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we went offline. All of the
favorites managed to lose in
spectacular fashion. James
spectacular games. Spectacular
fashion. Well, you know that the
hot to game a legion. I can go
with that right that can make
some sense to me as to why game
Legion would be able to lose. You
know, it's a closer matchup when
you put it on paper and all of
that. And we saw this life.
There was some flammas
frustrations coming out and I
against people from his region that he's regularly playing against that he would expect. I should
be beating these fools. And I mean, Flemish also had a really solid game. So when you're
when you're not always performing at your top level, but you managed to pull off some
incredible gameplay, but your team can't put it across the line. It's the classic face
it. I got four kills. Why can't you guys get one? You know, it's I can understand the frustration
coming out of him, but I think you're right. I think this is a slightly closer game than
expected and I mean if you look at Houtous like their their performance is so far this season they
have a win against Astralis they have a win against Heroic they've played a bunch of matches so it's
not as incredible of an upset as I think the second match was. Yeah and to be fair right and it's the
first showing for this new game Malaysian team and I love that we've just got full reactions from
Flanders I feel for you man it'll get better you've been in worse situations before but uh for the
other side of things. I did hype up the 100 fees Falcons games as like a lot of legendary legacy
you know all these major winners even the coach major winners everyone in there like it was action
packed and I'll say this if anyone just thinks oh it was an online game we shouldn't overreact to it
I do agree but it's the fact that it was a nine three half for Falcons and it looked like they just
had the game one even if it did go across three maps it's the it's the not being able to close it out
after being nine three down, which is a little bit of a worry,
despite it being just an online game.
James, it's the everything.
OK, it's the fact that everything that happened in this year,
you have a hundred thieves.
Initially, they get destroyed on their own map pick.
They go on a map to their CT sides are a little bit suspect
and in both the second and third map.
But then you have Gizmy calling circles around Falcons on the T sides.
They have a 10 to T side on a new bus, as you mentioned.
that incredibly strong T side on dust you and I'd seen some Monty. You know, it's not like I haven't seen gizmy before, but watching this game back afterwards. His calling was incredible and rain. I mean, look, we're saying it's it's a legacy match. You have all these legendary players.
because nobody's expecting rain to be the standout player on a server with monosy and
Kiosk a on the other side, you know, but he absolutely was Poi was popping off. Everyone
showed up for a hundred thieves. And the most surprising part, I mean, I mentioned a Houti
that they played and beat Astralis. They played and beat hero. So you see them coming in.
You're expecting good things. The most recent match for a hundred thieves, they lost to
NIP, you know, you're not expecting them to come out and beat Falcons right after that.
Hey, they were like where was the lowest point we could be at now?
We're gonna roll on into it and now we're gonna eliminate the Falcons, but again, right? These things can happen
We're not gonna overreact to it too much because I do think like it's it's an online game
Right these things can happen with it, but it is a really important win for 100 fees
We're seeing the eliminated teams over now, right? And it's mainly bounty hunters part of the two that we just spoke about
about. Um, nuclear tiger reyes,
are all out of it. And we've
got four more games today as
well as we saw on the screen,
just a little bit ago. Mate,
today's schedule is going to be
another interesting one. I would
say there is potential for upsets
in this one as well. And the one
I'm looking at here right is an
example of pain who have been
performing pretty badly and maybe
just on the other side of war.
focus out of this one considering Aurora gone for a lot of changes. Yeah, I think this
is one of the more winnable upsets, especially given the gap in terms of ranking between
these teams because Aurora have gone international, right? This is a big change for Aurora and
focus is a team they've made a couple of changes, but I think they're moving less international.
You know, they're moving towards the Nordics. They've got a couple of Swedes together now.
It's the type of matchup where you can expect an upset to happen, even though on paper,
pretty clear which team is supposed to be better. Yeah, the name value is certainly there, but
I got to talk to both ZTR and Kix and so let's just roll out these interviews.
ZTR, you've had your time extended to being on focus. What is it that makes focus the
right team for you at the moment? What are you enjoying about the place you get to work with
your coach, etc? I would say like the thing that stayed for me from the last sources,
I really enjoy working with Kuban a lot.
I think he's helping me improve in different aspects and give me a different view of how to play the game.
And also of course my teammates, I really enjoyed playing with them.
And now with two new players coming in, I believe we've had a slight upgrade in some departments at least.
Of course I'm going to miss the other guys, but yeah, now I'm really excited to play with my fellow Swede Jakob
Jacob and also finish Goat Pudi.
Well, you said that you think that it's going to be some upgrades for you.
So I was worried that losing Djorko was kind of be hurting you guys.
You don't think that right now you're enjoying what you're seeing in practice?
Yeah, definitely.
I'm doing what I'm seeing right now.
I wouldn't say like it's an it was an obvious upgrade from the start.
Have to give your some credit.
He did perform.
He did perform during his time with us and yeah, I'm curious to see how it will go for him on Liquid
Kicks in a Aurora shirt. So let me just ask you mate. How's your Turkish coming along?
It's doing not the best but I'm learning I've been here for a few days and I know a few sentences already
So in a month it will be much better
But really, right, you've come into a very interesting project, switching to international,
there's a lot of change, not just you coming in.
What was it like when you first met the guys, got into bootcamp and started talking with
everyone?
It was good.
I was actually surprised in a positive way because everyone's English was pretty good
and everyone is so nice, everyone is willing to work, everyone is willing to improve.
So that's the most important thing for me and I'm excited about this team, it's just the start, but I'm really excited.
That is great to hear. And obviously yesterday you got some important wins, but I want to understand how is it working right now between the way Aurora used to play and what the Turkish guys will be used to?
How you like to call and what Ash sees as a vision because obviously you've had a short amount of time, so how are you doing it? How does it work?
So, I mean, I would say that some things changed in this team compared to their last line-up.
So, we do something different, like the way we work, the way we play, the way we prepare for games.
I will not go too much into details, but let's say that I'm responsible for the T-Sites,
and on the CT-Sites we obviously have Ash who is bringing a lot of ideas,
Xantares who is really vocal and he has a good idea of how to play the game,
And then we also have other players who are really, let's say, vocal and they give a lot of ideas.
So CitySide is a bit mixed right now because we haven't had so much time and we're just trying to
maybe adapt or come up with some things on the fly because of the lack of practice.
But yeah, in the future it will be better for sure.
Okay, I like that though, but you jumped right in deciding to make this change early on, right?
Not trying to sit back with some of the old stuff.
And for you, how did you feel coming into your first officials, you know, with a bit of time out?
It was good. I missed competing, so yesterday was a good day.
I'm happy to be back to playing, and yeah, I'm excited, as I said.
I would be excited too, right, Bru? Look at the players he's got to work with right now,
also a coach like Ash, what we were just hearing there around him controlling the T sides,
more input from Ash and other players on the CT side. This is a very different structure to
anything the Turkish players of the Royal will be used to. It seems like quite a big change,
but if everyone's chiming in and buying into it early on, that's good for building this chemistry
up. Yeah, I think this is going to take a little time for them to reach their peak level. As many
people have said before, I think this opens them up for a lot of potential in the future.
It'll there's some growing pains. You can still see when you know, you see Jim fat on the same bombsite as a wakadia
Sometimes they're not on the same page with the way they're playing, but I love that you've paired now kicks in with Ash
We don't have them on the on the graphic here, but kick kicks in an ash
I think it's a really interesting combination
I think kicks in performs best as an IGL when he has this type of coach that's more hands-on than you see some other coaches working
I think this is the exact right kind of set up of changes to push this team to a much higher level in the future
But at the moment I I mean they have a couple of wins already
But I still think it's gonna take them a little bit of time and the thing is what I'm really liking here
Okay, they ended up losing manager a soul fly fabric coming out of the team right it's
Going away with the old Turkish guard
It's bringing in a whole new mentality and someone like that might actually be a positive for the players like Zontara's and walks
who have been through that for so long, you know, like give them a bit of a refresh on a different
way to look at the game and approach it themselves. Yeah. And I mean, they were playing such a static
style for so long on this team on Aurora Eternal Fire. It was so many four ones, so much grouped
up gameplay and watching their first couple of games. They still do a decent amount of that,
but they've added in a lot more kind of set piece, a lot more little prodding throughout the map. And
And you can see when you allow that to happen,
you see the performances from a Wackadia, from a Wauksic,
from a Xantharys, these top level players,
now they're allowed to make decisions on their own.
They're allowed to have a little bit more
of their own build of the game pushed forward the round.
And you don't see that when you're going for one,
you're just Xantharys running, hit them in the head,
which is great, and he's gonna do it, right?
But I wanna see if Xantharys and the rest of these players
can actually show another level of their gameplay
and actually accelerate their ability
or just push their team to a new level.
And looking at the fact that they are going international,
right?
So Waukesic's done it a bit, but for example,
Zontaris did it, but I'll give the caveat with Zontaris
is that he did it on big.
At one point they had him learning German
and then they scrapped that, then he did through English.
But I mean, it wasn't solid like full international
for him in the sense of what he's in right now.
So there's a lot they're gonna need to go through with it.
He did have, look at this, this is good information.
four trophies, one with it, all online. I'll give him that. But I mean, he's not an online.
I'm not worried about that kind of thing. I think it might take him a bit of time to
get used to it and the switch of language for sure. But this opens up at least him to
be back at his best with people that will actually guide him in maybe a different way
rather than just putting it all on him, right? Getting more out of the other pieces they
have there.
Yeah. I would say that big clan roster wasn't an international team, but it was more, it
was the definite culture shock with the way they play CS, the way they practice CS. That
might be maybe why he was like, Oh, is that what it's like in an international roster?
No, thanks. We're sticking Turkish forever. You know, but on the other hand, you've got
a Wauksic who was on the, the actually international, the, the, the weird jank. Like if you look
at the roster name, they got Chris J frozen Ross. That, that was an insane team when he
was on the mouse team. He was on the cloud nine colossus, but I almost highlight this
just to say that these players have a tiny bit of international experience, but almost
none. You know, it's been so long. It was a completely different game back even in 2021
on big clan in 2020 with cloud nine. It was a different game being played. And I think
you could sequence rounds a little bit more. And it wasn't quite what you're expecting
to see now. So as much as they have a little bit of experience, I almost don't really count
that at this point. And just to quickly touch on why Katie, the
final member of that. He has not played on international roster, but he is a face of
grinder and his English is pretty good. It's improved so much over the time about doing
interviews and stuff with him as well. That he's the one. I'm actually less worried about
it. It might take a few months or weeks, you know, for him to get fully understanding
of hearing the voices of his teammates. But I mean, I don't think we're going to see such
a drop off from him.
Part of it is that it's not necessarily just about the language factor. It's about the
understanding of the game. You know, you see this with international or national
squads all over the place. You saw it with Mongols recently. They all played a
similar style. They came up in a system with different, you know, with players of
the same nationality where they all kind of see the game in a similar way. You saw
that with Astralis back in the day. You see that with many different scenes.
The scenes they often have players that look at the game in a similar way. And so
even without communication, they see a situation and they both know how to play
that out in a specific way, right? And then you go international. Does Jim fat see a situation?
Does he see a 3D one the same way that what Katie has sees a 3D one? Do they play it completely
differently? Do they then need to communicate to each other? I'm going to go for this. You're
going to go for that. That's where it becomes a little more problematic, more so than the
actual language barrier, because I think we all talk in CS, in CS terms at least.
Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Well, let's turn our attention and focus on focus themselves because focus has been an interesting project
Right a very new project coming up
They take Cuban who has he has has known impact for so many players
And I don't just do more about like the golden Polish five right but younger players coming up helped raise jail up
Everyone speaks positively around him of what he's been able to do and once again
He's got a young roster to try and work with I was very worried when they lost
lost to your code because he was by far the top performer. Volt has also gone from the
lineup, but now they've got potty and Joe cap and okay, at least on paper potty had
some highs from times before. If he can reach that, maybe it'll be kind of a lateral move.
Maybe it'll be just the kind of feel the same gap.
I mean, you're talking about a new team, a team so new they don't even have a, a liquid
P. A page talking about potty, talking about potty. He's actually someone that I've looked
forward to him being on a better team for a while now because he's been kind of he was
on the Sprout situation, then he was ENCE Academy, then ENCE forever. And he's not someone
that jumps off the page. He's not going to necessarily have too many hard carry monosie
style games, but he to me, he's an extremely solid opera. He can go for openings, especially
on the CT side. He's really effective going for opening plays. He's not going to make
a whole lot of mistakes. He's a very solid backbone style opera. He's going to hit the
shots that you know that he needs to be hitting. I've honestly expected him to get a jump up to
a slightly higher level to maybe a tier 1.5 level for a while. So to see him move to a focus team,
this isn't quite what I was hoping for for a next step up, but it's certainly something
replacing Jorco. I was questioning at first, Jorco is a great player. Can they get a good
replacement? I think Pote is a great, a great show for that. Yeah. And I feel like this is something
we'll get to see in the long term for focus, which is a long term project, right? With the
the new young players coming up in, but it's almost time to get us into the match.
So let's find out what both CTR and Kixxan are thinking about this because there's a
little bit of history in here in terms of Cuban, right?
He has a lot of knowledge and history with Kixxan.
What has he said to you guys?
Does it impact the game in any way or am I maybe just overthinking it a bit?
Yeah, I mean, when we saw the game, there's like the same connection in both teams.
For our team there is Kuban and his ex Kixxam and for me it's going to be Ash which I played
in game leading with for like I think one and a close to two years.
So I think definitely, I mean we haven't really focused on it at all the bonus but I think
for sure there's going to be some inner thoughts which are going to be like maybe mind games
thinking will they anticipate this or etc.
Yeah, because you've spent so much time with each other beforehand you've got some history with cuban in there
You know each other well does that affect the matchup at all?
maybe a little bit I know him and I
Knew what was coming in the middle, and I think it happened in the end
So yeah, I think we're gonna take cash today, and I completely expected it from cuban. I
Love that already right the mind games are there
We're gonna roll out the video because kicks I was given as a small spoiler from it as well
he's thinking, okay, Roar, you've had to get a lot ready.
There's no way you're gonna be ready on cash.
We'll make sure we can throw that out there
and at least guarantee or maybe guarantee
ourselves a map in our minds.
I love to see the cash pick because, you know,
so many teams are just kind of handshake vetoing it
in the second round.
You're seeing very few teams actually try
and specialize in this map.
So when you have a team like Focus
that's trying to make a name for themselves,
trying to make this step up
and compete against top tier tier one opposition,
cash is a great place to do it.
The problem is, this is a really good map for the few players.
I think there's two players in this 10 that have played it before.
Statistically, it's Xantarize's best map ever.
And if you just think about Cash, it does play into his playstyle.
So I'm a little concerned, but I like the confidence, I like the idea.
Xantarize is a man who doesn't change as well.
I don't know if you guys can see it right now, but his mouse is still wired.
This guy doesn't change setup, doesn't change anything he's doing.
It keeps it exactly locked in the same.
So if he was doing it all way back then on Cash,
I believe he can do it again, Vue.
I'm fully locked in on the fact that if you just told me that's his best map,
that is a wild, wild four in my head, man.
That's crazy.
It just plays into the way.
Unfortunately, I think it plays into the strengths of Aurora.
It plays into the strengths, especially of that trio of Waikadia,
Woxic, Zantarez, the Wired Mouse Callout.
My Lord, who does he must be one of one in a hundred?
I think I think he might be the only top tier pro with a wild mouse and the thing is the reason I mentioned it is because I had a
Conversation around with him. He even down to his mousepad
He was saying like I have to have this certain mousepad because when they've released newer ones
It doesn't have the same feeling so he is so specific on things that he doesn't change
He doesn't change settings. He doesn't change
Resolution or anything like that. He needs to be exactly the same to feel so confident and so calm with it all
So, you know very specific player
the other hand of that is I remember Jordan nothing Gilbert was I think he used to change his mouse pad once a week because he
felt it got different once once you wore it down it didn't track the same I guess Andrew has the exact opposite
the opposite category in that regard he's just rock river hello wakadia nice to see your face there mate yep check your hair you're looking good
I appreciate that and while we're looking at wakadia looking all good we'll go to bar off on ddk two very fine gentlemen
I mean, they must have been
about 14 or so when when cash
left the pool last so you know
because let's look at the numbers
over here. We can see Aurora
are a huge favorite. Maybe
maybe who's comments about
Zantara's just being crazy on
this map have sent them to the
moon in the first place. And
they're going to have to go
back to the first place. And
they're going to have to go
back to the first place. And
they're going to have to go
back to the first place. And
the moon in that regard. We'll see if he can send his opponent to the moon in this series.
Again, there's a lot of interesting talking points that they went through on this desk.
I think Vue made some really good points about how two different teams from two different
players from two different disciplines like E-teams will maybe approach an X versus Y
situation, 3V2 or whatever it is. I think one of the problems with, say, Turkish players,
For example, you could throw, say, Russian plays in there as well, is when you're communicating in English, you might still be thinking in your own language.
Like, if you live in a different country, then you end up thinking in that language and kind of forgetting some of your own language, which is a bit weird.
But there can be delays with that as well.
But again, there's so much online CS to be played casually for these pros now that that should be a lot more seamless than before.
So we'll see how Acadia deals with it. First time on an international team. Cash will be a great way to start this series.
Yeah, it's going to be really interesting to see. I'm very excited for Zantaris. I'm very excited to also see Woxic for Aurora.
But we've had a lot of interesting bounty hunter situations. Maybe this will be another one of those to kick off today.
As you will see focus looking at that a bomb site and I mean it really feels like a raw pretty ready for this as well
It may be the inkling. Okay. No, we're actually gonna get the boost. I like to see that
Perhaps we'll end up in a splits
How many people are they sending up?
All the utils on this focus squad
to the right. Where are they?
What's it make their way towards
short bomb into bangers going to
swing with that bomb. Back for
that. I think it's a little
bit of a bit of trouble now for
focus really committed with that
moment. They might not get much
mileage from this one. Less your
captain find a multi frag, but
he will be denied. And that's a
promising start for Aurora. Yeah
that's a that's a rough one. You
lose the bomb like friends are
basically into CDs one. Not a
fun time. But yeah, it's so
cool to see cash back. I think
especially for, um, you know,
still translates and just some of the options that you have and you know just yet going through
go through to to score to like wrap around the back is a really fun thing that you can try to do.
I'm curious also like what the level of the teams will be in terms of these tactical layers of
taking positions like mid that's something that we talked a lot about in previous catch that we had.
I really do respect the fact that Zanzaro uses the same mouse with the wire rather than going
wireless because even if you see newer versions of the same mouse there's always a new sensor
in and the sensors are not exactly the same as the old sensors and it's presented as an
upgrade but is it really just give me the same sensor?
What was wrong with the last one?
Probably nothing.
The weight as well and just all sorts of stuff.
I always, I always wondered, like, does anybody want this, this new sensor?
Like, what is actually better?
What was the problem with the old one?
All right, over the top.
Yeah, it's not going to be too much luck on that one, easily cleaned up.
I want to say, if I remember correctly, I think Xantara uses like an FK one or
something, or FK two.
It uses, I believe it's Zowie mouse, I think.
It's it's really cool to see because some of these mice have an extreme history in Counter-Strike
Let's get like named after
Counter-Strike players
That's pretty cool models. Yeah, I
Give up the wire a long time ago
I used to put the power cord on
Myself, but more about that in an eco round
Focus will have the rifles out
in the third round. Again, in the few caches we have seen in the early half of the days
gone this week, we've seen some vastly different approaches on the T side. Not everybody is
as prepared as their opponent may be, so that would be quite interesting, especially the
approach to mid. Did some teams have gone for the mid to late numbers game on the T side
and white box, which is a bit muddy now.
It's a decent cleaning.
It's gonna be taken, but I think it's also
taking a scout shot as well.
So they're getting some ground, but I'm now crunching
into the B site to see exactly what this defense
is going to yield.
Looking quite nice here.
I mean, having to play all the way to the back of the site,
but so far so good there.
The vent room occupied.
I'm stuck here. I need to make a desperate push in, but look how ready Aurora is.
You're probably going to get one kill, but these kills are just not really going away
at all of our focus here. Is they trying to traverse the map?
Yeah, we saw some good intentions in that mid position there from the focus squad.
You know, again, talking about denial of information, forcing the CTs from their positions, keeping
to split a site. Should they
should they choose to do that?
Today. So, yeah, just a more
traditional round we saw there
from from focus at the beginning.
We'll see how they change things
up based on how good or bad things
go for them. But again, we are
seeing a very range from
different teams in cash earlier
in his introduction to the
32 surprising.
Reaching through the smoke.
Maybe there's a chance for a bomb plant here.
ZTR has said bomb.
Racing over now. That bonus money will be very helpful indeed.
So this is the safe plant.
If you could plant on the back wall so the CTs have to face the wall to defuse it.
It can be quite handy, but that may prove difficult in these rounds of cash, especially if you're going to have a smoke in that heaven position.
Cash is an interesting map. I feel like it does have a lot of comparisons you can make with the Mirage in the overall setup,
but also in how you can just run these set pieces onto the A and the B site.
You notice something that's in the old cash was, you know, these are strategies you could go to.
So like floor executes where everything gets molotov'd and you can do that to both the B and the A site
You just need to you know have the position outside of the you know
B or a which is which is not a position positions that the CTs can easily take control of as well
So so it does I think add a lot of diversity in terms of the options you get on the T side
You have to play hardcore for map control, but of course you do you need to prove to the CTs you can take a minute away
There's so much lore on this map
be fun to insert as we go along so attempt number two with the AKs for
focus again seen keen to challenge in that mid position again both give them
options to split the bomb site the CTs may have to gamble a third man unless
they go for a late presence in mid later on you can see Woksek in a very
forward position on B. Got to decide which angle is going to be the right one
I'm not sure if you can get
back to the main control. So
they've given up mid, but they've
gone something back, which is
that forward B control. So really
nice because right now I mean
is for focus. I don't know if
they know precisely which
direction they're going in. That
said, they do have a lean towards
B into Wauksick. So his push
here is absolutely perfect.
So I'm going to go ahead and
go ahead and go ahead and go
push here is absolutely perfect as their first kill. He's gonna know there's
another player that's focused in the delay things here. Small gap on the left
side for him to play with. But what do you do now if you're focused? It looks like
Matthew doesn't take down Jim Fatt who actually picks up another one in focus.
They're stuck here. The bomb is towards the B side of the map. They have to go B
now. There's no time because Antares will go down. They're going to get the bomb and just
plant it. The AK of Wukadia really well done there and now focus really
without any options. No time if they are just trying to see for the least maybe
can get some extra damage. that could be something, some kind of a win here, but
Aurora, she's really showing their experience on cash like feel like James.
It gets worse.
Once in the arm and even in this round, really fun to watch from the CT perspective. And
when the when the box, it puts that smoke up. It's like, do you want to pursue this?
Do you want to try and trade this? Because he's, I don't know, man, it gets woxic.
I don't know if it was the case
off of off of spawn. They're
thinking, okay, we're going to
go with control into into big,
you know, if they know what
is going to happen. But these are
some early warnings that focus
on. We're not a lot of trouble
versus roar. It feels like.
Massive comfort. Great
advantage already in this first
map of this series. Yes, again,
it's seeing a lot of these small
cash details where you know
should walk sticking around
like this. I don't know if it
was the case off off of spawn
you can get really stymied is
if you have a forward play from
the CTs towards the main like
that. So, you know, maybe that's
like a small cash detail that
maybe focus needs to look at
and be like, okay, and that kind
of around. We need to be
ensuring that we at least have
info of what the CTs are doing
on that side. But you know, we're
back into a bit of a hodge
hodge by situation. Okay, almost
flies and Taurus actually, but
you know, we're going to be
I'm not sure what's going on.
I'm not sure what's going on.
All those flights and Taurus
actually does a close a closer
encounter, but it doesn't get
the kill. Focus locked out of
mid for the time being. I feel
like they should probably
scared about this seems to
aggression that we've seen so
far. The mid takes we've seen
from focus, maybe trying to set
the pace of these rounds. As
we saw in that run prior, if
Aurora lose grip on that timing and find out some of the mercy of their opponent
Kick-san setting up for a pot flash play this could be very fruitful indeed
So you far has basically told them that he's pretty close
The timing will go in favor of
Focus now they've got a chance to get that bomb launch and rifles to collect as well
This could be quite a promising run for them
We've all got Kevlar as well
Leaving money in the hole for the most parts.
Now they've got an unlikely round on their hands.
Yeah, the old B retake on cash, not an easy one for the CTs.
Two major choke points and a lot of guns pointed at them.
Some Util here at least. Actually quite a decent amount of Util.
Okay, locking off main with a smoke.
Okay, good molotovs, forcing.
that's what we're talking about.
We're talking about a lot of
sports in body position on the
site. Still that seat. Smoke is
off. It's very painful. Finally
get down. This is the moment to
move into Horace. Let's get
traded out, though, but doesn't
make life slightly easier. That
smoke is still up there to be
made to enforce some of the
teas. Back. Actually, this
timer has done the job here. It
seems just too long for Aurora
Yeah, that looking like a dicey one. They had two smokes. They could have smoked off checkers as well, which you can do on the way up to heaven.
That's what they chose to do.
It's a hell of a firefight though, but you can see the timing was very tight between both squads, both trying to send it through that choke point.
So Aurora will feel like it's the right play with some slightly unfortunate timing.
at timing they've got the money to weather the storm. More work for focus to do before they can
break that CT economy but who knows what comes afterwards. Woxic with a very good start and again
you see so many with a good spawn you see so many aggressive plays towards BWB and Woxic's
definitely the right man for the job. Oh yeah. Smoked the choke point not himself and there was no
where to go. This is a really good advantage now. Minute 30 on the clock more or less for focus and
to be able to do that. I'm
going to be able to do that
in a four on three. Yeah,
Rora have to respect it as
well. We got to rotate players
across to the B side of the
map and that just leaves San
Tarras on a and it would be
very interesting if focused
aside to go all the way over
to a. Because Santa Tarras, you
know, we've talked a lot about
him. You can definitely do a
lot from this position. He
might get a good engagement. I
a couple of players. How much
value can you really get?
Doesn't have any teammates who
are anywhere near him. It really
is all on Santaris, but we're
Katie is racing over towards
that car position because they
are. Leading with utility now
focused and lining up for
Santaris. You'll do some damage.
See how much okay they want to
commit to this one. I can see
the back of the CR as well.
Unable to find that frag. He'll
as well. Cajun hiding in plain sight now has got a lot to do.
1v4 made 3.
Threatening to hold the diffuse.
Will they commit?
Giocav's got a good angle from mid,
and that will be another wipeout of that Aurora economy.
I'll just remind you, James, on how difficult,
how precarious.
How much of a knife's edge do these situations
are on when you're dealing with those B openings?
You're trying to hit the timing off the spawn.
we saw that's what Waukes-Ick was doing with the AWP.
Really important to try to get that line first,
as opposed to allowing the T's to get it,
and it's kind of that race, that battle,
then you're in the checkers position,
you're gonna get mollied,
and so that exchange of utility,
it can be very challenging,
because if you do die,
you are going to give up so much away
in advantage to the T side.
So I wonder if focus are gonna keep targeting that area,
because if they feel like Aurora playing that
somewhat inefficiently,
giving them too many openings, of course you want to go and take it.
Nice angle there for boxing.
I think you learned something from that scenario.
The smoke going a little too forward.
There was some potential to survive there, but on this occasion there was lots.
That's one of the great things about cash even with smoke,
so there's a few places like under the boost here.
If you get a molly in the right place then you can spray the CTs falling back.
Do a big punish, the aggression continues then, Santarra is in fixation, hunting, even more than them, Woxix here again, instant trade for his teammate.
They don't want to give focus to space to create a round it seems.
Again, normally like if the whole of B is taken away, and you don't have the threat of going there, which allows the CTs to stack elsewhere.
But they're losing players here Aurora.
40's time for the AWP to drop the Infant, and Wakalia quickly in some trouble here.
He's in a 1v3 situation on the A bomb site.
Kicksand's coming over to help as best he can.
Wakalia's trying to survive around this smoke, but he's unable to do that.
Kicksand's found two though.
I'm getting planted.
Did he know what second player is? ZTR coming up from short.
Will neutralise the threat leaving Woxic in a 1 vs 2.
Quickly down to the 1v1 then.
Did he see Mateos make his way towards A?
building, so it's not the bursting in the box, you know, Aurora, you know, quite lights on the
one they purchased here, and it's falling around. They're going to be able to solid buy
after the E.K. So, yeah, we're going to get some deeks and so on and so forth, try to close some
problems, but Focus doing a great job coming back into this and bursting out into the mid,
looking for a fast B-split, D-door close, and, well, the kickstand's helped. Banjo will go down,
but looks like otherwise the ground has been gained that B site is surely soon to be lost
What an interesting scenario we have in our hands here
Aurora felt like they were just abusing their past experience on cash
Taking the fight to focus not giving them a room to set up more traditional rounds
But still focus has found a way to survive those tests those aggressions through B from the CTs
I think it's going to be frustrating for Aurora. You feel like they maybe should have got the better of some small edges in those rounds and shouldn't be in this situation, but they are.
Oh, it's a gun for Zantar as an AK.
I'm gonna get another kill here. There we go.
Rekardia. Does he die?
I mean, if you can get bodies, well, I mean,
this is a chance for another one.
OK, it's gonna get taken out, but it is very reminiscent,
I think, James, of how difficult the city
I kind of can be on the catch sometimes because again like you you want to challenge certain positions and getting taken out
You know, it's it's really tough because it's
What's the seat that he said have that advantage there's some ways they can kind of leverage the advantage and
You really struggle for information. I think on this map
You kind of have to be proactive on the CT side to solve solve that problem once you lose that info
What's it still continuing over towards be with you?
to be a little less aggressive
and previous rounds as it seems
to be high variance for Aurora
at presence. Very quick take
of a name. From focus and that's
going to be really important.
Again, we've seen people try to
use another over there, but
aggression does continue.
Zantara is charging over the
boost. Seen a lot of one for one
situations or worse for Aurora
with these early aggression
for Aurora with these early
aggressions in recent rounds.
Now they find themselves in a
three on four with more trading.
Not willing to play a reactive
game versus focus in this first
half.
Tricky situation.
The set needs come in onto a.
And this becomes quite desperate
to see what's possible for
he's actually deciding to go a
little bit further back here,
playing more passively. Can't
really blame him too much here,
but. This walk through the smoke
from a thousand. This is going to
be painful. I mean, if he
realizes that he actually has
players behind him, I don't know
if he has any idea, but he might
get the drop on somebody. There
we go. Finally, taking it down
with cardiac. So one more player
to go, which in fact with
everything to do by a forklift
almost a good last second player,
but your cap will take him down,
will take him down, leaving it all on Woxic, one versus two. Definitely doable as he swaps out for the M4.
Not gonna happen. I'm not sure if Yinfat ran out of ammo or stopped firing there,
it looks a bit a little weird. Maybe he was on an empty magazine, but yes, it's...
Well, you know, some fast adjustments required for focus because Aurora throws pressure at them constantly.
to the right. Nice 180. They're
from Banjo to stop. Santar is
charging forwards. So again,
maximum pressure and all these
rounds here from Aurora. But how
about this one? You'll have some
primary weapons for the most
part, but. Utility is limited.
What signal fishing run at mid
time. That's focus. I've got some
positions to send it in towards a.
Okay, well, there's the information.
The cardiac front of the feather, the
Famas shot here onto walks here again.
Again, these entries into the site
looking really nice here from focus.
Can see that they are shooting sharp
today.
Nice catch from Jimmy. We'll see
if there's anything else to build on
anything else to build on that. So it'll be very difficult. I don't think we've got any kits
available here. So it's probably more case of damage than anything else for Aurora.
Yeah, kickstand doesn't have too much to lose. Deagle and a scout, it won't be too concerned.
You can spot it now. Wide swing from the tail, so that'll be enough.
Sometimes the info has to look, but really, I feel like they should be saving these AKs.
Yeah, I think that's quite unfortunate towards the end without a care
I'm not sure if there was one on the site or something to tempt them in but ended up losing
Some rifles that could have been important for them in the next round
Six in a row this is six in a row for fuck it. So I'm gonna crush it right now
Yeah, I'm in Aurora POV
They probably feel like they should be smashing this half
to focus for surviving those tests adjusted well aggression after aggression early on from Aurora just proving too costly.
Not wanting to play passive on cash.
This time it's going to be towards a main from Aurora.
I love how rapid they are from round to round.
Will not be deterred, will not be conditioned.
We're currently finding two in a main much rarer aggression ready for that door to be opened,
making things even more awkward for focus as we approach halftime.
Yeah, finally, big advantage, early found by Aurora. Recovery will be difficult, but again,
cash is a map where you can definitely find openings, and we can see one of these openings
have been given by Aurora here in middle. We're in a 5v3 you don't necessarily need to try to
spread your defense super thin and to have that mid control. The focus, go for the re-hit onto the
A site. Timing is everything around these smokes. Some pressure there as well.
Made with the molotov. Taking a small position away. Wox is looking the other way. Is there a
timing in main main? No. The smoke is still up. Banjo though is going to take that Wokadia.
Yo, guys, does find a walk six, so maybe a chance to get into the side, but Zantaris from Kars says no, AWP, definitely like an AWP in these ranges, but Zantaris is gone.
They don't have to be challenging this angle anymore. Banjo needing to cross, looking for an opportunity to plant. No idea what is safe, though.
the last round of three versus one and the ordnance will do the jobs of important rounds
towards the end but a great fight back from focus in the first half to connect and so
so far they have.
Little peek on short gets Magisk a double miss shot.
Zairu only leaves the door open.
What is that?
Quadruple, Deagle, out of jabby.
He's going to be able to stop them before they even set up the grenades.
That's devastating.
Fallen gets one to return, but there's no way you could bring him to this bomb site.
Cello gets a kill and at the back side there, missed opportunity fallen.
That's a shot you have to hit.
He's going to get it eventually.
The fact that they're even here with the bomb plant is kind of sick.
Oh, what?
Why?
Take down Cadian!
What on earth is going on?
Just jumping the corner.
We need to not have the recline.
Why is this falling?
You must be kidding me!
How are you in that round?
We're shuffling the molly around.
If that actually unseats one of these tees, this is very possible.
Let's see where it goes.
Okay, this should be a kill for Monacy.
He's gonna hit the shot.
There it is.
All right, just hobbit now.
1v2, he's got a great angle.
What crosshair disruption?
Monacy just soaring across his screen.
He's almost getting himself killed no matter what, yeah, and this is so hard to deal with on the other side.
And even how that ends the shot, yeah, a Hobbit not happy with that one.
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment has finally come.
The grand final of Blast Pro Series Miami.
Right in there, he misses the first shot in midair.
Niko though, a single tap of the USP, a second, oh my god, it's over, Niko again!
It looks like Faze had a solid read on this as Niko closes it out, he gets the kill he wanted
And it gets so calm that
Retake colds here and next to take down device in the biggest
Down immediately colds here are cleaning it up three kills just like that. Apparently going into phases coffers. Oh double smokes
Yeah, you don't want to do that although they're coming right through and they're gonna shut down
Oh my lord. He's just stuck down for people in absolutely no time flat. It's Daps alone on the other side
What an absolutely absurd performance here. Now sneaking through on the other side.
He's waiting for it. Timing is everything.
It can't be real. Didn't see anybody landing the triple right to the smoke.
I've never seen anything like it.
And now, at least they're going to get the bomb plant, but FaZe are being robbed once again.
Nef, he's still in play in this round on the other side of the screen and he wants more.
Nef, have you no mercy? He's going to pick up an ace in the round.
Their aggressive setups with their rifles are totally fine.
Elysian's always delivering.
There is a shot that just runs right into him.
Oh my god, no way that just happened.
Kozira, eat your heart out.
Oh, he's got a third.
Nitro slamming down the gauntlet.
And he's dead.
15 seconds to plant a bomb and that might be the saving grace of Cloud9.
If he's pushing all over the map, there's 10s with a D.G.G.L. once again.
He needs to stay alive. He's got to buy time for his team.
Stu is cutting off the rotation. There's another one from 10s.
Can he get the last one?
It's time he's won the run of all these D.G.G.L. shots.
And that's a much needed last round for Cloud9.
I'm back.
Maybe you should have brought it back, James,
because you were just talking in the highlight clip.
Yeah.
Could you like bring it back for yourself?
Yeah, that would be interesting.
Pretty much that, pretty nice level.
Yeah. Well, this is this is
turned out to be more fun game
of cash than I thought we're in
store for because it was a 5 0
start from Aurora, but it all
stepped away. But perhaps on the
T side, their fortunes will
change looking to bear down on
this a bomb sites and see what
they can find. The numbers are
shifting as well. Yeah, things
that have developed quickly for
both these squads and it's plenty
of fights as we move into the
second half of tide score. If
you're joining us late, we saw
you're joining us late we saw some classic straps come out from a more
experienced Aurora but perhaps too aggressive well I mean their entire
half was aggression let's take it to fight to these tees but sometimes they
lost to many players we saw some great plays watching over towards me with the AWP
but thank perhaps now it is the turn of focus first comes the pistol Santora
taking some freight of damage but delivering as he always does. A lot of problems now for this CT side
Banjo. The only one playing a tune as everybody else is dead. One versus four with the USP. He's
got the range if they give him the opportunities. Another one V1 with Zantares will offer him the
the odd repeat. They were entertaining, some pre-fire, and then there were three. No kits
for Banjo. Two at least, got some bonus money, but that's an important pistol for Aurora,
who will feel like they probably should have nine or ten rounds at halftime here.
Yeah, I think so, and I mean, you know, this map, again, like, it's so interesting thinking
about the history of this map. It started out, I think, when it first was being played
didn't go as as more of a CT side map and then it became more T sided over time as the
T started to understand how to use the utility. And so I kind of wonder where are we in terms
of that lifespan of cash now that being reintroduced. Obviously, there are some differences in CS
2 with how some of the utility works, but the map ultimately is very, very, I mean, pretty
much just exactly the same. So you'd expect that some teams would be a bit more advanced
than others. However, for Aurora, I think especially with the kind of players they have,
I absolutely love their chances as a more T side of team based on how aggressive some of these players can be with the likes of the mechanics we see Alexander Zantaris.
I want to see some fast plays out in mid from the T side.
More about that later.
So you've got a force by here from focus.
You could see that a few thousand yard stairs after losing that pistol round from the focus squad
Utility is in tow
for the CT side
Pistols SMGs
They'll have a clear idea as to where they want to take fights if they come their way three towards B
For the CTs just having a look in mid don't really have the range to contest
Presence of Aurora
Look to be splitting the B bombsite it seems.
Shove in and push onto that B site B.
Deus able to take down Zhantara's but the space has been lost and...
How much you can do, Blanc?
Are we going to see the good Blancs?
Stick that back.
Okay yeah, so the bombs being planted in the back so for the noobs on cash
that is the default plant. So if the CTs come to defuse the bomb, they have to do it. Facing the wall, that's default on cash.
Historical default. Who knows? Maybe it changes. Of course, the safe one will be hiding from that heaven position, but you sort of pop the smoke up there.
So we've got the vintage plays out. The vintage question. Yes. Why is everything so dirty on a new cash? Why is everything riddled with dirt?
because it's just been exposed.
Well, this is Rust,
which, you know, isn't dirt per se,
but it's just been abandoned.
So there's some algae on there.
It's just out there in the sun.
And now it's wrecked.
Terrest win.
No factor 50 for that car.
There's papers all over the place.
Have you seen the main?
Have you seen the state of the main?
Crikey.
Get the cleaners in.
I'm not doing great work from that rate, so the force fight has not proved successful
for the CTs. Some frustrations, but it'll be interesting how Cache develops from now
now to six months from now.
Yeah.
Got the lessons to learn.
Should be easy info to absorb though.
Just these plays coming through.
Back in the days of RPK, he was known
for going through mid on cash and bouncing off the top
of the shutter or whatever it is, to avoid getting headshot,
pop up and down, and then get to work.
I think it might be a bit higher now on the new patch.
That's one thing I haven't tested, actually.
Okay, we'll just start a pistol test,
so this split's gonna be, I think we're sounding
these examples, trying to see how hard it is
to stand on the site.
But I do wonder what teams have been looking at the demos
for when cash was lost in professional play,
Because, you know, the level of the game back then was very good still, you know, in terms of the tactics on this map, the strategies was very well developed because it was such a heavily played map.
So I would absolutely imagine there's a lot to learn.
Oh, the run boost, he's won his fail yesterday, and it fails again today! Come on, guys!
Oh, it was 0 for 2 on run boost into heaven so far, and the matches we've caused them anyway.
They're inviting them to diamond. I know it's here, but they also don't have much to lose.
Trying to make it a little bit better for them in future with some frags, but you know, they didn't have much to work with.
It's not a real game begins and you wonder if it's going to be a short half.
Yeah, you do wonder. You do wonder.
It's been pretty swinging, right? Because Aurora got five in a row, lost six in a row.
And now I guess Aurora has won four in a row.
So it's very swinging, I suppose.
I feel like their POV might be, oh, hold on.
Pooley's got a really good spawn here.
Now, does he go for a checkers push?
Because sometimes your pins will hold his position.
But sometimes they'll just go forward, scoping,
and just try and take the whole area.
It's going to fall off if they get the next one.
But look how fast kick-sat is into that misposition as well.
Very fast developing rounds.
We'll get the opening one with the FAMAS reverse boosted
the CTs, but you in fact, what he was expecting it,
was gonna say ready for it, but apparently,
Mateos was more ready.
Yeah, but they have that mid control, Aurora, so
they can kind of go anywhere off of this.
They do have players positioned more for the A split,
and they did get a pick towards mid, so,
for the CTs, you can see that they don't have info,
they're just kind of walking around CT spawn,
they have a car now, they're starting to re-clear A.
See, it's going onto A main.
Body taking down Kixxan. Definitely a nice one to find.
Indicative that Aurora looking to go towards B.
Now coming back out into mid Xantharis, trying to finish off a player at Loxic though.
He's the one to do that.
And 50 seconds to play this out and now it's just down to Akkadia.
As he goes back towards B and needs to get the bomb. There's just too many problems.
40 seconds, 1 vs 3. But you know the double peek is coming.
just too much against him in that situation.
He pulls out the drink.
Yeah, and it'll be a little longer than Aurora will be planning, but I don't know.
It's an interesting one.
The score's going to be pretty close now.
And the focus survives a lot of tests in that first half.
They're doing that.
They're going to be ready for this test.
I think they would be unhappy.
Let's see, there is definitely a fighter.
There will be a timeout for Aurora.
Discussed the way forward again.
I feel like it's got to be quite frustrating.
With those aggressive plays we saw in that first half, a lot towards B, proving very costly.
Now back and forth in the second half, maybe not what they were expecting it to be.
The pick of focus, Cash.
The younger players, undeterred by the older players from Aurora.
Okay, hit A main.
Putty ready for that though.
Always got a chance he may be.
Oh the second flat.
Oh he's catching it.
He's still close.
Baffleslap with no miss.
Yo-Cab is able to recover the situation.
Alcon Santarosa now putting pressure on for the path for Yo-Cab.
He's gone into A main.
He's found Woxic there as well.
the ball. And he's got the
ball. Brilliant stuff every
yo cap in cusp of chaos. The
assistance. You fact, though,
able to take his control up
that short position into the
site. Which way is he gone?
Banjo. Not sure exactly
precisely the location. That
bomb does need to be collected
all the way over to a main.
This gives Banjo an opportunity.
He might just catch him on the
just a millisecond or two looking at the side of the car not spotting that last
player but just as he looks again towards a main he was still exposed to that gap
between the wall and the car I think that was all the information that was
required towards the end there. Forted second frag here from Yoka.
He seemed really really like his box plays here in mid from the T side.
at the back of the
advantage. Just had superior
timing towards the end there.
Yeah, again, so so many
marginal situations are not
coming out on the right side
of. plenty of play left in
this game, though. Life on the
grenade this time. What sick of
keep that pressure up on focus.
Yeah, so we're playing from your car there.
I feel like that was a really pivotal performance.
Now he's playing.
Pop is there.
And Joe is popping some heads over towards the B main position.
There's the support of the cardio.
Any trade to be done perhaps?
Oh, my goodness.
You're fat through the smoke.
If you gifted that one, three versus three.
DTR walks into the site.
Takes position on the headshot there.
And this is a very, very nice movement.
And these two players, these two players very weak here now for focus after that.
And there goes Jimmy as well. He's going to go down.
What on earth do Aurora do from here?
two HP for Wacadia with the AK-47 potentially positioned unknown.
Oh, they're still looking for it, making no assumptions.
ZTR, a big problem towards the end here, but Wacadia's found a chance.
20 seconds on the clock, hasn't spotted the player by heaven, collects the bomb,
has another look, but Puddy is ready for him with his reposition.
I think, as, uh, Wikipedia was in check, as I think you heard that third player, which is why they stopped the advance into the site, the round was probably ended faster, if they had, sort of trying to fake towards the B bomb site, it's already the A bomb site, but, uh, this one though smokes was messed up into the front of the roof, one for review later on.
again, this is the pickle focus, they are threatening to take it. I think both teams
have confidence coming into this one, probably higher for Aurora, but again, it is focus
who have control now.
Yeah, really great defense from Banjo in that previous game. We saw, you know, Yo-Kab on
A, amazing defense. Oh, hello. I saw Native at the top there on that boost position. Yeah,
Yo-Kab on A, Banjo on B, focus.
Definitely looking pretty dangerous at the moment
on this defender side.
Not too much you can do is
caught between the M4s, caught between the beans.
Kaseiro really trying to keep the pressure up
on the CT side and not allow their economy to grow
with that previous bite.
Now their backs are against the wall here on cash.
Some time to think as you, in fact, looks to find some damage.
What's he thinking about?
Headshots, probably.
But if you mean the next round, now just processing what has come, like,
Aurora have had success.
getting to the other side of mid really quickly. I think it was Zantara as we
saw firing shots up towards the air bomb sites. What else can they do? I think a
lot of these situations in both halves have been high variants for Aurora. So
perhaps they're thinking about the way to kind of lower that variance while
still taking some risk. Focus it like they have the momentum to take this one right now.
I mean, I feel like they've shown proficiency, James. They are proficient on both sides.
They did a really good job of surviving Aurora's aggression on the CT side for sure. Wow. I'm
dizzy from watching that. Very early smoke, but there's no challenge on this occasion.
Talk about doing your homework.
Ooh Aurora, looking to ship it on the A site.
There's Yo-Kat once again, taking back the sound, looking to make them run across the forklift.
Yo-Kat in the back of the site, again with the multi-kills.
Out comes the D, the molotov does its job.
Announcement to the after, up high.
It's going to get focused down.
Just Banjo left now.
The rotation of the B anchor all the way across to the A site.
It's a painfully long journey.
He's now found his way to the front door of this A bomb site.
And it's going to be very difficult.
You can just kind of jiggle for info and forklift.
You can play this in a variety of very safe ways.
for Aurora. That's what they're going to do. They're going to make it impossible for Banjo.
I saw he was lining up a Molotov, I think, but just deciding better of it.
He's the one short of money, actually. So they can muster another buy, especially if he holds
onto his rifle. It would be a lot easier for the squad. But this has been a common thing as well
on the caches we've seen so far on the T sides, just bundling into the A bombsite with the numbers,
posting up behind the smoke in A main. Definitely one of the bigger threats that
CT sides need to look out for at presence. So a different approach to the war. Again,
we spoke about the previous rounds where they're encroached into the mid area really quickly,
going for a simpler option on that occasion and just abusing the t-side numbers and it will also focus his economy in a little bit more uncomfortable.
But there it is again, back to Old Faithful, really quick surge into that mid position and they will reap the rewards of that.
the game by force Aurora. That's
for sure. Five versus three to
play with plenty of time to work
it to and on the cities. Things
they got to look for information.
That's your calf there in a main.
He's trying to find out what's
going on, but it's going to be
punished by woxic. It's really
the perfect tool for the job.
the team with a 21 cash win
streak on and that's crazy.
That is crazy. Well, I'm
definitely back into a more
dominant fashion here. Just
putting banjo left. Nothing
for them to do. It's just about
survival here. It was awkward
as CTs will often try to combine somewhere.
No opportunity to kind of fight your way back into the round.
See how urgently Aurora choose to pursue these remaining players.
Their money's not spectacular either, so you go crazy hunting.
Woxic definitely does not want to lose his AWP.
So there may be a little more space here for Banjo.
But things are getting tense now as we're in the dying rounds of this first map.
Money will be stretched thin.
It's been a good fight from Focus so far.
But yeah, see, Aurora have the ability to change gears on their T side.
I think that's the most success they found with those mid surges.
So it's going to be hard for the CTs to guess what Aurora are going to throw at them next.
I think Banjo's name for some reason reminds me of Banjo Kazooie and if
they're like PlayStation game for like 20 years ago. I remember the fights why
don't think I ever played it. Yeah I never played it like that. Thanks for that
that. Yeah. It's like sparring the dragon type of you know. Rayman.
Played any of those games?
No.
It's playing Buster Move, the bubble game.
Buster Move.
My mum found Buster Move
for the PlayStation at a bus stop.
Super random.
Like the CD-ROM is just like...
Yeah, just in the case.
At a bus stop.
You sure you didn't have a virus on it or something?
It would do on the PlayStation, but it works.
That's like how people used to get viruses on your computer.
Just like leave CD-ROMs on the bus stop.
the boss. The boss stuff.
trying to the pressure that we
have seen in mid, but we're
throwing a different look at
them to towards be including
what's with the AWP spotting
one hopping into checkers. It's
checkers. That's good info for the squad. How was that information? Well, they got a good
spread actually, as I say, that Yo-Kab has creps all the way into A main. Oh, Santar is
spotted. Really nice stuff. I don't think they can trade that. You can disappear and
Even if they peeked in, like, you don't know where their AWP is.
That's an awkward scenario for Aurora.
Yeah, very awkward, especially now that, you know, they're so close.
So we're winning the map and now focus off to an advantage early in round 22.
Banjo, elevated position.
I mean, at least Aurora, they have this mids positioning to work with, the focus have given
it up.
Yeah, it's a good threat, it's going to likely be two per bombsite then, because Aurora
could try to flank through CT, someone's got to watch that, or they could watch that
from closer to one of the bombsites.
Anyway, the execute's going to come in towards B now, 20 seconds on the clock, a 4v2 situation.
Banjo's position needs to deliver a lot better here and quickly though, he's got the A4, but Klicksand's going to run in and check around where everybody is.
Mateos and Banjo down, that bomb needs to get planted quickly, ZTR looking for a play through the smoke, there's 8 seconds on the clock, he's being blocked I think.
Giocav coming in from the back, quick B2 for him, doesn't see the second one, trades immediately.
the last one to fall. Blom
planted, but the round will go
to focus to school. We will be
tied again. Yeah 1111 coming
back right of the most
important moment of the game.
What's it taking me to be
increased their levels of
caffeine? Oh my God. Look at
his knees James. He's going to
Huge fight on the site.
Really tense stuff again down to the wire.
11 apiece on cash.
Focus fighting hard.
The roar of very aggressive CT side and T side.
Completely undeterred.
right play can sometimes end up in the wrong results. I think some of those CT losses
will feel that way. And if they go their way, maybe this game's over already, but here we are.
Focus fighting hard in that first half to survive that aggression. Both teams have lots of opportunity.
Yeah, it's kind of a lost win as well for focus. I mean, the next map is going to be Nuke,
where Focus have a 25% win record with 12 maps played.
Aurora with a 55% win rate with 11 maps played.
Obviously Aurora is going to be playing better opponents on average.
So, yeah, focus.
There's new dudes though.
They need new dudes.
So there's a question mark on these numbers.
There's some unpredictability.
Yeah, you're right. You've got a fresh batch of dudes. Fresh dudes, minute 20, and now risk
becomes elevated with just a few rounds remaining. Had some greater question from Focus in that
round prior. At this time there, somewhat more passive. Very detailed presence in mid from
Aurora once again. Free towards a war focus, which is not a bad bet again. We see a lot
searching but on all right going to choose to do that yeah like that short smoke a lot
dangerous game here now for focus good open up from buddy
matthew is able to take down jim fat and okay zantaris now becomes
i think one of the key players he's managed to survive up shorts
he's able to get a kill or two here he might be able to unlock the cypher his team is alone though
And out from fork, CTR comes in and around with the headshot.
Focus!
Lucky Landon completely shut this one down.
Wow, great response from them.
Really, really good.
We've seen fast and slow rounds on this T side from Aurora.
And the slow methodical round yielded no results.
Some position, yes, but how many frags tell me?
Heavy losses in that one.
This is really compromising. It's against Game Point now with a difficult money situation.
They've got the utility to take some position. Zantares has an AK-47, which is all he needs.
But they must deliver now. It's been a tough road for focus with what Aurora have thrown
at them, but they've survived it. They've got themselves in a great position in the
the last round of regulation. With the Mach 10 and the TEC-9, is it ultimately an A-play
with the numbers again? They'll have presence in mid, it looks like. Got a lurker towards
B.
There we go again, and their focus is kind of keeping up mids, they're happy to give
up mids.
It has been working for them.
And with a, it's a really, hot hodge podge up by, life definitely doesn't feel great,
but you can see their focus.
They're opting to not play for information.
They're playing very defensively.
So they do give up space.
That's the trade-off.
And sometimes that can be a fatal trade-off.
But Matthäus able to take down with Cardio in the opening
towards his B push could be soon spelling the fate of Aurora
here on Cache.
Great U-Tour to kill time as well.
Aurora running into B at the mercy of their opponent.
Focus, full control.
They've got so many more as well.
Pits out desperately through the smoke.
But what can he do here?
Three players remain.
bomb is not in his hands either.
It's got to go for elimination, but that clock is taking way too far for him.
Drops dead to you up. Two more to go.
Ten seconds.
Is there a way to do this? There isn't really.
That's a really big win for focus.
Brexit performance, bringing it back right at the end of the second half,
when it mattered the most.
So we're going to have another situation with the bounty hunters claimer scalp.
Time to find out what the desk thinks.
Certainly a possibility after that one DDK, but it's just one map in this and this was a brawl at the beginning of each half
It looked like Aurora is comfortable. Looks like they're in charge
They have control of the game then it starts to slowly slip away you get into some of that back and forth
What an interesting matchup really what you could see some of the ideas that were being thrown out there, but in the end
You just see maybe focus were a little bit better prepared a little bit more ready for it
I think that's what you're supposed to see out of a team's map pick. You know, you have Aurora, they come into it, they've got some players with experience, they've got some players that can hit the heads really effectively.
But once plan A started to get chipped away at and you had focus, they had a solid plan B. T side, they managed to counter the B main aggression that was working for Aurora.
CT side, they initially were getting rolled over in mid, instead they just give up mid
and they managed to find chips, you know, gaps in the defense of the map control for Aurora.
So that is exactly what you expect out of a focus map pick, especially if we're thinking
that Aurora haven't been practicing too much on cash compared to what you expect focus
probably was.
Yeah, exactly.
Gearing up for this, knowing exactly this is how they wanted to do it, and maybe throw
Aurora off guard to guarantee themselves some map pick, which did work out here.
We've got to look at it right you kept talking about the b-hits that were coming in the fact that Aurora wanted to challenge and keep taking that space away from
Yeah, Aurora four to eight every single round they go for this aggression
They try and take the main control you see Woxic actually makes it work initially picking up two crazy frags within
They go for the aggression against a force by and it gets punished for I mean the timing was just a little unfortunate
Then they get the initial entry on round seven and they continue forward
They don't just take the five before and feel comfortable with it. This felt honestly quite puggy
I mean walks it gets a little unlucky with the way that smoke balloon, but it's not quite puggy
They they felt that they had one plan that they could go for and part of the idea is you know
You're gonna lose mid control you oftentimes as a T side you only have one guy on that B side
You can isolate that player four to five before I think that's quite effective
But they didn't have as I said earlier they didn't have a plan B
You know you focus were overwhelming
they were overloading that side of the map.
If you don't have another plan
where you can actually make some pressure towards A,
to have some fights in towards mid,
what we saw from Focus,
if you don't have that,
you're just not gonna find your ability to win
against a team as prepared as Focus was here.
And looking at that, right?
What we saw from these B hits,
it was a bit of stubbornness coming up from Aurora,
but would you also say maybe they were looking at just saying,
hey, we are better than you,
we will fight you here and we will take you down,
and then maybe didn't learn their lesson too early on?
Yeah, I think I think that might be that might be a little bit of it. It might just be that they're not as comfortable on the map, you know
When you look at the reasoning for them pushing in to be main
I think they're scared of this exact thing that they themselves are very effective on
We saw this yesterday actually as well
It's quite tough to defend with the the way the skybox are worth the execute you have on B now
Especially with these these new pipes you can toss flashes behind them
It's very hard to defend against that B hit so Aurora kind of worried about I think what was their strength on the map that
that be hit, but focus just did it better. We actually saw focus have their own be main
aggression, their own, their own pushes into that area that more effectively prevented that
sort of be hit that I think, you know, Aurora were scared of, but I do think you, you have
a solid, you have a solid point there that I think they were just plugging it out. They
were just saying, Hey, we're the better individual team. We're just going to push up on you.
We're going to take some aim duels, but apparently not apparently not when the team is very well
prepared in this and then it just got super close towards the end it really
was anyone's game in it despite being able to add different parts in the
series take the leads yeah I mean when you get into the later parts of the half
I think this is where focus really found their place right for some of these
rounds you're gonna notice that they're still trying to figure out exactly the
way Aurora playing this map Aurora have some reasonable executes but this felt
as we said earlier this felt very puggy for more they have a solid midtake but
that once focus real I think we can't defend against that mid take.
We're just going to stack the planks.
We're going to find gaps in the map control.
You saw the main push the round before where they catch a player that catches
like nobody's watching for that.
You see the flank here from Joe cap, even though the B hit was hard to defend,
even though we're war had a solid exit, they can't make it work to actually stop
that. And here you see the gave up mid control, but they're just picking them
apart as they go into transition.
That's something that works against teams that are newer teams that are
International you're saying they're learning themselves. The transition is where they're going to find the biggest gaps. Okay, we've got our mid control. We took mid now we need to get that into an a hit and in that moment between we have mid and we're hitting a is where you're going to find there's a lot of gaps people aren't
watching the right angle people aren't holding positions correctly. So when it becomes a brawl like this, that's where you're going to see a team like focus, even if they're not necessarily at the same level individually, they can find the gaps in the coordination for an Aurora team that is new or
that is having a lot of change-ups going on in their roster.
And I'll say this, it was impressive from focus, right?
