe,
but at the same time, they're so strong right now.
And, yeah, it was hard to know our level against them.
Yeah.
But, yeah, I think today it was a very good game for us.
Very good game.
Speaking of a player who did exceptional well as well,
I want to ask you about DDT. Obviously we saw him in pain, not necessarily playing his best
brand of Counter-Strike. He then comes back to your team and now seems to be firing on all
Senators. Are you surprised by how well he's playing already?
Yeah, I think DDT is a very... He needs these kind of environments we have in our team.
I think everyone believes in him a lot. So yeah, he has a lot of space to call stuff.
everyone like I think the on the first game round for example he heard the
guys dropping nades on on test we cut us in our on top of her yeah and he just we
had a stretch and because of his call we changed everything we took a week we
took a flash and we go kill Brawland on test it was like this kind of thing I
think he's very confident on not only playing good but also calling for us a
lot of time so I think this is probably the difference I think he
he's feeling well in your team.
Coming into this, we had an interview before the game.
Mike asked if there was a game plan,
and it almost seemed like he didn't want to admit it.
And then he says, oh, we're just going to try and hold W.
What was the game plan?
Was there something you had prepared for this team
that you thought was going to give you the edge?
Yeah, of course, we always study all the teams,
and we have some ideas on what they think
and how they play.
And to be honest, it's very hard nowadays
to prepare everything because the teams have so many threats
and so many like mind games and stuff like this.
So we need to believe a lot in your game as well.
And yeah, it's a mixture of both.
I think Max called it pretty well on this side.
I think when we started winning,
he was like more out of the book
and playing more on like all his flow.
And he's very good doing this.
So yeah, it was very good for,
especially on Nick, look at this side.
I wanted to ask one thing about the bands, you know,
one of the most played maps for 9Z is overpass.
It's obviously a good map for Maus as well.
I expected that to be map three.
Did you just feel like their nuke was that weak,
or are you super confident in your own?
Yeah, I mean, we have a very good confidence on Overpass,
but it's different playing Overpass in Brazil
and playing Overpass in Europe.
So yeah, I think it was mostly because we felt
they're gonna be super confident
if we let Overpass for them
because they are also very strong on Overpass.
And yeah, I think we, because we played against Vitality,
we learned a lot of things.
We, I think it was very good for us to, you know,
have you played this map before in the tournament
to maybe fix some stuff and not go on Overpass
because yeah, I think their Overpass is pretty strong as well.
Obviously, I want you to give your time and space
to celebrate this win, but I have to ask you,
now that you move on into the tournament,
you're facing either Parvish or Spirit in the lower bracket.
You got a preference out of the two, two strong teams?
No, there's no bad teams on this tournament.
I think we got the hardest bracket we could have.
We played Vitality and then we win or lose,
we get the mouse parts or mongoes.
So yeah, it's very tough to choose opponents
when they're playing in the tournament like this.
I mean, we played Parvizion not so long ago,
maybe September or October,
We beat them at Thunderpeak.
It was a good match.
They have like the new player now.
But yeah, they have a good momentum right now.
In spirit, maybe it's not in the best shape, but they have donk.
It's not easy to pick a team to play against.
Now it's a tough task to pick between the two.
Thank you so much for joining us on the disc.
Go celebrate your win.
Massive performance for you guys.
Thank you guys.
What a guy, what a player.
What a team 9C has been so far in this tournament.
Obviously, as he said, going up against Vitality, it was always tough to expect them to win anything against them, but taking down Maus, beating Maus, sending them home, elimination from the tournament.
That is, as you said, I can be one of the biggest surprises of the year.
I have to say that coming into map 3, I was expecting, I was very critical of Maus. I think Maus made a lot of misplays, they made a lot of missteps, they should have played better.
played better, but I actually can only say positive things about how 9z played in that final map.
They kept their composure even when Maus looked like they were going to make a comeback. They played some fantastic CS and Maus
Absolutely fumbled many around but at the same time you have to give so much props for 9z for this upset
Maybe the best upset of the year so far goes without saying it takes a good team to beat Maus
But it also takes a mouse on the performing and in order to find out what exactly happened in this game
We sent Mike to speak with Cyclone
Cyclone, really tough loss for you guys. Immediately what's on your mind?
Yeah, very tough loss here, right? It feels that it goes down that way and also that
our brand of Counter-Strike here wasn't that good. Just losing a lot of events and situations,
not thinking that clearly and I think it's obvious that Fiks will be clicking for us at this tournament.
Nowhere near the level of Counter-Strike we expect from ours. I mean, double digit
Digit, man advantage is lost through this series.
We see you losing to Ecos, we see you losing to Clutches,
we see you over playing, over peaking.
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
Why?
Why were so many situations going against you?
Yeah, it's a good question.
I also wanna say it's also not the level of play
that we wanna show, right?
So it's also below our own expectations.
And you're right, if we're losing a lot of these,
a lot of the fundamentals are out the window
and we have to go back to the drawing board,
look at why is it like that.
It's not that we don't know that you should play for info in a man-evented situation,
that you should set up a crossfire, that you should play off each other's contact.
I think the instinct of how we play things we're not there right now,
we're questioning how we play, maybe also in the situations,
and part of that is why we lose in such a fashion, right?
So I would have wished for us to take a step forward these last few events,
and we didn't, I need to figure out why that is not the case,
and make sure that the time we have now between our next events we use it well.
Speaking about some of the maps, Inferno, it's been your map pick.
We saw it get away from you badly in the Mongols series.
We saw it get away from you pretty badly here as well.
What's going wrong with Inferno?
Let's start with the Mongols game.
Mongols, of course, also know in our matchup that they probably need to surprise us.
That we've beaten them so often now, they're not going to win just playing their usual.
And I think they did a really good job of having this one round prepared
but they rushed out middle, they put us on the edge, we're a bit stressed out there.
And I don't think we've stood a chance in that game.
The game just now, I don't think you get as many men-evented situations or good info all the time
and still manage to throw it away, right? So, it's on individual decisions and it's not that
the guys don't know how to play it, it's more just that we couldn't think clearly
and we didn't trust ourselves and the fundamentals went out the window.
I think the round that made the emblematic of that was the final round, right?
We see the flubnaid. We see mistakes. We see losses against pistols on the other side coming through
I could hear the comms. They sounded hectic. I was hearing them from across the studio. What's going on with the communication?
Yeah, also if you're not thinking that clearly right it gets hectic
You're not sure what is the direction what is going on around you in that moment and
It's just a result of that bad overview right and that's probably also what you can hear
Looking towards the future, we're used to having these kind of conversations about top-end
opponents, about play-offs, about finals exits.
This is an entirely different spectrum, right?
Do you think that pro league loss is haunting you?
How do you get out of this funk for the team?
Yeah, this is a different scenario.
Usually it would be a third place decider or a tough semi-final and that's the end
of the tournament.
It's been a while since we've been in this spot right and maybe it's also an opportunity
to see what can we do with that extra time.
Can we be honest with whoever adds what the flaws we have right now, how can we reset?
And it's definitely not the level that we can play it, all that we want to play it
and we need to find a better way forward.
Have to ask one final question here, just you guys didn't make any changes coming
into this year.
these kind of results, are changes on the table?
I think we always have to see what the future holds,
but it's obvious that over time,
if it's difficult to break through,
you have to consider also my position,
should we make something?
It's also about maintaining forward momentum
and for me to always consider with the staff,
is this the team that's gonna take a step forward, right?
Or are we not gonna break through, right?
And I think we still have a very young team
where everyone has their best years ahead of them.
Right?
And I think that's obvious to say, but it's also the case.
I appreciate you talking to me.
Good luck figuring out these problems
and good luck going forward.
Thank you.
Very candid interview coming in right here from Cyclo
and some good questions asked by Mike.
Anything in particular you pick up on?
I think it's a moment of reflection.
You can tell it in his voice.
You can tell it in the way he's talking.
It's a moment where they have to go back
to the drawing board as a team
and realize what was it that led us down this path.
He's talking about individuals, every one of them making mistakes along the way.
It's not just a team system, it's not just an individual, it's the entire team
doing things they know they shouldn't.
And it's a moment for them to go back to the drawing board and reconsider what they're doing,
how they're approaching these sorts of games.
I think it's really fitting that Miles wore the Black jerseys today,
because we might be approaching the moment for this roster's funeral.
Right? I think you heard it in that final question.
You're getting to a point where it's not a matter of plateauing and not being able to break through.
This is now a mouse team on the decline and on a decline that is hard to explain.
The problem for Maus is this let's call it crisis, mini crisis, whatever we want to label it for now,
it comes at a bad timing. You know, with the major approaching, with the roster locks coming up as
well, like either you make a change right here, right now, you by the way also risk going into
stage two, I guess supposedly if your mouse, if you make that change, or you wait it out
until after the major and hope you can still turn it around. So I think, actually it's a big
decision I'm leaning towards no roster changes for now within the mouse cam but
it's not an easy one to figure out Jacob they are now at risk of making stage
two after this loss they're very much still in doubt it was a 99% before this
loss that they would be in stage three that percentage is increasing or
decreasing rather yeah and even also if you make a roster change and again who
are you gonna pick up now in the in the middle of the season right it's
not a lot of players that would be willing to lead their teams from I
guess the caliber that mouse are looking into right now so it's a
a delicate position to be in.
And as I said, this, let's call it a mini crisis for now.
I don't want to blow the full alarm bell just yet.
I want to see one more tournament of them,
but it's starting to look dire for this mouse lineup.
Yeah, this isn't a phase missing the major level event,
but this is as bad as it can get for a mouse roster
to lose to a 9Z like that.
In the fashion, they lost some of those rounds.
They have to go back.
They have to rethink the way they're approaching these games,
maybe the way they do their pregame,
the way they do their warm-ups,
the way they come into these matches and their game plans.
But I don't think it's quite time for them
to make a roster move, specifically as you're saying,
because they're heading into the major.
You have to keep the same roster,
but my hopes aren't high that they're gonna do
an amazing job when they get there.
One thing's for sure, time for some soul searching.
Definitely gonna be time under the microscope for Maus
as difficult as that might be,
and for all the wrong reasons.
Let's take a look back on where we are and the groups,
because we do have a lot more counter-sharing
to get you today.
You can see some folks setting up behind us.
There's the night shift coming on in
to rock in the second shift of the day.
There's two more games to come.
And there is a lot of action to pack
into that peri-vision taking on Spirit and Mongols
versus Vitality to wrap the day.
That is quite a banquet set.
Yeah, it's some cool games, you know,
and just for the viewers at home
to understand the bracket you're watching right now.
Peri-Vision Spirit, the loser of that one
will face 90 in the lower bracket,
and same could be said for the Mongols Vitality
in the opposite side of the bracket.
So if you're in the lower bracket right now
and you're looking at those two games,
I feel like regardless of who's gonna lose, you know,
It's going to be a tough time down there.
I don't think there's any team in those four teams
that you want to face if you're 9-Z
or if you're any other team in the lower bracket.
You're not looking forward to that,
but maybe you're looking forward to testing yourself,
because those are the best teams in the world right there.
I'm looking forward to watching more 9-Z Counter-Strike.
I think they've made a lot of fans today.
I think the brand of CS that they were bringing,
the balls outplay, some of the risky calls,
some of the big moves, individual moments.
It just can't help but tug at your heart strings.
As much as we're worried for miles,
it's also super impressive on the other side.
For one, I'm sick of looking at you, Jacob.
So I think it's time for you to move off this desk
and over to that desk as we wrap our day.
And so I can just stare into Voo's eyes
for just a fitting moment while we wait for Jacob
to make the long walk over as he needs the joint
to pre for a link between our desks
and a little bit of a chat about refrag.
Take it away, boys.
Hey, Peter, move, move, move, move, move, move.
Okay, Mr. Refrag.
I want to show you something right here
because we are obviously at Refrag
sponsoring this tournament, Peter.
Peter and I brought you for a very specific reason now already have something
lined up for me I already got something lined up for you now we have one thing
in common I don't know if you can guess what it is we've both been bald and
I've been kicked by a team that too but we also both washed up in the game of
Counter-Strike now the reason why I wanted to bring this up to you is
refrack we have a goal and that is to make everyone better at Counter-Strike
it's basically a training tool training software call it what you want now
we didn't have that back when we played you and I when we grew up
together playing Counter Strike. We didn't have all these fancy tools. So I wanted to
expose you to it and get your honest opinion whether or not it's something you could have
used back then or if let's say you were to make a comeback or something like that. Is
it something you would use for the future? Now the first right here is aimbots. I think
pretty much. We've tried that before. Yeah, everyone's tried that before. The caveat
is that it's on a real map so it's real angles. Now the next task is a little
bit different. It's called defender, Peter. Sure. How do you give it a go? Have you
tried it before? I got to make sure that I'm comfortable. See I'm all redacted.
I'm getting out of your picture okay, so I guess it's about you know like having like real fights or something similar to like in in like
The real games and you actually get thrown. Oh, I actually want this round you get the push by all of each other
Holy shit didn't touch that one out this model here everything
That's exactly what is crazy. That's that's that's a really cool
You know like I mean you do get like a lot of utility thrown at you and I'm even not tracking my opponents here
See my spray transfers like that. Yeah, you want to flesh yourself as well
That's exactly the whole point of Defender. That is to bring you in scenarios that is game-like. Let's say you're playing mini
Let's say you're defending yard. You're getting flashed. You're getting multiple you're getting out of position
So we're trying to recreate those scenarios in the game for you
Yeah, how do we feel like in terms of it being realistic or not?
I mean the thing is like okay
I'm fighting for people at the same time while there's like a lot of flashes coming at me
So it's a little bit difficult at times. I feel like I'm practicing more like communicating and shooting at the same time right now
That's that's that's how I feel right but I in general like I also got to you know
try a lot of the other things that you were probably going to throw at me.
I think that it's a completely different view, you want to try something different?
I want to throw more at you.
Go at it. I think for now from what I've been trying is that you do actually get a lot of realistic fights,
you do get, it's a little bit different just playing you know random aim bots where you just
constantly just go back and forth killing, you know, bots, it's just like they're standing
around. I really feel like you get like really cool duels, you get like an idea of how
teams could approach you, not always as realistic but at least you do get some fights that
It does have a remissence of how it actually feels inside the game and it's a tool that
I think a lot of people are maybe overlooking a little bit.
I also think it's something that can help you understand how to put your crosshair, how
to pick fights in the right decision.
If I'm out here, I'm going to be fighting to be at the same time if I can isolate
my duals like this, that kind of puts me in a more favorable situation regardless
of dying.
You're speaking like a pro player.
You're speaking like you actually know what you're talking about, which I guess
is the case.
You know what makes me happy?
you're playing right now is the coach routine and the bots are adjusted to my
level Peter and I see you're dying a lot so that means that we're arguably you
know as washed up as each other and what you're describing right there is
exactly what we're trying to achieve with the coaching thing so basically when
you create an account on Refract which you can do at home for free if you want
to refract.gg slash blast you can test it out coach will analyze your
gameplay it would analyze your facet games your matchmaking games and then
we'll make and create a course for you then you can go in and practice
So what you're playing right now, Peter, is what coach deems to be my weaknesses, which is defending, crossfire, shielding, basically everything in the game.
And then the botch will be adjusted to your level. And as I said, it seems like you're having a pretty rough time.
You know, I'm going to be completely honest with you. When you don't play as much Counter Strike as I used to do, it really decays. It really does decay.
I mean, I can definitely feel like, you know, that the crosshair placement and the ways of taking tools is just not as it used to be anymore.
It's a completely different mindset, but I think it's an interesting tool.
and I actually think it's something that is overlooked and I think that people should be looking into.
You know, Peter, I think we both share that sentiment that being washed up is never fun.
So instead of torturing both of us anymore by watching Peter being a noob,
let's go through a break. Let's move on with this show. We've got more
Can't expect coming your way after the break
I think it's a very important match for us because we want to take revenge because last
time when we have a match against them, they won us and for us it's really important match
because it's also much important because we also fighting about the third stage.
Yeah, we won the revenge for the first boss, our debut as a team and we lost to them in a crazy way, I would say.
We felt like we have to beat them, but we lost and it's sad.
Yeah, they're a great team, but I think we have a lot to beat them.
Every tier one events it's a very quality experience, you know, we are playing against elite teams, for example, Spirit, Vitality, Mouse, Vulcan, and you get this experience pressure in game things and also how we prepare to the game, you know, to deal with this pressure.
What would be some of your predictions for this series?
I think it will finish in two maps.
Spirit and Paravision, that's where the second half of our day is going to start off here at Blast Open.
And it's going to be some Counter-Strike to pre, but a side of revenge is up there as well.
You know, whether it's on the side of Spirit being able to take it or Paravision proving it even further.
Well, Donk wants it to 0. We heard what Soulfly wanted yesterday, and he got what he wanted, so we'll see if Donk can also get his wish fulfilled, right?
It's a clear thing that Spirit is looking out for this Revenge, and they probably also feel that they should have beaten them last time, but...
Well, in reality, no Paravision vision did end up with the victory. Now Spirit is trying to bounce back, you know?
I think that we can all agree that Spirit is not only on paper, but as a whole, a better team than Paravision.
I think it's at a point now where Spirit is... Oh, you disagree with that?
I don't know how he does agree with that, speaking to him.
The Cluj run was pretty convincing to get to the grand finals of that one.
But would you always put, like, let's say, would you just overall say that Paravision should be a better team,
or is it better team than...
Well, the better individuals are definitely on Spirit. There's no question about it,
but I would say that you're kind of having brain vs. brawn in this sort of matchup.
Like, Spirit are all about their individuals,
and then Paravision is all about following James to a tee.
No, okay, I'll... oh, I'll credit you to that one. It's fine.
like, I'm going to put it in
this one. Yeah, but obviously
the wrench part is also
something you're always hungry
as a player like you always
hate like when you can limit
especially by a team that you
feel like you should've been
or you feel like you're better
than so. Revenge is on the
line for this one. So we'll
see what spirit can bring
in. I mean, that's the
competitive it's right. It's
not only proving that you're
the best, but being able
to take revenge when a team
does better you in history,
and they've only had one
matchup so far this year, and
that was previously at
got the better of spirit.
They were able to beat them in that best of three.
Take it towards the end towards them.
That was a mirage, an ancient win for themselves.
And it's one where I feel like these teams
have changed since then.
I mean, Paravision went on to win that event.
Spirit on the other hand, really,
I feel like we're still wanting a little bit more.
We see the potential.
Obviously, we know that Donk is one of the best
two players in the world,
but sometimes it just feels like the cohesion
isn't quite there.
and that's my big concern about spirit
going into this kind of match because
Paravision are kind of like gatekeepers now.
Even though they themselves have had
ups and downs this season,
I would still say that if you don't play a style
that at least throws them off-kilter a little bit,
usually they're gonna stack the right bomb sites,
they're gonna hit the weaker bomb sites,
and so it's up to Magix and Company on spirit
to try to just maybe tilt the scales
in their favor just a tad.
I think for Paravision,
I think it's the one thing that blew my mind is that how
Jayme for some reason seemed to have won out the whole thing
when he was benched in Virtus.Pro.
Then coming to Paris and at that point it did feel like
it was not really the team that he wanted to go into.
But the way that they've just picked up these,
I wouldn't say completely unknown players,
but at least players that are lower than what we expect
to then come in and actually have such an impact.
And he's also saying in the interview that
right now they're making a lot of mistakes
and that's probably also what's holding them back
for being the elite team
because they're making too many of them, but at the same time, they also do have the individual skill to actually get around those rounds and win maybe probably fewer than they would have lost on VP.
So I think that the fact that it's such an inexperienced team and they have already now won a title, regardless if it's a fluke or not, looking strong and I think that it's just also the build-up for them coming into the majors soon,
that they really want to be like peeking at that time. So it's also these events, as you know, I've talked about the experience that they're also getting from playing all these events.
I think it's like for them, they're just trying to, you know, play themselves a little bit down, you know,
hey, we're still like inexperienced, but we actually know how to play,
and then we want to build it up into momentum coming into the Major.
It feels like it's been that roller coaster though, right?
We see the lift trophy, you're talking about the fact that they're able to make it to the grand finals of Cluj,
but then in EPL, it's just this sort of question mark.
Does it feel like the individuals aren't necessarily stepping up?
Maui, you feel like at any one point, they're lacking something for themselves?
Jay, looking at the games that they played at EPL,
Jay made a lot of bad reads.
I actually would say that their downfall was because,
Jame, this is kind of a crazy thing to say,
but I think a lot of people can actually relate to it.
It's that when Jame calls against real tier one teams,
he makes good reads.
He understands how they're going to rotate,
how they want to finish rounds.
But when he plays bad teams, he doesn't know how to read them.
And so I think that was the problem at EPL,
because he played a lot of teams that were outside the top 10.
And he was calling for bomb site stacks,
and then the other teams would just not go into his stacks.
But when you see him play versus things, teams like Falcons, like Spirit themselves, he frequently knows exactly what they're going to do next.
I'm curious to think that, I mean, I get the point, but at the same time, I feel like it's for James's sake, you know, he has, at the beginning of when he joined Paris, he did take a step down from like the competition.
Shouldn't he have gotten like more experience calling against the top of teams? That's at least what I feel like he should have gotten.
The other thing I would say is that also at EPL, it's the first time they went back to playing online after playing three pretty grueling lands against a lot of elite competition.
and even though they were used to it back in 2025,
they really haven't played all that much online this year.
So having to get back into that kind of scene
was something that I think took a little bit of adjustment
for them.
So obviously, just no doubt that, you know,
Jamie knows how to work with the troops.
You know, we've seen that
and we've seen how he's taken this team
from somewhere at least out of nowhere
to coming to be a top five team as of right now,
at least in the ranking,
whether they're there or not,
we will have to be seeing that in the future.
But, you know, they do go up against spirit.
You know, it is a team that is considered
like a potentially top three team as of right now, you know, regardless of their results, right?
I'm still left in a position where I feel like Paravision is still going to be able to have like some good reads about them.
I think they're going to be confident about it. You know, they do know that they took them down last time.
And Jame has always been this player on this in game leader that has had a really good read, as you mentioned, about the good team.
So looking at the matchup as a whole, I think it's relatively open, despite having such fable individuals also on this bearded side.
that's a good thing to do.
You know, it's a good thing
to do. What about we're
looking at this, you know,
Jane comes in. He's also
bringing a lot of younger
players for themselves, kind
of getting to mold them
shaped into what he wants as
such a strong I jail, but one
player in particular matter
that's sitting under him.
No doubt had a phenomenal
performance when they lost
met up against Barrett. He
did and at the blast bounty,
he was one of the best
players at the entire event.
However, following that, I was
hoping that he would
continue or even build upon
Unfortunately for people who only watch blast events.
I know there's a lot of you out there.
What we saw was the best of Noda at the bounty.
So hopefully at this event, you can get a little bit more of it.
But when it comes to EPL, Krakow, Cluj, all of those events,
it's a far cry from what we witnessed.
So I think Noda still is kind of a lot of unbridled talent.
He's extremely snappy with his aim.
I still will say I think he has the best overall aim.
But that's only one aspect of a huge picture
when you're putting together a counter strike player.
And that's just really what you want
to be seeing out of the young players, right?
One thing is that, you know, they can pop off.
Then it's about finding the balance and finding, you know,
that their foothold inside a team
when they go constantly to the,
like they play against better players every single time.
It's not like then they play one good tournament,
then they drop off to play two,
but now they actually,
because of what they have achieved so far,
they do get against a better opposition.
And that is, it just takes time
for these new young players coming in,
having the consistency to go through
against the best players all the time.
Yeah, the fact that the level that you're at now,
the benchmark is just going to be that tier one all the time.
It's going to have an impact on you as a newer player, as a younger one.
And I got to speak to one of them, Zwei, earlier before.
That's totally fair.
And you were saying the other day that you guys grind so much on Paravision, right?
That's a big difference for you from your time in spirit.
But what about coming over to Paravision and having an in-game leader like
game, how has that changed you as a player?
Changed me a lot because here now we have like four young players
and the GM needs to teach every one of us.
In Team Spirit, I was the only one who was like new being
this level of CS, and now we're like learning together,
and it helps me a lot from the past, I would say.
So does he almost feel like a dad to you guys
when it comes to CS, that he's the one
that you follow a lot, like he's splintering you guys,
the Ninja Turtles?
Yeah, I was joking about that also.
Yeah?
Yeah, three days ago.
I was actually telling people about that, right, so I was like, yeah, I was joking
that he's Splinter and why the Ninja Turtles are.
They were surprised to even knew the reference, and I gotta agree.
He's so young.
Like, at what point would that have been an influence in his life?
He's only seen the meme.
Yeah, no one's an episode of this, I have no idea what it actually is.
Yeah, someone explained to him the meme one time, but its way is actually seen
a full episode of Teenage Mutant
Indicators, I'll buy a slice of
pizza. That's a good one. That's
good. I want to see maybe we'll
get that words if they do end up
winning this series, but we're
seeing there. James and sway
just exactly how they are as
players and this way he used to
be on spirit, right? That's a
big narrative around it when we
see this head to head. That's
where the revenge comes from.
You kind of want to prove in
some essence that you were
that spirit roster. That's why I feel like it's a it's always been a fun one
just because even back to the bounty the way that's way has actually fit into
this paravision just feels like he's a little freer that he gets a little bit
more responsibility that they let him off the leash in doses. Sure he's
still going to follow the Jame and Doston system. He's going to be kind
of shackled by that on particular rounds but on a lot of T side defaults
he gets to feel things out. He gets to test his aim. He gets to fight
towards opponents on bombsite anchors
and where as Spirit on the other hand,
they let him go, but they haven't really seen
any good results for it.
I mean, the best that they've done
is the Krakow semi-final finish,
but this is a team that should be built,
Spirit on that side, that should be built
to be winning trophies.
And it feels like even though
they have that one semi-final finish,
I feel like the other terms that show me
they're quite a ways away
from achieving consistent success.
Yeah, when it really comes down this way,
his time in spirit what did really have a lot of off-synonyms.
Him coming into the team, everyone saying how good he was.
And I think he had moments in spirit where he showed what he had coming from the Miga,
but he just never really found a screw.
But I think he was also, I wouldn't say done dirty,
but he was always put in a team where it just seemed like there was more struggles
and since we've also seen more changes ever since.
And I think for him now coming to Paris vision, he gets a place where he,
hopefully he can shine a little bit more, go back to his roots.
But I also feel like when you get to pair him with James, I think James is also really good at just, you know, pairing his teammates up with sort of the things that they're...
He's coming with this feeling of that they're in reality, like they know where they are as a team. They're not like the most experienced guys.
We are still, you know, working around the fact that we are a team that are still trying to build and we know that we don't have to experience.
Sure, we pulled off an amazing tournament in the beginning that no one probably expected of, but he's also downplaying maybe where they are as a team right now.
I think that's like a mental part that is also something sometimes overlooked in Counter-Strike that you also just you know
I know we're still like we're working like we're not really expecting to do more like big results really but then all of a sudden
You know they go a little bit under the radar right that that's one of the things that that that's also in the playing cards and you know
Sway's Sway is in this team also a guy that has mentioned that they are putting more hours into the game
Not the fact that they're playing more individually, but they're putting my hours into it when they come to a team
You know they focus on the team play because they know it's important whereas in spirit
It was maybe more about playing face it or playing as much deathmatch
You know this is where like you've moved the hours of conflict into the team aspect and so far
It's it's been working for this unit. Where would you put the line though in like down playing where you are as a team being?
like internally critical and knowing that there's mistakes but also being like hey
We're working really hard like why don't you being too harsh on plays?
when you do you feel like you're being too harsh on the expectations around your team?
Shame and Dawson both have entered the vicious cycle of you get to the top and counter strike
and then it just spits you back out and you have to work your way all the way back to the top.