They were on the edge of losing the economy battle,
which could have cost them the whole game,
but they managed to stay their way in it
with the right couple of saves
and then being able to bounce back in it.
So solid stuff coming out from them.
Also solid stuff coming out from Wox,
one of the players that we know does have the ability
to understand what should be happening on this map.
We spoke about his aggression in it, his scout,
he's known for it, right?
One of the ones that's not an IGL scout,
just a pure good scout as well.
him going up against potty. It was definitely an all difference in this one.
Yeah, unfortunately, the all difference for Aurora not making enough of a difference.
And Woxig is a player I almost wanted to talk about in the pregame,
but there's just so many things to talk about with this squad.
Woxig is a really interesting topic because I think he's been kind of weighed down
by the way Aurora plays. He's not a great right flur.
They don't always prioritize him having the op.
He's often in the back tossing flashes.
he doesn't really have the priority that some other operas have. And, you know, we talked
about Paulie coming in and I think he's an impressive opera. I actually think Wauksic
is one of the more underrated operas out there because his team just does not prioritize
his strengths. And so you see the move to an international squad. I know Ash has had
some struggles with operas in the past. I actually think Wauksic could be the solution
to that problem because I think he's a great opera that hasn't been given enough opportunities,
intended to to showcase his skill as of recent. And looking at that, right? We think of when
Woxic was at his absolute best. That was when he was on mouths in an international line
when Carrigan was using him correctly. So you're thinking we can roll back the years
a little bit for him there and see that crazy moments of Woxic once again.
I think he's, he's going to be a more, a more well rounded player than he was in that, in
that mouse roster where it felt like, you know, he'd hold an angle and it was just like,
I'm going to hit the shot. I've got to hit the shot. And the way Aurora has been playing,
had to become a more well-rounded player. I still don't think he's a great rifler,
but when he's got it the off in hands, I think he's more of a threat than anyone reasonably
gives him credit for as of recent. He's actually, I think he's going to showcase himself as
a very, very strong top-opper, maybe not in the upper echelon of the monestee, Zywoo situation.
But you know, I think he's up there. Okay, I respect it. And he might be able to be up
there when it comes to Nuke as well, something where we can see the Orbeez very mobile. We'll
See how it goes down after this break because it's coming up next.
I really hope the focus have been putting some focus onto Nuke because this is about
where Aurora, even with the international lineup, they've played it twice already across
one of the star series qualifiers, and they have absolutely manhandled and dominated their
opponents from being the team we looked at and said, Anubis is their wheelhouse, Ash has
come in, Keke's hands come in and said, nope, Nuke's going to be our one and we are going
to tear everyone apart. They had a 13-2 and a 13-3 yesterday on this map.
Yeah, and the impressive part of those wins is that they're doing it on the CT side because
I think counter-intuitively you would think teams take a little longer to perform on their
side. I actually find that it's the exact opposite teams take a little longer to perform on their CT side because they have to get their rotations down and that's about comfortability with your teammates. What how are they going to move? How are they going to pivot? Where are they going to be at a certain point of around? CT side nuke is all about those
and you know, you're not
going to be able to play
the game. You're not going to
be able to play those pivots.
When does your offer make his
way into ramp in the mid round?
When is he heaven? When is he
re throwing a squeaky? They
tend to both CT halves in both
of these games. And of course,
there's a level difference. It's
Aurora against Nemesis, roar
against K 27. But this there's
also a level difference of
roar against focus and focus
have already picked up map one.
But if you're going to say K 27
Yeah, about sad. I should put out of all those teams who just mentioned Nemesis is probably the one most notable of actually being able to have some heavy hitters and frag out pretty well in there, but I mean for Aurora looking at this right, the change in map pool, the fact you said about the CT side to me shows good synergy very early on here, right?
that's what you need on a map like this. So I'm saying we're probably going to
three maps right when we look at this, but for focus could they ride the high on
some of this Joe cap? Obviously one of the newer players coming into the lineup
had a fantastic game dropping a 1.41 rating on this one.
Unfortunately, I think given that there are one outing on this map, I think they
got 13-1 by Astralis on this map a few days ago. So I'm unfortunately going to
have to say, Dust 2 is where focus is going to have to focus if they want to be able to
win this series.
I do love the team name, I do love the fun we can have of it.
And then just looking at this, right, Cuban versus Ash, these two as the coaches coming
into this, they had their own rises back into tier one CS right across majors working with
players and finding themselves some form.
I think that the similarity between both coaches, I think they've both had a lot of positivity
directed their way.
a lot of players have talked highly about Ash in his limited tenure. I mean, I don't
think he's been around in the, it says five majors. It feels like he's been here for such
a short period of time, at least in the general kind of like mentality of everyone thinking
about who are the top coaches. Cuban's been around forever and they do have different
approaches. I've always looked at Ash as a coach that prepares really intently for
his opponents, and they're very solid on their own map picks. Oftentimes I see even against
much stronger opposition, they can find a curveball to throw the run, almost like the
B main pushes we saw in cash. There's a curveball that's going to come in. If you don't have
a solution for that, you're really going to struggle. And Cubans, I think a bit of a different
style of coach, maybe an older mentality for a coach, but both very solid coaches. I think
when you know what map you're going to be picking here, I think you come into this one
you know you're going to be
picking nukes. So actually
didn't have some curve balls.
There's going to be some mind
games at play. All right, well,
I look forward to seeing all the
mind games and hopefully it's
not just so one sided like
was being in all of the games,
both these teams on nuke. Let's
see what happens when we get
into the match. Did you care
about off? Take it away. Yeah,
I'm hoping we get some surprises.
You know, 31 Astralis that does
that scares me. That's the
Stutland that scares me. You
know, Aurora is going to walk
all over this James. Where do
you stand? Where did the number
stands Aurora are still a
I think that's one of the
some of the tightest X versus
Y that we have seen in these
matches. These morning matches
so far. So I'm excited. I was
I was excited by how that game
of cash developed and how
focused were able to answer
back to Aurora. Can we just
take a moment to shout out the
UK man's as well? We had great
work yesterday from UK man
gives me and of course we've got
Ash who has been a lot more
in the scene of later as well.
UK on the rise. Can you believe
it? Nuke them second map of the
series Aurora will feel like
they left that first map empty
handed. Yes, this is their pick,
but I think on you know on a
different day, maybe they do it
in two will see if they can do
it in three or if it even goes
that far. Nothing is
guaranteed in this series.
and they're going to have to
find some headshots. 40. It's
going to be peeking. Actually
that's the wrong headshot for
okay. Yeah, teammate in the back
of the head. And that may prove
expensive. What's it going to
in fact remain? They are carrying
the bomb. The bomb plant should
be good as a minimum. Can they
find the headshots on the four
coming their way? Yeah, they
can they find the hedgehogs on the floor coming their way?
Maybe not.
OK, let's go.
I got to say two words.
I love when I throw to you and the ground
ends like three seconds later.
It's so awkward for you.
Yeah, two words, two precious words out there.
But yeah, great start for the focus side.
You know, the 13-1, probably not repeat with that one.
With that said, though, having a bob plant as a T-side,
you can do some very dangerous stuff on round two.
So I've been kind of feeling a little bit insecure
if I were to focus.
But yeah, it's really nice performance there
and you can see Zantara so he's like, you what, mate?
Honestly, I feel like the run for Aurora
from the beginning of this match to now
is quite psychologically taxing
because they have to feel like,
oh, we were unlucky here, oh, we were unlucky there.
on quite a few rounds.
Well, if you keep going unlucky, James, maybe it's you.
They've got to keep a level head.
They've got to keep a level head.
Oh my god, look at that stack.
Yeah, that's not too shabby at all.
Abusing the numbers towards the ramp.
Great movement to avoid the headshot from Yo-Kan.
That leaves them vulnerable now,
as the bomb once again hits down towards the B-bomb site.
Mateos is able to stop the train, which is really important.
Once they can cut off the rotation,
They are falling like flies in this round.
Banjo finds himself alone versus three.
Probably maybe with that double from the day or stats.
Maybe there'd be something, but everyone's getting wrecked.
Focus.
Banjo with an MP9.
See if you can get something extra out of this one.
Nice crossfire.
Really nice crossfire. Not much you can do about that.
So just a very quick rush onto ramp that seals the deal in round number two.
And again, it is, you know, it's always so dangerous when the T side gets that bomb down on the like and then lose that pistol because that force by is so devastating.
So you can see that there's a good showing on this double kill, but the teammates weren't quite so fortunate.
Yeah, that's a good start. That will relieve some some pressure for Aurora winning the force by may feel like a better situation for them.
putting that CT economy in the bin.
If you do need to prove successful here as well,
they've got the range to do it with the four rifles.
Kick-sign with the SMG.
New look Aurora, two new man on roads on the server that is.
After the exits of Major and Moore.
I wanna say Major said he would have some good news
or something along that line on Twitter.
the red eagle. Five sevens then, eagle for this focus squad who are not downstairs. So
if it is to be the B bomb sites, again, the question is, do they play for exits? Do they
go to CT spawn and reset for another day? Yeah, might as well. I mean, they got Kevlar
stuff you know there's nothing that you can do at this at this juncture you can't you can't do anything
so you might as well just save don't give them the satisfaction of getting some kills here
yeah there's wandering around you have to i'm interested to see the new hidey holes and when
you've got a scenario like this with the with the bomb changes now whereas you'd previously have to go
this way or that way, you know, just just the distance, essentially, but it's all changed now.
So there may be more funky places where a force buying team can save
closer and maybe safer than before. Yeah.
Yeah, that'd be interesting. Maybe, uh,
opening yourself up to getting some kills, getting some guns out of hands.
But Aurora, you know, they are relaxed right now. They can breathe easy for the moment.
focus of course we'll be able to carry those pistols forward into the next round maybe give it another go but
So far Aurora, you know finishing on the lower bombsite two times in a row
You know they have that play through ramping then have that play through secret
What is what is the next round going to give us here from Aurora?
focus
They gambled wrong
Well they gambled wrong again
I'll distribute the grenades up top for later on.
Really good early map control.
This will be an interesting spot later on the secret stairs.
Commonplace for CT aggression.
GOK is downstairs now though, so he might be here with me something.
have a ZTR coming as well from behind.
So maybe there's some potential in this setup with the pistols.
There we go.
Nice pace as well.
That first kill, they spotted the second player,
but they are elsewhere, taking down Jimmy.
So now there is a lot of potential.
Banjo.
Oh my goodness.
Three versus two right now in favor of the pistols from Focus.
So much damage from 5-7s in this week.
So, so dangerous.
There's a minute for Woxic and Wokadia.
To solve this puzzle...
Is the glass broken?
Probably not. Okay, one of them is. That gives them an option.
Be so awkward if you can't proceed without giving any sound cue away.
He's been spotted, Pody, by Wokadia.
But where is Woxic?
It's only one man seen.
He's posting up for some different angles then to try and get a bomb shot.
22 seconds on the clock.
Such a tough puzzle to solve.
CT rotation is coming.
Shake it.
Shaking it. Shaking it out. Shaking it loose.
Woxic getting close now. I don't know if they'll...
What is that? Reapers position.
get a little bit more of the
O-CAD goes down back to them
well and party, Voxic with
everything under control.
That AK-47, really good work.
They avoid disaster, but the focus, you know, they weren't ever really thinking they were going to win that round in the first place.
So this they keep the economy slightly more honest, but now come out the end pullers.
That was a super clutch from Voxic.
That was a highly dangerous situation.
I think, after that bombs planted, the CTs have got a reasonable chance of winning that round with their numbers.
Yorca fighting their entire time, Womps take position himself well for the clutch there.
AWP full focus on the first buy.
Not a lot of nades left either, 130 left on the clock and just a couple smokes remaining.
Nice, they have again. Quite well anchored with these rifles. Some support coming in but he can't find his.
I was looking way better than it turned out for Focus. I wondered if the ramp player would fall back, but he was playing the bait with his teammates.
And yet, there's only three of them remaining. Very, very unlucky early on here for Focus.
And Santares now seek and destroy mode as you all know him for
Clearing out B, Meteos having a great jump peek by Santares
Trouble is coming
Proving very expensive this one for focus so unlucky on the ramp, but it is what it is
Aurora will feel like instead turn to have some luck after those expeditions on the cache
ZTR there
We'll have a very short campaign on to the B bomb sites
That is that this is a great way to to start this game of nuke for Aurora
Got a chance to get a really good score at the beginning now
Yeah, just seeing as Antares kind of looking like Zantares and that way
I don't know, you know, it's just the way that he peaks angles and you know, they're just
kind of faster than everybody else. It's just
definitely a concerning thing to see the focus of chances and that that particular is what we're talking about
So where are the rounds going to come in now for focus because it hasn't really seemed like they've been able to do too much
Of course that was their first fly round as noted. They didn't have an AWP
I don't know if that would really change too much the way their fortunes
They had a good set up in ramp actually to actually fight that push
But just couldn't find the kills
So yeah, it does seem like Aurora the disparity in strength is is readily apparent
I feel like you're going to need a time out and some real, a real sports psychology speech
to stop that feeling of being defeated from creeping in.
I feel like we've seen so many 5-7 frags
in these recent days.
You wonder if it's gonna end up being tuned down a little.
I feel like it's always been so good in the OCAP.
Try to take it look good once again.
And there we go.
Let's take down one player. Gun not so recoverable, though. There is a creep in the lobby.
Bomb down. That should really seal the deal for this round in particular.
But are there any guns to be stolen? That's really the mission, I think.
This might be an opportunity. In fact, it gets spotted.
And there we go. It gets taken out. So, okay, they've won an AK or two.
They're getting sandwiched, the AKs are gone!
Nothing given for free.
Great stuff, high pressure from Aurora.
It's a very green keyboard.
Like a toxic green.
Well then.
Well then, the next round will be super super super important for focus to to find the victory
I think it's gonna be too far behind otherwise
You can see the pressure on the faces they do tell a story
Stop biting the nails bro
I think that's one of the things
that's the most concerning.
Because you can't really put down
to the top of your head. You
can't really put your hands
afterwards. Yeah. Yeah,
definitely not a good look so
far for them. I mean, it just
seems a little bit flat on some
of the raw doles. I think that's
that's one of the things that's
the most concerning because you
can't really put down to the
top of your head. Yeah,
is concerning because he can't really put down to them being lucky because of the variants
going against them.
I just do the mechanics of fights, not looking as good, but that's kind of, of course, an
area you'd expect Aurora to really show the fact that they are on paper a much heavier
hitting team.
Putty is the big numbers, man, on the focus squad, currently one frag in six rounds.
He has the AWP out in round 7.
There's some great aggression.
An important second frag from Banjo.
That's such a big win.
Not even 2 for 1.
5 on 3 now.
Full focus, exactly what they needed in this round.
It was becoming insurmountable, this deficit.
But war is still dangerous with over a minute on the clock.
Yeah, it's really difficult to play against a 3v5,
especially when there's an AWP on the field now as well.
Because you want to have the element surprise,
it means you're walking around a lot.
So it means that you're going to be walking into certain angles
and that's a free kill for an AWP.
So that's a present danger as well as the fact that
the unique of the coverage here from the CT
is pretty good.
They're going to try to go out of the hut though.
We're going to be finding Fails.
Traits looking fantastic.
Wow.
Able to get down.
There's a no scope actually somehow from Poti.
That's crazy, but again couldn't have come sooner. Yes, I could have couldn't have come later. Whatever the phrase is
They went in and took it great 2k from Banjo
Yeah, it was phenomenal there from Banjo for sure
Okay, turning their fortunes around perhaps
Excited to see more from Poti, we get to push in the smoke.
Had a rain in the interview after the Falcons lost 200 feet yesterday saying that you can't rat outside as much.
Not new anymore.
Why he doesn't like the outside position as much?
And it sounds like maybe that's true. Zantaris takes down Matthäus.
As he looks for more, another head spotted. You gotta be careful when you're up against Zantaris.
and clearance continues
now what is the play here with a 4 man CT side
He's playing a responsive game, you try and take an advantage somewhere.
Seems that Aurora may be expecting such a thing, turtling on the outside, waiting for
an overextension.
But it's their clock, which is starting to run down.
Their patience will pay off after all.
That's exactly what they were waiting for, holding formation, reducing the numbers,
Pody rotating AWP, Zantara's got the information for the remainder of his team.
20 seconds, maybe there's a chance, Sniper gets his bell rung, still over 50 HP, for what it's worth.
Banjo moving into position now, and you wonder if Roura, maybe a little too slow there, still doable.
Bombs planted as it's moving to a three on three, Banjo collecting Woksik as well.
Yo, Cap, drops.
And we need more from Banjo, if they are to survive.
Banjo and Pody remaining.
And he comes in for Wacadia, does Banjo.
It's been a hell of a retake for him.
Two for Banjo, one for Pody, leaving Kicksan in a one versus two.
Poms are in the greatest place for him.
Banjo's the one with the kit.
Pody's the one who touched the bomb.
Swinging now, looking for the transfer.
Kicksan trying to be in use of two HP.
I think he gets the bomb.
Back lock is ticking.
Trying to pre-fight.
Is there time for it?
It's going to be a really close one. Banjo has done so much work in this round, and he will just about secure the round as well.
Incredible stuff there from Banjo. He's looking really good. I mean, he's the player that's looking by far the hottest on the team at the moment with the rifle.
Coming in on that flank, winning all these 1v1s.
Massive performance. A lot of fighting lost here, but, you know, they'll just be happy to pick up the rounds.
There's Banjo, the go-kart on the way around.
I mean, on the CT side, of course, you're kind of expected. If you want to have comfort to get quite a lot of rounds. So, you know, they're at least coming back into the game. It was looking hopeless before. And so in terms of the money Aurora, they still have a chunk of change left to get to the game.
you know, they're going to get
a full buy on deck. So you know
the job is far from done and
James as well focus. They don't
have money. So you know if they
lose this round, they kind of
get reset very hard. Surviving
of one player can be a curse
after the by the banjo's got
four Kenya Cubs got two. So
maybe they're going to get a
full buy on deck. So you know
the job is far from done and
Maybe they must have something, but this is about the comeback for focus.
It's not acceptable for them to lose this round.
They've done a great job of stopping this from getting away from them.
Quickly into a four on four then.
We've probably looking on the outside.
Squeaky door, wide open.
Not squeaky, not sure about a door.
Position in secret.
CT's getting more aggressive now.
spotting Wacadia. That will do nicely. In fact, it's on one HP, so I don't fancy the
chances of remaining for Aurora in this one. Only spotting rotation towards that D-bomb
site. Zed's Yaren's, okay, go cab, we'll post up. Can't stop the bomb from being planted,
though. Great utility usage by Aurora. It's going to be a tall order to come out on top
here and maybe Zantarez is the man to the job.
I'm going to go for the
first time. I'm going to go
for the first time. Yeah,
certainly so good around these
angles. Very tough here. Jim
fat on one HP 16. HG for
kickstands under us on 45. They
are all so low here. Oh my God,
that HG prison down to two and
there we go. Swimming forth. It
is all focus all day there on
the retake and they're going to
make it work. Important bullplunk
though for for the side of
Aurora, considering that they've
and surviving with three I think is a pretty good result there to focus.
Yeah, that was a really great challenge around the double doors with Zantara's and the Moddy's close sides.
This double peek was fantastic. She damaged on Zantara's by the windows as well. Just really good work.
Again, close rounds, narrow margins, but it's been such an important comeback for focus.
focus, going to give him a lot of credit. It was looking really, really bad for them with that run from Aurora, but they've won the crucial recent rounds.
You're looking somewhat different now. What a good start, though, this time. Zantara is hopping on to ZCR, who knew nothing about it.
of the team. The rest of the
team of Aurora looking to
charge downstairs straight into
the lower site. And I mean,
they're going to get a bomb
down and with any three players
awfully out of position. I don't
know about the chances of the
focus. They might have to save
because again, their money is
just non existent. Well, it's a
bit weird like they could buy
I don't know how much on the edge it is. Yeah, I think ZTR having a thousand means they need to save especially if they want AWP
The two AKs could be juicy for that last round as well. They could buy some stuff that if they're shopping
That's my professional opinion is that some stuff could be bought
That's fair do is that what you will?
That's fair. That's fair. Yeah, especially I think you know probably having the AWP threat
has, I think, been a big part of the turnarounds for focus.
So they definitely can't afford to lose too much.
And such as life on Nuke sometimes.
Ooh, cheeky little one at the end.
Really nice.
At least for focus, they've managed to get four rounds.
The start was so rough for them after they got reset
after the pistol.
So they have turned this half around.
They're threatening the ability to tie up the half, too.
so I'm not too sure about this, but Santar has been very reliable on the game.
He's opening kills and he's being a thorn in there.
He's got like 500 thorns in that side.
Men on the roof with intention.
This could be such good timing with the AWP as well.
They're going to throw all the junk into the A-bomb site,
but when they round that corner, they could be in for a world of hurt.
Oh, there could be! But Yim Fat is in that common position where you're holding a lobby crunch.
So many CTs there.
So we have the initial junk from Aurora. Second crack of the whip to come, it seems.
to the right. We're going to
be able to escape. You've been
important in that position. These
forward spots 10 frags for it.
Maybe there's a few left before
this round ends. Oh, we got it.
Beating fails to the angle that
battery acid. Oh, it's laid down
here from garage. That's actually
going to work out there for
dropping down into the vent. That's
a death trap. Boxing finds out
out. Santaris again. Now
against two players. Such a
critical round for focus to
win with Santaris and his
clutch back to the upper bomb
site. In comes the TR from the
top. Looking down. Here's the
plant. It is his way around,
and that's going to be the
victory there for focus really
well done by them. And I mean,
you know, you know, you can
have that. It's like you're
going to be able to do that.
In a double one V ones in that
hot lobby position. I feel like
again like this is going to be
Aurora a case of Aurora running
over focus. Yeah, I do like
how well matched the team seem
to be in this series again. The
back and forth saw on cash and
now we see again. The lobby
crunched the silence. Luffy
squad. Again Aurora I've got to be feeling like they're losing a lot of tight rounds
in this series overall. No doubt. No doubt. Great recovery for focus so far. Can they
complete the recovery and get the tied half going into the second off. Can they do it?
Very slow beginning to this round, not much pressure from either side. Oh, Matthäus has
got the better of the angles there. Good proactive play there, no fear from focus.
Yeah, pushing the ramp position with two as well.
Wise two Aurora's game it feels.
Getting the information they need.
At least for the time being.
Woxic scopes will be heard by the team in 5-3-2.
That's an important trade ban, Joe.
Again, Woxic dropping down into trade.
Makes it a three on three. 45 seconds remain.
Chicksand with the bomb.
ZTR's here, we're in the 10 second territory now, the bombs dropped, so I get shot at, whoops, that's a huge 3k for ZTR to end up the half.
Hello, and this...
No wait, that's a horrible evening, let's go again.
Alright, it's blast down here, I just kicked the table, I'm gonna restart that.
Fucking this table.
We're here ab-ab-ab-ab-a.
straight into the barrel, and you can't interpret it.
Straight into the barrel.
Are our calendars illegal?
I mean, it's legal, but it's not 100% legal.
I mean, you can come up to the room.
So tell me about the roof holes again.
What do you want to know?
Our kind of, our kind of barrel?
One more time, one more.
You're lost.
I don't want to.
I swallow.
You need to be more accurate.
Because we believe in you.
Such a bullshit.
It's very, very hot.
I need to be continued eating.
Because it's so addictive.
Because it's so spicy.
You keep eating it, you can't tell, right?
You have to keep eating it.
I mean, it's the right of reference.
and black man just don't have
blyat, you're not kidding us, right?
I'm in the same place
I mean, there's just small differences
but they got all the same shit
that we got at home
nah, f**king shit
it's alright
do you know how they call Deagle in Paris?
they don't call Deagle?
bro, blyat, why didn't you answer me?
I forgot about you
bro, it's been 3 years
and now you're in this puffy name
you don't know what a Deagle is
how does it go?
How the fuck no?
This was me just six weeks ago before I started my training program. I was stressed, blessed, sorry trying to hear every problem out okay.
This was me just six weeks ago.
I was commentating, I was blessed.
Go to HTTP colon slash slash Henry
That has a lot going on
I got it. I got it
You're basically a dealer now
I'm running out of money. You're saying the place
Not in this piece in there bro. I'm broke. Okay
There are us everywhere
There are us everywhere
Welcome back to a tense, high pressure match, many rounds finishing on very small edges.
we have a really close aura halftime focus. You have to wonder, like, is the worst over
for them considering that was it 5-1 or something like that to Aurora? Is the worst over for
them in this half? Could this be a 2-0?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, honestly, the individual plays CTR without 3K at the end. That was
absolutely glorious. We'll see, though, if another pistol can be picked up by focus.
But like our bounty hunters have been pistol demons so far, at least in the games we have covered.
Rancho getting tested.
We will not pass the test.
No one's passing the test.
No, the test is too hard. The test needs to be rewritten. This is the problem, ZTR.
Last player standing.
And I don't know, if the chance is here, not all that great, stuck behind the door.
There's no where he is.
Hey, A chance is better than no chance.
I suppose the chance is gone.
That's a promising start for Aurora, who surely have to, I mean, the temperature must be high for them now, because, again, they were 5-1 up in that first half, N66, that has to be concerned.
They must have felt like a stronger team on cash, regardless of who picks it.
But, again, the aggression did not pay off on many a round.
So there is a there is a quite a reasonable level of threats here. They won't be for this particular round though as
focus will be
Keeping their money for the round to come for the rifles to come but this isn't a opponent to be respected
Yeah, they've got no bomb down. I think it's so much more chill especially of course for the CTs and
That always makes me you know wonder and really appreciates when a team will go for a play that is just absolutely designed
you're going to get a bomb down and you don't even care if you lose the round, something
in the bomb down, your force plan next round is so strong and scary as we saw be the case
for Aurora, but now we will get the guns out, the AKs will come into play for focus and
I'm really curious what their T side will look like, I really don't know what to expect
exactly.
The 13-1 by Astralis, they didn't really get to play the game very much, so get to see
see what they have on display.
Woxix on the scout, so they're off on Aurora just yet.
Sneaky.
See if there's more of this in future rounds when the CTs are past a more vulnerable position.
And I was like, how are you doing that?
So hell of a flick from Woxic.
That's so interesting behind the smoke as well.
You could just mouse one into the smoke,
but I'm going to flick into the smoke instead and hit someone.
Just Woxic things.
Early 5-1-4-4 Aurora, a promising start to round 15.
Some good tagging as well.
Definitely making a nuisance of himself,
leaving 30R and Potty crawling in more remains of this round.
a good trade. They don't expect
GenFat to be here as well, but we do have the jump up
the generator into the heaven position.
Oh yeah, exactly. CTR doing some great work from up here
in both sides of things, and the HP
really low for two players of the three remaining
for focus, despite the man advantage.
So they can do investigation from GenFat.
He's going to get wrapped here. That's crazy from CTR. No way has he managed to do that.
Didn't he hear like he jumped off? There was a sound cue, wasn't there?
Didn't he hear that? I don't know, but at this point it gets very weird because CTR has also got
no idea. But didn't he just like throw a maiden to heaven as well? I feel like a lot of things just
happen there, but they both missed each other. Oh, what a shot as well. That's fantastic from CTR.
And he spots the shadow as well. So he knows exactly what's going on. Back up we go to the generator.
are real round here from ZTR.
Almost takes down with Cardia as well.
So impressive.
That's a hell of a circus.
I feel like you could just put a camera there
with X-ray on for about 30, 40 seconds
of crazy circular action.
Yeah, so hard to read the positioning.
Super hard to understand what's going on there.
And massive credit to ZTR.
I mean, it's...
It's actually if you think about how the round started
out James, you know, it walks and hits that.
You know that a couple players go down to very low HP. They lose the player
Yeah, you're supposed to lose that round. Yeah, I mean the also shots that
Actually connected with pretty very I mean very fast reactions like this one very fast
Shot to kick sand and then the killer he gets towards the the secret positions will also just phenomenal stuff
Yeah, this is on Q. I don't know anything that was picked up for some reason
Could it has been like you just misinterpreted and just I mean
incredible really crazy thin lead for Aurora who now have watched it on the AWP
the scout shenanigans have paused serious business now as Aurora looked
for a third map in the series just one round between the squads
Go from the back of low on money. Oh my god. I was wondering is is Antara's gonna be woxic this round and he basically is
The five on four for all of them question is can they convert it quickly the numbers are even woxic drops by poody
Looking to play the long game then minutes on the clock fancy some time in the Sun
Now, that's our second-down fails.
Trying to go through many is going to be a challenge though.
Conquered make it work.
I think expecting maybe there would be some aggression from the CTs
to be able to punish to allow them to get in a bit easier.
But great patience there from Aurora to just really hold their nerve
and be very well poised to defend.
It's just not fair, is it?
You know what I think you do?
You just walk into it in the previous run as well.
I wonder if Ash, that's like part of the anti-stratting.
The Ash is picked up.
There's like a specific timing
when the players are going to be actually entering secret off of those folks.
I took a mental note of the timing when Dantara's got the kill there,
but I don't know what it was when Woxic did.
Maybe it was exactly the same timing in the round.
And that's when they shoot.
Or maybe it's blind luck. It's one of the two. I feel like it's one of the two.
Roura taking a step away from focus.
And again, this is high pressure for focus because they must feel like this is doable.
This could be a two-map series for them.
Maybe lamenting the...
the mid to late round that rotation outside,
getting handily dealt with by Aurora.
And it will be the Hero AK for Mateos and a bunch of pistols.
So it might be...
Protect the VIP,
send some cannon fodder in ahead of that rifle,
and that seems to be happening towards the ram there.
You can see probably just in front of Mateos.
There we go. Now we'll give some position to the AK. Just about being spotted though
and there he goes. Doesn't last long. I'm not sure if you're okay. We'll be able to
rescue that one. I think the HE may be trying to bring it away. That's one way to do it.
Bomb lost as well. So nothing doing whatsoever in this round for focus. Maybe they can use
what remains as a extended timeout to think about the way forward.
Certainly, yeah.
Yeah, I do wonder if any switch up will be made by focus.
Woxic moving around is always going to be problematic.
You're not going to be so sure exactly where the AWP is going to be on the other side.
So that does make life feel a little bit more uncertain.
Really good with their angles through the smokes, Aurora.
They're reaping many rewards from that.
Now focus have in the number of rounds been able to recover from an early 4 on 5 and at
least tied the numbers up.
So maybe they're problematizing the late rounds and closing things out.
Oh, okay, we've got a taste of your own medicine to Xantharis through the smoke
Well, there's an only five before in favor of focus
Yeah, I got my ion timer for any smoke spam resulting in a kill
Yes, the similar timing around 115 was the cross previously I believe
They'll be heard this time by Wikipedia. Not sure if you had one or two, but by the way, it is compromised
Looking for the lurkers outside. Oh
Speaking of which, YoCad might, they may have felt like that kill was the final outside player. Indeed, YoCad able to get a lurk onto Yinfat
That's the 3v3 now. That pulls Wikipedia away from the vent, maybe considering the play down towards B
We're going to go with the bomb as well.
It leaves Kixxan downstairs wondering what's happening.
And again, it's this late round where Aurora can drain things back in as they do with Podi.
And there's the bomb carrier, Dublin as well.
Again, this is where things go wrong in that late round.
ZTR picking up the AK-47.
20 seconds to rescue the bomb and try to win a duel.
It's going to race down towards beat.
He is going to be waited for, though, by Kixxan, who's got sound queues for days.
So, I don't see a chance.
Dekondor is open, so he's one of the bomb-outs.
But he does not stand a chance.
And, again, it's another round which slips away from focus in the late game.
Yeah, let's not forget, they got the 5E4 early on as well,
so can't say that they didn't have the ability to play off of an advantage.
Oh, wow. Every single bullet connects to San Taurus there.
I did like the layered setup there that kind of allowed your cap to be kind of this hidden
marker.
That was kind of cool but ultimately it's an 11-7 advantage for Aurora and speaking
of the vatages, Woxic, early come onto the fails to stifle this pistol push.
is this round a must plant situation for focus
I have the numbers towards the ramp.
I'm not committing all the way down just yet.
Spotting Woxic if they're near us, they're all fine.
I'm not sure if they want to go back, but they will.
Oh, he is in a package of sorts.
But most of them will be handily dealt with.
Let's see if Pody's got anything left.
Now, one versus four.
Oh, my God, he does!
45 seconds!
there could be some fun to be had here. Switching out to deal with multiple assailants. Aurora
heading to 12. So what does he choose to do? 20 seconds, he has to expire. He has to expire
Oh my word. There's only two plays left. Starting to get nervous for Aurora. A lot more damage towards the ends than you could have expected, so that's something. But there's no more room for error for focus.
They're probably looking at the Ingrids there.
Man, the crazy thing is that if Woxy didn't get this one, except he actually killed it,
I think he'd make things even more interesting.
But, you know, there we go. 12 rounds now for Aurora. They only need a single round more.
It doesn't really feel like there's any question right now that they'll be able to do it.
And it might happen right away.
way. Focus will be on another buy. I don't believe we're going to see an op from them.
Be curious to see what their option is because it feels like they've struggled to reliably get
the opening round advantage. I feel like it happened that one time that they were able to
spam Zantara through a smoke. Hardly a reliable approach.
Game points for Aurora. Aurora. Aurora. It might say like that from Norwegian.
How many sprinkles will there be this time? Wax it up close and personal onto Yoka. Such
a fast 5-1-4 in favour of Aurora.
GTR making his way towards secret, spots one in the garage.
In his position, I was going to say will pull rotation, but they're there,
they're waiting for him. Kicks out of him and off angle.
This may be a road too far for focus.
Three remain. Still with the bomb in their possession,
But they've got so much to do here
Yeah, it's
Really really bad right now. That's that's for sure looking to make their way through
the ramp
They are being waited for
Tartarus easy 2k and it's an unceremonious finish. It seems like very little energy here from focus
Okay, well, I guess it's like is actually gonna let him pick up the bomb at least
the last hope. And I know. When
he's going to be able to do
here looks to this lower plant
at least. There are players all
over the place, though. This
will work bad Joe. He sound
Wakati. Suddenly three players
to his front. He doesn't come
Aurora picking up Nuke as he was always meant to, and we're going to go to a third map.
Yeah, a noble effort from Focus, but they just weren't able to match Aurora on Nuke. Over to James.
A very strong performance coming out from Aurora on Nuke. It is what we expected, but at least in the first half-right, there was a battle, there was a fight from Focus.
actually put some numbers up on the board. But you can see once we swapped over to that second half, right?
Aurora full control, moving around the map confidently and in style and getting the job done, Vu.
I mean, that's why they tend to their first two games of this map on CT side. You can see once they have that control on CT,
there's not that many, you know, curveballs that you really saw from focus. It seems like Aurora had their rotations on point.
They've probably drilled exactly how they want to be pivoting when contact is made and I mean that that looked kind of clinical from them
Outside of a couple of sketchy rounds
I would say when they managed to get an entry unlike on their t-side when they managed to get an entry they closed out the round really effectively
Sorry, that's my diabetic alarm going off in the background
But let's have a look at our 5v3 moments and then a good lobby push coming up from focus that did set them off to at least have a chance within the
for us all. Yeah, looking at what could go wrong for map three, we're looking at these
types of plays where you can see Aurora find an opening, they find a second opening, but
I like the way focus is consistently trying to apply pressure and find gaps in the defense
and they find a gap, they find a double lobby push here and they catch Aurora very importantly
before they get into the after plans. I mentioned in the catch game, I'll mention it again here,
the transition points where a team like this is really going to struggle, especially when
they have to communicate these things. You know, you might even have a tier list of like,
we want to be getting into these after plant spots, but when you go from the site hit,
you go from site control, and then you go into the after plant positions, those are pivot
points. Those are your transitioning between stages of the round. And as focused, they're
constantly pushing and trying to find those gaps. You saw ZTR walk into garage. He's looking,
Are they setting up a mini pop?
Are they setting up a wrap into the A site here?
I can catch them off guard.
And even when it goes wrong,
they're gonna find a gap in that map control somewhere.
And when they find that gap,
they're going to catch Aurora off guard.
Once they get that one kill,
Aurora is really struggling to adjust
and actually save the round from toppling over,
even in a 5E3.
Yeah, focus was just not making it easy
for Aurora at any point.
And we see this in a bit of the,
I'll call it ZCR shenanigans that was happening here, right?
because it looks like you see that Aurora is in a commanding position,
but he makes them work for every moment of this.
Yeah, is this good from ZTR or bad from Aurora?
It's a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B,
because he's getting himself in really aggressive positions.
He jumps his way up into Heaven here.
I think they should know that this is the most likely play.
And Kixen is ready for it, but not quite on the right timing,
so he's still managed the frag.
And then my speculation is this is maybe overcommunication,
because Jinfa should know he has to be here
unless he dropped out of heaven
and he would have made sound.
Well, he probably should have made sound, right?
Where else can he really be if he didn't drop from heaven?
Once his teammate in heaven clears out the rafters,
where else could ZTR have gone?
Surely.
ZTR was just like passing by everyone,
rolling through it and managing to keep himself going
and keeping them very confused throughout all of it.
And okay, it's not maybe he's the IGOR,
I'm not looking for him to have the craziest standout performances, but he did show up to lead by example in this one despite the very tough game
Yeah, I mean 15 and 21 the scoreline isn't all that impressive
But I think when you're looking at an IGL you don't need him picking up the top frag numbers you need him having
Impactful rounds. I think they're calling on cash specifically was really effective their adjustments on CT side
Which is sometimes it's not the primary IGL, but let's just say it's it's likely ZTR
I think their adjustments on CT side were very effective. And then on T side when he managed to get himself into a round
He did a really good job. The problem is you're looking in Aurora CT side nuke that is almost
I mean, it's nigh impenetrable
So I can't really blame him too much for not having the greatest T side
We're looking at dust too where you can get a lot of things going on a T side
You can get no 4v4 and call your way around
a somewhat floundering Aurora if their CT side pivots and their rotations aren't on point.
Well, a couple of players that were not floundering at all when it comes to Aurora,
to start with Zantara is in this one, you know, he's there to do the damage,
he's there to pick up the big kills, and he was putting on a bit of a highlight show.
I mean, Zantara's, Wacadia, Woxic, they're all showing exactly why Aurora was such a good team
for all of last year. You see these entries from Zantara's time and time again. You see Wacadia
doing it as well. But Xanterrez is the big name on this roster. You want him to be finding
those openings and you're hoping that he's released. He can go for these kind of aggressive
solo plays where you're expecting a Xanterrez can find the entries and he's been doing it
all series long. I think he's actually been really effective and Nuke is a great showcase
of that, especially when he went on the CT side, but he was giving them the openings
on T side. It's just they couldn't consistently convert those openings. That's the real concern.
do you imagine that we're going to see like the constant trend in natural improvements
from Zantara's right as things get easier as communication starts flowing. He has a
better understanding of what's happening each and every round.
I think when it comes to Zantara's he's probably it's tough to learn new tricks when you've
been around for as long as he is. But I don't think he needs to. I mean he's he's a fantastic
player as he is. I think he'll get more comfortable with the roster. But I don't want different
game play from Zantros. Keep giving me what you give me Zantros. If you could, if you
could do it in the playoffs a little more consistently, but that's, that's, that's a
conversation for another day.
When he's in these types of games, just keep doing what you're doing. The team should,
should meld around him. The team should work around him to make things effective, not him
working the other direction. I think
And very quickly before we go to a break, I just want to pick your brains about just
Aurora CT side and how much they were moving around. We saw like Woxig and Jim Fat playing
around ramp room together, working effectively,
like they were constantly pushing focus, have no space.
Yeah, they really want to try and force the engagements.
I see that whenever there's a hit coming in,
they're trying to make sure that they just delay enough time.
Their initial player gets the entry.
I think they're really struggling on their defenses
when their initial player falls,
because then they have to actually rotate.
If it's just, our initial player gets the kill,
I'm running over there, tossing the flash,
right click, flash, swinging out.
You know, I'm going to go for the fries.
That's when things go really well.
And we saw it go similarly well there.
We saw that, well, we didn't see that.
But in their previous new games, that's exactly how it went.
The first player gets to kill, and then they swarm,
and they can really make the defense work.
I think it's a little bit harder to do that on a Dust 2,
which is the map we're going into here.
Well, let's see what happens when we get to Dust 2.
We go into a quick break, and when we come back,
we're going into deciding map between Aurora and Focus.
Let's go.
of away from this game. But who would you say is the better team right now between Namiga,
Nemesis and Focus?
That is an interesting question. I actually might lean towards Nemesis, but Focus, if
they can take down Aurora, you're going to have to say Focus, right? I mean, I think
you would have to say Focus, but Nemesis, when I've been watching their demos, they're
the team that's most impressed me.
Okay, I love that you're a demo watcher. This means this fits perfectly into my question.
So just yesterday, we saw Nemesis take down Aurora 16-14 on Dust2.
You would feel though with the Turkish players, Mawksik's orb, even into the scout, right?
Just a bit of an easier map to play off of each other on.
You'd give Aurora a massive lead in this focus one, but I'm not going to count focus
out of this one based on what we're looking at so far.
Yeah, I think focus has been very impressive and I'm parked on the same concept that they
seem to understand either coincidentally.
is pug style like online style CS you play very aggressive on your defense you try and find gaps in
the attack but it could very well be that they have an idea that Aurora is a newer team they're
working on communication problems they're going for these very aggressive plays on CT when I looked
at that Nemesis Aurora game they were struggling with that a little bit and they were not playing
very aggressive on their own CT side I thought their B site was very exploitable and when I was
watching some focus games. They have a really clean B hit. They have a really clean B split.
The gym fat, wakadia combination on B on paper, gym fat wakadia. Let's go.
But in reality, like they actually struggled that from much of the game. And if they, I mean,
they performed a bit better in OT, but if they had done better in regulation, you would have seen
Aurora take down Nemesis. They actually really struggled on that B site. Am I right in saying
We've seen so far from Aurora on both CT sides, Cash and Nuke, they have played more aggressively, so maybe that's an adjustment they already learned, right?
It's still very early on to this team, maybe that's what we'll see on this Dust 2 from them.
Yeah, I'd like to see them have a little more aggression, especially on Dust 2.
You can go for those lower tons pushes, you can go for the top mid pushes if you want.
You can do a lot of different plays.
I actually really thought that them almost avoiding Catwalk for the majority of their CT side against Nemesis was part of their problem as well.
their problem as well. They just didn't have, if you're going to avoid those aggressive areas
of the map, then you need your site anchors, you need your defense to actually shut down
any exec, and if they can't do that, that's where you really start to see things go wrong.
Well, hopefully it doesn't go wrong for them at all, but we're going to find out now as
we go into the depths of dust, it's a rower taking on focus and can another bounty hunter
take down one of the most wanted. We're about to find out with Bart off in DDK.
I'm going to show you a bit of
the game. I'm going to show
you a bit of the game. It's a
great words from James and view
not spread it in words pictures
not spread in pictures numbers
see the numbers for the next
map for dust to because again
we've seen tight numbers on
some of these maps, but they're
starting to start into be a
little gap between these two
squads down. I see. Um Aurora
in a much better position as
I don't know, man. I'm actually I'm becoming a fan of focus. I really like what they got going on like the personality of the team focus
They have the individual capacity. I think that's for sure dust is a way more open map
I think it's a map where you know if we are seeing some of the plays that we got out of I mean, I'm gonna get
In fact the entire team CTR shows some amazing stuff on new podiums
Well looking really sharp banjo with all those entries and daring plays around the heart lobby position
and we also were anchoring really well on A on cash.
And Mathias, Joe, Yo-Kat, like,
we've had great stuff from all of them.
And Dust2, it's the upset, it's the upset map.
We saw some, well, there was some interesting words
from Vue's scripture with regards to the B bomb site,
which means something to keep an eye on
as this one progresses.
But first, it's the 40th Street to London.
The knives are out.
Seems quite favorable.
Wait, what?
One side over another.
What?
They didn't even lose a single point.
Where's the trade? Where's the trading?
For the right click, man.
Where's the trading?
I mean, it looked like they all went 1v1.
Like if there's a noble jewel, just one on one,
that's a fair fight.
Do what you want, but other ones.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You want that trading to come through, but yeah,
I guess the knife will hopefully be mightier.
Sorry, the sword will be, the rifle will be knighted
in the knife.
Somebody's god.
That one was god.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I just let it go.
So you used to say this thing a long time ago, haven't had you say it yet?
You'd always say sharp as a butcher's pencil, you haven't said that yet?
No, no, I evolve it. I don't just, you know, come back with the same stuff.
You'd better say it, it's banned service.
That's a use of triggers on people because it didn't make sense to them.
It obviously makes sense.
Yeah, because a butcher, he's got to be, you know, writing down like the amounts of, you know,
meat that he's dispensing and he's got a pencil and how do you sharpen a pencil?
So he's got butcher knives.
So he's gonna sharpen it with a butcher knife.
See, the thing is like, you know, if you're diving,
if you're scuba diving and you wanna communicate to someone,
you need a pencil to write on like a slate.
Cause obviously you're not gonna use a pen underwater.
So if he's like a butcher who scuba dives,
then maybe he's using a pencil.
Who knows?
Actually, this is a great time.
I wanted to give some lore about mice.
Since Santara is using, he's still using a wired mouse.
So for those of us from the wired mouse era,
we'll all remember the kind of plasticky core
that you could feel dragging around,
which is one of the greatest reliefs of the wireless mouse.
But the reason there was no paracord on those mites,
I think because of E regulations,
you required a certain level of shielding,
so you'd have to have that crappy plastic stuff.
More about that later.
We are into the pistol round of Rora on that T side,
creeping towards B already a feature in this
to build up from Vue and Co. Vue and Banks, actually. And you could say it and Co if there's more.
This is Vue and Banks. Okay, we'll focus it. They've discovered it's all a lie outside of A.
So they know it's going to be a gameplay coming in. They couldn't be more ready than they are right now.
Maybe it's doing damage. Just look at that. Back in the whole situation. This is
this is disgusting, James. Yeah, they barely broken ground on the bomb sites.
Oh my god that tunnel is like a prison. Have you been to prison James?
Why would you say that then? I don't know I'm just curious you know.
No I have not been to prison. I've been past the prison before. Like you know on a bus.
But that's about it. What do you think it's like?
Probably a taxing environment just as it was for the T side on that pistol.
We'll see. Oh, we're really seeing a force by in this one. No money left in the hole for the AWP
The force by it on dust to
They've got utility
He makes sense to try close the distance. There'll be multiple smokes up
Wikipedia charging through with the Mac 10 into the crossfire which may not get solved in time by what remains of Aurora
I like the plan
Okay, this should be slower. There are deagles though, but before it escalates too much. So I think there was a regulation about shielding on cables, which is why a lot of manufacturers couldn't just roll out stuff for paracords.
So there was a period of time where people were like me were modding their own mice and putting their own paracords on.
If you were a smaller manufacturer, some just skirted the regulations and released a paracord anyway.
Anyway, there you go. Regulations are anti-innovation.
So there's some mouse law for you since we still have one with a cable.
But yeah, every time, like, your mouse has a new release, but with a new sensor, you know, it's just not what you want.
I think we have sufficiently talked over the uh the uh the nothing rounds of the beginning
of dust 2.
Now things will get interesting.
The AK is going to come out for Aurora and the AWP will come out for Woxic as well.
What's what's it been dusting this there's some history there
Just about affording that 50 bucks in the hole
The Woxic is he's got to go naked to get that AWP
Which is why I was curious by the force by earlier, but he committed. He's a team player
So he's AWP no Kevlar. Maybe dust to a better map for that
left to watch out for nade, he had sword shot though
still in spawn like every online greifer we've come across
in matchmaking, only waiting for opportunity
swinging a miss, flashes used well to pre-position in mid
lot of counter utility
there'll be a full take on shots from the T side of Aurora
Okay, they're gonna try to barrel into the b-site Banjo looks pretty ready for this one though
This is Matthias, let's see if we can hold this
The second is well through this mug and not enough progress seemingly made here, Ocardia
Finally takes down Banjo, good response from Matthias, spotted a car position
He's back with the trade and it looks like it's like a bomb that should be possible to get planted
But the CT is already looking to kick the door down.
And once that bomb starts getting planted,
there's only one player that can be responding.
It might be an opportunity to respond to it.
And the focus players are unrelenting, unable to allow this bomb to get there.
But there's no chance it can even get planted there.
Love the confidence there from focus.
That's a 4-0 start for them on the CT side.
There are only two players towards B in that scenario as well.
Well, maybe with some expectation of a short take from the T side as you often do, you can see Kixxan trying to pre-fire with the Mach 10 through the smoke.
Thank you, Gene. Good for a multi-frag round on many occasions in this series, and there is another one.
So these smoke plays not working out for Aurora.
Yeah, the timing was interesting, the three of us were towards A, but the focus had enough.
Now, what other spanners will the Aurora be able to throw into the works in future rounds?
This one will be a ropey one, but that's a promising start for Yimfa.
So around where there are not many rifles for Aurora, I think Yimfa's handed one over.
He's managed to rescue that one through the doors without being picked off.
This could become surprisingly hairy for focus in round five.
play through B apps, but there's over a minute on the clock.
Yeah, I just want to just hit that a site. I mean, it's definitely
a good one to hit. They should be able to get isolated duels
against the players on a
pretty does have the AWP. He won't have too much to block his
ability to take shots. So pretty has to hit everything. Oh,
that's a bit sketchy there.
See, he's not falling back onto the ramp. No, you told us to
stop him. So again, it's a good chance of succeeding. There's
That's the first kill. The smoke that flashed short plant.
Spray through, but be careful not to get punished.
Nicely done here from CTR, leaving just, in fact there.
Going for the short plant now as the remainder comes.
And can they stop the plant?
Absolutely not.
USP comes out though, at least for the focus side.
They didn't lose anyone else.
Really important that the bomb gets planted there,
and that will be true going forward.
If they continue with this loss bonus,
they can at least pull out the AKs.
The clean sheet remains for focus, I'm not afraid of an information plate.
That was a pretty important frag.
Things were looking awkward otherwise, I think probably you had an angle for the push from
short.
That player alive on low up could have really been a problem, but well dealt with by focus.
than one frag, which is Yimba. Higgsan has no frags. Everybody else has one frag, so
this is a really rough situation, really rough. No one's doing much of anything for Aurora
fragging-wise.
That's a good catch. That's a good catch, too.
Yeah, very interesting. Woxic no longer naked with an AWP. He's found some clays.
Five or no for Pody. Ten for two, Mateus.
On the other end of this one, takes down Santoris. Oh my god, low cap.
Finds the head of you in front as well. They get utterly denied.
Okay. These frags, seemingly impossible to find. Where are they?
Are the frags in the room with us?
This is crazy. Focus. We've got the slippers on Aurora walking barefoot in the desert.
So walk stick with his one frag kicks on zero for five to clutch. If they dare, it's a
long time to to try and hold your position and save these weapons. You will feel vulnerable
I think it's a good idea to
get a little bit of a walk stick
with. Zero dollars in the bank.
Oh, that's going to nice. And
actually, we've isolated now.
One player banjo on the site. Oh
my goodness gracious me and
without a chance. Banjo looking
to shut every opportunity down.
Oh man, looks so confident.
Well, he's been doing for his squad.
That's true.
You know, some generate their names on like Xbox Live or something,
but Banjo is quite specific.
But yeah, another good start from Pody.
Great rifle support as well.
And Aurora just unable to answer.
Again, they've thrown a number of things at B
to know if they were sneaking through the smoke.
The CTs were close and ready for it.
A timed push out of A long,
denied by the AWP posted up.
What now for Aurora onto the pistols with a ton of utility again?
We first saw them make that fast place towards B in around such as this
What else have they got in the tank?
You know, it was it was Aurora who had a 5-1 leads on
Nuke which focus were able to pull back in that first half now
It's the role of turn to do the same in the deciding map of dusting looking like we might get a potential shots
Quants set piece, touching some of the counter utility.
See if that's clear as they obviously can always drop into a B. A B hit as well.
They've got Ymplat moving away from Long.
So are they looking to pick off that middle man in CT? Or will they pursue a play towards a...
Rokadia asking questions, trying to pull the rotator from pillar to post.
Our focus patiently awaits.
Pony, moving down towards Long, so they will concede position on the safe one-sides, and
there will be some drops, but they'll be straight into the hands of ZTR, 6 for 3 now, as they
can use a great forward, Zantara is able to win that duel and pick up a rifle, 20 seconds
to get this bomb planted, Pony with some good angles, he'll know what's safe and what's
not for the retake at least as it's planted for short.
Yeah, Santaris with the sole rifle there.
Going back to shorts. Every single player to support each other.
And here comes the focus squad looking for the parents.
Santaris doing the damage he needs to do. He found great support. It's had Taurus again.
Now down to Poti. Can he make this one work for the team?
There's the smoke. That's going to be very powerful here.
Oh my goodness, over the top of the smoke.
He's down to that target.
Is he going to go for the stick?
Absolutely he is.
And trying to close the distance to spray.
Run out of bullets.
And Pody with the steal.
Can we get the AWP at least?
Well, that's something, if not the round.
That's a really good attempt from them.
They fought so hard to stop the CTs
from getting on that bomb site.
But that Digo shot off the top of the smoke.
Proved to be too much.
A fantastic start for focus.
Patiently waiting to get their presence here.
I didn't think that as far as we'll
able to trick up right with the Mac 10, but he found the way so close and yet so far.
Clean sheet remains, pearly whites for focus on Dust2.
So at the start of this round, Pote starts around with $14,500, so he's in no sweat to
replace the AWP there for him.
7-0 of the score, and we get the time out there from focus, actually, which I really
like here, James, because they're so far ahead.
You want them not to get overconfident.
You want them to make sure that they maintain disciplines, keep their foot on the pedal and keep just Aurora in this desperate place where, like you mentioned before, you know, the frags were taught to come by, they have since managed to start fragging more so.
Since you mentioned that, it seems like you kind of cussed, you know, cussed the focus squad a little bit with that one, but Aurora are getting closer to winning a round.
that might not be enough as we head into round eight.
No one challenging the choke point, but no one going further on long for Aurora.
So what is the solution?
They've tried a great many things.
The burn for the CTs in mid, and that is going to be catastrophic for them.
that. Did they continue
heading podiums way? Post up on
short of AWP. He does have
healthy does not and finally
the deadlock is broken. There's
no more zero. On the side for
Aurora. They have taken one
step forward. There is a
reasonable score to take from
A lot of the pressure in mids, not going the CT's way.
Yeah.
It's so funny, isn't it, because everything that the focus had been doing was working.
That was the first round where they took this map out and they said, let's go aggressive
and it fails.
So it's such a classic maneuver.
They're just going aggressive again here, so really continuing to switch up the pace.
I can't have a wonder, is this going to be making life easier for Aurora, who was struggling
to create opportunities when focus were playing passive but we'll have to see
here with Poti posted up with York gets the catch of the kickstand I can fall
back all my words the ordnance flying through CT's able to escape they know
where they're vulnerable Zntl will try to ruin the timing of this expedition
more jump where that came from, okay,
there could be stuck on an island here.
The smoke may help him though, indeed it will.
Minutes on the clock,
heat maps quite hot in that mid position.
We're looking to confirm possession of short,
and they'll do that.
Cody's been a nuisance around this car position
and more than one round.
Be it here, be it long, he is a problem.
Your cab is in that long position.
He's got no flashes to support his sniper. Should he leave them?
Not an easy shot to connect.
CTR, could work here from the lower position previously.
Spawn, see if you can get a repeat there in the smoke.
Now scaling into the short plant, really nice here.
They've managed to maintain the integrity of numbers, Aurora.
Let's focus. Regroup for the retake.
Head spotted. That's a free one there from the shadows.
Can it control us? Is that Taurus an extra after we can't eat and suddenly where the hell have Aurora gone?
It's so tense
The slow creep towards the bombsite
Hiding in the smoke holding from long
Gotta be so quick to find the first and the second man
There's the CTs really well done
I was expecting the flash over the box in lower tunnel before the spring top mid there
It was just eerily quiet
But they're able to get the pick top mid
Some frustrations then on the side of Aurora who trail by seven in the first half they'll have money for the buy
They go for a faster round in long then there will be a challenge the CTs or there
There was going to be smoke on the corner already and the CTs will have to concede
The interesting thing about this is that you need to take long, and the CTs have got to respect it a little bit.
Nice find there from the tails. That's what it's going to say. You know, you've got to play for info.
Are they sending everybody long? Are they going to take long and fall out along and try to catch you in the rotation?
There's lots of ways that this long take early can be played to the advantage of the T side.
But with that pick there on to Xantharis, it definitely, I think, forces Aurora into this long play.
and they're just going to try to scale it slowly.
It's the, I think, least variance play that they have.
And it can be always effective on a map it does to...
Oh, my goodness.
Polly's so ready for these offshots.
Walks it down.
And now Aurora, they're having to continue to press.
They've got to get something back.
Storm is starting. Yo, Caboni good for one.
Mateo, does he dare push through the smoke here?
the smoke. The timing will
have to be on his side. And
wandering the right reasons.
40 seconds. Now only drops off
the sales makes his blade through
the smoke collects to and that
is the round done. Really getting
the better of these close
engagements around the smoke are
just trying to find something that will work.
That's crazy.
I thought watching had that control and was so dissipated.
This is looking extremely dangerous now for Aurora.
They're kind of, I think, passing the territory jays, which is...
I mean, you can definitely feel the vibes, not like in all that great on the Aurora side.
And the focus, I think, what's been really cool to see
is that they've maintained the discipline, they've maintained the confidence,
and they haven't kind of played too passive.
They're not in that position where they're kind of feeling like,
oh man, are we doing it?
We're doing it?
And they start getting into their own heads.
They're still laser focused.
And, you know, they're looking at a potential
to close this half out with more than nine.
Big scenario for focus.
Really big.
It's nice if you've got a good spawn towards B to post up like this, but the flashes are
used well.
Focus wise to that game.
Still delivering though, it's Woxic.
It's a great entry from him, doing it the hard way.
Pretty changing position here with the orb.
Might catch somebody off guard.
Leading onto Yo-Kab.
the announces his presence now and now the scale across the cap position
CTR dropping down and still five alive here for Aurora there in very very good
stead now with control of the onsite
about this flank from long though because uh the last play rotating for the T
is one carrying the bomb now that flank is coming through from ZTR
i don't know if you can get there fast enough because we still have Woxic
lurking in that lower tunnel which will hold your caps position
So there was a small window of possibility there, but it seems that window has closed.
CTR last now and CT spawn as Aurora looked to claw back something. A lifeline from this half.
So I'll take everybody with them. Finally, a step forward. They've been so rare in this half.
off. Yeah, the money's actually kind of sauce for focus. They're going to have enough to
get a decent buy, but let's not play it might be without a gun.
It might be without a gun. They're getting onto the AWP again, but yeah, great run from
a war on here. Just trying to do something here in this first half.
I'm sure they're going to try to get aggressive there. B has seldomly been an off point of
operations. Tony very good opener. And again with the B tunnel aggression, I don't think
Aurora are going to expect that necessarily, although focus clear it and they fall off.
may change where they rotate that third man between A and B.
Continuing to push through one short here.
Very forward position.
Will the fire spread?
ZCR here doing great work, holding position.
Cody deciding what to do now.
Because he posts up once again.
So many CTs again.
Clearing up at B. They know where the T's are.
Posing up together.
Kexan though finds a third.
He's connected the bomb as well.
And he's got position on the bomb sites.
Focus coming in though from Catwalk.
And in hands, Kixhand looking to go for the fake here.
From down he's got time, finding the headshot position.
It's a smart here from Kixhand, but Yo-Kav takes him down.
A 10-2 first half on Dust2, unbelievable.
In 20-26 so far, one team that is really close to becoming
The strong team is, I would say, foot.
Thus far, I think it might be foot.
I think...
Fish puncher, boy!
If you need this!
Mr. Fish Puncher!
12 games!
I don't want to bully too much.
Fish puncher is not an issue.
Go, go, go!
Oh, my God!
I killed you there!
You're back!
I can't remember this well, don't you?
I do remember it.
I can't escape it in some sense.
It has become part of my life.
You've got all the five energy members of the RTOZ.
In the same name, representing the organization B.
Apex is not included.
Because bees have short life splints
and don't really usually live in the village.
They don't live in the village.
They don't live in the village.
They don't live in the village.
I don't usually believe in bellies.
I had a bit delayed, like for media days and stuff,
and then I didn't have, like, jerseys and stuff with me,
so I had to use the same jersey for, like, six days,
and it becomes a very nasty thing, so...
Ah, bro, this new generation, I can't.
Back in my days, you stop, and then you shoot.
Not like now.
Now, that time, I have those teenagers
fucking messed up speaking to me.
Here's the view from section 111 on the day before.
And this is what it looks like day one.
I don't have a teeth, fellas.
I think we all get one ravioli each.
You know what? I'm grabbing two.
Usually at the start of the round, you want to pay attention to the spawns.
That's because only the best spawn for the CTs gets past this corner
before the best T spawn peeks.
So the best use of the spawn is to try to get a Molotov down at the doors
right away to stop a potential rush.
This is the incredible electricity in the air.
Can you let me hear you roar?
You had to.
What are you supposed to do with this?
Ha ha ha, buckle up.
This is going to be very hard to see what's happening inside.
Some say years of practice are required.
They're wrong.
I will teach you good habits, such as smoking, flashing,
And, of course, winning.
Oh, my God.
Well, how can I play with this guy?
I don't understand.
What did he ask?
Just advice, emotional support.
ChatGPT has helped.
What's the point in having Jack help performance?
Coach, we have ChatGPT.
I think he did a great job with Flamzie.
That's kind of scary.
I know about that.
My question for you, man, is, bro, are you him?
to the right. Pullaways from
Aurora in that second one. But
here focus have just denied
them left and right. Put a post
and now they are really reliant
on having a successful pistol
round on the city side. Yeah,
focus looking for the bounty.
They got the bags out ready to
much like focus work in that pistol actually kind of like a repeat the shoes on the other on the other foot oh
Man, it's very similar. I feel like
Compote you do anything to get some it's a mind-blowing
Okay, all right, that was a true. I mean that's exactly what you need if you're Aurora. We just got a real match
a real match. We just got a real match. Still 310. Yeah, but probably going to be 410. Probably.
Oh yeah. No bomb blasts. Not enough money to do much of anything. Most of the time at
least. Yeah. No one's purchased just yet. I mean their money absolutely sucks. Five
blocks on road. Heading fowards, kicks hands, famas. Has a quick look and says no.
It's a bit weird that you get money for planting the bomb, even though it gets diffused, you know,
it's like a participation award.
I want a participation award. Weirdly enough, the only flashes for the CTs here are in
mid in the hands of Acadia. No one else has flashes, so they fall back to the bomb site,
but they can't like do a pop flash and swing on these pistols even at range.
They can duel at range, though. Kickstands by the car.
So who thinks that's our result? I think it is.
And the rest is a formality.
Nicely done, a shooting gallery for Aurora.
A perfect round from their perspective.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just, you know, again, these couple rounds, nothing rounds.
And then we move now into the first five of focus.
and uh yeah super interested to see what their t-side looks like
what are they going to do no no all-pouts uh initially you know money's not there for that
but we'll see what they opt to do regardless big favor for focus now unsurprisingly
i think that smoke had to be somewhat modified after some changes i saw i missed yesterday
forget by who. Little challenging to do consistently. Slower approach then for
focus. Want to see what the CTs are up to and they've got very forward positions
in mid. Second smoke going towards those middle doors. Menacing positions from
Aurora on short. They're expecting a you know the short take to come in and
And it's got the
HG flash is ready to try to counter that and just jump on the play before focus gets us up
You can see how nervous kick sanny is no one's got eyes towards long whatsoever
We just went to have a quick look
Before getting back into position, but it's such a slow start from focus
No one's there will show the numbers bursting through mid doors is gonna cause a problem then for Aurora
They've got three ovens towards the eight bomb sites and the race is on
See if you already got out of a big shot.
Try to go through the smoke.
What is that?
Jump, is that a jump at short?
I'm not sure.
Just through the smoke at the very least from Xantara's.
And that modding is certainly annoying.
And Forbes 2 vs 2 now with all the position in the world
for focus.
Also actually splitting up the long position as well.
So Xantara's has an expiration date.
And there has found it.
This banjo comes into play from long.
Now Voxic, 30 HP, trying to scale up the ramp as well.
For the long V1 banjo.
a steady pair of hands.
Really slow pacing there from focus.
That would be terrifying for Aurora.
Three players bursting through the middle doors.
Just coming in like savages.
Too much for kickstand to deal with.
I think they had an open B bombsite for a while.
Didn't matter though.
Eliminating everybody as necessary.
seven round lead them over Aurora. Such a trying game of Dust 2 for them.
They had the right idea as well. You could see that they kind of knew what was coming.
Okay, well hang on. Zantara, he wants to take the game into his own hands.
Push top middle as well. In fact, the entire top mid has been essentially taken over by the CTs
and focus. They're kind of in the beat-ups at the moment. And if you're a Aurora, you're going to
I'm already wondering, where are these players?
They're supposed to be around mid.
So they should have a good in-click.
The flick, though, for San Paris.
He's not gonna do the camera to just call win the 1v1s.
Kicks hand.
Trying to keep the team alive, but 3v3 here.
Certainly favours Focus.
Making Aurora nervous with their patient play
on the T side.
Still over a minute now on this three on three.
Guesswork for Aurora in where they put their second man
on one of these bomb sites.
will be towards the A bomb site.
There's a rotation towards B
for Banjo to join his teammates.
Now, Aurora have somewhat cleared that long area.
It's so risky to send Woxic from car on A over towards B.
He can watch mid-doors at least to some degree with his scouts,
but this is just a somewhat diabolical situation in all areas for Aurora.
29 seconds on the clock, a lurk smoke, you're in fact with a strong and promising position
looking for a second which you will not get.
Yeah, oh, imagine. Well, I don't think there's a kit. That's a huge problem here because
there is a, you know, Utah still remaining. There's a Mali couple flashbangs. So some
extra tools to slow the retake down. A Scout and an M4. It's really going to be very tough
Oh, what a tough, crazy situation Aurora.
Another scout for the fountain to be taken in.
His focus was really good.
You know, Banjo played this 1v1 extremely well.
Right at the end here.
Nothing that kicks in.
Could really have done.
And you can see the dejection there on San Taurus.
Now you're mentally starting to really struggle.
maybe giving up a little bit we'll see if they find something here some good damage done on to Zantarus MP9 for him scout for
Woxic MP9 for Jim fat MP9 for wikipedia and another scout for kickstand those are not the weapons
That you
Lacking range in many ways
I love the pace that focus sets on this T side. They're so comfortable with it, using
the clock really well and it's made Aurora uncomfortable. Giving them the urge to find
some action. That's a great start from Woxic now with the bait set up. Santaro is up close.
They look for him
Barrel he is but Mateos is better
Visualizing finding what he needs to I'm not spotted by Aurora just yet
But it's still top mid as a split a splits could be on the cards here for focus
Let's smoke
It's kind of annoying there because Aurora they've got to be worried about this a plate but miss on catwalk
comes a challenge to try actually.
What a peek there from Yokox's ATR as well.
And my goodness, you thought maybe there's a chance here to get something done.
AJ collected for you. In fact, he's going to save the day here.
Two players of the three. Very low on HP.
Jimmy able to push forward to the HE.
But Banjo, who else to shut it down?
13-4, a crushing defeat for Aurora.
Another bounty taken.
the game. Fantastic series for
Aurora. Little bit too
difficult on you, but so strong
to finish on dust two over to
banks. The bounty hunting
success continues as another
most wanted falls. That's three
in a row now, Vue, as focus was
the only one focused in this
because Aurora they got
absolutely rolled on this dust
two. I know we spoke about this
of the recent results from Aurora on dust two. No way did I expect them to just have
no answer to that CT aggression early on in the first half, man. I mean, focus understood
the assignment because you're saying they didn't have a response for it in the first
half. They didn't have a response for it all series long. As soon as he got into the mid
ground, it focuses getting aggressive. Aurora simply couldn't deal with it. And that's
when they're going to have to go back to the drawing board because this is not an unusual
playstyle something they couldn't possibly have predicted they just need to be more coordinated
as a team in these mid-round situations. Focus, all credit to them though. They really applied
the pressure. When they went down a man they didn't capitulate give up the round. They made it very
uncomfortable for Aurora and that's why you're seeing an incredibly one-sided dust too. I mean
I definitely wouldn't have expected this one to be anything less than a 13-10.
Yeah, I was expecting a bit of back and forth some more in it
But it was even when like you were talking about they were in a disadvantage situation
They're playing a 4v5 and someone will make a challenge or take a little bit more space and and fight Aurora for it
While they're in the middle of getting stuff done
But that's enough of us talking let's get Cuban in here to join us for the interview because we got a lot
To ask this man. He's only got a big smile on his face. Hello Cuban
Hello. Hey. Hey guys
I'm happy
Yeah, you must be happy with that one, because obviously, Cash, very back and forth,
first time both you two teams were playing this on an official,
then on the Nuke there wasn't too much life, so I want to ask you just,
what was the conversation and the game plan going into Dust2,
because you guys looked unstoppable?
I would say the plan was to be quite aggressive, because,
I mean, so far we have played two officials this season,
Every single half, literally every single, we are losing 0-5 or 1-5 and every single
time I take in the timeout when it happens, we are starting to be back on the server winning
way more rounds because we are just starting to play confidence in the same way like we
play on Prax. In the beginning there is too much of hesitation and on Dust2 I just said like,
let's just play how we usually do on Prax, let's just play with both from day one
And we need to be in their face from round one.
Don't let them even do their moves.
And I think it worked quite well.
OK, you're saying you usually take a pause at 0-5 down,
and then your team turns it around.
You take a pause at 7-0 up, and you immediately lose the round.
But I'm wondering what are you saying to your team
when you take a pause at that much of a lead?
Are you just kind of letting them calm down?
Yeah, I think it was after the clutch round.
So I just wanted the player who was last to breathe and just reflect on the round and we can reconsider off.
Should we still have the same approach or just play something new?
What would we do if we were them?
You know, that's what I usually say.
I have one follow up question on that is I believe you can confirm if I might be wrong,
but I believe you can talk at all times as a coach during the at least the online portion of this event.
Does that change the dynamic of your team?
Do you feel like your team functions better if you're more vocal or are you trying to practice as if you can't talk?
Not gonna lie
I like to speak and it has its pros and cons because people are not used to having the six boys when we practice
But during officials and online games
I think we should always benefit from having the bigger overview so people can focus on
Shooting and taking their own decisions while I can look at the big picture of what we are doing
And it's either connection between the moves we are doing, yeah
But it worked out really well, Q and we have to let you go
We've got to keep things moving forward
But thank you very much for your time and congratulations on a very big and important win against Aurora
Thank you guys and hopefully see you in Malta. Oh
Yes, hell yeah, man
And I would be that positive if I am Cuban right now, especially if you're taking down Aurora like this a big bounty
Has been achieved once again, boo. Oh
Oh, huge, huge to see three. I mean, I think last season we had almost every favorite pick
up the win in this online portion. And we're looking here at you have to respect these
wins too, because even online CS people want to denigrate it, but generally the favorites
are going to win. And when we look at this one, I don't think you look at that and say
online CS had a huge factor in that. I think that was a focus team that came in. Maybe
they had some players firing on all cylinders. Maybe you could argue if they would be like
that online, but they played the right style of CS for their opponent and you can't take
anything away from them for that.
Well, we're not too far away from foot taking on sinners that's coming up next. We're going
to keep things moving forward. We've got some great interviews coming your way as well.
So we'll see you in just a few.
X-Cloud talk to me, brother. You are now on foot. How did this move come about? How did
this come together?
I mean, I think we had some talks with foot before also in the previous seasons, but with
this season, I think La Lux wanted to look for other options and there was some jiggle
room for me to maybe have opportunity here.
And how important and how much does it mean to you, the fact that foot is obviously a
Turkish organization as well and a big one at that?
I mean, of course, it makes me more excited because it's a Turkish organization and most
of our fans are Turkish and they like to see Turkish scene is going like better and better
every day and with this move I think they are so happy for this AP I'm happy and hopefully we're
gonna put some good results so also the team is happy. Definitely and I remember we spoke a bit
when you were on heroic right that it wasn't really the CS you like to play which sometimes
would hold you back from being at your best. Did you have a conversation with Foot when you joined
about how you want to play and and what they would allow you to do?
Obviously, because I talk with Gugli a lot and like I think also their style is very fitting with me.
It's just a matter of time that I need to get it up to them and then it to adapt to who I am.
Because with Launix, maybe Launx was a bit more like silent guy, but shooting hard, you know,
but here I'm more a character who talks more like it's good talks, bad talks, it's been, you know, mixed.
So just finding the good balance and good playground for both sides. And I think it'll be good because I think
Here with the coolio style with Krabine style will say I think this is the
Counter-Strike I used to play and I like to play I will say
So this sounds like we're gonna get the best of X-Flight again
inshallah
And tell me obviously you've had a bit of time meeting the team
But what has surprised you or impressed you so far about the guys like give me some stories
I mean, I knew they were shooting hearts
But while I'm watching them and I'm not like anymore
I'm not
Frustrated when I'm playing first, you know, because then when I'm watching demon, okay, bro
This guy's shooting better than everyone like no joke like now
I didn't see anything like that and also
So everyone, Dukes, Dukes is shooting hard, Krobeni is shooting hard as an idea and I think
Cymetry have very good moments with Raiful, or any bit doesn't matter, like when I'm watching
Cymetry I'm saying, am I watching Demon, you know, sometimes.
So I think that's surprising a lot, but also in other parts I think they are very, like
they are so young, like when I'm thinking I was 18 or 17, like there's some things,
maybe it's missing, but I'm saying, okay, like when I was 17 I was not even there, so
I think it's like acceptable things to have that and also looking at just the role you're
going to go into.
Is it just a one for one trade between you and lounge or is there some other pieces
moving around to fit you in?
I mean, I wouldn't say it's one to one because most of the positions I changed my position,
but it's also like a second start position, I would say like maybe on the side is more
comfortable now because Kerbin is an IGL who takes responsibility and he plays
aggressive so maybe I need to just trade him or survive a bit more but still I'm
doing playmaker mostly needed but on CT I'm playing more like TAS2 B rotation
okay maybe and we need to be ready for it but I say no yeah whatever I'm playing
more like second star positions and this is also fine for me just like I was
playing these positions like my own positions for two years over two years
So it's just a bit of like, I'm feeling like a new born baby.
So I just need to get used to it and have experienced a little bit on the new positions.
A lot of insight from X-Cloud down.
I'm liking what I'm hearing because when we look at this move right at the beginning,
it might seem like it's just kind of a normal trade off and like we won't see too much of a change for foot.
But I feel like with how badly he was used on heroic and the system not fitting him so well that if
this team's like a better stylistic fit for him.
He can shine and be at the best X-Flight we saw
of the older past we remember.
Yeah, I'm really high on X-Flight actually,
not only because I think the,
we're not talking about positions.
Who cares about the exact position?
It's the role fit.
You know, he's a very aggressive player.
He's going into roles where they want him
to be very aggressive.
They want him to lean into that.
And not only that, I love in the interview,
he's saying he wants to be a bigger voice.
He wants to be that second voice on the team.
That's something that I think foot might have been lacking a little bit.
You know, he longs had lots of energy, but was he in the middle of a round
calling a plague, telling his team, you know, I see a gap here.
I see a gap there.
That's something people were talking about.
You know, Sun Pius was rumored to this roster.
That's one of the big things they were talking about when we were
thinking Sun Pius, this roster, maybe a second voice.
Well, X-Floud, I think a very good stylistic fit for this team.
And if you can add that second voice, that little bit of experience,
this could actually propel them to the next level.
Yeah. And in terms of that, I was just looking quickly at like the ages of the players, right?
It's still such a young lineup that when Xplow comes in, he's one of the more experienced
players in there, which can help out quite a lot with all of this.
Yeah. I mean, Xplow, I looked it up because I'm thinking of him as very experienced. He's
23 years old. He is very experienced, you know, even for the age he's been a lot, lots
of teams. He's been in lots of different situations. He's got experience with different
IGLs and you can give them maybe some solutions to problems that they haven't potentially
considered before. So even though this team, they are incredibly young, I think X-Flight
gives them that little bit of extra experience that does. Again, I think this has really
great potential to propel them to. They've been knocking on the door of tier one, knocking
on the door of that top 10. They've had some great results, but I think this could actually
make them more of a mainstay.
Now, I know that they're going up against Sinners who have been struggling when it comes to
tougher competition, but Sinners is also a team that will brawl, that will fight a lot.
I'm expecting quite a lot of action going into this game.
It might not be such a close tight game,
but I'm expecting just pure fights on our hands
from start to finish.
Yeah, there's going to be fireworks.
I mean, the last series, we saw some mid-round aggression.
We saw lots of fighting in the mid-rounds.
And I think here we're going to see even more of that.
The problem is, I think this is more of a lopsided affair.
I think you're going to see foot there in their stylistic,
like they're in their comfort zone playing this style of CS
against this type of team.
They've done it a hundred, a thousand times before.
They've been in the dull drums of online counter strike many a time.
I think this is a comfortable one for them.
And the problem for Sinners right now is there was a moment,
I don't know about you, but I was getting high on them.
I'm not saying they were going to break through,
but it was like they had a lot of potential.
They were winning good events online.
And then as soon as we hit like the bigger events,
the Atlanta, the Cologne, then going to XPL in China,
it just fell flat.
like they just lost their own understanding of how to play.
I had higher hopes for sinners maybe like a year ago.
You know, coming into this season,
I'm seeing sinners as a team that has hit their peak,
they've hit their cap and they just,
I don't mean to denigrate the players,
but I don't think that the players that they have
really can compete against the top 10 team.
When it comes down to it, yes, there's lots of strategy,
there's lots of tactics,
but if you can't shoot the other guy in the head,
as well as as well as they can if you're playing against a Zai Wu or Robs you're playing is some of the players on on this team
A demon an X-Floud you just have to be able to hit your shot when you have a slightly advantageous engagement
And and I like sinners, but I think they're hitting their cap
Well, let's see if they can do any damage when it comes to dust to that's what we're going to first between foot and the sinister part
often DDK over to you
Like gents, this should be an explosive one
I saw that cash was floated for a while there, but vetoed towards the end interestingly demon and symmetry
Well, we'll get to them in a second, but first we'll do the numbers. So cinders are are a they're a big underdog here
They've lost their last six matches seven row seven matches
So well of the ones I saw three of them were best of threes three of them were best of ones
So a bit of this bit of that some some of them actually know they haven't been great
the best of three series. But
there's no better time to break
that streak than right now. But
yeah, deep in a cemetery where I
think. Seven years old when
shrouds had the boosts play on
cash. So maybe it's good with
the experienced strats we've
seen today. Maybe it's good that
that one was vetoed by the
squad, but. We definitely have
an explosive series. Definitely
plenty of space for individual
individual skill here between foot and sinners. Let's see if sinners can write the shit. They've
definitely been in a storm for a little while now, and there's no better time to turn it around.
Yes, very tough when you have so many losses in a row, but we'll get back to that point at the
moment because we do have a long take coming in from sinners. And if it's just looking to control the
flow of players here. Direct challenge coming on in, being taken down, kiss your wreck.
it's a good trade coming on.
It's still holding it down.
Oh, with the last bullets stress on.
It's going to pull victim to that.
And suddenly, you know, not too much in terms of position.
First managing to hold ground and they got a flank on the works as well.
2v3. It'll be dangerous at both squads.
be demons still being a nuisance.
Bring the back of his head there as
jugs will get involved. There's
X-Flight from the back now as
Moto finds himself alone.
It's going to force the issue
somewhere. 25 seconds on the
clock and we put out of his
misery.
As they don't get far enough in
that long position.
Yeah, nice shutdown. I like the
challenge from demon run car.
I think that was really good to
see from him.
You know, like any ground
forward ground to be gained
around the smoke.
Very, very strong, see if you
smoke for the lake.
And an important round. I think something you're going to be talking about but maybe you got stymied by the start of the round was
something individual skill across the foot players I think demon
cemetery, you know like this there's good to kind of talk about all of the players here that they have some really nasty
individuals
Pretty nasty scout frag from T spawn from Modo. This is a full four spy. Well, he's left
a little in the bank. He had 600. I think he just bought a flash in the dying seconds or by time.
So with that five on four, maybe a little more promise shown. Again, we saw lightning fast
forced by Util from Aurora earlier on towards the B bomb sites, not with the result they wanted.
A slower pace, man advantage, and plenty of intention from Sinners.
The B-stick may be looking to pull some players out of position first.
Two per sight at the moment.
They can make it a bit weaker.
Getting ready to dart over towards A.
Yeah, I feel it's uncomfortable to have to play so passive.
40 seconds to go and...
The B-Sites seem to be tested.
Cemetery, how much can he do here with the M4A1S close range?
Here's a little nice gift box.
First play down, nice transfer onto the second.
Out comes the USB and this is excellent work here from Cemetery.
How has he managed to get so much swathed out for the second line?
It's gonna be the scout to finish things off there.
The Sanctuary's done more than enough, 3 vs 2 now in favour of Foote.
14 seconds to get the part in, and there's already two players now from Foote on the way in the tunnels.
2v3 with a scout. Crazy work, Modo unable to get posted up in time.
B-Stick forcing the issue, chance of a rifle now.
As he goes for the full clutch, there may be a small argument to try and save this rifle.
The smoke's in either side, into the bomb site, he goes, but Krebbenny's got the correct angle,
and the round will be rescued. Big damage done in the end by Sinners.
Bomplun will be helpful as well. The demon will secure the round for Foots.
And there you go, you know that's individual brilliant staff from Cemetery. It's fantastic.
It's true of the pistol, so interesting because you see the peek comes through,
then he's like, hold on, I've got to take time versus the pistol, comes back confidently,
He loses the jewel. Big props to
cemetery on that one. Yeah,
making all the difference at 3K.
There is is pretty pretty much
best case and that's going to
secure the two oh.
The bomb plant was needed.
But you can see that very
one utility. But in this round,
we do get the buy from sinners.
I'm sinking on into the lower
dark year. Very aggressive stuff
there. From foods. Excited in
there. It's got support on
can walk as well. So it's a trap here James. The timing looks good for shenanigans as well
from the foot side because again there's not much utility in the first place for sinners.
Now they're a little suspicious of the action going on but if you can win the duel that will
certainly help. Modo traded by Krabeni, that second man maybe not too unexpected. They're able to
to search out for long uncontested.
A smoker flash, two flashes to close the distance
if long is to be the ultimate position.
CT's pushing through B to find out what's happening,
but if they are getting to rotate through to A
for a minute, gotta be careful about this lurker.
They'll have to go fast now as symmetry's dropped
on the site.
Surely this means that the take in and B stick
was in great position to take advantage of that,
but unable to do so.
Yeah, not too much space gains just yet from Sinner's on long. Still dealing with these counter smokes.
How much, how much value can you get for Bernie from his car position? This is looking absolutely devious.
Taking down one, good damage onto the second. Setting up his teammates here on the site, but X-File, I don't think he gets too much, but the flank from Jugs might just do the damage.
to the left. 13 HP versus 19.
Next bullet wins. It's shot.
We'll get the plant secured.
You can play those. Hetero
angles. Position over the
reposition found out by jugs,
and that's a close one. But
still the win on the board for
foot. Yeah, very proactive on
the CT side information seeking
that was such an important
jewel in mid as well with the
to do so. Who knows what happens if he gets the better of that one, but ultimately he didn't,
and Foots will be very happy with that. We've seen on more than one round now, we saw on the pistol,
we see in this round as well, those counter smokes, head coffee, that car position, which are really
important in the timing, and they get in that car position to prove to be an issue, so this is
definitely something that might have a greater focus in further approaches to long from sinners.
It's not looking to convert their first grab now the connection with the scouts early on
Kind of annoying if you are
I mean this you know this they said fireworks would be the case for this game I can I can see why
It's like losing the rounds every single round has been fully in contention from sinners
I'm winning some space with the molotov.
Good timing on the cat take.
And pretty cheap as well to take it.
Quiet entrance to mid.
Kripeni could be in for another surprise.
There is a tech across fire here.
Oh, they're wise to the plan.
What a glorious bot flash.
Look at the result for Fertz.
jump up. I got everything covered, though. Now the position, no. That's just too much symmetry to
finish it off in another round. Again, so many of these rounds look like there's opportunity
for sinners, but they just can't quite find the close.
Such strong timing with the counter. Maybe just an information play, maybe a hard read.
That full flash in mid coming through the smoke. What a result 4fts.
That's that force a more prompt pacing from sinners.
What if he conditions to do something else.
Actually targeted through those mid doors.
False sense of security will be very punishing.
They are left with an economy which is lacking in round five.
Pistols will have to be the star of the show.
Quite making their way towards shorts.
They've got some smokes to get past the initial part of the choke point.
They'll be straight to the sights.
See Demon here with the smoke on the molly and as these smokes come through he may have
a few options. Drop some utile to stop the advance, popping down to pre-cut but they will
be denied. Kroppen is here as well, pulling out a smoke
at the rock side. Might leave Demon on an island for the moment. Cemetery here now,
I think you may have seen that drop as these pistol heroes try to get as much damage as
they can, M4. We're down to a 2 on 2 here. Somehow, it is just one remaining for both
squads. Shock with the Desert Eagle trying to reposition carefully. Not sure where Juggs
is coming from. He's being very careful himself. A wide approach to the bombsite. He has a
kit and some flashes. There, he pulled a nade out of this scenario. Can't imagine creeping
fourth. As comes through with a huge one dig. You can't run that one back too many times but
it is an important round for the squad. Yeah we had some nasty deagle connections in that round
from Sinners. There's number one from Kiseric. Number two from a shock. Look at, look at some
of these deagle shots. Absolutely wild stuff there. That's so quick. I mean you can't do anything
about that and it's a much needed round for Sinners. It converts off the pistols. I thought
like this is so commonly the way it goes. Quick challenge there for the long position.
Kitsurek is going to make his way out. Three players here there for the retake from Furt
if they want to go for it. That's such a painful one with what has done to that CT econ. Despite
four rounds in a row they have been spending time and again on the cusp of being broken now by Sinners.
This will be a great reward
For some difficult rounds and finding way through on that one just a wreck posting up good for a second
Stress on will come to pick up the reins
And now foot will be completely broken so we may have a very different
Game on our hands as the slimer has completely changed in this half
that's what we're going to do
right now. We're going to go
off. Yeah, yeah, has has
changed. It's clear. Blue skies
right now for the sin inside.
Up onto motor. Definitely a very
great different look now, and
here's what will happen with
foot if they'll change their
approach as well. As you said
rightly, their economy is
destroyed and makes sense
There we go. Just a bunch of USP. What's due? Okay, okay, they got a stacked P. I guess
Shocker's very happy about that. Oh my god. It's very easy kills from Shocker. Looking
really sharp here so far today. I mean, you've got to credit Shocker with actually the win.
I'm back, can you go around?
Yeah, some really nice work in that round.
Now the engine is well and truly started for sinners and unlikely rounds
to break things open, but they have certainly capitalized on that.
And we've closed the gaps of just one now as the CT's come in for the buy once again.
All M4s, four-footed round eights.
Now can they keep the wheels turning sinners?
Not a full full buy for a furt but I do have plenty.
They've had some great moments on their CT side of Dust2 though so far.
But Sinos have been learning as those rounds have come and gone.
No AWP though.
Dammit, shoot, there's no softening up stress on.
He's being tenderised.
Yeah, he and B-Stick having a quiet start so far to frag a piece.
Still early in the series though.
We've spread four sinners.
Keeping the CTs on us, we have seen incursions into the B-Halls, upper B,
from foot looking for information late on.
The sinners have everything covered so far as they established presence on short.
100 minutes to go now and the four centers need to start to be culminating onto a spot
there to start the attack. Some of you to the left but not very much at all for Ferts.
Looks like we're going to see that be split potentially.
There is a third man over towards B, four foot.
Cemetery's got a smoke on the A bomb site, if time needs to be bore there.
So Foot seems to have good positions for this, not going to be engaging through the mid-doors
too much, save for some spray through the smoke from Cemetery, so can these three men
hold 60 seconds of a block just to get started, but traded?
They've got a big set up by that car position though, the bomb goes flying, X found still
I mean, it's just an extra
player hiding on the site. It's
so hard to understand how to
enter into a site. That's the
case. Ringed well played also on
that car position. So it's a
little bit of a surprise. I'm
not sure what's going on here.
I'm not sure what's going on
here. I'm not sure what's
going on here. So we're down to
seven Kreb any. Rears his head.
also on that car position.
So you put the double up in the car position.
I mean, it just worked out so nicely.
Yeah, it's so, so good.
It just breaks the communication of the opponent
because you're like, you've solved the issue
towards the car position.
You can focus everywhere else.
And that's just a free kill all day for the CT.
It's a great way to use a third man on the BBOM sites.
That's a good kind of baiting.
Let's it be known.
Driven painful to pass those doors as a CT might need to drop a grenade or something
to give you a better chance.
We've seen a headshot with a scout along with a tag and now symmetries have gone
on as well.
They're going to line up, not either one though.
Jokes coming in from below.
Again, Heroics.
Heroics needed.
Four foot.
As the plant comes in, did we get the boost?
Go ahead.
Well, if you get him there, the CTs
are working this position.
X-Floud 1v2, spots a player.
Now also by the double door is far away.
You can find the player 1v1 on the side.
That might be nice, but very low on HP
at this point.
next round. It's also do nice
repositioning. Cax is one shock
though. Perfect rotation. Perfect
timing and the pickup is
there for sinners. Crosshair was
in exactly the right place as
well. Just about who could click
faster. Oh, whoa. That is ahead
of a flick as well. Yes. Shaking
on that one. Yeah, like
to go and challenge that.
That's a mega flick.
That's a hell of an angle.
5 to 4.
Pistols again, 4 foot.
Sinner's keeping the score competitive.
Someone around may be ugly in how strongly our 4 foot,
but ultimately the score is very close indeed.
Almost unfortunate timing there for Kisarek.
That's a good one.
Foot going fishing in round 10.
Good average of frags across the CT side.
Danger.
They're going to boost demon, they're going to boost someone, there's surely an angle
over that smoke but the twin smoke may render it redundant.
a comfortable pace for sinners. On the T side of Dust 2, Modo with the pop flash,
his teammate to emerge from long. Kribani goes deep. Will they hard check this position? Yes, they will.
Yeah, they did hear that. Shot dealing with the threats. Split off the A-bomb site now with 25
seconds on the clock and this isn't that much that foot can do about this.
MBC is back, Mike gets run down here.
Double swing, very good headshots.
Very calm rounds, well managed by sinners
as they tie the score up five to five.
And definitely quite an action packed game, I would say,
between these two teams,
just much like James and Voo were describing.
So take the time out there, like, okay,
we've got to figure this out.
the AWP police don't challenge Modo in the mid-doors that's step number one he has asserted himself
as the king of that of that battle I think it's fair to say it's no shame James it's no shame to
just you know move on you lost his yeah you got there's nothing to be even moving on anything
moving on is also a problem if it is where you're moving on you're gonna get shot as well
good timing there after throwing the smoke
I'm almost getting a bit hairy on an easy situation for B-Stick to deal with there, but he dealt with it well.
But it's back onto the big guns now for both squads.
Five to five. Two rounds remain in this half.
There's two ancient mirage and explosive series.
Stores some explosive teams.
He's going to take control at the end of the first half here.
Sinners with that meat presence and Cabeni might be the one to meet this.
3-9 still up here. Investments heavy from firsts.
Oh, we'll be a fast one towards G then.
Forced inners.
She's beautiful towards that short position.
But before they fully establish it, I'll try to make the play over.
You don't see that in the bomb going through as you've got to kill through the smoke somehow.
She instills a life, there's a boost as well,
and demon will deliver on that as they try to make inroads towards B.
It'll be clear out eventually,
be connected before all these smokes go away. All the personnel have leaving shock in a 1 versus 3.
Much work for him to do.
Holding steadily our foot.
Looks like they'll move together towards the door and the window.
No flashes for the squad. So who goes in first?
Really good booster theme in the strong position to puncture the push rolling towards that B-bomb sites
Some art work in the background there
Now
Sixth slide to the first
Oh, Moto actually taking some damage at the beginning of the round.
I feel like that's the first.
Like, Moto's been fairly indomitable in the first 20 seconds of the round.
Foot loss round was pretty passive and it kind of allowed Senna to develop that mid control.
Oh, my words!
They did have some forward positions towards Short in the previous round, just in exchange for grenades for the most part,
They just weren't expecting that faster timing again since it's cut noise time and again, but somehow they play
That short position and x-final trying to get a rent from these frags
And he will do exactly that the bomb still top mid and this time it's kiss the rec who suddenly last wondering where his teammates have gone
No one on the radio in the last round at the first half a
Minute to solve this problem symmetry lurking somewhere with the AWP. I think he may be posted up perfectly
It's the record to peek around the smoke
Okay, well, I guess he's faster on a trigger finger didn't hear that rotation towards lower as well
My dissipation he absolutely does bursting both that is unbelievable as we head to halftime
One life and I'm generally noisy nothing makes me like
I don't feel like I'm annoyed by anything in my life, so I would say there is nothing at all.
Yeah, I wish I could teleport, so I don't have to travel all the places.
It would be nice to trip there.
My mousepad when someone is touching it, it's like a glass of water or something,
and even my cat is jumping on it, I don't like it.
Generally in life, what just annoys me is people.
I just hate people.
What makes me really grumpy and annoyed is when people are in the plane,
they behind you, they want to exit quicker than you,
than you, so they just push you.
Obviously, people in a hurry all the time in the airport,
then you decide to stand in the middle of nowhere,
looking at your phone, doing nothing, that kind of stuff.
You will be out of the plane in five seconds more,
but stop pushing your way.
Like, everyone just stands up, and are just so focused
on getting out of the plane, while they still
have to wait anywhere a bit.
So it's like they're going to be doing
10 seconds is going to make you win in life.
So just chill, maybe.
If I have early pride, like 6 o'clock or something,
I tried to go to sleep, but I had to wake up with three hours of sleep and the whole day feels like ruined because you have to wake up early and then...
Yeah, you're like a zombie mode the whole day for me.
Something most annoying is always being in the single luggage.
I think more than I have fingers on my hand to be honest. I think I have lost it too many times.
I didn't like it.
Definitely hadn't been delayed like for media days and stuff and then I didn't have like jerseys and stuff with me.
So I have to use the same jersey for like six days and it becomes very nasty in here.
So I would rather travel to a place that is too hot.
I hate colds.
If it's a little bit colder, I usually don't mind it,
but if it's plus extra wine, then I'd rather like it.
I think the coldest location so far has been Sweden.
Compared to Denmark, it's pretty much the same,
but that doesn't mean that I like it.
So I stay inside, that's why I came here to play video games.
It's pretty cold, it's very early already,
so unless it's summer, then there's not the wrong
where I live, so I like to travel where it's warm.
So when it's too hot, when we've been, for example,
to like a rehab for EWC.
Like it's half an outside.
It's like 45 degrees minimum.
It's not possible to breathe or whatever.
I've been to places at minus 10, minus 20, minus 25.
That was not a pleasure to be there,
but that was a bit easier if you are a bit closer for that.
So I would say that's the honest media days.
Oh, really annoying.
I heard several times that I went for three hours of media
and then I was doing the only things for maybe 20 minutes.
You know, it's not like maybe I'm making rematch, I feel like this is a way single-time is maybe taking me a little bit of the edge, you know, there.
It's normal. They have to ask busy questions, but it's always the same question.
How do you feel about the game? Why did you win this map? Why do you feel like that's wrong?
Why do you want to play in the same world? What blah blah blah. It's always the same question.
So sometimes it's been a bit boring.
After you've done it like 55, it's kind of like, yeah, okay.
We just do it again, you know, like cross your arms, take a photo.
So yeah, I'm doing really good. Come on, please, leave me alone. You know everything about me now. It's over.
Let's have another look at how that round ended. Unbelievable stuff with the clutch at top mid especially.
You know, this was a wild fight back but the smoke disappears after this frag and there's two facing at the same time
the same time, but he's able to burst both of them of a crouch in between. That is an insane way
to end the round. That's a great way to galvanize the forces. Yeah, a lot of work to be done here
for both squads and that's going to really, I think, helps in his out because I think they're
losing grip towards the end of the first half as well. But to finish even Stevens, very important,
especially when you consider that. So the next map, Ancient, is heavily, heavily favoured for Foot.
And so this is really a must win for sinners. Yeah, Foot's made that a difficult half for them.
but again, they've managed to take half the rounds. Really well done to them on that one.
Looking to break a negative streak of results in matches, Vesta 1s and Vesta 3s. Morris Bresso,
Leicester Bresso for Sinners. His foot looks to get moving quickly in this pistol.
Kisserik will get the opening. He's in a really important position for us. Well,
to be able to do that. I don't
know if you can stay there.
Shot coming through now. And
judge remains. The work for him
to do somebody's very low. Indeed
stress on the one who could tank
a few bullets to the chest to
secure the run for a squad. Yeah,
no bomb down as well. So you
don't have to worry too much
about a nasty force by from foot.
I mean, they might force by
save this round although that Sinner didn't choose to do that in the first half of Dusty.
So we'll see what gets done here by Furtz. Looks like they will go for the full save.
So the AK's are from out below the Sinner. I think that's a great approach especially given that we're going into the second half here.
It's pretty close between these teams.
And the forward setup from Sinner is looking to take the fight away from Furt before they can set up.
I don't think he does. They're super keen to get that kill. And now he might just have
the support in time. Six flat. Consider his options.
How many of those small pieces here for sinners, but he looks to make it
expensive if he can. Misses something.
Now, look, he's not so sharp with his crosshair that as much as he possibly could.
That was so that was a full block round, James.
They actually they got two kills.
They almost got three or four kills there.
That's that's really wild.
But but keep you coming.
Someone honest with the two kills.
Look at that smile, he's got a...
I've come to talk to you about your fire insurance, smile.
That picture...
That was a really good survival from the instinct shot coming to the rescue as well.
AWP will be out for Modo in round 15.
Soon as we'll look to keep their momentum.
Such good frag from Kisserak towards the end of that half.
FIT.
Definitely would want to capitalize on some of the kills they got in the previous round
here.
Two men set up their prisoners on the long position still.
Call the HEs into this smoke, so I think a team like Furia for example will sometimes
do that smoke and put one on the Xbox as well to thwart the attempts with that HE and Modo
will finally get what he's been looking for. Five on four for sinners. So yeah, as good
as that smoke here, sometimes it is backed up with another one.
Okay, so this is potentially quite problematic here for Furt because it's still a two-man
setup. You might expect one player to be here right now. Trade comes in. Do they even expect
there to be B-Stick as well from this deep position? We see many Volts of kill here and
there's not even any trade frag spacing for that swing. Completely catching them off guard
with this position. And it's just a slow but short dismantling from the center side. Group
N takes down stress on, but the bomb is well and truly lost here. So damage is really the
best outcome as possible. I mean, is this says any more damage to be done?
Yeah, I think hiding in plain sights can be just fine as well, because they'll probably
We have a hero rifle situation in the next round. We'll see what they choose to do.
But one AK is definitely better than none.
Sinner's moved to nine then. Maybe the worst is over for the Sinner squad.
It's been a long road for them of late. But this is certainly encouraging.
We'll see if they're able to do
that. If they get close enough.
Yeah, absolutely. Just do is a
is a fickle beast. It will be
on the pistols, but that was
where we found success from
sinners when they were kind of
on the other end of it. Many of
the hero, a fast approach. Take
on long to see if what they can
get done here, but that smoke
defensively. We're going to
get down here but that smoke defensively kind of stops the pacing on well
they void it completely yeah looks like they probably are getting they're
leaving completely the flip side and actually sinners that you know because
of losing long they're doubling up on catwalk here
nasty surprise for sharks and before they can respond to that demon is
the number is out quickly. Very
promising for sinners. Maybe
there's a bomb in this four foot
though is crab any will draw
distraction reaching me. There
are so many players on short
though. But that bomb will be
lost. And again, it's about
them as much as possible. Waiting for that peak to come in towards B doesn't come in time.
You're not too much to say about that one except you know Sinners is just still looking to be
managing the game very well. Playing some good fundamentals on the CT side. Ft will be on the
first round on the T side where Sinners will have an AWP. So we'll have to see what difference that's
going to make but Modo's presence I think with the AWP has so far been much stronger on Dust2
because they are quickly running out of opportunity with such a promising start from Sinners.
But they've got all the tools they need now, symmetry on the AWP, the AKs are out, plenty of U-Tilt.
Good start to this one, presence in upper tunnels.
But Sinners looks to have intention towards B, they've got three CTs, very close to this choke point,
walking in, but Shocker's angle could be superior.
He's got a lot to do here.
BOOM!
Looking for that second frag.
We'll not get it though, as they slink back into B.
Yeah, Shocker's been phenomenal in this game so far.
Oh, the flames.
I think I'm skewering the vision there for X-File.
It's a little slow to recognise.
Mota was in across errands.
3 vs 4 now for the first side.
No idea about the X-Bots player, I don't think.
Kiseric in a really strong spot for a very fast flank always an actually catch
cemetery goes down and with that it's a one demon and Kribani oh dear that's the
bomb that's a disaster god they're just getting executed one by one yeah yeah
all these rounds kind of get kind of dismantled like the plan whatever plan
It's just like you know key pieces of the puzzle are getting destroyed
They haven't won a single round. Yeah, it's it's
It's been devoid of success
That was such a cool play
Because it's the rifle I knew trades they never see the off there
So when they go back to fish for a duel you all to post it up and then it's just so much pain you find out in the worst way
Looting your players
Brazenly standing behind Xbox, one of these CTs waiting for that last man to rotate through, taking the bomb away.
Dream is collapsing on the first map.
This is the pick of sinners, looking difficult in that first half, but again, Furtar yet to win a round in a second.
I think a lot has to be said as well for the individual performances of the sinners' players,
because they have absolutely been outclassing the foot in that respect and I think foot has a lot of very very good individuals
It's not seeing the level just yet as they look to assault the B bomb site
The shots is surely going to get barbecued but has he done enough stress on still standing tall on the bomb site?
Trying to slow down the advance. You're doing exactly that
Demon running through the smoke finished off no bomb plants and
to the races. So I'm sure it's
going to get some revenge.
Through those doors. Modo's in
war mode standing in the middle
of mid. Using to back off the
fucking suicide, allowing him to
have the space for longer. He
catches for any. Yeah, the
confidence that you can see is
flying through him. To go
aggressive back to the angle.
Honestly, it feels like you
So with the move to try to take the long control, but the setup there on blue is looking kind of nice, kiss the wreck, takes down one, still fighting for it though, maybe the opportunity in the duel.
The full value for the first side, but losing jugs over towards the B part of the map now commits completely for into this long play.
I mean it's on the clock, great position for Sinners, high numbers also, giving nothing to foot to have to proceed.
They cannot wait them out.
The pressure is on them.
The time is against them.
Such a hard way to peek.
So many angles as well, and you know there's going to be an AWP somewhere.
the wrong door, take one in the face, and that leaves X-Flow, then a one versus four, carrying the bomb, 19 seconds to be put out of its misery by Modo, and Sinners have a perfect second half on Dust2.
Great performance from Sinners, very surprising strength shown. I'm very curious what the death caster think. What did he make of that, James?
Well, I would say that it was a great start from the new foot, at least in those opening four rounds, and then it was a sad and catastrophic
end to the way Dust2 was played out, you know, like, to go down this much without the fight and the brawling that we expected through.
I'm going to say this, I'm pretty disappointed.
Yeah, to be fair, I mean, this is a foot team that I think they've struggled with their map pool a little bit recently, especially when you don't have.
I mean, if you look at the event they won, I believe it was PGL Astana, right?
That cemetery was popping off with the off, that's the only time I can really see them winning series
in two maps. They generally have to go all three because there is a weakness that can be picked.
Right now, Dust 2 is one of their weaknesses. Sinner's a pretty solid Dust 2 team themselves.
Ancient and Mirage, if we look ahead to those eventually, those are maps where Foot are a
little more comfortable. But I'm not comfortable if I'm Foot based off of that because, I mean,
this is just Sinner's playing mostly their style and Foot was kind of caught off guard.
Like Sinner's always had that one extra player where Foot would make a nice play to get
two kills and then they're surprised by that third player there, but that's not all that
new for sinners. That's something you know if you've played them before or you've watched
their demos, you know. And also it's the trade game we're normally praising when it comes to foot
in past tournaments, right? And one player doesn't change too much of that in terms of the synergy.
So it was lackluster for sure. But we can talk a little bit positively about the early game,
at least from players like Juggs and Demon coming in here. But I mean, it's not off to a good start.
and I'm maybe now a little bit more nervous just from the style they lost it in.
Yeah, I mean the highlights we have here is off to a good start. They had a great start and then
five rounds in. It seems like the story of the tape for like this entire event so far. How many
teams have we talked about? Get off to a 4-0-5-0 start and then there's some type of turn around
situation. They lose a round and then all of a sudden it's a runaway half for the other team.
I mean this was 4-0 now. You can see the scoreline in some of these highlights is 5-5, right?
And once you get into the second half, it seems like Foot had absolutely no chance to get anything done.
So despite Jugs and Demon, I mean, they started off the game quite hot.
I think all of the entirety of Foot really cooled off, except for, I think, X-Floud managed to keep up his fragging,
which is nice. We talked positively about him, but we were expecting maybe more from the team as a whole.
Yeah, and then we can move across to the side of the centers, right?
Centers looking like they're ready to take the fires, looking ready to take the space away from Foot every single time.
There was even moments right where you would see some foot plays in a good position, but
actually then it's the whole push that comes through from Sinners and they say, actually
we're expecting this. We know what's going to happen.
Yeah. I think it comes back to the same idea that Foot had some interesting ideas. They
had their re-aggressions. They had their plays, but Sinners always had an extra player. You
know, they always had this one. It was Foot would get, they'd go for a regression. They
get two kills. They get three kills and then they like turn off their brand and they're
like, oh, we control this area. It's over. And there's a third guy. There's a fourth
guy there getting the trades for sinners that foot clearly wasn't ready for. And they don't
have enough firepower there to deal with. So I mean, I have to give a lot of credit
to sinners for this one. But this round five, if we pull it up here is I got to give credit
to shock for that for the, for the firepower. But really, if you look at how for any dies
there, that's a huge misplay cemetery. I think demon is expecting cemetery to be pushed a
a little bit more further forward.
Keep going, this is a 5v3 against a pistol buy.
They're going up short.
You see this three, four times a game,
and usually it gets shut down.
Admittedly, shock at the end of this one with the Deagle,
he hits some nice shots.
OK, there are some nice frags in this one.
But at the same time, this is a round foot,
should be closing out pretty comfortably.
And while they ended up just closing out
this whole game right from the side of this,
because after this is where Sinus came alive, right,
and that CT side, they didn't drop a round.
They just looked like they were confident.
They were telling themselves, we are the better team.
This was the sinners I was happy about,
like you mentioned a year ago,
but even for me, six months ago.
Yeah, I mean, we pulled up that round five
because it was a turn around round,
but at the end of the day,
it probably didn't even matter
because you go into your second half
and you've got these plays, you've got these trades,
you've got these inability to lose rounds
is what they've got.
They don't drop a single round in the second half,
so it doesn't matter if they picked up that round.
Yeah, I think you're right. I think six months ago
maybe you saw something from sinners where you expected more from them when they went into the major and they managed to drop out
03 I think it was somewhat predicted
But at the same time previous to that in the beginnings of last season we did see some great things for sinners and I mean if they
Could start out this season with this type of an offset and take down foot
Then maybe we're a little higher on sinners yet again
And looking at this as well right? I want to say that for sinners
this is important because you've been on such a lost streak and it may just be a map, but
just to be able to do it against the team like foot that you've picked into that you
want to take this challenge against, this is going to fill you with some inner confidence
needed for this series. I think sometimes teams get in their own
heads. We talk about this as a confidence game. What did we have the stat? It was like
a two months since they won their last official series, right? Like I think you at some point,
you kind of think to yourself, can we even win anymore? Is it even possible for us? Right?
So you're right. I think not only just picking up a map, but picking it up in that dominant
of a fashion. Hey, if they lose the series, they lose the series, but picking up a map
that dominantly against a team like foot, I think fills them with some confidence. Maybe
they can believe in themselves again and actually close the series up.
And well, okay, you're saying that again, potentially close the series. I would have
to see if we can do it. But if Kitserak keeps playing like this, then it could be possible
as well. Him alongside Schrock, they were doing a lot of heavy lifting here for the
that's where he's going to be
going to be. He's going to be
going to be the last player to
finish this. Yeah, this is this
is the player that was often
that extra player. They weren't
expecting. I mean, you have them
on the long play here. Full
blind still gets the kill and
that dismantles this entire
round four foot when they were
going for the retake, then he's
got the final round of the half.
We talked about it on cast
unbelievable double on the
jugs and then heading into the
second half. That's where he
really activated because at the
end of the first half, he had
half of like eight and nine or something going to the second half. He powers up. He ends
this game as I think they're top fragger or one of their two top fraggers at 18 and 12
really impressive second half from him. But I think the first half was a little underrated
as well. He was in the right position at the right time and he hit the shots that he needed
to be hitting. Surely though right now sort of had a taste of this. It should be cool.
Leo getting them back in line talking to them during this mat break and saying guys, you
know what to expect. We know what to expect. Now you understand what can happen. Sharp
up a little bit. Yeah. And they're going into their map pick. They're going into an ancient,
a very comfortable map for them when they play all the time and one that's a pretty,
I'd say it's one of their home maps, right? So this is a, this is a foot team that has some map pool
problems. I think they probably come into the season knowing we're going to have to go three
maps in a lot of our series. We've lost overpasses, maybe kind of a punish pick or a pick that we
can at least go in for a third map and feel comfortable on it. Now they might pick up cash
eventually but for now they've got ancient and they've got mirage both maps they're comfortable on
well let's see what happens we're going to a quick break and when we come back it'd be time to see
what foot could do against sinus here on ancient
that's the reason why we're in this.
Ancient is coming up next.
And yes, it is the wheelhouse for foot.
It is a new play coming in and slotting into their team.
But I mean, foot have been on the grind.
Foot have been on the rise, I would say,
it's one of the most impressive team
on the last year over.
If we look at this man, look at the climb
they've had across the world ranking with the call
they've had starting all the way back
Na'Vi Junior now into a foot on one of the better teams of the world.
Yeah, I mean, what you don't see in here is that at some point during this
incredible rise, they had what was arguably their best player poach from them.
They had Macaulay taken out of their roster, put on to Na'Vi, and then they still
replace him with Longs and they still keep chugging along, going up in the rankings,
managing to win an event, getting themselves to be this terrifying force.
I mean, you hear tier one teams, top five teams scared when they play against foot.
They know the style they're going to bring.
It's not like foot is going to show you some crazy style you've never seen before, but
yet they can bring it to such a level.
They're so adept at their style that they can go toe to toe with anyone.
Apparently not sinners though.
But it should be looking better for them on ancient.
But let's find out what the poly market is saying right now because obviously massive
I think I think I'm still I'm
still riding with foot. Oh, but
they look so bad. It looks so
bad like like map wise. These
are two comfortable maps.
It's ancient. They're on a five
game winning streak centers on
a five game losing streak. It
feels like map things are
the game. It's like the
game is about to be over. It's
like centers on a five game
losing streak. It feels like
map three is almost guaranteed
but if foot play like they did
in map one on this map, it is
at least going to be hard for
them to put it over the line. It
will be a close game at best for
them if they're going to close
it out. So I think the odds.
I'm going to I'm going to give
you a bit of a cop. I think the
odds are about accurate for
going to get a third map in here and four foot right this is the map that I just feel they have
the most confidence on right this is the one where they can take down some of the very best
teams in the world I know you mentioned like the overpass pick where I remember some good games
against Furia for example last season on it and they had some strong points but ancient is their
bread and butter there there is no way sinners can beat them on this one sure sure leave it
yeah their map pool is struggling but ancient is still their home it again five map winning streak
and we're back with our lovely commentators. Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, showing up. I mean, that's doesn't sound too hard, James. We showed up. We're here showing up his easy parts and soon as I've shown up for a number of games of ancient. This is this is way too tight. These this is way too tight. I'm not sure if you can see it.
We showed up, we're here.
Showing up is the easy part,
and sinners have shown up for a number of games of ancient.
This is way too tight.
This is way too tight.
I'll tell you why.
I'll tell you why shortly,
but I think the sinners numbers are wrong.
I think that they should be, you know,
form has a lot to do with things, right?
And they look like they're on form on the map.
And I think that their recent stats on maps are so bad
that they're going to kind of upset those, that history.
sooner rather than later. But let's look at the numbers. On Ancient of late. 25% of their pistol rounds won, 29% or say I'll give them 30, 30% of their CT rounds won, which I think is really bad.
44% of their T rounds won. They played FaZe on this map recently and lost 13-2. They played Betboom on this map recently and lost 13-4.
So, it would be a hell of an upset, I think.
Even if you're able to, you know, turn things around, things are getting better,
there's, it feels like there's so much to be fixed.
Let's see, it looks like a really leaking ship, and it should be foot to win.
But time will tell. They'll start well, we'll foot on this T side,
but there's a lot more work to do as for remain for sinners.
Creeping through, looking for that lurker in jugs and finding him.
I don't know how I'm gonna guess that one gets instantly a bunch of people around here by the numbers. Not really too much of an issue. They're very straightforward from foot to kick things off on this T side. And yeah, I don't know what to expect here, honestly. I mean, with sinners, is that a fashion, the pan situation on dust, too?
from foot to kick things off on this T side.
And yeah, I don't know what to expect here, honestly.
I mean, what's in is, is that a fashion, the pan situation
on Dust2, you know, just a lot of great individual plays
and sort of, you know, they're falling away on map two,
or what can we expect?
Because the map one that we just saw from them,
obviously it's a bit of both, right?
You know, great map one from them,
also for kind of underperforming on map one as well.
So, you know, two things happening at once there.
But as it's been described,
so has it been looking not great,
not themselves for like a couple of months?
So I'm very interested to see the CT approach
in mid when the buy-rounds come.
30% CT round win is the concern for me.
So I want to see if they're doing something different
to what we've seen,
we still have a number of ancients this week so far.
We'll see if there's differs,
or if they're just a little bit unlucky,
but they are playing against a four-spy
They have lost the man early
President still being shown from Kisarek as he switches out weapons
Trying to finish off the job on the Krupp any unable to do so and crouching on to a now
But once not being committed here that's still falling back as there's presence from first on either side of the map
Yeah, the pressure everywhere makes the round hard to read like this position from jobs. It's gonna go completely unknown. I think
I don't know how far he'll go with it.
Just hold this spot, there's a smoke to spot the CT players and that's going to secure
a path for the bomb.
A nice and safe journey onto the plants.
And for...
Soon as...
I think they would do well not to overextend here to recognize that we can bring these
guns into the next round.
Because right now with the bomb down, the chances to win the round have suddenly to
completely plummeted. No reason to give up all your guns as well.
There goes one.
Yeah, soon as not getting what they're looking for from this one.
So we're just going to be a slower start to this half for the CT side of Sinners and again
that action I'm looking for in mid will be delayed it seems.
So yeah there's a lot of tests coming the way of Sinners again historically not looking great
and you know on a wider view a lot of things haven't been but for new to
dissect map by map those numbers were quite interesting but hey all those
losses are evidence with which to learn and sometimes you need loss for growth
so we'll see if they have something to offer once their economy is stabilized
Well, this map as well is trickier than DOS2 because DOS2, the tactical spiritual layer
of the game is a bit more straightforward than an ancient, where there's a lot more
stuff that you kind of have to do to a higher level tactically.
And so, I think like Fert has so much confidence and such a great record on this map, he gets
so many good teams.
You know, there's a great like floor, skill floor there that they can rely on to catch
themselves even if they have some snafus individually.
Great start on the quad so far.
Wanting an easy ride after a difficult game of Dust 2.
It's in this way for the next round to begin really, but this can still be dangerous will
be respected by the likes of foots.
Good money building round for them.
So you see this setup be set up, beasty might be the debate there with the USP to lure them
into the MP9 of Kisarec.
So there is danger about moving in for the split now, taking over that very much position.
I could compromise these spots by the tree.
If you're waiting for a chance to shine, you'll be denied quickly though.
The other way around in the USP to find something.
But the threat's mostly neutralized.
So a very strong start to this one.
Can't ask for more than that. 3-0 on the pick of ancients.
Yeah, you know, those are the sort of like nothing rounds gone again.
So you know sinners trying to extract max value, so you got to respect it and they're going to be moving on to you know
Grabbing the WP throwing it onto moto
But this is where you know that tactical game was mentioning becomes interesting
You know as soon as able to reach
Sort of the the floor of a foot when it comes to having the right you know utility sets the timings understanding
How to layer that into their defense and how to respond to things like this mid
They've got the initial med grenades
There's a delay case coming in from the foot side so they'll reclaim the position.