And so their perception of themselves is simply reasonable and also it's probably
because they've been burned in the past by probably at times when they were
with VP with outsiders when they even won a major they probably thought maybe we can
can maintain this form, but really that was a long gap between Rio and the bounty trophy
and it's the only S tier trophy that they really have.
So I don't think that they want to jump too quickly on their own form and say, yeah, we're
tournament favorites now.
It just sets you up for failure.
Yeah, but it doesn't.
It's been a thing that we've done in the past.
We won like a title and then we go also, yeah, we don't really see ourselves as
the best team in the world right now because then you just crown yourself as the
best team.
the team and the pressure that
they have is from the results
that they create and not like
the ideas that they create
about themselves. Like this is
how good we are. Yeah, we're
good, but we're also going to
play low and know that we're
still in the working phase.
Well, the teams, you know,
they're allowed to be critical
of themselves, point out those
mistakes and whatnot. But so
you guys are right. That's
why you're on this. That's
going to know, Maui. You're
a little bit cautious. You
don't have to worry about
what you're going to do.
You don't have to worry about
what you're going to do.
You don't have to worry about
what you're going to do.
You don't have to worry about
what you're going to do.
You're a little bit cautious about spirit when we head into it.
Yes, they've done a lot of work.
They're a different team than when they lost many stuff
against Paris Vision.
But there's still some question marks around how they're
able to execute that T side.
So obviously, to get in this position to fight
for a playoff spot, they did beat Liquid.
But I just had some concerns about the way
that they went about their T sides, especially.
I mean, we talk, or many people,
rate Holly incredibly highly as a coach.
But I saw a round on their T side.
And this is not a one-off case
where they just kind of go into rounds
just thinking they can brawl their way through them.
And to me, that's incredibly concerning
because look at this.
They consciously bought very low utility in this round,
and then they just have to do this crunch on the bomb site
with 40 seconds left with no nades.
There's no nades at all that they're
using to try to breach the A bomb site.
And this is, to me, just it's a little too scrimmy.
It's a little too puggy.
You would want there to be a little bit more
setup, one player, even magics.
I'm almost concerned about that.
Why isn't he buying utility as the in-game leader to try to set up this play?
And they do eventually get this game over the line.
But that sort of stuff, especially in MR12, comebacks happen really quickly.
You give them one, two gun rounds, you kind of mess with your money.
You don't buy these more efficient buys that are more tactical in nature, and you just
expect everybody to headshot all the time.
That's going to lead to you getting upset sometimes.
This specific play obviously requires everyone to be really sharp and have like really
good in-game communication and when to strike and everything.
Do you think this one is more like, would you place this type of call or this type of decision making like on the players?
Or would that be more like towards Magic by him, you know, maybe not realizing what is actually the best thing to do here?
Or is it a Halle decision? Because I think we all probably have this idea that Halle has a lot of saying inside the team by,
with how they want to be playing and approaching it.
But I mean, Magic as a new in-game leader still is very new to having this role on top of him and also figuring out the,
like how to approach things.
So do you think it's Magic's calling this or do you think that comes from Halley?
Regardless of, I mean I think it's both.
It's usually both in these kinds of systems.
The, you know, it's usually the IGL coach combo that kind of instills the philosophy
of how you want to carry out your t-slides.
But I would say that even instinctually for Magic's in that kind of round, why is,
I mean I feel like so many of the great in-game leaders will selflessly go to a P250
so that they can have full nades to further set up their star players.
But Magic himself equipped a rifle.
Everybody practically had a rifle in that round.
And they consciously buy that.
To me, that just doesn't really read like a team
that is gonna go through the natural motions
of just setting everybody up.
And to me, I've seen teams in the past
where I think the prime example in my mind
is actually probably like Nafini's Cloudbind,
where they just didn't really use that much utility
and they just hope that the star players
would get multi-frag entries.
And that has such a limited shelf life,
all predicated on player form.
Yeah, I like that we're outlining everything that Kengar right and possibly they're wrong for them as well on both sides
Paravision and Spirit, but last time they matched up with the all three maps, right?
We had Overpass, Mirage, and Ancient, so let's see exactly what maps we're gonna get for this best of three.
Are you guys expecting a run back? Do you want the salty run back? Just pick the same three maps, Overpass, Mirage, Ancient?
I feel like both of these teams have been humbled a lot lately, so I
So so I feel like there's been a lot of changes in the last two months for both of them spirit generally do just kind of like the
Scrimmier maps. Okay, see me. That's actually a little bit of a development
I didn't think that they were gonna go for an anubis there and ancient actually on the side of para vision
I don't even necessarily think that's a map that I've really found to be their comfort either
I'm surprised neither team went for dust to or mirage in this opening veto here
because I felt like both of them actually tend to like to play those maps.
I think for the likes of Spirit, Pigeon and Nubis comes down to the fact that they have like,
for the last three months they have a 100% win rate, they've beaten G2 twice and I believe it's either 4 or 3G max.
I think it's, you know, it's also just looking at how are we looking on the maps in practice,
how are we looking at in the officials and I feel like if you have a map that you're feeling so confident on,
then I think that the idea is fine. Whereas the Spirit, Pigeon, you know, I've seen Spirit,
or sorry the answer because I've seen Spirit obviously play into the very high level, but it's also been very shaky
So yeah for the likes of perversely picking that one kind of makes sense to it
And then obviously it can go both ways
But I feel like they're new best pick for spirit in my books
Just proves that they are confident and they want to try and take a new direction also thinking where they were in the last
There matchup now when you see just to being decided does it make more sense?
Why it was left the way it was why Spirit didn't pick it up as their map
I feel like that's definitely an aspect to it because both teams want to play it
So they probably thought that could be the handshake to finish things off now and hopefully we get that right
We've seen it before a map 3 would be such a spectacle between power vision and spirit
But we get to look forward to the start of our best at 3 with map 1 with scrawny and launders
Thank you so much. That's right time to dive into yet another para vision game. Do we get to map 3?
It's a big old question moe
I know that we're gonna get into the later portions of probably all these maps because we've got para vision back in
The server yeah, and that's the beauty of why their counter strikes entertainment is because it's always down to the wire
isn't it? It is. Now in this series, I mean, sneakily, I should say, we got the three highest
win rate maps for Paravision in this series. How did James do this? How did James do this? I mean,
it ends obviously with them banning El Mirage for Dust2, which is their second highest win rate.
And I think obviously, I think the interesting thing about this game, or what's going to
dictate a lot, is really game of magics. Because I think a lot of people agree that
James the best IGL Russia and it magics at the moment. He's a new IGL and they had one of the
They had donks sort of worse series in a long time versus the straws very recently
So there is a lot of doubt around the roster at the moment and this will be extremely strong test
On the IGL front. I really like what Maui snakes point was discussing how at pro league with the pair vision struggles
He's arguing that maybe it's because of the you know lesser opposition
and jame doesn't always get the best reads over those sorts of teams in contrast to the top dogs
we know what spirit's formula tends to look like it's going to involve donk attempting to smash you
so let's see what they can do in terms of countering that and whether
these promising young rifles on paravision around jame can stand the test that is donk
ct side for spirit and donk locked in behind the bomb sites
Camera player is about to come through in a moment.
That one terrorist over to Long.
Long goes down with him. Just the one.
And then Xiello in with a double headshot.
So fast was it with Don Sparedes.
Here comes Shiro's pair and those hit the ground quick.
So triple kill here for Xiello.
And Zontix into the clutch.
He's quietly crawled his way up from Long.
Ah, spotted though.
And if that goes down he'll throw his smoke
trying to shave off at least one of these three
remaining ParaVision players.
But then it's a quad kill nicely done from Zelo once they're able to exit out through e-box. It is over
That's lovely
And it's a very simple idea that they wanted to run with comes down to the trait fragging and it was pretty impressive that donk
Out that kill basically it looked like there's no chance. He got it was only bullet before he died
Instantly took out Belchanoch
But this is all about Zelo holding the flank as well because she was here very early
It's like right when the bomb's getting planted at the 52nd mark, but they were ready to wash it because they got enough kills in the site, they could turn around.
I feel a newbis. I feel like we haven't got to watch a newbis so far at the event.
Spend some time.
Obviously, when Spirit played against Liquid, Donk had a much better series and it was a one-off series.
It was like a 0.82, which is obviously the end of the world when it's done.
But the question is, was it a sign of anything to come or is it just a one off?
Because even the very best can have an off day.
Jane plays as the front runner out middle, bolstered by multiple players behind him.
But it's another CT smoke into camera.
Yeah, everything's really blocked off at the moment.
And there's still the potential for a group up towards A.
Obviously, this is coming towards the other side of the map.
And now Jane kind of throws some more confusion into it.
It's been re-smoked a ton of time.
CTs have actually decided to lean away from this site.
works out better for ParaVision. Donk won't see anything in E-Box, but does this mean his guard
drops? He pounce on it, 20 to spare. Yeah, Donk's gonna go down with nothing. Nat, colonel up,
attack from ParaVision, punctures through with two kills and no deaths back the other direction.
It could have been for some reason, but they were just so low on information, kind of the
whole rounds. And if you're gonna tactically use your smokes to block things off, it's kind
of the situation where you better influence the right side to get hit. Like you better have the
idea that if we throw this one smoke they're going to come and try to split on us, but that doesn't
happen. And in the end they don't have great guns either way so a two-player hold like that,
even if they got a kill it's still probably round over.
That's kind of like here we sit and wait and see, you know, what kind of spear we're going
to get.
It's not a liquid test.
It's totally different.
Yes, sir.
Like that liquid match doesn't really, I don't think matter to them.
I don't think it matters to sort of anyone watching in terms of like, how are they going
to perform versus the very top level?
Paravision are one of those teams.
And that should be a very interesting day that we've had this head to head, right?
First time was back at bounty.
That was with a fresh magics at the helm.
For better or for worse, he has been in that role
for more time to gain experience
and to supposedly have powered up for the next matchup.
But here we are.
That's been pretty vocal about not liking Anubis.
That was before changes.
I don't know what his comments are now.
It's already pretty quickly down to the camera though.
CT Smoke meets the meganomy.
We had James kind of testing this perimeter as well.
Last round they were happy to just disengage after, very similar to the last round in that
regard.
It's just really establishing so easily with the camera smoke.
And the thing is, ParaVision are actually layering it in multiple points in the round
to make sure that if someone pushes, they don't see anything.
Spirit have not even really tried to come here at all
and they're flying blind.
Another round where they're not gonna participate
in fighting against mid control
and Paravision picked the right site once again.
Totally evacuated.
Last time it was this same setup
from the camera presence to the fallback
and then they walked through the long smoke
over towards B.
Well now it's a total diversion
and back over to long A-Vill attack instead.
So a pair of vision showing us fresh looks and back to background despite them starting the same way and that's just going to have spirit playing catch up yet again.
Three zero, the pair of vision kickoff.
Donk said in an interview they need to all shut up and let magics talk.
And I think the visceral reaction to that is, you know, magics create the space in the comp.
I kind of take control of the team and they will need him to do that and I'm sure that
Even when you do try to talk over your IGL you regret it when it costs you the round
Any exit damage offered up doesn't look like it I should still be able to get far enough away
That's right, we're not on dust too
It's almost dust three
3-0 start made easy
Definitely not the most like confidence building moment so far from spirit
You're kind of getting you're getting out rotated really hard in these two rounds
You're not fighting that much for info. You don't have a lot to work with
We're just looking for a couple kills a couple good locations trick paravision a little bit and also
We get a little window into paravision scheme plan
Which looks like the right way to play right now against spirit. So let's see what happens in mid
1.25 KPR on CT side of Nubis this year. That's kind of wild. Very nice.
CTR. Damn. And AWP in hand. That's actually pretty staggering.
Like the crazy stat for Donk is having two tournament runs down with about a 1.0 KPR,
0.98 or 0.99. One of the major in Shanghai, something like that. And then across six
months almost maintaining that that is outstanding so 1.25 for that particular
stat just for people who aren't looking at KPR that's that's nuts
that is this half specifically for shiro so you should expect him to get his game
going but for now it's pretty quiet start to round four we hit the minute mark no
contact no fire fights anywhere across the map and understandably putting
shero towards this camera. It's been the CTs that have smoked it off in back-to-back rounds.
They leave it open with that op on the line this time, hoping the Paravision step into
it with a bit of repetition. It doesn't come that way.
Magics will give away audio cues on this flustered fallback, and Paravision aren't
wasting any time. They're ready to go five players strong into this bomb site.
Tenir, Donk, and Magics. That's pretty capable in terms of a defense, but Donk goes
down with nothing. So will Magics. Only Tenir of the three to catch a kill within
all of this and so Paravision knew what they wanted a swarm into the B bomb site and that's them a
victory over Spirit's first gun round. I mean I think I don't think it takes an expert eye to see
that that looked awful. First of all Donk dives into E box because he feels someone needs to fight
it. It feels like magic should have been that guy not Donk. Donk could have covered the smoke on
the main cross and any position where he can just live longer and take you know safer duels
it's going to be better for the team. But instead it was just Magic's watching his back
and then Donk going into an uncomfortable peak.
And shape the Paravision players down by a one in the post plant but never even go for
the defuse. So to survive on Spirit's side, Paravision's flawless T side continues.
I mean, if he goes so wide right there, even if he gets this kill, he's immediately getting
traded and Magix is busy and Teneir can't complement this.
You know, you'd kind of want a setup that encourages people to come out so Teneir can
catch the cross so Dawn can cover Magix so Magix can take first contact but die isolated.
It's a really bad order of operations.
I think that's pretty clear.
That can be a combination of just like, oh natural chemistry was just off right there,
but we're going to be looking at that like really closely with Spirit right now.
Maybe they thought it was more and more it's main and one guy lurking or something, but
that that would just be another situation that Paravision have totally fooled Spirit.
Hmm, yeah, it was a nice refresh and kind of change of tempo for Paravision there as well.
Certain tenacity to go into the commitment of the B hit.
Give them credit for that one.
I
Wow, I'm all the way up
It's amazing what we've built
Yes, we humans humans rights humans
I am one.
Uh-oh.
It's not the new utility.
Nobody out in middle force spirit to kind of punish that?
You've got a very, very passive spirit.
You've got a quiet map and you've got a pair of vision throwing out the feelers,
is working on map control for free.
Shiro hasn't made a noise,
so maybe they do walk into this first kill.
Oh, he misses.
And then you give up so much space.
Magix is under pressure because Shiro's dead already.
Crazy frag.
Now it's just all Donk.
It's all you've got to hope for.
He will find the one kill towards long.
They do emerge around the smokes of E-Box,
and he damn near able to get that third kill.
So Donk will get the double,
but both of his other teammates dying empty-handed,
Especially when Shiro's AWP was right on the perfect angle.
There's still legs to stand on for this retake with yellow down on 5 HP.
And with Jame isolated from the others, now Tenir's got it rolling,
but he takes a lot of damage in return for that one.
It's a damn near even situation.
They need a smoke for main.
They don't have one.
Frag grenade from Nohta could just blow Tenir to smithereens.
They're actually not even trying it.
They're out of here. That's going to be ParaVision off to the 5-0 start T side of Spirit's map pick.
It's a round that could have been fine if Spirit, if Shiro hit a shot.
It's a spot that, when you look at the rest of the rounds, all of the map control has been given up to maintain a 5v5 to shroud Shiro's position, so that he can get his first kill easily.
They run into him. They didn't know where the op was. They didn't hear it.
But then, oh that's how he got it. It looked like it was a full on smokespeed, but he had complete vision all the time.
So just another moment where they're either uncomfortable versus E-box or a main or both.
B main I should say.
But yeah, when you let it come down to that moment, then all you have to talk about is like you gotta hit the shot.
And for somebody whose statistics we highlighted at the start of this, have been so good on
this hack in particular, he's been waiting to get that kind of first kill opportunity
and he misses.
Shiro remains the last player on Spirit without a kill.
Not that any of them are popping off at the moment.
So quietly, Paravision continue to just rack up these early rounds, it's honest
work.
Take a walk back towards middle.
Mischoff's opportunity for Jane this time around.
It's just terrifying for Tenir.
Could be dead right now, so he'll be blessed
to still be standing.
But he foregoes mid control,
and that's gonna draw Shiro back towards camera.
Again, we go back to round two and three,
the smoke grenades there,
as ParaVision kind of peel away from it,
but ever since, Shiro's just been trying
to keep eyes on that same angle.
Now he gets smoked off at the moment.
You see Shiro's starting to bolster up
this long A push instead.
I think the call makes sense here for paravision. They're starting to lean towards a obviously bomb is last
So that's kind of crazy actually it's gonna take quite a bit of time
At least for now still waiting their smoke out got the pre move from spirit to lean over and shiro's in a good place once again
That's not over complicate this he needs to hit a shot
Versus yellow and belchinock
It's baited. Oh, what an adjustment as well.
Pressure on the offer. Now cameras under threat, and Belchanoch trades out immediately.
They had the players, they had the positions.
They actually had a better set of them when we saw them be in the previous rounds.
But unfortunately, that's two rifles where Shiro
misses either shoots too early or misses an easy off shot,
which is uncharacteristic as we saw from that stat.
Again you don't really want to talk past that point right you don't want to go into details about other things
They could have done the one round why would you put yourself in a great spot to win
Their recognition that that split was probably coming pushing shiro away from camera and to actually just go and set up on long
All of it looked right
Don't go clean up to at least try to find a silver lining here for spirit
You can chip away at this economy for para vision, but it is racks on racks for the attackers
We got four players above $10,000 in the back pocket coming into round 7 and still spirit without a single round win
This has to be incredibly frustrating for Alley because this you know it reflects poorly on him
But almost unfairly especially for the shiro moments. You can't you just can't even if you have shiro point blank
But yeah, you know that was my responsibility ultimately
And even the slow-mo shot there for yellow looks past me
I don't see even a chance to refrag as he enters the side of life that he gives it another little jump just to be extra cautious.
Camera players coming into a really good job of just making shiro's life all the more difficult.
We've slowly seen Taneer kind of get allocated towards middlemore and more often whether spirit are trying to get info for his value but now he's really extending even further forward beyond the camera playing just inside of the double doors.
It's one of the most front-facing mid setups that Spirit have utilized so far this map.
It's crazy as even if Jiro hit a shot, there's still a chance Paravision can slowly win
the round for sure, but without it, it's just a bowl in a China shop really.
It's just so easy.
Oh, second pair of vision, uh, Molly, that guy's playing right now.
How'd you try to throw it?
Yeah.
All right.
His way's talking.
Donks finds him.
Nice.
See him.
Some good moments at a Donk.
That's, that's for sure.
Yeah.
And another 2K for him.
5v3 for Spirit, best place they've been in so far this half.
This round right here right now.
So what do Paravision do to try to break back in?
With the time left, it's pretty much an unloosable spot.
They want to split on A, sure,
but you have five players who can respond to this.
Donk to the left side now.
Gonna catch you as you try to jump into camera.
Donk doing all the heavy lifting.
And Shiro just tries to keep himself slim.
Back turned.
Oh, Donk, a quad kill!
Biggest multi-frag of this map so far for Spirit, and it puts the round on the scoreboard.
The conversation around Spirit is eternal, man.
You know what to expect from this guy.
It's always impressive to see it, but you're not closing out tournaments and maps and stuff
just off the back of him alone.
On the bright side for Paravision, they've been playing excellently, and again, even
if Shiro hits shots, they put themselves in good spots, healthy splits, good timings,
working map control, getting a lot of space.
This one feels more like a scolding than a tactical timeout out of Halley.
Oh, while Dostan's chilling.
When it is picked against them, Spirit choose to start on CT side at Nubis.
Sometimes I can be a bat that, well, it can just be like, where do we want to make our
come back. Um, not always a popular choice, but this is aggressive. Donk dropping out to
move so off the tack pause. It's almost the belief you start cold sometimes off the scolding.
Donk's got a fire lit underneath him. Paravision. The job is just kind of leaning back avoiding
this fully. Donk knows nothing. He's gained no information from this, but he does. That's
the water. Yeah, but it's not just information. It's also the clock. And if
Paravision play rounds down to 25 seconds, small things like this to push
people back to slow down default mid control setups, that takes away a
really important resource for Paravision, who they use a lot of this to
make their decisions. You don't see a payoff right away, but it can have a
big impact later on.
Oh, yellow's ahead of that smoke.
Is he going through it?
Oh, he feels it's a bit too, yeah, too suspicious.
It's right there for the faking.
And now we get to 45, but again we're looking at no mid control.
Right.
The way is the lurk going to camera.
CT's have to slowly come over here.
So essentially it could be a 2v5 in this hold.
Relying for spirit is at least donk is one of the two
And then so I was coming pass with a big hole a wins it that's gonna put pressure on cameras yellow kill Zontics
It is all donk or nothing now
Waiting for that camera duel, but Zway taking his sweet time never even gives him the challenge donk
We'll find yellow as he overextends trying to make it happen
Man advantage is lost here for para vision in the post plant a 3v5 trying to come together now a
A slow burn on the long flank.
Donk causing a ruckus and nobody from Paravision is overpeak just yet but Shiro's got his.
Donk is dead and now it falls to Shiro to clutch out versus these last two.
He's got a health advantage over No-Tip, the bomb gets set ablaze.
And as he chases down the long fight, time is of the essence.
A slow squeeze for Paravision in a post plant and even though a 5v3 should always get locked down,
This one gets close, and they still wind up winning.
They made it up, you know, brought it through through right away.
So there was a real chance to go for the retake,
but it does end up getting everyone killed in the end.
Another bomb-planned victory, another site take successful.
And immediately, a back-to-back timeout.
out. Running out of time to run up any CT round wins. Donk delivered again in the middle
of all that. Yeah, we're able to get it back. See that. It's just alarming how little there
is from anyone else. One frag on Magix, one frag on Sontics. Shiro with some critically
missed op shots earlier that could have opened up rounds for them. Like let's remember
They made this roster change not just for another IGL, but to try to squeeze in a little bit more firepower while getting a new IGL
Yep, that's what it was all about
Sportsmanship though, just you know, you want to high-five take it
Gotta keep that fire lit
I wish there were more tactics for spirit. Yeah, I mean we get to wish there was deeper
main presence more than just a, you know, a flash retaking B, especially for a map pick
that catches us off guard in the veto.
It's time to impress us on the T side, I suppose,
but how much of a T side will we get to see
if this CT half is still so flat-footed?
T near versus Zwei in a second.
that.
Risky to go through the smoke.
It's gonna fade.
What it does.
And it doesn't even consider it.
No awareness about this right?
It doesn't even consider and so
now burned off a fountain.
It's a one and done for
Zontics.
She wrote awaiting that camera
push.
33 post plant Belchinov never given a chance to reposition
Jane trying to give overwatch almost caught fully down to 15 health Belchinov
Insta kill don't dead without a head magics on the trade attempt
Trying to move it forward, but Belchinov's got other ideas and she rose off rattling off rounds to no avail
It's going to turn into para vision eight terrorist round way and don't sleep on Belchinov nice 4k
a clean headshots and another fantastic round for ParaVision.
But yeah, this is now like you look at Taniir,
you can't be forgetting about a smoke timing,
like how long is left on the fade based on your position,
especially when you're that potentially exposed.
What's way was not splitting at him
to go and fade that smoke in mid.
He was just willing to take a fight
and Relye on his reaction time had a good pre-aim.
I mean, you know, you expect more from Tanir.
I mean, especially him getting on this team, dude, he was, he was like,
kind of the perfect guy to call up to give a chance to.
So it seems right now on the Molly talk down to 20, who gets there in the end.
But we would be a multi-fac...
We've actually had a great half out of Dawn.
Like it's not even been exit kills.
It's, it's actually been pure impact and they have one round.
I
He's got me you go kills because Paravision haven't saved
Number strong here if they stay ahead of this a main push that spirit are going for
They keep the timing quick enough then this is gonna be a desperate one for Donk and a teammate back on site
but he'll execute no tuck.
Bomb drop down, that's gonna expedite this flank with the 5-7.
It is just a 5-7 and an MP9. AK's still gonna go down to it though,
so good on Dong to get active down into camera.
That activates the flank and Spirit went around where they had less to work with.
Free AK's across the board.
Problem is, it's very little and it's very late.
Second round win for Team Spirit, made simple.
There's a sketchy first duel for Donk that he ultimately won, got there while standing inside of the fire.
Didn't have to do too much after the fact, just pushes down in, activates his teammates, that'll be Spirit's second.
That's something.
And it is CT side, so you know, however they can get there, if they sub potential for 4, that might be good enough.
Looks like money will be good for the remaining two rounds, since they didn't spend it all.
One way or another, dog gets his.
Had some really nice shots from Belchinovk this map, but that time loses the duel to the SMG.
8 AKs and 2 Ops. This is pure CS sold.
Saunty to the NATO.
Oh, they're getting... Oh, they're gonna just storm through him.
He drops it.
They still just take that fight. Big commitment here from C.E.L.O.
He'll do what he has to to just try to push this attack through and then a headshot versus Teneer from Belchanoch putting that rifle work back on display
Lot of utility comes down at a very quick tempo here for spirit
We'll see if it catches them off James now low Belchanox low and so damage being dealt back
But still man advantage held on by para vision bomb has been thrown out in the open
And the last two spirit players layered on top of each other, but that is fine by Donk
Catches a second kill in the round.
Shiro ready for this peek out of Zwei.
They've got two pins. I mean, Shiro does not have to move.
Really comes down to Donk having a reaction flick.
Let's see if Jayme can take him out.
It's an AWP on both sides, AK on both sides.
Yeah! Good to get cleaned up.
Versus Jayme, Zwei clutch attempt.
Knows he's stepping back into the AWPer.
But wait! Shiro let him get that much wider.
He takes Donk's head off.
Now, just Shiro, who's trying to come out towards the side of this 20 seconds bomb retrieved, fake plant.
CT in the open only for a second.
Sway's hands now busy as he commits to this, but he's got the bomb down.
Rifle back up, and Shiro comes through with the pistol.
46 health makes the difference. That's Spirit on their way to a 4 round half.
You threw a flag down right there that Shiro could have just been holding that angle.
Donk is out in the open peeking and even though he missed a shot again
He had a chance to just go for it one more time because they had the 2v1 so it gets scary
The Chiro clutches and in terms of their cohesion in this moment they picked the perfect way to approach this oh
My goodness
Fact that Zwei hit Chiro first in that final duel in heaven yet the p250 prevailed
Yeah, and honestly just the aggressiveness of all those counter-terrorists throwing themselves through camera down into that B site
Get feel like Paravision thought they had earned a little more breathing room to kind of put that bomb down
To neary that flash fully. Yeah, he was still alive on the tall box. They decided let's just go try to help him
Get a refrag
Spirit comes stampeding from middle
Well, hard fought third round win, but looking to close this half with three rounds consecutive,
three of the four they would have.
That thing, it's one thing to kind of have your way with spirit.
It's another to keep them pinned down as you did.
The money hasn't betrayed ParaVision this entire half, never having to fall back into
a half-buy.
Mac 10 here for Zwei, tech nine for James.
The weakest buy we've really seen ParaVision with, and it comes in round 12.
I can't believe Donk at 16 and 8 with no eco kills and they have three rounds.
They really missed out on a couple of key opportunities.
Right now, Donk's not a part of this AD fence.
Ooh.
That's Auntix's always careful on these shoulder peeks.
He got away with it nearly last round.
Oh, Molly goes deep.
Donk's not gets burned though.
A little audio confirmation.
Support eats the flash.
Auntix tries to go for another nape, but the player behind him was blind.
Shiro could still hold this.
Yeah, nicely done.
At least him getting a double, but the camera split comes through and that mid hold
wasn't able to stop it.