They're going to find that Sinner's not set up here, Sinner's with a passive set up in
cave and the bomb actually leaning with the three players total towards the A side of
the map so maybe A can split again as they move with the foot.
I'm not sure if the East Exorix floured on the rotation there, it might have come up
on the radar, despite the flames. Starting with nobody on A, safe for one person in donuts.
And Fitter putting the big numbers towards that A bombsite, so does Krebbeni make a
play here? To try and keep a third man towards B. That smoke will certainly be a problem.
and the awkward if he goes through mid as well trying to catch rotations with the Mac 10 not ideal range
Sin is wondering
What foot might be up to they will keep three players heavily
To the B bomb site
They're letting up to be sick
He's good to one staying alive for the time being stress out here to help as well and if falling back into retake positions
We're trying to press on drop flat in and be sick. We'll catch a second
Yeah, very nice push through this mode.
That's not one.
It's actually ready for shock though.
Evening up the situation with the bomb going down.
You'd definitely like the chances of foot, I think, in this hold.
But maybe the equation's changed.
Modo applying that pressure.
No position, making noise.
But where is the second player?
Kisarek coming in from the long.
Making his way across to A.
And Krebbeni really just making it so that it doesn't really matter
where these players are coming from.
coming from. He's isolated this position in Donut, but that could be a double-edged
sword hit. So once he gets spotted, he can get locked down there, especially when the
AWP is posted. There's a kick connected. Oh, that's a huge 1v1 found by Kribani. Now,
looking into Jiggle, looking to create problems here for Modo, he's going to be forced to
try to stick this, but he's going to get out of there. That's really well done.
I thought if the AWP was posted up on Donut, it's going to be a really hard problem to
solve.
Moral could buy the AWPer being the one to pick up the diffuse kit, but still, they're
able to make it work.
Surely a frustrating one for the CT squad, fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their
opportunities on that A bomb site, but it is going to be a 4 and 0 4 foot, so the approach
in mid there was one of the usual ones we have seen this week from CTs, popping into
donut, sometimes two, sometimes one staying in red room.
The hero AWP there, with some SMGs in tow, Mota really trying to find something for his
team early.
and cemetery still posted though so if he gets a little too eager with this one
he's gonna be in trouble
such a close round in the previous one for the sinner's sign
but with the pause looking for any reaction as they work the mid and they
might actually try to take red room and control actually get re-smoked and
And still look how patient cemetery is
But it was wrong yeah, I'm looking
Stay there while his teammate to his right is still up
If he gets compromised and there will be problems smoke will soon be gone in red room, but this is the main dual
It's a flash
to be able to get to the
building. Maybe trying to
rotation near that red room
with this utility, but nothing
doing. Sinners holding stead
fast. Shadows spotted. It's at
the bottom of radar. I'm not
sure three players waiting to
get interaction on this bomb
site. Three players soon hitting
the floor. Yeah, nothing from
motor that's going to be a two
versus four here for. They have
Nice thing they can get this kill in red enough to be collected, AK on the grounds.
So it's something at the very least, but yeah, it felt like for Sinners,
definitely some opportunities there, James, in getting a kill or two extra.
They could have maybe made this a doable situation.
Yeah, they did the best they could, but in fits with good discipline,
able to avoid the threats, playing the patient game.
They know that there's a play to be made by Sinners,
and it gave them the space to do it, managed to survive the test.
AWP disposed of as well.
The Beastic will have an AK. There's something.
Something in a whole lot of nothing for Sinner so far in this half.
Again, their statistics on the CT side are somewhat deplorable with matches of late.
They don't seem to be getting better at the moment.
Yes, that would be a great way to turn the series around four-foot, so you can get more
of a comfortable showing against more of an uncomfortable map for the sinners.
They take days coming on in.
Third-looking speedpins up those straight into the bomb site looking to go very, very
aggressively, but they are range of brick wall.
Kiss-a-right.
But a good performance, takes down two players, giving Sinners a look-in on this one.
Really not wanting to allow Sinners to stay alive, stay alive to this fast late-form,
so that's a great trade from X-Floud.
Kisserick really kept it competitive with that second frag on the bombsite.
Now it's down to B-Stick and stress on two, on two.
Let's deem it an X-Floud. Make consider a rotation here, not too far from each other.
And of course the focus will be on B for a while, but news gets old fast,
I think B sticks close enough to hear that rotation and stress on will be off to the
races as well. X-flat with a lovely off angle. That's exactly where stress on is going. What
about B stick though? Yeah, that's some really, really key information there. One of two known
known. Here comes B-Stick around the back. I mean, he's going to get cut off as well.
Got to get through X-Loud. And that bomb is starting to take faster and faster. Oh, okay.
So position given away from Demon. Not even for 1v1, but still, time is an enormous problem.
And on the other end of things, it's just success all day, bad for foot, as they continue
to dominate 6-0 now, and looking to put on a clinic here in ancient.
The stick was the one with the kit, just to make things worse.
His teammate running onto the site alone, looking for a 10-second refuse.
Really brutal scenario for sinners.
Very punishing from foot.
You can imagine a round like that starting.
You've got the full fire, you've got guns, you've got the AWP.
Now, right, guys, we're going to do this.
We're going to get aggressive in mid.
We're going to try this.
And then they just send it up around.
Not giving you any room.
To find something, some kind of confidence in this game. 6-0. In favour of foot.
Basic with a fast place towards A-long.
They slow things down for a time.
Lot of aggression around red room though. Being challenged by more than one foot player.
to the right. Three on B. Once
again, leaving stress on in a
difficult spots. Focus on the
ramp. You can find an angle to
help his teammate here, though.
Look how they create space as
well. Quite happy to trade with
the numbers. Don't think the
bomb spin spotter just yet, but
Yeah, it feels very big just to pick this one.
Oh, Jax, it's just gonna straight take down Modo
just by running at him.
That's a statement,
Kravonny taking down Kisarek,
and it really looks like sinners
are not in the room anymore as well.
Dismantled like Lego.
Yeah, in addition to just, you know,
not many tactfully having some of the answers that they need
to be aggressive, to kind of take the game away from
their opponents a bit, maybe win some of that mid control,
win some of the fights outside of B. It's also the case that individually looks at the
confidence has evaporated behind that.
Like Modo was connecting like great shots with the AWP on the first map, but just a couple
ones that looked easy for him on Dust2 so far on Ancient.
that, you know, it's pretty
circumvented by foots who know
all the vulnerabilities.
They're riddled with viruses.
CTT side.
Willing to take one for the
team creating plenty of space
for the T's and the stress
in this half and we've seen good
comebacks. We've seen late
comebacks. We've seen halves
look really hard for this team
and that's but they've managed
to find a reasonable score of
halftime. We don't look close
to that in this scenario. No
not really. It's just that the
fragging the fragging has been
hard. I mean, again, ancient is
is a tough map for that. You
know that you do need that
tactical like floor to be high
enough to give you the
just the nature of the fights. I mean, more Raj in contrast, which will be the third map in this series if we get there.
That's a much more open map, where much like that's two, you can really easily unlock the individuals.
But the nature is much harder to do that, taking full advantage of that fact.
Forcing the CTs away early.
Good as they try to navigate this anti-eco round.
10 frags for Krebani so far.
Explode now on 9.
Shok, who just got dropped, is 1 for 7.
He is an unhappy chappy, to say the least.
Yes.
Shok looks so good on Dusty as well.
to slow but sure constriction the bomb sites cemetery feels the kiss a wreck
and they've locked them out they've shut the doors and run the keys away
oh no!
haha!
got a jump on his head but he's gone!
oh the timing of that is unbelievable!
and then they're going to be
in the middle. Mid air to land
on his teammate for the boost
and his teammates just gone.
My word ever just just nothing
being given a big fat eight
zero. It just feels like.
Seniors are on on this one end
of the map and they're just
slowly getting pushed until
they have no ground left and
they themselves haven't taken
It's just like that over and over again. No opportunity for them at all.
So again, there's the take of Mids by Sinners, which is being circumvented.
Three players in mid this time, leaving only two to try and defend.
And it is a complete wide heartless mode that can hold down CT.
So there is an avenue with which Sinners can work with.
the
battle sniper mode for Moto2 on 3.
He desperately tries to find a way into any round here.
Four sinners on their CT side.
There you go.
Traded out though.
In comes Kisarek.
Can he get anything done here?
Because there's a look of damage from the Krebeni smoke across there to try to find some pressure on the bomb here.
and just instantaneously taking down Kisser egg.
No doubt there that they were going to secure that one.
Nine to zero.
Is there to be any rounds on this half?
Austin is going to get a 30 node.
James.
That is a question which is looming larger and larger
in the shadows of this game.
Again, that fast pace.
You know, the CTs are compelled
to have a relatively normal open.
expecting a fight in mid some of the time at least.
But Footsaw are a bit ignoring them,
and now Sinners may be feeling compelled
to have four in B after all these insurgencies.
It is myth where Foot go.
Just one step ahead, the entire time,
there could be some variants around the smoke server.
X-Fab is looking for,
expected by Spresson,
not aware that Krabeni is creeping there as well.
So crucial, Kruveni is going to pick it up.
I don't know if you saw that statistic there, James, but it was brutal.
Basically when sinners get advantages, 5v4 they didn't win, 0% won the round, one ancient.
So that's a problem.
One of many problems at present, but hey, it's going to be bad until you work on it
enough to make it good.
this may be just part of the journey for sinners as they try to figure out an
ancient that works for them but this looks like a hell of a veto for foot
they'll soon forget the mysteries of the first map of this series as we race
toward a third
Now he's looking for an exit frag or an unlikely ninja defuse, he's the one man with the kits.
He's thick asking questions, little awkward there, goes for the run, kicks the wreck,
he's gonna try and pick up that kit but surely it's too late, the frags are cosmetic because
the round wins are still on zero a noble attempt there but I think that's an
indicator of just how desperate things are in this half of sinners yeah yeah
there's no doubt the desperation is really heavy the deflation to this
like a lack of energy on the side of this team at the moments
these won't be ones those are the ones
I think this has been, I think maybe one of the most one-sided affairs I can
remember casting in Counter-Track and Reeves in memory. Yeah, I guess not just the score
but the nature of the rounds. Yeah. You know, it's easy to say about the score but it's
not just that, it's the way in which the rounds are being won. Yeah.
I'm trying to get active though, so I don't see it on the V-Round. Okay, well we heard.
There you go, something, okay, 5v4. They've converted 0% of these so far.
I love how you build it up. There we go. We've got the 5 on 4. They never convert this.
They can change that. They're in a point for now. Another trade.
And there we go. Another advantage. 3v2. Maybe that starts to be broken pretty quickly.
X-Flight has a decision to make. If you go to support his teammate or does he hold position to cut off potential rotation for more CTs?
It's the third option being looking for B-Stick.
So, back he goes to find that rotation.
Stress on's waiting for more action also.
Could be a timing here where sinners find the first round.
X-Loud survival will be key in that finding shock.
It's never gonna see this one coming, surely?
There's just no mercy for sinners as B-Stick finds himself alone now,
walking into a sandwich. It was
in doing our tour later on. They've got a rough idea of where he is. He does not have a kit and xplow has no mercy to offer sinners.
Oh, so brutal, isn't it? It's just so painful.
It's it's it's been written James. It's best that they are just going to be absolutely crushed here
And and the five and four specific
The fight for advantage
7% conversion rate homes it's inscribed on the tablets on the papyrus
Choose your era
All right one more chance here on this off to get something on the board
for this in his side okay there is a investigation in middle see if he's going to find Krebbenny
B-Stick also ready and waiting for any shenanigans any late take of mid and late take is coming
how much can B-Stick get it's 5-4 here for sinners
He's going to be isolated.
I'm not sure if stress on can really help him
unless there is a flash for a swing.
Kiss a wreck.
We'll leave the shrapnel and be no more in this half.
Beesick never checked for, could have good timing
for a flank, but we've seen a bogey at six o'clock
and nothing done about it already.
They could be lining up there demon checking.
Spidey senses tingling through the smoke.
There you go, but a flush is a good and shock doesn't see anything traded immediately.
And then it was Moto one versus three.
He's dropped cemetery. He has a chance that bomb needs to get planted.
Demons got a pretty good angle and there will be no mercy whatsoever.
An entirely clean sheet for foot as we reach half time.
Into the sniper out from heaven. Hypex yet again with impact.
And now it has to be a clutch, the bomb, can it get planted?
Yeah, Snax is going to try to go for the spray, but it's off the mark.
Now Flamesy's on for it, 1v2, offers his first target, and it's beautiful!
Oh, it stays safe by Flamesy.
More pressure from G2 coming out long.
Yeah, and his teammates were just kind of shifting very, very far away,
so reinforcements a long way off for Hooksie, but who needs it?
Yeah, great flashback.
Hooksie with a triple kill, heavy-cawed Mattis and Hunter all dead,
and hooks his hand as he cuts again.
Hooks his, shutting them down.
Long is completely closed by the Dane.
And his face about to fall.
The clash is going to come with the CC series.
Now they're going to play for it behind the smoke
with the pistols close off.
They don't want to back off and give the rifles an advantage.
Oh, Dan.
It's heavy guard again.
The attack nine enters the kill feed.
And then all familiar stings.
Pistols are going to lose to pistols.
And the last throws in a twist.
The OGs from Pistols.
Looking to deliver some light for the pizza 50
With the opera coverage you need to get the strongest weapons out next to it
Okay, the hunter snapping in the lion's den
How has he done that?
Hunter that is something special on the AK that is just unreal feasting on his prey
They break the smoke and fall and still have a strong position. This could still get really weird.
It's so good, who does this still kill for Fallen, gets the upgrade and there's still Caserato down in pit.
They try to clear Yuri. One health is all the difference and it does make a difference.
1v3 for Torsen. As he takes the first kill, might have another body in store.
Fallen falls for information and Torsen waits for Molagoy to make a move.
Now that's the bomb down. This 1v4 Ace for Torsen is on the line.
He came to plays and Torsen finds!
He finds all five. What a monster.
The Lexi B fighting him on, but Broke is right here in the fourth round
and some hope left for FaZe Clan, unless Wonderful can just rip it out!
Oh! No way!
And it's the inexperienced player up against Wonderful in FaZe's most important round.
I already feels like FaZe is knocked out walking.
Wonderful! So confident! Of course he's got it!
Yeah, trying to just be sneaky, hoping maybe that one opening kill moved the defense away.
Did, didn't. Zywoo's gonna get hunted down with the AWP, but he's out of teammate. That's crazy.
He's actually gotten all four of Flamesy, backs him up and steals every single kill. Zywoo!
And it's gonna fall onto Hypex now.
It's time to run at this.
the clock. Two players in front of the bathroom. Type X shapes off one of the three. Seven seconds.
And it's all on Hypex now. Plays behind the dice with a no-stop.
Oh!
Oh!
Shot up!
It's a baron wasteland out there for sinners. Not a single round, not a single sign of life.
But perhaps the second half will yield a better result for them to at least get them some confidence going into what feels like an inevitable
the game. It's on. All right.
I'd love to see it. I'd love to
see it. Okay. Well, this one is
he said they can be more aggressive.
Take the initiative. That's really
what it felt was lacking on that
far itself. Cool. He said to be
All right
All right, I'd love to see it. I'd love to see it
Okay, well these ones he said they can be more aggressive take the initiative and that's really what it felt was lacking on that far south
Cool these though to be met with on this side of things
Okay, three kills going away up very quickly motor with some good trades. They are on the bomb site
That's what you want to cemetery creeping around the corner of the smoke
to deliver the goods, which
leaves ex flound in the clutch.
16 for five needs to. To find
the big 13. Oh, halfway there,
but sinners start. The engine
start the engine. Man, notice
he's just kicking things off
with an ace. He's like, boys,
come on. Start first round.
Time to talk smack in a chat.
Time to tilt your opponent and
say what you thought it was
Nice. Ace required. Number one, number two. Just the one round.
He did what needed to be done.
Getting that money to be used later on.
Force five, four foot.
Some might say the dream is dead, but maybe the game could be salvaged.
11 chances to close this one out.
Mid walk here from Senna's. I always like this into the red room.
It's often times kind of given up in these types of rounds.
There's always a risk that there's lots of pistols, but they've got the tools for the job.
Mac 10 can lead the way. There he goes.
and two in CT spawners.
Kisarek and Modo try to understand the situation.
Modo have all of 14 HP to plant that bomb.
Another difficult test for sinners.
They'll try to create some space for themselves,
but just hit the corner of the wall there.
Didn't go exactly where they wanted.
Maybe it will help them out.
The HE is perfect demon down to two HP.
This might be doable.
the game. Shugs and demon
with no kit moving through the
smoke now. Wiley waiting for
it to go. And it's 14 HP Moto
to HP Demo probably doesn't
have time to diffuse this bomb
but can make it a bit more
expensive. So sinners will
leave but nothing but the
for the team with some outsized impact in these rounds. That was a close one though considering
everything, you know, of course having not the best weaponry, but they still managed to make this
very threatening. And so they get more threatening, James, because the AWP is going to be coming to
play for Cemetery now on the foot side. So more and bigger tests for sinners now in the following rounds.
The AWP for Cemetery.
A long road to recovery, four sinners, you'll keep it simple in the 15th round.
For example, Veslaut is looking to flank, but he's able to hold that CT for now, but
Veslaut, with final vision towards the ramp, will go down for free.
good post plant situation force in it for the time being.
Yeah, another hard retake and I don't know if you want to risk the, the AWP especially.
They're gonna back away, it's sensible.
It's sensible, but there are potentially hunters
looking for some stolen weapons, there we go.
But it's the AWP that starts the important part, can they hold onto that one?
Looks likely a little teasing of CT, but I don't think they'll get close enough to your cemetery on this occasion
What's turned to the scurry away is?
Sinners did on many occasion in that first half
And again, you just got a focus
A massive 12
Define you three just around in front of you that matters
Well equips in as we'll see if cemetery's got some shenanigans
Having a look towards the mid
We've left it from T spawn at the swing
Have a look towards red room and cemetery says hello five on four
I could choose to rotate his position as he will heading over towards being able to keep the surprises going
You got the cave positioning there, from Krobenin?
Got some supports as well.
It's all set up.
Nice piece though.
Got some tech.
But they don't know, surely the AWP has posted it.
I mean this should be a freebie.
You'd expect it.
Locked down the tree.
There we go.
Takes down shock, falls back into another position.
Oh!
Good destruction!
Oh!
He's so close.
He's so close. One bullet in the magazine. Gotta be careful about when he chooses to
use this. Really teasing. Great comes out for a second and Demon will drop stress on.
B-Stick and Kisorek remain. There's a lot of work for them to do if they are to prove
Professor of counterfeit. Thank you very much DDK. This was domination from start to finish. This is what you were saying
I was expecting the 13-0 almost guaranteed, but sinners they held on they got the job done to get a few rounds and claw it back
But just for no reason at all, right? They they may have had confidence after first map
But now they had it absolutely shattered from them completely knocked out of them and now I'm right for now
It's for back in control
Listen, as any FaZe or Falcons fans know, one map can really make you doubt a team that you know is actually pretty damn good, and Dust2 made me doubt Foot for a second to the point that despite all evidence suggesting that Foot should dominate Ancient, not only from the win rates, but also from just watching Sinners play, they seem scared to contest in middle, and that's part of the reason they've got 12 hood on the first half.
I still doubted them for a second. I apologize. I never should have doubted foot on ancient against the sinners ancient that it's just
Lacking in all sorts. It's it's always gonna turn out somewhat similar to this
I suppose I want to talk about what you just said there about the contesting middle though
It's like when you had individuals like kisser I can shock who were looking so sharp
Surely you'd be happy to try to get tested against that, you know, even if it is their map like fight them a bit
the interesting thing actually when I when I look back at this team center six months
ago eight months ago they were contesting mid like a normal team for some reason in their
format losing streak they've just decided that they can't touch mid with a 10 foot pole
maybe once or twice around and you see like they would get an aggression down be lane
they'd push down ramp they get a kill but then all of a sudden jugs is up on shelf just
shooting them because he ran through mid and there was nobody there to defend it they were
getting picked apart in the mid round because they had no map control to speak of. I mean,
that's just not how you should be playing ancient. And despite, I mean, it's a 12,
oh, a lot of the time you just, we never got activated into that. We just weren't there in the
game. They had rounds where they were there in the game. We had the stat, the five E fours,
they couldn't convert because they just weren't on the same page as a team on how you should
be playing ancient in general. Yeah. And that's a, that's a huge problem, right? Especially
because they know what to expect from foot on this map. There's plenty of data to look at this.
you should have known this was coming, right? Where was the the thoughts on, okay, we can
challenge them here, you know, we can fight back against them. I'm a little bit concerned just for
sinners now in the sense that you didn't have a good enough game plan when you should have
known this was coming, right? This was not enough thought of you going into this matchup.
I mean, as the Mike Tyson quote goes, everyone's got a great game plan until they get punched in
the mouth, you know, this is like, this is just, you can game plan as much as you want against the
foot. But when you're just this kind of weak on ancient, and we've got a round for this specifically,
we've got round 11, it's never going to work out against the team this effective. I mean,
look at this, this is the round I was referring to, they have the B push down the ramp, they
get the initial entry, and then they just die to jugs. So there's still 4v4, they're still
in a decent position. But if there's nobody on B lane, where else are they other than A main?
Right? Like, to me, that push into A main is suicidal. You know, they're not in B lane,
they took mid control almost always you take mid control. You're going to have a player in a main
waiting for that type of push. And then you have X flat on the flank through. Okay. That second shot
is insane. And they're not at all ready for the idea. They had mid completely empty. They had a
complete, like just the absolute capitulation in that round, but that's, that's how it was
throughout the entirety of the half. And maybe you say that's round 11. You're already down 10,
zero, you know, people are probably a little tilted by then, but I feel like there was rounds
earlier in the game. I've could have pointed to that were that were quite similar. This
is why it's now a six map losing streak on ancient for centers. They just fundamentally
have problems on the map and no amount of game planning is going to solve that in one
maps time, you know, yeah, and that proved the point massively. X clouds with dominating
there from start to finish. You just saw that down from the highlights. What I did really
respect here from foot though is they could be an after plant situations yet they're
They're still just running around the map.
They're still roaming.
They're hunting sinners before even knowing
you've seen us were saving.
This is, I mean, this is the type of game you play
when you are that dominant.
And we see it from foot sometimes
where it's just, they're winning all of their gunfights.
So they're empowered to go for even more gunfights.
And a couple of them, I mean, some of them
are actually really efficient plays.
When they're down 4v5, they understand
when not to plant the bomb, but instead
to take a gunfight or two.
Because if you plant the bomb, you're down a man,
you're just going to lose control of the bomb.
So you're not going to be capable of getting into after
plants, something I wish Aurora realized
in the previous series.
Instead, they're willing to just go for the gunfights,
especially they know they're going to win them.
It's a little easier to opt into a gunfight instead
of planting the bomb when you go, oh, well, I'm
going to win this gunfight anyway.
So no coach is going to be yelling at me
for throwing the round afterwards.
So I mean, that's just a confidence win for FUT.
The question is if sinners can reset into map three.
I do want to ask you one quick question, though.
Where do you put Krebbeni right now?
Not just as an IGL, but also as a fragging IGL,
because we've seen him do this against the very best,
now just obviously, easily against Sinners.
I mean, as a fraggar, I think he's incredibly effective.
I don't have a problem with his IGLing,
but I struggle to rate IGLs that come up
with a team for this long of a period.
I mean, you look at a Shuhei that was on Maus
for quite a while, you look at many different IGLs
have come up, Katie, and we'll see them later today.
An example, you come up with one team,
You look really impressive.
The team plays in a specific style,
and then you swap out to a different team.
And the question is, can you make it work
with a different personnel?
Can you make your style fit different players?
So as an IGEL on this team, I rate him very highly.
As a fragger, I rate him very highly.
But if we're thinking if he could be poached to another team,
I'm not quite as convinced.
OK, we'll have to wait and see across his career
and how it all goes down.
But next up is Maraj.
That's how things will be decided here.
We'll be back in a few minutes to talk you through that.
SEMOTO, from starting your time on CID as the beginning of the year, I want to just get
a feeling for you about how comfortable you are in the team, the development of the team
and where you currently see yourselves.
Hello, Banks.
Overall, I feel really comfortable in this team.
I think it's comfortable, I've been in a while, out of all the teams, I think here I feel the most comfortable.
The way Bistek is calling, it's really soothing me and he's giving me a lot of space.
And also like now we're just recovering from the losses we had, we try to take it easy.
Don't be so harsh on ourselves, we already was, but we try to recover after this break, we had a really good break.
So we have to focus on at the beginning, so we get back in the shape.
Nice. And I can see it, man, you're performing individually very well.
But what is not translating from, say, your online games where a lot of people
were hyped on sinners to then stage one of the major also in China?
Just zero three both times.
It must be so hard to go through.
So I'm just trying to understand from your perspective what you see as the problem.
I think overall when we win for example the basic game and we went to Atlanta like also
when we want to the basic game tournament we are always feeling that we are the underdogs
we didn't have so much expectations but since we started winning and winning and winning
we said maybe we are playing really good and we are maybe the favorite of this tournament
or we are better than these guys so I think kind of the individuals put a bit of pressure
of themselves and we start clicking. I mean the best thing in this team is the firepower
and we kind of start multi-killing and even though if somebody is like missing I don't
know Stratt or he's not throwing that nade, we could have recovered in the past by multi-killing
but now we just didn't click because I don't know we put a lot of pressure on ourself
and that was the case.
And it's what every team needs to deal with right? That pressure going through the mentality
changes and maybe not being able to do what you were able to do in the past and we're
seeing this right between just the maps we've seen here between the teams.
I mean this is part of what people talk about when they talk about online CS isn't necessarily
the fact that it's online, it's the fact that you're chilling in your room with your drink
of choice, you're hanging out, you're having a good time and you don't feel any real pressure
but you go into map two after a huge upset in map one, you feel some confidence, maybe
you start to feel a little pressure that you actually need to beat this team. In fact,
this is something we see with big upsets that come through once in a while. I wouldn't
say this is the biggest upset of all time, but you see sometimes a team will get to 11
or 12 rounds against the Falcons against the top team. And then they'll, oh, oh my God,
we can win. We can actually win. And then they start, then they start to have a little
bit of trouble actually converting the win from there. And I mean, that was just, that
was a really a devastating map to from from centers. I think they're well aware that that's
not how they should be playing. And then they just need to be better.
In terms of being better, though, looking at these win rates, I'm going to kind of ignore
it because the teams that foot are playing are generally much stronger than what the
centers go up against here. So this should still be within foot's ability and skill level
to come for and do similar on ancient or you expecting a closer match.
I would ignore the win rates. I think the more important part is the confidence they
have on the map because this is a map that centers are comfortable on. They pick it quite
often. They almost never ban it. Whereas on foot side, although they have some wins against
better teams that they beat mouse on this map, they beat they played G2 to a very close
game on this map. They do occasionally ban it. It's not in their maximum comfort. It's
not an ancient for them. So when you look at this for from sinners POV, ancient as a map,
they know that they struggle on. They know they're they're lacking something.
you can see they're comfortable on you can see they have confidence they play fairly meta counter strike on this map to their own style they have their own style of course but they they they're not going to do an ancient give up mid entirely style of half so it certainly it's a map where I think we both expected ancient to go
foots wager because of the history because of their confidence but mirage I still think it's going to go foots way but because I think they're a better team not just because they're better on the map.
Let's see what happens when we get into it, Mirage is coming up right now to decide if
one of the bounty hunters will be able to take down the most wanted again, or if things
will turn to normality.
Thank you, gentlemen.
I think this is going to be a more wide open scenario, but let's look at the numbers and
it's not looking so wide open.
Definitely a huge underdog for sinners.
I think they had to come into this series knowing that they had to win it in three,
obviously the first map being essential.
I think in most cases, they're losing that second map.
In the moment, it's not going to be fun to go through the process of losing that map,
but they had to know that this is where they win the series.
What if they'll be too concerned?
I don't think that will be in the back of their minds as they move into Mirage.
Yeah, we'll have to see how the game starts out,
but it does feel like a little bit of a reminder for sinners
of that losing record that they have.
Everything has been going wrong over the last two, three months for them.
you know, perhaps that's somewhat reminiscent of that.
You know, of course, you know, Mirage will be more comfortable.
It's going to allow the individuals to unlock a little more.
So there are definitely a lot of positives here for Senors.
But I think what I'm really referring to is that,
I think they've been kind of in this emotional rollercoaster,
which I think is a challenge to be experiencing.
And for Furt, you know, they got to really experience that,
yeah, hey, yeah, we are better than this other team.
Like we are a cut above.
We play a cut above competition-wise in terms of teams we're facing.
And Mirage is one of the most popular maps. It's one of the maps that you have to be able to play
at the level that FUT is consistently playing. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if FUT actually
dominate. Of course, yeah. I do think they come into this as a significantly stronger team and a
favorite. Looking at Senna's recent performances on Mirage, a strong victory for FaZe at XSC Pro League
13 to seven over sinners. They lost to Astralis 13 to 11 in May. They can run close in some
of the losses they've had. Of course, they are on a somewhat of a losing streak as we
established earlier on. They beat Game of Legion in Atlanta. Maybe that was one of their
last victories, 13-10 on Mirage. So again, quite happy to play Mirage. And I think if
If you, if you witnessed the, the battering they took on ancient, I would kind of ignore
that's going into this deciding map again. Opportunity knocks for the Sinners squad.
And again, with the, with the bounty format as well, this provides great opportunity for
them. And I've no doubt they'll be focused on Mirage and Mirage only once we get started
here. Looks like foot will be starting on the CT side. I think the knife run has taken
already. Yeah, so soon as will be the aggressors, which might do them really well. God. Yeah,
I hope no one's getting motion sickness from that. Yeah, I agree. I think being able to take the
initiative and dictate the pace, I think is pretty helpful. Without said, I think one of the cool
things about Mirage is that you can do that quite effectively on the CT side too. I mean, it's one
of the reasons why it's such a dynamic and map to play. And I think that's one of the reasons why
it's also so popular in the general population because it doesn't really matter what side you're
you can have fun, you can do stuff, you can be active.
And I'm kind of curious what the performance will look like,
especially from the AWPA symmetry.
I'm curious if he's going to be very mobile,
if he's going to be more static,
what kind of performance we'll be looking at
in terms of what he's doing in delivery.
Lots of opportunity here for sinners
to turn their numbers around.
there was, um, I did see a tweet from foot. Just a few minutes ago, quoting the statistic
that the last reduction for time about sinners not winning an official match since Atlanta
and foot said, consider dust to a gift. Sinners will have to take Mirage by force then see
if they can do it. You're going to be looking at a B play coming through from sinners to
kick things off here. Even on the other end of this will be a spotting it out. And there's
the first test passed stopping out the gun to try to go my god it's actually a beautiful
defense not a single player lost just yet finally as a trade-on to be stick shock with
it all to do here against overwhelming numbers and that's going to be a wrap as a foot take
the pistol and they're off to a confident start. Yeah very promising start there. Immediate
momentum in the deciding map.
That keyboard looks beyond 90 degrees to me.
A nice way to start out. Quick switch of the Glock.
I'll be happy with that. No notes for the CT squad.
On zero foot. Rifles will be out.
For everybody, you know, SMGs are required.
Good morning, just making a little more painful towards the ramp.
a fast moving second round. Just running distraction for that bomb to get planted. It's an eco round, not a forced fight.
Looking for that bonus money, which they have achieved meant to squeeze out a frag as well. Mission accomplished as far as that round's concerned.
Yeah, drop done. Drop done. Yeah, definitely agree with that. And we can get into the more interesting stuff now because as they'll have the full buy-ins, we'll get to see.
what we're seeing all from from
the CT side just yet, but you
know they're gonna have to say
goodbye as well. I'm going to
be interested to see kind of
what approach will see from
both teams from. It would
actually be really fun to see
them get aggressive in mid. I'd
love to see that. You know,
sinners are playing in mid
default. They can try to just,
you know, immediately take the
game to them. And I think that
would be the most oppressive way
to play James, and if you really
want to, you know, if you win
the battles in mid and you take
away centers around before they
can even set it up, that is the
force on Mirage, but it's like Sinner's actually might be looking to dictate the pace towards aid.
There is a door on the CT side actually. Oh, my mistake.
Cemetery, maybe Juggs is able to afford one with the 4K. Well, we've got four kills in these two rounds,
so that may have helped. And Cemetery will be quick-boosted into B Apartments, which will give him an angle,
which will allow for it to focus the forces elsewhere, looking like another prompt round
that's what I'm saying. I'm
saying that the key in connector
was phenomenal. Yeah, the lack
of trade there is dejecting.
Again, we said what happened on
map two doesn't matter. If you
expect to do it in three, and
it's not going to bother you so
much, but that should bother
you. Not getting the trade
when you're two versus one in
that connection position. That
is so so key completely shots
down the split takes angles
away and allows the CTs to
stand pretty much wherever they
So far things looking pretty pretty grim for us and it's
Very quick up capo position low down on the ground
You don't expect to see a player there headshots for days for the side of foot one on the return from shock
That's heck nine
One kill is something
But getting the one down at this point not so likely another one picked up though by shock with the tech nine being somewhat of a nuisance
that. Oh, wow. Another from
shock attack nine. What is
this? Yeah, that's so awkward
for cemetery. You could see
his in his moving how awkward
it is because the CTs know
that the bomb is in the middle
of mid, which is wider on
reinforcements on this B bomb
site. W P versus the jiggling
tech nine player. But it gets
a bell run twice. And this is
going really bad for foot. But
maybe it's rescuable. Foot
he's got the fine bone China
out. Juggs a smashed everything
and now needs to make his way
towards a. This is going to be
an interesting task. He has a
kit and he has a smoke plus a
money now that he finds on the
way. So if he's not challenged
when he gets onto the bomb
sites, perhaps there was a sneaky
defuse to be had here. Kiss the
rec up in palace with the
little plenty of bullets in the
magazine. It seems you may go for
the peak before jugs is ready
for its. Trying to bait somebody
trying to bait somebody out, but there is no answer.
Only towards Tetris, nobody shows.
Wondering about Palace now, surely holding the defuse,
and that will be an important round.
An unlikely one, but a big one for Sinners.
Yeah, unlikely is an understatement.
That's kind of crazy.
I mean, just getting all those kills with the Tech 9 from Shock is really wild.
I mean, we're about to see this.
Look how good the situation was here for Ft.
So many players up and then suddenly shockers just
Technining everyone and then I mean it was even more crazy is this one this bad shot from kisser egg
It was actually so wild it rained with a tech nine
Just I mean if we talk about gifts of around
That's another one there for sinners
Quickly charging into it
Another pick and looking to work with that momentum that I feel like now they actually have off the back of that previous victory
And then one of the pains of that is that you could get caught out of position
But now the round kind of resets as we see sinners make their way back from mid and looking to
resolve the round on the A site
Now there is a player close to the ramp there
Jugs is the player that could play spoiler to this
There's a huge peak and now the plays revealed
to be able to get a shot at the
right side of the field. Yeah,
cemetery. May have a pot shot,
but he needs to stay alive here
and just rotation. He's got a
teammate behind them and moto
goes straight into it. The
flash of distance did enough.
What's the CT flash or team?
By the way. Down he goes three
versus four 20 seconds. We've
got a CC in connection. So maybe
they can stop the plant. Indeed
they can. Great angles by X
the
team.
We're going to have a lot of
winners as we head towards that
10 second mark.
A fake plant waiting for a peak
and there's no one to defend
from X Flat on the stairs.
Two on two.
It's surely too late to get a
bomb plant now as B-Stick is
punished trying to hide on the
bomb sites.
It's just a flash in the pan in
terms of success for sinners on
Mirage.
What a swing back there from
foot.
They just understand exactly
So devastating hit for Sinnohs. I mean, this was such a great peek from Moto.
And, you know, with that you would have expected this round to be won by Sinnohs, but...
Again, just can't plant the bomb.
Yeah.
So, so devastating.
The smoke for connector, for jungle connector, not enough with CTs and CT as well.
They know the angles.
false sense of security there, you thought you had a chance you didn't.
Difficult times for Sinners. Hero rifles on Modo and Stresson now.
We've seen more than one encouraging into B Apartments from Furtz in these buy rounds.
Again, we saw the fast boost when Cemetery had the AWP earlier on.
I think we saw Demon up there earlier. I'll give Sinners a little more space knowing that
and they may have pistols in round six.
Bomb in T spawn for the time being
as soon as consider their options.
Symmetry hasn't got a kill yet.
But his team are fine.
X-Floud nine for one.
They are delivering.
The main bomb site once again, the focus, it's fine from MOTO.
Key weapons to try and open up the defense.
Now the bomb making its way across, compared to with the cleanup in mid, will make this
retake significantly easier.
As already the rifles trained on these angles for the cross onto the site, the transfer
It does a lot of damage, shock out from the palace now, I mean, stuck behind the smoke.
There's just nowhere to go, nowhere to really find value if your sinner's in this position.
Well handled again by Furtz 5-1.
Seems they can barely be stopped after the run they had on ancient.
All gas know breaks from Furtz and sinners are left shelf shocks.
Looking really coordinated on the A-bond side.
An important 2K from Krebbeni there to slow things down with, I don't think anybody was in CT 4ft at that moment.
I'm not sure if you heard the rotation from his forward position. It was one of that in T spawn.
Making his way over towards A, otherwise, either way, great impact from foot.
7 for 2 is Krebbeni.
Kisarek will try to keep the CTs on it, but he's just not winning the Joule. Is anything going Sinner's way at the moment?
Doesn't look like it is. I mean, we've got the mid players left now to try to do something, but losing that two-round player does indicate that they were probably waiting to try to go for something on A eventually, but peek into the window.
though ex pardon me be a little over there that's fully taken advantage of
as is that timing cemetery goes down and now advantage here for the center side
with over a minute to play with they've opened up a lot of space great
patience from B-stick secret Benny looking at the floor playing the blind
angle behind the box in connector non coming his way though but demon detects
problems I'm not sure if the rotation will come any time soon
The angle and get the first headshot. He will immediately be traded by stress on
Now Kruppenny will creep in the apartment. No kit for him or for jugs who will run distraction with utility
There is a kit by the van as you can see
Kruppenny creeping now Modo boosted up that's going to be a big problem to solve for these CTs as they move through
stress on below the window
trying to avoid these angles, so if Krebbeni peeks the stress on we'll find him first.
Now Juggs 1 versus 2.
That kit's on a lead so far away.
Crouch picked from Modo, but it's too late to rescue the round.
So we'll have to make his exits, and the students will find a second.
Well, damage is done at least, I think from first perspective.
They really made that one very costly.
And that's a problem because it makes the susceptibility for the economic reset now a really big problem.
Very good timing found there from B-Stick.
And finally we do get something working out for Senus.
But it does seem like James, you know, one of the big problems that Senus are having is that foot
I can't outplaying them on an individual level more consistently. That seems to be one of the issues.
And I think we heard from that interview as well previously that for Senus, you know, one of the
the things that they understand is good about their team is that they have all these players
are capable of multi frags. And that the issue is that that's going to disappear a little
bit of late. Yeah, they've had quite a few tasters of the strength of foot in this game
of Mirage now. And the question is if they can find a consistent weakness somewhere.
Which exploits. It's more ideal if you can fall back on that individual brilliance rather
to have the ability to do so.
We'll see if we can rely on it.
We'll see if they can out muscle
for to lead by three rounds and
are better equipped. What a
glills in round eight for
sinners. Sacrifice is made in
order to have utility for
focused on a. This basically
have the lonely option to watch
me kiss direct drops. Good
angles for CTs on a they've got
three waiting for a push to
that piece, but already losing the palace player. That's not a great look.
Here come the big grenades cutting off the vision. Lots of util available for this counter
plate and cemetery looking for his next victim. That's a catch there from X-Mile to mid and
And now it's just the players on the site.
Destruction being run by jugs.
Over towards that connector area.
And that bomb has planted.
Cemetery now, trading into the 1v1.
Shock with all of 6 HP, trying to close the distance.
As he realized the weapon's been switched.
Cemetery looking further.
And then Shock is, who finds the right angle,
a crucial clutch from him.
Keeping sinners in the fight.
Really tense battles on the A bomb site round to round.
Perhaps soon as are absorbing the information and doing a little better now.
It's a little variation. Sorry, Dan.
There's a little variation to the smokes that we see there.
The newer smokes from Donk.
There's one which is a little bit finicky and can be missed.
That was that second smoke closer to the CT side.
Landing on the ledge seems a lot easier to do consistently.
The game is a lot, you know, closer than you might suspect, you know, through your arms against five.
They're now for sinners. Oh, hello, we've got to get a little walk here from Chuck.
He's gonna find one. Assassinating Moto.
I think that's the people as well. That gets searched by Kiseric.
Okay, oh, this is looking scary. MP9 causing problems. AK-47 stolen.
Now, tossing away the guns there on the ground, so this can't be collected.
We are into a 2 vs 2, anything can happen at this point.
So much time left on the map, or on the round.
The bomb is going to make its way towards the B site, but again, it's going to take a while because
you're going to be cautious of every single angle with zero knowledge of the CT positions.
Cemetery still rotating with the lowly USP.
Looking for info in mid.
So looking for info in in a I wonder if they'll look to collect a weapon in the mid and
Or go for a 2v2 clutch
Not really fits for the task though with just the USB and a cable line
Lot of X's in mid
See if you can find something
Again the weapon disposal service was pretty good
He's wondering where things are, but they've been disposed of very well indeed.
X-Flight holding onto the AK.
Just a Mach 10 from hand looking for an AWP, he's like, nah, anything, nope, usable,
what's ideal?
There's a chance he is already, can he force him to die here to the bomb, what do you say?
MP9 is out surely you try to try to take them down here surely
Here we go go for the runner. I can't get it done a kiss record defend and
Another round there for sinners four to five so they really bring themselves back into this one
You know after how dejecting a lot of the rounds looks the sign to find some success
This was of course against pistols and now foot certainly back on the full full by
I'm not sure why. Yeah, this
should be a good round. Again
glills coming out to have full
utility behind the utility. There
is a plan and elaborate plan.
You wonder if that will give them
space to execute such plan.
If they can throw a spanner in
the works once again. Starting
running away with this one at the beginning. But this time, sinners seem to have stabilized.
I'm just getting worried for a moment there, but things are close now, score-wise.
Back into the action we go, and sinners, I mean, they could win this half, it's definitely doable.
Starting to have a lot more success. Cemetery going for that mid-peak.
If you're able to find anything, he is being assorted, Modo, on the other end, top mid.
As the battle continues, you've got...
I'll have to test this.
I love the activity there, I think it's important.
And so this will retake the position again.
It's been forcing to use a little bit more utility.
No aggressive position in B-Abst this time, from Foots.
But they have two very forward positions here in the Palace.
Being great to fall back, Kisrek. Are they going to pursue this?
Maybe they feel like they have to. Doesn't find either of them, Kisrek,
but what does it mean when you see two players so forward on Palace?
Are they in position to respond to that?
Modo looking through to connect to smoke. Cemetery's got a fesser angle though.
That's the bomb carrier as well in Modo and that's a great catch on to stress on
and things get more stressful as only two remain for sinners.
Even with that frag, the rotation required to collect that bomb is very challenging indeed.
Yeah, that's a horrible position for a shocker. It's going to take down demon and that's some attention taken away.
way, not in position for now, but X-File, good positioning around the van, it's going
to be able to equalize, and now the rotation for the bomb begins. I don't know that there's
time for this at all. You can't really start running, I mean you kind of have to if you
want to try to win the rounds, but looks like B-Sync will give it up. 9 HP, I can't really
blame him, looking to keep the AK into the next round. Their money is wrecked here and
their bonus is reset too.
not enough time, not enough teammates, not enough health.
Great timing from Cemetery on shorts.
Maybe Sinners didn't respond fast enough.
They had numbers in mid, they had a smoke on short.
Two CTs pushing your teammates in Palace.
Were they not in position to respond?
That is such a big frag.
Bomb carrier taken down, has another look,
and that just crushes the round completely.
No one else on that short position to rescue that bomb.
Again, the frags afterwards somewhat cosmetic.
Yeah, second kill was really, really safe from cemetery.
Okay.
Still looking to make it a dominant half.
Anton is back to these Asian antigens that they do enjoy.
Looking for the timing.
Sometimes they just send it. We'll see if that's what they end up doing.
I'll be curious to see what the desks think of that round and if the decision making needs to be faster or if there's another issue there.
Okay, we smoke of the mid window.
And the CT is going to walk about here. That flank is going to get activated and that could be extremely problematic.
Oh, they're gonna get stuck in the choke, but they can't even get past Tetris right now.
Stresson does take down Deven, and the CTs are taking the fight to the attackers.
This is very, very difficult right now. Look at how overwhelmed Stresson is in that fight.
50 seconds.
There's just too many numbers. Shock left in the clutch now, but Johnson's got a great angle to trade.
in the first half of Mirage.
Who knows what lies ahead on the
second half, but we'll see if
there's anything left for them
in what remains of the first.
Looking difficult indeed.
Looking pretty good as they should.
Comfortable in this series now.
Pulling away from sinners towards
the end.
Last round of the first half of
Mirage.
Last round for the first half and there isn't much force in us to work with some utility, some pistols.
The special blocker acquired, Krebbenny though, is not feeling generous, 10 frags for him now.
As he moves to Jartu, he's currently on 15, can have one more to that tally.
Shock, so many bullets, can't even see them coming.
But he'll put him out of his misery, 8-4 at halftime in favour of Fertz.
foot.
Hey guys, I'm Frozen.
This is Frozen from Astralis, this is Apex and I'm going to read some of your bad comments.
Here we are.
Pick Vitality will get demolished by Prime Navi 2021.
My only answer will be a big LOL.
SMB7 departs, never take your VRS point for granted plan ahead.
Worse than Wisdom or Worse than Wisdom.
K.R. Jamz, a poor Starenhooksy, rooting for them, maybe it will work.
What is this?
Twist and an ankle.
You mean like he's the goat?
I agree with that.
Sport?
What the fuck is that name?
Can't wait for shipping sims.
Why take his server to his groin?
It's good.
I like that.
Say learn.
Say it.
At least you stop fucking hoping.
He can't hit a bar to save his life.
He positions like a headless chicken,
screaming on how bad his eye is in an open.
Maybe we need a Xaylar in the team.
Maybe Xaylar sounds like a good order.
Oh here we go, HLTV is always the best nation to.
This is why Sinper is better.
Even when he was dominating with Nugget,
at least it was entertaining.
Sinper can be better for your head, but
he's always still good at jokes.
There are no good IGLs available, man.
Hooks is free. Good IGLs.
That's just me.
Immediate cost, 7'9", 8'1", sales.
I just hope the shitty overpace of
It's still getting new team and it will be a dream come true.
Hey man.
Sandals also from Finland.
So, Suksy retire already, you bum.
What is all this Suksy playing?
Chips.
1709 says.
Bro, can you please give that hour take you in waiting bro?
What the fuck in?
You didn't even stop caring about the fucking meeting, I don't think so.
What the fuck, bro?
Enthusiasm West 4481 says a Swedish Rostin Nassralis.
It's over.
That's how we felt when the lights came for an IP, you know, so I'm just giving them the treatment back.
I wear a cartographer 46, that's the same name.
We are witnessing the funeral of a father.
Fun fact, 4 out of 5 of the 80 members have the letter Z in the surname, representing the organization B.
Apex is not included because bees have short life spans and don't...
I don't really... really...
That's actually fun.
X-Blow from Finland, a fan of PCK.
It says Astralis, downfall continues and I'm all here for it.
Vitality is normal.
Makes sense.
You can't believe they made Apex keep playing at 50 years old,
and the abuse in...
I'm actually 33.
I still have great years ahead of me, so fuck off.
This was mostly, like, coaxing playing?
You can think whatever you want, it's okay.
Well, I'm surprised how many, like, how good these people are on HGTV, you know?
Like, we should just take few of you guys to fix and grow on here.
An H4 half depth effort to close the series with.
That's the uncomfortable position after the first map where they did fall to sinners.
It just hasn't quite looked the same for the Sinner's side, but perhaps a switch over to the CT side will change their fate, James.
I hope so, but Sharks and X-Flight have 16 kills a piece already, and they'll be heading towards AK-47 soon,
which may only compound the problems they are providing their opponents.
the bomb stairs into the kitchen. I would advise that taking a bomb in there.
That Molly is as old as the classic versus pro squad. Anyway, the charge is coming through into
the B bomb site. Kisserx being very, very patient. Seize the bomb carrier. He's got all the info.
One, two, no bomb plant allowed. That is very, very patient indeed.
can they finish off the job?
Jugs with some work to do.
1v2 with the block now.
It's just a reckon stress on trying to find him.
They're desperately trying to find the 1v1 here.
It's got options towards default,
but they keep disappearing behind the pillars.
25 seconds and they combine together.
And he does not realize it.
Both in the same spot.
20 seconds and the pressure to plant upon increases.
Double peek coming in.
That's a perfect rotation from the final two.
to and jugs is denied. Yeah,
really nice pistol there from
the center side, something that
they desperately needed. No
doubts. I'm going to be curious
how they'll use that, though.
But denying the bomb plan
ultimately really important.
I was actually very, very worried
with the trigger discipline that
they're almost going to go down
here. It was very close to getting
wanted very close indeed. And
that would have been a really
huge edge, I think for being able
to go into this next round to
to keep the pressure on.
You can decide to force by anyway,
so pressure's coming, whether you like or not.
Not a bad way to start the B-Stick.
Foot on the gauntlet run through a...
Try and get up on the bottom, take CT,
and perhaps they can do both.
That's an important frag in CT.
That will limit the options.
the game. He's not in the
position to play. The shug
finds himself alone. Four by
three, perhaps didn't quite
spot that player to his right
hand side. This is the start
that sinners wanted. This
closes the gap very quickly
indeed. And again, when you
see an oppressive half as we
did on Mirage, you wonder if
the worst is over for the team
on the comeback. Is this where
I've got to say, given how negative the story has been around sinners, because of, you know, just how some of the rounds have looked, and the struggles that they've had, they are really truly in a position to win this series.
That's right, it's them from Flitz. What the usual one?
I'm going to change their f8s, sinners here, dodging the nades, how many players will they
be able to take out before losing a player or two?
They've lost one, Viscit goes down, they can limit the damage there, that would be really
helpful to keep that economy growing.
Is that gun collectible?
I don't know that it really is at the moment.
Patience from the sinner's side.
And it pays off, very well handled.
That's what we want to see.
Threat from sinners.
One round behind us, the AKs come out for foot.
Despite the limitations of these rounds, they managed to master all the AKs, no good old
sacrifice for X-Crat utility.
They won the sharp objects, the sharpest.
So again, we highlighted Shugs now on 17, as is X-Floud, see if they can cause problems
early.
Presence towards top mid, there's the pot flashes in the swing from Connector and Short looking
for some flights but stress on faces short as he falls back and Krebbenny pops out at
the right time to get one for free.
He's not creeping.
Okay, quite deep there.
I don't know that Kessirik has any idea that he's already in sandwich.
Okay, guys are going to spot it.
Hey, what a react though and actually pick up that kill.
Hold up for this position, D4.
Hold this off though, Kessirik's pressure.
Krebbenny with that opening there in mid is going to be helpful.
Still the scaling is continuing.
That's a good HE follow up and you'd imagine Ft now full control over the site and
And in the end, it was a serious advantage.
Nothing left for shock and Modo.
It was unfortunate the way the special one was caught on shorts.
Just falling back to a deeper position,
but was no longer facing top mid.
Maybe not expecting to get peeked at that moment.
A free kill to open things up.
Rested around, collapsing afterwards.
early test, an early success for
who look to survive before and
start building their own
economy. AK is looking good
early for the favored team,
much higher ranked team in this
series.
So, you see, there is going to
be money for Kisarek Beastica
and stress on to re up if you
will. But there'll be a lot of
this next round, you can see Krebbeni there, he's stressed on, I think maybe he had his
guard down a little bit there.
Oh!
That was cinematic.
I'm not supposed to play catch with those.
Okay, two round advantage for thirds.
As like you say, they need to crush the Sinner's economy now.
For that's a delayed mids movements and it looks like sinners are looking to also be a position to challenge some of this in middle
Nothing too aggressive. We just want to keep it honest
Let's not forget the the aggressive plays we saw with the orb early for us on the CT side. I
Think that's the first time they got it
Suppose they got a good spawn as well for
Symmetry to make it up into UB apps, no such aggression on this particular round.
As Mordor is posted up on A.
And Sinners are biding their time, holding some U-Tilt.
Looks like the sights are set on the B bomb site.
Shock has a lot of work to do in this position.
Just have to smoke for delay, that you can pop down to slow down this push.
You can choose to use it, stress on.
The defense there on the cap position, demon down there for the 180, but can't find stress on.
And it looks like as a good hold so far, they will concede the site, but a 3v2 is not a bad position to play from.
Stress on with some really important frags to keep the options open for his team.
He's the one with the kit, waiting for one or two of our opponents.
Cemetery looking for a tight duel.
Two coming in from the shot position.
Down goes Kisarek, Modo with the AWP now.
Press start is still known on short low health.
Goes for a big swing, but nothing doing.
Really tough for Modo now, even if he makes it onto the bomb site.
He's got a hard commit to that diffusion.
Looking for an exit frag, but if he holds onto the AWP,
that will have to be enough on this occasion.
Foot moved to 10.
Terrorists win.
Oh, that's a good attempt on that defence there from Sinners.
We're just not quite enough and really, really tough.
Really tough spot to be in.
Because like you were saying, the economy is kind of wrecked.
They will save some guns there, so that will help a little bit.
But right now the momentum is starting to really pull together for foot.
My killphone jug said that was a devious.
Enter the next we go, 10-7.
Actually still a pretty good look on this, by with the gun saved.
Got a motor hopping up to the short position with his AWP.
It's a nice parkour for him, so a little more aggression than we've seen prior.
No early yield though.
Good spread from foot, no presence towards beef and albert, you can see they are making
no assumptions there, so it's likely setting up for an A play, two to way early is obviously
a big indicator for that, I think that's a smoke towards top connector, maybe this,
suggesting that he had it elsewhere. Krebbeni moving into connector. There is an AWP one
short though. He's able to circumvent it, so we could have problems on this A bomb site.
He's going to be heavily outnumbered. Inter-trade Krebbeni from his position,
gets the ring. Molotov forced away from his angles, but B6 holding his own for now.
Yeah, we'll see how long that last set in that position gets quite low and there is the follow-up
Great HG there found by demon 3 versus 3 here
The bomb has to go down and there's not too much coverage for the CT spawn just yet in terms of smokes
But there's no CT in position for the punished
before plant there, so it's gonna be hard to play the post if the CT is good on top of it
Rewrlying on the five walks position at the moment for punishing that
and fortunately there's no names here for the center side, for Furt to worry about
and in goes the distance closed by Kiseret, but meeting symmetry and now
gets harder and harder to close this distance even further to get to the
bomb and Modo has fallen as well and now Shock is left without any options here
maybe a single frag is the best result but Jugs with the denial and the round
the game. We're going to be
going to the next round again
going to first. Really dicey
situation for the CT squad.
Their money is not great. Two
rounds away from a series loss
here. Secret the two K tries
keep his team in the fight, but
again. Really good H. E usage
as they lose grip of this series and yet their economy is just in such a rough
spot they'll have to win every round after this one unless they find a miracle
with these Desert Eagles we've seen pistol rounds one this week but
it's all cutting the numbers down very quickly and either our foot soon as
on able to respond. The full contact play through Connector is actually a tough one to deal with.
And in on the plant now, so no hope to win the round here for
four sinners, but can they steal a gun away? That would be a really nice result.
Krabani looking very, very sharp indeed.
He's going to finish off the round there. So now we're on to match point here for the defense
against the bounty hunters of sinners for looking like they've restored the world to perhaps normalcy.
Yeah, 13 controllers, they should be in this matchup.
Sinner's a big underdog in this one. It was always going to be difficult,
and it certainly is now on a quest for five perfect rounds.
Sharks on 20 frags, X-Fab and Krobene on 17, doing great work after it, Modo posted up, great
rifle support as well, and that's a promising start in a high pressure round.
Yes, I'm Lee, damage done to Modo as well, Sharks there with a chance to be safe, try
to even out the numbers a little bit, we'll see what else is possible if it's in its
play this advantage out. Good positioning there for competitive. He does seem to be
in a very nasty spot to play spoilers to this round on the lurk there. Can do all sorts
of damage as he finds his way around the back towards the kitchen as the bomb makes his
way through the B apartment. This could be absolutely brutal. I don't know how conscious
the CTs are of a potential breach through connector. Shock moving deep on short. How
How awkward could this be for a potential retake?
Oh, okay, very aware indeed.
That's great positioning from shock.
Managing to survive the tag from the apartments,
and the flank will come quickly.
Semitree looking to finish off shock.
But not before shock catches another one.
That's a huge drag for the squad.
Semitree now, 30 seconds without the bomb.
Looking for plays in CT,
but they've almost reversed roles now
of two in the apartments and one top mid.
Yeah, I think he did enough there.
Shock, we'll see.
Cemetery.
He's still trying to go for this one.
The bomb is on the ground.
There's the smoke to threaten the plant.
He's got to go for the plant now.
He's got to go for the stick.
Well, this is close to distance.
There's some taps to the smoke with the USP.
It's not going to be enough.
The bomb has been planted here.
Cemetery on for the clutch here.
One versus two.
It's a huge chunk of damage.
Headshot found.
Runs out of bullets.
And Modo finishes it off.
My goodness.
my word. That was on the cusp of something incredible. Just showing how dangerous these individuals are.
I see it's holding on, holding on for now. I'm curious as to what the next buy looks like,
but my word, that was a really good attempt from Cemetery. Look how close he was.
So, not the end of the world, but,
for definitely, you know, keeping that pressure on,
never making any rounds feel anything except uncomfortable.
Yeah, and even, you know, that damage towards the end can be so important if it just makes it easier to take things over the line.
But the question now is, can Sinner survive and force us to an overtime?
It's been a very trying series, been a very trying game of Mirage, again, as we said earlier.
They would have expected to have to do this in three maps.
So I don't think the nature of the loss in ancient will be too conscious a thing in their minds.
As they try to find a way to survive on Mirage for the time being.
the next round. And it's, you
know, they've broken the money
further on an on a complete
eco. It's going to have to be
one of the hardest routes. We're
just going to be up against the
buys over and over. So very
challenging scenario for
sinners. But I mean, they have
shown that they can hold on.
Waiting for cemetery to
rejoin the server, and we will
be good to go. But this is some
key time for reflection. It's a
Key time for reflection. It's the moment for sinners to run rounds back. Scenarios back. Where was I compromised?
What can we change? What can we tweak to find some success? What have we offered?
Fert that we can do differently this time. It's their own aggressive play we can make. They still have the open hands of Modo.
I think he's got a pretty good spawn towards mid or B.
So maybe it's a good time
the game. I mean, it would be
an incredible upset. Of course,
they get the bounty from from
further. They were to win this
and I mean, not only that, James,
but they're going to be able to
get the game back in their
hands. I mean, it would be an
incredible upset. Of course, they
get the bounty from from third
if they were to win this and I
mean, not only that, James, but
I mean, not only that, James, but they'd also end their loss streak of matches, you know, of course, they ended the loss streak of individual maps in the series.
Yeah, I had a few loss streaks going on.
Yeah.
But can they go further? Can they take it beyond? I mean, what a confidence boost that would be, because Ferd obviously is a great team on paper.
Yeah, even to take them to the limit, I think here if they could force an overtime
You know would be some confidence building for the squad
For proving how dangerous they are here in this game of Mirage shugs 21 frags now 21 for 11 is shucks
Yeah
X-Floud and Cropani both on 17
any dejection or deflation aside from some of the struggles, they are just like you said,
in a position right now where they can actually win. They are very close to being able to
win this series and so their full focus will be on that as we get back into the action
here against Ferts and is will be looking at a full full five AWP in Hannah Cemetery
who's been so annoying, it might be looking to potentially get a picket looming over on
on the stairs. Nice. Ate all of that flash. Unable to respond for his teammates.
Sinner's looking for foot to answer back elsewhere.
Thus, Kisarik holds his position though.
Once the smoke starts to dissipate, that could prove painful.
And indeed, he does.
Shug's right man for the job.
Modo, unable to respond.
It's a very late luck in Krabani in the B apartments.
Nothing in mid at all.
Not so focused for the defensive centres are.
They're kind of focusing on connector right now.
They're expecting there to be somebody there,
but the bombsite is going to get overrun.
And the luck is still to be activated from Krabani.
Yeah, this is really awkward.
Modo stuck in connector for now.
Might want to be able to rotate towards CT,
but that's not going to be the case.
And there's some extra information there
there as a big flank comes through from Krobeni. CT heavily in foot control as well. This is such a problem to solve for sinners. Popflash is coming.
Krobeni put a 90 flash, sets up, and steps on. Good for two. Krobeni coming into the back, which may slow down the advance, but he will be dealt with.
Now, Cemetery's in on Island. One versus three so far, so good looking for the second and delivering.
And now Shock has to go through the smoke with no kit to try and find a
Diffusing plain sight cemetery down to the mountain. This is a complete mess
How does Shock possibly solve this cemetery dancing a great flick towards the end to finish off sinners?
Absolutely unreal class there from Sanitary. It's so chaotic with the AWP
They're proving his quality at 13-8 and Furtz deliver as they were always supposed to but a lot of takeaways in this matchup from sinners
I think positive takeaways.
Yeah, breaking the map streak certainly helps.
I think there's a good fight on Mirage.
They come closer, but there's lots of lessons for them to learn in that series,
and I'm sure the best will go over some of those now.
Lessons to be learned and foot themselves growing with a new player,
X-File coming into the team, but overall, foot doing what they're supposed to do in this series
is exactly as you predicted it to go through.
So you're on for a win this day, mate.
I mean just like cemetery spent the entirety of season one have struggling struggling struggling until he managed to MVP at Bucharest
He struggled the entire best of three. I've got out off by moto almost
half of the rounds he had the off, but then he finishes it in
Spectacular fashion not only that but he had a few really impressive rounds in the second half
I think with the rifle especially we thought he was gonna close it out like three or four rounds prior to where it
when he actually did it, but it kind of redeemed himself for the Dust2 where I think it was actually kind of a liability.
I'm looking at this right for Sinners. We didn't have much expectation.
We've seen them struggle when they come up against top teams and go to bigger events with this one.
Just getting the map win, even though it's not a great map for foot right, it's still something they can at least have some positives around.
And it's more for them is just go through this growing pains that they're having since struggling from the offline parts and try and bring themselves back up on the online.
This is what someone on the team says after these two maps where they just get absolutely destroyed
Team speak is like completely quiet for a few seconds and then someone goes hey, at least we got a map right?
It's I mean it's better than nothing, but at the same time
I think they got thoroughly dismantled on on ancient and mirage which is more comfortable of a map
Although it was the numbers got close. I think they were never really in that game
Well, let's check in with Kulio, the coach of Foot, as he's joining us for the interview.
Kulio, good to see you, my friend, and okay, let's start with Dust2 in this one, because
we know it's not the best map for you guys in it, but is it something you've been trying
to work on coming into this new season?
I mean, obviously, we have a roster change, so the map pool is a little bit changed right
now, but I don't think it was the issue that it was Dust, it was more like how we handled
the advantage situations.
So a question about the roster, maybe you mentioned there, adding in X
Floud, we know he's got obviously based on this series, he's a great player, but
he talked in the pregame interview about being a bigger voice, trying to be maybe
a second caller. Is that what he was meaning by that? Does he have a voice
in the team calling his own shot?
Yeah, I mean, we had issued it long with voice like he wasn't really talkative
and there was also some reason behind the change.
It was like 50-50, I would say.
It's not only him wanting to leave,
but we were also looking to other players.
And yeah, we were missing a guy who was speaking
in the middle of the map, middle of the pack.
And if you look the previous games,
that's why we switched up some positions.
And that's why Jux was playing these kind of roles,
because we missed that voice.
And with the addition of Yasin,
like he's able to communicate more.
Speaking of the communication, when I'm looking at when I'm
looking at your team, and actually, we should speak about
the map pool, we talked about dust too. You guys seem to be
struggling with your map pool in general, I think overpass being
removed didn't necessarily help you guys. Are you looking to add
in cash, do you think?
I don't see.
I don't want to leak any shots there.
Not leaking anything, not letting anything get away.
Okay, that's fair, I expect that.
But tell me this then, Coolio, it's obviously very early days with XR coming into the team,
but what potential do you see with just this one roster move?
Obviously there are some rumors that you guys might have made other changes into this season,
but you just made this one.
Is this going to see you guys go past where we saw you at the end of last season?
Yeah, I think rumors are rumors. You always see a lot of and half of it are not true to Venice
But I think we have a good team. We had a good chemistry
I think we have seen fit to the team really good
But obviously we need time and like blast is like this was bound is just
Best ornament kind of like we just want to see how it goes in official because it's different when you play practice
and then you have to play official.
So we are just testing, we want to learn,
but yeah, obviously it was a really important game
if you look on the VRS.
Awesome.
Well, thank you very much for your time, Coolio.
Good luck throughout the rest of the season.
We'll speak to you across the boundary
and go forward.
Thank you.
See you guys.
There we go.
He's saying that rumors around symmetry
definitely was not going to be the one happening there.
So for now, let's roll them with what they've got
and see what X-File can do.
But it's good that we got the answer
similar to what X-Flow was telling us about adding this voice to the team.
Yeah, I think he's, I don't think he would admit if there was any,
any veracity to those rumors. I think you can't,
you can't remove the kind of the confidence in one of your players, but
when it comes down to it, I think this team
is going to be improved quite significantly with X-Flow there. Even if,
it's kind of, you can think of it like the Rob Spinks trade in vitality. At the
time of that trade, of course, things changed now. At the time of the trade, it
It felt like a side grade, but you see what he added to the team, more than just his fragging.
And I think X-Flight can do the exact same thing with Foot here.
Alright, we'll keep an eye on it across the rest of the season.
But Voo, we are done. The second shift of Nat and Maui are on their way for Mate taking on Payne.
We'll see you in a few.
So, Krusha, thank you so much for joining me.
joining me of course you're you're standing in now for a gentleman and I
wanted to know how the lead-in period was for that I know you've already played
for them in a couple officials last week but what would the the build-up to it
all and how have you been enjoying it I mean I've definitely been enjoying to
compete again it's nice to play with them they just messaged me that they
needed someone so yeah yeah I am basically you talk about this nice
to competing and what were you doing in your time off because obviously there
was, you know, you departing your previous roster and now just doing stand-in, how did
you ensure that you were in a shape that if you got the call to stand-in you were ready
to jump in at any moment?
I mean, I was just playing CS still, but I was just not playing it comparatively, I
guess I would say. I was just more like just playing CS, playing that much, playing some
face, that's it basically.
Alright, the standard things there. Have you been facing any challenges you would say
Are they either coming back into competitive or just being in that interim stand-in position?
I mean, they've been together for a long time, so they already have a lot of stuff.
So, yeah, just need to go through the maps, need to discuss a lot of things, need to talk a lot with them
because they've been a team for a long time, so they have a lot of stuff.
So, yeah, I guess that's the hardest part.
you have to change yourself as a player to fit more of them because you are just a stand-in you're
not necessarily a permanent piece of the roster at the moment or is there still quite a lot of
leniency towards how you play? No, they give me the freedom to also add my own things and also
give my input about things so they give me the freedom to also do my stuff and sometimes I do
their stuff so we just balance it a little bit.
Alright, and how do you think the balancing act is going to go against Payne?
How do you see the series playing out?
I mean, we're here to win so, yeah, I think we're going to win.
Because you've been on pain gaming longer than I would say even a majority of the players
in the server have even been playing Counter-Strike.
What sort of goes through your mind to stay so true and so strong to an Org-like pain
gaming? To be honest I don't know I just have some identity with the
organization so I don't know I just feel at home hours and I'm glad to be here.
And when you see yourself in a position like this where it feels like your
team is taking any opportunity you can get to get BRS points you're not in the
best position how do you motivate not only yourself but obviously the other
four players on the roster as well I think the main point is always we all
want to a lot to go to the major hours and I think it's not it's not just a
goal of season we of course the main goal of any player is win a major but
But right now we just have to focus on qualifiers, I think it's the main point right now.
And it's so important for us to be there.
And the motivation is Counter-Strike, we love to play Counter-Strike, we love to live the
game and we love to live this kind of life, you know.
So I think the motivation is every day, you know.
Yeah, that definitely makes sense.
And you're talking about focusing up to make it through these qualifiers, so what have you
focused on specifically for your matchup today against gentlemates?
To be honest, we didn't know a lot about them.
We served them like two days, three days ago, and we know they have good players, they have
a good counter strike, so we have to play our best game to beat them.
But at the same time, I think we just have to focus on ourselves because we didn't play
well the last tournament, the last two months, I think right now we just have to be back
in our own game, just to remember what counter-strike we like to play.
they're quite even footing between pain and gentlemates.
You're getting two teams who are both reeling
from what occurred either in the last season
or in the off season.
Of course, it's a pain who are trying to course correct
after what has been a pretty slippery slope for them
as they've pivoted back to being a full Brazilian lineup.
Really just hasn't panned out for them
in the way that they had expected,
whereas they're kind of just watching from the sideline.
some of their ex players, like DGT on 9Z,
just finding boatloads of success.
So I think there's a little bit of,
I'd even call it seller's remorse for getting him getaway.
But yeah, this is what they've kind of outlined
as their five-man lineup.
And it's just tough to imagine them to really improve
because last season just wasn't great.
Yeah, and even in that interview that they're talking about,
half the goal for any players, of course, winning a major,
but even just the baseline of making a major,
they were able to do that for themselves recently,
But it wasn't that fairytale that they wanted.
It was actually a pretty difficult journey
for them over there at the Major.
It was.
I think that everybody is gonna be looking at pain
for what they did at Austin last year
where they were able to make it to the quarterfinals,
beat Fury there, and then hopefully build on that.
But what happened is that this team decided
in the time shortly after that
they were gonna move away from DGT,
their other South American lurker and also Davideus,
their high flying Chilean entry fragger.
They pivoted back to this full Brazilian lineup
where they brought in VSM, they brought in period junior.
They moved snow to some of the best positions on any map.
And I'm just gonna say, all right,
he has not output the level that they hyped him up to be.
They've called this guy, the guy that will surely be
the best Brazilian player in several years time.
That has just simply not manifested whatsoever.
the last six months for him as an individual, when you use a top 30 rating filter, he only
has a 0.98 rating. So he is performing well beneath the standard you need from a star
player to carry you, to even have really a floor. Because yeah, as we see on the lower
third from 14th to 29th, are we going to just keep having our, our, our VRS standing? Like
is it going to be 58th at the end of this season? Like what's next?
Well, that's like potentially the goal for them of making it through round one is try
get better VRS points. Put
yourself in a position that
round two is slightly more
favorable, but you're talking
about this thought what should
be the star player stepping in
someone that's meeting
expectations and it's very
different to have expectations
built up from your teammates,
and then the other side is just
having big shoes to fill, right?
That's sort of the same side of
the two. Sorry, two sides of
the same coin and for pain, it
was building up this player to
be able to, uh, sort of. Excel
in crucial who has big shoes to fill, right?
That's the different sort of expectations or big star
stariness that we need from both of them.
Martinez definitely looked like he was deserving of a call-up
to a team that'll be competing in tier one events with
much more regularity. So to bring in crucial for me,
this guy was, I mean, he did make a major playoff to his
credit at one point within to the breach. So it's not like
he's a stranger to big stages, but you're probably more so
So leaning to the idea that crucial will just be a stable force.
He obviously look at the amount of maps that he's played in comparison to Martinez over
almost three times his experience in counter strike in professional matches.
And so you know what you're going to get.
And I think that's a that's a safe move for a gentlemates team, but it might limit them
because when I ever saw gentlemates last season, the reason to watch them was Martinez.
I don't think that crucial will be the reason to watch them,
but it's actually a little bit of what's happening
behind the scenes for me when it comes to Gentlemates.
I actually think that DJ L as their coach has shown
that he in early stages with new teams
can quickly identify mistakes
and alleviate some of the problems
that teams may be going through.
It's a shame that Overpass just got swapped out of the map pool.
He was totally a specialist on that as a coach,
but I think that it'll at least give Gentlemates
new perspective. And that might just be the little thing that pushes them over right now.
You have someone that's quite stable is how you're cleaning them on the side of crucial
and then you have a fresh new coach. It feels like there is a big overhaul for the side of
gentlemates and of course that is a big necessity often not making it to the major for themselves.
They narrowly missed out on getting an invite for that one there and so it's a similar but both of
these teams really looking for great VRS points to be able to start their season strong.
But which one do you think has the slight advantage, Maui?
Is it pain gaming?
Is it gentlemates?
Gosh, that's actually a really tough question.
I think this is one of the biggest coin flip
matches from the first round, because you just
have two teams that are in pain by virtue
over their own decision-making or poor state,
and then gentlemates sort of forced
into a less-than-ideal situation.
I'm going to side with gentlemates on this one.
I actually think that the team has a little bit more.
I want to just say hope.
I think that I think that hope can carry you through some of these online matches.
I just feel if I want to actually just who has the better players, it should be pain.
OK, so pain pain in a way should win.
But I just think that the structural changes that I hope to see DJ
will bring into this team will let them some positive results.
And there's always a difference between paper and practice.
Something might look good there, but is it actually going to come to fruition?
And whilst you give gentlemen, it's a slight advantage.
Starting on that map pick is also something that might give them the benefit here.
We're heading on over to Inferna with scrawny and launders
Yes, ma'am. We are. Thank you Nat. Thank you Maui for your insights as always
Mohan, we've got crucial back in the server and that's me is such a treat
Nice to know that you can still pull them out of the reeds chuck them back into the server
And maybe just maybe gentle mates can can well upset our prediction market odds because pain
Considered the favorites coming into this one, but not in Maui's books. I
Yeah, I kind of agree. I mean, you go with downtrend versus, I think that the problem, it's funny if you have a name like Payne and you're winning every match and you're delivering the Payne, but unfortunately it's them just kind of dropping in VRS rankings, not really sure who they can beat right now.
And in this matchup obviously they have like kind of an edge. We don't know how well crucial it's gonna perform
But they're definitely not comfortable. I think it's more fun for crucial thinking about coming into this match
Knowing it's a bigger stage and also knowing that pain are not super confident at the moment
Also just getting to role play as a Spaniard for a weekend seems like a good time to me
Yeah, we'll see how he slots in because that's what he'll be looking to do
We just slot in as gentlemates need him.
Right now it's Snow swapping over to the Berettas.
That's pretty tricky from USP to Berettas in the church.
But all of his teammates, all four
barreling up into the banana retake.
I can't believe Sossel still gets a kill there.
And you're thinking it's a USP, but now he just
lets the Berettas roar.
So Snow will catch them off guard.
They push into him.
They want to take that position away with everybody
else confirmed banana.
A little labored there for Alex, sadly.
So it's going to be a majority alive here for Payne
as they come through with a CT pistol victory.
And Big Zero's pretty happy about that.
They got a cozy pad over there for the teamhouse.
Really enjoying that.
And nice and rustic by the looks of things.
Some traditional wooden picture frames.
We learned that Hunter Thieves and Falcons
are both about great.
That's where they set up, okay?
Which is just like where everyone is set up now.
Yes, Serbia really has saved a lot
the online game world so shout out Serbia one time and for the bootcamps and
everything and a second time because it's the home of Yanko yes shout out to
emat yep true shout out three times
four times you win a prize this by it's not that good it's a lot of guns but not
a lot of utility and if it was a lot of AKs I feel like that would kind of make
up for it but now I think they're kind of rolling the dice here really banking
on these flashbangs, so I mean...
Respect for keeping it simple.
Two flashbangs, and all of a sudden those rifles pop out through brackets, two per side.
Crucial, gonna keep an eye on the flank.
VSM, activist for one, but safe to drop empty-handed.
Uh-oh, indeed.
And the FOMIS, not gonna be enough.
So, it's gonna be bomb down.
Dangerous game crossing over beyond defaults.
Big Guzera trying to set this site ablaze, but that incendiary just doesn't go wide enough to burn out either of the two players in there.
We've got gentlemates comfortably in their post-plants and a bit of pressure here for pain to try to convert the pistol.
Do you take your chance? You've got a kit on snow, you've got another couple pieces of utility, even an additional smoke on Big Guzera.
You put that bad boy on top of the bomb, you could definitely cause panic in the pit players, mind.
They pause a second, they attempt to activate, and it's going to be Sossil and Crucial to come in with kills.
Triple kill for Sossil, and Batmou is a forced by victory.
I mean, they made it work, and honestly, for the way that the CTs were set up, getting brackets for free without any pressure on both sides really helped out a lot.
It was just a really perfect idea. Maybe they knew that team were going to be a little too passive on a round like this.
And so even on low utility
Basically, what is a full exec? They don't have the utility to smoke off library and CT, but they move so quickly they make up for it
They are in a good position to get all their trades crazy stat. Talk about a journey man
I'll read it for you. Gentlemen are the 29th different team that crucial has played in an HLTV official on okay?
I actually did read that. I just didn't believe it 29th different team
Wowza. Man, just loves Counter Strike. 29's, yeah.
It's one of the few Dutch out there.
We're gonna bounce around.
Wonder who gets to be his 30th.
Force by of pain looking far less impressive than even that light utility by Gentlemaids'
by Gentlemates Broad at last round.
It's going to have to be this MP9 upgrade to the AK.
Pirae tried to turn back.
ESMT finds one, five, seven, pops up.
Oh, Snow's got it.
Finished off.
Distracted by the AK up in apps,
where Davi G then swaps out.
And it's forced by to force by.
Payne pulled it off with even less.
Allure is a honeypot on the A site.
They said, come on in.
If you want to do something similar,
we're ready in all these close positions.
And they keep it simple.
some good shots get hit. It's just like last round with players in trickier positions and
there will be another buy coming in. It's going to be Alex and Crucial on good guns,
a few tech 9s to support. But surely it's not another A-play, is it? We'll see as they
They come out of the gate, roaring double AK triple tech nine.
That's it, Phil.
Nicely done.
Production flagging that Snow accidentally saved a Mach 10 instead of an actual rifle last round.
I love that he then gives it to safe. Your problem, not mine.
All the flash is effective, but there's still two of them up in there and another smoke comes through.
Because Zera taken a good deal of damage for that exchange and it draws a third piece over.
So numbers strong, gentlemates are selecting the right side at the right moment.
And awkwardly, that Mach 10 is a part of this A-hold on Archside.
That's a crazy place for a Mach 10.
Can't lie, save just looking to spot it, looks like.
The point is good for VSM, but he's also going to forego control.
They're going to come at him.
Steps into the duel versus Crucial and wins it.
Tech 9's for the majority now.
This left of Gentlemates doesn't seem to be a limitation here for Mopaws.
Period, inside pit, got a cheap point, blank kills VS MC, trying to get into this ahead
of the expectations.
There goes Mopaws flying forward to the upgrade, 10 seconds to spare, and a dry M4 mag, and
it's going to cost him as his shoulder gets spotted and Payne will be the first team to
string two round wins together.
What do you think about the Payne lineup on an individual basis, like in terms of the
pieces?
I want to like it.
I really do.
I had high expectations for it. I thought this was gonna work, but it's been kind of awkward watching them flail around and just slowly fall down through the rankings.
The series kind of became...
Yep.
When he first joined up.
But it is, it is true. Now I pointed out about Snow, not exactly...
Not just improving and then becoming the star. They were hoping that he would.
Because he did come in, you know, he's been very much hyped up by the Brazilian scene.
Yeah, and I think it's like the kinds of rounds that he gets because it'll be like
One ref around a half will have some huge play and then you look at overall consistency. It's not there
So when you keep seeing potential like that you can't help it, you know feel one day it's all gonna come together
And maybe
Sometimes you don't get a lot of time.
Just gotta be quick and fast.
I've also thought that Payne has struggled in the AWPing department since the NQZ departure.
Yeah.
I'm a big NQZ fan.
Yeah.
Just because he looks like you.
Well, on some days.
Some days.
No, but that is a real thing.
NQZ became like their best player.
Yeah.
So good.
He was very valuable for the off-season.
And then off-season where we didn't get a ton of moves you're hoping for the NQZ 90 I actually was
Yeah, I mean it's always hard to call for a roster change after such a successful tournament run
Mm-hmm, but I almost think may or himself would have to be like as far as the op goes as far as the op goes specifically
You know NQZ man. He's a big game player as well. You go back to like an upset in Austin over top of furia
I always love that we kind of brought that to them and 90 needed a boost in land performances
the big stage ones anyways.
So no offense, safe!
Big shoes to fill.
But I have just kind of been sat here waiting for it to work for pain.
It's one of those like on paper situations versus reality.
You're gonna walk into this flash, it's good though, it's perfect.
You put yourself in a spot to dodge.
Any regular flash.
It's good coverage here from pain.
Snow's locked in from here on out. Four players are close. BSM offers the distraction. Snow swings with a flash.
Very nicely set up between all the B players. Big Uzzera with the utility support to secure the 4V2.
And crucial whittled down slightly further by that frag grenade, but it does sail beyond him. Smoke grenade in front at 35 seconds.
And they've got nowhere else to go, but also the CTs are on the far side of the A site,
so there is a chance that a 2v2 would take 20 seconds and they just assume there's just
no sense in doing this.
Tough.
Totally reasonable.
Have to walk away, so utility makes a difference and this is Painter going to go up 5-1 on
the CT side.
Turning crucial.
All the way.
Very good start.
So, big VSM guy.
Big VSM guy.
Yeah, that's great.
Definitely a smart player.
Big on a lot of these pieces.
It's about bringing them all together, which is crazy,
because we're also big on Biguzera's ability to get, you know, value out of his players, so...
But you could argue that, like, the best pain was when Biguzera was the best player as well.
You could.
Yeah, it's very good at calling around himself and being a star, but like, long gone are
those days.
Don't know exactly what happened, really.
I think there was, um, I think it had something to do with, like, when we had that, it was
like a pretty seismic shift in pain when snow was really starting to get given a lot of,
like, critical roles.
And I felt like the conversation was going to be, like, particularly, I remember him becoming
like the entry outside on Nuke, when it just didn't really almost make sense to me on paper.
Yeah, it didn't, uh, but deliver within, you know, those moments, I think that's when we kind of saw Biguzera
Also have to take a backseat
Yeah, and Biguzera was very good at at uh taking space outside on nuke
That's obviously one map, but it's just for me. That's like the the best example of where
He sort of had to give it over or rather sacrifice in his belief in snow
But hey, things are going well right now.
I'm beating up on a gentleman with a stand-in.
Four Spaniards, and Crucial.
Who we are calling Spanish today.
Yes, yes he is.
Crucial.
to
this is fun and that your eyes this one could be
and then it's it's a very passive set up from pain this is a great
way to stage a be attacked they have car control like everything's fine
They're a little light over here.
Throw a fake just to make sure the CTs don't move
and maybe they'll even pull another one over.
This should be one in the bag for pain,
or for gentlemates, honestly.
It's time to disrespect that smoke.
Trying to just...
Oh, the two!
No, the lineups.
Damn near unbelievable!
And Alex really wanted the space beyond confidence
but that's where Big Guzera had just slotted back in.
I love the fake.
I love the confidence to charge through that banana smoke.
Unfortunate here for gentlemates
that Snow's able to find that line up.
Headshot in the background on crucial, critical.
Now with 4 versus 2, Retake queued up.
Sossil's got ideas, though.
Looking to peek deep into the CT spawn,
he'll get a little damage out.
But Davi G, back new box at 55 health.
No utils, so it's all about to go a little.
Finishes off, carry on, and he gets off so close.
But he's unable to capitalize on all three kills,
and Payne caught off guard by that sudden pounce,
still successful in their retake.
Get the numbers up. That last headshot was a little crazy, but almost brought him the clutch
This is mental because I think the low HP player died make crucial mistakes of looking ahead in the background just a string. Yep
But that's counter strike when you come in as such a tight-knit pack
It is that you almost want in that situation sights open. They will play retake
He's not gonna, you know, force his way through the smoke almost just like be a bit more patient let him stew in it
Hmm, what's in the play retake?
I don't want to get the numbers down, but not the worst site to just
have high numbers on both sides
Gentlemates may have lost the round, but I'm giving them bonus points for that fake
Trying to create an opportunity and they had pain doing what gentle mates wanted
Let's snow very comfortably up to 8 and 4, only being outperformed by the 10 and 3 VSM over on that A site.
So, gentlemenates have tested both ends of the map but find themselves trailing by 5 flashbangs around banana bomb and toe on Crucial's back.
And just enough pressure and presence to get pain off this opening banana setup.
a setup.
Again, with the way they're playing the perimeter, there's nothing wrong about the way that
gentlemades are approaching these sites.
It's good, but clearly, the paint are quite confident in their passive setups.
They've been winning constantly, holding back two pit at 40 seconds now.
Oh, no fission. Biguzera has kept his head down the whole time. He pops up. Two on
Grape Stairs dead. Bomb drop. Willing to wait for the balcony drop off, but nobody actually
coming that direction, so Biguzera doesn't get another duel. This is the big problem,
because even that's a prolonged fight. They took a long time to actually take Biguzera
out in the pit, but because no one had pushed on B, no one had early rotated, and they played
with that information. They relied entirely on those three players to get all the kills.
This one was going to be too slow coming in from the rotators. Just fundamentally speaking,
that's, you know, that's the bed you make on Inferno. You don't play for info. So up
until this point, it works out beautifully for pain, but you can't be surprised eventually.
Right it fails
Are you serious wait what hold on all the way in spawn what what are we talking about I thought that with the
What?
They did!
Brother, there's like three walls in between.
You can survive on the nuke terrorist rooftop with an A plant, but you can't survive in
CT spawn.
All right, man, that might make a difference.
We'll cross-fines a headshot and doubles down on it.
Biguzera also blasted away from this banana setup.
They deserve this.
Yeah.
Oh.
Dodging two players.
Gonna stop making me laugh, man.
I'm gonna die in here.
There's 92 damage, Dink.
Oh, I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
I'm gonna die in here.
But like, VSM, I hate to break it to you, you just want to get out of here, brother.
They deserve to make some money this round.
What's crazy too is like, look at the thickness of the walls on Arch.
Look at the mini map.
Look how big that gap is.
Yeah, you were, what was the wall that you...
Look up, what, you're telling me the bomb?
I don't know.
Yeah, obviously.
I'm no physicist, but uh, something's up.
Yeah, that did not look right.
I know there were some janky bomb explosion spots when the update first released, but I thought a lot of them got patched pretty, pretty quickly.
Let's do that bomb one more time.
Just really, just really take it, but you live there!
Yeah, hell, this one.
But you can live there! Okay, cool.
That's, that's the one.
All right, you can survive in church where the bomb is planted ten feet away, but that's still lethal. Yeah, I know exactly
Look, I love getting upset about things so you give me ammunition valve. I'ma take it
Careful that might blow you up. Oh, no
From the other side of the map
Yeah, it's an A-plant.
I think I want to win the next rounds and keep many alive.
First back-to-back round wins four, gentlemates, on this attack.
Right here on safe, being given quite a bit of brackets, yeah that was the only vision
they had was just safe, and now they'll come in a little too slowly.
BSM smoked off and safe's going to give him a flash, oh the flash was good, and the damage
looks solid but it's still five members up of Gentlemane, safe tries to get active on
short side, it's an additional A player dead with nothing, Peria's got to go massive, needs
He's the multi-kill here, because his rotator also died empty-handed, and he's only taken
20 damage for his two frags.
Snow clipping the wings of one on his rotation over, it's a doable 1v2, but he is smoked
off on the approach.
There's a gap, though.
There is.
He's gonna love to try to challenge that.
You can see already, though, Gentlemate's players considering his push.
He's got a full belt of utility to try to figure out this 1v2.
They didn't dive them with one player's hands busy, 10 HP dual in the back of the site, and that should be the easy kill.
Pit player goes for the fight, softens him up, distracts him, and offers Sossil the assist he needs.
Four rounds secured on the T side, thus far, for gentlemates.
It was pain really hoping that this was going to be a quick B.
At least some map control on that side, so they tried to play 3 over here, but instead it's just gentlemates.
So they move quickly into their 8 wraps.
I mean, you don't see many teams do it as fast as we've seen from them.
And I think part of it is because they know it's being played lightly.
Why not take the space as if it's given to you to actually work it out
to put a little comeback together?
I thought that flash was better than it was.
It got them to turn from the peak, but neither player blinded.
BSM just kind of jumps into the dragon's lair 53 damage off shot
but enough to get gentle mates to hesitate yeah that'll spook him a bit
got safe on this op and a lot of pistols around him
They want to avoid this very nice clear here from Krushel.
And now they just want to read the safe rotation.
Don't mind this at all, if they want to send Alex in to go for a scout.
They are ready to pop A. I think we're gonna get confirmation of the op if it even gets to shoot.
Mack tends freed up to test this, but Alex already got their claws in, right? They're already wrapping Arch.
Period's gonna have to go massive. It's just the Desert Eagle behind him, so...
No one trade that. Nice for him to pick that up with only a quarter of his health lost.
No one to trade that and they're sitting behind the smoke on lane. This makes it a little awkward.
Clock's gonna add additional pressure here. Period keeps his head down off.
Mopas clears him on the drive-by and spams back through to clip Biguzera.
So A site prime for the taking and a very comfortable looking close to the half for gentlemates.
We've got Payne just looking to save their op and 5-7.
Cross their fingers they can get one more in the final round of the half.
The gentlemate's on a good streak at this point.
That safe's actually going to have a bit of pressure coming his way.
It looks like it's too slow, so I'll take this into the next one as they wrap entirely.
Yeah, and gentlemates have really got themselves back into this game.
I haven't really seen a layered game plan from Pain, it's sort of one idea that doesn't
work well, let me just go full passive.
We're nothing forward-pressed at all, a lot of responsibility on safe having a job.
But it's very easy to get him off because there's never anyone with him, it's always
He's going to be him either on lane or on arch holding an angle, ready to get flashed off.
Oh, exposed. Yeah, still a long lead as well. Very awkward.
How's that kind of forced big gauze there to reposition?
This happened to still just stick around on the top of orange for now. We hit 30 seconds
left in the half, and gentlemates decide to send it back to this aid bomb site.
Remember, they've gotten away with a lot of brackets challenges without too much resistance.
But VSM slotting in behind this soon to fade smoke.
And he's kind of two mines, right, deep in the corner or behind the pillar, gets away with a third bit of damage.
Davi G whittled down to five, Piraeus set up for success by VSM.
He drops down and he just needs to delay long enough to get the bomb.
Ah, not enough time.
Not enough time to plant, so this one fizzles out at the final moment.
BSM really setting that one up as he finds the headshot and sends his team 7-5 into the second half.
An A site that finally holds on long enough is why Pain move into the second half with
a two round lead, 7-5 swapping to the attack of their opponent's map pick.
is gentle mates plus crucial trying to hold off the onslaught from here on out.
That was a bit of pain you know like they kept their own personality to it.
It's not like fundamentally mirroring all like the way other top teams play but
they get their rounds they're confident in their setups and that's what we're
used to seeing when we watch pain play. Did take a VSM damn near triple kill on
short last round though to make it that much more likely but sometimes that's
also kind of pain you know banking on those big moments and when they are
delivered, thanks to the talent that we know their individuals have, it works.
Now having to replicate it to the attack, they're going to find no resistance on brackets.
Two CTs here to defend the A site. Beretta's included up on Bout. Crucial gets a double,
three quad kill from Crucial and Crucial alone. Two sets of Berettas, but only one pair needed.
On for an ace as Big Guzara takes up position in the site and all of Crucial's temporary
teammates come on over, let the man have it.
We got some info for him, let's go Crucial.
Oh, such a clean ace out of Crucial.
29 years young.
29th different roster this man has played on and he still brings it to the table.
Flashes go high, he interrupts the pack for back-to-back headshots.
Three headshots.
Four, it was five headshots.
Wow.
No reload needed.
Welcome to Gentleman's.
Oof.
Don't be talking about that one.
Lovely stuff.
I love when a stand-in has one of those big moments because you know at the same time
as he just wants gentlemates to win to prove that you know giving him a call is worth it.
You never know when your next shot's gonna come.
Ace for the highlight reel tonight.
Safe comes through with the trade-off but time crucial keeps it clean.
triple kill with the M4 and that just stops them in their tracks.
It's forced by unsuccessful, crucial, making an early name for himself as an A defender
in this series tonight.
That's nine kills in two rounds, folks.
You may have just entered god mode.
I'm back to the Berettas, of course.
That's a little unnerving if you're paying.
No hitters after getting that ace, either.
Just like that crucial leaps and bounds above the rest of his teammates.
not only now securing the tide game, but very much set up for the lead.
Snow is the highest rated banana player on T side Inferno this year.
I mean, that's actually an awesome stat.
Fryberg the fourth.
You know what? I'm gonna say I don't believe it.
What is that number?
Although we hire B-tramps for these facts, and yet I'm always allowed to doubt them.
They're just so believable sometimes.
He's got a great track record, but like really in the world?
You just, you know, you leave me asking more, but maybe sometimes that's the strata.
Oh, stop.
Enough with the Desert Eagles, boys.
Snow and Biguzera want a piece, both go down, so it's majority alive at the end of this.
And sure enough, Gentlemates in a lead.
But yeah, he leaves you asking questions, which is a great way to make sure that you
keep getting hired because if he gave us all the facts in one event like he's
higher rated than anybody on a team that we're talking about here wouldn't you
like to know I would I have a computer
computer
An advantage early here for the CTs as Crucial's AWP positions short side, has comfortable amounts
of apartments controlled to know that he doesn't have to worry about his back, and that T-smoke
halfway gone.
We'll see if anybody prods the other side of brackets, but right now, Gentlemaid's not
Not quite shelling up as much as Pain had throughout their defense.
We'll see how, if, at all, Pain can claw back into this 4v5.
Bomb heading over towards the B side as Biguzera makes contact.
Crucial's gonna miss his chance at maintaining, and maybe even extending, man advantage.
That's gonna keep Davi Jeep preoccupied, but even though Biguzera showed face towards Banana,
it's off of the pick that they wanna play, and Bomb is inbound towards A.
And they're, yeah, I mean, they're actually just leaving.
They want to hope that this is going to be some kind of fake, but no, they're actually going to come forward into the A site and
dished out some criticism for pain getting a little bit too quiet in the, in the mid rounds.
Gentleman's kind of doing all the same, passively rotating.
That'll be good.
We're lying on one guy in the site. That won't be enough. And I'm not sure we're going to see a reef.
Reef versus three, but...
They're coming in no utility.
Yeah, nothing at all.
And another smoke for Biguzera.
If he pops that down on Moto, you'd think that spell is disaster for gentlemates.
Sure enough, there it is.
Like you're still in a comfortable spot this game.
Yeah, let it go.
At least you got the three guns.
You gotta let it go.
Got a no one to fold them.
You wanna try to make it expensive.
Don't mess around with that A-bomb though.
Yeah, that thing's still got...
I think it's freaky.
You know, these walls are pretty dense.
Pretty rock solid, in fact.
But...
I'm no architect.
You know, you're safe here, though.
Well, not Pyrrhea, but Safe himself hangs on.
So, pain tie the game up eight rounds a piece and keep one player alive.
Both teams know at this point they can definitely win this game.
Not the domineering performance you'd expect from either squad right now.
Obviously, this is Gentle Maid's pick.
That's a weird bounce.
And Snow's looking to exploit it on the fallback.
Seize his shoulder.
He occupied with Nades.
Orange player not ready at all.
Mopaz gonna go down, Snow capitalizes,
bouncing on both Mopaz and Alex, neither player,
giving him a duel to have to survive.
So this round is a damn near freebie, thanks to Snow.
I thought Alex had seen him, but he wasn't fully peaked,
I guess, that was just a real gift here.
Now, gentlemates, we'll see if they get to hang on
to this majority alive situation.
It's a great chance for Payne to also make up some banks,
So, how much you willing to risk?
Yeah, that off is tantalizing, isn't it?
Crucial smoke himself up to guarantee all three remaining players survive.
Pain, back to the lead.
from another one's right so you can do it legally
but only in designated locations would you call this a monkey it wasn't technically
a proper spot
I'd call it bad
you know
I'd call it bad
keep your eye on the pride not even dubious maybe
Ahhhh, arguable.
Arguable.
Arguable.
Crucial one of that one. Snow's gonna take the damage, but it's still 5v5 and they show their hand with an off-contact top banana.
Oh, I would love this. Pounce of pain decide to just make this move off of the off being in a new position,
But the Arch is held on to somewhat. Davi G over Big Uzerah.
The Oper's smoked off as Crucial tries to make a rotate over towards Library that also met by Util.
And Pain happy to hit the pause button for a second.
They have a good spot, but they also want to rely on the smokes.
Big pressure here for Sossel. From the top of the back, Balk. It's a back turn to him.
He'll get his one. And CSM has to give up control. The Archside just tucking into the mid-cubby.
Bomb plant uncontested, but apartments belongs to crucial and they are figuring out the SF
They'll little him down to five health the flying MP9 all too easy
Alex on the scene denied by Peria as snow is gonna use the tall box for cover offer on the other side the crucial's Nate's
Perfection and a quick hit onto him drops it to 46 help through the flames
Snow's gonna find the headshot, swap over and still die as the USPS headshot comes through.
Yeah, that's a 10 second stick, but they've got plenty of time.
Crucial, great clutch out of him.
We're definitely gonna call that one necessary.
It was about to be too many errors in a row here for gentlemates.
Really nice sequence out of the gentleman's players.
It's also getting impact, snow, and just kind of be falling as crucial output, I mean, every step of the way.
Wild sprint through the short, Molly.
But it makes it uncomfortable for snow and crucial delivers with the sidearm.
It's a risky business retake, but I mean, figuring out BSM's position, I've been getting
that kill as easily as they did, opened up the threat of both sides on the site, forces
Snow to play in the corner.
Constantly but successful.
pause and snow down low at the start of this round, as we remain tied, nine-all.
That stuff will be basically snow-good and comfortable. This clash is not good enough,
actually, I think. He had just turned from it, because Error doesn't spam back to try to get that
trade. I think with how close he was, he would have maybe tried it. Now MP9 from the
corner is going to catch him off guard, AWPer up close able to retain some control of the
situation. No reason to fight here, I mean, they've got numbers, they can fall back a
little bit. What they do have to be aware of is that pain or a little desperate and
they might be wanting to take a risk. They have a nice move here with Arch, but one of
the rotators is already slipped by.
30 seconds means they can really wait for VSM
if they want to.
Does that information gain?
It looks like it.
He had to have just a little sliver.
Ooh, twice now.
OK.
Let's see if they hands off that info properly.
Tell me if you're concerned about it,
but Sassel finds him back, turned.
Alex gets his.
And then they obviously just know that it's B now.
They get every single kill.
Nice four up, perjental mates.
as they come into this now again with a lead.
And that's a very good looking round.
Lead for the third time, I believe.
Can they hang on to it?
Just be a fun map to steal away if you're paying.
I think they're sharing the 9-Z facilities, I'm pretty sure I saw the...
Oh yeah?
I saw 9-Z globe ant on the wall in the background.
Always good to share with your friends.
Yep.
A rising tide raises all ships.
crumbs is still bread. Damn, that's profound. Only a genius could come up with that one.
Oh, Alex, really? You gonna do it to him? The save comes into this one thinking he's
to get a chance to be that, you know, zero AWP.
Instead, he's dead and the opening moves and Snow is instead gonna have to pick up the big green.
Unfortunately for him and everybody else except Piria, it is a no Kevlar ground for Pain.
This round's gonna feel like a year for Pain. I mean,
They want to put just enough pressure that I mean, Snow could be able to save us up if he can make some massive play right now if this window flash will talk, but...
Preoccupied with the thought of a player top banana, not ready for Mopaw's up close.
Two rounds in a row now.
Gentlemates have gotten value out of running the risk of throwing somebody down banana.
Sorry, VSM, but that's a huge shadow advantage for Crucial.
Peria gets the trade at least to keep it somewhat interesting, but we've got bomb down bottom
mid.
Actually, I think it's an underground.
Yeah, CTs don't see it.
I don't think they're really worried, though.
They're going to retain this full banana information.
This Peria just goes on a mercenary mission just to see what he can get.
Oh, how much
Get out of here
That'll be enough for next round
Yeah, I'm sober aligning. It's all you came in with it's what you get to leave with
But it's like a tea inferno off like it's not necessarily when you the round if anything
It's like damn it
We still have to come up with another idea to use this. Yeah, it's kind of like if we get into a post plan
We're swimming but
At the moment, syncing.
Yeah.
I mean, we were wondering about Crucial as a stand-in.
This is above and beyond, so...
Excellent.
It's made the difference, absolutely.
Ace in the second pistol to really set up the CT side.
The CT side that has only had two round losses to Payne's attack.
Prior to Crucial's pistol round, Ace, all of his last five previous aces came on vertigo.
That is... that's also crazy.
I wonder if that was his first CS2 ace.
E-E-S-M with the headshot. Makes it interesting. Crucial's off. Recollects the impact.
Still going.
And it's a quick hop down that Peria can't punish.
That suddenly just slows things down to a crawl.
I'm not sure what they were going to do with that lead per se, and this pushup actually
could yield themselves a quick info inside of mid, but Big Azera is also taking a step
back at the same time.
This one will still end towards the A site, but a third CT is making its way over.
Smoke's coming up to infer that it's going to be a lane take.
Don't want to fall for anything.
Nice kill here for Peria.
Pressure on first, he's going to fly to smoke and now he's dead.
Surely he can't get out of this one.
Ah, first player goes past.
Sarah's wraparound is going to find him too fixated on the short side, so just enough utility assistance to get pain in unscathed.
VSM dropped early, so be it. Everybody else survives this one for pain, and it's double digits, both teams now.
There's a decent amount of money here for gentlemates to put together another buy.
So Payne will have to wait a little longer for their easy round.
That was Crucial's first ace since...
...2024.
Damn, he did take a break in there somewhere.
Yeah, he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
his last ace versus aurora youngblood not just aurora no
aurora youngblood aurora youngblood okay
Big fan.
Cove on the line for the gentlemates.
Careful VSM, Crucial's up here in the apartments.
Oh, it doesn't shoot.
Oh, forgets to click the left mouse button.
That could have been an opening kill in a fallback. He doesn't just jump all the way back though, still hanging on to a bit of an angle.
This is a very difficult shot and one that could just allow for pain to flood up close and personal.
I mean, the bomb's up here. There's a lot up here. Damn near all of pain.
He's got a teammate with him. He's feeling confident, but...
Is there a chance that he even pushes in again if it's quiet enough? That's what I wonder.
Snow, VSM, Imperia all set up in apps. Oh, he gets VSM in the front, and then Snow finds the trade back.
Pit players got damage, sets up Davi G, and as he finishes off Snow, that second bit of damage on Peria.
And safe, he's about to have competition for art.
It's his off shot, now suddenly Davi G in a tough one, and safe whips back around towards middle as Paintye, the game 11-all.
Wolf, not for the re-peak from Crump Crucial actually because he does a great job of getting his kill
and he only stayed there because they had a teammate right behind him.
There's a chance to trade that aggro and look for a new place to peek in from.
Would have been a highlight for sure, but instead now it's gentlemates
losing into the rounds, bringing it to 11-11,
and calling attack time out with not much money.
a
nice snow
as of the moment with snow
And safe also, just making sure that one goes down smoothly.
Mm-hmm.
Good on him to hit both of those shots.
Yikes, tough place to be if you're gentlemates.
Paintye the game 11, and you can just trickle into this one with some upgraded pistols.
Sausal the hero M4, so you've got that to work with,
but it's very swift positioning here from Pain towards this B site.
Not with the bomb, though.
And now it gets ground by VSM.
Yeah, Alex never expects it as they just silently work their way up behind those smoker dates.
Flashbangs come through 5-7's attempts, but it is covered in all directions.
Bomb chucked on in, and a very easy 12th round added to the board despite that attempted stacked up B site.
They just didn't have the tools for the job, nor the element of surprise.
that belong to Payne as they just inch their way into the bomb site and catch
gentlemates off guard. Here comes the highest rated T-side inferno banana
player. Mmm true, it's not with another 2k.
That approach just so uninterrupted. You could tell gentlemates were like
waiting for that chance to pounce because they're low utility so you only
really get one chance but it comes in a bit late and Payne I like that they
showed no hesitation in this round. That is the one thing that's worked out
beautifully for them a couple times now. The suddenness of their walks.
Oh yeah.
And snow with multiple multi-kills in back-to-back rounds. We saw them clear
out balcony, deal with crucial and the pit player two rounds ago, and a key
points of the entry here to the B site as well. But gentlemates decided to play for round 24,
didn't full invest on this round? Correct. Not able to keep that 1M4 they did buy means there's
an MP9 in this final round of regulation for the gentlemates. It's gonna be pain to burn a time
out before we get back under way I can't look in to steal a map packing now put
themselves in a good position to do so is there even a kit here I don't see
one no kits right now for gentlemates good catch if it comes down to it
Gentlemen have only had to win a single round by way of retakes so far this CT side.
Don't let him plant.
You won't need that kit.
That's not the case.
Sossil takes the challenge up into Boiler, but it was a cautious one from Payne.
Just a check of the door and then hiding back in bulk.
As gentlemates try to press off the site and into brackets, we'll see what kind of challenge
comes their way.
They're playing the long game here, but they don't have as many resources.
This is going to be a war of attrition.
It's only going to get scarier as the round goes on.
You can still see all the utility here for pain, so they won't win that war of attrition.
Sossel again trying to prod through apartments. The boiler push didn't work out to his favor.
BSM caught in the same spot. 40 seconds afterwards and he hears that drop down, right?
The fallback would have been heard and Sossel doesn't shy away. Oh, this is a big position for Sossel.
And he's going to catch the duel to BSM. Snow's going to get the trade right back.
Period goes towards balcony instead and gentle mates on this a-hold need to stave it off
Pain on the brink of a map win 3v3 and that bomb gets in with just a few seconds to spare
Moto smoke is up and now with the no-kit retake needed. This is their worst nightmare no utility no kit
And a three on three retake all the nades chucked out by pain in order to get that bomb down
So it is nothing but six rifles in hand and headshots hunting
They can't be walking at this short players thinking about the split up
But instead just come up short towards this trade because Aaron pops up first to fall
Period gets one and then for the back of sight. It's safe trying to keep his head down
Gentle mates denied in round 24 by pain who put the squeeze onto the A site and come out with just enough
it was just enough. I mean,
it's hard to retake with no
utility, but to be able to go
down in that regard where it
felt like coming out of the
gates, Maui, it was going to be
a really strong showing from
pain. So the fact that you see
gentlemen needs bring it back
in almost force over time. If
it wasn't for that final round
there, it is just as close as
you said almost a coin flip in
picking who is the favourites
when it comes to pay for a
practice. But it panned out in
in such an exciting way. I was surprised at how ten so many of those rounds got down to
the little heroic plays from a handful of people that are in the server right now. I
got to give a little bit of credit to Payne. I feel like they actually dug really deep on the
last handful of rounds to win. I think it was four straights to close out the map after Gentlemates
were able to pick up steam. Yeah, kind of a streaky game where Payne got off to that great star
and it felt like Gentlemates, they found that form. Payne just had another gear that they could
shift into. Yeah, I mean, a lot of that streak from the side of
gentlemates came from crucial, right? You said coming into
this, he was a good sub for the side of gentlemates because he's
stable. He's consistent and it definitely showed because it
felt like you could depend on him, Maui, to show up and that is
where they were able to get a string of great rounds themselves.
Really impressive on the trades for the T side. That's one thing
that sometimes can be a little bit tricky, which is why you don't
always see oppers find the most success on Inferno. But as a
he has a second in guy, whether he had the rifle or the off in his hand, frequently was able to find success.
We did get a couple nice multi frags from him, too, on that defensive half,
which is what you would hope from your AWP player and a player that is more or less auditioning himself right now.
I don't really know the terms of crucial's engagement with this side of Gentlemates,
but he definitely showed up in the server today, hoped to see him continue with them if he's able to find it and continue with this form.
that. Yeah, it is that weird
sort of trial period because
when I spoke to him before the
series started, he said it was
just nice to get back to play.
And so his mind is kind of just
very short sided in the moment
for what he is having to put up
and hoping that what comes out
of it is longevity, and I feel
like when you show up in this
way, yeah, there is definitely
space for longevity for crucial.
I think there is for sure an
opening, but unfortunately
doesn't convert over into a map
you know, I'm not sure if it's
the right way. Gentlemates
not pick off in front of but
yeah, ever so closely. It was
a hard fought effort from him
and some of the other guys from
gentlemates. Unfortunately,
pain were disabled to eke out
too many of those slim margins,
whether that was due to player
quality, which I'm sure we'll
look at or from just honestly
some pretty decent tactics. And
I think that the pressure
exerted by pain on that T side
with a stand in. They couldn't quite hold up.
Yeah, and we said that Payne's strong start.
Gelmades really had it in the middle,
but it was those final four rounds
that pushed Payne into the win.
And run 21 was something that you wanted to look at
because this sort of started building that momentum
into them having that strong close out.
So one aspect and narrative with Payne
we don't really get into is that
Biguzera is still a great engineer.
He's made it to major playoffs before.
Deep runs surprised us.
So he gets into a 4v4 because of this individual effort
effort from VSM and he just understands that there's so much pressure so he slowly creeps
up with his team.
You see that Mopaz because there's a three man defense on the CT side at A, he has to
get a little frisky, but everybody on pain was sort of ready to punish as they were getting
ready to enact this play as well.
So I think that the opening kill was really nice from VSM, he had a couple cheeky moments,
he always does.
That's one thing I love about VSM, he always finds a way to just go a little bit above
and beyond.
he's not just taking can get him in trouble. Sometimes he gives up that 5v4 early, but when he's able to just get that opener, he knows how much space that allows big and the rest of the pain team to operate with because you always feel a little bit like you're in the driver's
seat in a four on four. Was there anyone else on the side of pain that sort of not necessarily surpassed your expectations, but when you look back, you were like, yeah, I feel like that's another unsung hero on this roster that people could so easily gloss over.
Well, in the pregame, I was kind of down on snow because he hasn't really lived up to the billing,
especially given that he's allotted so many resources. Frequently, they're flashing for him, they're running in first for him.
But the double kill he got from Balcony in one of the rounds, I think it was actually the round before the one we looked at.
I think it was round 20, in fact. That was one where that second kill he got on the pit guy was impeccable.
He had to get it. Also in this game, he did what he needed to.
sometimes that's what I find lacking for snow where they do flash for him they
do set him up by running in first and he doesn't always get those kills that I
feel like our must our must-get and this time he went a little bit above and
beyond so I gotta give him credit when he does actually perform to that level
that they're they're trying to set him up to hit. Yeah and that's the
narrative that you were talking about coming into this you're like if you're
they're going to build them up so much when it comes to the team. He has to be able to
lose, but it's nice to see it. Of course, they would have liked it to be a little bit
more clean than it was there, but there is still a potential that we're going to see
a cleaner game coming out from pain when it does get to their map pick as well. But for
the side of general mates, losing your map pick isn't the end of it, right? It's still
the best of three. And we've seen many teams already in Flossed Bounty lose their map pick
and go on to still win that best of three. So where are you hoping? Like how far down
to be able to show up for the
for the next map. I feel like
it was really such a slim
victory there for pain to take
it over them. I'm a little bit
concerned because I think pain
have a bit more comfort there on
the upcoming map in nuke, but I
think that if crucial can
continue to be such a
demonstrative force, which you'll
have a great opportunity to be
on the CT side, well, then
the game. So we're going to
actually turn it from a dream
for pain into a bit. Practically
a nightmare because crucial
can be very adept at just
knowing where to rotate next,
but that all that all comes
with the caveat. Is he really
well integrated in the system?
Are they relying information
fast enough for him so we can
pull off those rotations?
Yeah, sometimes teams with a
substitute are easy to come up
against. Sometimes they're
difficult because you don't
know exactly what sort of game
plan is going to come out from
them. But we've had a look at
a couple of rounds that went
more on a specific ground that you wanted to break down now.
It was round 10, and that was for the props
and the praise of Gentlemates.
Exactly.
It's a reason that they picked this map.
I actually really did like this.
So positivity, despite the fact that there
was a map lost here for Gentlemates,
where they very quickly clear bracket with the speed
that they were actually able to deploy these smokes
towards library, towards the arch side, really caught
VSM and paint off guard.
And I also love how just the the sassel is positioning right there to understand the likelihood of a reaggress towards the foresight.
Like this is a play that the core of Gentlemates has clearly drilled hundreds, if not a thousand times through online games in the last season.
So I'm really glad to see it busted out right here.
I thought that and this was to me kind of in the midst of a turning point in the in the map where I thought Gentlemates really showed up finally after the first four or five rounds where it felt like pain was going to wipe the floor with them.
Yeah, we always talk about the skill of what a team can bring, whether, you know, that's
going to be that individual element of being able to just be the player that can shoot
faster. But there is, of course, a lot of skill in being able to have great utility usage.
And that's something that among my many floors, Bowie, is there. All right. So if I wanted
to get a little bit better, maybe not to the level of gentlemates, that's a little too
S tier for me. Where would I go to get better at my utility usage?
I'm glad you asked that because of course we are partnered with refrag who are bringing
you this message that is that the utility aspect on their website is just a wealth of
knowledge.
I actually got onto refrag before we went live today to brush up on actually funnily enough
they're they're showing cash and that's what I was looking at because I have not I'm trying
to play this map in premiere right now and nobody's queuing it they keep banning it but
I still want to be ready and the only way to be game ready it before you even load up in the server is with refrag
So you should be able to check them out as the utility feature is just fantastic
I was also using the pre-aim stuff too cuz I got I gotta stay I gotta stay warm, you know
I gotta stay hot, you know, I do like that as well with the utility hub that they have the video is a pretty much less than a
Minute to be able to get the correct lineup. So that's something that's like with someone with such a short attention span
I just want to get in I want the nitty gritty ASAP so it is a lot of fun to get to utilize that to get
Oh, this I mean this is just such an absolutely great tool because if the way that most people are gonna find out about utility
Is by going on to some youtubers page and they're gonna have to scroll through the timestamps that are poorly labeled
But this is just a kind of fixed radar that shows you exactly how you can throw
Multiple smokes from multiple positions
Let's say you don't like the lineup on one because it's just this weird little pixel dot that you can't see on your your dumb resolution
I don't know why you're on that resolution, but I should be calling out the users
I don't know why I'm calling the users here, but uh, no sometimes it's hard to see some of the little like graphics that are on these maps
So it's nice to have multiple lineups for the same grenade
So that's what is so excellent about refrag. They don't just tell you one lineup
Look at this. Look at this hub little little plug right now that we're doing like they got like seven places
or maybe even more to throw this one smoke and you'll never miss it at that point. You have no excuses.
That's it. The excuses go out the window at that point if you get on refrag.
So I would suggest recommending it to a lot of friends that you do acute with.
But we've given you a lot of information only about map one, but of course refrag.
And we're going to give you even more information. Well, not me specifically, but some of our pain gaming players.
How much do we have on the other side?
Actually, it depends because sometimes when the game, I don't know, there is a kind of thing that when play with a complete, it's difficult because they just play like by yourself, you know, all the rounds, individual plays and just keep rushing and if the rounds go to them, it's so difficult to play against this kind of play style.
But when this kind of game, like the runs, is going and going for us, it's so easy.
So we never know, right?
So let's see.
A bit of a coin flip, it sounds like that.
Yeah, yeah, I'm kind of afraid of this kind of play style, but at the same time I like
to play against this kind.
So it's difficult to say.
We've got those words from Big Ezzera himself there where he said sometimes the police
that's the playstyle of a
substitute and gentlemen. It's
exciting, but also scares him.
And I guess that is showing
when we saw them playing on
Inferno, right? You never
really know what to expect.
Sometimes they're going to get
rounds. You just don't expect
it all. But it doesn't feel like
that map. It's pains pick about
it. So it should be something
they're not a scared on. They're
more comfortable and they're
more prepared. That's the
playstyle. Joe mates want to
have. It's a map where I don't
know if I always love every
There's one guy that I can never stop smiling at when I when I watch him play this map.
VSM is actually a joy to watch when I watch paint on this.
He is so, I don't know if I want to use the word slimy, but he's tricky, he's funny.
He makes these goofy plays that remind you that there's creativity and counter strike
for a guy that plays ramp on CT side.