Magics is a little bit late on arrival, so it's another camera retake needed, met by a smoke, they need this precious time, and so they will instead run over towards closet.
You find this open avenue, but whether or not there are Paravision players pressed in, they don't know, playing behind Newbox.
Yellow catches magic, it's off, don't spray, betrays him, and so Paravision remain adamant that that bomb site's prime for the taking,
and they will establish a 9-3 lead after their attack.
Controding me or no?
You could include yourself if you want.
Well, honestly, gonna be pretty easy.
I just put the whole battle to Lana.
My dream roster right now in CS would be IGL, definitely Apex.
I'm assuming I'm in there, so it's gonna be me.
The Blitz is probably the sharpest IGL, I would say.
If I had to make a squad to beat Vitality, I would make Niko IGL.
Because I think Isolated Vitality is really, really great players to have Saibu and then have really great role players.
And if you want to beat them, I think you are probably beating them by the system, the way they play right now.
So you have to beat the Bible on fire just out of the gate.
I think it's a no-brainer to pick Zybu and Duncan, your team.
I think it's just unfair.
Yo!
Oh, it's a bit of a panda that end of a skull.
It's so ridiculous.
I don't think it needs any extra explaining.
Like, they're not crossing each other's roles.
Yeah, they're the best currently.
I have no idea how this roster might work in terms
of relationships, like how they're going
to get used to each other.
And if it is even going to work, you know, Dunk is dunked, Zayu is Zayu.
All per, I would say, Zayu.
I would put Dunk because I think he's probably the best striker in CS right now.
I'll take Manasi, I'll take Dunk.
Multi-frag moment, but here's Dunk!
You're beating Snapex to him, and now this huge health advantage!
Time's ticking!
Dunk Zayu!
And we have a manager at Messi at this point. He's like the best one in the past more than a year.
Ropes. Apec Diamond Ropes are playing for Vitality which is by far the best teams in the last months, like in the last one year let's say.
Ropes for the sake of being one of the world-class anchors for such a long time and right now in the top one team and he's been informed for a long period of time.
And then we'll take it.
Kyo-Suka would choose him because I think obviously he's really young,
but even though he doesn't have too much experience,
he has shown how good he can be and I think he definitely has a bright future.
Kyo-Suka, it is just Kyo-Suka.
He knows.
I think he also takes Kyo-Suka.
And the last player, I would say Mones, he has a hybrid.
I just think Mones, he just has the class, just has the talent.
He knows all of the situational utility.
He understands how to play college.
So I just think it's an overall pretty tough team to beat.
If we're saying that current roster vitality, we're all going to stay together and you can't have any of them, who would you take instead?
I would take the full roster of Champions Spirit.
You never know how a team connects.
These players and what they have seem to add something to the server and make the team much better.
I think that's unique and I think we've all seen that in the Australia Zero, where every player is really great and they're making sure they're better.
And I think that is always the hardest when you make a team that has to compete for the finals on the first day basically.
An impressive opening half of the Paravision camp as Jane leads the troops to a 9-3 advantage over a flailing team spirit.
There were ample opportunities where Donk ends up with impact in rifle rounds Moham,
being able to convert three of those for rounds wins is a worrying sign for Spirit's map pick.
There it is. There's many kills as his teammates combined.
He goes no exits, just rifle frags. The T side of the Nubis is where he can let loose,
but walking into this crossfire and notes it doesn't have to go much deeper to try to force
another frag. You'll get caught up in jail. Zelo trades still this looming threat of another
set of Barrettas and a flank on top of that. Team spirit feeling boxed in in a
situation where they need a pistol round to just have one sigh of relief. Give
yourselves better odds to work with. Instead this pistol is gonna slow down
magics. Ah, Zoptix isn't even allowed to leave. Yellow goes hunting. It's a magics
1v4 or paravision immediately to the double digits. You'll hit that
Gush on Belchanok to kick this off. Nicely done to finish the frags. Still plenty of time to make this magic happen.
Time and space for sure. I mean he's not tested right now. Both sides are open. Clock still good for him.
And you know one good shot away from a bomb plant if he's lucky.
It's a safe plant at that, so at the very least,
Magix has gone ahead and found a way to get some money in spirit's back pocket.
Still surrounded though, goes for the camera duel.
Tallbox is good cover if you can win this fight, but Zelo widdles him down with
another multi-kill in this second pistol.
So his impact at the start of each of these halves has been immense,
and that is ParaVision to the 10-3 lead.
So crazy the rise of ParaVision and how just like consistently good they are,
And we've seen them fumble and a couple of online matches.
And you know what?
I actually like to see that because they constantly
talk about themselves as underrated
and trying to work so hard.
But you can see at some point, after beating a lot of top
teams, taking tournament wins this year, that obviously,
they aren't going to be able to show up consistently.
And they do need breaks mentally.
And they're going to just fall apart
in the most random game because they're
a new rising roster.
But when they're here playing versus spirit,
they're sitting straight up.
They're playing their A1 game.
They're looking good already now in both halves.
And I mean, no reason that should stop.
You know, James talked about it as well.
The spirit looked like they come into this with it.
I couldn't even tell you what the game plan was.
If you told me that Paravision went for this map pick
and it caught Spirit off guard, that's almost what I would have seen.
Yeah, that's what it looks like.
Yeah, that's right.
But that is not the case.
And so what was the expectation about how Paravision would play
and what you would do to trick them?
you know, how were you finding the edges of the cards? And what did you know about them that, you know, you thought was, you know, your arcane knowledge that you had access to, you're going to be able to use to conjure up a victory?
Well, there is a T side.
Because that bomb plant, they at least are able to walk into this with more bells and whistles, donk AK, most notably.
And potentially most lethal
But if a flash that's up nota to try to unravel long control before the camera setups ready
Well, that's big one player shaved off as the smoke comes over top
It's a back turn to magics who's still approaching long
He's gonna try to cluster no doubt into the open dogs a case strikes down its first
But a frag grenades gonna drop him to half HP CT still trying to throw out utility to slow this down to interrupt
the commitment of spirit
Suace sits here on plat, goes into the duel versus the tech 9, and Cielo is denied.
Donk is doing everything until finally he gets put down.
It's a jame clutch needed. 1v2, front sight, magic's dead, James got it.
That was so needed, that was so needed for Spirit, and Donk gets another 2k when they're trying to refrag,
but the clutch happens. Not the best guns behind Donk, but they were so close to the finish line right there.
I mean, he did the heavy lifting, he kills to his name, breathe.
Man, I mean...
And this is the risk of, you know, not picking the strong side when it gets picked against you.
Even if you want to make a comeback, you can get into bad buying decisions if you didn't get enough rounds in the first half
That you end up forcing through what could have been saved into a rifle to a really good opportunity
Where you have advantages, but
Now you're just thinking about how you blew too many good chances
And your hands remain tied as they come into this next one with three Galils
Tech Dine in the Desert Eagle in Spirit's camp
Facing an eight round deficit and looking at paravision who are just a mere two rounds from victory
Paravision leaning into this early 4 player B stack.
And Belch not confirming that even those smokes trickled down in for long nobody's actually
coming through that first one. Damn, it's a very low success rate for T side entries.
Considering what you'd expect there of strengths to be. They do find some open space in mid,
but that's as Paravision peeled back from their V-stack. Oh, it's yellow with the
double headshot mow down, and that's dark dead, so usually it's the rest of spirit
right behind. Belchinox gonna move forward with the SMG, clear up magics, and if it's a 5 alive situation with 9 map points, by God,
ParaVision, earning this gap between them and Team Spirit.
Such great responses already. A crossfire that actually works inside of the B site, that could be learned from reclaiming mid control.
So well timed.
Jared didn't even try that.
An early B-stack just in case, peeling apart at the perfect moment to get back ahead of what was that quiet mid-walkout.
Spirit splattered on the mid-walls.
And Zontik's saving a Galil, maybe.
Yeah, he'll get away with it.
Zello goes for the chase. It's another big multi-kill for his yellow.
Yeah.
He is now on the brink of surpassing Donk in terms of kill count, 18 and 8 after this mow down in middle.
It wasn't quiet either, really big rounds in that first half.
We know about that yellow aim.
Wow.
When it's on, it's on.
Already low utility here for Spirit.
As this Anubis tailspin looks to come to a quick end.
And a map pick that may even leave spirit scratching their own heads.
There's a mile between the game plan and the execution, but right now they do have this
weakened B bomb site.
Zwei on the quick fallback, Smoke pops, Donk doesn't look like he's about to respect
this.
Scramble out a pair of vision, will it get here in time?
It's a long run from CT spawn and already Spirit are on the brink of pushing through the long arch.
But they pause long enough for more players from ParaVision to bolster this defense.
Everybody ready to duel this out now.
And it's a gun advantage on the side of ParaVision that is for certain not a single piece of
utility left over here for Spirit and now a man advantage to really get this retake
moving forward.
So it's all waiting for his duo as Zelo gets damaged.
Belchinok drops Shiro with just the one.
Donk is also out of the equation.
T'Nier will end this game with three frags,
unless his last two teammates can extend play.
Desert Eagle down.
It's all on magics now.
Place from Jail lines this up,
but ParaVision will not just defeat
but dismantle Team Spirit on their map pick tonight.
In a head-to-head, the Team Spirit has never won.
ParaVision set a hell of a precedent
in this best of three.
tough stuff on Anubis.
Spirit and Parry vision coming into this.
We thought there was going to be revenge on the table for spirit.
We thought they were going to be hungry to prove that they had improved and that
there was so much more to them. But on Anubis, there really wasn't.
I'm actually still wondering where at least half of spirit are after that
not. Half. I was trying to be
not 80% of them. Okay, let's
follow the numbers. I this was
a extremely well executed game
from Paravision on the spirit
side to be picking into this
map anubis where there are
more options now on the CT side
and to see them come out as
flat as they did to see them
get crunched in the fashion
that they did as many times.
I'm kind of shocked that they
a little bit more in terms of opening round game plans to throw or to throw
wrench into the plans of ParaVision. I was I'm not gonna be like I was I have
been really impressed with how Paris and they managed to to to play this
new business and I feel like if you are looking for inspiration how to play the
T side of it then this is a really good example of how to do it I think
that this was a showcase of understanding of taking macro so sitting
back and living the opponents burnout utility grew up and then just play
off a job with like 95% success. I really feel like what I saw from Paris and it puts
me in a position where it's not often that I sit and watch a game and I feel like they're
just not really making any mistakes. And then, you know, I talked about mistakes coming
into this that James has talked about the inexperience causes more mistakes. But what
I saw here was very limited in Paris and that's also why they looked like so dominant
and you could see that they, they really made a fool out of spirit. They made them
look extremely uncomfortable. They got multiple openings. They would just know the other plans
were playing the retakes for some point, you know, they're just really good at playing
off the channel. It was similar. It's beautiful. The discipline from Daston seems to be effective
surely in all of the lineups that he's coached in the past with going back to obviously
the outsiders VP lineups. They were pretty hard to break if they were in a crossfire.
Neither player is just going to go for a little ego check. Let's calculate it at
that's what I'm saying. I'm
saying that's what I'm saying.
I'm saying that's what I'm
saying. Yeah, exactly. They
don't they would never really
just give you something for
free. And that sort of
philosophy rings true when it
comes to paravision as well. So
a lot of props, especially can
be saying for him and how
he's kind of just whipped up
this team to look as
disciplined as they have.
Hello. That was always
you're concerned when you
see them move through the
motions of different
tournaments. Now you're
like, okay, they're good
individually, but is there
that team for them? There
really was on a new
early on that illustrated these things coming together for them.
I just really want to showcase how good they're just acing to.
Usually that's very James-esque to just run down the clock.
But at this point, you know, they're so good at waiting
and telling you to apply, you'd say,
but they're not stressing it out.
They're actually stressing spirit by not committing.
Forcing them to go for the fight and then putting everything,
you know, together as a unit.
It's like the communication between the guys coming out of,
you know, cave and the guys sitting outside of B main
because they're smoked off.
They know exactly when they're supposed to go.
They're telling each other when to wait.
And even though they have applied the utility, they're still not, you know, forcing themselves into uncomfortable dudes.
And Spirit has three players on this bombsite right now, and they only get one kill off of this.
They force Spirit to be uncomfortable, and the B-side of Anubis is very uncomfortable to play, specifically when all the utility is running in.
But the fact that they know they look at the glock is like 20 seconds left.
They're not stressing, and that is very hard, especially if you have like inexperienced guys.
But as a fact, you can see the system working out and they're relying on it and they just made spirit look extremely uncomfortable.
A lot of Counter-Strike is about recognizing who has the power in a moment.
And when James and his team just throw and execute like that, but they don't immediately just fly in,
they realize that they're in the driver's seat, that it's up to Spirit in that moment to make a reaction.
Because on B-side Anubis, if you get full exec on, you're probably not going to hold it.
So the discipline to just wait after they throw the names.
You don't see anybody just like I threw them all you have to jump in or anything like that
Yeah, they played to punish even in that close to the doorstep of a bomb site
Who else on the side of party though because we're talking about this
Yes, this is out of force in their coach obviously James in game leader having so much more
But was there someone that stood just that a little bit above when we see them extra team play the way they do
Gosh, that's actually tough. I mean, I felt like it was a win by committee throughout a lot of it
Yeah, I feel like I I
I belching off was pretty good in some moments.
I like sielo when he was on his approach through some of the just kind of constricting plays
that they were putting on.
I feel like the way that he was able to kind of dance around the shots like that's one
of my favorite aspects of sielo is that he always makes himself such a difficult target
to hit.
He's the guy that even though I will say he doesn't have the aim of Donk all the
time.
He throws out a lot of the moves that donk throws out.
He does these like stutter steps like look at that entry pathing that he has there
against Shiro where he throws off the crosshair placement, how he dodges the first bullet, he's
thrown out more jiggles, little like crouch slides up, I mean this dude's pinky's got to be really sore.
He's spamming that crouch button in ways that people were not doing five years ago.
He had a really strong opening also to the game with a 4k and a piss run if I'm not
missed, if I'm not correct. I also feel like the way that he controlled the aim in of, you know,
he kept them guessing the fact that sometimes they would use the utility and if the closer
they could get to the aim in by sneaking, like the more they could actually, you know, the more
the benefit in the opponent. And he had like this really good understanding of when he actually
had the space to go for it, when he could swing for it, but also when it was needed for him to
actually go for that kill to open up the space for the rest of the guys. So, I mean, I also
got to give a little bit of credit to Noda. I think Noda also controlled the mid area a lot,
he did make them guess a lot. He would take that space, he would sit and wait, sometimes
he would creep through the smog it, and it also brings me back to the point Mario that you
you made coming into the game, that parry isn't just really strong at making their opponent
comfortable and keep them guessing where they're hitting.
They run down the clock, they take space, they do like a small fake one on one side of the
map, then they just wait a little bit more but they've actually grouped up and if you
can't really puzzle things together, then it really comes down to you and Devils to
get multi kills and that's just not what's Mirage Shot today.
Well, maybe not all of Spirit Rival, there are a couple of multi kills coming mostly
from Donk, right?
comparison of the two of him
to dunk, but I want to
specifically compare dunk
against his team because
let's be real. Yeah. He
showed up in the server
right now, but the four
other guys. I'm wondering.
You know, did they did they
seem like it at times? I
mean, I feel like maybe
that's a bit hard. I mean,
it's hard to say that they
have them. Okay? I mean,
the way that they were
We're unable to find any sort of just information against
Paravision. That's one thing, but even in the bomb site
defenses, some of the players on Spirit had chances.
I mean, I think that a lot of the first couple gun rounds
were characterized by Shiro's whiffs as he's being
approached onto the bomb sites.
I mean, you would want a little bit more from people as
well, like Zontics or from Magix, who could usually be
solid and reliable anchors.
But this time around, they never were able to withstand
the pressure or the site executes that Paravision through their direction. That is credit of course
to Paravision taking map control, always having two points of entry so that they were splitting
very well but you would think that some of the other guys on Spirit other than Donk would
have been able to control their own destiny in these rounds and they always just felt
like they're playing totally reactively. Donk really just played clean up crew.
That's what it felt like. You know his teammate would always not really find any openings
whenever they get executed on and then he would come in, swing in and you could
see that he was like yeah I had to go fast because I need to you know try and
get the advantage back or at least you know equal out and that's what Donk
really seemed to also prove in this game you know we've always praised him
plus individual level that's sure but today was more like his teammates just
letting him a lot down one thing is that sure had like some crucial missing
the first start of the half by by not actually whenever they creeped at
him he would actually miss and I think that if she would have hit that
shot you know that would have set spirit up for a lot more success but
also towards Aimee and Santex had a lot of situations where he would
you know, be jiggling with the smoke and still eventually get caught off guard, right?
So, Don has, in some sense, individually been led down by his team, but also team-wise,
I feel like the team didn't really make the right adjustment and the right reach,
or maybe we had to put upon that to Hallie.
Yeah, I'm not really sure what the next step is when you only have a limited amount of time
between now and the next map when it's decided spirit,
but if you're on a parry vision side and you're one of their fans,
you're loving what's going.
You actually want the next map to start ASAP, keep that momentum going.
I'm telling you it's not far off. It's just on the other side of this break
We got ancient coming up next for us in the spirit.
Paravision revenge.
Now I get to put it in quotations because they were really manhandled on the side of
spirit for Nubis.
And that was their map picks and now we have to wonder ancient, right?
Paravision were confident enough to pick it for themselves, but
our spirit going to be confident enough to rival them on a Maui.
Well, the one thing that I do like about spirit is that they definitely went back
to the drawing board on this.
In the ESL Pro League quarterfinals, they lost this map to Astralis,
which obviously looks pretty bad.
I would say that they've changed up their approach pretty drastically
coming into this event because the last time they played at EPL,
it was just Donk being sent out to die practically every single
the first two or three
rounds versus the other day.
Actually we're all just either
slow mid takes or they just
didn't really focus on mid that
much. So when your star player
is running out into a barrage
of utility, you're going to
probably want to pull him away
from that. And I think spirit
recognize that probably also
like recognition of knowing that
if you're going to be first
player, you're going to be
going to be the first player
in the team. You're going
to be the first player in
the team. You're going to
be the first player in the
team. You're going to be
the first player in the
team. You're going to be
of knowing that if you're going to be throwing Dong out there and you lose him early on in the round
by having, you know, duels that can sometimes be a little bit random. I guess it's also, you know,
a factor for Spirit that they lose the strongest card on their hand, right?
Go imagine how it looked on a new visit. I mean, Spirit has a lot of things that need to be,
like, working on if they've got to be competitive, because if Harrison shows up,
at least in the same way they did with the individuals popping off, but also having such
great team play, then I don't know, seeing the way that Spirit can bounce back in this
because I really feel like what we just saw from Paravision was a completely different level.
I kind of like what Matt was going where you're like,
they're not going to be running dunk down, you know, in the oldest utility
because he's the one that really showed up.
And in Nubis, is there anything else that the Spirit fans out that can be clinging on to?
Well, I mean, it's going to be tough because...
This is your chance now.
I gave the one reason already why I think they've improved on it,
but this is not a terrible map for the side of Paravision.
I mean, I think Zwei really controls the whole B side of the map super well.
so hopefully they can try to test their old teammate there.
Okay, we're gonna see if they're able to because that map number one hopefully spirited able to forget about it
but two unforgettable men, Scrony and Laundice.
You wish you could forget, don't you Nat? You wish you could but you can't. Moe,
that's a tough one. That's still a tough pill to swallow if your spirit.
I mean, we're looking at the dock numbers.
I walked back into the casting box and you just brought it up.
You showed me the scoreboard. That rating on three round wins and like you were mentioning
It's not on fluff rounds either.
No, they didn't say,
Paravision did not save that.
No save kills, no exits.
Only Maltes vs. Fulbide
2.05 ratings
on rifle round multi frags
for Donk, and they got three
rounds. It's actually disgusting.
It's disgusting.
Disgusting. And like Nat said, you'd hope
they can forget about it, but I don't know if you can forget about that so quickly.
That's the kind of loss that
just leaves a mark. But did we
see him overextended. Did we see him do anything that was trying to be too heroic? No. So good
luck. Let's see if lightning can strike twice. Came spirit in a rough one. Coming off of
their map pick and now they'll be going into ParaVision's choice of ancients. Donkstuhl
Barretta is about to be well placed, but Zway not actually holding this. Loud steps. Still
tucked into the box. Not a really trusting his teammates here and he's got reason to.
There's plenty of them all around him. He's waiting for that cave push, but right now
it doesn't look like magic is going to give him what he wants.
They saw one fourth of the offense here on the ramp hearing that it was a clue that's
going to pull back spirit because it feels like something's happening in middle. They
still got this preemptive lean towards the correct site and Donk is on the side of mid
as well. So if this ends up going down, this is where it's trouble. But if not, just another
situation where all you've got to do is frag.
Yeah. The smoke into red room didn't do enough to pull team spirit off. What was this starting
B stack? So they've committed to it and Paravision are going to have to try to fight their
way through.
They're nervous about A.
But if two players are just walking down this ramp, you've got nowhere to hide
If you're spirit in a moment paravision swing wide shiro's Beretta's good for the double nice
Taneer getting one there is also crucial. It drops the bomb
Let's them know exactly what paravision are up to and sway with another flash left on him
Try to peel a player off as Jane gets closer and closer
They can wrap the bomb out through donut actually
James can listen for the rotations and then call it back, but at 15 seconds
They're gonna have to start running and James has to peek first alone donks on site
Yeah, Insta headshot out of Doc so looks like team spirit of earned themselves a pistol win sway also slain by said Beretta's
There we have it donk of the right position to make sure they put this pistol on ice
And that's kind of just where it starts right because we scroll back to the first couple of rifle rounds where it wasn't out of hand yet
And it was just shiro missing two critical moments
Mechanically, but here's like a way better hold from
Doc's teammates over on the ramp with the stack in place
If this was back on Anubis, they could have lost if it wasn't Don taking that first dual.
Things change map to map.
How you like an ancient right now in terms of like compared to other maps to watch?
much. I'm still a bit of a critic of the way that the midfights get super messy and you
know, but a bit random at times. I don't think it's a shame because I love the ancient and
it's like that's starting to spoil it a little bit still. I like an ancient. I liked I'm so
I'm super inagreance that yeah it's it's it's looking it's looking at random. It's
kind of like how old school like CS go train the outside fights like it was awesome
when the chaos resulted in some crazy plays like you get on mid here.
But also it felt a little bit random with smokes and flash timings and things like that.
So what it will call for is the meta to develop in a different direction
because no one wants to just gamble on the first 10 seconds of a round.
So yeah, it's like if we evolved into this, let's call it a problem.
I think we can also evolve out of it with time.
What I like though is you get you get two retakeable sites,
But you also have a lot of aggressive map control that CTs can take, which I think you don't normally don't see both of those at the same time.
You know, maybe Cash had that a little bit, but CTs even then complained about options.
And there's a lot of fast action normally.
Hang on, who's playing, obviously.
Still in my top three maps, even with that being under question.
The pistol is going to get mocked up in an attempt to go running out middle.
We had noted there reviewing the notes for as long as he could before they had to make
a move, but the spirit conversion made easy.
Ancient nuke and mirage for the record.
Lovely.
Yeah, actually I'm going to just say the exact same thing.
We didn't even set this up
How do you say it in French to be in a pot?
Just like that laundry just like that a corner
First gun round comes out and don't immediately off the leash running it down towards middle finds it nobody home for the fight
Instead, already prepared to test this B bomb site and here comes Zontics looking to come
and bolster things.
This will be the majority of Spirit in position.
Smoke's fading.
It's not an instant pop.
Donk is starting to come over as well.
So things are going to get more dire towards this B site of Paravision.
Keep taking their sweet, sweet time.
It's weird because yeah, they're down to like these three pieces of utility
With really great guns, but oh man shiro like if you get this low utility situations perfect for shiro
Yep, and he missed your fight now. He's stuck in close range
No, and nobody takes a look into the cave there from the rest of these players
They are very much stacked inside of the smokes yellow and magics
Touching one another support comes back as yellow is dead
That's the bomb carrier to try to trade.
Belchinok locked into a dual versus Donk now.
Cave soon to be compromised as well,
and he knows that, pulls back slightly.
Doesn't want to be caught just yet.
But he still awaits this walk up from Belchinok,
who's got Jayne behind him with the AWP posted
for the long peek.
No peek's going to come that way.
It's Xontix now locked into the bomb site versus three.
Cave player widdles him down by a tidbit,
and he still manages to get himself a double.
So we've got Jayne in the clutch now halfway there
already.
Oh, a fake plant.
Time's getting low, Taneer isn't in a position to just jump through the smoke, so I have to play it slowly.
That's he uses head a little bit.
He's worried about cave, but he gets into the cover. Taneer is slowly getting into position,
and that MP7 will make the difference as he times the jame clear perfectly.
It's not often you see jame get dizzy in a spot like that,
but he was probably thinking if Taneer was able to be there that quickly,
he would have already jumped through the smoke, but he was just in that in-between zone.
a little bit late.
Worked out beautifully for Xenir.
So, Spirit land off on their feet.
I think Xenir gets this 2K within the site.
It's a great 2K, because there's no one here to help him.
As you can see from the cameras,
it has to be that really wide flay.
But before this goes down,
this is a crazy bad situation again from Spirit.
I mean, it's Shiro missing an off-shot.
Then after he talks,
no one comes to double up with him inside of Cave.
Then there's so many players on the ramp
They end up dying individually.
Another low grenade situation for paravision.
Thoughts Yellow was going through, but he kind of nails.
Wait for the frag instead. That Mk10 meant to jump out and make things awkward for Tineer.
The flash is good. The clear is there.
And an upgrade found, but then the wallbang connects.
Nicely done for magics to get something out of the defense.
Donk, it's a one and done.
While Cave remains smoked, Bomb Plant on the other side of the mid-pillar, you've got this 3v3 post plant secured by ParaVision.
It's nice to grab that. We don't have a smoke. Oh, we do have a smoke actually for Shiro.
Kit as well on Zontik, so they want to peel all the way back. They have to be careful.
The right tools for this retake in position. Magic starts to go back from Cave.
What? They missed their smoke. Oh my god. That's rough.
Belchinov finds the headshot in the middle of it as well.
Oh man. Like...
You know it's like everything else is like whatever yeah you had you even have magics totally pushed out of cave
You know 100% all you have to do is land a ramp smoke. That's it
Yeah, sometimes, you know, we've got a we've got a really pieced together moments and identify mistakes that cost rounds this time
Very clear why that's no legs. I mean I mean come on now. Yeah, it's just such and like, you know
How he's watching this like what do you want me to
We need to go back to lineups now
How's it even get up there, I don't know maybe we have the replay
Yeah, what happened production starts scrambling. Hey, it's an era trip over. She was a shero
I had a razz caught it in the cinematic trip over a pebble or something a
bit of cobblestone
Weed caught his ankle.
Still a nice catch, but that was really, that was really cool the way they popped in.
They blew the sprut open just to do a pre-check, they catch it.
The disappointing zoom.
Oh, that's just brutal.
I was acing the hole.
Sometimes smoke just helps, but like, with Magic's info, it was done.
But it is only the first round for Barovision.
Yep.
But hey, you know, 3-0 up and you start making the school?
Mistakes go both ways.
We're all human after all.
Good.
Some of us more than others.
Nope.
Only Dawg and A at the moment.
Thank god.
Like this time game plan wise like the right paravision want be and they're here every time
Yeah, as far as that battle it's been very evident as to what paravision wants so far on this T side
Spirit haven't even really bit down on any of those paravision fakes right Red Room smoke for example to like threaten the potential donut
Yeah, nope spirit don't like down at all
Haven't been going for
Re-caring anything.
In this spot, they kind of have to push down the ramp. You are going to be just too curled up in a position where you can't do that much.
Clean with the first one, Teneer not allowed to get away though.
Numbers strong outside of the B site once more for para vision, smoked off over towards long.
is Zontix, but Shiro could go big with another multi-kill.
We saw Zontix do it.
Shiro delivers the same.
And so Jane put to another clutch,
cuts down the first of three needed,
scoops the bomb back up,
and at least a plant here will just be
a little injection of money.
You've got Doc breathing down your neck,
and Zontix not letting you get away from it.
So that corner has been the bane of paravision
in two rounds now.
Yeah, totally.
Yeah, Malti's looking good,
and Shiro also gets 70 damage on Jane
Just to make sure there's no chance.
It's like Jame will take that on the chin and move on.
So, when the traits distill, I think Paravision are like, pretty okay.
You know, like a 3v3 with the chance to actually move right into the site after the kills go down.
But again, it's that final site hold player, and it's also the fact that that Spirit have just been like leaning B.
Like they don't have those two players alone.
Yeah, every round. Which is odd because I think sometimes we get a lot of conditioning out of Paravision
Paravision at the start of the game. Yeah, you also get like you know overpass B site
Then they don't see any other site fair, you know, and you just know it so like why you didn't scout
Yeah, why why me why waste Nates?
Looking around the map
You just never know with Paravision
That's something they try to weaponize
We do get a different start out of spirit with this three player mid-play instead thinking maybe the consistency towards B
eventually has to end
I'm going to use the bomb site to make sure it's safe.
Solid nade damage for Jayme to have to stomach this round.
And now's the time to hit the B site when Donk's not home.
Really just banking on Shiro here, right?
Nobody in the back corner of the bomb site.
If all of a sudden, the cave gets smoked off and we get strong numbers from Paravision
up this ramp.
tough for spirit to do anything from stopping this. There's real pressure now on Shiro.
Zelo's looking to come clear him, worried about the crossfire. SMG gets dealt with
and now Shiro locked into this corner, but it does get smoked off. Still, he'll get himself a second
and it's onto the pistol now. Donk's on the scene and he's going to catch them off, but he drops
empty-handed. Just trying to take that duel on his terms and a blind smoke push is going to
net to near nothing. Yeah, there's so many guys there protecting the bomb as well. So
So, it's paravision getting what they want, finally here.
One of the few rounds where spirits start with players out towards middle majority.
Is he really trying this? Okay.
Taking a sniff at it.
That's every gun down.
Now this four rounds back and forth, non-consecutive wins, looking to just flex the advantage 5-7
out from the corner.
First blood goes Spirit's way.
That's a second pistol, locked into these tight cubbies, and so understandably they'll
get cleared, but Donk's Desert Eagle's got at least a second frag for Spirit.
And damage earlier on Sway to have to handle, careful!
is out in the open. Really lassoed that frag. Looking for another one through the molly.
No took down to 17 health because of that Desert Eagle spam. This is actually Spirit with more
HP, but Zway clips Chiro. Donk's got himself another headshot. Him versus Zway and the
health evened out. Zway with bomb now goes back at it and it's his 30 HP to make
the difference. Spirit put the pressure on with just those pistols. Para vision, prevail.
Let's try Donk and it's Waze 4K in the end that saves it here for ParaVision, so solid
clutch, looking very composed.
I would have served for anecdote after that whooping on Anubis.
I went into the studio and I saw Zwei and Donk slowly about to cross paths.
So I kept an eye on it.
They weren't looking at each other at all.
And then the moment they were side by side, they looked at each other.
They both laughed.
Looks what you gotta do. I mean you again you just stomped on the guy. That's funny donks pissed. He's played
Well, you can't help but laugh sometimes
And then right back to business here on ancients
Like it tells me almost want to do apologize to him, you know, yeah, that happened sometimes
Here they are locking horns in a 1v1
They could have gone either way.
Dangerously close for a round repair vision response to build a little bit of backup.
And we are seeing that like, you know, there just hasn't been a lot of mid-place.
Nobody, nobody's really on board with that right now.
We're always looking for a new way to play the map.
But it's like spirit do this and then go right back and it means just like groundhog day in
this match every single round.
Only difference is a little more cave, a little less cave sometimes sure on the exact same
spot.
It's gotten a lot of value off this corner.
How much is that going to work man?
They have been just coming to clear you every time.
It's a deeper angle.
They'll double up on it.
He just dies now, and now Cave can get smoked, Molly, every Nade can get established.
A really important player has gone down.
Donk burned off his dual, goes for the wallbang instead, and it's minimal damage for Belchanok.
And that plywood fit on both sides.
Almost caught my fallback too. You're almost out of this, actually.
There's just one flank coming in late.
James misses the off shot. Donk was low because of the wall bangs and the Shrek flank gets
found. There we go. So he just runs down. Donk, you'll get the head to head in his favor
again this round and Paravisional tie our game up at four rounds apiece. And that's
not good either. Right. I mean, they, they, again, you, you take a snapshot of the mini
map. It's the correct site being stacked. It's the same site being stacked. Paravisional
Don't run again first into what they know is a place with a lot of CTs.
But ultimately, if it's only Shiro who's actually in the site,
and he's in the same spot he's been in every single round,
you can expect them, he's going to go down, right?
You can expect eventually they're going to be able to get the free aim.
And the cave players, you know what the deal is.
If your teammate dies without a kill, you don't have time to come back to the exit.
The mollies will come down, the smoke will come down on short,
and the whole site will be taken over, and all you've got is spam battles.
Now, Paravision with a real chance to take over the half as it's even weaker pistols than the round that got down to the 1v1 dong vs. Zwei.
Paravision making a real half of this T-side now.
And that last round featured an instant headshot out of Zyelo. We were singing his praise back on Anubis as he kind of took over a bit of a slow start so far, but that instant headshot last round could be enough to kickstart his T-play.
This is a round for paravision finally not gonna end on B.
Why have they never, ever go A. Ever.
This is officially the closest that they've done.
They have bombs outside of long B.
Making sure that maybe if any deaths happen,
Okay, here they go, they've got it.
No one's fighting back inside of A, like, you have to go A.
It's just there, it's calling your name.
The time has come.
Surely you're going A.
Yeah.
Just to bring the bomb back this way.
This is actually how you lose the bomb.
It's all of a sudden cave gets pushed by that pack of spirit players.
Go ahead and molotov yourself off.
Just give spirit a chance.
You know, give them a little more time, why don't ya?
Yes, they confirmed. That pack on the flank.
Sway gets dinked in the process, and Xautix actually kills Jame. Hang on now, these pistols got dangerously close last time too.
Jumping through, now Sway and Belchinok both low. All seems to be good at the moment.
You could just leave, Sway. Get the hell out of here.
Well, I would have said you could leave. Don'ts got other ideas.
And if you can rack up more damage here, spear upgrades to grab, still something to fight
for for sure, but look at paravision completely leaving.
No kit, no problem.
For paravision, they'll know spear are just looking to get away with the rifle here
on dock, so you can go ahead and have your gift well earned.
I'm going to try to run back and don't let that second go.
No, it's paravision five four lead with four rounds in a row now on this T side
Yeah, it's just kind of facing their demons and again being pretty stubborn and
We see the style of play out of them. It's kind of like that Darth Kermit meme where
This you know the silly's decision and the genius decision are sometimes the same thing and for Jamin and for paravision
Sometimes it's copy and paste
We've got a mid-fight setup with a lot of bodies coming through, Zontek's dead.
Donk eats the flash and a good shot by Jame.
That was going to be the one bullet he gets to fire without contest.
Set up to deal with any aggression here from Magix.
Both sides of this cave push.
Hell, I mean, okay.
In fact, he recovers that. Crosshair placement for Magix left a lot to be desired.
James... Oh! The quick sculpt to Taneer! Him versus Shiro stuck in the corner and he'll use the utility well.
Molly's not deep enough here. James stays alive.
No way! Shiro's got the pistol out!
James gets tagged down lower!
Oh! And Shiro with the sidearm gets that one over just barely.
That is scary.
It almost looked like a no-scope that first kill from Jame.
I thought Magic was done for when he was pushing Cade with his crosshair in the mud?
That was, uh, but it was the right idea.
Magic, excuse me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but smoking, instead of smoking himself out or...
You just picked the right fight.
Fight!
Nox says that's huge for the program. Kids sick of losing
Nobody to hold no to inside of that corner nice MP7 win for Teneir. That's big
I'm not gonna miss this time around.
Those are those easy single angle holds that Shiro's meant to hit every single time.
Yeah, Shiro's never been the guy to miss the easy.
Nope.
Which is why Anubis was a real anomaly.
I feel like 40 degrees of his crosshair was just like a guaranteed.
Yep.
Back that up on anubis too that that's what we were gonna get that's why it was a real oddity
That last map that shiro wasn't able to you know make anything for donkey even kind of stand-on that would have propelled him
maybe for more rounds, but
3v5 on this one. Oh
Yeah, ramp player had a back turn for a moment his way winds up losing a lot more health than he would have liked in that moment
We'll see if the bomb can get planted and maybe maybe they hang on
wants to hear though yeah that would have been a sitting duck in Jane this
was a 3v5 turned 3v4 now a post plant mid climb ups gonna go unchecked long
retake emphasis here for spirit nice headshot out from dog but then he gets
killed back by Jane who's now on half health himself that's the last piece
found out blindsided but still given another fight to near had a weapon
disadvantage will keep majority alive for Spirit as they get a sixth round secured.
Solid retake all things considered. I'd love a check-in to see who's happy about the half so far
because this has kind of been, it's kind of had it all in terms of, you know, a solid start,
really good responses. It feels like the Reads have been on point for Spirit, but overall,
a one round gap.
Okay, just gonna try to dive it.
So no actual all-in on A site, this entire half of a paravision, they knew what they
wanted from the start of the T side bomb, waits at the bottom of ramp, and catches
Teneir.
B has been under wraps for some time, but you've given the CTs a chance to recover
already before the plant even goes down.
James kind of got locked back at the base of ramp.
He's even thrown the bomb.
It's still not picked back up.
Very awkward one here for ParaVision.
They could still just fight their way out.
But Doc's gonna reapply pressure,
take the edge into Spirit's hands,
and then Magix comes through with the flank.
So ParaVision's consistency to this B bomb site
ends on an all-in rush.
Belchinox, tech nine with no bomb possession,
Trying to just go away unnoticed.
They know where he's at and Donk's had enough.
That's going to be Donk with two kills,
Magix with a double, and Spirit with a seven round CT side.
I think the team to watch this spell comes.
They have been a team that can pressure Vitality on just pure firepower,
but there's something going on when the game gets tight.
If they can work out those issues, I think they're going to be a very dangerous team to that title.
I think it's going to be foot.
It's so good for CS to have a young talented team like that to blow up to the scene.
I just think it's nice to have new names, nice to have new talent.
It's always nice to see and nice for the viewers.
I think it's the overall roster and just the hunger of the team.
They're a loved team and they're not afraid to show it and that's interesting.
I would recommend to watch every single match of Mongols.
Models has always been a dangerous team and if covers are going to be playing like I said a bit and the rest is going to be in form, they are also capable of anything.
The thing to watch in 2016 is Astralis. I think they did some changes and maybe a lot of people underestimated them after the changes because they didn't pick up some super proven players.
but it looks like they have good chemistry and also their team is pretty young.
So I think they can do good things in 2026.
Big moments for Shiro throughout the CT side that helped that all inconsistency towards
the B bomb site be staved off, ParaVision were adamant about what they wanted, and Oddlymo
throughout that entire CT side, Donk wasn't involved in a single opening duel.
We saw him floating a lot between mid and B as trying to overfill in the situation
and obviously it was a lot of B out of ParaVision.
The question here is, is this enough of a first half?
A Paravision switch over.
Wow, two very clean kills.
Donk and Chiro, already out, top performers.
Heavy hitters for Spirit here on map two.
Yeah, good earners, those guys.
Top dogs, dead already.
of the
most pistol full conversion for spirit on the city side they finish with a streak of rounds as well as
the belch not just winning another dual straight up
All right, last-ditch effort. It's gonna be up through Dona into the A site.
Will they even be able to safely plant? Not with main control for Belchernauk. You'd think no.
You'd think.
Yellow here to trade out and...
He's got him! Both to Zelo as Belchernauk the sole casualty of this pistol, but he got it intact early.
Huh?
Teneer heroic Teneer Teneer right away on spirit like
Of all the roster moves like you could be on one side or the other and we'll have to see what happens
Teneer like at least
Individually that core just makes so much sense. It made so much to hero don't hear you know
Zwayne Amiga to Zway spirit. Yeah, didn't work
This one made more sense on paper and it
But at least in that situation
as the way goes full anchor rolls and everything.
It was more awkward, more full anchor rolls.
This one's supposed to make more sense, but I don't know, this is the last two onboarding
processes for Spirit that they actually haven't got what they wanted.
Just saying.
They need hooksy.
Now pistols for Spirit.
No, it's not going to get clocked down as he tries to flee towards Donut.
They're going to be careful.
SMG's gonna stop the B attack, but Donut into the bomb site with Donk on an M4.
Have you made a grave error?
Teneir comes off the plant, Glock in hand. Donk ready for the CT challenge.
Has to be an instant headshot, no head armor.
Chain kills Magix. Donk gets a dry duel versus one, and you don't want to overstep.
You can see the Timonness here in the Paravision retake attack,
and Teneir getting one with the Glock is huge.
Donk could pull this off. He's got the best gun of the three and another so many in front of him
Yeah, this should make it too hard should
Zway tries to go for the off angle eight
That is such a good
Defeat position he was up on the box
Donk was aimed at the perfect spot views on the ground feels like very nice. He's been messing with Donk in this mess
He has been yeah
It's got a strong head-to-head against him, I think.
I just remember those two back-to-back rounds over towards the B site in the first half.
Now you're diffusing bombs in front of him.
Those are great diffuses.
Does this text not distract you every time you look at your radar?
You see that on Dunk's POV?
That's the best player.
I know, but no.
It's like we're making your life harder.
First gun round comes out.
The lead is gone through spirit.
We're tied at seven rounds apiece.
I'm looking like more action on A in this half already than all of the first 12 rounds.
Like you're wearing like a power level reader or something like that.
But you're in the immersive zone that you're like super staying.
I don't know.
Works for him.
I'm not about to question him.
Find the gap inside of the defense.
Free A site prime for the taking.
Not one player dead and the bomb's down.
So no hesitation for Spirit, but it looks like this retake's coming through.
They're going to invest with the Util, still a flash for James to try to set it all up in the 5v5.
But I mean, it's already glomming at the halfway point, so this is going to have to be quick.
And a nice angle from Shiro as he gets himself a second.
Long A control plus Donk up on Green.
Still, they're trying to press into this.
Get it cleared, yeah.
SMG's going to drop him.
Now you've just got to cover a diffuser, but nobody ever got on this bomb.
Tenir's thinking somebody's in the diffuse, but it's not the case.
T'Nyr, blown to smithereens, Spirit all dead, but they'll take that lead right back.
That was a great retake, but it was so fast that the bomb got planted that if there was a little bit more time, maybe you see that actually get stuck.
Instead, it's still kind of a small win. They get five kills and save two players, so overall quite good for Baravision.
Puts all the money for spirit back on the line in this one. Yeah, man. Look at these galeos
And back to a veil go that's belchin off to try to hold solo
But they pause yeah belchin off walks into this they are that's crazy
He just will ease nice to weird timing
And you're holding it belchin ox still and reaction
able to get around the corner the chase is on you know dogs could try to chase
you down the volley of utile right behind them still they pause in a main
though this is like sort of like a type of face like they're throwing a first
layer exact waiting for some counter utile didn't come
flash is not good shots not either two off shots missed by Jane utility lands
in front of them
Spirit are totally out of utility, bomb gets dropped.
Spamming through it, and Shiro and Doc, two heavy hitters for Spirit in the second map.
But it's an awkward one as they just emerge out through the...
Oh, hold on, Shiro!
Double kill's clean.
He's getting flanked, but it's ultimately Jame who pushes past his teammate's corpses.
16 frags now to Jame as he's the top performer for ParaVision, and the game tied this time at 8.
at eight it's strange that they throw this first year exact i think they're
looking for a molly to come out on a main some kind of response belchock has
no plans for that he just tries to call out what he thinks is nothing
and
ends up catching a kill on this to near sort of
sneaking into the wall but uh... they could have been holding to punish this
push right away
in case that was an option
also great spokes bams
Yeah, that helps.
Between Scrape and Jame, right?
Both of them going for what they could from the CT lane.
It's not even damage from the rifle, but a straight up frag.
Aside the AWP.
That's huge, and it sends Spirit into a rough spot.
AK for Donk to be the hero here in round 17.
He's got Kevlar with it.
Him and Zontix with the armor.
But all his teammates, it's pistols.
I mean, and not just any pistols.
Glock sparring Teneir.
Smoke fades, rifle's been found out. Go ahead and smoke that again.
Keep the monster under the bed for the time being.
At least that way you know where it is.
not hiding this presence in middle chain trying to dodge flashes there's three
careful AKs on the field brother USP leaves a little bit as I have actually
dog is alive ops been grabbed trying to lean back great cover cover from
yellow now it's rifles out middle so zontics collects one two versus two made
possible yeah we're talking about no utility okay we've actually got a smoke
here for his way for what it's like yeah it's just bomb totally a is zontics gonna
really oh that oh it's so late in the round they're shutting this down in such
a massive way I mean he could have just got the kill yeah for sure but and
And also
He's flanking this way as well
Might not be the option way to do this still works
Find him Belcher knock wins the dual zontik strikes and here comes way, but he's actually has taken so long to get here
Zontics has found the plant with two seconds to spare sway knife out fast on the flank
It's got to get the gun out
Zontics looking towards donut instead doesn't believe that he'd be hot on his heels and so great blindside by Zway
Whether it was the best thing to do who knows but worked in the end of the day
Yeah, it worked
I mean the one thing is for sure he didn't know that the flank was coming
Yeah
But it sort of feels like if you if you don't know if we don't think someone's there
You throw the smoke and then you rotate faster on the other way safe to say in a round like that
There are no protocols you have not practiced this situation
Jane losing the op in middle makes that one very sketchy once Zontix puts his hands on it
You get what it's worth. They have no idea where he's coming. Yeah two additional op kills with that
And ParaVision, find the lead.
It's safe to say at this point, they're just a better team right now.
Every half of the game so far.
Just look more and control the situation.
Better protocols, less mistakes.
More depth.
More team play.
And that's a lot of what the pre-game conversation was about.
You know, I remember, you know, Dupree was kind of making this argument.
Like the individual level is there on Spirit and Maui has to admit it,
But it's all that connective tissue that makes ParaVision the better team.
It's been on full display now throughout 2026's season.
This isn't like, you know, you shouldn't be too surprised by this ParaVision formula working
because they've put it on display.
I mean, I don't know if it's the hardest carry because it's just like the group stage last map
and it just happened, but don't getting a two rating in a map they have three rounds.
It's all impact.
That is like the perfect example of you couldn't have an easier game to do the least and still win.
It's becoming a concerning situation for Spirit.
When you ask why, like for example, Polymarket having Team Spirit as the second most likely
team to win this event underneath Vitality, and the gap was massive, Vitality number one
Spirit second, but we know the issues that Spirit are currently experiencing, and so if
the reason behind why you can believe them is just Donk, just goes to say how underrated
maybe all the great things about a team like ParaVision are.
This is a team that's making grand finals now.
This is a team that has lifted a trophy in 2026.
Yeah, they lose a couple of online matches, honestly.
But what they have in their winning formula
deserves the credit that I think is still in some way
going unnoticed.
Yeah, we're still in a moment where
we're getting used to seeing them be the favorite in some
situations where they're playing top teams.
It takes some time.
more they consistently win, consistently make deep runs,
where we'll finally get used to it and be like,
okay, they're always going to win.
But you never know when a team's gonna pop up
for three tournaments and actually,
yeah, their form does disappear for a bit.
Doesn't feel like it's gonna happen
because there's a lot of familiar faces
that have had an interesting impact
on this game for a long time.
That's it.
They know how to create structure and stability
and create a gestalt and bring the most out of their individuals
not the other way around.
And oddly, the one thing that kind of dismantled
the Dostan and James success with their system post major win
with Virtus.Pro was like,
but what felt like roster moves
that were kind of imposed onto them,
you know, and slowly that eroded James
kind of control the situation.
Where VP now?
I think we're in a point where, you know, teams like Falcons and Maus, and in spirit right
now, it's like, it becomes hard to be a fan of them and people wonder why, oh why are they
getting hate or why do people doubt them, but it really does come down to are you
better as a team or are you only good for your individuals, like that's essentially
what is disappointing.
Are you performing better than you should or worse than you should based on what we see
for the quality of the team that you have?
And at the moment, unfortunately, Spirit epitomized the opposite.
Falcons do too with buying players to cover up for tactical errors or lack of strategic
death or whatever mental in games.
It's the thing that's the least fun to put a jersey on, sit down and cheer for
when you think your team's going to lose.
For no other reason than they just couldn't activate what
we know they can do.
No, I think we all celebrate potential.
And then it's really hard to kind of stomach it
when it can't be realized over and over.
And for a bit, fine.
Take some time.
Obviously, games hard.
So many teams are incredible right now.
I think collectively that's one of the things that kind
of slowly eroded public support for Maus.
Yeah, you know, nobody wants to see you miss the opportunity that many times.
And that's the story of 2025, let alone 2026.
And it's funny because like these teams, like Spirit, Furia,
a mouse, they're, they're pretty much only building rosters to be able to
take out Vitality. They were already able to make grand finals,
but now they're going even farther in the other directions.
And that's not something that was expected, which really gives a lot of
runway for vitality to do some incredible thing they want another year.
Yep.
We're at the very least in this first season.
While we sit back and praise the newcomers and the new wave of challengers, the pair
of visions, the foot, the astrologers, the feet, actually, oh, yes.
So back to the action with Spirit on guns, a team spirit that have shown an affinity
for the A site out of the gates of this T side.
They'll remain...confident, burst their way through, find a clear site, cave does belong to Paravision still.
Oh, good cover by Zyelo. Baited in to try to clear out that corner, sway finds the spam through, that activates Zyelo for another, and he drops the bomb.
Big triple kill in a moment that felt like Paravision were losing control.
Zontix's clutch.
He doesn't have time, he has to go and get a plant down.
He's gonna try to go for the rounded part of the site seven seconds and he gets blindsided by its way who walks away with the smoke
Spam and the final kill and double digits para vision. They try to chase down the cave frag
But you know you can let him have cave. I thought is he's showing barrel on purpose?
It could be but either way, you know, that's not a free fight
I thought they had a read on the situation
This is just a good setup from para vision
But no molly available maybe for cave so they had to come and frag out and when they ran into it
Zontics is flanking cave, so why are they coordinating that peak?
Tech nice to try to frazzle para vision in the 19th round, but it's already a 5v4 in the opening moments of the mid challenge
Donk is dead
You go back to Anubis there was nobody stepping up behind him
Shiro has been a constant force back in the first half of ancient and now as pistols get into cave awkward one for his yellow
This time no multi-kill found just a tech 9 bullet upside the head
They'll take over cave control
They've already got shiro off the ramp but an easy lineup for suede's got him up to 21 frags
And notice there to keep him alive so that his name is stamped all across this second map versus his ex teammates
It is great to see his way playing so well and he references himself as the new when he came on to spirit because he's getting
Ushered into tier one and having to play all these top teams every single week on land fans there and so much more
criticism since he didn't have the same kind of attention playing on Namiga and
He has he has graduated nicely sometimes your mental can get crushed and you get sent out and never hear from you again
He got, well, Paravision had the opportunity.
They picked him up in place of AW, who I really liked.
And I think that couldn't have been a super easy decision,
honestly.
He played smart CS.
They made that run at Budapest with them,
but that risk definitely has paid off.
A very clutch factor player as well
for Paravision at the time.
And in the way of showing us that same ability, hasn't he?
Yeah.
And in the way of support, maybe they thought,
this is the spirit primer for Zwei,
that he's learned how to play some of the lower down positions on a seed.
And now he can focus on his crosshair a little bit more.
Come join us.
So roster that wants experience.
So take all the effort the spirit put into shaping up Zwei.
Capitalize on his availability.
So this is a free site, but it's A, it's retakeable,
and you don't have the man advantage.
Best thing that could happen right now, spirit,
just go ahead and get that bomb down quickly.
Because they will be trying this retake
Already gearing up for it even gonna pop open the smoke to try to catch you off guard with timing not the case so far gets a little more
Utility just because spirit want to be guaranteed space to plant
Burning you till before the bomb is planted bodes well for the retake chances
They have a single flash on shiro, but they're opting that not to put this body down just and they used all of their utility
Just enough of a looming threat there from para vision to really get spirit to burn through their resources
Now it's guns in hands, it's AKs across the board still for spirit, but it's Belchernock to get this going as Shiro hits the ground.
5v3 looking comfortable, CT Nades coming out as well, a missed chance to stop that CT swing, let's know to get his kills.
Zontics having to go massive, gets swarmed but still he fights until Jame says enough's enough.
12th round secured, ParaVision.
They should have just got that bomb planted, like look at the time left on it.
And what we saw as ParaVision get into their favorite spots to go for the retake, we saw earlier on
how far they were away from winning on A and they lost narrowly to time but still got every single kill.
Their protocols on that retake were perfect.
Drawing aggro, peeking with another player, putting so much pressure on the guys who were floating out in the open
and because Spirit took so long they also used all of their utility,
there was no way to block a choke point with a smoke or molly someone off.
Easy opening kill yet again just throwing themselves down middle they have the same
frag in the same place last round no toes gonna give you no space to breathe no chance
to catch your breath no opportunity to prove then this head to head you have what it takes
strong head on the shoulders of ParaVision and it's named Jame. Great
leadership and great individual ability across the board has been a driving
force to the success of ParaVision tonight. Last time these teams met it
may needed all three maps, three kills away from securing playoffs and making
fools of Team Spirit tonight. They try to slow this round down as we hit 50 seconds.
Patiently waiting for some kind of mistake, but it's not them in the power position.
Sineer given a duel that's swayed down at least.
Soften up the numbers. Bomb still on the site yet to go for this plant.
Shiro now hands busy. Nobody pounces immediately. Still the CT's peak. James got his and it falls on Shiro.
A massive clutch needed now. 1v4 he'll catch the head shot but he took damage. And with that damage,
Spirit sends spiraling out of this game as ParaVision will show us the promise they showed in Cluj.
Back to playoffs after the hiccup at Pro League. This is the real deal that ParaVision put on display tonight.
This team showed us everything that it takes to win in events again.
The underdogs for as long as we've known them, it's been a short time, but we know that their ceiling is so much higher than they've even shown so far.
They don't want us to look at them as favorites, but eventually that's going to change no matter what.
If they keep having performances like this showing up when people might not expect it,
well, the expectations aren't going to change and there's so much to be told here and what
happened across both Anubis and Anche, but we can start off with just how good Power
of Vision looked right now.
They're just airtight.
I mean everything that they do is just off of each other.
They're building plans that make a lot of sense and they're finishing rounds out
incredibly strongly.
You don't see individuals step out of line and you could see that really when it comes
to just devising plans, mid-rounding, playing from 1 minute 55 on the clock to the bomb
plant, ParaVision's just the better team.
Simply no doubt, from the first round of this series, it was clear picture that ParaVision
had like, they were better individually and they were way better as a team.
And that's also why they come out 2-0 in this series.
So at this point, you're going to hate to see my face because we've been talking
So much, but this time around you're coming onto the desk another winner here for yourselves a 2-0 against spirit
I know you're confident before this series, but were you this confident?