I've never seen more little just plays around his smoke little just right click flashes
just jiggling all of the time to try to get another little meter of space that it can help
his team out on rotations. And I think that's that's the guy I'm going to be looking out for
for sure here. Okay. And is there anyone that's like as inspiring on the side of general mates
are you hoping that they don't need to think that far out of the box? They just really need to be
a little bit more standard and a little bit more comfortable spitting crucially. I feel like the
the core some of the core players in the past like Alex has actually been a great even though
he's been the caller for gentlemates I actually feel like on nuke especially it's a map that he
really shines on like space taking efforts whether that's defensively or offensively also
I've seen in the past that he's been a commendable caller so even if they get say seven rounds on
the CT side you might think that okay painter just going to switch it on I haven't seen it as much
with crucial, albeit, but in the past when he's orchestrating offences too, he has a,
both these teams have a nice variety of plays that they can go to, not really as one trick.
Okay, well then I'm excited to see exactly how the IGLs are going to move their pieces
and what is going to be the chessboard of Nuke as we head on over to Scrony and Launders.
Oh no, my cable's not hidden yet. Damn it. I had to slushy. He did. We've all gotten fired up for
for this next one because pain pick nuke mohan talked to me about pains nuke i
want to call it a win streak but uh well they don't really win this map very
often they do that a lot of single two single did it losses back to back i mean
pain the frustrating part about pain is like their history of losing their map
pick yeah the hilarious part about this one is like they haven't even won it
recently it's like the perfect setup to lose their map pick again
Uh-huh. They're very good at that.
They're also, why the, you know, and in the past,
why they have a winning record,
they've been very good at stealing map picks away,
which is what we just saw in Inferno.
It shows us why Pain can kind of rise to the challenge,
but also can fail.
And I feel like it's that structure.
It's just that they're very good at adapting teams.
That's why they get close games.
That's why when it comes to the high pressure moments,
the end of games, sometimes they're the ones
who can win when it didn't really feel like that was going to happen for most of the map.
That's the strength of their calling.
Ooh, AWP missing.
That's a good stat to drop in the pistol.
NQZ a missing piece.
We already talked about him back on Inferno.
CFC could step it up.
Right now Mopaw's triple and you've got Davi G just pressing into the hut, keeping that
pressure on.
Safe trying to recover a 1v4 here.
Crazy ladder movement.
Crucial's low.
that kill down and finishes it off now suddenly this feels winnable yeah they
didn't run at that they actually they've got the bomb on the other side of the
door but they're also playing it very very carefully just gonna have to get
that bomb back might want to come and take another peek at this so that could
be a chance for safe it will be one third kill headshot from the 1v4 still
Needs bomb possession. Oh man. This is risky like right buddy. He's playing it
I mean, he's gonna have to uh-huh talk us through it. He's either got the he's got to get the kill basically
It's gonna go up to heaven
It's probably gonna make noise coming down
It's a big risk Alex isn't aware of this potential fat
I mean this actually could turn into a genius moment because Alex is like no way he would try this don't whiff
Safe walks wide. Oh, what does it one v four brother? Wow?
Not bad at all from inside of the lobby it recovers the pistol and throws a mo pauses
Multi-frag in the dumpster that 3k on doors means
Nothing
He used the fact that the bomb was dropped out in the open the pressure of the guy in the 2v1
The pressure the guy in the 3v1 to play back this could have been traded right away. That's a nutty little adjustment
It was that kill I it almost doesn't look real that he's able to bend it into the headshot
But hey sticks the landing with a huge reposition. I mean that that is pretty incredible out of safe. Yeah, lovely stuff
Not bad for a guy who's what we just kind of threw stats under the bus
1.1 or 1.01 so far on you got a little bit cozy. Yeah
There's a little pistol 4k for you
Big clutch factor from safe to kick off this t-side and it's the t-side pistol a nuke
That's just a nice little sigh of relief, but that's assuming you don't lose to this four spy and
four for Alex and P9 for a couple
And snow with a chip on a shoulder playing tee outside
And we also had that slight
Conversation about this right when snow was the guy to take over as the dedicated outer player on nuke
And I like this. I mean there's plenty of room for two people and he actually turns into the tip of the spear here
Snow gets his kill they have the lines coming in a mini
Back turn really bad G
And you find the vent player as well
So looking at very comfortable despite the goozera being down to three points of health
It's like why should outside be a one-man job? I mean especially in TD faults like double their clerks on top of that
totally welcome
Really love how they tethered off of each other
And that could be a great evolution for pain
Not just shoving the responsibility all on snow
Awkward star here for gentlemates with that 1v4 loss
into not getting the ego back like they did back on his burnout.
His charm's almost bigger than the gun.
5'7 empty-handed as crucial burns in the background.
Yeah, nice and smooth here versus a couple of upgraded pistols, not one casualty for
pain in this one and only one death in the round prior.
It's a bit too clean.
It's very good conversions from the T side pistol and remember a pistol that's only made
possible via 1v4.
I mean the other hilarious part, like they got a 70% pick rate on this map, they've lost
it twice.
single-digit losses. We're talking about phantom and sharks.
And normally, you'd still have a side you're looking forward to, right?
We love CT-satomas.
Normally, yep.
They lose equally 45% on both CT and T-side, and it's a pretty big sample size.
They just...
Why they love Nuke so much?
They just really love it.
Just an abusive relationship.
Okay, diagonal wall of smokes into the straight line.
They lose snow in the middle of all this, as Crucial's AWP rings out.
What shot was that?
I wonder what he saw before the smokes popped here, whether that was just a blind one.
Yeah, what was he in figure?
No, he's just watching the cross. It was before that smoke, but what's weird is that that the diagonal wall was already up
So I'm feeling like maybe he got a vision over the top using the fence or something and he looks like he's like totally
I'm sure our super professional replay operator will they have a cute up got four different angles on it already
And we gave him a good amount of time so no excuses
Biguzera has been finding impact on this A floor, catches Alex, and BSM wastes no time
killing Crucial.
Davi G trying to switch between the sides of hot, a little too much to handle on your
own once the two supportive players have already been peeled off the bomb site, and so it's
going to have to be the lobby wrap that somehow gets this back under wraps for gentlemates.
also fighting up versus a man disadvantaged. Zero-trade potential on Sossil's arrival.
He steps into Piraeus' crosshair, dies, and gives Mopaw's a good excuse to go off for
the M4A4 save. This is pain with a 4-0 streak out of the gate on the attack.
Off that pistol clutch again. I mean, this has just got to feel horrible for gentlemates.
Narrowly drop their map pick.
Yeah, you're one kill in the pistol from a very different situation than this.
Oh, you don't take one damage here, huh?
Interesting.
Yeah, right.
Yeah, okay.
Boosted on the box in the seat, spawn, and just catching the top of Snow's Noggin.
Nice shot.
Look, it's a 4v5 win, and the game just looks so good right now on this map, very true.
zoom. That's actually a regular sized water bottle. That's just 500 milliliters right
there. That's two liters. That's eight Scott. I would like it to be known that BLAST has
a sparkling water dispenser built into the kitchen countertop.
Could just call it a tap.
That's fine.
At the blast studio.
But it's not a tap, is it?
Because it's not attached to water lines.
Or is it?
I don't really know how it works.
All I know is that I've got bubbly water on tap.
And ice cubes.
You just said it, though.
And earlier today, they even replaced the CO2 tank?
Brother, these bubbles?
Quite something.
What is he drinking?
He needs a lot of stock.
He's like, yeah.
Enjoy your fizzy water.
Everybody's got water, VSM's.
VSM's having a party.
Just frozen margaritas.
Just as flush he is.
That's so awesome.
Ripping the vape with some frozen varks, man.
Hell yeah, brother.
Up 4-0, no times you've got to be your own party.
No problem whatsoever today.
I gotta say that, uh, that mog sparkling water that I was glad to have with my very
relevant story after all, but hey, back to the counter shake, shall we?
Still such a rough spot for gentlemades, they'd love to just have a nice normal buy for once,
but it's M4 double MP9 and can't down to a single frag.
Alex trying to convince them not to attack through main.
lot of presence over towards hell it feels like they really want pain to go
through this hell wrap and we'll see with the vacant space where the pain
fall into this trap it is an interesting setup it's kind of like where do you go
from here but if they're gonna get right on oh man what a clear out of the
edges that's ludicrous back to the other two players though that's the thing
This will start getting curious, VSM kills it all apart, his three kills, single-handedly
dismantling the booby trap of Gentlemates.
So now he was talking about the crafty VSM.
I love that he doesn't let his guard down there.
Sign of a good player.
Two back.
2v5 rebuttals coming through, Alex looking away from heaven, I got tagged through the
silo wall. Honestly, you'd love that as the guy trying to exit through heaven.
Yeah. Could have been very easy for Alex to just keep watching up above.
No pause. Yeah, it's a tough one to go for even if he does have two kills in the
round. No kit for the retake and a tantalizing save with this AK at hand.
But yeah, you know, you're the main player. You know there's a guy back site.
You just send a couple bullets through the wall and sure enough it offers the
perfect distraction. If you're Alex, you're pissed that you looked at it, but you can't
help yourself, you're getting shot at. And it really just secures this 5-0 pain start.
Mopaw's putting up virtually all the kills for Genselmaid so far in this game.
And as you can see, so much money here for pain.
These gun rounds have been few and far between, but back to full force, our gentlemates still
seeking their first round win.
It's been hard to get your finger on the intentions of Pain.
He keeps throwing out variations of these smokes, keeping you guessing as to who and
And how many are behind the walls, this time nobody outside for pain, but as they stack
up inside of the lobby, they'll be met by the squeaky smoke.
Ramp smoke is now fading.
That could be one avenue, but they are setting their sights on A clearly.
Molly's come through, flashes, pop damage, EG blinded fully, here we are, looking for
a target.
Here is Alex, goes head hunting.
A double kill from Namo, pauses, single pick, Ussera's answers back, and now it's a health
advantage here for Payne with still 45 seconds to play.
Kind of a good moment to reset.
They've cleared the upper floor, got crucial.
It doesn't know exactly where they're going to go.
Is there an outside chance they try to drop an event?
I mean, crucial is sitting here thinking as soon as they take upper,
maybe you can cause a distraction.
I can get up these vents.
They walk out of squeaky.
It's going to be a back site plant.
Man, Alex is so low, but he wants to test it.
Doesn't stop the plant.
Safe comes through, quick kill back.
Crucial going over, it's off the off.
Quick scope missed.
Remember bomb planted.
Safe takes the nade down to half health.
Crucial, it's a 10 second stick.
Safe closing the gap.
Many missed-off shots for crucial and that is gonna be the sixth consecutive round out of pain made possible by big
Uzair a clawing back a 2v4
Okay, I think you got freaked out because even though he's peeking that side of the site and thought he's coming out of
Hut and safe had already moved forward through that hg grenade. Wow. That's Alex got sick
What
And Alex just misses that, stopping the bomb, he was so close.
Counter-Strike, it's a game of milliseconds.
Sometimes it takes and then it takes some more.
The gentlemates are not keeping up in the frag department, coming into that round before
Alex gets that multi-kill.
Crucial, Saucal, Davi G and Alex had four kills combined.
So we're going to need a little uptick from the rest of the squad, because Mopaz can't solo-carry clearly.
Not one round wins so far, and we are halfway through this CT side.
All while safe is yet to die.
That's the same safe that clutched a 1v4 in the pistol, by the way.
So you've got a 1v4, you've got a 2v4 and a 6-0 lead.
Gentlemates have been on the brink, but just can't get these rounds to stick.
They kind of got to be careful upstairs.
They start to block out many.
There's no one lurking outside of this moment either.
He's actually coming through flashes have been fantastic on these.
Feels like the U2 has made things difficult.
Mopaws though, full vision this time, back to back headshots.
And he even gets away with the gun swap.
Felt like safe was going to have him dead to right, but a triple kill for Mopaws, surely that's enough.
I said he, individually, wouldn't be able to make the difference,
but another multi-kill comes up from Mopaws, sets them up perfectly,
and gentlemates will catch their first round win seven rounds into this half.
He kicked it off with an excellent flash dodge into the 2k. Third one's a total freebie.
Sape doesn't even realize that he's showing in this spot position.
12 and 5. There's Mopaws now.
But still, only one round.
That's dangerous, man. They've been hanging out and had a ton.
No idea. Mopaz is out.
No kill this time around. Still a lot of presence out here for gentlemates.
Ooh, safe and crucial. With vest.
It's also gonna point white kill Snow, but Pyrrhea keeps that pressure on the A floor.
This round's a mess.
Where's the bomb in all this?
PSM.
Double back around with it. Davi G from inside a site.
Just slipping the net and getting a position that catches Pain Off Guard.
Gets man advantage back momentarily
Hides inside of the smoke as they try to pinch both sides
They'll open it up to deal with him and he gets a little more damage out pretty immense damage actually giving the edge to gentlemates
Long down miss shot and she had been crucial
Can't afford these moments as you got paint stacked up in the back site
This piece didn't catch the opera off and they spotted Sossel closing the distance
They're looking to just trade out but a bit of disjointedness between the two pain players and period doesn't matter at all
He will answer back with a headshot a triple kill for him and a seventh round to pain
It's a real messy round underscore definitely by the off shots that got missed on both sides stinkers
Yeah, that chance to swing that round back up for both teams easily
I'm in a great position to take upper, but we're actually still working on the outside
defaults.
Gotta kill the one expecting.
Staggered their way into the site.
Kept losing an inventory of where each player was going to be next, and even all those trades
came down again.
Yeah, I didn't make the difference.
of
the
death
of
death
of
death
Won't be a surprise that it's snow. Might let them know that he's either alone or just with one other player.
Secured, nicely done by Mopaz.
You put him in the right position,
and he is trying to keep Gentlemates afloat here, 14 and 6
after that multi-frag.
Got them, and they've lost their grasp of this half already.
But crucial's in the spot to get enough for them
to be less worried about Outer.
They have the double hut play where
they've been struggling to stop these entries whenever
Pain want to take upstairs.
Top of Hut offers up the most powerful angles on the site.
And as long as it isn't some kind of
executive mall these days, they can abuse that.
So, let me just break you, kid.
They definitely could have got traded there.
Dropping the bucket here for gentlemates.
151 ADR mob, get the camera!
I saw something, I just want to take a shot and reveal its position.
I got huts a lot of smokes.
Into the garage they'll go. Snow almost finding the timing on the opera John Alex actually catching timing on Piraeus
This might be kind of big for snow. He can go faster crucial had just watched this
That was the bomb too. Yeah going up into heaven also
This will be the play big was there a scramble to make sure he gets that bomb back
He'll be looking to get it through main to join up into this a hit
That's gonna be mad up in it. Oh
Three players there, huh?
Moe pause from behind the vents pushes into squeaky. Oh
They really were hoping snow would unravel everything and instead it is only safe scout to come through 2v5 under way
Line up there for Davi G. But safe another clutch. Does he have it in him?
This one even easier than the last potentially, but no time to on the side
Oh, no. Oh, no. Wait, now, Crucial's in a one-on-one. He has an op to work with.
This is nightmare fuel for gentlemaids. He could just go up the clock. I mean, he
could play this however he wants. Safe stomping gives that audio over to Crucial.
Bomb planted back site. Crucial with the kit. No smoke to cover off anything. So,
he's gonna try to flush safe into the open with that tap. Safe coming to look
and clear it and Crucial always switches back over to the off.
I love that safe doesn't bite.
Forces him to tap it again.
It's another fake as Crucial turns around
and watches single door.
He hits the shot.
Oh, he hits that shot and denies.
One too many clutch attempts for safe.
A 1v4 in the pistol, a 1v2 rounds prior,
but this one gets away.
I feel like when you have carte blanche in a 1v1 like that,
not planning for yourself and then putting yourself
in a spot where you're gonna take four full seconds just to walk out to see the
bomb might have been a little bit risky there for safe. It's not that creativity
really pay off of a pistol round but a miss it's not as crucial who's terrified.
Dude for a half where crucial has missed some easy off shots nice to see him land
that one. His third kill of the map puts the third round on the board.
I also love that safe instantly buys a hero AK for round 11 as the rest of pain will be looking to have a full gun round in the
final round of their T side
He's been the hero before we'll see if he can be the hero again
The smoke's coming over from Biguzera, they're gonna go for the standard wall.
See how much the CT's trying to interrupt it, they throw a body at main and at the same
time Crucial's just freed up to pop it open and clip one on the cross.
Bomb a little late to get over.
And they'll throw themselves at this B bomb site, hoping that the area with the AK can just create enough space for at the very least that bomb to go down.
Big Uzzera though, he's gonna get chased out through the vents.
Okay, Big Uzzera.
Hoping to go unnoticed, and it works!
Now he's got an M4.
A little bit of extra space, Piria pushes into the ramp room, which you'd think catches Sausel off every day of the week.
He is way out there.
And sure enough, he finds the headshot, they're doing this!
Biguzera trying to close the doors, sets up Pyrrhus,
just port back behind him, crucial sees you dive into the dark side.
It's another retake with an off-demanded Nadesgood for 50.
But with no Nade, he's gonna try to diffuse inside of this smoke.
I mean, surely.
Oh, and the spam comes out and they win the round with an unarmored AK.
Pyrrhus goes massive, the Biguzera blockburst corner camp.
Oh, it is just mind-numbing.
That was money.
I mean, and we just got to the point with the crucial 1v1 they actually chewed through 10k of money on three or four players that they have.
The rounds man, the rounds in this game.
They were just on the other side.
Yo, put, take a bow biguzera.
And it sees the guy backing up out of the vent and decides to hide in the corner crouched with a burst clock.
It's just a couple of times.
Was his Glock already on burst?
Or did he swap the moment he shot?
You know, that's actually a great question, because he would have made noise.
I'm not sure.
That's some crazy shit.
Also slamming the door shut, the double door shut at that perfect moment to kind of cause
panic in the CT's face and then period is right behind you.
Oh man.
Lovely, lovely mid-rounding for a very crazy round.
And they put gentlemates back in a world of hurt
All that work for nothing they're back to MP9's I
Don't want to get ahead of myself, but pain might actually win their map pig
Very low chance of that
That doesn't normally happen
That was a fun round of Counter-Strike for some wrong reasons
And that is the charm of paying to the end.
Yeah, it is.
Oh.
Mopah is going to stop Big Guzara, but he loses his support and his gun's gone dry.
Double Heaven Peek comes through as Alex makes contact out through main.
And so, even with the first two players only getting one kill, watch him go safe in another
clutch attempt.
And it's a low player up in Heaven.
Very low.
It's not how close this one is.
and it doesn't feel like he's considering that there's somebody behind these boxes.
Oh, now he's got us! No!
Okay, it's crucial with the wallbang to put that on ice.
A fourth round secured by gentlemates on the CT side,
but Payne gunning for their map pick victory.
Hello guys, this is Mattis.
This is Foyle.
Hey, I'm Alex to be, and today I'll be reading some bad comments.
The fruit itself hasn't been looking hard since the major result.
Well, I tell you they are so good that even a single map win for Navi would be a victory
itself.
What can I say?
Everyone knows this kid is going to be the next Broke or Sampairo.
Sampairo.
Sampairo, bro, what's going on, right?
The hunter was never an invio, never be a good player.
That's a bullshit.
I can never be done on these guys.
Even Pails was like that in 2022, always flicking, constantly getting back kills, but then he
disappeared.
Ex-team.
A typical HLTV user.
I love it, I love it.
You know, MoloDoy has a bright future ahead of him.
He's just starting.
So, you're gonna have to watch a lot of games from MoloDoy and hopefully he's gonna be winning
a lot.
So, I think you were wrong with his non-cyber king.
So a guy named InsertLame here says, I'm not gonna get the honor of losing to Vita in finals
this event.
But yeah, I'm glad that people are thinking that we're gonna reach the finals and yeah, it's good for us
Mine is Nico plus. I ego is a huge down there. The previous could be in the old blast. This iteration
New iteration will not likely be even less
I mean eventually we'll be on the tournament to be honest after this guy said it
My initial here is to make it through a super competitive team in the best way I can. Then leave low
Yeah, don't be that December bro. You know shit's fucked when Alex is novice top performer
It's probably better for the team's future prospects since they lose this much anyway.
Express patience, 9809, okay, like this nickname as well.
Casaratu was shit in Katowice, shit me out in playoffs, shit in Colón playoffs, and
shit in Udapest playoffs.
I am counted shit after Mirage and Alexey playing with half of his brain whilst Fitz
stays under 1KD.
Jesus, what a shit show, once again, that's a nice and supportive comment it says.
normally the latest shichon is strong, no?
Ha ha ha ha, get it my boy.
Nobby have improved at all.
My prediction is Vitality 3-0.
Not gonna lie, that's a funny one.
The first one, a funny one actually, so,
kudos to this guy.
It's all legit, just bully this team into being good
and I'm here for it.
And yeah, it was kind of true to be honest.
At some point, but yeah.
Are they seriously hiring a guy from Enko?
We need good players to become champions, not these low tier scrubs who play tier 3.
What a joke, pathetic you guys.
Who have taught that?
Maladoy, coming out of Kazakhstan, playing on the cybercrafies, no computer at home.
Who have taught that? The kid is good.
And yeah, you never know what you know.
Well that would be wrong, my friend.
EPL was a fluke for lobby.
Dad, can't win a trophy nowadays without the team ever being a fool.
Nice, guys.
Four 1vx successes for the side of Pain throughout that T side.
Their map pick looking comfortable on the attack.
And any day you've got eight rounds on the T side of Nuke, you'd think is a day you win
Nuke.
The day it's your map pick and you've got a huge lead and you had all those clutches and very fun rounds to watch
I mean, it's all making sense. You think in fact this map shouldn't be close right paint should be able to
Seal the deal in a matter of minutes
You would think
Four and eight on their map picks in the last 12 best of three series. We're not making this shit up
They just I don't know
They don't like doing it quick.
Biguzera, I love this.
Feisty, from the first kill into the quick yard clear, won't be able to finish off Alex.
Snow won't do that for him.
Still a guy on T roof.
Ah-ha. Curious of dead man as Davi G works his way down as that B bomb site is the plant zone.
Mopaz to press into the ramp in a moment, trying to interrupt this retake as the late Davi G gets active.
And Mopaz does a good job of just skating in between the two CTs.
He is here with the executions, and snow nowhere to be found means we've got
Gentlemates with a T-side pistol, much like pain.
Yeah. Come on, Gentlemates. They can wipe away all that bitterness.
To be fair, Gentlemates did win four of the last six rounds in that half.
So there was a little recovery going underway.
I
Man just gave up no ammo left in that one just gave up let it go
The super zoom is great though
You can see the salted 4k, you know, I get it. I don't want everybody seeing my room per se
We get it. That's some freaky stuff in there. It's actually just all the magic folk.
Nobody caught on the cross, but it doesn't mean they're gonna try. Yeah, he's got more and more
Nades safe actually takes damage in return and doesn't even get any contact
A lot of action outside and pain are kind of ready for it
Forced by victory here would be some real salt in the wound for gentle mates
All it's off behind me is Zera. Oh, he's gonna want to have gotten more out of that one.
Snowdrops bomb through main. Piraeus 5-7's got a victim. Safe now, scout back site.
Two players low. Ah, but he can't get that next scout shot off. And so Piraeus trying to return to
the action, stuck inside of these smokes. VSM, it's a long road from that lower bomb site back
into the action and so period plays his life alone stop watching this for a
second
careful wings that cool that was versus a rifle he's got five HP left over and
now a brand new teammate give that Mac 10 over to the full health VSM we'll see
if they anticipate a second player because it looks like they're just gonna
try to bait period ahead of this he survives all three fights he and
opposite of it how much help did he have brother just did the drive-by of all
drive-bys didn't he have full health didn't period have five yeah and he
didn't take a single bullet of damage here at five swinging by nobody can hit
this guy
95 damage, job basically done, nope.
The group was tagged, but my goodness.
Now we need that to also close up again.
Well that one's gonna sting.
For pain, they now know they're looking to upend the stats and finish off this map pick.
On the brink of double digits with a force 5 back from their opponents, the gentlemates
Tick-toe into this one with a single Galil.
That big use arrow with a quick opener.
That's on the Galil as well, so it won't be picked back up.
It's stuck behind red boxes.
Everybody else is here inside of lobby.
They're just gonna try to charge a little bit, but line-ups ain't perfect for VSM.
Sossil will come through with the Tech 9 kill at least.
That's an M4 nabbed.
Still got a touch to go and get that gun.
We'll see if they can get away with the bomb.
Wanda Snow capitalizes on Alex, jumping through the control room, right when he has inaccuracy.
Bomb sent back.
There's audio cues all over the place and it's awesome.
Only able to find a Mac 10.
Layered CTs not able to kill him instantly so still a chance of damage
You'll come up with a kill on big Uzeras still majority of life for pain and a save on the other side of this one is
Unfortunate for gentle mates like you really think that pain are gonna be able to win now
And they should
And gentle mates are saving it seems like smooth sailing
I don't know the future, but I do know the past.
Don't get too comfortable, Payne.
the old fake vent drop. And it works. We're finding Mopods trying to get tricky.
It's a slow outer approach, bomb included,
and Safe takes a cautious deep angle through garage
to put as much of a distance between him
and these pistols as possible, giving himself a huge edge,
and just making sure that things can't get near.
Yeah, and it is, it's a big for real.
One too many chances for gentle mates so far.
I mean, they could have had a much better game
starting from the pistol,
And then in the second half, the clutch denials, losing the round to an eco after Crucial had
won the third round for them with the clutch and had them saving many, many chances to
get back into this game.
Yeah.
4-1 DX wins 4-pane.
The first pistol converted into a 6-0 start on the T side of Nuke and then the 4-spy victory
in the second half to really put gentlemates in the dumps.
So, they'll be coming through with everything they can afford.
It's light-util, but rifle's in abundance.
And Pain, uncharacteristically, on the brink of victory, on their own map pick.
And the Chief first blood, safe brings it back.
Oh, and he draws Alex into the duel. Not ready for a third, but they won't be expecting BSM.
No way second player on secret layered keeps van advantage and pains hands. I was keeping it brand new with these setups
It's felt like all map long attack to the defense very fresh looks out of pain
Like even big Uzerah in this spot unexpected surely
But they also might just
Completely walk by him the fact the windows open
Oh, he's missed that now luckily for big who's there?
There's nobody on that a floor to fall victim to it, but what's the B set up like I mean?
Yeah, this is what is it possible? Yeah
Imperial is gonna start running down it feels like they've got the right idea
They're aware of the possibility of this and sure enough second defender rotates down in time
It's gonna offer up a distraction through the double doors and just looking to set up BSM. Sure enough
Strikes down the box planters sprays away for the second and another perfectly positioned one for pain
I'm sure they're feeling like they've got plot armor at this point. Yeah, no kidding
They survived it all and it has been just like a nice amount of variety
Every setup is really tricky even individually the way to play off their angles
And this will be the final stand for gentlemates, I've got two Galils, three Tec-9s, an assortment
of utility.
I want to say very little faith.
too much has gone wrong today
Oh, still drops on though for the first two, and Gentlemane's gonna keep it simple with
this bounce into the A floor where safe is gonna drop empty-handed so the fight's not
over yet.
Keep it it's simple, playing the numbers advantage and doing it with decisiveness will extend
play for the gentleman's T side. Yeah, the SM not even going to try this one. Even though
Mopaz is down to one HP, some great entries as they came outside in, because there was
confused exactly about what he should watch at first, but ultimately held on to the right
angle for the drop-down into Mini just couldn't hold his gun to that glaleel.
One HB player, couple more taps here on crucial doesn't do much they'll survive
this they get away with it.
but it's not time to celebrate.
Still plenty of money here for pain.
CTs really have not pressed into Gentlemate's approach outside except for from the secret
stairs, but not playing behind Red Box again.
A lot of bodies here, but they give up that opening space to Gentlemate who have been
and happy to take it over and DaviG doing exactly that again.
Trying to take secret on his own could be exposed
at a moment's notice.
Very clearly, it's all about the squeaky push.
SMG goes through, dies with nothing,
and that flashbang costs them dearly.
Big Uzerah even staving off the vent drop.
The player who is secret to start the round
gets ahead of the execute.
DaviG never gets to link up with teammates.
And now it's bomb possession that
has to be grabbed back by Crucial in an impossible 1v5.
That was a brutal, another messy one, unfortunately.
Yeah, Flash spells disaster in the middle of all that.
Silver lining here is the period is low health,
but VSM is going to make sure that today
is a little bit different.
Payne trying to start the second season of 2026
and to stop the bleeding through the VRS ranks.
This is a pain that is fifth place in the Americas region
and looking to get back to the top where they believe they belong.
Today is a good day for Paine.
They're one step closer to reclaiming that for themselves,
and they looked great here.
Now, you wanted certain players to show up coming into this series,
and I would say despite how close it was on Inferno, our first map,
for Nuke, it really was just the Paine game.
Without a doubt, I don't think there was any room for debate
of who is the better team after this one.
Didn't really see any individuals on the side
of gentlemates bail them out of a lot of tricky situations
which continue to befall them
because Payne were well versed on this map.
They showed why it was their pick,
despite the fact that they've lost it a couple of times
after the player break in varied competitions.
This was a clear cut victory on their side.
Yeah, I think with Ask Ronin and Launers
we're talking about the stats towards Paul Payne
their map pick. At least this one is going in their favor and in definitely a fashion in which
when you walk away from it, you're feeling good. It wasn't just a win, it was a great win for them.
And you're right, for that map 1 Inferno for Gentlemates, we saw a lot of it coming out from
Crucial. And I'm not saying he's the reason why they didn't win Nuke. There were a lot of, you
know, plethora of reasons for Gentlemates, but it was tough to not see him continue that form over
into Nuke as well, but even more disappointing that we didn't see other individuals from Gentlemates
step up. In a way, this is also why pain picking nuke, even though they have slipped on it seemingly,
you're playing against a team that's using a standard on nuke. And I know that it was cool
to see crucial play as well as he did on inferno. But so much of nuke CT side is based off of having
the right information and putting yourself in the right positions for good fights as an AWP player.
You see the, I'd say some of the most iconic operas of all time on this map are one really good
offers, but number two on teams that actually are synergistic so that they can work off of
the information that they have. And I just don't think crucial was always in the position
to succeed. And sadly, when he was, he didn't miss a couple of shots.
Yeah, there's that give and take there, but it is hard. Well, like a substitute to come
in and even when I interviewed him as well, now he was saying, Oh, it's the play my game.
And that works for a certain amount of time. But pain really knowing how to exploit that
issue that general mates had. Of course, Joe meets picked pain in the in the last bounty
draft show. And so it does come back to bite them a little bit there, but you can't blame them.
It felt like something that could work in their favor. But at the end of the day,
pain really showing up. They've been putting in the hard work after quite a down slope in the
VRS points. The players on and see, okay, first of all, I think big is there was able to slot
himself and his teammates in really great advanced positions regularly on the T side.
when they were going for bomb site hits, rarely was it just a one note site hit or anything.
They felt out the map relatively well. Even on the CT side, they were taking advantage of the
space that was allotted to them. They played with, like confidence comes from a couple different
places in Counter Strike. One is just if a player is feeling himself, but if the structure is also
setting them up to get a lot of great advanced space, then they can work with that. So it might
look like it's just, oh, they're playing aggressively and confidently, but they were using good
smoke, they were making sure that they weren't dying in transition very often, so that they
were able to constrict the entire map.
Yeah, and with that win is what we are going to have our pain gaming member join us here.
We've got safe to interview and someone that really showed up towards the end there.
Safe, how good did it feel to play that best of three and win?
It felt good, you know, it needed that win.
And yeah, it felt good.
I think after the break we had some slow, slow gains, slow matches.
it just feels good to be back on the right track.
Yeah, you talk about how the win is needed for you,
but I wanted to ask you a little bit more about that, right?
Because so often we do see teams like Ping Gaming,
you guys are on that slippery slip for the BRS.
But if you can put into words exactly why it means,
like how much does it change the team's atmosphere
to win a best of three now?
I guess just for our confidence,
I believe we finished the last semester with not good results but I believe when I joined the team
we got the Atlanta playoffs and then we had an okay major run and then just after the break
you wanted to get on the right track you know and now we lost the first two tournaments and it was
like kind of bad for us but now just just building confidence and you know we are boot camping right
now so there's a lot to work on and yeah it just feels good to win really important.
I got a couple questions first is that I see it says 9Z in the background are you playing at
their facilities or something? Yeah we are here in Madrid. Okay cool okay second question is more
on a personal level because I mean this is the second time you've put on the Payne jersey
but the first time you were wearing it, you were insane safe, you were really lighting
things up.
Thank you.
I mean at the time there were conversations about best Brazilian opera, your name was definitely
in there for quite some time.
A lot has changed though obviously in the four years that you played with Fiora and you played
with MIBR but how are you going to try to live up to the old safe that was on Payne because
I still think it's there, we saw it on Nuke.
Yeah, thank you.
I mean, first of all, it's all about the team, you know.
I know that as an operator I have to have an impact in the game,
but I always put the team first,
and I believe my impact and my personal, my individual level are just going to come naturally.
And I think that's the most important thing, you know, just keep working and trying to figure things out.
And I'll have a lot of young players here and just trying to pass the experience and try to do my best all the time.
Awesome. Well, Steve, thank you so much for joining us. I look forward to seeing you guys in round number two.
Thank you very much, guys. Have a good one.
You too, yeah.
It's nice. I think he needed a little bit of that compliment that you gave him, the bone that you threw him, that bow.
He's like, yeah, you're right. I was kind of good. And yeah, I can get back to that again.
and Safe was lighting it up, the last move was on pain.
I mean, legitimately, I think there were times with Safe,
it was almost like, how is there someone in their mid-20s
that didn't really have much tier one experience,
who was suddenly hitting the scene
and making it look like he was South America's best offer?
Because at that time, I think the kind of like hierarchy
of who was the best at that time was really up for grabs.
And Safe definitely slotted in,
He absolutely earned his place on furia and I feel like when he joined that team
He was never really set up for success
I don't think he was ever really like that that team was so built on art doing crazy stuff and
Him having to try to put the pieces together as opposed to being the star that he was when he was on on pain the first time
So I'd route I'd really want to see I know he has this
Mindset of being more of a mentor to the these guys that are on his team, but I would love to see a little bit more individual flair
I'd love to see him try to recreate that because on nuke we saw him pushed in a couple of situations and we saw how
Still he can be a force
Yeah, he's sprinkling it in every now and then you know
He's kind of bread crumbing all of those safe open joys over there
And look we're gonna get to see more of it of course because with that too well
They do advanced around number two, but our day is not over just yet. We still have another best of three
It's gonna be oh gee up against spirit
Gain, talk to me about how the time on OG is going at the moment and how you're looking
at approaching the new season.
Yeah, things have been a bit bumpy.
We haven't played a whole lot of tournaments.
Early on we had a pretty good start to some of them, but also we had not the best of timing
with some roster changes.
A few times we've been building some things up and then close to when we've been starting
kind of the LAN campaigns we've changed the player so we've got in with the very
little preparation so yeah a little bit bumpy. I mean you've been playing
Counter-Strike for so long now in the competitive scene you've obviously
experienced a lot of things but I want to know how you've approached sort of this
rebuilding phase of a roster. Yeah I think you know how I joined the team maybe
and some teams we have come in before. Like for example in Heroic I had a lot of things to say
about like who is playing in the team and stuff like that. But yeah that's OG and the coaches here.
So they're deciding and there's some interesting prospects in the team. So hopefully we'll just
develop and get better. That's the plan. Yeah the main goal is to perform better both at
at Lantz, but also just to be playing in more tournaments
throughout the second half of 2026.
I think we're going to Paris in a few weeks
for the last year's qualifier.
Yeah, that could be this,
and that could be a good start for a new campaign.
That would look fantastic.
And of course you're saying there's some great new prospects.
And if you're comfortable with it,
I would love to know who on the roster
is being impressed at you the most so far.
Yeah, you never want to pick between your four children, so I don't think I'm going to pick any names, but I think they all have a good chance to show their worth today on the Belveranking World No.1.
Definitely a pretty tough draw. I think a few times some people have been asking why do we pick Spirit. Well, we didn't pick much, we were the last team to get what was there.
there so let's see if we're gonna get dunked or if we're gonna dunk him
ourselves you know that's the plan. Well yeah I mean it happened yesterday right
we saw a hundred these go up against Falcons they were stuck between a rock
and a hard place but seeing them be able to get a win in a best of three in
around 24 in the way they did does it spark or ignite a little bit of hope for
you and your four youngsters? I mean that's the crazy part about CS and maybe
even more so online CS. I can see that also now they are looking like they're losing to nuclear
Tigers and 24 hours ago they were beating Falcons so online CS is a little bit crazy and hopefully
we will thrive in the KS today you know. I think it was great to see and I think device has been on
a big uptick lately and is performing very well and Rain also had a very excellent game so I think
I think some of the older veterans, also like Karrigan coming to Falcons and winning the Major showing that this kind of experience and stuff is still very valuable in the Counter Strike team.
We were just looking at the results of 100 Thieves vs. Nuclear Tigers, very hilarious.
Beat the Major Champions, losing to Nuclear Tigers, fair enough.
Like Kady is right, and he knows all about Online CS, that's where he's had some of his biggest wins back in 2021 with that former Heroic.
When he joined this team, when Boddy joined this team, I should say, he said,
Katie, and I heard all kinds of crazy things about him.
I was scared to play with him, but I have to say he is a true leader.
And in those mid round situations, that's kind.
I can have some of the most creative calling.
We've seen that before.
We know the kind of presence he brings to a team.
And yes, he has a great track record in that all mine period of time.
It was like 2021, 2020.
He was calling for one of the strongest teams.
But I also just want to say we got Donk right now. Yeah, we got Donk on cash
Uh-huh, which is really fun and
They just want to know where he's playing. Donk cross-con, okay
Polymarket our market predictions partner. It's got this one very heavily skewed into spirits favor. I
Understand why the best cash player of all time. He could be and we're gonna find out whether or not he is
I love that in the pregame. They want to know where do you play because the game plan don't go to Donk
Yeah, I mean he should be on highway like any other star player just going back and forth between a and mid and just farming
You know, I know Niko was on the French Riviera throughout this player break. I wonder where I wonder what donk was up to
Barring shiro's wedding. I didn't see much of the camp
But rumor is they were back in the server earlier than others and that's why back in our
in our shame, I forget the exact name of it, but the Draft Show, that's it.
Yes, in the Draft Show, you know, that was kind of the talk of the town.
Everybody's a little afraid of spirit because they've been practicing a little bit more.
Well, we'll see if that practice pays off and we'll see whether that practice included cash.
Surely it would. Coming into the new season, obviously it's not an Instaband for spirit
and they wind up having to play it.
I mean, this on paper is just gonna be a great map for them.
Like, in their map pool going forward,
like, they would be one of the scariest teams to play for sure.
Like, in terms of star player potential on this map,
it's in the same realm as Dust2, like, historically.
Like a Mirage.
The choke points are huge.
They're very, very clear and simple angles to come at you,
and I'm not gonna lie, I'm just ready for the highlights.
This has always been one of those maps that's considered one of the easier maps, one of the aim-heavy maps.
It's real perfect for them, and it will be OG, obviously, to pick into it.
I think it dusts you after that, and ancient after that, so...
We got a fast series, no matter what happens, folks.
It could be a very fun day in the server for Spirit.
We're bringing the Vito up now, because we decided to give Maui Snake a break.
And he's been working really hard, and he's been very right with his analysis.
It's coming in prep man. You know these last few days Maui snakes been on his game
So we gave him a break we go through the veto and it's a veto that should bode well for spirit in terms of that
Electric counter strike they want to play
Enjoy the warm-up. Oh gee. I'll say that because once that warm-ups over and this game goes live
I feel like spirits gonna be just running at them and that's gonna be their test today
It's whether you can even stand up to the individual levels of spirit before you can get to the nitty gritty
And I'm excited to see obviously any team
That tries to flex a new map over better opposition. I think it's always a great idea
But it's also kind of scary because you don't know what you're going up against. It's just that it's new, but it's not
Right, so that's the only question
If it was like a new bus coming in for the first time then it'd be like all right, let's see
It's definitely been something you should try to think about but
Cache is very understood, you know
Cache was figured out by the time it left the map pool and it didn't really
The meta did not change very much.
Right, and unlike Train, which is a map that also got a revamp and a comeback,
Train had legitimate gameplay changes, substantial gameplay changes.
We didn't get that with Cache.
And it was a difficult map to begin with.
We got a reskin and performance increase, and yeah, some slight changes, I suppose,
but nothing too game-changing.
Like, cash came back in and everyone just started dropping out of heaven on B-Side immediately trying to do the simple one you do.
Yep.
A whole new generation of players trying to tap into that potential.
What's in Magic's background?
Oh, of course I ask.
As we've got a, you know, game on our hands.
Time will tell.
I thought he had cutouts of his teammates.
Cardboard cutouts of Donk.
That'd be crazy.
They're kind of like anime characters, I guess.
So here we go. That one game. I can't name the name, though.
Spirit on the CT side. Immediately we get this OG executed into the A site.
Teneir's just gonna keep his head down as Donk pops prime taps.
Yep. And before Teneir can get into the action, Donk has already got two kills.
So, some things don't change, but a nice move by Cadian to get that bomb tucked into the opposite bomb site.
You've at least distracted them enough to give yourself a post plant.
Can you pull off the unthinkable 2v5?
Odds are against UoG.
Who would take that bullet from?
Ah, through the wall behind them.
Wow, okay, yeah.
Yeah, rotate over with the wall bang.
Very thin walls here in checkers.
And it's a clean up, thanks to Tenir with the final kill.
It's a triple for Donk in the very first round of the season.
I mean, you see that position floating in A.
That angle.
It's the same angle.
Being able to swing on main.
Oh, that's in his backdrop.
Yeah.
What is that?
I shouldn't know that game.
It's not Yakuza, is it?
Bullying watch Richard play it. I can't remember
Tekken
Street fighter. No, okay. Just stop just stop time crisis. I think it was persona, but
Let's get guess donk was a nine-year-old when simple had the no scope 1b2 on cash and cologne
He was 12 when Val remove the map from the pool
It's nuts
Fast play here for OG. Just trying to keep it simple and gun things down into an instant execute, but Teneir's got first blood in this one.
Oh, but Adam's got the answer. Doc gets blasted as he tries to cheat through the side of that smoke.
Next multi-frag moment here from Adam B, and a bad advantage earned off of that aggression.
Bomb planted a moment, and Spirits a sudden question as to whether they can convert their pistol victory.
Climb taps cleared out from forklifts.
We've got this mid-lurk coming through, but by the time body gets into position,
Shiro's already got a couple kills.
Magix cleaned out as Shiro finds a thurn around,
and the frag grenade whittles Kadean down to half HP.
Still a smoke in front of him to play off of.
Shiro taking to the high ground is going to get the quad kill in the retake,
and make sure that the pistol victory is not in vain.
They're all gonna be great at this map. They're shaking your heads. They're all gonna be great at this map
You're shaking your head like oh, you don't have a chance. It's just written in
Written what in the stars
It's just don't have a thing about the rest of the season
Spirit of play two maps of cash and you're thinking about the rest of the season
It just makes perfect sense they didn't even pick it and OG were pretty much forced to pick spirit
It's tough sledding
Was OG last pick or second to last? I think second to last
No right there I think one of the two I think they were legit just last they were forced to
play spirit. Nobody else wanted to.
Donk on the rotate over as Tenir needs help. Poor guy's burning.
He's gonna drop empty-handed. Donk gets his double this time, and we've already seen great impact from the Shiro A-Site retake, so let's see if he can do it again.
Oof, that's beautiful stuff from Badi, finds the spam through, Magik's dead man advantage
in a post-plant, now it's made that much more difficult for Spirit.
Honestly, this aggression from OG into the A site, putting them in decent spots, that
definitely don't mind them trying to just play fast.
Looks like this time, they could close it with the round win, looking to flush Adam B
into the duel, Shiro closing that distance, Zontix is the one with the kit in the middle
of all this.
cleared out from Main.
T is looking for the fights, and Shiro, still in between them,
is going to get popped by Adam.
So two players survive here as OG take it to the A site time
and time again, this time winning the round with it.
Definitely doing a good job running circles around to near
while he's playing on the site.
Flash is there working out.
Don't want to do the kickoff, but with him down the site,
they're getting his palm down very quickly, which is nice.
His smoke spam helps.
That's body's last burst of bullets
that he puts through the smoke and it connects.
So OG keep the game interesting as the economic problems
sink in for Spirit.
Shiro doesn't shoot.
Lot of bodies here, and they're just charging past him.
He's going to hang on to check.
What is his play?
Zod-Tex with the D3 on the other side.
You thought you had an edge, and instead, Spirit steal it.
Not even every action.
Dude, Shiro heard him all running by. Had dodged it in the sight.
Here's the upshot, moves forward out of the molly.
And then this happens.
Oh, hot to molly.
More of a reaction from Boddy than Xontix himself.
Well, let that be a reminder that this game is not gonna be easy.
Again, respect for the aggression.
Katie and try to be a sly dog with the old rush B this time. Yeah
And to change up his tenure not in this deep portion of the A site, but she rose up instead
And just his spirit's economy almost bottomed out now. Oh geez does
Two decals of p250 and a smoke for spooky
Just trying to reach for the upgrade, but letting you know that there's more where the first one came from.
Flash goes through, Tenir interrupts it all, and makes a bit of extra cash thanks to that shiro flash setup.
I like this cash aesthetically. I just like to get that out while there's only two players left in this completely unwinnable situation.
Yeah, I think we weren't a huge fan of a green one. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice muted rays.
Free meteor for spirit. They'll win with everyone alive.
What do you think about, so above forklifts, that ledge, right?
That's the one thing that still throws me off is that because it has grass on top of it, some of the footstep noises you make up there
up there is walking on grass, not walking on metal.
That trips me out sometimes when I'm playing A-Site.
This being dirt instead of metal, a little freaky.
No, I get you.
I think when they made some of the audio changes early on, being very clear about what's what
I think has been important, but that one freaks me out.
They're walking in the sky.
Oh, crap.
19 damage to Dunk.
Don't know how that doesn't do more, actually.
A little high.
A little low.
No re-smoke in the main.
We've got a...
squeaky pop coming.
Cool set play coming out of this one.
OMG, you've got the prep.
But they need no resistance.
until Shiro gets a shot off from back quad.
Could kill back from Spooky as Taneer just keeps himself in the corner.
That's going to fight Adam B. Cot entirely off guard.
All while Donk remains a threat on highway.
Bodies able to get out middle, but disjointed from the rest of the efforts of...
Oh, gee, nice headshot on Zontik.
You catch him just wandering into checkers.
And that's going to create a question mark for Spirit
that they're looking to solve by pushing Magik's forward out middle.
And that position, catching Keynes' rotate off, means this one gets cleaned up and Spirit comfortably secure the 5-1 lead.
It's fun to watch. It's fast. They've got answers. They're going to peek everything.
And also Shirou's playing insane.
Nuts. He's now a married man.
I saw a hilarious video in the player break where at Shiro's wedding, the same way the
bride throws her bouquet of flowers and all the other women try to catch it, Shiro threw
a pillow with a picture of himself on it and that picture and that pillow was flying right
towards Donk and Donk jumps into the air as high as he can trying to grab it.
constant team
Standing behind Donk didn't even need to jump didn't even need to put his arm in the air really just kind of reached out in front of him and
Stole the pillow from Donk and I thought damn Donk has finally lost some pencil areas
So I look like they had a good time
We're all the same height in the server. That's you know great equalizer counter strike really is a creepy baby. It is oh
It is
But in the server, Donk's a Titan.
Now performed by Shiro at the moment, but still impactful.
He's had his hands all over that A site.
Constant looming threat up highway.
It's gonna be the A site, but maybe a little easier this time.
They don't have Shiro.
Another pop.
You know, they transitioned back into this teneer quad play.
This one's been more fruitful for OG throughout the game, but remember they're only playing with the pistols, so you'd think two rifles back-site should still be enough.
As Donk awaits your arrival, Teneir will go down empty-handed once again.
Donk draws them in piece by piece, won't manage a third in the middle of all that, and so a post-plant guaranteed good utility damage,
trying to flush Kadeon out and into the open,
but Zontick's having to wait for Magix to come up highway
means Kadeon was actually given a chance to reposition.
Kind of know where they all are.
Yeah, so much retake utility.
Kadeon's P250 with one victim,
but he was never able to grab a gun in the middle
of all of that.
And so another fruitful retake force spirit
on this A site for the 6-1 lead.
They're really coming at Taneer,
and he's having kind of a hard time,
but he's got a lot of good support around him.
So it's still working out pretty well here for Spirit.
Minutes into this game, 6-1.
I mean, it's also credit to OG.
They're not like going for super long rounds.
They're not trying to get Lurks in place, really.
It's either quick fakes or quick takes.
And that's sometimes all you need on this map.
But maybe another attempt in the mid could be good.
Very creepy, baby.
of
the
the
the
the
Shiro to get someone just to walk by.
Think it works?
PrimeTaps is coming back. Just taking a look at this.
Anticipating some kind of spirit aggression, but Shiro won't overstep
and falls back even before Spooky's boost can come through.
Made very well placed, dealing damage to both body and Spooky.
Better believe they put their reps in too.
Yeah, oh yeah, look at that. Didn't have to move a millimetre and then of course
he's gonna take the timing. Doesn't get a second kill. That's a silver lining for
OG. Anytime you can keep Donk on a single, excuse me, single frag.
Still, though, funny to just see that he had that perfect answer.
Even though this is a new look for OG this round, it felt like Spirit expected it from
a mile away.
Haven't seen T'Nyr up here.
Fresh spot could catch OG off guard.
He will line up a kill, but it's prime time for Sprookie to get the frags in sight.
Let's lurk out from Shiro through the Z.
Spooky two kills into the game, sitting on 36 health.
They wouldn't know he's up here, right?
No.
Climbs up unnoticed.
It's gonna take a bit of time for Shiro to get into position for this retake, so that time could wind up being critical.
It should just be a done spot. If they're not gonna clear him up here, surely it's a freebie.
Spooky's starting to clear other options, but awkward. Just don't let your teammate get killed by accident.
He mokes the round. There we go. Catches the back of Zontich. Shiro knows you're up there. Bombs past the 10 second mark.
And so Spooky with the quad kill on the round from 1 in 7 to 5 frags and surviving with the AWP.
So little silver lining on top of it as OG secured their second.
I was going to say, with Xenir playing up there, like as a defender, definitely not one of the best thoughts on the site.
And the post plan though be huge unless they're you know egg you're expecting a door to get opened on the retake
We've got the shiro versus katian fight
But a smoke will prevent it.
Big problem for Katie and his career was just that, you know, adapting to the CSQ off.
Yes.
It was all good CSGO.
I mean, his style was perfect.
It was like, yeah, his own lane carved out.
I mean, it was extremely strong, but...
Again, that made perfect timing, man.
Oh, that one actually bounces off in front.
Could have been lethal, nearly.
Doc taking to half health as he'll just depart the highway.
They'll give space over to OG towards middle.
Shiro trucks the incendiary, but also holds this line.
It's like all these baits.
This could be good to catch them off.
He's been trying to get them tiptoeing into his angles.
Yeah, sure enough, won't miss his chance on Adam.
Quick reposition to headshot as well.
And now he can just have them trickle in one by one as Zontik's already on the scene to help out.
And Payton's missed off shots costly.
Zontik's his wall bang to perfection.
And it feels like Spirit have already got all the little tricks they need to win this map of cash
Yeah, even though it wasn't them picking it. They do have the tricks. They have the awareness
Shiro's got all these little bait setups and everything like that. I mean
They brought definitely a very high level of ingenuity early on
Oh, it's the 10-year wallbang. Excuse me. Oh, and Zontik's got one as well. Okay. Yep. Two wallbang
frags. I swear that wall is thinner nowadays. Yeah. I mean, I've seen pistol wallbangs coming through, so...
The front of the map is definitely two retakeable sites.
A lot of AWP highlights, a lot of fast plays.
Another set piece out from OG on this A site, they've gotten bombs down off of this.
The Xenir continues to try to keep it fresh, has to fall back through the smokes, bodies
to beat, nade after nade.
Magix makes sure that he goes down with nothing to show for it.
There's a low health shiro in the middle of all this, but obviously you give Donk a little
too much time, he's going to go hunting and as he does, sets up shiro for the smoke spam
frag and a total stuffing of the attack.
This time, Donk gating duals in front of T'Nyr, means T'Nyr finally gets to have a bit of fun himself.
Kadyn also, not shy to be honest, and said that it has been bumpy.
I think Boddy also mirrored that, like it's been up and down with them joining onto the team.
Totally reasonable thing to say for how late it is with this lineup, but...
Just to give him an extra out.
Yeah, I think particularly with Kadyn's point on the timing as well, where it's like you feel like you've got stability
in them right before a streak of lands, that's when the roster move happens.
It's not like, oh, well, that's the worst timing possible.
Spirit are perfect 10-0 in opening goals this map.
About before every single time.
A sign of a likely victory.
He's always here when they're taking mid control.
That's what I'm saying, how does he know?
Oh, oh!
Well, clearly he doesn't.
Spooky already up and over the boost, catches Donk off guard,
and as soon as B-Trams drops the stat for the first time,
I hope he have the opening kill.
Good thing we squeezed that in.
Timing is everything.
Need to pop open the Waterfall Smoke, and Magix gets blasted out of this one,
so nice time to kill here from Spooky, not once but twice.
Zontec's forward position though, catches OG off guard, and it's gonna take a third member of OG to clear him out from behind that box.
He's already up in heaven.
Shiro's been lights out, but as the Molotov lands on him, it's a 4-3 position.
And it feels like OG...
He should do the simple one, D2.
...guaranteed bomb plant.
It's a near set through off Shiro's flashbang, trades good, and Spooky's multi-kills looking to make the difference.
the difference but obviously at this point in the game go ahead shiro have
your fun nothing to lose here in the 1v2
Adam gets clipped you know exactly where spooky is and unless he can get a
fourth kill this round as shiro jumps up back site to the back tapping the ball
from above spooky to the left side challenges Lane and clicks his quad
kill for the 1v1 clutch and OG's third round win all around fantastic round
from Spooky, the opener, the closer, the 4k, and he's been sprinkling them in throughout this game.
Another tricky setup out of Spirit.
What do you think about being able to diffuse the bomb from the top of the box like that?
It creates for, like, a very interesting way to play the 1v1, but it is pretty high up.
Fast charge out through mid for Donk's early duel and he'll blast Cadeon out of this one.
See ya. A two kill half for poor Cadeon.
Spirit's defense feels well prepared.
Numbers advantage here for OG temporarily. Rotates ready to come through. Heaven Flash goes out.
Interrupts the offensive. Spooky popping up looking for another multi-frag.
It's him and Adam B trying to piece together this 2v5. Utility all over and they're damn near there.
Shiro's 5-7 emerges out from Heaven and it's all about finding Adam now.
He's got the health advantage over him on for his 18th frag this half alone.
Shiro can take his time.
Adam is terrified. Shiro has been moving a lot in these situations.
Doesn't want to walk by a line that he might be holding.
Doesn't feel there's any sense in taking a risk.
50 health, Adam back site.
Shiro gives away his position, hits the ground, and tries to close that gap as Adam swings.
Shiro hits the headshot and denies at the final hurdle.
What would have been a valuable 2 vs 5 out of OG?
Instead, it is Spirit on the brink of double digits.
A comfortable 9-3 CT half in their first cash outing.
Here on the sun drenched streets of mirage we spot some of nature's most fascinating
creatures. Counter-strike players in their natural habitat. Despite the plentiful environments
these fellows could inhabit, they seem to always swarm towards the comfort and safety
of this shining paradise. As the sun rises over the stone architecture, in typical fashion
we see this species squabble over their preferred position. Let us discover where they shall
end up.
Firstly we have the so called A anchor. This fellow is often seen fighting for his life
without a lick of support.
The window player. An arrogant and egotistical creature. They can often be seen in the pre-game
chat claiming their position with a blink of an eye.
Not all are so luckiest to get their desired position.
The B anchor, often times the runts of the litter, designated to hold this empty site
and ward off predators.
Forced to survive on scraps, he can often be found at the bottom of the scoreboard.
Here we see the signature characteristic of this oft-forgotten fellow, a key adaptation
over millennia.
This creature's legs propel them tirelessly and repeatedly to spot any potential foe.
As this defensive tribe scramble to defend their territory, they realize...
They are not alone.
Mirage can hold up to as many as nine foes at a single time.
As we move across its deserted expanse, we arrive at another group of remarkable characters.
However, these bloodthirsty devils do not look as amicable as our aforementioned defenders.
Their eyes locked on the objective.
These players scurry from their spawn with the exception of one.
Without moving a muscle, we observe one of the players launching a grey metallic canister
skyward.
The desired outcome seems not to have been achieved.
A regrettable mistake.
With a new weapon acquired, our CT favors a more aggressive approach.
Meanwhile, with the anticipation in the air, a coordinated attack is incoming.
A breakneck flurry of utility flies overhead attempting to disrupt the defenders.
The stakes could not be higher.
And with nothing he can do, BA aggrers flashbang to like a deer in headlights.
He decides his best bet is to retreat.
No matter how much he cries out for help, support is nowhere to be found.
However, the restless hunter has found its prey.
It's one shot, one kill, such as the life of the opera, precise and deadly.
Confidence growing for a team spirit that seemed to have all the answers.
Oh geez T side had legs and honestly a nice varied playbook tried to take the challenge to a team spirit
That just banked on some rock solid individual levels
I mean shiro with 18 kills on the CT side alone. What more could you ask for? Yeah, it was a it was a highlight reels
It was really enjoyable to be honest. It sure looks super comfortable and
Like you mentioned had all these little tricks all the little baits he did in both on mid and B
Just feels like they did not get caught off guard by this cash pick tonight.
Ready for it, coming into this second season of 2026.
Spooky plays on the absolute limit of the doorway, hoping to catch the entry off guard.
Let's see if this works.
I like the idea.
Oh!
But it gets away from him.
and Shiro with the opening frags, a 5v3 for Spirit as they gun for their tenth, but Cadeon
will blindside Tenir.
I think everybody's having fun except for Tenir and all of OG.
Body trying to get this retake going, finds Shiro back on forklifts.
They're going to inch their way in with no kill on the round here, OG.
Now man advantage.
Oh, now just Magix.
It's retake finding headshots, swift enough to win the pistol.