Yes
Just nice and simple. What do you think was expected? Oh my goodness. What do you think was key though to just how good you guys played today?
Just great
Great game plan. I mean we added a lot of new things on an old-fashioned
and ancient like a day ago and Anubis we've been playing since Krakow so we have a lot
of new things that Spirit were not ready for and like I know in Spirit when you can't
really prepare good for a match it's tough to play and we just showed it that we can
we have great individual skills that can even if we can kill Donk.
That's it, you know, about like in that first map, you're like,
he's the only person that's showing up,
but even then you could put him in his place.
I'm curious to hear about your thoughts on the playstyle that you guys have,
but also the way that you work as a team, because I feel like watching this game today,
on both T side and C side, you could really see that you had really good teamplay,
you were playing off each other, and you made a lot of good decisions.
Is this because of the system that Jame and Daston is putting in,
or is it just because all you guys seemingly is on the same page
and you just connect so well as players?
Can you share some information about that?
I mean, just everything.
We just were preparing so hard to the tournament
and we expected that we're going to show,
maybe not our best here, but like the real good level of CS.
And we proved it today
and I hope we're going to do it against Vitality, too.
We'll see, we'll see.
I'm already predicting
who's actually going to make it through the other game, I guess.
You have no faith in Mongols taking it.
against Vitality?
Yeah, don't change it.
That's fair.
That's fair.
That's incredibly fair.
I want to ask, actually, you know, you're obviously, you come in with a lot of insight
of how Spirit play, and I feel like they've clearly been having problems this season.
In your opinion, you know, put the analyst hat on for a second, what's going wrong
in the Spirit camp?
When changes were made on Spirit, like at the start of the year, I was thinking
about their new roster, and I expected them to be either top one or top two team, or like
they will get out of top eight, you know, that they will have a lot of troubles. And
now it's closer to the second...
What are the other no-in between, you know? Sort of like that.
How does it feel beating your former team, you know? It's gotta be feeling good, isn't
And this is the second time you've done it, so how does that one feel?
It's actually feeling so much better if you...
If the viewer watches the game the way against Team Spirit,
he wants to win so much, but it's a lot harder feeling to win.
like I wanted the win like I didn't want the win in the grand final of Cluj against Vitality
as much as I wanted now and that's the reason I guess. I got one more about Dostan because
we've heard he's pretty hard on you guys if people make mistakes in practice
he'll make sure to set you straight what's it like working with a with a figure like that?
It's just his style, like our players are used to it already and he doesn't speak with me like he speaks with everyone else, like not Axial and Belchak.
Because you make less mistakes?
Maybe because of that, maybe because of the other side of the area, I don't know.
So, is this the...
Yeah, maybe it just feels different from the other coaches.
And maybe he's a bit more stressful when the mistakes are being made inside the game.
And we just don't need to, like, focus on it.
We just need to focus on our game.
And Dustin will just call something and we just need to do it well.
do it well and we're gonna win. I have a final one too, because do you feel like you are a better
version of Sway playing in Paris than you were in spirit? I guess we can't really think about it
now. I guess one season at least should be ended to say it, but it feels like I'm getting more
more freedom on each side at least and on each side also I have like inside the game
when I'm speaking more I'm playing better and in this team I have to speak more because
my three teams don't have experience at all at all and I'm just calling like Jame
And after me, you know, like how many wars inside it seems to be.
That's it.
And look, obviously you were explaining it's important to you, you kind of wanted to feel
that revenge, that success against Spirit, but this series also secured you guys going
to Rotterdam.
How excited are you for that?
Getting to play in front of a crowd on a LAN?
It feels great.
I would say that...
Apex is like...
Geez, okay.
...he's definitely storming the stage there.
I would say that I expected it, because of our...
Because of our win rate on practice before.
And I expected that we're gonna make it to the players,
but maybe didn't expect that we're gonna win the Spirit Zat easily,
but it was like 60 on 40 much for me.
Like that we're gonna win 60%.
Oh wow, okay, well you're gonna raise the belief in Power of Vision as well.
Thank you so much for joining us. Congratulations again. We appreciate it taking time to get to talk to us here's Wade given all the insight really letting the emotion go on just how good it feels to beat his former team like that now getting to look towards playing in front of a crowd.
And well for spirit it's not necessarily out of the question for them. They could still make it to Rotterdam but they've got a lot harder of a battle especially when you reflect on Mr. Free.
shown today, I'm not even sure they will make it. I feel like what they showed today
just shows lack of, I wouldn't say discipline, but lack of direction. It seems like there's
a lot of issues that they haven't really figured out yet and they've talked about before, also
coming to the venue, they've been working, they've been trying to figure out how they
can actually get better as a unit, but it just doesn't really shine through you because
it looks like they lack confidence when they go for duels, it looks like they lack
in the second direction. They do have occasionally calls where it looks like they're in an advantage
situation, but they managed to throw it away and in the end it just seems like it's gong
that just shows up. And even today, she rolled the team down in terms of what he brings to
the table. And let's just be honest, the idea of Magic had just looked pretty horrendous
this tournament. So I think that's where we put it as of right now.
I feel like a lot of people that were chopper naysayers are probably thinking we really
We did not know how good we had it because chopper is a significantly better caller than
Magix.
That's just safe to say at this point.
Magix doesn't really seem to always come up with mid round ideas.
The way that they buy out in some of the rounds just feels like it's all, it's all
aim no brain.
I don't, I don't like the way that they carry out so many of the rounds.
And I wonder just how Holly even perceives it because when you see some of these rounds
start. Is he thinking that this is a plan that we've gone over? Or is this just an on-the-fly call?
And I think a lot of people, I'd even say including myself, have to eat some of their words on the
Magic's IGL swap because I'd say that really the morale doesn't even look that much better than
when Chopper was there, which I thought was going to be the one factor to help them over
the edge. But the calling is just precipitously worse. I'd say it's like 70% worse than it
it was with Chopper. Would you agree with what they were saying? Sway was saying that, that's a bit of a
the way it was like when you looked at these roster, they were either going to be rivaling for one or
they were going to be below top A, like there is no in-between and you still don't see an in-between
for them. It's a really strong take actually from Sway because either it's going to click,
Magix is going to take to the role extremely well or he's going to flounder which is going
to then hamstring all of the players and really cap their potential of output on the team
because that's now what we are seeing.
We're seeing the potential for practically everybody.
Donk still gets some numbers,
but nobody else is playing up to the level that we expected them
or that we even saw from them last season.
It's more like, for me, the fashion that Donk usually would go out
and you just open up the rounds and they have like a 3-5,
they convert it by grouping up, then winning.
Now it just seems like they even have troubles getting him into position
where he actually wins it.
He's more like a cleanup crew.
And I feel like it also just proves once again that it is super hard
to pick up the reins of a team, you know, becoming an England leader from, like, you
know, coming in and having to lead as well. You might think from the outside or with you
not been in that role. Hey, that should be fairly easy with the players that I have around
me, right? But as soon as you're not losing confidence and you can't really find the
solutions, that's why you really got to, you got to figure it out. And that's just
not where it's being right now. And also with the preparation that's where you
talked about it, if they don't, if they can't heart prep for their opponent, they
will just play worse. And I think it's, it's, it's, that's also a sign of a team
that is very dependent on, you know, the structure that Holly brings to the team and
that they have things set in stone, but right now they just don't have things set in stone.
Like it just looks lackluster in so many departments.
And we're hoping that that performance isn't the cap of their placement here at Blast Open.
We would love to see it sort of manifest for them over the next few days, but for
now we're going to look at the bracket and see just exactly where they've fallen
for themselves.
Yes, we know it's into that lower bracket, but who exactly is it going to be up
against?
Well, we're not really sure.
what we do know. Sorry, 90 is
going to be going off against.
It's liquid who we don't know who
they're going to be facing off against
because we do still have another
upper bracket match that's going to be
Mongols and Vitality still a ways away.
And Sway was saying that he believes
that it's going to be a strong,
no doubt about it, Vitality win.
But if you were to predict,
if you were to head on over to
Pauli Market now, is that way
you would also be putting it strongly?
simply put nobody nobody is ever gonna be the favorites against vitality until
proven otherwise there's not there's no matchup where you're suddenly saying oh
stylistically they work well versus vitality so I agree with his way I and
I feel like probably what happens on Pauli market will agree as well yeah
that's what we got that's what we can be working with right you know there's a
lot of you know good predictions you can throw any over at Pauli market and
you know you can play around with things in there seeing what you what you
I feel like it's the right option for you, but Vitality is looking as you know, also the game coming up as strong.
Well, there's a reason why they're looking at that high on the ranking and also inside of Polymar, but overall, I mean, like, we're still looking for that team to take them down.
So maybe you can go and throw in some of that predictions to that team you think it's going to be.
Yeah, because we've been looking at, you know, who's going to be predicted to win the tournament, but there's so much more riot we've got there.
Is there going to be a team that can topple Vitality as another one will phase, make a roster move?
you can try and predict on that.
What would you guys sit for those ones?
I think there's also one about if Fallon will retire
before June, if there's gonna be some map changes as well.
I mean, geez, I can't believe the one I'm sticking to
right there is actually the Fallon retiring.
I actually feel like the way that Fury's been playing
this season, I don't know if his heart's in it
in the same way.
So that's my take right now.
I just watching them play, like they're just,
they're not calling the same way
that they were last season.
So I mean, you know, maybe you could put your money
your mind is on that one. If you're gonna go with the face one, just to have like another
saying in the things you brought up then, I think there's probably a case that this
is gonna happen. If it's gonna happen before the major, not certain, but at this point you
know, they gotta make sure they make it to the major at first, so maybe we should make
a polymagic if face makes it to the major or not. I was gonna see if you would double
down and name a player that could potentially go in face, well that you would like to
I'm putting you on the spot to pre, that's my job here.
Yeah, the thing is like, the first of all, you gotta be like singling out who's gonna be replaced
and I think you should probably replace two players on face.
You gotta keep the cord least, right?
So if I had to keep a cord, I'd probably keep carrying it, I would keep frozen and I would also keep twist,
which then puts me in a position where I need to find an AWPer
and I'd probably also have to find someone instead of Jacob.
For the AWPer department, everyone's talking like a Dexter or anything,
but let's just throw Dexter in the mix, see what he can bring to the table, he's hungry I think.
think it's not a bad pick. I mean I feel like you could scrape through a lot of
the barrel on this one. I don't even think Holzerk is that bad of a pick. He's
just more stable as a player. So there's a lot of options. I would put it like that.
Sorry I got production talking to my ear because they're also trying to get in on
the poly market prediction. I'm not even joking. I wish I was lying but there's a
potential that we're going to see maybe some lesson no one plays make it into a tier one team.
He's he's saying no Christ. Yeah, are you right now?
Yeah, I will tell you boy or some teams tried him out wasn't
Wasn't the same wasn't what the face again like
What word in about it and also something way more
Enticing maybe is the fact that a vitality among girls series is soon to come your way
It's gonna be happening just after the spray
I think that Vitality definitely are somewhere on the road and we will see how the next couple
tournaments go.
I mean, I definitely think that it's still Vitality's era, I mean, they just won 2 hands
in a row.
They have shown in terms of like team play and the individual like brilliance you can say is I think I'm matched.
What often happens when a team is creating an era or they're winning everything else,
all the teams under are starting to invest heavily, looking at their qualities and what they have that their team don't have.
Some other top teams including us haven't had the best start of the year so far.
If this keeps happening then they have a really good chance of winning even more.
Last season was the peak and I think it's pretty hard to replicate what they've done there.
You cannot be playing like this for a long long time.
Even if they play like a bit worse individually they're still capable of winning tournaments.
I think it's going to be a bloodbath after the major for the transfer season
if Vitality keeps on doing the same.
If they win the Major and they win the Grand Slam, nobody can sit back and say no chance.
And if they don't believe in the lineup, they're going to change a lot.
They're going to go down in history as the best of all time with the Prime Astralis roster.
And you could argue already if Vitality is the better team.
I played in Astralis as well. They were great.
They were not unbeatable, but they were very strong.
They went to the right tournaments. They knew how to peek at the right time.
the right time. They won four majors but what Taddy is doing is winning a lot of trophies,
going to every semi-final. They are saying yes to a lot of tournaments as well, means
they are constantly under pressure. Obviously Astralis won more majors in the past but
for me it's not only the majors. Taddy won Cologne, they won Katowice and Krakow,
so they won a lot of important tournaments including Grand Slam.
When you look 2018, the game is so different.
It was a start, it's great, yeah.
They were ahead of the game.
But there's no mentality doing the same, just a different way.
They had a smaller break now,
so I'm not sure what's what's it gonna do to their performance.
After this season, you can have the big picture
and understand even more.
So I just think that the CS fans need to wait
and see what happens.
I think if Vitality drops off a little bit,
then there would be probably a few top teams
that would win some tournaments here and there.
Falcans, Spirit and Fury are for sure.
I don't think there would be another team
that will suddenly start winning all the tournaments
because of all the good teams, a lot of good players,
and the game changed a lot.
I would say that they're the best CS team of all time.
They have one of the greatest role-players in each role,
to understand what's more important, the team.
That's why I think that's going to be
greater than Australia's.
We see Mongols come out 2-0 Maus. What do you make of them as a team and how do you prepare
for them? I mean Mongols are always a tough team to go up against. I mean the preparation
never really changed. I think of course they changed some things but I think overall their
fundamentals in the way they play CS is always pretty similar and it's it's yeah
we're always confident going up against it but you never know I think the
individual level always shines through I think that's why a lot of teams struggle
against them I think they have a high level like firepower in the team so you
can on the day we need to even though we can't really control it too much we
need to make sure we hit head shots as well play good CS as a team and
that's the main thing what can we expect against Vitality today I hope we
can win? Yeah, that's us. Yeah, we've been playing mongols for many times over, you know,
this, this year, I don't know, I don't actually know this year, but you know, last year we
played them many, many times. And I think we've been noticing they've been changing
a little bit in their terms of the game style. I think for 2025, they mostly played relatively
the same, whether it was, you know, the first game we played against each other or the
last one. So all games were quite similar. But now when we're reviewing the recent
games and preparing for this game, I think we see that they've adapted a bit.
There's some new things in their game, probably due to having a new player and
all that. So yeah, we'll definitely have to take care of that and... how much, yeah?
Now coming up against Vitality, does it feel like much of Mungle's
playstyle would change going up against them? Not really, just like
trying to not choke, yeah.
A little bit of a laugh towards the end there having some fun with it, but it feels like maybe information overloads
Let's break it down a little bit more Maui piece by piece
Starting from the vitality side. I just gotta acknowledge the Missy new interview I've been at the end though
Okay from the from the let me start
From the Mongols side. Let's die. I mean
to be fair you have to be in a winning position to choke yes I don't know if
there's ever so Mazzinho might be right they might not choke because they never
find themselves with a lead it's actually point I want to be if you were
gonna make that one I was gonna do it so but that is that is that is true you
know and going up you know these guys have been playing against each other a
lot like they know each other right it's a different lineup now that they
don't have sense who copper service coming but up we just always see that
but it's been a difficult matchup for the mongers for a long time, it's been a difficult
matchup for everyone going up against a lady, you know, and that's in one direction, it's
like individual, it's the team play, it's the map pool, it's like everything, you can
literally like draw like a big, big, big curve saying that Vitaly is literally on top on
every single department.
We're going to have a look at what they've matched up and how it resulted when they've
matched up this year, right, because Rob said last year, heaps of times, numerous
in fact. This year, we've got two instances, right? Over at Cluj and just how it played up for them.
The last one was a three map, oh sorry, the first one was a three map, but that was all the way back
in February. And you can see right there at the start, Mongols getting the best of them.
Yeah, they actually were able to take a map off of them in that series there, but the second
time it did go the way of vitality was- Is that the choke? I don't know about that. I don't
I don't think that was a joke for them.
It was a good series for them.
I mean, at least a good map for them on Mirage.
But that unfortunately kind of seems
to be the win condition here for the Mongols.
So I'm sure in the Vita, we're going to be seeing a Mirage.
But it's just that I think the Mongols are still
building out who they are as a team,
losing their star player in Senzu,
bringing in CobraZera, who, by the way,
has shown a wealth of talent.
CobraZera definitely looks like, once again,
Mara struck gold.
There's a diamond in the rough there.
But he's still very rough around the edges.
I say when he plays against elite opposition. I mean, they try to use him more or less as the hard entry for their team on a lot of their plays, a lot of their map control, whereas Senzu on the other hand, he kind of pick his own adventure on most rounds a little bit more.
Just no doubt that Mongols need more time. And you know, it's also playing as much as it will give them that, you know, idea of what they need to be working on.
Because they're going to get punished about the mistakes they're going to be making. And that's going to be plenty of those.
And there's no doubt that Mongols is a great team
and they are still a team to be reckoned with.
We even hear Messi saying it as well,
like they can be a team that can be hard to play against
because they do have at some point a place
that requires you to be on your toes.
But it shouldn't really be an issue in my books,
far I tell, because they simply just look to be so strong.
But I mean, Mongols still in the groove
of trying to build something new.
And I think this is a good challenge for them.
I do want to bring up a conversation point, right?
Because I also asked it in the question
that Mongols come out, they get the tour of a mouse, right?
That on paper alone, when you look at the mouse roster
that hasn't changed, that had so much success in 2025,
that feels like such a big success for them.
But we saw a mouse eliminated today,
so now I wonder, does that two-hole actually have
as much weight as we would have given it 24 hours ago?
Ah, that's a good point, actually.
I wanted to just be happy for them,
but now you're tearing them down.
I don't want to, I love that region, right?
By adding context now I devalued the whole win versus the whole game.
I don't know what to think anymore.
I think my take then is that you know I think that mouse against Mongols looked way better than mouse looked today.
I actually think of the first loss that Mongols...
And we're back. We're back.
The first loss that Mongols delivered to mouse, that shook mouse and you can just see that something's off.
I think that, sorry, from long as at least looking to,
taking down and starting on the tournament,
beating Mouse, a team that has the history
of making very deep runs, that is a good starting point.
And now they've taken the step up the ladder
to now go up against the best team in the world.
So they're gonna be having some confidence,
but sure it's a mouse that is looking
like a little bit squeaky at this point.
I got an even better one to build it up, right?
They were the team that broke Mouse.
Oh yeah.
You gotta think about it,
only got three rounds in their second half.
I killed so many teams in my career by doing this stuff.
That's true.
9z might have just killed another team.
We had this, just a little bit after.
We had this saying that we sometimes kill people
career by eliminating, like you make them get kicked by the team
by beating the team.
We, oh my god, we were so...
To raise now reminiscing, let's try and say,
you know what I mean?
They're doing it right now.
They definitely are, they definitely are.
But let's stay here now, a little bit present on Mongols,
the fact that, you know, we are talking about how good
they're doing.
that. Yeah, sometimes
good, but ultimately they are
still suffering a little by
not having a coach here on
site for them that mar not
being present does still have
its issues for them. Pretty
sure that the game that they
played against Mao is
involved. No timeouts, so
that's a that's obviously a
bit concerning. I mean,
sometimes when you're in the
flow of the game and you're
winning and everything's
working, you don't want to
slow yourself down with it,
but I think we talked to
And he said that why you know, why would he give
Cycro and another chance on the microphone when they don't
actually even have that overseer who's going to chime in
with something to try to bolster them?
So if they actually run into some trouble here against
vitality, it's going to be tough because even when they
call that timeout to try to slow vitality's momentum,
now they let X-tas on the mic.
I don't think it's a matter of if it's like when it
happens because I think that's going to be the case.
And you know, it is going to be important and it is
important to take those timeouts and show you don't
you know the coach Mara here leading and you know having like the maybe the
greater of you that is also what the coach brings like he actually has time
to you know evaluate what's actually happening and what's going on whereas
the players are so focused on what's happening inside the service so it is
you know it is a disadvantage for Mons that's for sure but I mean we also saw
Mons you know that that played I wouldn't say more freely but you
know when you don't have a coach looking at you like from there I think
you also can tend to be a little bit more freed up and I don't think
that's necessarily gonna hurt them against Vitality. Well look I post these
questions to you guys, but I do also get the chance to pose the exact same
questions to the players before they sit down for their series. The other day you
said that Mara your coach even though he isn't here was sending you video
messages really telling the team what to do. Did he send you any today? Yeah we
talked in this quarter about his round, Frosch rounds yeah with it yeah he did.
Okay and so you still feel like his help is there even though he's not
here on site? Yeah we like talked about one hour and talking little details of the
I guess the reality so yeah he helped a lot and the our workers just do that so
yeah. One of the key things as well you know we talked about it a little bit off
camera maybe I should be a bit better at my job there but he said the pistol
rounds are important that was one of the things that Mar was really trying to
I like, you know, how much that could impact Mongols going up against Vitality.
That is where it starts, makes or breaks and trying to keep strong on that one too.
That's true about every game.
I didn't say it was good, I'm just saying.
That doesn't change from 1.6 till today.
Just the rounds are always valuable, not going to glean a lot from that.
I just feel like when it comes to the Mongols and trying to defeat Vitality,
I feel like the one aspect that does hurt them a lot is that
The style that they used to play was so ping pong back and forth.
One guy on the extremity would take a little peek.
It would shift the defense over to one side.
And then you'd get other Mongols players
as the defense is scrambling, kind of make a new incision
somewhere else on the map.
I don't think that happens as much anymore,
when CobraZera's sort of in the middle of things.
He's just a little slower to the trigger
when Mazzinho's doing something on his side.
So I just feel like the speed at which they react
to what's happening on the map just
that that 10% 20% slower and against a team like Vitality, they give you no
quarter. If you aren't pouncing on every opportunity, they're going to show up
their defense fantastically as they always do. Yeah, but certainly, you know,
there's still stuff that the monks need to work on. Do you think that corporate
are though in their last giving its mouth hat? A little bit more of those,
you know, times where he would react fast or maybe be more determined or
understanding that they're over you, but it's a whole not the caliber and
Vitality is, you know, as you mentioned, they don't give you any time
to breathe. They will punish you for the smallest mistake. They will have sidewall. They will
have some wood to have off the sidewall rounds, and that's why you need to make sure you don't
crumble.
Well, okay, they make it so far into all of this all the time that we're at this point
where how much more can we talk about vitality? What more can we really bring or glean as
the word you used before now? We've frowned them. It's such a good word there, but
yeah, vitality is on a whole other level. What sort of caliber are people looking
at even though it's that groups? How much more do we expect for them to bring
out. I imagine that this game is going to be fairly convincing for the side of
Vitality. Yes, the Mongols have taken a map off of them lately, but Vitality
right now, I wouldn't even say that they're really just chasing greatness
anymore. Now it's just kind of what everybody is taking their pick between
them and Astralis for who's the greatest lineup of all time. And so
they've already etched their names in stone. Apex has already put his face
on the Mount Rushmore of in-game leaders. It's just you're in a
position now where you're just trying to further the lines like the stones are
already drawn. So now you're just trying to like guild them with a little bit of
gold on the side too. It's it's pretty hard to top anything you've already done,
but they've yet to be toppled. And that's kind of the big aspect with this
vitality team is who is going to be the team that finally knocks them off of
their throne. Right now there's only a handful of contestants, but among those
team that actually push them in the major grand finals at Austin to a
third map. That seems like a contender. It's just that maybe this iteration of
Mongols is still a step or two away from it. I really feel like Vitality's has
the privilege now to also be in tournaments where they yesterday claimed
themselves that we can you know experiment a little bit with our map pool.
Like what we're gonna be picking, what map picker we actually gonna be going for
today and we can also experiment with you know seeing it a little bit of
surprises because we're actually that good you know they're already at a
pace where they they've they're probably thinking to themselves like
Who is actually good enough to beat us?
Like right now there's literally no one that's close to us.
You know, they, right now it's just like they're building
and they're putting like blocks on top of each other,
like themselves all the time where it's like,
hey, we just get another trophy, another trophy,
another trophy, and you know,
they've already set themselves up for greatness
and potentially the greatest thing that we've ever seen.
So as of right now,
much healthy is living like a luxurious life
of a counter-strike player.
No one can touch them.
They win pretty much every trophy.
They can, you know, take extended breaks,
still come back, do really good tournaments.
It's like they're living life as of right now.
I think there's only like a handful of players ever managed to do that, you know
And we even look at land streets right now, you know
They are sitting in a land street now where they are getting so close of putting themselves on the map like for a second time
You know creating that second win streak where they just seem unbeatable, which in itself is incredible
Sorry, I'm trying to
Last year when they were winning all of the bo3s bo5s in a row this legacy or this I was I got ahead of myself there
That's not the the series streak that they had but it was uh, I mean, yeah, there are ways away from NIP
I don't know if I I don't know if anybody's gonna
I don't know if I'm the one that's obliged to say that doesn't that doesn't count
No
I'm gonna open my ears quickly, right?
Because, you know, I'd like to hear reasoning.
Why doesn't it count?
Okay, okay, okay, I gotta hit up myself.
Okay, Maui gotta hit up herself.
Now I also did.
Okay, all right, okay, okay, okay, okay.
It does count.
With a grain of salt, you can say you can count.
However, at that time,
talking from experience,
I know for a fact that NMP were allowed to play
Global Offensive a lot before everyone else.
They were part of the kind of development thing.
So, they got to deliver with a head start.
Like, it was a cheap start, I'd say that.
No doubt, they created history
and they are also up there, but it was also different time.
That's it. That's what I'm saying.
I do get that, right?
You know, you're not discrediting anything by any means,
but when you look at it 60 compared to 30,
and we still put Vitality so high up on this pedestal,
talking about the greatness that they've been able to achieve,
it could be broken today, right?
Being pushed down to the lower bracket,
the advantage of being in upper bracket
is two teams from the upper bracket
will make it to Rotterdam.
They will make it to that land portion.
So winning here secures it for them
if they go down, they have to fight amongst everyone else
for one slot to run it out.
I mean, I feel like the Mongols are in an unenvious position
where they might have actually been able to make it through
to the playoffs had they been on the other side
of the bracket, they just had to play against Vitality.
So yeah, I mean, in a way, it's kind of a,
I'm not gonna say do or die,
but it's one that still is about bringing in
to just kind of proof of concept
that on a handful of the rounds here
or you're on your mirage,
you can say to yourself after it's finished
that there were certain strats that worked out really well for us, and even our map pick
worked out really well for us, because it's impossible for me to spin this to say, here's
how Mongols win the series, but they can win the first map.
And that's sometimes what you really need, set them up for yourself, but it's going
to be hard to break it, because whilst we're talking about how good Vitality was
in 2025, the fact it's continuing over, I actually heard from Robs of just what
he thinks of their beginning for 2026.
vitality 2025 great year but it feels like 2026 is even better right now what
do you make of yourself and your teammates individual performance so far
this year? I think we're just going as strong as usual from from the last
year you know definitely not gonna say that 2026 is gonna be as good as and
it isn't as good as yet as 2025 but you know we're starting out strong
we're feeling confident we're feeling good I think you know one one thing
That's definitely, you can tell apart from last year,
is Flamesy has been playing really good so far
in the beginning of this year and I hope he keeps going.
I think he's just amazing on his individual form right now.
And as I will, as usual,
then it's being the best player in the world.
So I was just happy to be in such a team
where things are quite easy sometimes.
I mean, you have teammates like that.
Yeah, you mentioned Flamesy,
where I asked him when I spoke to him the other day
what sort of changed.
And he said it was mostly disciplined,
But do you see anything else outside of the server that's really changed for him?
Specifically I think he's definitely working harder.
You can see he's doing a lot more, I guess, like individual work in terms of watching previous matches,
watching things you can learn from other people's games, his own games, where it goes wrong,
and then he really tries to see those moments where it can improve.
But also I think, you know, he's relatively young still.
So I think right now he's growing into his prime and getting better as a player.
And, you know, he was already really talented in his first year here in CS.
And now when he's getting into, you know, the prime years of his career,
he's, you know, you can tell he's going to be a hell of a player.
And I'm really glad to be here next time.
It's crazy to think that Vitality have what they have.
And yet Rob still talks about a teammate like there's so much more that what we have right now and the way people talk about us is actually just what we expected.
That's that lower end and there is so much more.
And we do have to get credit where credit is due.
Flamesee looks so good this year.
He looks so great when they play today as you go to.
There's a real debate right now that Flamesee could be the second best player of the year.
I feel like I still will keep Donk ahead of him just very, very slightly.
But I mean, he's a top three player for me for sure.
I mean, he's been absolutely just just destroying everybody on entries part of that is of course due to the fact that vitality have such great set up in the rounds, but even left to his own devices, he's getting the second kill so frequently.
I mean, on the entry routes, he's just taking space so rapidly and he's playing or also a game that is not just letting the utility do all of the talking like he makes his own decisions to in those sort of forward
of the game, but it's not
that it's not that it's not
that it's not that it's not
that it's not that it's not
space taking positions where I
praise people, for example,
like Macaulay, who have
leveled up in terms of
intelligence and decision
making in the mid route
flames. He has really got
that in spades. He's not
just running into bad
situations as frequently as
some of the other entry
fraggers. Dare I say people
like exertion, who seems
like they don't know when
to stop flames. He knows he
can hard cancel around if he
needs to. There's
definitely two things I want
to be saying about flames in
that you know what he's doing also requires a ton of skill it requires a lot of determination also
requires you to as you just mentioned like understanding when to take a step back and
everything and then the other thing is like also a guy that has myself played inside hotel working
in the apex system and how they play how difficult it can be to actually also feel like you also
you know succeed inside of those you know perimeter but it's also like the space that
he creates not only for cyborg but also for raps you know I've always had to saying that
If Blameseek can play his best, he will create exactly enough space for Saibu and Robbs to excel and play their best.
And that's what he's doing right now. The novice he's putting up right now as an engine fragger and a guy that's a space-taker, that's incredible.
And also with what he does on his own, it's not only on the CT side holding his own, but it's also when he goes on the CT side. It's crazy.
Well, let's start taking our next steps towards our series here, because whilst I love talking about the players, I love talking about a map Vito even more.
We're going to see exactly if Mongols want to go back to Mirage, something they've found
close success, if not success on against Vitality already this year.
And so our first map pick, let's see it.
Indeed.
You guessed it right, Grush.
No, Crush.
Indeed, yeah.
Oh, Mali guessed it right.
I'm not surprised.
Come on, Crush.
He's pretty good master after all, right?
any good prediction anybody else makes is mine.
I need to get my percentages up and we actually see a little bit of a shift in the veto here.
We get Vitality going with Overpass.
This is a map that they do punish pick teams against.
To me, I kind of thought there was a good chance they would go with Dust 2.
So I'm a little surprised in the second phase veto, they decided to ban that one because
they've been just so red hot on the map and to let it down to Inferno.
I think that in a weird way, this is almost the best veto the Mongols could have
gotten out of it and it to me kind of weirdly feels like vitality or probably trying to you know
exert pressure with a punish pick but also in the second phase just say we want to try things out
a little bit too. That's also why you know they they usually go for like the Dust 2 pick and
it would have been a pick that would have made sense against the Mongols. The fact that they
go for a pass also just tells into that Mongols I played at once and from from me talking to
the system you know they didn't look confident on that map so it made sense so the Mongols they
You've really got to bring Mirage into their own bag, otherwise it's going to be a fairly
confident to see if I'm vitality.
Well, Mongols need their A-game, vitality feel like they never really off their A-game,
and neither are our two cost is growing in Londas.
Oh, I have my moments, Nat, sometimes I'm off my game, but thank you for your kind
words and thank you gentlemen for your expertise as we head into what has historically been
a pretty lopsided head to head mode.
But the Mongols have been looking better and better with this CobraZera edition.
And with that, I have tonight's High Hopes.
You know, Blitz, after he was victorious over Mao, has had a little Instagram story saying
he thinks he's going to slay some bees in their next match.
He said Blitz?
Yeah.
Oh, that was it?
It translated to?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, someone said that it just translated into gibberish.
Gibberish?
Because maybe they thought it was not, they thought it was in...
Okay, that makes way more sense than he was actually.
Yeah.
So we took care of some little mice, now I'm going to slay some bees.
Let's go.
I like it.
Nobody beats the mongol six times in a row is what they said when they took down mouse
Drops dead first Cobra Zara comes through the quick one on mezzie as well
So we're gonna have to see something spectacular from mr. Zai wu over towards the b side at least enough to deter the tease
They'll head back towards middle off techno's contact apex wins this and then gets slain by his counterpart in blitz
It's not the nicest one going forward that makes up for it clean stuff as he jumps into the engagement on his terms
To be three left for vitality to do some players to come at this
Retake if they can pull it off got blitz over towards the Tetris
And then the other two deep inside of the CT spawn no kit for play here
Send the area and nobody's home behind the ticket booth
Zyra was gonna have to go for a far fight into CT spawn trying to chase them down as they tap that bomb now
But's doesn't have vision on this. Oh interesting. He can actually bomb plant
He'll whittle flames he's held down as he just crosses back over. He's got vision if he changes position
It's all good Mongols have this figured out and it comes by way of some quick first kills
You think you're gonna call a pause they did in their last series the desk was talking about it
But they actually did not call any tax at all
No, I think you just you let the chips fall the way they fall take a swing at vitality. I
Love that we've upgraded the mighty Mara
Who we know is not here at the events of the team but just to have contact with them and is helping them
In preparation, etc from from wherever he may be
That's a great smile
And he saves it for the right moments, too, you know, it's it's it's not a cheap smile, Mara's
It's not a cheap buy-in here either for vitality. We've got MV9s across the board and the first blood
Quick bounce back though coming out from the Mongols careful now. Yeah, that's it
Techno catches the quick spray down onto rops to really just alleviate the pressure
As he'll keep his tempo going as he walks forward through the flashbang
But versus three with rifles in hand odds against Messi's clutch
They'll pop up find the palace player whittled down to 20 health not ideal here for Messi as the four spy from vitality was positioned correctly
But it ultimately comes down to the Mongols and techno winning a bunch of key duels now techno was somebody who versus mouse
Thrashed them and I'm very much hoping for the Mongols sake that he can try to put up that kind of a level tonight versus vitality as well
And no totally because it was like two maps in a row and it was like yeah, techno. Let's go. That's really fun
So I'm looking forward to that if possible as well
I'm also looking forward to the idea that again because of Cobra's era
They take out mouse and because Cobra's era is a new player on the team. That's what makes it interesting
They break a streak because of their upgrades. You might have called a side grade or maybe even a downgrade
They prove what this this team they've actually maybe gone better
Well, here's the next threat.
Now, of all the teams that have tried to reassess their situation,
change players, to build a team that can beat Vitality.
That's what everyone needs to do.
No one would have thought that actually the idea of removing Senzu for anybody
was going to make Mongols one of those contenders.
Sometimes you don't see greatness coming.
Who would have thought?
spots. Whether it's reality or just Mohan's imagination, tonight we'll tell. But so far
so good 2-0 kickoff for the Mongols on their map pick. Pistols in hand for Vitality, Barney
Mezzi saved MP9. That MP9 tries to get Frisky in the palace, but MZeno convinces him to
fall back. Also with a lot of losses comes a lot of knowledge. And that becomes the
toughest thing for Vitality to go up against every time. Opponents that know them so well.
There was questions around. Even in that Austin final, Moggles took a map.
This map, actually. This very same map.
To hell with MEZZY's MP9. It's just a one and done from the only gun Vitality had to play with.
USP for Zywooz, he tries to just test the bench.
He'll be stuffed.
By MZeno, who doubles his kills this round, puts Mongols up to the 3-0 start.
I love how alive they look from the jump every game.
Aim wise, that's never ever an issue.
I think, you know, sometimes you'll have a 9-10, a couple of
off shots get missed, but he always goes for it.
We're never going to pass a playstyle out of this team.
I'm sure that makes them fun to go up against, frustrating to lose against probably,
especially if you know what they're going to try to do.
Interesting change in the veto this time around as well with Vitality
opting to go on to overpass.
We'll get there when we get there. For now, first gun round out of vitality, and Apex says let's do Navi.
Which means win a trophy. As of late.
Another one.
of the
Looking for this timing in the ramp walkout, no one's here.
Flamzie starts to expand over towards triple.
Get that, we'll slowly take place.
Up there, volleyball he misses.
Flamzie goes for the wide swing off the apex, flash and finds one, but burnt out
all the way down by techno.
An advantage momentarily, Mongols hit the pause button.
Waiting for somebody to overstep,
but it's Techno, he puts his head into Apex's crosshair.
Seven health to try to make this happen,
nine, 10, plex one off.
Now we go back even.
Health advantage here for Vitality,
but the smokes are up and keeping them away
from these duels for now.
And a nice ticket reposition here for Ross,
picking up his captain's dead spot.
And the spray doesn't quite finish off Blitz.
Zybu regains vision.
Oh my God.
Blitz goes down in 9-10 to the clutch, not with the trusty AWP and 8-8 instead, and it's too alive for vitality, as their first gun round nets them their first round win.
Zywoo with a little peekaboo said, let me just check if there's anything going on, and Blitz was trying to slink away, a great flick from him, and they put this one down.
There's a combination of good grenades and this one's here for the mongols, those mollies were perfect.
And uh, yeah, a woman like that pressure shot has to hit it and does
Love in the kinds of plays we've gotten at as I would lately go gotta go back and watch that nice E match
Makes sense for the pick then here for Mongols
Missed opportunity though for 9-10 to have found Flamesey dead to right.
Here comes the Mac 10 challenge with a back turn.
Techno will pick up the Apex kill instead, so same point of contact, different direction.
an outcome for the Mongols regardless
but his flames he backs up it's right into blitz
yeah flames he's the one who gets nervous because he should have been able to see
something already
feels it
trying to fall back into the nectar it'll come with a kill drops
Also catching Techno off-guard, man.
Advantage slides back into Vitality's control.
Mzeno wants contact.
Spray's bestie.
And that's not ideal.
9-10's off-recovery underway.
Doesn't even get a chance at firing off a second round.
So what have you got for us, Cobra?
Turns towards ticket.
Shapes flames the off the 1v3.
And so two more to go as 30 seconds on that clock.
Chance into connector with the headshot.
He can actually get away to beat if he wants to.
I want to chase this down.
Now, Cobra's arrow realizes, well, it's confirmed he was trying to escape.
It could be window covered.
He runs back towards the A site.
This is nice and swift.
I like this.
Plant can go down, but Zywu's also trying to make a proactive move.
Cobra's not seeing him, and suddenly they've switched positions.
For strip of plant, Zywu's wide with the wall bang.
That invites the peek, and Cobra, one shot out.
Four health left.
Stairs control for Zywu.
Where is he at?
Ask Cobra.
Trying to keep himself low.
Here's the footsteps, the rumblings, and the incoming Zairu who knows that any moment you can send a couple bullets through
and that's kind of just taken the life out of the clutch.
Yeah, it looked like the spamming portion of that clutch was done.
And he's like, well I know you haven't gone anywhere.
Just clicks in Zairu's head like, wait.
And the boxes always look very stampable.
Also, if you aren't peeking at all there for Cobra, odds are you're trying to dodge bullets.
It was right about to.
about to so it's like what he was like he was about to three two one well all right
just walk on to like see you good denial of the one versus three attempts yeah I
would have legs for Kobe great I had Kobe was there for sure who is now given
the AK-47 this round but it doesn't have a weapon what's going on there we
go hero AK in round six as vitality look for the early tie
Ah, coulda been.
Shoulda looted the duel to Apex.
Apex is rifling the looking sharp too.
Which is a welcome sign in this head to head,
because we know Blitz can have impact in the firepower department.
Oddly enough, Apex, the one who's got the...
Oh, alright.
Right there for the taking!
Yes, sir, he's got it!
All five, four, Dan, Mattis Glare.
Boom. So Apex to get that one on three versus 9-Z. Right when we called them out.
Right when we called them out. And then it was actually Blitz I think in their last series who
wasn't really needed because CobraZera and Techno were doing so well.
Well, for a while with the Mongols, like, you know, before we were figuring out who the
stars were and all that, but it's still the best player on the team early on.
He was like, IGL and best player, most experienced, most knowledgeable and best
amour.
I was going to talk about it.
Pressure on as they come back in with more rifles to play with.
Mongols already down by a body.
Good return frag from CobraZera doesn't look like he's going anywhere anytime
soon in this game just keeps on racking up the impact but bonlifed by a spawn so
the Mongols gonna play the field for the time being
this is a critical dual queued up yeah robs good deep position on the ladder
blindsides Cobra's era so that's a big threat taken down because they have that
early mid control and from the beginning didn't think anyone had snuck
in the ladder.
It's quite risky.
Um, Xenia caught off.
Just so free at the moment, eh?
Playing pretty fluid.
What an aware guy.
Taking duels as he chooses.
Ooh!
Oh, that was crispy.
Delicious.
one tap. Techno. Anybody else got one of those to offer?
I was looking at the app, it becomes a trend.
Where's the main dish? Techno down to 11 health, but at least he's even this situation to the
2v2. Jungle Pete comes out from Zywoo. Such a nuisance.
Yeah, the timing's here. Just to get him back. And 9-10's gotta go for the triple
plant. Gonna try to smoke off this plant. He's worried about Palace. He's worried
about everything understandably so we'll see if you get some money for the team
yes sir flames he lets him know what's going on whoa now flames he jumped in the
gun 910 back into the smoke unspotted he's on the other side now that's kind
of a cool move so I was gonna watch whoa just a reaction that's crazy I mean
did he just see him and then turn because he I think 910 the way he snuck
out of that smoke he was so sure he was going CT. That was quick.
Second low key have been a nice shot.
Waiting for it, waiting for it. This was.
Yeah.
Get off the mongos to get back into that 2v4.
Yeah!
Yeah, okay, I had a...
Yeah.
Could we see him?
Was he just like on Zywu's face right there in the corner?
to the left. Absolute edge of his screen.
Hey, the sawman turned.
Zywoo, well positioned this round, hits the leg shot on CobraZera.
The nade, because he knows.
But it goes too far.
Drops can't mow anybody down.
Zywoo has to let them pass by him.
Now Mezzy's under pressure, missing flat banks.
But Zywoo just goes in.
Let's go, Zywoo.
The back end of the Mongols pack.
CobraZera still comes through with a bit of one, but Tecdon finds himself 1v4 in Mezzi.
You think you can beat Mezzi, but each vitality from top to bottom, talent, runs deep.
They just can keep up with anybody, I mean, they're in the lead individually and as a
team of a little play from Xayah.
We wish that Nading, we got that kill, but him pushing out of ladder room also.
I love that we got a little piece from Zywoo on the desk just talking a little bit more
freely.
It's great when you get a place on the desk, not just in an interview.
Oh wow, he's just delivering so many huge frags right now.
The desk also got some insight from Zywoo that in the time off he's finally had the
chance to complete Baldur's Gate 3.
I'm actually quite offended we don't know what kind of character he played because
I think that would have given us a lot.
We want more Zywoo insights, and it tells you a lot about a person.
It's just like when Jason started playing the white control deck in Magic, and we were
like, who are you?
Some games really tell you a lot about the people that you think you know, and, you
know...
I wish I played the game so I could contribute with like a gas pipe, I'm not sure.
I'll get to it, it's homework.
Next interview, please.
But Rosara's dead.
And these pistols that Mongols had hoped to get going
really don't find any space to work.
So far, this is nothing but vitality answering flawlessly
to the 3-0 kickoff that the Mongols
fought so hard to secure.
Three of these six round wins for vitality.
It's a diffuse needed, but nothing but round win
after round win since their first.
So who's gonna dethrone them again?
Is it gonna happen this year?
I don't think it happens before Column.
I've done feel like that for sure.
But even they had Meshnaw and the events they could pick up before that.
Oh that'll catch you off guard.
Great, fine.
Blitz comes running out through underpass and before we talk about them almost like
they're dead in the water.
They've got a solid pitch going on in middle and smoke spams from the CT side.
Signing up to awkward fights, and yet still being revealed with massive damage off of that grenade up from Zywoo.
Three health for Bless, who's lucky to have been able to walk away from that one.
Bomb sits top middle. The only curious thing left is this position from MZeno.
It's crazy how well they sorted that out.
Yes, MZeno. The problem is he's a palace lurker.
So, if they're at all nervous about that in the situation, which they should be,
he knows it's going to be hard for him to just get away with something.
Like, he can at least escort them to come towards A,
but he will have to take some kind of early fight to make this interesting.
That's coming to Palace.
And actually, there is no jungle player now to stop this.
So, walk out plant.
See how cautious Zywoo is about this approach feels like he's
What what an animal I know dude. He's like he's doing everything 11 and 4 now flames. He's also contributing with his multi-kills
So a tough goal bit for Blitz. He's got as much HP as opponents
And that flanks gonna destroy him in a second
So there it goes another one to the way of vitality seven rounds straight now
And that was after I felt like a bit of an awkward kind of mid engagement
You know, Blitz catching your Apex position off guard,
but still the other two mid players stick around
for what felt like an awkward amount of time.
They find the bomb, they drop it here.
Like, this is an all-in decision from Robs
to commit in the mid fight.
It's wild because, look at it,
they have all the fallback grenades
to keep punishing underpass.
They have Flames the In connector
to make it bad, like almost everybody here.
And so much utility.
It just felt like incredible.
Like the amount of pressure they kept up
while they were losing players in the process.
of
the flames these numbers so far 2026 just phenomenal
It's confirmed now it's a little weird there because palace is smoked so this is a lot of you know
It's beneficial you're sitting here on default you have a great angle to work with the fighting connector
So long as we're trying to be really sneaky
So when we haven't had to hear from a lot is is messy and looks like he'll finally get some action
He's been under threat, like one, maybe two.
Aw, man.
Make your job easier, why don't you?
Three players at half health now for the Mongols.
50 seconds, Util confirms their approach.
And you think you've avoided Zywoo, but in reality,
he's ready for you.
Nice smoke spam back from 9-10, but Messi's here to show us
that they just haven't given him chances to shine.
He'll only find the one, though.
Man advantage to Vitality still.
Cancel the plant.
They're worried that they don't have everything
totally secure yet.
That lets that catwalk player get all the closer.
They still haven't played it.
Moment.
Betches all they've got, and so Vitality won't waste any time.
They reclaim that bomb site with ease,
make it eight rounds in a row.
Zai was everywhere.
Everywhere that they're going, he's there.
He's up here on B apps when they're
attacking two easy shots.
They literally need a lucky smoke spam head shot
to even stop him from getting another.
But that's how you have to kill him.
Exactly.
What I love about this vitality is they haven't become complacent in their win at all.
It feels like every round they still pop off for it.
They're playing to dominate nowadays.
Oh, Alex won and done, rops this time empty-handed so we've got a man advantage for Mongols as
they try to finish this half off with at least a fourth round win.
Just get one more taste of victory before you have to swap sides.
Meanwhile, this time, Mezzie freed up to go on an expedition on his own, he'll take
control of the apartments but this spot from Blitz should catch him off.
Ooh, what more do you want from this Blitz?
He wants a much time to bomb.
The bombs, and he doesn't?
Yeah, he can just, he has the bomb and he can just go, go over to B.
Let's see if Techno shoots him.
Yeah, of course.
But yeah, they can just join up now.
They have kind of an A-fake going on, I mean.
Well, that's fun.
Just not getting too dizzy with options, but they can just go ahead and plant.
Blitz is staying at the bench because they don't have a teammate just yet.
This is-
Oh my god!
Oh my god, it's back to the 2v2.
The bomb line gonna go down this round is no longer guaranteed.
Blitz has 4 health.
What's that shot?
That's the kind of shot we replay before the halftime break, goddammit.
Zywoo just so on top of it this half.
And Blitz understandably trying to hide on low HP.
Techno trying to lock it down.
Him and Blitz, they're combined.
Zywoo is dead, so at least the monsters-
Who cares?
Play the shot.
Zywoo is an animal.
with a shot like this.
It's another KW flick.
He's not even on his screen.
Oh my god.
He didn't see anything.
That's the JW cash flick.
That's the simple flick in the secret.
Well, catch your breath, everybody,
because we'll see you after the break.
I don't even think it's over a second there.
The monster is back.
Let's play again.
There are some pairs that are just more different.
Some try to intimidate you.
He doesn't try to.
Everything he does is deliberate.
You never really feel out of place, you just feel late.
Larry is now patterned.
He doesn't move faster.
He's moved first.
It makes him a winger and that's the scary part. He was my purchase.
It's not about losing to him, it's about arriving at him.
Calm down!
Oh, stop!
Beautiful work that happens, I will.
It is ridiculous! I will who doesn't need the help!
Males every single shot!
Right here, right now, on Mirage 8.
Oh my God!
Oh my God!
Oh my God!
Zywoo knows he's gonna fight right here, right now!
The most efficient player in Counter-Strike history.
No wasted ammo, no wasted movements.
But there's a chance!
There's Zywoo!
You try to, I will catch you.
Bask in his glory. Why don't you Zywu one for the ages? We said nine frames between
Him being on Zywu screen him seeing him and hitting the shot, which is nine
I don't even know. I don't know what that is. I don't know. I don't know what nine frames translates to in reaction time
We're looking at one frame at a time seven eight
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 9.
Wow.
That is so, again, in history, you've got like the cash J.W. flick off screen.
You have Fallen's off screen flick on overpass.
You have simple secret one.
Zaihu has two of those already.
He's got that one.
He had the one on overpass jumping across long.
He might even have three.
I mean, I heard Flamesy was talking about him that when he sits beside him
He's like first of all as I was the fastest player and his team and he's looks at him and he
Tries to understand exactly like how fast he is, but he's not sure like I
Mean you kindar in that content. We just had said it really well. I think it's not that Zywu moves faster
It's that he moves first, you know, there's no hesitation with everything he does
He's playing the same game you are and supposedly this pistol round hold on
because Mongols looking for a fight first pistol netted them three rounds to the
start of that half. Uh-oh the recovery is underway. Apex and Mezzi this would be
the 2v4. Exactly what the Mongols can't afford after a flat first half puts
down to 59 health. They think they got them down to like 10 HP so probably
going to double swing in a second fire at the feet of apex he still finds refuge
behind the box let's with a chance but only a chance and apex there to deny it
flick might have been the craziest of them all man that was so fast I don't
I've never seen
That wide and that quick we've had some I mean just for a 2026 so far counter strike has given us some insane
Insane like moments like that that flick is in its own little category
Swaddo yesterday Krebbeni off ace
McCauze's clips like like I'm rolling in March. Yeah
Like Apex said, never stop trying, you never know when the drop-off happens.
That is true.
And that drop-off comes for all of us.
Y'know, let's continue to skew in Vitality's favor with this pistol secured.
We've now won 9 of the last 10 rounds.
I
Even twice in this game like that barely seeing when he was on stairs
Barely seeing off the corner of the screen. Yep wasn't the flick it was a reaction to what he saw
But obviously it looks so fast because he is so fast
It's just also like that he's showing off more because like what he can do is that's what he can do
What's crazy is seeing the nature of some of the kills that we've already had this half
But it's also getting through an entire half of watching Zywu and not once did either of us have to say Zywu missed that shot
No, no, no, and that I don't day and there's a lot of names that you occasionally have to put before that sentence
Some too often for most people's liking like but you're never doing something like that. Yeah
And that's that godly consistency that really makes him just a whole other beast.
So as he trades out CobraZera, and then we talk about his rifling as well, right?
His adaptability across the arsenal of guns and counter strikes.
Yeah, there's also the pistol moments.
Question, where, you know, there's players like Monosy.
If he took the op out of his hands, he'd still be like a top rifler, for sure.
Same thing with Zywoo.
But we're kind of like spoiled with that.
history a lot of times oh wait actually it's very winnable 12 and 8 HP one could make a
difference but it was down to 10 and he doesn't know where the last two are and it feels like
ropz wins these every day of the week 3k get the gun get out of here you've pressed the
bomb site for at least the reward but that will still be vitality's 10th round win
Sayu monasy or two players we are fortunate enough to see play today and we get to share
a screen watching them at the top and everything and they're great hybrids, but that's not always been the case with the operas, you know
You know puts up rifle clutches even though he talks most of the time
But longer the days of the you know
GDMs and stuff like that that were only good on that gun and then kind of suffered everywhere else
Or you never even really talked about the rifling
But I don't think anyone would say that if I will have to only use the rifle
That like his stats would suffer suffer massively still be a top five player 100% and
That's remarkable, you know even simple
2019 the last few months tried to switch to rifle didn't work, but so I was never done that
Like gone permanently to it so we don't get to see we don't get the note for sure
But we've never seen him struggle and around
It's crazy too is thinking about you know one of the things with the new reload update is that the ops actually are very heavily
Effected that's something else. We're now his strength in not missing is gonna be all the more valuable
Burning out this setup
Senior done for our couple rifles out here on the field and they haven't gotten that CTF. Oh my god
Flames he was tonight. Oh
Maybe the most efficient weapon use in that situation actually think about it sold
That's so worse for the Mongols.
Come into this one slow.
They picked up that pistol.
They converted 3-0 start once upon a time for the Mongols on their map pick.
But in history when the AWP is kind of like falling out of meta a little bit,
Zywoo just doesn't have much.
And then he just went and rifle more.
When Navera joined the team back in 2021, he switched off the AWP on Inferno right away.
Just started playing without it.
He's already referenced that like he only played it's happened a device it's happened to him where he's just the best player on the team
So that ends up being the best player on off which ends up being the most valuable weapon, so you need to op
But he's already expressed that you know, that's not how it started for it
This is the kind of vitality every single other player signed up for this event is watching this game right now going oh damn it
Hmm
You thought there was any hope of winning this event. This is not the kind of game that gives you more confidence
There's a world by towel that can't keep this up constantly, but between their first two games and 90 and now Mongols
Smashing as not even techno is allowed to get 12 for if Mara was here
He'll throw in the towel. It's like that LeBron tweet when he turned 30
We don't have to put up with his bullshit for much longer and then he's like
45 or whatever it is now.
Still out there doing anything.
Yeah, that's what it could be with Vitality.
This is Vitality doing it with Dan already having the graze.
Pumped up off every round.
Never call this Aurobor.
Vitality are here to send a message to the rest of the field
And to the Counter-Strike world that if you thought an event off was going to cause some ring rust
If anything, it's had the polar opposite effect. Hungry to get back into the server. Hungry to reclaim that trophy lift
You know, they bless us with giving an opportunity over to anybody else to shine. Navi sees that opportunity
And now Vitality right back to the number one spot
No questions, no hesitations, no stutter.
They pause in this five versus three to really just bask in the glory that they've earned in demolishing the Mongols on Mirage tonight.
Not missing a single bit of ammo.
9-10 will finish it off because Zairu was so low, but this is going to be vitality transitioning into the A commitment to try to finish this game nice and early.
17 rounds of play, potentially all vitality need. 9-10 is trying to be the saviour, and his damage output is great.
47 health for Apex and Flamzie combined, but then you've got Mezzie who's always ready to go for the close as needed.
But he gets dropped, so Flamzie's there to do it.
17 rounds. All they need. They give up the 3-0 start, and don't look in the rear view from that point forward.
Vitality built difference.
Well, we tried to give Mongols as much credit as we possibly could on their map pick here for Mirage, but Vitality...
I don't know, what can you really say at this point? Debris, the expected result is achieved. They get that map win.