Magix trying to go unnoticed
Yeah, he'll be found out. It's a matter of clearing all the corners
They jump on bomb with time and so oh gee with a pistol victory. That was pretty solid. I mean again. We got two retakeable sites
Tethys put themselves in some great positions to get those kills
Katie and keeping the mood up
And this is a 3d5 retake, I mean the bomb wasn't planted exactly but as you pointed out to near
He's like the one guy who seems like he doesn't like cash right now still has a solid score
Yeah, that's kind of just like they were going a up like yeah, almost every round. Yeah
Yeah has ten kills could have had 40 with how many players have ran at him
That bomb plant that spirit a confident buy double golel here in round 14. Yeah quick to the op
Oh
Aren't you happy you bought that off?
Didn't even shoot it
Didn't even shoot it!
Oh no!
Oh my goodness, are they...
They don't even pick it up?
They're like, brother, you don't actually need that.
You don't actually need that.
They're getting closer though.
They don't want to regret this.
Oh my goodness, and they will.
How many Deaglehead shots tonight, Zontics?
And they still won't get the AWP back.
Unused AWP
for free.
You know who would love that AWP?
KD?
Shiro.
Oh yeah.
I think he's considering it. You know, here, somebody take this galil real quick. I, uh...
I've got other ideas.
Didn't even shoot it.
Oh, this is looking prime.
Force spirit, not the CTs.
Prime taps back site. Three players coming at him. They figure out where he is. Always on the reload as well with the A1S. They're going to close that gap. He will still kill Donk and Lee's. Hanging on for dear life.
Deagle holding the flanks. Going to catch Adam off guard. Majority alive for Spirit with the force by. And guess what? Shiro gets the free op.
Yeah. Brand new op for free. Probably wouldn't have bought it on this T side. Not for a couple of rounds.
kids do force up didn't even get to shoot it
Zontics just stacking them in the same spot
opens up checkers obviously all of spirit are going to come over to help out
and they capitalize on that Zontics impact sending OG into pistol vise themselves
One MP9. All they are afforded.
Defense at this B site is in the form of Spooky with the 5-7.
Him and him alone.
As OG hopes Spirit don't take it to this B site, but they will.
Full blown execute inbound.
Making sure to clear out those corners with Molotovs.
Give a flash for the entry attempt, Spooky tries to interrupt and does so with the first kill.
Flash is good as it does deter Donk momentarily, but everybody's ready to try to move this forward,
and with that one, they'll find the space they need.
Bomb's still hesitant, but it feels like OG want to walk away from this.
Got to be worried, because that smoke is pretty poofy, but once that settles, they can definitely start scaling,
and the CTs are already starting to walk back.
I mean, maybe just to see if they can catch larks and work on other things, I'm not sure.
This'll be heard.
Tenir just fell in the boat.
That's some frustrating death so far on cash.
Ooh!
Not too shabby. Good on body.
No kit though in this moment. Yeah, that's the unfortunate part here for OG.
Go ahead and save your rewards.
But ultimately only body's fifth kill.
Spirit two from victory here on OG's map pick.
Terrorists win.
How does Magix take no damage, but Shiro takes 60?
Um...
Explain that to me.
What?
Yeah.
It's still weird, man. There's still some weird stuff going on.
Does that really just happen?
It's like he's behind a box, but I guess he's also open to the garage door, but...
The window above.
I dunno, yeah.
Fake news!
There is music in CT spawn.
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.
Ah, reminds me of the summers on the Caspian Sea.
I've never been to the Caspian Sea.
Well, this is the Cadi in Sea. The Cadi in Cash, okay?
Okay.
Sure thing, Mulders.
Whatever you say.
got a cop in all week almost punished on the cross not a fun place to be though
when they know you're over here
Don can sense you moving around out middle and shiro gonna reconfirm
They're still up there so don't testing the waters as we hit 45 seconds
What was a pretty bacon B sites just tinging on this like Hail Mary flash please please don't take be
One flash is not gonna convince spirit to walk away his on takes is like yeah guys you hear this
Let's go for it. They want a challenge
Don't even need the nades
Everything's optional on a vacant site.
You have to clear things out quickly though.
Again, just a misfortunate misposition by OG.
We saw it with the four spy stacked in the wrong side of the site,
and this one they just took their chances,
but it's going to be Spirit with a 12th barring some wild retake attempt here from Primetaps.
I guess they do have a kit on Adam.
Alright, gonna give it a shot at the bomb's halfway points.
And they're starting to exit your spirit, so they get caught.
Don coulda give that bit of cover needed.
Sonic's hanging onto the bomb site, and now O.G. realize the error of their ways.
Spirit was just about to leave, but O.G. played it a little too quick,
and with that 12th round secured, 8 map points.
and kills are kind of meaningless here for either team really. Spirit have enough
money to buy, OG just probably want to save if they could. That retake not
working out.
There we go.
There has been a lot of play out there in the sun room.
Oh my goodness.
Of all the ways the mirrors die, that would not be one of them.
Just pushes him away with the door.
And Shiro over the forklift.
Oh, awkward spot to be found out in.
He's trying to get out of here, but Smoke still gets a bit of cover,
and Docs can make sure his offer stays alive with this double kill.
Very awkward moments over towards this A site,
but ultimately it's just too much of an ask,
and Spirit wind up being very much prepared for a challenge on Cash.
OG the first team to try and take their chance on this freshly added map.
added map, but clearly spirit making the most of their time off with a convincing 13-4 victory.
You can't fault OG at all. They definitely tried their hardest. I mean, when it comes to not being
able to pick your opponent in Blast Pound, you at least get to pick your own maps the way you
start on it. And Cass just wasn't really it. There was still some science for them, Maui, but
overall, this is the spirit we expected to see, and they did not disappoint.
In theory, a lot of the rounds for OG actually played out decently.
They got onto the bomb sites a handful of times.
I mean, they got four bomb plants there in the first half,
but it was obviously a bit too much for them to weather as Spirit were
surprisingly prepared for this map.
I was really, I don't even think I would just pin it down to the individuals.
But and I'm sure we're going to get into some of those key reasons
as to why Spirit actually looked like it was more than just guys shoot in heads.
There was a method to the madness.
Yeah, so then do you agree with the sentiment that Chrony and Launders were talking about
before they got into the map that Cache was already a figured out map when it's come back
into this map pool?
It hasn't necessarily changed.
Those teams who already excelled at it or individuals that excelled at it should definitely
not have dipped in any performance.
So from what I've seen in Cache games thus far, which is a pretty limited amount of
maps, I think.
I think two or three.
Yeah.
There's a handful.
preparing for Houttu, so I actually watched a couple of their games, but I feel like the differences I'm seeing on cash are pretty limited and mostly take the form of just Insta smokes because that's something that's more of less a, I think an invention in the last five ish years.
I think big was one of the first teams that brought out Insta smokes into the meta of Counter Strike and that was around 2020. That was before cash was actually in the pool. We had some pretty quick smokes you could throw on the fly early on in cash's history.
But now you're seeing teams throw kind of,
I think there's three smokes that people throw almost immediately
on a lot of these rounds, which OG was doing to their credit.
So they're up to date on what they should be throwing
in that capacity.
But it's not that, it doesn't change the game
as effectively as you would hope.
It doesn't really give the T's any more of an advantage
than they otherwise would have had,
because they can still take mid in the mid late round anyways.
So I don't think Insta's changed the face of this map
as much as people would have liked.
And I think that a tinge of nostalgia probably led people
to think that this was going to be playing out
in some great way that was going to change up
the counter-shock scene.
Well, look, we can hold on to that tinge of nostalgia,
but you're giving credit where credit is due for the utility
usage on the side of OG.
But more importantly, it was really there for spirit.
And there was one specific round round seven
where you were really impressed with what they were doing.
They'd never let OG get comfortable.
even though they lose the bombsite in this one.
As Teneir, even though the scoreline might not show it,
he was having a little bit of difficulty
holding on to this A bombsite.
Counter utility from Donk is great already
to see if anybody's already pushing up
in the front of red,
but then he's able to get a couple kills, of course,
but I love the retake utility here.
That's what I wanted to really highlight,
that even as Donk falls,
and they're in a three on three situation,
the instant reaction from Zontik's here
with the Nade, the Molly,
the utility belt as it's full on magics there,
is able to find a kill as well. Molly made combo to, I mean, look, look at how much damage
they just inflicted without even having to see one of the teas as before they pull off
this retake, it made it so difficult on that round. And there were two other rounds at
least that I noticed that the observers caught. Thank you, OBS, that we're able to show just
the wealth of damage that spear was able to inflict. So yes, they had better players,
but they also just looked like the better team to me too. So a lot of credit there for
spirit on the comprehensive victory. Yeah, it looked amazing.
all around and that's it you always question when a team just falls short at a major before a
player break how hungry are they going to be and it feels like our spirit have shown up in full
force they're working so well together but I wanted to focus in on Shiro a little bit that was a
player that caught some eyes had some great highlights for himself as well Maui but what
about him do you think is is maybe potentially different compared to the end of last season
and looking to start a new season? I would say that one thing that plays into Shiro's strength
on a map like cash is that it allows oppers so many sight lines to remain active. Obviously,
we get the early rifle highlights for him too, which he's never been shabby yet. But just as
T's would try to approach and take space, the term that actually we used to use was a 10-RWUS
quad-opper. That basically meant that anybody that was just playing A on cash with an AWP
will just get the bare minimum amount of kills to stay as a relevant player. But it's practically
the easiest position to do it. There's a lot of angles on Cache that are simply hard to flush out
effectively, especially with how good CTs are, defending AWPers are, just dropping a smoke at
their feet, still allowing a little bit of a window to wiggle in to find kills. So Shiro demonstrated
that fantastically, even when he was flashed off angles, Cache provided him enough time to
re-peak and hold those lines. I think this is a map that's really going to suit him. Even the most
that's the first time in a
long time. The most passive
operas in history have looked
explosive. Surprisingly on a
map like cash. I mean, he
starts look fantastic. That
21 and six and if you were to
give a ranking, Maui out of 10,
how much do you think he enjoyed
that first map? He just wishes
was on land. So and I'm okay.
So you feel like an eight.
8.5 8.5 It's great. It's great.
I'd say the extra point five
from the eight is obviously
for him and would you say your enjoyment is higher or lower than 8.5?
I think with the utility that spirit actually showed there that they didn't
just shoot everybody in the head. I actually did enjoy that one.
I thought it was just going to be okay. We know that they can shoot everybody.
So they're going to win like that. The way they won was actually one of
the more impressive aspects. So yeah, I'd give it a solid eight.
Okay. Okay. All right. Well, the reason why I ask is I'm giving you
a bit of warm up because there is a fun mini game. If you guys head on
a little bit of BlastTV right now. There is a CS higher or lower
minigame that we're going to play right now to get that value.
Okay. It's padded by ICMockets. So we're going to have a lot of fun with this.
You're given a market item on the left,
and then we have to decide if the one on the right is going to be higher or lower
than that. And there is someone out there who went for a score of 133.
So that's what we're aiming to beat in this segment.
Oh, that's gonna be hard that guy that guy is a bit of an outlier. I'm not gonna lie
Why yeah score so much higher than everybody else?
It's crazy. Oh, maybe he gained the system or something, but okay for this one min kimono p250 versus the night terror a1s
I feel like the night terror a1s, especially field tested. I don't think it's that valuable
Let's go like it's I bet I bet it's like 10 bucks. I feel like it's like 10 bucks. Let's see
on the edge of our seats.
Oh, something went wrong.
This is like an HLTV forum thread.
Oh, god.
Can I just say, by the way, I have
been playing that minigame on my computer
whilst we've been watching the game.
And I just think, like, for that to happen right then
is just perfect.
I never would have thought that one.
But we'll give that one to you, Maui.
We'll pretend that.
What do we pick?
Low.
We'll pretend that it was low.
We're on our one string.
We're gonna go to a break and we'll come back, we'll see if the street continues for Spirit, if they're able to get a 2 over themselves.
Does it feel weird to not have had Halley for a number of events where you've been travelling, but now you do get to have him for this online event?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We will have him on this event and the future events. He fixed all problems with Hellsy and right now it's all good.
And probably right now we can show all our potential because we will have coverage for back and we will see.
Perfect, oh I love to hear that, yeah that is really nice to hear that Hallie is healthy and going to be back joining you guys for the future.
But of course the Blast Bounding format is quite ruthless, right? We've already seen Falcons get eliminated, there's some high end teams that have already lost.
Do you get a little bit worried or you know you're on another level this season?
No, we don't worry about it, but I really was surprised yesterday when I see this match.
But I think maybe it's really, sometimes it's fine because after season you should have more time to get your normal form, performance form.
But, I don't know, for real, we really don't worry about today's match, we just will play our game and show our form.
Because we really probably are working already around 2 weeks, maybe 1.5 weeks, and I think we have very good form right now.
Yeah, there's something actually a lot of players have been saying that you guys on spirit have been grinding a little earlier
Into this season than most you feel that you have been or do you think that this is normal you guys do this every preseason I
Think we do this every preseason
We are starting playing
Oralir and other teams because we want to have a good form before first hand
I mean, he talked about it,
but he was quite surprised watching
the series yesterday between
100 Thieves and Falcons, and I was hoping,
Mali, that we might have been able to see
more of the bounty hunters continue that trend.
It did happen early today when we saw
a bounty hunter beat the most wanted,
but you're pretty right in the fact that
OG having way more of a difficult
opponent, I mean, what already
happened on cash, it was tough,
but now that we look towards those two,
which his spirits, Matt Pickett, feels like
just continually stacking against them.
I would be impressed if OG matched the round total that they found on Cache against Spirits
Dust 2.
It is one of the most difficult maps to play because even if you know exactly what Spirits
are doing, you're still just fighting fire with, I don't even know what OG are using.
You can't fight fire with fire if you don't have fire.
A little bit of wind, I guess.
It just would probably make the fire even worse.
A smoke dust.
Yeah.
this is going to be disastrous for OG. If you want to see utter carnage, then just stay locked in for sure.
Oh, I'm definitely going to stay locked in because you've been praising Spirit. I mean,
we talked about it a little bit, Tania and I, in that interview about them actually having
Halley back for them, how that's going to feel. And there was that question Mark of, yeah, you've
always had him online and they're still online for this, but it is nice that he's gotten a little
bit healthier. It feels like he's going to be there more permanently now. They're not going to be
to be having that issue. And I guess out of that one, he's been able to get a personal
life coach in Yab Yabitch. Oh, he has him just like next to him on a regular basis now
perked up right behind him. I believe you can make him. It should be right behind him
on the couch. Yeah. Yeah, fan favorite. I know there was a lot of controversy regarding
Yab Yabitch. Sometimes in timeouts, he was talking over magics. If you looked at the
the way that he's going to be
the way that he's going to be
ESL comms sections of that
major, but not a major winner.
Unfortunately, I think Yab Yab
H had a great run worth
considering for maybe a lesser
team that in need of a coach.
I know Astralis just swapped
theirs out, but that could have
been an option other than that,
though. I think that this guy
is going to be a cult hero for
years to come. Yeah, I got a
hard agree to that. It's a bit
Halley is coaching, of course, whatever tactics Halley and Magix are going to be able to put
to themselves for does do. And you're already saying, oh, you probably wouldn't be able
to get those four rounds that they did for cash. But what exactly is it about spirit?
And they're just two that's so strong that you're confident in making that claim.
Well, I don't think that spirit do anything particularly special on this map. I think that
the bomb site hits, though, once they're constructed are just so ferocious, which is
is what you're going to get when you have the best rifler in the world, either leading
the charge or even sometimes getting to go second in off of a short swing. I also think
that their CT side is one of the most difficult to deal with because at any given time, Shiro
can get active, the oncle changes position on a whim. So if you're trying to read what
they did in the previous round, they're probably already making the adaptation in their own
freeze time. I don't see any way that OG does well in this one because of those various
factors, but it would be really cool to see somebody like Adam B show up because he's been on a little bit of a hot streak for
OG. I kind of want him to play well because I think Susp is maybe slightly overshadowed him,
but I know there's still a player there that OG might have for the future.
Okay, what you're saying is going to be absolute carnage on the server in Dust2, and I'm hoping it is because it does mean that we get the joy of
carnage being costed by scrawny inlanders.
Ooh, and we do carnage well. We do the zany real well, Moe, and I think that now with this map in their back pockets
It's a one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
Feels about that in the way that you know that entire game has two successful opening duels for OG and the entirety of it
It really was just spirit from start to finish in that first one. Yeah, the stat for for them as Maui's
Alluding to is it's just Donk's freedom on this map. It's it's probably the best dust who player ever in history
Yeah, last year at 1.58 on the entire year on the map, so a lot of it, like you said, doesn't really have to do with unbelievable creative calling.
Right, is things like Donk and Chiro, any amount of freedom the map gives you, lots of parallels to what we just saw on Cache, amplified because they have even more experience.
Mm-hmm.
Very dangerous veto here for OG.
It's a tough place to be in, but it was always going to be tough going up against a spirit
that have been at work in anticipation of the second half of the year.
There's still time for 2026 to have Spirit's name stamped on it.
All things were pointing in the right direction ahead of Cologne.
All things were pointing in the right direction up until that, uh, that there's semi-final.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, bitch who's doing a great job, but he choked
Rumor has it they've actually repurposed yab Yadget they've taken all his stuffing and made shiro a new pillow. Oh my goodness
You lose on thanks I get
Body's gonna find first blood in the pistol
Kadyn eats a flashbang and recovers vision with a kill.
Oh, a second towards the window.
Knows about the player trying to exit out through tunnels
who won't be able to stop Sonic's Chirro,
spamming away, gets chased down by Badi.
And now we're into the 1v1 between
Sonic's and a 62 health Badi.
They'll take the money.
Maybe the 1v1 as well.
A glock for the clutch.
Badi in anticipation of a window challenge.
He doesn't have a kit, but there's one right next to the bomb, so should be able to scoop it up, just needs the kill.
Zontics, yeah, he's gonna land it first. A little bit labored between the battle of the Glockers, but Zontics from the darkness is gonna pick up the first round here for Spirit's Dust 2.
Very strong effort there from Cady and within the site with his duo of kills. Very nice try.
Yeah, Jarrett grab another one.
Cheesy kill for shiro just kind of pop it open the edge of that smoke
You know when he grabbed the when when body picked up the glock obviously was just like a quick ammo thing
When you got the glocks are running, right, you know, yeah, I thought that's what he was gonna try to do burst out the door
Donk stuff to rating is 1.42 this year the highest in the world
Yeah, and that's after it dropped from 2025. I was gonna say for what it's worth at this point in the year
It's a little slower than last year, but it's a 1.42, so it feels so strange to mention.
Like it's beyond any...
Like who's ever putting up that across a year?
To think of anybody's rating dropping by 0.16 to a 0.142.
And you just go, yeah, but he's still the best in the world.
Imagine Kerrigan's raiding dropping by 0.16.
He might just like explode in real life and it's all over.
That's what happened to Yav Yavitch.
Oh, Donk's gonna get gunned down.
Force by here for OG.
He is catching him off guard, but Shiro saves him off.
Brother, Shiro has been a rock for Spirit so far in this series.
This has been fantastic. He looks energized.
He's a newly married man.
He's a newly married man.
They say life...
He's been wed.
He has something to make me laugh. I'm gonna die.
I'm just repeating what you said in your voice.
But why'd you say it like that?
They say life only starts after marriage.
Say life only starts after marriage.
Performative guy!
I don't wanna talk.
I don't wanna talk.
They're looking for any fights.
They don't care where they come from.
They're looking for any fights.
They don't care where they come from.
I'd say two could play this game.
They're looking for any fights.
They don't care where they come from.
What are you going to do with your deagle, Adam?
A little zinger from downtown.
of it. The AKs prevail. You know, we didn't see some crazy things happen to Falcons yesterday
on two maps where you think the exact same things as we're thinking with Spirit right
now in Dust2. But can Cadian go bar for bar with Vaughn Sprengelsson?
I don't know man. Jack's kind of the guy. He's the talk of the town at the moment.
Yeah. The old gimbal. It is kind of insane though that they just went on to lose to
NewscasterTiger. It's like absolutely no momentum whatsoever. You know we had that
big conversation about how like rain rises on occasion. Like when did rain
Last have a chance to swing at the world's number one
Yeah, and he was a driving force and a lot of critical rounds and by yeah
He probably won that game device had his moments and poi had a ridiculous dust too. So it's like yeah sometimes
You know the stars alive you put like an eating challenge in front of somebody they can rise to that occasion. Yeah
Like Joey Cole cuts or something. Yeah, exactly. They you know, it forced those dogs down the gullet
Yeah, just slurp them back.
But you put nuclear tigers in front of me, why do I need to beat nuclear tigers?
I beat falcons yesterday.
I'm already stuffed on VRS point.
Share the wealth.
The thieves are like the Robin Hood of VRS, stealing from the rich and then giving back
to themselves and the nuclear tigers.
Alright, they got a nice benefit off of that thing.
How much was it?
It was weird.
It was the...
I saw one of the VRS gurus breaking it down.
The match page on HLTV didn't actually reflect how many VRS points they get because prize
money at the bounty is only earned after, you know, one of those situations.
TBD. Yeah, TBD. It's just a VRS forecast.
Right, but the weatherman always lies. That he does because he wants the golf course to himself. Yeah.
First gun round meant to make a difference here for OG. They feel the squeeze of the cat approach, but Spirit have gone uncontested.
Nobody actually throwing themselves at Spirit.
He actually just gave a smoke over, and Magic's happy to try to crawl around side it.
Body spotted you, whittles down a bit of the HP, and Kadyn's gonna catch Donk's head.
So this is all gonna bring a hunting attack.
And they are stuck behind these smokes, very awkward approach.
Now the Xbox climb is about to start happening, and Spirit, looking a little flat on this
commitment into the A site.
By the time the bomb goes down, you've already got guys on the cat stairs.
So not ready for the flank.
Easy cleanup.
Five players survive for OG in their first gun round, and maybe we do need to take this challenge seriously.
Yeah, that was a flat looking round for Spirit.
Finally, we got to see something like that. Didn't really see it on cash, but that's also shades of the Falcons match.
After Nuke in that game, it felt like impossible that any other result would take place.
But here's a moment where the calling looks a little bit sloppy.
Ideas aren't being formed. No entries are found. It's a very late exec, and...
You know, at this point, they finally make the move to overtake tunnels, to just take a little bit of map control left where they're already quite sure that it's gonna be an A-play.
And it looks way too easy stopping that attack.
Yabbi-abbi really did go to Astralis.
And he coached Yabbi.
that's just a mouthful
They came in rock, paper, scissors here with the U2 on the cat approach, but as they go
for the long control, that frees up Katie and the double back in case the commitment comes
from Spirit and back to backgrounds.
OG are trying to starve them for attention and it's kind of working.
with all these early fights are just doing the same thing.
Body's going to have his hands full though.
Five players on the other side.
Oh, he only gets his one.
Katie didn't even have a flash actually for that.
Kaniyia traits back.
Katie and waiting for this deep commitment to come up at 20 seconds.
It's all of spirit still trudging along.
Oh, he misses.
Yeah.
And now we're going to know about him.
He's still able to pop up and kill Dawkins.
Adam collects his saunty.
He's over the ledge, collecting two frags.
And Kadyn's flames spread as his AWP impact is felt.
The sole survivor in Kadyn on that A site,
that's a mass casualty event for both teams.
Nine dead, Kadyn the sole survivor,
and OG with back-to-back round wins.
Got more than just his first chance there, didn't he, on the ramp?
I think the Molly landed defaults.
And obviously it could have been in a much more effective place.
Nice estate place where they sort of put up an offense last time.
Sure hit a crazy shot right at the end, but Katie was right there to repeat.
But it was a good looking map for OG up until that moment.
Again, Spirit suddenly looked kind of foggy.
Careful. There are three Desert Eagles out there on the field.
I like the way you put it the last round, really starving them for attention.
You know, you don't give spirit something to pull on.
Some teams just confuse themselves without those openers.
Even though it looks like all they're just repeating the A play again, this time it's
actually not a bad situation to do it.
but they're just so slow about it.
Yeah, and so ill-equipped in this one specifically.
Second Nade hits Shiro.
Canadian can afford the mist,
his body's meant to pick up the slack.
All's good.
Despite Zontics and Donk's best efforts,
it's still majority alive.
OG is we have a tied game at three rounds all.
Three straight.
cat hits so far here for spirit to go into a timeout. I think that makes sense.
The idea machine can't be out this early.
Simple as the map is, there are other options.
I don't want to patronize people by listing them off, but
the one thing about repeating the same choke point over and over again is,
where does that leave you like from a conditioning perspective that like,
Oh, now everyone's really good at stopping your A-play.
Well, now if you do something else, it's like, insanely obvious.
Good to establish a little variety at the beginning of a half.
forward extension here for OG with catwalk having been that target for
for Spirit, three rounds in a row.
They're trying to lean in front of it,
but then you give something over, right?
We're just talking about how you starve Spirit for openings,
but pushing so many players up.
Catwalk gave Donk a chance at first blood.
Sontics dies right after,
and Spirit are gonna keep it simple.
Four players out through middle
and a vacant B bomb site for the taking.
Yeah, that spoke, looked incredibly fake.
Three players on A, hoping it's gonna do something,
but it won't, and you can have tunnels
If you want it, PrimeTaps, this is already turning into a save, unless he's going to find some kind of lead.
I mean, fair play to OG.
That tactic worked out really well, but, you know, can't do it every round, gotta come
up with something new.
They're actually getting ready to try this.
A lot of money on the line in this retake.
Another late retake attempt if they even commit, but they don't just send some grenades in
Keep a car on the exits
Try to rack up a price tag, but again like you said it's costly either way in fact
Magics should be doomed to near also dead and it winds up being all of spirit despite their round win
Yeah, not too bad there for OG
Plenty of casualties
So they kind of like date that retake just in time where now you just got their attention.
I think this push through the smoke was just such an easy read because it was just clearly
such a last second throw.
It's not every day you go 4-0 in duels versus dunk.
Good on you, Cady, and well, hang on to that.
I mean, Katie is currently sitting top of the charts for OG.
New Crypto Knight unlocked.
And the limitations clear with all those casualties on the exit last round.
It's five Galils for spirit.
I could wind up making a difference.
Zouji looked to get this game tied again, but once more, you know, you've stacked bodies up on Catwalk, you gave Donk that chance at getting a kill from lower tunnels.
I think Katie was always great at doing when he played for Heroic, was actually punishing on exits.
It was like not just winning rounds, but like brutally so, where you were left with nothing.
later on thick
Smoke in front of the score player, tunnels push.
Xontix really the only one hit hard, but prime taps for the back turn.
Two of them got the first.
And body moving forward with the assist, kills Donk.
Keeps him in a single frag, spooky over top of the plat smoke,
chips Shiro off the play, and a 4v2's looking like a comfortable place for OG.
Tenir trying to catch them unprepared,
But Magix is just too far removed, and it's going to be four members of OG up,
tying the game at four rounds all,
and making this CT side a daunting prospect as Spirit's money dries up.
Lot of comfort there for OG.
Not the most compelling attacks here from Spirit in these last few.
Full on beat-hit, it's like relatively quiet, and it's a really low telegraph exact.
They aren't covering everything.
Not entering together, and a lot was on the line there for spirit.
Sometimes I just forget everything they know.
Why does that happen?
I don't know. I really don't know.
How could it possibly happen like that?
Low on ram.
PrimeTax is going to get overwhelmed as the Glock surpasses him. M4 picked up on car.
And watch, I mentioned the Mojo and they suddenly went around with pistols.
Is that what we're queuing up here?
No armor, nothing.
You'd think it'd be impossible, but it's going to demand the retake here from OG as bombs down.
Magic's trying to get off site, opens the door for that Tunnel's Wrap, and Donk's trying to push to this M4 into the site itself.
They'll swing out through the window, just trying to deal with players before the retake's truly on, but as you'd anticipate, four players versus unarmored pistols, yeah, it's going to come up OG, who now have a lead, five to four.
Somebody stole my mojo, baby.
Shagged Delik.
This is also because Cady and, even though he had a couple players die when they were
trying to punish the exits, got all the kills.
Set up very vulnerable positions for the quickest route.
Very true.
Oh, magic's gonna have to stomach an early dink as we get a bit of an aggressive opening
out of OG bodies still floating around off that damage.
He's gonna catch them off guard, but kill neither.
Doc's able to react.
You've got a low health bar here on three of the Spirit players, but Doc likes the odds
of just an aggressive move.
Oh, he creeps out at us.
Oh, he's dead.
He's a machine.
There he is.
Back on that mojo.
Unfortunately, it feels like he had him wobbly, and then he just started attacking, and I
think he just wasn't confident that they're going to come up with anything interesting
if he just doesn't do that right away.
And that was just like, that was one of the back.
They have an objective advantage.
They got a kill.
They had a lead.
You know, A site's going to be weaker even though he doesn't know who's there already.
Even though the teammates behind him took damage.
Yeah.
And as wild as it is, that's what happens when you get a bit too frisky, you know?
Bodies making this play off of the dink top middle.
Because you put yourself in OG's shoes, it's kind of the same philosophy.
Alright, we dinked Magic's top middle.
Bodies got a positioning that's catching them off guard.
Make this move happen.
You're kind of compelled to go for it.
What you don't expect is Donk reacting fast enough and then just throwing himself at the
A site to win it.
Boom.
Snap onto body, it goes down empty handed despite damage of plenty.
From there it is just the old classic Donk.
Adam caught jumping, next player out of CT spawn caught throwing grenades,
and it's just because it is that split second faster than your expectations warn you.
Donk plays within that minutiae.
There was like never any doubt from the moment he killed body.
Yep.
How all of that was gonna go.
Yep.
Like a rabid animal off a leash.
But again I feel for OG.
Trying to get aggressive off cat is a good luck.
I mean, looking for new ways to win rounds even if other more passive routes have worked
previously.
I wouldn't be gambling on that over and over again.
With any run the risk of what just happened.
OG is going to try to change it up here.
Maybe you just need to fill the shell.
It's a double-op setup for the last two rounds of the half.
That's the plan, OG.
A little shake up to catch Spirit Off Guard, perhaps.
Deep-Commoner corner commitment, and Adam turns back.
A little delayed trade, but don't guess they're in anticipation of the corner clear, but Sawtyx
it's a back turn to him, and Primetaps is unable to trade it.
He'll go running in to Cady and unprepared for a third piece of that B defense.
Two ops here.
That's all that remains of OG is the double ops setup.
Kind of works really well for Shirow though, if they just go above.
Not seeing a way that these ops can get back into this round.
And Kadeon just swapped his out for an AK-47.
Spooky will not have that luxury as he's stuck in CT spawn with the AWP.
Doubling up on the CT retake, making it feel like otherwise.
They'll serve up the temporary distraction that frag grenade.
Shiro eyes towards it, but the smoke's about to fade. Him and Magic's both on Cat.
At least Kadeon opened up this door for them to push up.
They have a Molly.
Mm-hmm
He got them to go back and watch Xbox because he threw that one frag grenade now his molotov
He's gonna prevent them from fully swinging out to the site but magics realizing he's got to get something going tries to push this out
Nobody's tapped the ball though by the time the Molly fades
Magics is gonna have to come back at this spooky in the final second. Oh and the coverage is perfect
Katie and pulls that off great distraction with the frag grenade and then just enough cover to make that defuse happen
They just missed their two opportunities and that could have come down to just one kill to be honest
neither of them could pull it off and
A very very difficult retake that required something to go wrong from the other team
But they still had to make a series of good moves to even make this possible and they found a way to do it
I like the mind games. Katie is playing
One step ahead of spirit as it will be OG with a sixth round to the CT side
Spirit have the pistol, a 3-0 start, and two rounds since.
Gideon's played great this half.
Back to the single AWP ROG in round 12.
And Zontik's waiting for Adam to make this move, but he loses the head-to-head.
And it's man-advantaged OG in the 12th.
Donk chipped away at by the frag grenade, takes up bomb, and lets magics take point.
Oh, it's the kill, though. Spooky steps around that mid-corner.
I can see this cheat over towards the A-side, I mean.
That means I might lean into this direction.
Kadeon pops it open for body who reestablishes man advantage to near creeping his way out middle contact versus the B player
Trying to chase him down to the car
But body comes through with the assist at the perfect moment to just guarantee prime taps can both fixate over towards tunnel instead
It's a bit of a bait here
25 seconds as donkey cuts off the rotate with some damage but dies at the hands of Kadeon 14th frag for Kadeon on the half
Shiro trying to run it back over to the A site, pulls one off in the middle of this, and you've got OG scrambling back and forth, but he's only got 10 seconds to make this happen, and so it's a 7th for OG.
Classy CT side called by Cady and led numerically by his kills as well.
Here on the Sundrench streets of Mirage, we spot some of nature's most fascinating creatures.
Counter-Strike players in their natural habitat.
Despite the plentiful environments these fellows could inhabit, they seem to always
swarm towards the comfort and safety of this shining paradise.
As the sun rises over the stone architecture, in typical fashion we see this species squabble
over their preferred position.
Let us discover where they shall end up.
A breakneck flurry of utility flies overhead attempting to disrupt the defenders.
Stakes could not be higher.
And with nothing he can do, the A anchor is flash banged like a deer in headlights.
He decides his best bet is to retreat.
No matter how much he cries out for help, support is nowhere to be found.
However, the restless hunter has found its prey.
It's one shot, one kill, such as the life of the Oper, precise and deadly.
On the opposite side of the erupting battlefield, our Biancher is as cool as a cucumber, having
the time of his life with a spring in his step.
Returning to the chaos, this perfectly executed attack has a problem.
a noob. Fresh accounts and less than 20 hours played, duoing the season with a veteran. Blinded
by one of their own, it seems as if their fate is sealed. The hunter is now the hunted.
Revenge is a dish best served with a carambin. Huddled like penguins, their plan has failed.
Now it's only a matter of time before they are spotted and the round is over. Through
Through all of this havoc and turmoil, RB anchor continues the kangaroo jump.
Finally, after many hops, they hear a faint cry in the distance.
He decides to abandon his post and regroup with the herd to claim what little glory
may still be available.
But he is not alone.
The tees are nothing if not sneaky.
This tees patience has been rewarded.
The unfortunate anchor never stood a chance, and to make matters worse, the A attack was
a ruse.
Our A player's defense was a waste of time.
The alarm sounded, the CTs must now migrate to the B site.
This one stalking predator is now the prey.
As a final solution, CT has one last trick in its arsenal, the smoke defuse, and as the
famous saying goes to the native people in Mirage, pros do not fake.
Bomb has been defused.
Counter terrorists win.
Kadeon with a bit of spring in his step as he comes back into the second map of this
series with conviction.
Rock solid a defense and good calls that slowly but surely added more and more
Ideas to the defense at the start. It felt like just kind of starve spirit for contact
Don't lose opening kills, but then as those rounds were added to the board for og
They made moves and secured seven rounds on that CT side. Yeah, plenty of great things to say about the way og played that half
Completing his feet as obviously a bit of a different story
Sorry, CT side is going to be a little bit harder with Spirit on it.
I think they'll have to think less, but there is an excellent opener for Adam B.
Taking argument for this pistol.
Oh, I see ya.
Can't kill ya.
Magics and...
Oh man.
FT landed on a crouch crawling T, crossing Catwalk, bomb a little late to the party, but
so be it.
It's a nice 5v2 for OG and looking like they're going to take a T side pistol much
like spirit did not even get to give this one a sniff
the tea side was uh... not fantastic it was interesting about the game
with hundredthies and and falcons yesterday for falcons say all we play
terribly but
it wasn't it was a sort of like this we're like all the completely out of
ideas they don't know what they're gonna do next they just were
kind of getting
outgunned a bit i mean there were some good tactics in there from hundred
thieves
This one seems like OG are playing pretty well, but Spirit are kind of like totally absent-minded, at least in that first half.
Yeah, she didn't really quite have killer instinct, but I feel like we solved one round where Donk was allowed off the leash.
And that's when he got that kill on Bobby and just ran it in.
He bit the leash off in the face.
Yeah, exactly. The leash is off.
Like Donk does.
Yeah.
But other than that...
A bit too muzzled.
So, losing pistol here makes this all the more tantalizing for OG.
I'm sure after getting whooped back on cash, there's a part of OG that's thinking,
oh shit, we're getting eliminated.
But, little to lose, nowhere else to be, and Dust2, an impressive just game plan so far
from OG.
And I like the way that they've kind of like ramped up into the match.
It was going to start with being able to survive the Spirit on slot, but when Spirit didn't
bring that fight to the game.
OG took up the vacant space.
Now they've just got to close the map.
Also, T'Nier has two kills.
What's up with that?
That's what I thought was going on on Kat.
That's how he had a decent score line.
Yeah, that's really what it felt like.
He was getting bullied on the A site.
Get down to the 52nd mark.
And another smoke grenade meets OG on Catwalk.
Magix has one more smoke over towards the B site, but that nade goes a little too deep.
And it just feels like OG are going to slam this numbers advantage into an A site versus
the bottom performing spirit player of Taneer.
Can he recover here and now?
Shiro offers up an opening, Taneer, nothing, no impact on the hold whatsoever.
Kadean out the mid doors, he's got CTs barreling towards him.
Do they really want to try to chance this retake?
They've got no kit for it.
No utility either.
Gonna have to play it with pace.
Flashback for Spooky Perfection.
As he controls the spray down, mows down, donk, and gives OG a comfortable 9-5 lead.
Lovely.
They decided to just sort of brute force it, and if they were second earlier, maybe that
would happen, but OG, good setup, very good flash usage, super quick, and they put up a
ninth off that.
Heading new right away, it's going to be A. Didn't even have, like, full information on the map, but
just the one mid-beast folks that stay in place for a little bit. I have a feeling there's only two guys over here holding and he's right.
Again, another good moment of calling from him.
The spirit with a bit to play with has Xontix on the Galil, but already we got Adam back
behind Blue Box and wasting no time to continue Teneir's struggles.
Two in thirteen is getting torn up. Oh yeah.
Sontics at least able to get through the tunnels. We'll see if this Galil can turn things around top mid.
utility usage draws his attention and he wins the duel over Cady in at least
just scared for the T's they know that it's a very heavy lead whoa not the best
guns for spirit but still just no hesitation running back a little
over now in dog's hands he's in the middle of this pack he can still rob this from
you but Adam spams through the edge of the smoke it's good on the pistol from
Magic's falling P250 impact and right now it's left of OG is quite separated
body still concerned about that potential mid-flank such a critical moment to
recover. Smoke grenades all over this bomb site trying to piece it together
oh the fire spread sauntics burnt to a crisp. Spooky tries to wrap around and
Shiro's back turned to him nice recovery underway here from OG massive ask of
Magix on the p250
Probably got a feeling that he's down here, but why risk it got the bomb in hand
They remain cautious
He makes his move and he gets the headshot bodies down and the bomb plant was denied for a second magic
I'm he's gonna have the challenge come over top
It's all about the dual and spooky catching him off doesn't go back in for the plant just goes lethal instead
Surviving the 1v1 and securing OG's double digits really important save
Scary moment. Nothing coming into that. Makes it a five-round game entirely.
Solid day for spooky overall.
Nice hit goff, my goodness.
Kadeon right to it.
Again OG have clearly just had the better ideas.
Keeping it fluid.
In Spirit's first gun round they strike magics down in early.
I'm just fathering the throttle here, taking over the cat control, making sure that the
plan is constantly in motion.
OG continue to play like a team that's going to win Dust 2.
got shiro relying on teneir anchoring alone right now which he's uh
he's kind of vulnerable two and thirteen not had the best time
wind up there yeah nicely done teneir spooki and adam just kind of bottling grouping up on top of
each other but kateen's answers clean shot shiro's position revealed as bomb was dropped towards
long he knows Kadeon's gonna have to retrieve that. A battle between the
offers. Oh hold on now the pressure is back on Shiro. Oh he's driven the flash.
Through it. Through the smoke Kadeon clips Shiro but he's got to get that bomb
over and you know Donk's gonna play unchained. Both players on the cross. Donk
cuts one down to size and as Kadeon sits three kills deep, missing the timing on
the bomb plant right? What? Gets the plant off and as that bomb plant sits
Stonks that with the open. You'll find the head shot and deny this clutch from Cady and who somehow pulled off that plant
Where he was like way late on that plan
Fell too far gone Cady and quick to the digits
But if this is what's keeping spirit in this game
I'm almost pushing my chips to OG side of the table. Yeah, totally
Man, she wrote blew the smoke open while Cady and flash behind it and so he ate a flash wasn't expecting to see it
I
Was the time set time said three bro, I swear it already changed to three. Oh, I thought he missed that too
You know our HUD was broken two weeks ago. I'm just I'm saying there is a world where it can be three
I'm not one in the hundred million. I don't want to throw the HUD guys under the bus
But it was broken two days ago
I mean the other possibility is I'm wrong
About what about him not having enough time I swear
Nope, you're good. He's good for us for that's it for
More. Pretty, pretty, pretty close.
Mogged.
Drop, drop of that is crazy.
Alright, four round game, all the money's gone, Mogged.
You're 12 and 12, buddy.
Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts, by the way.
Mogged.
12 and 12, just happens to be the worst scoreline of all time.
Well, we're only halfway through the game.
Mogged.
That's the right attitude.
It's also OG down into pistols.
Crossfire here between Donk and Magix.
And if Shiro's not given a challenge, you might add himself to this duel from the ramp, but no need.
Just gonna rip him apart with a bomb down in front of you as well.
Donk is never going to leave this position.
So he was 12 and 12, and then an anti-eco puts him comfortably positive.
This is one of those results though where it's like Spirit could still win this game
2-0, but they're gonna be left, you know, wanting more.
It's not how Spirit wanted to win this series.
It's not how Donk usually does it.
They do this sometimes, though.
I know, and they're always mad about it.
As they should be.
They're gonna win.
How do you forget everything you know on T-Side?
I don't know.
On your best map.
After apparently practicing a lot during the break as well.
If we're just really, really focused on cash.
They look awesome on cash.
They're really focused on cash.
And that much was clear.
The three player long start for Spirit, Tenir included, as it's bot to take over the AWP
responsibility off spawn, doesn't land the shots, but decides to hang onto it for now.
Tenir might be the one who saved the day, overall for Spirit with that 1-2k on the rifle
round today it was just become going to become totally bleak without that the guy
that's five and fourteen yeah saved the day not all heroes for our capes
Even a crumb is still bred.
There we go.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Kadeon on the off, taking it over towards Long as Bomb is allocated Catwalk.
It's going to be prime taps in body to try to work it up cat once the smoke fades.
He's near playing Goose.
Shiro in front of him, and Magic's still of two minds because of that mid smoke,
but he's looking to come join back up on the cat hold.
30 seconds, and OG are going to go to this 5v5 on A, missed chance by Shiro.
And then an awkward fallback position, but he goes wide out long into the off-door,
It's Kadeon and that's going to activate the swing of the other OG players to near long-distance
Tapping away with that a1s finds Adams head and a man advantage momentarily here for spirit
Zontics preoccupied with utilus body's gonna have to go for this plan
They're gonna take the duel to spooky in the meantime and as the bombs now planted bodies to pop up
But donks got both headshots what mugged and spirit find their aid
I can't believe any of that went spirits way by the way.
He's Donk.
They, Shiro ran out and along when there was three guys right around the corner, thought
that it was just him there first, no, Kadyn walked right into him, got the kill, then
Magics jumps up, by the way, have no a control at all, Magics jumps up into this while they're
already splitting A. This entire time, Spirit think they're like three seconds ahead.
OG are already in the positions they were looking for to totally split the site, and they still got away with it.
They can't keep getting away with it.
But they are, aren't they?
Donk is not the highest rated Dust2 player by chance.
So while things may have fallen apart at the seams on T side, Spirit racking up CT round
wins.
Get those creative juices flowing.
Pistols collected inside of the tunnels just looking to pop on B site.
Zontik set up by Doc, and all is good!
Doc's triple kill sets it up perfectly, clean up duty for the others, and suddenly, nothing but a one round game.
I'm telling you, that one 2k out of Seneer, he was like Atlas, holding up the entire world.
Saves the day.
One easy 2k.
As you can see, Spirit's confidence growing as Donk finds more and more impact.
Back to the gun rounds, Go Ho Chi.
I mean, one of those Katie and Pix like they had him go into lower, he had a really nice
timing on Magic's jumping back.
Like I want to see a game plan kill here.
Donk's confident now.
Look at him.
He's already top middle.
And if you let Donk get confident, you've got problems.
Oh boy.
He's running away.
Wow, he's making so much noise.
He's confident in his duel, but Adam B's gonna best him.
It's insane that he made that much noise.
That's how confident he was.
But this time, it costs him.
Come on.
Sontics, those spams, the smoke, and they pop through.
Oh, Sontics, that was nothing. Tenir also dropped.
Single kill from Tenir is all that Spirit wind up getting.
And OG pounced that bomb site before Spirit are truly prepared.
Magix though, him and Shiro right on the brink of this site.
Molotov onto the bomb planter.
That's where Magix tries to catch them off guard, but it's good cover from Prime Taps
and Spooky here to end it.
Four players up for OG.
Don't even try that.
Donk goes running at the opening duel thinking he's going to win that fight every day of
the week, but Adam B's got other ideas.
And he could have but that was like the there's no one else that will swing that white
Continuously besides him and so Adam beat did have all the warning in the world
You got a double off some like take a few steps out with the flash that comes over long which he asked for
Yeah, and then when no one's blind you know that after two more seconds. They're definitely not blind anymore
and you're asking for trouble but
Hey, but Donk, he's asking for drugs.
What's he gonna say?
That's what he wants, actually.
It's just that it's a tight score line.
Maybe that's a near 2K wasn't enough.
Now Donk has an AWP.
So only one guy who got an AWP is at Budapest.
And he's in the server.
And Katie wasn't in Budapest.
It wasn't Zywoo.
It was Donk.
Here he is.
Inside of the B site with that secondary op.
We'll see if the changeup catches OG off guard.
Yup, body's dead to rights.
And Katie invests Donk on the re-peak.
Logged.
Type it out.
One for one, we'll see if it's enough.
We're trying to run it down again.
Maybe it's looking for a reposition in case no one plays closed tunnels. They don't catch that.
But I like that they're thinking.
Because they have magics and B on this offline, it's a little bit more freedom across the
rest of the map.
numbers of 30 seconds very late to be taking long control very possible spirit
just I don't really believe in this threat right now and that could cost
them
sure it's got a high angle yeah that's quite a lot of smoke actually Adam dead
for Taneer shutting down the X-box climb up with the headshot and
unfortunately here for the last piece and Katie and bomb doesn't get planted
at all so this one's gonna just expire off the clock and spirit keep it this
one round game.
Double-op set up good for the man advantage.
You could see Taneer saving that second op,
so they want to rinse and repeat Team Spirit.
That has to be because of a smoke like that.
But who's she coming to this round with a bit of lack of mobility because they're off?
I think that definitely leans into spirit a little bit more, but if Kady could go head
to head with one of them again, fast move as well, instantly a catwalk.
Alright, this is what we're doing, Kady in charging, forces forward, spooky hits before
the flashes pop, and so Shiro shuts him down.
Adam B's got the headshot back, his magic's trying to dump utility now, and that will
chip away some of the health.
But an A bomb site earned through an electric tempo out of OG.
You've got body on an AWP.
Hit players low as the CT nades come out, continuing to find their targets.
Nobody going for that Xbox climb up if you're Spirit.
They're just kind of stuck here for the time being.
Bodies hoping to cut them down to size.
More and more utility thrown out from CT spawn.
and Spirit still not moving this one forward.
Oh boy.
Body now under threat from Long, misses his chance,
Magic strikes him down,
and Spirit are gonna come at this late in the bomb timer.
Dom's got the cover.
Adam and Kady are able to bounce back with a kill of peace,
and there's the lineup for Adam.
Three kills in the 2v4,
and they will secure their 12th.
It's overtime at least, secured by OG.
That was so excellent out of Adam.
Four kills in total in that round.
Secure's map point. The fast call up towards A was great. I thought that they were gonna have to move slow because of the AWP, but they managed to both get another AWP, which strengthened their post plant, killed a lot of time off the clock,
and also didn't fall for the trap of going too slowly and walk peeking into some of these positions.
We are all out of timeouts now, and that's even 45 and Adam's shot here is ridiculous.
Just an insane round from him in general.
kill for Adam B. Maui Snake tried to hope that for Adam's sake he'd be one of the driving
forces for OG on this second map and on an individual level we've gotten it from him
now.
Spirit strapped for cash after that consistent double-op strategy of T'Nyr on a deagle.
Oh gee, gonna try to end this with the mid-walkout, Donk giving a free beat.
On the fallback, its body is confirmed and a thommis from CT spawn covered off by Adam.
Now you've got a player already in front of this.
Xontix trying to collect a kill here in a moment as Primetaps crawls off the left side.
Sure enough, Xontix finishes what Donk started.
Tenir finds an upgrade in the middle of all this.
Oh, back turned and Zontick's collects from inside of the B site finding that mid cutoff
It's still the bomb and the offer right behind it trying to press out through the tunnels
But multiple players this round trying to push through smoke grenades to no avail. Oh, gee not gonna happen like this
Skadiots that don't play with fire even though it's a 1v3 any reason that he could go for this you would try but
They've got the bomb in their possession
They'll save three guns for the next round to try to bring it to over time, excuse me.
And that's all they're looking for here.
That was a bit of a mess.
I feel like Magix actually just needed to be swung when Donk took that first kill.
But then he didn't peek and then Donk on top, I feel like he would have been tilted off
the planet if he ended up losing like that.
Ooh, just don't make it to death after time.
Given the save, it's an AWP at around 24 here for Cadian.
One is weird for OG, but Spirit were able to just pull it out of the hat, so why not
their opposition. Here we go. Cadian on the cross. No contact. I think you got dunked
down by half to start off the last round.
Came up with the right call given the money situation previously.
Their two sides definitely been more interesting to watch than spirits. I'll give them that much.
Rockets through that B bomb site and body off of the cap fall back gets killed out by senior this opens the possibility of the retake
You better believe they're going for it around 24
Prime taps off of the site here's this quick movement inside of tunnels draws attention from both him and the AWP behind him
They toy with prime taps
Katie and two kills into the round inching closer to the next duel eats the flash
Magic's picks that up. Now it's a bad advantage. Spirit retake on full effect and a spookiest position
He's found out he looks to just set that bomb ablaze. They clear out every body
Magic's onto the defuse of burning all the while
Final second!
And they've done it! OG 1311!
As Cadian's off prevails a driving factor in OG extending this series to a third
Can you believe the op impact Katie and finds all of the opening duals successful here for OG and they will give themselves a chance at causing yet another upset here at bounty.
Just when it felt like the bounty hunters weren't going to be able to get any more wins for themselves in this long string of games that we still have for round one in a map.
that you promised me, OG weren't even going to get more rounds than when they were playing on cash.
You are wrong because they ended up coming in and winning Spirits' back kick Augusto.
I'm frankly shocked. This is a ridiculous performance from OG, a ridiculous performance from Kadeon.
Still, you're seeing the signs as to what made Kadeon such an exciting in-game leader when he was in his prime
for heroic back in CSGO because the difference that he made as a shooter was one thing, but I loved the moves that OG were making throughout so much of this game, especially in the first half.
But Spirit, they have to be reeling after how some of those post plans went in the second half.
Yeah, I'm really wondering right because we've already talked about it
Just how strong this map is for spirit for their individual players
Is it one of those complacency things you just know it so well
So you aren't playing on it as much as you normally would in scrims like these are all
Hypotheticals right, but you have to start thinking about the Maui to realize how did we end up in a situation where it's
Milliseconds it's slow retakes from spirit that ultimately end in that downfall of just two
I'm sure we could look at them a little bit closer.
The last one though, I just feel like the fear of a lurker
was obviously instilled by OG because you always
saw the second set of pincers or the second side of a pincer
taking so long on some of these retakes.
That's what was so confusing for me.
Like last round right there, Tineer
just took so long to move from middle on Dust 2
to get into that B retake.
We're probably going to look back
at the one that was an A retake earlier in the half.
And I think that's credit to OG because we saw, even on the last round,
I mean, what was it?
Body was lurking in middle for a very long time.
So sometimes that pressure that was exerted by OG was enough to halt spirit
or at least bog them down as they're wondering,
do we have to worry about somebody who's going to flank us or are we in the clear?
Yeah, I'm going to see how quick production ought to adjust to this one.
We're going to look at that round 22 that you talked about,
that slower retake, those things that we're talking about.
So it was prevalent in that round 24 there as well.
But yeah, you're talking about it,
the more pivotal and the more impactful one
was this question mark about why was round 22
so slow for spirit to want to retake the A side?
Yeah, I mean, if we get into it,
we'll kind of just see how there's a following.
I throw a productive under the boss here.
Well, I also think that something that they deserve credit for
is the CT side.
If before we even get into the retakes or anything,
I think the CT side was so active
and you could just see how Kadeon's effect on a team.
It very much so resembled when he would play
with his Herod players that people just get active.
They're moving around a lot,
but as we do get into round 22 here,
you see that Shiro is on this A side defense,
and he goes one for one.
Magix is able to hold the line here.
Teneir is locked in at long A,
making sure that nobody's gonna flank him
or anything like that.
They're still worried about it.
Teneir is just holding that smoke actually at long A.
He's like having to kind of dart between the angles,
and Zontix himself, he threw this retake smoke towards CT
where they are not able to find an in,
and he threw that so late.
That was the concern for me,
and yeah, even though the kills start piling in,
the retake smoke that Zontix threw, it just faded now,
and that was dissuading Spirit for such a long time
to be retaking from CT.
I think he legitimately threw it
when there were already eight or 10 seconds
already ticked off the bomb.
So at that point that your smoke is fading,
you have what, 10 seconds left?
That just didn't feel like enough time.
I think that's a great idea. If you get that smoke out as the bombs being planted or maybe in the first five seconds of it being
planted, but to give yourself less than 10 arguably before you have to just charge the site and get the defuse great shots
hit by Adam B and the guys on OG for sure. But body just had so much room to work with even if he didn't hit that shot because he was
just thinking, well, that retake smoke gives me all these new angles.
Yeah, and the CT side-on-side of spirit was significantly stronger than the T side, but
it is the small little misplays where you're like, hold on, this wasn't even necessarily
the spirit that we were seeing an hour ago playing on cash, and so they're just not as
strong and it feels like I never thought I'd really be saying it, but we can also look
at that first half, right?
The half that was significantly more dominant for OG, where they got many more rounds than
anyone expected, starting off with round number four specifically.
I love this activity and that's what you're going to see in this one.
If you look at the top left of your radar right now, you're going to see two of the
players.
I think it's spooky and prime tabs working their way through the B tunnels so that even
when the sight hit comes in, body deploys a very timely counter smoke on the bomb site.
This just stops and halts the spirit in their tracks.
Even though spirit do eventually find the kills necessary to press on for it, you can
again take your eyes back to that radar and how close those guys are on OG for flanking.
They know that it's not a beat it.
They know that there's nothing to worry about.
And so they're already right there bomb digits
are being punched in as the guys are already swinging
for what would normally be their own cat hit.
So that that's super impressive from OG to make sure
that they didn't overly respect the chance of a lurker
from spirit.
Cause they know everybody's watched spirit a lot.
What's it gonna be?
Zontics by himself over there.
Two guys that they'll take them out.
So they were, they love those kinds of little plays
and they kept making them.
Yeah, there were many moments where it felt like even if og and this is more on cash right if og even had the numbers advantages
There's still ways for spirit to find it in in fact
That's just the way that spirit really plays but this time around even on even footing right in round 11 when we're seeing it
To be too mowy we are still having that confidence in og
They're still able to step up and actually not opening that door at all for spirit
Gotta shout out katian
to shout out. I didn't think he had a rifle in his hands has to defend this angle so that
his oncoming player can help. He knows where that guy is CT because he just took a shot,
but he knows it's a one on one duel him and shiro arguably a top five player in the world.
Katie and these guys supposed to be washed because he just took out two players from
one of the best teams in the world in a rifle be rifle duel. I love to see it. I love the
little mini redemption arc we're getting at least on this map because with the op as
as well, so active, so clean with some of the kills.
This rifle round was just so important for them
to close out the half strong.
But I also, I can't sing his praises enough
for what he did on this map, just being active,
understanding where those first five were coming from.
Like, look at how he's peeking some of these angles.
Like the two kills that really surprised me
were the one where he got the jumping player on cat
and then was able to heart, like, I mean,
he's hard clearing angles with the AWP,
just knowing fully well where they're gonna be next.
So huge props goes out to the captain of OG.
I know it's been rocky waters thus far with the team,
but hey, maybe there's a nice shore in the future.
He was very candid earlier as well talking about the bumpy road
that he's been along.
But he was so open with saying that there
are some interesting prospects right now
that's coming through OG, what they're
able to build in this five-man roster.
But then he comes and shows up himself.
So not only is he already propping up the four
of the players on his team, we know
what he's capable of doing is an IGL, but now we're seeing just his individual performance
really stay around. And I think that that's one of the more impressive parts that we always
talk about so often for IGLs and plays that have been in the Counter-Strike competitive
scene for so long.
I mean, if you want to talk about the other exciting prospects for the team, I would say
that Adam B showed a lot of his worth on this map of Dust2. We already highlighted the pushes
towards the B side, even on just flat out anchoring that side of the map. He was doing
a fantastic job when Spirit were trying to press on into him. The counter utility from
him was really good in the right place at the right time. And on the T side, especially
in those post plans, I feel like if I'm, if I'm watching Adam be a late round situation,
he's got to lock it down, get his kill or stay alive. He's one of the guys on OG that
I'm beginning to really big or he's earning my trust.
Okay. I asked Kaden if he was able to potentially pick one of the other four players as the most
interesting on the most promising aspect coming out of OG.
And he said it's like choosing your 20s for kids.
He couldn't do it.
But now, Maui, after having seen them lose a map and win a map,
do you feel like you have someone that you could prop up
a little bit higher?
So do the job that Katie couldn't do for me in an interview?
I mean, with Adam B, you're already me already praising him.
The other guy that I'm always going to shout out is body.
I mean, just on a career trajectory sort of factor here,
not going to lie.
I mean, I think it's time with Falcons was actually legit.
He was a good player for them with Fanatic.
He was an IGL and it didn't go so well,
but you could still see his own individual ability was strong.
And I just think that whatever is going on
in the French scene is ridiculous.
I think it's Ludacris.
I think that they are sleeping on one of the better French
players right now.
And if they could set their drama aside,
they would absolutely still have him on the roster
because he clearly merits that position.
So he's been my guy to watch.
And I know he's on the older side, but that doesn't mean
he still doesn't play good CS that at one point last year,
he was one of the better entry fraggers in the world.
Like he was like a top 12 or so entry fragger.
And that's pretty rare to see a guy who's
kind of been around the block, like been playing for really,
like over a decade at tier one, to still be holding his own
in that capacity.