Mongols really needed to get a rush if they were going to have a chance in this best of three now the way they've lost
Doesn't really make the history better for them. I think Vitality just looked once again unsuppable in majority of the rounds
I think in the beginning there was like a slight chance where mongles could have had to build the moments by winning the pistol round
But also converting that very close one-by-one that we did see 19 have against Saibu
But he didn't manage you and then they just ran off with it and again
but I tell you showing that they have so many layers to the playbook not only as the individuals greatness they have
But also when they have a team just so good at scaling for each other
They could have been there for each other and they just read the game plan and it just makes it so uncomfortable for uncles
In the pre-game interview you had with Mazzinho. I mean he said that they needed to win the pistol
That was the focus of Mara's game plan here. Well, he did just that
But he needed to have some gun rounds to
I mean, this is just vitality at the absolute peak of their powers. You see that it practically everybody's able to step up in moments flames. He was just on a total tear and every late round situation that's I was in, he's just pulling off the unthinkable really.
I was in he's just pulling off the unthinkable really I think that the whole nine-frame killer he gets on
Ability to Techno in CT. It's just like
Still feels too generous when we count it
Could we just could just watch it? I want to watch it watch it. I love it
I was in there and I told you I really want I want to see what nine frames is and how he can actually manage to get that
Kill because I was a little like I was staying like this on the monitor trying to be okay
I actually get like two frames where I see and you can see right here life
And even when it slows down you
In like in full speed you don't see the guy before he scopes
The thing is if you slow down frame by frame
He sees the guy that frame before the scope I still comes on as much as I have one other thing to add to that clip
Which is that?
Zawoo heard the guy CT. Mm-hmm
He could have pre-aimed better, but he aimed to flick like he aimed badly
intentionally to pull off a cool flick
He didn't used to do that
I mean, he's trying to clip farm, you know, like like we're in a short form media age and he's just trying to play into it. Now. It's crazy gets little haircut, you know, he's actually got subway stuff is going on right now.
I mean the game's been on easy mode for him for years now, so he's just got to find new ways to make it more difficult
Like literally he heard him running there and he's pre-aiming badly like so I would didn't used to do that
He used to just scope casually hit shots, and they didn't always look the most impressive
But now he's like let me just make the shot harder for myself
It's just crazy that he's blowing her mind minds like with this kind of thing
And you this is maybe a little bit of a standout one with what he's doing right here
but being why he brings the table for this team, you know, it's just outmatch it, you know, it's it's literally just like
absolutely insane and you know, it's so cool to see that we can have players that could have so much impact on a team that
Saibu does for Vitaly, sure the rest of the team namely Flames as well, but Saibu is just doing a time and time and you're always one like
When is he gonna be slowing down? When is he not gonna get that MVP? And it just seems like he's unmatched in so many
Yeah, well when they talk about practicing and things like that they're actually all just trying to make frack movies for themselves
That's what they do in their practice
Yeah, it's just it's just absurd. I mean he got this done with the off
I also love the way that scrawny and launders framed the way that he was moving around and it's just this is kind of hallmarks
I were where he's where he's needed
Seconds many seconds before he's even asked to be there like why is he on be balcony like he's not clever
It's just he's just he's just everywhere. He needs to be like the one time they did the full beast and he's on the balcony
It's like Mongols just couldn't avoid this guy
No, but that's that's the issue right when you go up against him
Then you do have a hard time avoiding you if you want to buy me still there get out of there
Look, I'll take it. Maybe make it a bit more of a serious conversation where it's yeah
Mongols don't have that coach
So is it a bit more telegraphed where things are running a bit more stagnant?
I'm not taking away any credit from how big brains I would really is right. He's clearly doing something
No one else is doing but you do have to have that little bit are they stagnant is it just this thing that's a repetitive motion for mongols
Okay to put this in a more actual tactical and that analytical turn
I mean if you can it's hard when a map ends the way it does like that
Vitality just did a really great job of poking and prodding into middle so that they knew what was coming next from the mongols
They knew when it was going to be a full site hit.
They knew they saw them.
I mean, they were breaking the smokes regularly.
So Mongols couldn't take that shorter conspace easily.
I mean, and that's why they're so praiseworthy,
because they have all the reactions
in order to make sure that anything you're trying
to construct on the T side,
we are well aware of what you're doing.
And also just we would love to be like inside the camp
whenever they prepare right because, you know,
preparation is also what sets them up
for these kind of things.
And it's also maybe just a fact of Mongols
maybe healing the A-bombs regularly and then they thought okay now they probably want to switch into B
maybe they want to stop and they have the opening and then it just you know massively turned out to be
the site that that side who's on right but you know preparation is also very important for even a
team like Vitaly you know and they do their preparation regardless of who they're facing
sure it's the Mongols that has looked better before but whether this is the Mongols or it's by
Falcons or it could be like a tier three team they would you know prepare regardless.
That is the thing sometimes we talk about you prepare for the opponent and sometimes the
preparation is just what you guys need to do. Vitality is at that point right, they get to prepare
by just looking at their team or what are we going to do and they've coined it multiple times that
it makes it so much easier when at any moment anyone could really step up for themselves but
Maui you have the hard if possible job of pointing out who let the team of vitality down in this
this mirage map.
It literally isn't anyone, but I'm forcing you to do the dumbest shit right now.
Wow, you bring through a lot.
I feel like this game could have been a lot closer if the opening pistol went the way of
Vitality.
They could have been looking more at a 13-1 score line here.
And who let them down the pistol round?
On the pistol round, if I think all the way back.
They were mid, right?
There was the cat player who died first.
Who's cat player?
That's good.
Sometimes it drops.
be more serious and talk about Mongols it's a tough one for them what is going to look like
something good in terms of a map number two five rounds yeah the thing is only playing over
past once and now going up by against my Italian overs which look very strong it doesn't really cut
the case that it's going to be looking better for Mongols if they would have had like many reps
or they would have played it you know against high tier opponents then you know they will
will probably have a better chance but right now you know it's just a big
question mark for us you know and and for the side of vitality they're just
gonna keep steamrolling and if mongols couldn't find a really like you know
some kind of way of breaking vitality and mirage I don't see them doing it
overpass either you know that's a map that requires even more tactics it
requires you to have a lot more answers to what they just went up
against in the likes of mirage so I don't see a world where it's gonna
get any brighter for mongol just gonna be worse so even five rounds in
My book is going to be a hard time.
Well, we call it the Miracle Six.
Maybe we could aim for that one a little bit more than Maui.
But I won't put you guys on the spot anymore.
I won't make you do all the hard decisions
about what could potentially happen
between Vitality and Mongols.
Instead, I'm just going to let time
it tell for itself, because just on the other side
of this break, we do have overpass.
I'm gonna get the
Mara thank you so much for quickly joining me in between maps obviously didn't go the way you guys wanted it to
But they want pistols and I just want to know how proud are you of the boys for winning that pistol round?
No, that's right. I mean, practically no one does that against vitality. Ultimately,
though, it felt that the T side was still pretty weak for you. So what were some choice
words for the boys to bring them up and ready into into overpass?
All right, well, hopefully we get to see that one come out. I mean, Mara always full of
wise words and that's why the Mongols have been having such a good run so far at blast
open. Let's see if it continues.
That was good. I don't know where Mara comes up with half the shit he says.
I'm telling you guys are genius.
I mean, that interview alone has him rising in my coach
of the year vote.
That was incredibly sage, but still in wisdom
upon all of us.
If I were in the shoes of Mara, that's
also how I would have been approaching my prep
talk to the guys coming into a patch.
You know, I would have been like, that is tough.
And you know, I would also be a little bit speechless.
Speechless.
Hopefully though, it is going to be a bit more fighting
words from Mongols and Overpass.
We felt like Maraj let us down a little bit more.
that was their map choice.
Now you come into Vitality's map choice
and it feels like it's stacked against Humane.
Without a doubt, I mean,
I think the numbers speak for themselves,
the one game played for the Mongols on this one,
the fact that Vitality just damn near flawless on it.
The only interesting aspect I would say,
just kind of, as this one builds up,
I think that it's pretty clear cut, who's the favorite.
But it is interesting to see this year
that Vitality has more or less made overpass
a punish pick.
They've leaned into it a little bit harder.
even though Dust2 is their favorite map,
this is kind of the light development
to just keep them on top.
The fact that they want to exert
even greater dominance against the scene
because instead of just playing
only into their own strengths,
now they're even targeting opponents
even harder than they did last season.
So you're up against the wall here, Mike.
The models.
Oh yeah, and it just builds even more
upon this, like the strength.
Not only like map pool, but also mental strength
when they go up against opponents in Vidos.
They know they can pull this one off.
It's like Vitality flexing a little bit, and you know what I mean. I kind of like it.
Okay, normally we ask about the underdogs, what needs to go right for you to feel a little bit confident in them, even if it isn't a map win?
I'm going to ask the opposite. How cleanly do Vitality have to win for you to have no doubts, not that they're ever were any?
I need a 2.0 KD from Zywil.
Okay.
2.0 KD minimum.
The worst is he's easily going to do that.
You think so?
Oh yeah.
2.0? Okay, raise the benchmark then, right?
Can Apex be just positive, Caitlyn?
That might be the harder one here.
Because I would take a break.
Yeah, I'm not so sure we can ask about one,
but we'll see because it's only one more map
when Vitality need to secure themselves at playoffs in Rotterdam.
Yes, what has become a guarantee is Vitality at playoffs
and more often than not, winning said playoffs
and what we've seen so far for them here at the blast open
and there's been nothing but excellence long reach.
Yeah, that much is for sure.
And also it's like they're a bit faster.
Like if you're new to watching or whatever,
title you were winning, games would come to them.
They'd play at that speed, but lately it's just been,
they've been turning it up themselves.
Mongols keep the energy high, they match it,
and then they go even beyond them, I feel like.
And we're getting more aggressive plays overall,
and it's just showing like how much ability
that they have and I think they're just in such a comfortable spot again with the
state of all the other top teams that technically so far this year is easier
than the last. Everyone made a crazy scramble but no one just clearly came out
at a winner besides vitality just sticking with what they have.
I'm like maybe we've seen the potential of rops and its current level is just perfect right
just be here forever same with a packs but flamesy and messy yeah like they're still
growing into their primes as rops has said and I was still in a prime just like rops
except it's such a higher level sir well more can you ask for plans on exceeding those
as well. They'll find Techno done after his one kill. Still two defenders on site though.
This is definitely a defendable bombsite once 9-10 regains vision. He's gone unchecked.
Zywu comes out with a kill. Sees that dumpster push and trades it. So Zywu's two kills
into the round, into the 1v1. Yeah, MZeno. Zywu tries to take it on his terms and
MZeno will give him something to think about. We've got Mongols starting map one the
same way they did map inverse starting the second same as the first with a
pistol round win. I love him going for it. Yeah, that's what he's doing right now. I
love him going for it. He was switching. Yeah, I was hearing those switches between
first fire. I was like, was that him? Because he never actually shot one on first.
But two or three of those. Mongols are into the map. No bomb plant means no
buy here for vitality and uh but look how scared they are they got one smg
they have no kits and four rifles
i feel like a kit maybe was a good
oh okay just like that huh that's one of the rifles oh man every kill hell expensive
Well, they can go and get that.
Okay, they took them out. That's important.
That's good.
So, I believe your chances have significantly increased.
Apex has grabbed the M4.
They're tormenting Tecno.
There's the M4.
Oh, damn, that's Tecno low.
They don't have the nades to get him out of here.
But he's stuck.
They'll smoke off long.
Oh, a nice nade back.
Yeah, what a clock?
Scary to be kept on our toes like this.
I know MP7 starts to activate.
You've got vitality pinned in.
You've got them pinned in.
And they got Zywuz Beagle here.
And Flamzy has a site to go to.
He's got a bomb plan.
Oh, insane that they got these kills, man.
You're just chewing on granite every round
to get an opportunity to win.
should go and contest the just plant they didn't get a kit 10 second defuse
needed oh he's no oh my god that okay oh and you run from this no here here's
the fast stop behind to missed opportunity fresh magazine for flamesy
don't you dare as emcee you're art it's my tally that's pure brilliance
here couldn't have said it better myself bro tell me they're not different even
this year like the way what is that brother there's a robsglock it's like
it's like 40 meters away the lock headshot
He's holding it!
Yo!
And Chad at the flames, he's just for this, you know, by himself.
WAAAHHHHH!!!
WAAAHHHHH!!!
The whole map is jumbled, yeah.
You're a fucking great throw!
Yeah. Yeah, he is.
Oh, yeah.
Getting greater and greater as this year goes on.
They bought no kits, four rifles.
Wow.
And vitality we're saving.
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.
Whoa.
Flames the 3k with the Desert Eagle.
Headshot, headshot, headshot.
If you're the Mongols, you feel real tiny right about now.
It's not the first, second, nor last time, vitality, you're going to walk all over you.
And it's nothing personal.
It's the entire world versus vitality.
Peek here could catch Apex off
See what their approach looks like once they get closer to the site and still remain stacked by four
Util's well placed damage significance
The miss chance off the first shot two kills make it three
The Techno push long is good and all the guns empty so his pistol is going to have to be all he can rely on here
They got a plant now seven seconds safe plant no one can interrupt that rops and bathrooms gonna find the fast-moving emzinho dead to rights
And you're just gonna go to deny Techno's chance to save the AK
Rob's trying to chase it down
Got it majority of life here for vitality that robbed away M4 turns into AK is saved and a 2-1 T side start
I'm just like watching one of those action movies, but like one that you don't, you know,
it's not a film you analyze.
It's just got explosions and car crashes and a heist, you know what I mean?
It's just exciting.
It's like, it's like watching cocaine bear or whatever.
You're just trying to watch a very entertaining show and just want to sit back and observe
it's pure entertainment I was thinking like transformers sure yeah anything
Michael Bay absolutely yes sir even though he's terrible but
I
Have a look the buff was great shy about shy
And you're gonna say is name weird
Just kidding in in French
You got a nail
Now you're adding syllables the beef
Is that what it means I mean that buff is like kind yeah, I mean like yeah, you could
That's what it actually translates to, but Burf is beef and La is indicative, so yeah.
Shy of the beef.
It's a meaty start for Vitality, I'll tell you that much, but guns back for the Mongols
at least.
We'll see if they can do anything to stop vitality this evening.
Yes, sir, they will.
9-10 clean sequence with the A1S, fighting for fountain, but Apex here with the recovery.
Yeah, nice shot towards Blitz.
Face reset into the 3v3.
Flamzy trying to make headway off of short, and a push coming in his direction.
Looks like a timing will be caught here, surely.
Oh, no he's going to like find him.
Okay, turns back again. Too much to watch for.
They're gonna send Robson with a flash.
Oh, excuse me, a Molly.
Good fight. That'll drop him. Apex, quarter health. Too much of an ask.
So a majority of life for the Mongols, we have to accept, of course.
Even in Vitality's form, they are playing the T side of Overpass after all.
And as well with the Mongols, they will keep fighting. I don't care what the score is,
Mongols will throw themselves at you and 910 doing so on fountain, but it pays off.
Overpass stats as numbers are one thing, but the one map they played was winning 11 rounds versus Maus, like Maus Overpass, actually solid.
And most of the rounds on T side, so it was a very strong map, absolutely, for the Mongols, just not a lot of frequency, for whatever reason.
Like the best said, you know, one of the better vetoes ultimately across the board for the Mongols.
That kind of gets thrown out the window with the form that Vitality come into the match with back on Mirage.
But we know Counter-Strike changes map to map.
Do you think it'd be insane to see Vitality do what they did on Mirage twice?
Their gun rounds keep on coming.
All in Zywu's hands.
That is something though, they don't lose to Mongols.
Right.
There are teams that take series off Vitality, even if they don't win events off Vitality, but Mungle specifically struggled to beat them.
Uh-oh. Wait.
He got back here. How survived that?
He was jumping outside of the bathrooms for a second. 9-10 is going to be the victim of this Vitality bathroom's presence, and they are still worried about a follow-up here for Tecno.
They'll bottle him and then force him to fall back, just spraying around these corners, welcoming damage in both ways.
but only Techno that ends up taking any
and so bombs still backed by T spawn vitality secure the 4v3
and then there's going to be some uncertainty for the Mongols to have to handle
what are vitality up to now that they've gone quiet
I think vitality want more fights and that's some damage
but they actually have to run back at all
you can run but you can't hide brother
joke if mongols pick the right site this is actually a problem but the bomb's gonna get
collected they can go to shut down be this is correct here for vitality I don't yeah I
don't know I don't think he's got this oh it's been a long time since you've seen vitality
lose a round like this they actually did just take too much time to get the ball honestly
I love it this is what I want to see because they were playing for frags and I actually
like that energy. I'm a fan of all the wrong things in Counter-Strike.
Like racism. Yeah, yeah, true.
Well, gentlemen, there is a game you're supposed to be winning.
If you're the Mongols you take what you can get and that keeps their guns afloats
Oops
Actually though when's the last time you saw vitality lose around like that?
It's having too much fun
This wall of defense from the Mongols here four players push forward
Connectors there's loud steps on fountain 910 prime to stop flamesy on the approach yet every right
Then they had a bumblebee that covered nice is his dual and we've got a comfortable looking 5b3 for the Mongols
Oh, curious turn of events with an awkward round loss and the Mongols seizing the opportunity
right thereafter.
Yeah, their money gets frozen, but they did save, obviously.
Very mobile 9-10 this round as well, so it's got himself his fifth kill secured and the
bomb dropped in the middle of that.
I was going to keep the possibility alive though.
He walks right in front of that bomb as they're just giving him a chance to get kills another short smoke
Co-Rezera climbing up into the bomb site as emzinho just hangs on to the wall
This allows Zywu and robs to join up the forces
Nice fast head shot out of emzinho and robs wants nothing to do with this. So he's off for the safe
And not allowed on the Mongols watch that's majority alive as they will take the lead of this game
It's an excellent round there for 910
And to follow up, it was just a gift in that last one.
It was a free victory if they had just got that bomb there
officially one second earlier,
and now the two round streak for the Mongols.
And they didn't take a pause back on Baraj today.
Don't think so.
And they won't take a pause in this game.
Not without Mara here.
No, they won't do it.
The mighty Mara, they went a whole series,
their last series without taking any tax out of respect.
Over another team they don't often beat.
Yeah, true. Now it's just a matter of good luck.
I think the amount is getting eliminated today by 9Z does take a little bit of the...
little bit of the grinds away from Mongols, you know?
Say that until 9Z are in the grand finals.
Okay.
I'll be waiting.
And that's with forgetting to plant the bomb
I'll place Nate that's perfect in a round where flames. He's the only rifle to play with
It's gonna be a quick move back towards the B site. They're gonna try to play numbers strong smoke grenade meets them. However
It's always a good round when you've got Zaywu down to a third of his health before he even has a chance to shoot back
But that smoke went too deep so Flamesy's got vision in front of it.
Flash found its mark as well.
Mzeno's gonna put the rifle in the dirt.
Man, all's looking good here.
Clean rifle work for Mzeno wants to keep himself alive,
as Mezzi's the only one left.
And everybody's here for the Mongols.
Oh my god.
These devils pack a punch.
Oh my god, another one for Mezzi.
Damn.
Do the damage while you can, that's four rounds consecutive out of the Mongols.
Is the Vitality Era over?
Was that the start of the end for getting the plant?
We all remember the day.
boring, but they're not and I want to hold on to that for as long as we can.
A little triple boost here, showing the Mongols are willing to go the extra mile.
Oh!
Ha ha ha!
Rops.
Why are you going to do it like that?
Just, just reacts.
Just the reactor, since they're reacts.
Just sees, doesn't act first.
Just waits.
And a smooth exit from Robs as well keeps five players for vitality moving towards this A site in a moment
They're not really trying to mask it either
So that's gonna free up Cobra's air to come and join his players on this A site
Techno the most front-facing
It has been good
Looking for anything towards long, but they have managed to get two players along this left wall
So nine ten he lands that shot on apex, but they're already breathing down his neck
However great coverage comes through from Cobra Zara two more players on long met by a Molotov time now
They got to get away vitality have to pull the e-brake. So that's the Mongols up to six CT round wins
That's perfect move for nine ten even though it doesn't get a kill here
Just gets out of dodge when they're trying to chase him down after the first peek and they scale into him
Nearly catch up, but he was too fast
This is where we remember t-side overpass is hard for everyone even the very fastest sir
It's like he's got a sixth sense
I mean it's just everyone on this you don't even get to see it when they're playing these
matches like the level of a we've got cheap there's an old video when he played me as
he played on Henry G's cloud nine the Colossus yes you can watch him play in labs go watch
that video look at his reaction time as he's not even the guy you think of like
that
who knows he's got somebody over there but just not given the shot yet
missed I'm gonna say it so I will miss the first time in the series yeah
Oh, felt good to say.
Makes them a little more relatable.
Missed opportunity for Zywoo.
And now it's up to Flamesee and Messi
to try to recover the 2v5, but not
given any room to do so.
And so the Mongols going to make Vitality start
sledding for these rounds.
They have only two more to potentially add to the board.
Five-round T-side, best case.
And respectfully, the Mongols have really tapped
into the strength of the CT overpass side, watch him miss.
Human reactions.
Yes.
Subhuman reaction.
And now with just pistols.
Uh-oh.
small chance gone shouldn't matter at all
this full power eco b exec comes bursting through monster right into the b site
three mongol players here at least
those flashbacks just keep on coming and xeno trying to keep his head down
Just the one and done
Cold Brazzera eats the flash
Apex with two now off the P250
Put to rest
And Heaven gets smoked off
So a nice clean utility heavy
Execute and response
Blow the bomb planter off the site
That still has yet to be planted
Gonna go for the boost to try to get vision
And it gets caught nicely done by Techno
And 9-10
Nezzy ready to swing with the tech 9
with the tech nine, but under pressure and that gun goes dry.
So in eighth one for the Mongols, the execute be damned.
Apex's two P250 kills in vain and Vitality still stagnant
on three round wins.
And again, when they made it a close game versus mouse,
the one time they played it, it was a lot of T rounds.
Damn, it's mouse on overpass.
It's very impressive.
They've let go of last map, they've taken their gift and they've made sure to be grateful for it.
They've turned it into a massive streak of rounds there on CT side.
The Mongols are living in the presence.
I can always be a safe play to just make it beat again.
Nice.
Oh, that's a great transfer.
A half out of Krober's era.
Even the headshot on the Flamesy is like eight, nine bullets into the spraydown, so not an
easy control.
gets there, adjusts for the second, takes man advantage into his hands.
Well Vitality scoured the field, they chuck that frag grenade out to finish off CobraZera, good shot from 9-10 though.
Ah, but they've got him stuck, Blitz unfortunately just crawling through the mud, so goes back to the 2v2, 9-10 no additional angle just yet.
Drag on the bomb planter and the flank gets found out.
9-10 tries to close the distance quickly.
And that fall back from Zywoo as he just decides to halt in the open.
That's going to catch 9-10 off guard.
It's a hard fought fourth round for Vitality as Mongols seize on the opportunity.
Vitality's key mistake lets the CT side get out of hand.
I think Gravity from 3D Max is a pretty fun guy to play.
We're smiling at each other and I remember this one thing.
He said, flames, flames, press mouse 1 to kill.
Flinty!
No!
You took the mouse, you please!
Flinty!
Ha ha ha ha!
Obviously, Apex always playing him overshouting at each other,
but in the end, this is only good manners between us.
Apparently, Apex comes into mind,
but I played with Config, for example.
He was the vocal at times.
Do you remember Smoyah also being pretty vocal?
and he had some funny moments with the British accent.
If I have to choose one, I would say that the best trash talker is Apex.
I just remember watching Vitality games,
and sometimes he has some interesting things to say.
Spotted! One step ahead, all Vitality!
Watch your head, guys! Watch your head, guys!
I can't hear you up on the beginning, bro!
It's fine! I heard it!
I've tried it a bit in the past to do some trash talking,
but if I start screaming and yelling, then the emotions are so high,
and that might affect the way I play or the way I hold in the game.
My best examiner did the ambulance noise and it became a huge thing.
The only reason I did it was because the team sounded like an ambulance.
So I was tired of hearing them screaming some strange sounds that I started as well.
Out of the way, Maisie.
You just have to hear how he's saying,
bottle of water and you're already lost.
Vitality, no chumps on Overpass, but maybe still reeling back from a critical error there,
Mohan.
They open the door for the Mongols, and the Mongols barge their way in with a very convincing
CT side.
But if we learned anything, it's that the T side of Overpass is hard for even the
best teams.
It is, yeah.
And again, like the smallest sample side, but Mongols played really well on their
T side.
The one time they lost in a close map
With a weed with a lead like this, I mean a pistol it's not optional, but it
Gonna be the end of the world here for the Mongols. It's more important for vitality. Obviously, so I would get shot from behind
He's feeling the squeeze, but he just goes forward instead into this fight
He'd love to get up into bathroom. Oh
Ooh, Xayu's gotten away, but over towards the B site, it's first kill to the Mongols.
Xayu secures Long for now.
They're trying to catch him, but 9-10 misses him one more time.
Xayu, very elusive here in the pistol.
And 9-10's going all the way around the corner, Xayu's just spotted that.
You notice at least a bit more presence here towards Long.
Oh, again.
Wait, what? He did not see that?
No way.
No, that's insane.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah, let's Robs take it.
I mean, because we just saw that shot from CT spawn on Mirage.
She's CT spawn?
She's CT spawn, and he sees everything.
Flames a drawing to collect.
His down towards the B site.
That's the bomb confirmed in the middle as well,
so everybody coming down for vitality at 30 seconds.
Techno's gotten into cover temporarily.
Smoke's going to fade on short, and when it dies,
Mezzie would be compromised.
So I like that he takes it into his terms,
goes for the dual knowing he's time limited,
and now things will feel comfortable for V2.
for Vitality, but a dink on Flamesee
puts things back into question for a second.
It's going to be Blitz's hands busy with the bomb,
but now that he's dead, it's all on Cobrazera,
seven seconds to do it all.
If he even tries to plant, they're going to pin him down.
So Vitality will take the pistol,
make noise for the first time since, what, round three.
And they want to just turn this around.
And they have a good reason to want to turn this around,
because this is currently their second longest map win streak.
Talk about the pass.
Eight wins.
Uh, eight wins straights.
And you'd hate to just throw that away
because you were starting to be a little foolish.
There are no, like, great overpass teams on here
besides Paravision.
Aurora, actually.
That's where he was on here.
Oh, they've got some good wins, but, uh,
but, like, no one's even close to Vitality's level
on this map right now.
So in some senses, even more impressive
than their DustCheese tree.
Come on, I'm not even sure.
Both 9 and 8 on streaks.
We're just restarting the streaks for 2026 here for Vitality.
New year, new me.
Same old Vitality though.
In all the best ways.
I
Vitality they don't decide to come into this round with four m4s like the Mongols did that'd be bad juju
Flames you okay make some money brother go right ahead. I think there is some irony to buy the m4s because not
necessarily
Better look imagine you're holding a choke point like like the door here, and you have an m4 and there's like four blocks on the other side
Yeah
MP9 is gonna feel great
You feel less pressure to get every kill because you at worst you give up an MP9 you make more money
You're probably gonna mow down to instantly
Yeah, or as an m4 like it's you know you're probably gonna get the same but with the lower fire rate and just more on the line
It creates a different problem harder to control. Yeah, and you've got more
Got more money for utility and things like that that utility right there is
brand new that's brand new thought they weren't doing new stuff in 2026
rifle needed for long we'll see if rops gets yep flashed out by zi-woo trying to
take a duel doesn't capitalize though you really can't trust those slashes
Because not because they're not landing the right spot. They're so far away. Yeah true
And on top of that like the bathroom tree and yeah bathrooms like juts out a little bit and really gives them kind of a pocket
So yeah
Not ideal down a man, but if I would throw a flash for me. I'm peeking
fair
So I would get to the drop on emzinho
That's the luck grade form as well
Quad 910 tries to make it done peeking yet and mezzy tucked into the dicebox slain
Zywoo's got all three kills so far. He's still going in the Mongols first gun round
Zywoo steps up to the plate where the quad kills sets flamesy up to close and it's a walkout through the bathrooms with an
MP9 so a little bit awkward but Blitz fake plant in the smoke flames. He doesn't shoot yet
Blitz doesn't know where he is and that smoke makes a connection between default and long
He can try to milk this a little bit put flames in a compromising spot, but he risks playing dangerous games versus MP9
Flames he also entertaining the idea that he's moved out to be but with a free site would he have really done that?
Considering everything now not spotted, but
That's flames you with the MP9 clutch, but who's the star of the show Zayu every single day
Oh
Like got some rock to hide from all day. Yeah, it's not a loop classy stuff here
Essentially instant kill on 910 as he comes out through that bathrooms
Flames he finding the head shot there really sucks the life out of the room for the Mongols so their lead is
Damn near evaporated one round the gap now and back to pistols CT side is where vitality could still shut down this series
of
the
The pistols are afforded some space outside of the B site, but numbers strong here for
vitality.
Flames the only one of the kill though, because Messi was fully blinded.
Now, Apex is under pressure from both sides.
Ooh, this gets awkward for a second, considering they have so little to play with, Apex under
real pressure gets cleared out by the 9-10 Tech 9.
It's gonna have to be Zairu and the Robs.
Switching over to the pistol as Tecto pops up from the water with the gun and it's a
Robs 1v3.
Bomb is planted.
He knows there's one stuck inside the smoke.
Can vitality afford such an error?
That used to be a railing.
Now a wall.
He sees them peeled back.
He sees one peeled back which actually, I think he understands how they're playing
it.
He's got to scoop up a kit and all this.
There's plenty of them around to grab.
They don't have rifles either, so tech 9's smoke spam, or somebody's just going to have
to come running through, but they confirm it, and the Mongols are going to punish.
Vitality had three players inside that site, two of them go down empty-handed, and that
was a Vitality that offered up free space.
This game has already featured a Vitality mistake, now sprinkled in a second.
Yeah, a half-bite of win for the Mongols, of all the rounds that you could pick
up on T-side, and it's a really strong flash, Messi can't tell up from down
When that one lands in the site in front of him.
A good job of royally stressing them out on the aim.
To work for those kills.
His Mongols sit here with three timeouts
and Vitality are the ones burning through them.
And Blitz not even saying a word in Vitality's timeouts either.
He's not using any because Mara's not here.
Double-Op adjustment immediately comes through from vitality.
That's how you know they're taking it seriously.
Trying hard to pull this one back.
What is that by? There's no rifles?
Nope. Double-Op, triple MP9.
That is three grenades.
Rain just by I've ever seen.
You don't even see Double-Ops on Overpass.
What do you do tonight?
They're both towards A site.
You see more Double-Ops on Dust2, Mirage.
They lose this B site, it's a double op retake from A.
I know, there's no retakes, they don't have kits, they're not playing for that route.
They're playing to kill, I don't know how exactly they're going to do it.
I can totally see this working, it's just wild, it's atypical.
The utility did flush Mongols away from the B site and it's this A site that's double
op defended.
This is a freaky buy.
And I've got a kink.
Both ops here.
Which means, if they speed up through bathrooms, if Robs gets an AWP, he's going to check top
bathroom, and I could get his ass killed.
Oh, very awkward.
He lives.
Robs down to 12.
And they know Robs...
They know I was AWPing too, right?
And Robs didn't shoot an AWP, but you should think you would have noticed on the
They're kind of wondering what they're supposed to do.
32 seconds, jumping around towards long,
Robs rattles off the off-shot,
Zywu on the hunt for his missing shots.
Zywu's missing shots.
Finally starts to recover, but it's still a chance.
As CobraZera doubles down on this hit,
and of course, the Mongols squeeze through.
All they needed to overwhelm
was to close that distance on the oppers.
They do it, and lo and behold,
a 10th round secured for the Mongols.
Vitality's money in tatters the Mongols are about to extend this series to a third absolute what I mean, okay
They have to what do you mean extended series of their damn them win three more rounds?
They're doing really well. Yeah, they're doing really really well
But I just want to say this round is hilarious because the buy is extremely weird
But it totally works if they just hit like five chances at off shots
And they both missed simultaneously on a they even had the two off and the extra rotations into the site
So lots of ways to actually close out from that spot
But yeah
They still need three more rounds, but this one's free
This was getting active Mongols don't like the silence. Oh, that's the bomb last no one's supposed to be free
5-7 drops the bomb, jumping up into the bench, just a quarter health for Blitz to have to deal with.
Two flanks.
And the site gets cleared out by the jumping MP7.
So I like that Blitz just gets the Mongols moving quicker this round.
It'll waste any time gunning down the A bomb site.
There's an AWP here for Mezzi in the middle of it all, but the AWP control for Memzinho
is going to wrap up with left of Vitality.
I would really like to keep that up but that's not gonna happen.
It's a luxury if they're allowed it.
Ooh, Flamesies collecting more and more kills as this game goes on.
21 and 12.
They might have to chill a little bit so it gives them a chance to go for the op.
I mean, let's just come in down from long bathrooms.
He can't do another one.
This would just be absolutely insane.
Now Blitz has got him from behind.
There's no kit for Flamesy.
got this locked in but still just one survivor in another round where vitality only have one
upgraded pistol. That only matter if there is a comeback to take place here for vitality because
those kills uh you know it is a lot of damage done but uh overall the big prize there would be to
to keep the opposite since they've lost so much money going for that double-off MP9.
It's just cute though, whatever he does it. Can't take him serious.
Long goes out a higher round win rate on overpass. On T7 CT side since it was re-added
the pool. Oh, what a slide. What a peek. Flamesy dead. Excellent.
Highest performing player for vitality on the ground at the B site. We've seen this B site
crumble under pressure. He's scared to peek. As he lines them up towards short but it's
still just the one and done. Mongols on the brink of a 12th round win with this deep
angle from 910 he gives it up he would have just stopped apex standing under the
line 910 misses two shots now into heaven third one will be collected as apex
continues to give that chance over to the Mongols and vitality have to
question whether this retakes even viable no they tuck tail 12th round
secured for the Mongols oh it's the trade from blitz after apex walks up
into a and peeks off the slide he really gave 910 a lot of chances to
win that fight up in heaven so that was a quizzical moment but overall here it
is especially while the other two players of vitality weren't doing anything to get
into the play just yet just peaks at three times so I we're gonna try to add
up some damage as he hangs on to the M4 yeah that's what happens okay you
could try to chase them down but now it's overtime or bust for vitality and
And they've got no maps in this street that went to overtime
They have absolutely crushed in this in this streak with all their single-digit wins. No one's even got 11 rounds actually
Now if you could have seen this coming
It would have been a good time to go live trade the game on polymarket.com the official prediction market of Blast Premier
Over top of the molly, perfect P-tier for Flamesy.
And does he get away with his life?
Mungles, doing a great job of finding a way to get a trade kill back into the round.
Leg shot on MZinho's not gonna make his life any easier this time.
I always got an arm on him.
Nice. Nice action.
This rock's having a rough go of it.
9 and 13 alongside Mezzee, same score line. Pressure still on this A site.
CobraZera tries the pounce and Apex has got him dead to rights.
At a lot of distance between CobraZera and the last two remaining Mongols players.
They still have a look at this. Apex and Flames here are low.
The Vitality aren't just going to simply swing at everything.
Lots of utility to lay back, lots of time to attack.
And some additional damage on Mezzi, can they find him?
Yes, they do.
A lot of damage done here, flash is good, you've got him stuck on dice.
Flamzy there for the 3k across the round.
25 kills for Flamzy this map.
Hell of a map from him.
But to be honest, I think they're going to remember this map for the bomb not planting
this half, letting the streak happen.
And Lucian, I don't want to be the one to criticize him because I was super down for
the crazy press plays, but them getting even a little bit, laxadaisical, did put their
streak in jeopardy.
It's really important for the Mongols as a third map actually gives them a real chance at the series.
of
and
10 could have been
a little bit more
of the
There's this asterisk on the B defense and that they lost it to Tech Nines.
All bank damage, it's another player tagged up before the Mongols come through with a 15-second commitment.
That off in the middle of it all, wild to see it even try, but 9-10 hits one.
One's all they're gonna get. Rock solid for Vitality in the face of the single sniper.
And that's a free round. I mean, they had 1-1 like that obviously, as you mentioned, but
for vitality they just go full boring they decide all right let's just get
things back in order I'll agree to get any screaming until they make it back
into overtime if they do all glocks
Oh, actually, she missed that blitz eagle.
Can't have no fun.
There she goes, though.
Oh, little team flash there. Sorry.
It's a shooting gallery out fountain as the Vitality Recover continues.
Yeah, Robbs has got it with the Desert Eagle.
Let's him know that he can dig two rounds from overtime.
time. It's interesting because you see the buy, the amount of money it's like between 41 and 4300.
You're gonna, you know, you have obviously the right amount of money to get the full investment
in. What's the call for this round for Blitz? It's kind of, it's going to feel like the chance.
They're going to spend every little bit.
It's going to be a delil party next round.
Setting up really outside of B. Connector control already for vitality.
That could damn well compromise any B commitment if they don't have short control.
So 9-10 looks to go take it over.
Oh, they're going to move fast off of that.
Cleans up from Short, Apex putting pressure, might have seen a body or two.
Flamesee though, awkward now as they come out through Monster.
Oh, he lines up too though!
And then off the dirt comes Apex!
Oh!
Full sequence!
With the triple kill mowed down, this is the vitality we know.
Yeah.
Full house between Flamesee and Apex.
Rock solid timing and tethering between the duels they choose to commit to.
And sure enough, we go round 24 where like you said,
Galils will be featured for the Mongols.
I think it's great. I mean it's a great call to be like, you know, we want to highlight our entries
We want to make sure it's simple. We lose a complicated round. I think that's in Mongols mind
They're only real
They went back to be which would make sense, but they got met by obviously the most resistance possible and a great round on a peck specifically
So
That was gonna be all the wheels. They're going for a lot of utility. They have one galeel. No AKs on the spy
They've been able to make vitality make mistakes in these rounds, like just to get an opening
in.
That's like the hard thing no one can seem to do is generate opportunities on T-side
overpass.
Let's see if they can find one more.
So much money, Zywu's got options.
For as long as Robs can stay locked into the corner of Long, Zywu is full attention
forward towards this pack of Mongols players greatly place grenade there and he quite simply knows
Exactly what the what is taking formation?
Rops is down to half health, but he's got the gun advantage. So he'll take the dual to techno
Zilu drops emzinho burning alive in the bomb site
This is two players down low, but his rocks comes back into the action
They really draw the line in the sand and that no entries allowed here
It will be vitality to complete the 8-4 comeback and that's with the mistakes of losing to tech 9s once down on that B site
The Mongols know this job's not nearly done yet
Yeah, CT side offers a lot of advantages and they did have a couple of egos to work off of and in the important moments
When they decided to tighten up well, they just to simply decided to win
This is their biggest test so far here on in their overpass streak and it's not
even like it's like it's close to all going to 13-11, they have to make a full
comeback. Four rounds to get back into this game but they do so. And in
overtime, CT's have even more. CT's don't even need all this much. CT's could use even more.
Lops wants out of the conflight
At all yeah, okay, that's a very damning stat to bring up. I guess I helped you close tournaments. Holy cow
Oh nice, oh heck man I will freed up
Maybe that's what all the hooting and hollering is about my tally. No
Haha, he got the kill!
No!
Ooh!
I can't believe he peeks outside bathrooms.
He was responsible for inside bathrooms.
Well, I guess when you're the shit, you could be anywhere around bathrooms.
Heh heh.
It's that wallbang kill that's the nastiest part of all.
Vitality don't shell off, but instead look to push off this B site, catching them as they
climb over the railing.
Second player is going to time his piece to profession.
Flames he trades Mezzi out, Vitality strike first and OT.
Back in the lead are Vitality.
Been a minute for them, but now they're feeling very comfortable.
Yeah, that was nice.
This is after this next one too, look at that.
Oh my god, okay.
Put a wall back on, you're crazy.
Damn, Flamesy, 30 and 16, yeah.
Big and aggressive push, 32 and 16.
Just another game for Flamesee to be proud of in a year where he is taking off to a whole new level.
MauiSake mentioned it, currently kind of taking a run as being the second best player of the year right now.
Trying to put his name up in lights behind Xaylu's.
And with performances like these, it just becomes more and more believable.
33rd frag found by Flamesey.
And the joke was with Vitality, the only one in his role that didn't get the award because
Donk exists.
Yup.
Which is a shame because it's not like Flamesey didn't have a great year last year.
Sure.
It just wasn't that level, obviously.
We just all said nobody could be better than Donk.
Yeah.
Well, maybe Flamesey took that personally.
Yeah, it's been amazing to watch his career over the last few years and the fact that it just keeps improving
And you could just feel it once they've hit overtime, huh totally freed up
Getting back into the kind of counter strike they were playing over on Mirage the kind of counter strike that got dented with the
Missing of the bomb plant back on the first half of overpass
They're just bankrolled, bankrolled with more opportunities to loosen up.
Can't wait to see the scoreboard at the end of this game for Flamesy.
He finishes map one with a 1.87.
Whoa!
That's beast and actually could result in a round if they can make something of this now.
Obviously Vitality were not ready to rotate at that moment.
They had two outs to get that kill.
Oh, Coggedera by who else then Flamesee who stops the bomb plant even and Apex clips 9-10
So just when you thought Muckles had something to work with 35 and 16
He could get one more for the road
Instead Flamesee over time for vitality Flamesee can barely believe it. What a beast
35 and 16 and we're in like every time it's a 1-0 team match
I should just look up the score and I was thinking CSGO obviously, yeah, but even a regulation CSGO match that's ridiculous
There's just no fear and flamesy
That was in reaction to the Cobra Zera 2k and that's in reaction to winning their 15th round three map and match points for vitality
It looks like, where's my flamethrower?
35 and 16.
Damn.
Vitality to the attack where things began to struggle.
They have dominated this series outside of that first half.
This looks like a pretty no-for-else B attack that's about to come in.
Yeah.
As overtime has been, a straightforward stuff out of vitality.
Full of their beasts that they've been able to tap into.
Flamesy on a tear.
Apex traits out.
Techno's gonna keep the dream alive with a board.
Nicely done from Techno.
overtop those flanks. Apex duels it back! And it's a 1v1 clutch for 9-10 to keep this game going.
Oh, beautiful. Techno, I don't even know how he saw that second frag.
Just a quick haircut onto the site.
It's a bad molly, though, that lets all of this happen.
Aren't you Mr. Negative Ned?
Mistakes, mistakes!
Two ops!
Tecno gets a promotion!
See ya!
Oh!
Heh heh heh.
And Flitz gets taken down by this peek.
And now those two ops are a little bit, it's probably a little bit nervous here for Mongols.
They obviously have the option to switch out to a right post they want.
The real issue is the men advantage.
See ya from Zaiwu, no X-ray.
Oh wow.
I love that man, I just love that.
So ready for that peek, huh?
No concern to connector.
Straight in with what he wanted, the 5v4 secured.
His hop's still a looming threat from bathrooms, but Flamsey doesn't feel afraid of anything right now.
We'll give it over his utility just in case.
Apex gonna try to set up...
...this sharpened sword.
9-10 opts to go for long control instead, but this really just opens a free avenue of assault into the A site with no contest for vitality to have to get by.
It's a kind of late scramble from the other Mongols players now running up from the B site. You're going to give vitality quite a bit of space to just try to sink into their post plans.
And then 0-9-10's gotten off to somewhere. Odds are, it's long, so Flanksy will remain ready for him.
A little distraction served up by the wallbang. Flanksy sees it as an invitation!
A double kill from him!
9-10's been found out. Still man advantage vitality.
Zywu's got the AWPer locked into long.
Bomb planted on the bathroom side of Dice.
And as that op-scope goes back up, it's gonna be mezzy to cut him down.
Instead, vitality one frag from it!
Techno desperate to try to confuse and this comeback has made itself
Vitality where they should be back in playoffs because if you bought tickets to the Rotterdam event
You knew this team would show face and they do so by dismantling the Mongols on Mirage
And showing a bit of resilience here on overpass
Everyone loved the resilience coming up from Vitality forcing it to overtime
But that's also to be said just how good of Mongols had it there was that what feels like uncommon mistake from vitality
But massive props to Mongols they capitalized on in every way they possibly could
Unfortunately not getting it over the line, but so close the senior said they should just not choke
And we talked about they wouldn't give the position
Yeah, but you got to give it to us
you know even even overpass proving for the best in the world to be some kind of a mouthful at times
specifically going to the T side it's uh it's it's been a it's been a hell of a hell of a game from
the battalion side you know these ones again just show that they even have the resilience of also
bringing it back when it looks like the most dire so a big clap on the show about telling now
they make it into another playoffs uh not really surprised. Yeah still some positives to take
away for the Mongols here I mean I think their B hits on the T side were actually
pretty potent a good spacing good utility but still not enough too many too many
Stars I guess for the for the vitality side and also once they hit overtime man
They just never look back that was just so clean especially on their defense
Well, whether you want to talk about the stars on that jersey or the stars on that team
We got one right here flamesy do what an overpass might be you played insane?
What did you have for breakfast or dinner at this point John? Did you send a bitch?
Always is pink back. I've seen it every time every single time, but no truly you just had an outrageous series for yourself
What was happening for you to be so switched on today?
Well, I think it's obviously good when I get support flashes like that always and get kills by that.
But I think, you know, playing against Mongols, they're really playing on duels and end duels.
If you are turned on and you can shoot good today, then you always have a good game against those guys
because it's just like aim up, you play aim up.
I think today was a bit like that. I felt good individually and they just keep picking and picking and picking
some lucky rounds there and there and you take it.
26 seems to have been a year that you've really stepped up to the occasion.
Like you've had like an incredible year so far and I know for a fact how it is to
be in your role and be in the title system. So what do you think has changed the most for you?
Why are you all of a sudden pulling up such a massive performance?
Or did you change anything or is it just like the start of the game?
I think outside the game I started prepping a bit differently and it definitely helps that
you know I used to just grind face it and I didn't do that well for me in the in 2025.
And then in the second season, I was really bad and I did some, you know,
I just sat and fought some things with myself, like how I prep games,
how I get ready for tournaments and that's about it.
I think one main thing is that, you know, in the end of 2025,
I was a bit slacking on the things I had outside of the game.
And nowadays, you know, I keep the gym consistent.
I try to keep everything in my life very consistent.
And I think it helps to perform and obviously, you know,
I think that still, all the years that I was in the top 20 and this kind of stuff, it's thanks to the team that there's a lot of resources that go in my way and a lot of flashes that really help and these kind of things are always going to be, you know, it as a player, like you get two kills and you have so much confidence, like nothing happened.
So it's just like that.
When you say you are prepping differently individually, I don't know if you want to give all your secrets, but do you want to give any just like little tidbits as to what you changed working with the staff or by yourself?
by yourself.
I think it's mostly with myself, but also with the team, that's the stuff, just, you
know, instead of playing all those phases for nothing, you just, you know, work on some
things that I see that I've witnessed in practice.
Like, things that are, I guess, very basic for every poor, but I used to not do some
of them consistently.
I used to just, you know, there and there, and now I'm more, like, precise on that
and what I want to get out of those maps.
And I think that definitely helps a lot and also just sitting and prepping as a
team together before the game, you know, watching with Apex and Mezi, and yeah, we can do that
and that and that. Then you go into a game that you didn't play, you know, it didn't play
it, but you have so many ideas, so many things you can pull out of nothing. So yeah,
that's the case.
What was your take on Overpass since it got so close? Like, the Manga's almost pulled
it to a third, but you managed to claw it your way back. What have been wrong
in the build up of the CT side?
I think on our T side, we, I think we had like, obviously we had the round with
the plant that we fucked up. I think other than that, we had some rounds that we
we should have, I didn't have answers on the default tunnel,
to be honest, like the 19 catching moon made,
then techno on toilet killing me,
and then when we wanna execute this smoke banana,
so I think they played really well against us.
We do have those round six that got a little bit awkward
for you guys to put it lightly.
I mean, how does it get to that point?
Because that just feels so uncharacteristic.
It's around to the bomb?
Yeah, this is the non-planting round.
The thing is we fucked up with the bomb being so far away,
And we talk to each other, but it's a bit less precise.
You know, guys, let's go take the bomb instead of robbing.
Go take the bomb.
William, go take the bomb.
And then in this situation, look, we have two seconds left.
So we have one second off.
And it's just a small communication.
And usually it's my responsibility
because I was dead to just say the name of someone.
But I was a bit slipping.
Too humble.
You just had 35 kills.
And you made the mistakes.
No, you've got to say that somebody else
is getting out of skin.
I like that.
fucking Robin.
You're going to throw the blame out there, obviously you guys now making it to another
playoffs.
Does the novelty of playing in front of a crowd ever wear off on you?
Well, no, it's exciting and we have a guy in the team that doesn't stop talking about
the same thing over and over.
He only says that you can play the biggest stage ever and then it's going to be your
last stage.
We want to enjoy all those moments on stage, so making every playoff is an exciting thing
and we're going to celebrate it now, and that's something that we've never been to Rotterdam,
I think.
I don't know.
So I think CS has never been there, I'm not sure, but...
Something like that at least.
Yeah.
I don't think for an S tier...
So I'm very excited to go there first to see the stage.
It's very central in Europe, so there's going to be many European fans that come
in, so it's very exciting.
I do have one more question.
The start of your year is so ridiculously hot that now the conversation is actually opened
about you versus Donk.
So what's your opinion on it?
Well, if I keep the same level consistently and we keep shining and making playoffs and
finals and stuff like that, I don't see a way that...
I think his individual skill is just so absurd that even if they don't make...
The only way I'll have out there is if they don't make playoffs a lot of times and
I think that's going to be the case, but I also don't give a fuck, you know.
If I get the trophies, I don't care if I'm a top 9 entry fagger in the world, it's just a title.
But in the end, everybody remembers the trophies, not who was the entry of the year.
So I don't care, I just...
You know what's what's up.
You know what's up.
Yeah.
It happens.
You don't win that many trophies without knowing what's up.
I do have one last question before I let you go.
You're coming up against Paris Vision in a couple of days.
What are you doing between now, then and now?
When is the game?
Sunday?
Yeah, no.
So obviously right now we go chill a bit, we celebrate and tomorrow we have practice and we're going to practice
and then watch PyroVision and kind of come into the game with some idea but it's the same against every team we just prep.
We know that we are the better team and we just need to bring our game.
They're a tough opponent to play against because they play such a different CS than other teams and they have really different things going on
but they're also very good at that and we need to be able to play against that well.
Well, I think last time we played against them, it was pretty good, but we almost lost Inferno, so this time around, we want to show that it's a bit more dominant, but also they're a good team and it's going to be tough, they just, they bit spirit like very convincingly, so we need to show our game.
Awesome, well Flames, I'll let you go, you talked about celebrating, so I won't keep you much longer, thank you so much for joining me, congratulations again.
and well, flames he's had enough
and having that celebratory making it to run
and making it to another current land in front of a crowd
getting to enjoy that stage there for themselves.
We're gonna look at our bracket
because there's been so much that is happening
on the side of Group B,
a lot of action that has unfolded today.
More importantly than anything when I talk about this,
it's looking towards that lower bracket,
the way that the day started off
and the teams that we said goodbye to, right?
I'm not saying it's going to be
a long time, but I'm not saying
it's going to be a long time.
Liquid and n I P going to three
maps saying goodbye to N I P.
But the upset that think people
weren't expecting a map three
for 90 and mouse being the ones
to say goodbye to us here at
Blast Open. That's the upset
of the year. I haven't seen a
only March. It's not far.
Not saying it's going to be of
all of 2026, but this thus
to fall apart like that. I feel like you're just wondering now, is it over? In some ways,
is this the last time we're going to see that five man lineup because that's just so disastrous
and it's off the back of one stagnating and then now dropping off.
I think Cyclone put it out there or at least the things that he didn't say put it out
because when he was interviewing and he's asked, are you like looking to make changes?
He's like, keep that very like classic answer like we're going to see what the future
holds, right? If he would have been like honest about, then we're not going to
making changes, whatever, then that's what you're going to say. I think it's in the cards
that something's about to happen because I think that the team cannot see themselves where
they are right now and the individuals are also starting to actually consider if this
is actually the right team for them. So, that's not a line from ours and it's definitely
not looking good.
Yeah, sometimes it's not what you say but what you don't say and for me that is
really rough to see that journey and it's more so for me than anything because I
I had them in my fantasy team, all right?
Looking at our gaming multi-fantasy team.
I had Spinks in my team, and I just,
bro, let me down a little bit.
You know, I don't want to rub any salt in the wound,
but it's a tough one.
We're looking at the fantasy.
Is this one yours?
This one's mine now.
Really? Okay.
We're just going to look at winners here.
We're looking at winners.
We can look at the losers on average.
I'm going to take my headset off.
I'm done for the day.
You're closing the show on your own, bro.
What do you have in the middle?
I got it.
I got it.
Tell me who you have in the middle.
You know who I got in the middle.
I want to say prize, what is prize?
This guy's been on an absolute tear,
put all my chips in the middle with him and his face on them
and it has paid off, it's paid dividends, okay?
I'm running away, I'm trying to make sure the pit bosses don't stop me
as I'm trying to leave the casino
and I'm hoping Joe Pesci ain't at that door.
I'm going to give it to you that this team,
regardless of the role through anything, this is really solid.
Like the guys you had, that is solid from what we've seen.
You're really good on a list good
I'll just not for myself right now
You're actually gonna be I'm gonna be completely lost I didn't make one
Oh my god, bro. You're too afraid to be shown up after all.
You know what? I will just copycat Maui's.
Okay. Okay.
For the playoffs. You'll be there for the playoffs. Don't copy mine.
I'm telling you whatever you did, not copy mine.
But instead, we're going to look at something way more enjoyable for everyone at home.
The schedule of our day number five.
We're going to see a nice mix up between teams.
Fiora up against NRG Falcons, Tyloo, Liquid, Mongols, 9Z, and Spirit there.
I think it's looking at the masses of right now.
There's so many storylines and there's so many matchups right now that I'm having a hard time to predict.
I think if I had to pick one that I think is going to be interesting.
I want to be seeing Falcons against Tyloo.
Actually, I think that's the one that's going to stand out a little bit to me,
because I still think that Falcons has so much more to prove,
and they once again have to show it that they can make playoffs.
I'm all born and I think Tyler we know they played they played decent they have played decent the tournament
And I'm still wanting to see more of them. So I think that's gonna be an interesting matchup
I like the liquid Mongols game for sure
I feel like the new look liquid just seems to be gelling a little bit better or at least they're in the honeymoon period and
Everybody can appreciate a good honeymoon. So I'm sure mobs is gonna try to do his best to try to at least
Get an upset win, you know actually actually take down a team that people coming into the tournament
they had the old lineup said no no shot in a biased hey he's allowed to have it
I'm gonna give it to him. There's barely Northpawk.
Every family prediction now he gets right he's allowed to raise that NA flag you
know that's how it goes yeah but the last two days have been a little bit of a
taster as to what's gonna happen because we've been slowly eliminating teams
there's only six slots all of our matches tomorrow are eliminations
everything on the line for those eight teams playing so we'll see you same
time as normal a midday start for day number five of Blast Open Rotodam.