When you have these phenoms like Dong and Kyosuke,
who are just begging for a chance for a 50 50 duel. Yeah, yeah, 100% is insane. Then
it's even more insane to think about the fact that we're going to be seeing a map three,
but we're going to have like our own little OG here, right? We're going to have our redemption
off because at the end of map one, we tried to play a game that didn't really work out
for us, but we're going to try again and hopefully to success here at the end of map
number two, we're finally going to get to play our higher and lowest. You guys can head
on over to Blast TV if you want to give it a go. Of course, we already talked about some
of the higher scores people have been able to get by signing into their blast accounts.
But we're starting off here. Maui, do you think the skin on the right is higher or
lower than the value, the market value of the skin on the left?
My bias is fully coming in here. I have the skin on the right, so I hope it's higher.
So, yeah.
This might be immediate, immediate loss. Oh, yes. Yes, let's go. Oh, I'm going to say
I don't think it's dick is gonna be
No, it's gotta be lower. This just came out of the jackass sort of one the package. So, yeah
That's gotta be law. I think it's higher. I think it's higher cuz uh, okay
If you think it's lower if you think it's lower, I'll let you have it
I don't know because if I run out generational if I end that generational run right now
I don't want me to blame
Then I'm gonna take higher then I'm gonna take higher. I'll take the blame
game. What is the winner green at? I don't even know. Can you do production? You might
mind scrolling down again. I'm asking so much of them. You guys deserve overtime with how
much I'm asking of you right now, but is it possible to scroll down so we could see the
value? Keep going. Keep going. It does show you. Yep. Yep.
Oh, it's worth nothing. It is worth nothing. I just never see that skin. So I assume
Is it new is this a new oh god, I'm showing that I'm not a skin cell damn, okay
Damn 88 cents. Well, hopefully the return of investment is gonna be a little bit higher than 88 cents
And oh gee because they're forcing a map number three up against spirit, which I'll have to just after this break
The team spirit pushed to ancient up next, O.G., taking the series to a map that's generally
so good for spirit mohan they didn't even have to play it at the cologne major and back
at Estana they were flawless on it so it's been a little while since we've
seen Spirit on this map our prediction market partner Pauli market still has
Spirit as the favorites and understandable still obviously this is
going to be an uphill battle for OG no matter how you look at it but they've
proven one thing Cady and still got it individually with the AWP powering some
of those rounds to victory on Dust2 by the skin of their teeth in round 24 they
secure a map now the question is can they win the match just feel like
yesterday I'm like what's the point of even imposing the question as if it
might not happen like it could totally happen
Kaden was a better caller last map I'm gonna say that oh right it wasn't even
close actually in terms of T ideas we saw what spirit could not find those
openings creative ideas the off kind of the clutch with the off like when you
You need to hit his shots.
Oh yeah.
Been a great job calling around himself in the economy.
Did a really good job of stylistically figuring out
what rounds to call, like so much to grab from there.
I'm an agent, not a great man for spirit, stylistically.
But who knows what happens?
That's the thing.
We're on the internet.
We're on the internet.
Whether you like it or not.
But you couldn't really ask for three better maps in like an underdog spirit matchup.
Oh yeah, their spirit should be super comfortable.
They should.
Again, one at every single time they played in Astana, one at every time they played it
at Rio, split it back in Rotterdam.
Their record this year, very successful.
So much so they didn't pull it out in Cologne, so it's been a while.
We'll see if there's any ring rust for Spirit on this map particularly.
In the T-Pistol, we've got OG with a bomb plant, and they've actually already wrapped
around Cape.
This is a perfect place for Spooky and Cadeon.
Assuming Don doesn't do that, are you for real?
Pops Cadeon's head in the background, bodies got the answer back.
Only Don, it seems.
What a zany way to try to still win this pistol.
And Shiro's just gonna call this Buffy Stixit.
Oh my god, he sticks it!
That's what I'm talking about. What a ridiculous pistol for spirit to somehow win.
If that bomb was planted just a little bit more to the right and he had to be a little bit more out
I don't think you would have stayed on it, but he saw an opportunity.
Oh, this is gonna be good. I can tell already.
I can't look at this.
And if it was anyone else I'd call it lucky with him. I feel like somehow you can't, I don't know how.
Trying to back.
Radiant.
Hogged.
What?
Well, we got the last word last map at least
Last time you had a sub 1.5 1.5 rated
With your chest okay, well, that's your job is to speak I need my glass damn it now. It's off-screen. I didn't read it
It was in March. Okay, so with 1.5 rating for dog on ancient casting spells over here
The last time dog had a sub 1.5 rated ancient map was in March.
I said that very clearly.
1.8 in the last six maps.
March was a while ago.
Months even.
Oh gee, getting creepy this round, crawling around the map all quiet and whatnot, but
that's going to be four players out middle.
Capable guns as well.
Don't sleep on Adam's Galil.
And there's three tech nines in front of it
to set up the play.
Red room set on fire.
And Cady in trying to take over position of it
as the bomb actually looks to join them on red.
And they're going to threaten this CT play with that smoke.
Flash finds its target as Tenir tucked into the corners,
got the support of Shiro.
They're going to drop that bomb down in front of them
Then detectives pounce off the reloads, but it's a sidearm here for T'Nir that gets the job done.
Good multi-kill for him, considering his struggles back on Dust2.
Spirit survived the force buy.
He actually brought it back heavily in that second half.
It wasn't just that one round, he had a few multi-kills.
He dropped the scoreline back up, so I think looking forward to C.B. for sure.
And to provide some sympathy to T'Nir, he's recently brought up that, you know,
He's been shuffled around more than almost anybody on Earth when it comes to roles.
Enjoying Spirit.
Trying to just charge it up. Lots of damage.
And it's good. All five players survived Spirit showing no sign of weakness on Ancient quite like they did Dust too.
on map one donk was five and zero in head-to-heads versus cadian that was on
cash okay I'm gonna go try to find dust two
If HLT would update, mhm. Sorry.
Early bad of mid control here for Spirit.
It's like, oh, do you want to play fast like they did on Cash?
Oh, they get there!
Adam tracking down Magix for the 5v3, as Tenir gives up the space.
Careful of this walkout.
Oh my god, they don't cover, Tineer tries to dive long, but okay.
Good on Kadean, it's a right position.
Yeah.
And so the first gun round for OG looks real convincing.
Shiro just dives on Adam, cleans both players out of long control.
This opens up the door for this retake, but remember, it would have to be a 2v5.
Body on 1 HP, spooky down by half.
Body puts the Molly in front of Shiro.
for a bit of utility here.
Nade for Cadian, but you're going to have to push in to clear out the cave.
And Xantix doesn't really have the time for that, so he's going to put the smoke, but
as it sits on top of the bomb, he's yet to tap the defuse.
He's going to try to cause panic if Spooky finds him with the wallbang.
Bomb pops, and two die.
OG still, round secured, but at a cost.
Yeah, quite expensive.
In the Cady and Donk head-to-head on map 2, Cady and 7, Donk 2.
Which means coming into map 3, Donk and Cady and are tied.
7 kills against one another each.
That's fun.
Donk and Cady in.
Two P's in a pod.
OG have done this in the past in this series, just trying to sprinkle in straight up aggression
after a round win.
They're met by Amali and Xantix's smoke, but beyond that they're still gonna try to just
charge their way through.
Donk help middle kill Spooky, and so man advantage secured before a bomb plant can
ever go down.
They didn't even bother blowing the smoke open.
And they'll actually cancel the plant for a second, but that's risky to do on this map if you can't re-smoke Donut, they have one.
Out in front of this, Sauntics gets some damage, but that's it.
Still no planted, a little scary.
Aw, this is super risky, my goodness.
Slowly but surely, bomb goes down. I'm surprised that didn't open smoke, right?
Yeah, that one probably should have yeah
But instead bomb planter gets off of it. Katie's a kid of my way
That max head swings wide forcing donkey to the team kill
Two versus one now for spirit and both players approach from the CT lane Katie in with the first headshot
Trying to dodge shiro's off slides through it
Still ample time on this bomb and heroes gonna land it Katie and tries to slide in a second time
But it is shiro again showing his value tonight in this series with a clutch for team spirit
Yeah, he went berserk back on cash
And how was he on dust to I mean overall still good
Wasn't really the donkey carry back there
Was 1517 okay
With a zero point eight one rating it's a good shot for shiro and the clutch
Okay, nearly had that one has aim displaced a little bit
It's gonna swung the game a little bit, but now they're saving
Still can't believe that second made didn't open the smoke
Yeah, they got away with it, but yeah, they probably should have just blown that smoke up.
Oh yeah.
Shiro off to the races here on Ancient Nine and One.
Shiro and Kadeon actually have a lot of history, you know what I mean? Like that was Gambit and Heroic.
And then online era there were the two big dogs besides big of course, okay, forget about that. No, no
And that's gambit youngsters to you buddy
Time's gone
And so are the majority man now
See ya son takes on cleanup duty up to three kills as
as spirit comfortable in the 5-1 start.
I think Hobbit already had a kid at that point.
Probably, which is wild.
But now Hobbit's back.
Some things never change.
And his kids still around probably.
I mean, probably?
Probably?
Yeah.
Good time to go away.
I'll tell you that much for free.
The little timidness here is they sit inside a main.
Whenever they wait, the closer Donk gets to trying to be a problem.
They're ready for something totally different right now.
Donk just gets straight up, opt in this position.
Unless the shot is missed, but it doesn't matter.
Adam catches him off with that forward green boost.
It's got to glued in at the bottom of mid, didn't it?
Yeah.
For a long time considering there really wasn't much there.
Nothing there.
Just fear.
Still taking a look at this though.
Donut is wide open.
They have gone for some pretty late retake attempts and this one looks to be another.
It's a situation where you could dive it with just one or two kills, so they've got to be careful.
Spooky's dead, so it's Cadian.
Primetaps answering back down to near, preoccupied with that. Clear, he's got it going.
Oh, but it's a nice flank from body.
And then Adam makes sure that two players survive here for OG.
They sunk their teeth deep into the A site.
I said they survived because they do.
Never mind.
Close one, but the bomb never pops.
Another great round for Adam.
Yeah, boosted up early, kills Donk, has to fight his way back through the amane smoke.
Kind of an a frantic spot as that retakes underway.
This is...
Wow.
...spooky.
How does that happen with a monitor on?
That's a great question.
As it even shown us his true power level.
Some noise being made.
A lot, actually.
By no more extension.
But no work extension.
Someone's about to take a risk right now.
A shot.
Shiro with a slight gap, clips Adam B and a 5v3 on the other side of that kill.
Could it be a second story, a second comeback story for Katie in one career?
Two comeback stories.
When's that happened before?
probably done it at least one. So only in the movies. Only in those moving pictures.
Who's come back twice?
With all our history, I mean surely, but I can't even think of,
And I mean he hasn't done it yet. Right, right, but...
Still a long road ahead for OG.
Especially tonight as Spirit's lead grows 6-2.
And this round was shut down very quickly. Just two separate duels picked up to Spirit's favor.
And OG kind of pumped the brakes and gave up a little juice box there
Must be his birthday juice box sorry
Honestly, I was pretty dismissive juice boxes are pretty cool
Connor loves juice so he immediately just
It's going to be called out in the future, stay hydrated.
My favorite juice boxes are actually when they're little chocolate milk boxes.
That's not juice.
Well it's in the same family.
It's like nut milk being called milk.
It's not milk.
Well.
I think legally in Europe right now, it's not allowed to be anymore, so...
Spooky started both Cache and Agent this series once, so...
I don't really kick up all these downlines, don't you, Beatrice?
Man, you're really talking shit!
He's never too late with the stats, we'll give him that.
Oh, what a fireball.
Well, the stat was for Cache and Dust 2, correct?
So he was about to be 1 and 7 all three maps.
And the moment you brought that up...
Yeah, it always... Nope, always right before.
Uh-uh, not this time.
Into the mid-dual, with the double kill.
Very easily could have been 1 and 7 here as well.
But a moe down to the spirit players, man advantage secured, and an open B bomb site
for the bomb.
If Adam B gets that kill, it'll be nasty clear.
Then there's really no chance for spirit in this one, but with Taneer already being in
cave, are they gonna hook?
Have a cave is massive.
Magic's just thinking about it.
I feel like you do want to give this one, I mean, Magic's is so low, they don't have
a kit.
Oh, that makes it a bit... tenuous.
They've been a little late to a couple of retakes now.
Okay.
We kill faster than that.
Tineer with a late test.
But never here to win the round due to that lack of kit, so OG squeeze a third victory out of this T-side.
Nine rounds in.
It's gonna cost them everything as the bomb pops and kills everybody on OG's squad.
Two survivors this round, as Spirit still maintain a three-round lead.
But OG, thanks to Spooky and this 2k out-middle,
is good flashbang assists here from Cady, and to make that double entry possible.
And brave enough to go in for middle.
It's already deserves some credit.
Spirit, no, most of the time they'll be able to dominate in there.
But the bomb casualties are vast.
It's got to be them really suffering here.
The Leals, low grenades.
Magic Spines is back, it's turned to Teneir.
Just sliding down the ramp at the perfect moment.
All-in themselves at OG into this outer B hit, and Shiro wants into the action too.
He'll track Adam B on that fallback.
A 30 health spooky remains, 1v2.
I had a Molly on the other side of the bomb just to let him know.
It's gonna be tough to try to claw this back.
You know Shiro's gonna hold the angle.
Just gotta jiggle it, but how do you do that versus Shiro?
You don't.
Shiro secures it.
7-3 lead off of a clash set up outside of the B site.
Felt like Spirit knew they'd find OG players out there,
and we're confident in their ability to kill them.
It was a 3-9 comeback yesterday.
with Gizmy and friends versus Falcons.
True.
I only say that because Spirit are playing the good side right now.
Actually, how's their two-side ancient luck?
Ooh, they force here, huh?
Tech 9's aplenty for OG in round 11.
Spooky back to his antics out middle.
At least secures the red steps.
And Adam doesn't look to leave him alone, so we'll have two members of OG looking to get through Donut
where Don tries to support Shiro towards A site.
Good kill by Adam, he wants to disengage, that frees Donk up to go throw himself at the A site
so that it's not just Shiro's op in the face of this smoke.
They do have elbow protected, or at least threatened.
Tough spot here for OG.
Little to lose, they're now down to no utility, so throw a player over, flying that Desert Eagle.
Not destined for this world, as Donk shaves him off one by one.
And Adam may have gotten that kill on Zontik's out-middle.
Beautiful tap on Donk as well for a second, but Shiro's op collects,
and it is 8th rounds at the very least for Spirit's CT side.
the
top position for Katie with the amount of money that they've had throughout this half
a lot of buys have had to come through but again with all the bomb deaths
made for some rough buys
Oh, he should beat this timing.
Yeah, Zontik's feeling freed up to take it early.
Oh, it doesn't matter.
Bob's spotted, but he's got a...
Magic's off the cave push.
He'll deal with the one other player OG had across the map,
so it's nothing but this A site for them.
And deep donut control with a smoke surely helps.
Kits a plenty.
Smokes as well, here for Spirit in a forced retake,
final round of the half.
Take a long time to get organized for these retakes.
Yep, they have left them down to the final moments in the past.
This one looking sketchy for the same reason.
Shiro tagged down to sub-10 HP.
5-7 jump over.
Oh, primetaps kills Taneer in the backdrop.
Bought his swings out for the mid-kill.
And it's Kady, and now from behind the big box, 1v2.
They spot him.
And as he tries to get back into the cover,
the Desert Eagle's not enough.
Magix will stick this for a nine-round CT side out of Spirit.
You'd think, surely, they had enough.
But it was the same score line.
that somehow, some way, the likes of 100 thieves upset yesterday, so we'll watch after the break.
Would you say that you're a grumpy person?
Definitely, yeah. I'm very much a grumpy person.
I think that it's not even a wrinkle that my boss told me that I need to stop complaining so much.
So yeah.
I had teammates and people around that have been way more grumpy than me, but we are a bit grumpy in a way.
These f*****g apex used to be fun at the beginning, but now it's just, I'm like, change, come on guys, it's been two years now.
I could be a grand peddler about the china food.
I could eat a lot of stuff, but sometimes it's annoying.
I find it more harder to find something good.
We go a lot to Copenhagen, and they always make potatoes, like everyday potatoes.
For example, when I was in Japan for vacation with my wife, their food there was insane, and in China it's like 50-50 I would say.
You know, you have pasta, you have rice,
you have a lot of little stuff.
With the ends, I think they only know potatoes.
Going home and getting your mom's food,
like, that's like, it's not really a specific dish,
but just in general, like, that homemade food is...
You're not missing it somehow.
But I think something that is so underrated
for us is the bread, like, baguette.
Like, when you travel a lot,
the bread I'm not as good as our bread and cheese are just...
I mean, when playing...
Toxins, you know?
I think the worst thing that can happen to me
is when people just throw random grenades and they don't say anything about it.
Communicating really bad on not saying when you die or what you see is pretty annoying.
And then you just randomly have to like touch a flash or like you just die because of it.
Not listening.
Like one of the first rounds.
Everyone buys and one of them goes for example.
That's maybe a bit triggering.
Playing just alone.
Like people, they just play face it to play on the sides and I'm like guys it's a team game.
Let's try to play together.
You get bad habits from it.
And it's much different than on official because you can get punished and from punish you pay
If you lose the match you are out of the event if you lose that may face it
It's whatever you just lose some points and you can play more before play so bad in practice
They don't care. They just prove you do individual move that they will never do
Matches, etc. It just annoys me. It's not giving you an adrenaline game
You know and maybe because I'm a little bit older and I'm playing for quite a time
I feel like that need to be a stake in the game to I enjoy it more
I tend to complain about when I have to do other people's jobs for them.
Players should be fixing his lineup for the grenade, but instead I have to go do it for him.
If my teammates forget the boss threats and they don't have notes, it makes me really hungry as well as them.
The one thing I've complained about in all of CSGO or all of CS2 is how accurate you are when you're jumping.
It feels like 64th I'm much more thinking before the change to sub-tick.
I used to play some much breaking in series go and you could tell that the bullets are not going
as same as 128 take and yeah I don't like something to burn it. It is fine that some pistols or
SMDs are a bit more accurate but it should never be a thing that you can like jump and it's good
for you you know which is like it is in a lot of cases so yeah I would say that thing.
This best of three recovery is fully under way.
Spirit very comfortable CT side here on the decider map versus an OG that pushed them
to their limits back on Dust2, but we just haven't had that same pizzazz.
You know, Cady and back on Dust2 was hitting off shots now sitting 5 and 11 towards the
bottom of the board and it feels like maybe OG's abilities have dried up.
Because we watched Falcons throw yesterday, we're going to keep ourselves glued to the screen until somebody closes on ancients.
And there might be genuine concerns about how good spirit could be on this T-side.
Like, I'm sure they were trying back on Dust2, but just couldn't get the engine going.
Yep.
Left a lot to be desired there, Dust2. T-side.
Ooh.
They really want to go, hey, everybody's here.
Barretta's up on top of green.
They still don't know about him.
Now they've figured that out.
Donk gonna look for the duel, but as that Barretta player just stays tucked in, Donk
actually gets back towards donut.
So run it, B. Leave Shiro to serve up frags.
And at the very least a distraction.
Donk doubling back though gives Katie the chance to kill him.
And now OG's CT side begins with a pistol victory.
It's actually, I mean, Hunter Thieves did not let us down last night in terms of, you know, getting body one map, but actually closing out the series.
Oh yeah. I'm here to watch. My eyes are peeled.
It's a lot of damage.
Peace have ancients difficult.
Spirit forced to take a knee in this one.
Whatcha doing?
A little warm up.
He's trying to speak to us.
What do you want?
Body suspicious.
Bomb dropped, everybody shows themselves.
And Zontics kills his teammates.
So all that warm up didn't mean much.
Now did it.
alive on the side of OG as they win pistol and convert cleanly would this be a
bigger upset than yesterday we've got a question for you this is VRS number one
I think right now no Falcons were Falcons were number one in the world
yesterday I think I think I mean I think I think 100
I think so. Yeah, it's major champions. Yeah, but they're like pretty much as good.
It's also Falcons and Kerrigan. I guess it's also Spirit. Yeah, and Donk.
Let's call him equal.
I think that's fair.
Oh boy.
Think I'm straddling.
The body comes flying through, and Donk will get some kind of an answer going, but it's
a bit too late.
As OG have already fallen back into the comfort of their bomb site, they'll forego vision
of the bomb as they know Donk's going to be on the hunt for the next minute.
on the bonus round. It's a two on four.
Shirley's spirit and Falcons don't both get eliminated in the games.
I was trying to do some subtle foreshadowing, but...
Surely not.
Surely not.
Surely not.
Counter-terrorist.
Time-taps makes sure this one goes down smooth with four players still surviving and we've
got a three round game.
Shiro's still 17 and 6.
Donk has had his moments.
But that T-Side on Dust 2 sure did suck.
Yeah, it did.
And they're back on the attack after that 9-round CT side.
Tech 9's for the gang.
As the confident spooky takes a duel towards Donk, Desert Eagle collects his head in response for that.
That could be a gun grabbed.
No G's still thinking about pressing their luck on ramp. Smoke grenade pops in front of him.
That's gonna open the door for Donk to grab an AK, and now you've let the most lethal player in Spirit's camp...
find himself a true weapon.
And apart from these kits, they've drawn out a lot of utility.
OG got very scared about some kind of B-play.
This really loosens up the map for Spirit.
Okay, scary for a second. Does it look like he was getting away from Cady and...
Rifle can still be grabbed by Shiro here.
Where was it? Did it fall off?
Surely not.
there. Kadeon catching Xontix is gonna finish that one off as he was trying to make something
happen and Shiro never even concerns himself with the rifle. Okay.
Take plant one time, gets Adam to bite, but Kadeon's on the scene. 4k for Kadeon here versus
those upgraded pistols as OG cut it down to a two round gap.
I mean, genuinely based on last map, at this point, who would you rather be?
I think I'd still rather be Donk.
Yeah.
That's fair.
But partly because he's just a rock star.
And also because, again, I believe in Shiro.
I feel like Shiro is a good bet.
If you're thinking about somebody just prop up spirit enough.
OK.
I'm also looking at all the money that the OG squad are sitting on.
This is after the buy, Kady and 9.3, Adam 8.2 thousand.
They won their bonus round.
Oh yeah, there's a ton of cash here for OG, so they've got the framework to make this
CT side stomp happen.
They're also not playing scared.
Big fish.
Spirit are the number one team on HLTV's live VRS ranking.
Oh, there's Donk with the opener.
PrimeTaps responds back with the Zontik's kill.
And Donk thinking about pushing his luck into middle at 50 HP.
Look at this push from Adam, though.
This is a huge move to make.
Yeah, it's completely unchecked right now.
The palm thinks he's about to watch it,
but that's just dangerous in and of itself.
That's it.
Oh, he's missed it.
Yeah, this is free for Adam.
Oh, he's gonna try to milk it.
Let a guy.
There's the bomb dropped.
As Adam's move is confident,
but that's obviously gonna draw spirit back Adam
and Donk is included in the two players
coming to try to find this.
Magix takes the point instead.
Oh, Adam kills everybody out here.
Oh, it's so clean from Adam B.
A sequence from the A main push for another quad kill.
Nothing but a one round game now.
Let me tell you, that's not the first thing
we've seen from Adam.
He was right back on Dust 2 as well.
The positioning couldn't have been better, the timing couldn't have been better.
Mechanics were fantastic.
And a finisher on Donk as well.
Now this is real.
By the way, KDN is 12,000 bucks.
I'm starting to get into that desperate round where it feels like spirit need their hero
moment.
They've been on the cusp of piecing it together, but sticking the landing and putting the round
on the board, has eluded them since they've switched to the T side.
This is an OG that keeps poking and prodding Spirit in the middle of their rounds, that
aren't shying away for going for those dangerous ramp pushes.
Even when Spirit have shown an ability to bite back.
comes over the top, Spirit do not have a lot of utility to work with, so they're gonna want to value out of these nades,
but it's a great lineup on the ramp, and it stuffs the pistols in their tracks.
Magic's a bit late to activate as that Xontix M4 steps out through a main, found out, and Xontix's struggles continue.
A single kill this round as once more already on a pile of gold.
OG tie this game with four players alive in this round as well.
Well, I'm just loving where they're getting their kills from.
It's a lot of forward pushes, they haven't played scared once, they've gone for info.
We saw Adam actually turn that info into an entire round.
It's everything you'd like and the aim is keeping up the confidence is clearly there.
By the way, that last defuse, it was 0.67 seconds on one defuse or 0.67, I think.
Of course it was.
Yeah.
For OG to win the map and bring us to this position.
Of course it was.
Hilariously.
Magic's diffusing.
Yes.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
Of course.
You have life funny.
Call it destiny, I guess.
Out of B is 10 and 0 some switching sides, which was a lot like rain taking over yesterday versus Falcons.
swapping of the halves an electric half out of Adam B thus far we're big Adam
guys as well back from young ninjas
Adam standlers
as this game goes on and donk feels like he's got less to lose you're gonna
to get moments like this one, where he rags up a couple headshots, dies on his third attempt.
You've got Shiro to still lean on.
20 and 9 now is Shiro, but over towards the ramp.
Oh, it's out of the spawn.
Make that 12 and 0 since this CT side has started.
What a performance, man.
If he was closer to the side, I'd say, let's see if he has a chance.
He's got a ways to go though.
They just got insane control.
I think he wishes he could trade out that Molly for a smoke.
He's actually got a smoke as well.
Oh man, Molly smoke frag plus the kit. He could actually put this into the realm of possibility.
Okay, yeah.
Scary with the time here, but I mean why not give it a shot. You've got so much money.
You've earned these moments and Shiro's not going to give you that room to work.
Shiro with big impact in this one. Again, a pillar of success for Team Spirit, a driving force back on the stomp of cash.
And as Donk goes big with the double kill to start this round, it is then every kill from Shiro thereafter.
The only issue is going to be if they keep trying to do this in the mid and it just becomes too much of protect Donk at all costs.
He gets angry and he keeps trying that out.
If they can counter him, that'll be the problem.
Katie knows that kind of coming into this match. That's that's just gonna be one of the main things
They're actually gonna be able to take this victory a
Final timeout used by them
And throughout that first half it was money trouble for OG that a lot of you know forced down buys that didn't get them a lot
But now they're in the money. They have some leftovers that Katie doesn't want to drop this position.
Still so much cash to burn through.
Oh, a missed chance.
Now that peek was old school.
Teneir walking it up through the ramp though as they shuffle their attention back towards
B. It's an opening kill for Adam.
Donk shuts him down.
A single kill for Adam.
All he gets is Donk will yet again collect a double kill back to back rounds.
Katie and Fielin to squeeze from both sides.
You've got Sheeran out of the picture and Donk's dead as well.
Spooky collects a couple.
Pressure on Zontics from the bottom of the sword for you to get busy with the bomb plant.
And now Magix with the Mach 10 is going to try to wrap around into the three remaining OG players.
And he's not there for enough of it.
Triple kill, Spooky.
OG throw bodies at a B site and tie this game again.
They desperately wanted to test him.
Tonk on that second swing and he passed every single time.
Beautiful aim on display for more than just one player.
Yeah, now we're moving into the peripheral.
Donk gets a double after shutting Adam out after the one it is Shiro to get dropped with nothing thanks to Spooky
And unlike the side of OG team spirits money remains under question hero AK here for Donk in the 21st round
OG on the brink of pulling into the lead still with all of that money back behind them
They have given themselves the best possible opportunity to truly do this.
They do need to be very wary.
Last time they let that ramp walk up take place.
There's a little bit more utile behind it.
They might not have had a way in.
But it's all of spirit on the perimeter of this B site.
Sure, there's a lean here for OG up in front of body who plays the top box.
Kadeon doesn't feel like he can afford to miss in this position.
Careful with that switch and guns.
Flash throwing into the pack.
There's multiple players here and he does with.
Body gets the kill on the backdrop.
Kadeon missing a second shot.
No scope lands at the very least and Adam's on the scene.
Doc in the middle squeezed from both sides.
As Kadeon leaves a little slack out there on the play,
it's his rifleers around him that pick up the pace.
It was still a great setup.
It was hard to get him out of his position.
At the very minimum he could delay and at the best like they have this
Layered attack was a very small choke point. It could have been much worse Lance Minosco silver lining
Forces dock into the trade but ramp site gets totally shut down by Adam
Adam looks absolutely incredible today
24 and 13 now and it'll be spirits last time out. Oh, gee are in the lead once again
And still with all the money in the world, Spirit's timeout taken before their buy comes
back.
They've got every tool they could ask for barring Shiro's AWP.
And that's a scary prospect because that AWP has been valuable throughout this third map.
That AWP is what worked off of Donk's opening kills out middle, last time Spirit won a round.
Donk and Shiro have held up their end of the bargain.
Both players beyond 20 trying to beat the difference again.
Donk swings out mid, knows that he's got prime taps on the run, and you can't escape Donk.
Chases him down for an opening five versus three.
And no matter what happens, he can always offer that up out of nowhere.
The entirety of mid taken over.
It's a layup to tie this game.
One interesting move here.
Boddy wrapping it around through spawn if things take too long.
But OG still have their hero.
Adam B leans back towards that red room push just in the off chance donk comes his way.
And Boddy has indeed got away with this time and Cady and Tim throwing out.
He lands his shots and Magic survives it.
A frag grenade keeps Magic's back momentarily.
But it's that push into the doughnut that opens up the A site. How aware are they gonna be? Will they watch all their flanks?
Sontics had a rough go of it and Adam that I mean, that's a perfect distraction
Don't kills Adam in the meantime. It is all on body now. Oh, whoa my god. No, not like this. Oh
My god, he has a kit right now
Sights wide open. He can't even believe it
They're watching for the temple push though, right now.
Shiro keeps checking temple every second.
But if body waits this out and everybody departs, this could be the way that he secures
a 12th from around the world.
Body puts himself on top of the bomb and Shiro's gonna cover it off, again keeping
OG on their toes.
Nothing else to watch.
Nice try there, body.
Kadeon hits Magix, but Magix survives.
That's the wall.
Had to hit that one.
Crazy chaser from Darkbook.
What else do you expect?
It's what he's going to do.
Yeah, not at all worried that he's down to like five bullets.
I think they're you know the energy right now for spirit is they know coming into this round dog is gonna try to save the day and they've got to really just make sure they stay on his case.
I don't think there's going to be anything to stop him from over swinging in this spot.
Spooky on rotation.
It's prime taps back towards CT spawn.
Oh, they catch him unprepared.
It's just a burst down into the site.
Spooky gets shredded and OG have a taunting task in front of them if they think they're
going to pull off this 4v5 retake.
Yeah, they actually do have to think about the money now.
Let it go for the first time this half after all of these nail-biter rounds after all of these aggressive openings from OG
It's just a sudden pop into the A site that secures spirits 12 and
Zontix five kills on map 3 and it's the instant
Execution on the entry to give spirit the slimmest sigh of relief
That's what we're into right now his fifth kill and and Zontix getting entries
That's how they guarantee overtime.
A bit of a breather here for Magix, I think he was getting stressed, but because OG don't
get wiped. They have a great buy once again. All the advantages that the CT side has to
offer you here on agent. And players that can pop off at any moment.
It's not Donk looking for the mid-kills, it's Chirro stuck in smoke.
No forward press out of OG, no attempt to take any kind of a ramp duel, if anything just
leaning back on this Cadian angle through donut once the smoke fades.
That is where OG hoax spirit overstep.
Inside of this B bomb site resides Adam B. Rockstar of OG's third map.
These positions aren't that scary. Not with any extra support behind them.
It's not that AWP rifle set up inside the cave this time around.
What's usually Cady in here with this is instead him bolstering that A site.
They're making moves on A but they need to get a third player over here.
Or yeah they need to push and get some guaranteed information.
They're playing quite low.
This worked on Dust2, and Spirit took too long to get organized when they couldn't find an open and kill.
They'll find some damage in on Adam, which actually could be very impactful.
If you can't beat them in the head to head, then soften them up before you execute.
Do yourself a favor, Spear. It don't take too long on this exact. There's nothing stopping you.
30 seconds in utility up and over. Smoke grenade on both lanes. All of the CTs stuck on the other side of it.
They put a fresh smoke themselves at the top of this ramp and banking on Spooky's boost to cut off players.
And the bomb is still back in the doorway.
It's not just these ramp players that are looking to get in.
And Spooky cuts down the frontrunner, Adam also finds Doc.
Seven seconds and Shiro's hands have to be busy.
Huge double man advantage for the retake.
OG have at least given themselves the best chance at making this happen.
Shiro in the middle, finally getting one back for Spirit, his second kill collected.
Body slides wide with the response, and it's going to beat the Aeneir.
From outside of cave, in the middle of the retake, Tiptoes his way out, wins the first duel, staying at 67 health.
And if the retake's underway, it's body to find another headshot. OG pull it off, and we need overtime on the decider.
Yeah, let's see it. Come on.
Spirit with all the space in the world, 2v5 on the site, they waited so long.
They didn't do anything to draw out utility.
They made that as winnable as possible for OG, even though OG
were not playing the same game they were playing for the rest of that half.
Though on info, they bring it to overtime.
And there's actually still a chance.
I thought with Shiro having this position, he could still deliver magic.
Did find the double.
But not enough in a 3v5 to make it happen in regulation.
More runway for OG.
And the little T-side success spirit has been by way of X-Factor moments. Will OG shell up as the intensity of the game goes on into overtime?
Body out through cave. It's got a real chance of cutting off shiro bomb included stops it
Let's get traded back by zontics at least Adam B smoked away from the moment
But as they pop open that smoke
These mollies to guarantee the plant now
They charge through flames and get shredded by tenir
Doc finding the headshot onto spooky as well. This one absolutely fizzles out for OG
They try to force the issue through the fire and pay a price.
I mean the pace is so much better here from Spirit just straight off.
And then the two Mollies, that's what they were missing last round.
They came in absolutely no control, said,
we're gonna let you retake and we're gonna try to plant the bomb.
But oh yeah, this is B, it's absolutely retakeable.
And they suffered so many casualties because of it.
Late to wake up, but maybe at the same time, just in time.
Finally, a dominant looking exec that's not just a contact explode out of spirit.
Confidence now for spirit as they charge in, and Adam meets him with resistance, double
kill as he stands his ground.
down to the half HP as Bonnie slips the net in between the middle of it all. It's two back to back
double frags from OG's players on the B site as they were light on support but you put Shiro
into a clutch and watch as he tries to deliver. Getting around that fire Shiro still able to
react fast enough but whittled down to 30. Yeah what's he gonna do 30 HP one coming up from behind.
Surpassing Donk's kill count with that first one in this 1v3, and Kadeon's gonna take his sweet time
to try to close this distance to the site. Oh, Shiro's on the hunt! Third kill collected,
him versus Kadeon, and he has so much time to work. And these are two guys who think like crazy
in the clutch, who is gonna get the better read? Full lock towards the site from Shiro,
he's thinking that this push-up, the ramp is already occurred. Kadeon starts to reconsider his
There's options, and it's gonna be Shearer to back up into it.
OG delivered to tie at 13-all.
What a callout.
He locked off this position.
Could have been a push through CT spawn.
And luckily those 2Ks don't go to waste.
It's a great hold from OG as they just try to run up Banana.
Adam B. just forced to hold his ground, while that Kadeon turns back into the player R.D.O.
It's both offers considering options in a critical 1v1
Shiro that close to delivering an overtime you've just seen this boost
There's been a severe lack of tactics out of spirit. Oh man a little bit of damage on Adam
Attack of the 30, made sails beyond.
Body's still able to kill Donks.
You've got Donk down, that's an aggressive A main peek out of body.
OG are not shelling up as this game goes on.
They are not afraid to make their moves in overtime.
It's a critical kill to bring home.
OG letting it flow.
I haven't found Kadeon in this round.
I don't know what line the off was.
At least swing back into this.
Shiro's gonna...
Shiro has not been missing shots like that.
This is a big push for Badi,
who has already shown bravery and extending out to duel with Donk.
I mean, it's a gimmicky position.
I want to say it's still a little bit risky with no other people on the map.
Oh yeah.
Oh my goodness, it's Shiro to get the kill.
You caught the player unprepared, man in the front's got a nade out, but just got wind of it.
Man advantage earned off of this as Magic's plants bomb.
Adam B a part of this retake, prime taps, collects his, finally missed shot from Shiro,
and Adam's not gonna let that go to waste.
Falls onto Nier, another 1v3 attempt here for Spirit and overtime.
Shiro, one kill shy of his, can Nier do it when they need him.
They give him a little space, a little time, and a bit more damage on Adam as he looks then for the next point of contact.
OG start to squeeze from all three separate directions, and they stick these retakes in back-to-back moments for a lead on the CT side of overtime.
They had themselves in a pretty comfortable post-plant position, but two missed shots from Shiro.
And as you mentioned, that is rare in this match.
He's been so good when it matters.
Yeah, even in this round gave them so much to work with.
Just needed a little bit of support from the team.
But Adam is playing different.
Got one timeout replenished.
I think they're just happy to switch over, sure.
Shiro and Donk remain the heaviest hitting players in the server, but Adam is honestly
turning into the star of the show.
They haven't seen that reliable second piece alongside Adam, quite like Shiro's propped
up Donk.
But in the right moments, you're getting OG's pieces.
Magic's trying to press the wallbangs out through cave to start this round.
Oh, they open that up, and that could have been Spooky dead to rights.
I think that was a good looking chance at it, too.
Sontics is in front of this red molly.
But Sontics is also 6'18", so how much confidence does he have
to try to be the jackknife towards middle?
You know, even if he doesn't push out, him just being there is really huge.
Big grouping of players here for OG inside of the caves.
Magix chucks the smoke out.
It's gonna pop in front, Spooky steps into the duel.
They're gonna open the smoke, but it's a bloodbath to Spirit's favor.
Very careful spot.
And Cady and both stopped in their tracks of 5v3 to start the CT side endeavor.
Adam burned ever so slightly, gives the information over, prime taps dead, clean sweep here for Spirit,
as it's four casualties on the side of OG unanswered.
It was Magix on that pixel of line with that smoke out, ready to throw it, had the perfect response,
and again, even though Zontix was in that spot, really couldn't peek from the left side of window.
a window, he didn't have to. Just had to make sure there was no lurk, everyone could rotate
around him, still provided some value there to his team. And to be honest, nobody's really
been using the clean lurks a lot in this game.
That's well handled out of spirit.
Oh, top spot, dunk, burned wide.
Ah, Spooky made awkward by flashbangs.
Teneir's in a spot where he could have been dropped, but instead he delivers the kill.
Body's down, and Adam finally given a chance to answer back, but a 3v5 is what is demanded of OG,
or Spirit Secure 15.
Ooh, Molly comes out just in time. It's full. I can't just run through this.
Zontik's dumping nades on a rival. Shiro looking to do the same. We've got the boost over top of green.
Frag grenade, chips away at Prime Taps, and Adam wins another duel!
No way!
You smoke, you'll find one!
It makes it a two on two.
Docs down to the half health and a 2v2.
OG have clawed their way back into it, even Keel.
And they want to bring this into the mid-round.
You've still got Kady and Alive.
Prime Taps is a name we haven't said a lot in this series.
It could be a great moment to shine.
This is what Boddy said when Katie joined the team.
He was scared with all the stories he heard about Katie, but that in the mid-round, that's
when he showed he's a real true leader.
Katie and Seth's been a rocky road trying to get this team together.
But it looks like Spirit are making the right moves in response.
They're just going to try to slam the cross.
Oh, they win the duel, but there comes Doc.
And it's a pass from Brian Taps, a double headshot.
And it's a test from Primetaps, a double headshot in a tight-knit situation.
OG's 15th is found.
He gets both trades.
He had already almost made it across, comes back for the duel versus Donk.
And it's a 3v5 that they bring back because of Adam.
It takes real nerve to sign up for a fight versus Donk.
Primetaps over to the ramp, turns back as bullets sail by him.
of all the times to turn up.
He had the bomb a lesser man could have ran, and instead he holds his ground.
Those shades of Sira in that moment.
All set up by Adam B collecting kills through Smoke.
When's he gonna slow down?
32 kills for Adam B
Loji on 15
They followed them to the B site. The timing for spirit solid. Sure, Magix gets blasted
out of it, but Donk was right there to spray away both. And in how many of those moments
do you see Donk just get both those frags? Nine out of ten times. Not with prime taps,
We're ready to respond.
It was Spirit who failed to close in regulation.
This will be OG's first match point.
Hard fought recovery in that last round.
Donk and Shiro, heavy hitting players, side by side, out middle, but met by that smoke.
You have effectively cut them away from what looks to be OG's intended target.
As their numbers group up for this V commitment, you keep Donk and Shiro in transition.
Donk finds the kill, Spooky's dead.
Through the smoke, Spooky dropped.
Man advantage once again for Spirit.
That looks like he just tested the spam.
That's all the mid pressure out for OG.
cave once again. Oh, but they give over audio. They heard that, surely. Magics try to jump
onto the box. They're going to approach this with information. No, but the bodies line
up and the bomb gets dropped to near trades out with a multi-frag moment and right there
in front of Kady and putting the pressure on. Whittles them down to 10. We need OT2.
Spirit maintain control and slay inside of cave. Yeah, even though you give away audio,
They want to run at that. It's just when you have a high-low setup like that inside a cave, it's so powerful.
They obviously needed to dodge that flash, but I think Magix knows he's going to be as a turn from it.
If he's just shooting anywhere in the vicinity, he's going to be able to try to mow them down.
And T'Nier obviously has a fantastic round here overall.
OG can't close.
Both teams failing their one chance to end this.
It'll be a CT start this time, this half for spirit.
We're hitting the head down to 5 HP.
Spooky steps forward.
Come here with the NATO, careful now, they're going to pop.
Smoke in front of them.
Oh, they're coming on the edge.
Bomb flashed in the process.
Compared with the flash, it's perfect, actually.
Magix's utility is so well-supporting.
So, OG come to a grinding halt on the attack to the B bomb site.
Spirit have started off so many of these CT rounds successfully.
Even when Adam can claw you back into them, it has been tough goes of it on the T side, and this round, no different.
Yeah, this is looking like a quiet finish.
Probably have to be three bad mistakes in a row to even get this bomb planted.
Had to be cleaner than that from body, and so now, Cady, just look at the tough tail
instead.
Yeah, I hate to think early headshot.
He's got five HP.
Don't get a kill, but.
miss off is all he can do. At some point this game has to end and for the team that's new,
you gotta think they're the ones who are out of their depth, they're gonna have to,
I mean, really build off of what they've seen and you can definitely credit OG for doing that really
well. I think the problem here for OG at its core is also just you've given time for Tenir
to add himself to the caliber of Shiro and Donk's rounds.
One of these days, Zontics is going to get more than 10 kills.
Well, unfortunately for OG, it's also top heavy with Adam and nobody else.
I think Zontics can play anchor all day long.
If Tenir is going to look to make the difference, this one obviously made easy by Magix's Util.
But he has been a mainstay of that B bomb site from inside of the cave.
When they tried to jump him in magics on the boost,
to another moment where he shuts him down with a malty spray.
It's actually looted for a C0.0 that killed us for after seeing that game's even closed.
Oh, but T'Nere over steps.
That newfound confidence stripped away here.
I'm just gonna walk in A-Main though because with that kill over on the other side of the
map, they think they might be taking space for a flank, but oh, they're gonna set up
a boost.
I'm quite ready for it.
Oh, Doc gets that kill.
Doc snaps onto Adam.
to chase down Kadeon, and the pistol of Kadeon's not gonna let Don get out of there, but what
a reaction to a hard-hitting OG member.
And this is wild. The hero's actually walking away from that pressure. Even though the bomb
was just spotted, they're already thinking about it becoming a B-play.
Will OG over-complicate leaving Kadeon alone out middle?
Pamy had it right for a second. This one's coming towards Magix, and he's pressing down
into the play, Boddy's still tucked into the corner,
Spooky right behind him.
He's got a big job right now.
Boddy's about to step in, point blank, shadow advantage.
He sprays Spooky out of it.
Bomb changes possession, battled the operas over
towards Red Room.
Cadeans managed to get past.
Is there no fast step?
Magics turn back round, loses the duel to Boddy,
and it will be OG to tie up again this time at 16.
How did Cadean get there?
3K from Cadean in response to the dog flick inside Amane.
That is a great mid-round once again, actually.
Shiro, it feels like, called the bluff, went back to mid,
missed him by a second and turned around.
They were low on numbers, and again, this A push,
it felt like they were only pushing A as a formality
because they didn't have enough info,
but they didn't think that they were actually all in here.
They were maybe gonna prop a flank,
maybe catch one straggler.
Throwing Doc to the top row, he will win the duel versus Adam, who has slowly been forced
to taper off as this game's gone on.
Your answer here for OG could just be a rapid tempo into the A site, but you're still going
to have to get past Shiro.
He's been lights out.
Yeah, Molly doesn't come out.
A little too late on arrival.
Oh, Wadi just lands the headshot, tries to get a second one going.
Contex is responding finally, finding a good o' life as this game's gone on.
You got Spooky and Kadeon left over, 2v4 is a massive ask, and sure enough, Spirit slide through them.
They will have the edge, securing two rounds on the CT side again and again as these OTs begin to stack.
That's not overachieving, no one's got a three round half, that's just the bar, getting the two rounds on CT side.
Crazy shot out of body.
We'll give him that, but yeah.
Thought they were finally starting to wake up.
Couldn't tell you what's gonna happen next, we've seen it all.
Dangerous man, Spooky, who's been a victim of some of these mid setups, T or CT side.
really just trying to push his luck as he goes down into the elbow made you till
boxy unstoppable force he will take it oh he's at it with another two finally a
chance to shine again and it's not because he sits on a bomb site into
weights them it's because he gets active and in their faces and slams both
shiro and magics out of this one bomb and kind of an uncomfortable spot that'll
be engineers first job
Turning this back around, they've actually got a lead in through Donut.
Is this actually the interesting play out of Spirit now?
Spooky to get caught off guard.
Yeah, this is the call, but the bomb's coming in slowly,
and there's still a lot of CTs left over.
Taneer concerned.
They haven't been great in these post-plab positions.
Taneer's gone ahead into the AWP, made that swap in the middle of his rotation,
and now his OG want to reclaim middle.
I mean, ZT spawn taken by Zontics, he's just going to lock into deep temple.
They're coming towards Donk, it's numbers versus Donk.
Teneir's going to have the cross, right?
Is this back turned?
Yeah, Donk's set up for success here as Teneir's taking all the action.
Donk's going to execute Adam, not letting him get away with anything more than the third.
And as Kadyn gets caught off by the push off of Zontics, it's Spirit to take 18.
It's finally an interesting mid-round out of Spirit.
It felt like years since we could actually credit some of those plays.
A cerebral moment as they take this bomb out, back around through spawn, use their alert
perfectly, get him through donut, find the one guy on A, and it culminates in a Taneer
Off.
Under pressure versus 3, a 3v5 pulled out for Spirit to put them on 18.
factor in abundance for this team.
A stomp back on Cash would have led you to believe this one was done from the get-go.
OG have shown resilience, but his spirit have fought on throughout this third map, finding
their groove on this T-side to near adds himself to the talented players at the top of the
Spirit roster alongside Donkenshiro.
Man advantage secured.
Spirit push to their absolute limit.
Finally, start living up to the challenge.
Looking like another good rotation as they work this map.
And he synthesized this situation, up in place, might be a shot in for him, yes.
It's a big pick up considering he only loses a quarter of his health.
He almost want to come in silently, but Cady, he's thinking about this, but he'll get caught.
Yeah, unprepared for the walkout, it's a silent approach out of Spirit.
Tenier activates on the other side, making sure to lessen the numbers.
And a mad advantage for Spirit in the post plan.
And this has to be the curtain call now for OG.
for OG. Best chance Spirit Squad have had to shut this game down and you've got
two heavy hitters still alive in this post-clap. Shiro will not miss these chances.
Strikes Prime taps out of this one. Spooky with a massive ask in front of him.
At the very least cuts Magix down to side puts the smoke onto the bomb and it's
gonna look to cause a frantic moment but you're up versus Donk is Shiro. They will
hold their nerve and Spirit will stave off the upset. Pushed to the absolute
limits here at the bounty, OG had real chances as Adam B offered us a world-class
ancient performance but sadly for OG coming up short.
Spirit would push time and time again on ancient. OG almost had it badly. We almost
going to be seeing more upsets and more bounty hunters coming out on top. But unfortunately,
in that second overtime, it just wasn't enough. OG didn't have enough gas in the tank.
I don't know what it is about this player break, but it looks like it really shook
some things up with these teams because OG coming out of nowhere to make such a competitive
affair of a B03 that I felt like was going to be a write off. I had no hopes for OG coming
into the series into today. I even said that I thought this was the most likely 13. Oh, we were
going to see for the entirety of the bounty. And as a matter of fact, I was proven wrong. And I'm
happy to be proven wrong when they're going to play Counter Strike of this caliber when Adam B
is going to show so much of that individual prowess that I didn't know he had that in him. Okay,
I thought he was going to have a decent game. I didn't know he was going to be going toe to toe
with Donk. Yeah, it was at the end of map one, the start of dust 2, where you're questioning and
you're saying you just need a little bit more from Adam Bader felt like he heard you and he said,
oh, you want a little bit more from me now? Here you go. And he really stepped up time and time
again. He was offering so much to the side of OG, but of course, every individual really stepped
up again. We saw Cady and having a great time as well. But with that spirit getting lost to that
double overtime they do end up taking it out a map 3 was not on the cards but it definitely did
deliver for us we're going to jump on into an interview we got our winner magix joining us here
magix did you just enjoy playing a little extra counter strike official today um
yep just yeah you don't feel a little bit stressed or are you one of those plays that the the energy
you never rises and never dips?
Yeah, of course this one was kind of an exhausting game and it was kind of stressful in a lot
of occasions happened and I feel like that, I mean everyone is saying this bullshit but
you know this is just like the first game of the players break and like personally for
me it has like throughout my career it has always been a hard time it doesn't matter
Is it online or LAN game just to getting back is something difficult and I feel like that, you know the energy levels were extremely poor
Because you know you are not kind of used
You're not kind of used to late games
Extremely late games like best example was the Astralis game on EPL
when we arrived to the studio, and we waited for 3 hours AFK, no PC, no nothing, and it's been kind of difficult.
But overall, if you're having multiple games, that late on tournaments throughout the season, it's getting easier time by time.
Okay.
Makes sense actually. Glad you clarified the random EPL loss over there, that was a really weird one.
Yeah, but basically it was the foe's life game.
Yeah, that's true. That's true. Yeah, that was the foe's life game. Yeah.
Didn't see anything from him after that, unfortunately.
But I'm gonna say, Madriksley, what did you go back to the drawing board of?
Because you obviously had your first full season as an IGL of a Tier 1 team,
and I'm sure you had a lot to reflect on after it.
So what kind of aspects did you think about for improvement for the season?
Oh, I just need to get better, because I feel like dudes that are surrounding me are all pretty good.
And if I just lock in, it's going to be better.
And we have seen some signs of hope towards the end of the last season, like last three tournaments,
tournaments and we have been playing as a team and I feel like that the individual form
and the way that we are playing as a team is pretty okay.
Once you play a few more officials, get into the rhythm of the competitive gaming and
get used again to play the game, to communicate better and etc, we will play much better and
i hope they're going to play better than before
okay yeah makes total sense on a lighter note
i guess people have been asking
i know i played the games what what's behind the guys behind you
uh... it's uh...
from yakuza series
it's got a magical and
uh...
kiru
kiru
kiru-san
good pronunciation yeah i don't care it wasn't it wasn't it
I didn't know their exact names, actually.
I just knew the game where it's from, yeah.
Okay, all right, thanks.
That's my question on that one, thanks.
I do have one more before I let you go, Magix.
Of course, we've always had this conversation
around Hallie joining you guys,
not joining you guys for events,
but for you as an IGL,
how does that mixture take an effect on you, right?
You're saying coming back in after a player break,
Hallie's gotten a little bit better,
you get to have him online as well.
Does that impact you a little bit more?
Does it make it easy for you as an IGL?
I feel like I don't care because it doesn't really matter for me personally because I have my own screen, I have the game, I have the game plans which I'm mostly doing and it's my responsibility of how we play and how we perform.
and you know like I mean they helped me a lot they're helping me sometimes with
the preparation but I still feel like I have to give so much more.
Okay well I'll let you go Magic thank you so much you know it's been a long
series for you guys but I look forward to seeing what you bring around to.
Thanks. Thank you.
There is definitely a lot to be said this this series of this day is going quite
long we've had a number of best of threes go to that map three today and then on top of that they
themselves spirit of going to a map three they're going to double over time so it was still nice to
hear from magics explaining a little bit more that coming back from a player break has always been
difficult for him in his career. Totally I feel like the magics that we got in interviews before he
was an in-game leader are drastically different than the interviews we get now he's he's begun a
a lot more serious regarding these questions. And I think that he's being forced to be more
reflective whereas he got to be that just young shining star or the up and coming player more
or less when he first joined Spirit to now where he's now taking the reins. You could
hear the amount of responsibility that he's shouldering the burden of. So I feel like
we're actually legitimately seeing him grow up in a lot of different ways. And I find it
I just I just have to give him nothing but respect for how he's taking on the role. Yeah
I mean, I'll take both sides of magics any day
There's always so much enjoyment getting to talk to him as a player
But we're gonna have a look back on what has been at day number three for Bloss Bounty presented by Paulie
Marker because it has been an insane one
It's a half half past 11 at the moment for those of us in Europe and it started off early today
With Aurora ended up losing to focus that one went to three maps as well
and it's crazy to see that one of our top succeeded teams is eliminated alongside Falcons
Yeah, surprisingly just couldn't really get anything going there on ancient for Aurora
Or actually no, I think it was dust two was the decider not ancient
But yeah, no, they they had a really hard time on that final map and I think that
Yeah, I think that team's gonna have a little bit more growing pains than people might expect
But uh in our second series we saw sinners be able to take a map versus foot who
the game. He was the third best
of three. He was the third best
of three. Who? Coolio by the way
in that exit interview. If
anybody didn't see it, rewind
the Vod. Check that out because
he asked some questions to him,
and he had some pretty choice
words for his ex player in
longs. All right. Well, you guys
can definitely go back. Watch
that one if you want, or you
can stick with us and see the
next matchup that we did get
to see the third best of three
was paid. Game he taking a two
over gentlemates. The first
but ultimately pain was just on a whole not the level.
They really showed up again,
sort of adding to what you're talking about him Maui,
that the player break has changed up
and shaken a lot of teams.
For the side of general mates,
not only swapped up their players,
it swapped up the language that they were speaking.
They were speaking,
they were a full Spanish speaking roster,
so expect them to have especially difficult pains
as they try to integrate crucial,
whether that's a stand in,
or maybe this was actually the last match.
we see with him donning the gentle maids jersey,
time will only tell.
Yeah, time will tell then,
of course we just witnessed Beera being able
to just ever so closely take a win off of OG.
Yes, I'm gonna coin it that way
because I'm telling you, OG,
we're pushing them to that limit.
And so unfortunately, we're not gonna get to see OG
continue along here, but we're finishing our day number three.
And so we can see now what the majority
of our top 16 teams are going to be looking right.
We started off with 32.
And of course you can see it here.
there's still a lot of teams left to play, but outside of the obvious Falcons versus 100 Thieves.
Are there any other teams that you were expecting a bit more from so far now?
I, well, I think,
stuff doesn't sound a question.
I think, I think Aurora was a team that I saw.
They played a couple other online qualifiers already or some other online tournaments
and they showed up in those.
So for them to drop the ball here at the one that could have very quickly gifted them a land spot
in Malta is a bit of a shame.
You're talking too much or something like that. Apparently no one's believing what you're saying. You're just going to have to write it down. You're going to have to transcribe it for me and instead we can have a look at our schedule for tomorrow and see what exactly is going to be taking place because we looked at our sidebar.
We saw that there were still a number of teams to play off against each other because we haven't decided what 16 teams
We advanced into a round number two. Of course yesterday. We had the big matchup where we did see
Falcons up against 100 thieves today
We got to see og off against spirit and the more important one that I want to say out of those top three is
Vitality up against liquid, which is another best of three that we're going to be covering Maui
Yes, am I good? Yes
Yes, I have. Okay. You're okay. Okay. That's great. You're allowed to start spreading your truth again. Okay. Yeah, the gospel is here. Everybody be sure to get your pens out. I
I'm most curious, of course, about liquid vitality and what JT is going to look like with that roster. Too bad it's against a vitality team who I expect are very hungry after their major loss, but
But heroic Mongols, it's, it's, I'm sorry, Mongols fans.
It's, it's not getting any better this season.
This is going to be a rocky road, but maybe, maybe they can start the 2026 Season 2
campaign off with a W.
So I'm going to start cherry picking the information you give me,
Maui, and I'm going to say the player break, just having changed so much up for the teams.
Then maybe it's the positive change for the Mongols.
Maybe it's the positive change for, for Liquid.
Look, it might be a little bit of copying, but sometimes you're going to hold on to that.
We almost had it with OG Spirit.
Um, matchup, the youth though was going to be up to maybe even a 13.
Oh, if I were to put it that way.
That's true.
That's true.
Can't really count anybody out.
And I guess the jury's still out, of course, because they've yet to even play a matchup.
But I don't know.
Maybe the mysterious powers of dark micer and tick walk.
I don't know.
Like, I don't know what to expect of those guys.
And I'm sure it'll be up to to Voo and James Banks to break down what we can even
expect from that kind of match-up.
You can hold your expectations and they can have theirs, but the only thing you can expect
from us right now is saying goodbye.
We'll see you for our last round of 32, our last first round tomorrow for day number four
of Blast Bounty presented by PolyMarkin.
Welcome to the Bounty, a new, bold counter-strike format where every round raises the stakes.
Here's how it works.
The prize pool isn't just this at the end.
It's distributed as bounties.
Each team starts with a bounty based on their seed.
Lower seed begin with zero, but can still strike it big by hunting bounties from higher
ranked teams.
Win a match and you secure 50% of your opponent's bounty as a guaranteed payout.
The other 50%?
It carries forward, growing the stakes for the next round.
After each round, the lower seeded teams pick their opponents from the higher seeded pool.
This happens during the live draft shows, taking place before the tournament first begins
And after each round of play, bounty hunters can choose from the most wanted teams, deciding
if they want to choose their opponent based on strategy, past history, or simply going
for the biggest prize available.
This is Counter Strike like never before.
Are you ready to go bounty hunting?