PGL
[A] Team Falcons vs. 9z Globant - PGL Astana 2026 - Group Stage: Round 2 High Match (1-0)
05-11-2026 · 12h 33m
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I
I
K from Torsche.
Oh, so blind.
Very masterful.
Shatter.
So blind.
Everyone's been blind.
Oh, and again!
Sellex wins this!
Swing!
And he's on for the ace.
Wally is good.
Smoke coming down.
He jumped off!
In a headshot!
Stop!
Wally!
But it was not enough.
Absolute disruption.
Four kills in the place of an eye.
The steps hurt by G2, and you're not mistaking the sound of Nernst picked up with Eagel,
and it shakes the JL, finds Hunter back in the spawn.
Matt is playing through the smoke, eats his hero moment, wrestles with the L!
Matt is knocked up down!
To save this round.
But they're coming through that smoke behind him, and he picked up as he can,
to near 1v1 and 9-10 prioritizes the bomb.
Two kills to the good.
Is he going to stop now out towards the window?
HUNTER!
Orton here!
The time is a big problem.
10 seconds left.
One kill in the right.
Oh, that's it!
And you could win this!
Blitz dead.
That's the bomb spotted in spirit.
Looking to get here.
Floorlessly in OT
The Cobra needs a lot to go right when so much could go wrong
Swing on oh nail shiro and we'll get this bomb plot. It's safe from the cave side. This fan gives away to this
Cobra's got him
So it'll have to be you ready to try to clutch out 1v2 xplow tan's busy
Yuri ops not to jump out through the window immediately, but this is 52 health for Tylo
And he is sitting back by bench now Yuri's got to figure out where he's at
Josuke catching him over through default monosies chance to clutch out 1v2 does he know he's gonna peek in front of this
Oh
And now you've got Luchoff 30 health versus three first frags good now monies off to try to tiptoe it's oh now
It's slow. Oh, oh
job if they jump the gun here and try to chase down the pistol then he goes
gonna chance a troll from inside one
whittling him even lower oh but now he was himself
Hotfield finishes off the map!
Now he's down to the best four, the first to Stoffel for a triple spraydown!
Stoffel, the contact is towards B, not as wise as it looked too bad.
Stoffel all chimes in.
It's impossible round here in the 2 vs 4 directly. Davy Gino gets in at good time surely.
Martin Asik gives his position away, he's not necessarily got himself into a good spot
and fame will drop him.
Pressure, Le Cito rotates to 2 out first.
Not going to be the case, he keeps it out for what's long.
Ready for the fight here though, let's find 2.
spray down nose about a third of the air.
A lot of bodies here, but that'd be G doing well the deal of two.
And he's now just trying to get lost in the smoke.
We've already spoke about how low Alex is,
and if he can find that, he gives us a chance.
He's on top of it, he threw the top stick,
and he's gonna get both!
Swarth pushed it up into the tunnels.
Wow.
They've played it more patiently that last. The CTs are coming.
They've got a couple flashes that look really good and shocks as well to boost.
Someone on the CT side exposed Bartak.
I don't know, that's going to make too much of a difference. Everybody else is falling down around him.
Fischer College going to be going for the good old A rush execute.
You want to pressure the flash throwing over? Oh, it's a counter flash, this was...
Oh, you're right! It is a problem!
He's got 12 seconds on the clock. You won't fight him now.
Let him be forced to plant the bomb. He goes in for it with the dualies.
Takes the head off the healer. Now it's time to see for the compound.
The bomb has been planted though, so they've got that much throwing on for them,
but they're bleeding players very rapidly. Nice headshots from Jean.
Maybe he was Flapshotter's world, this is chaotic and maybe a little bit ugly for Magic at the moment.
He is me hiding in this small car, they are getting bamboozled on the T side, he is me.
Good morning and welcome to Astana, a beautiful city here in Kazakhstan that has completely been overtaken by Counter-Strike.
the best players in the world. I hear all the fans have packed out. They're already
outside the stadium that we're at. It's insane how much the city loves CS. My name is Sam.
I'm going to be keeping you company for the first two games of the day joined by Prof and
Blé. You've both experienced the fans so far. Pretty crazy, right?
I think my favorite thing is whenever the shuttle bus, which takes us and the players
from the hotel to the venue shows obviously all the plans around the shuttle and it's
disappointed fridge guy Jeff when it's a talent where they're like oh yeah let's
see what this dog is a bonus he and it does walk away and a couple of kids
like photo photo and we're like oh we got a couple of fans they have no idea who
we are I mean there's a guy one guy recognize you yeah but he thought it was
a commentator did you take it yeah I took it which commentator did you think
you were I think he thought it was launderers so many jokes won't go down
there are already in the day. Okay, what do we think about the CS we've seen so far though?
I mean, if we take a look at some of the results, I suppose we have to start by talking about
9Z because this has been a surprise. They are one game away from making the playoffs.
Yeah, I mean, they've been insane. We just watching some of these lucho highlights.
He's the truth. He is the truth. What the hell is that about? I mean, they've been
obviously grinding in South America. We haven't seen him too much in Europe playing against the top
opposition when they were here, they were in Rotterdam, they eliminated Maus. We thought,
oh, maybe that's the sign of Maus is really bad, but maybe it's also signed the 9Z is pretty good,
they lost their spirit and vitality and that's kind of what stopped their run. And now here,
without vitality here, they didn't face Pirit yet, they look really, really strong.
So the only two international teams have lost to our top three teams in the world, right?
And also the one thing that impresses me a lot, even if you look at the local results,
because every event we do, there are at least a couple, two or three Brazilian teams who
aren't called Furia, and if you look at the results, it's always such a messy affair because
everyone's beating everyone, but with them in particular, they're very, very dominant in the
region. Sure, I think it's Legacy, the last one, best of five series of memory serves me right,
but overall, this is a 9-Z I can really get behind. I'm quite excited to see what they can do. I mean,
they obviously dominated Falcons yesterday on their final map, like even I think Nicar and
Karagin came out afterwards and we're like, good job guys, you played damn well and I
was like, respect, I like that.
I mean there's nothing else you can say really, it's not one of those games where they can
come out and say, oh we lost to ourselves, no we got owned, yeah we just got owned, 11-0
down and all.
I want to say having his second lowest rated map ever, that's how bad it was, complete
domination.
It was insane and then obviously the teams at the bottom there that are facing elimination,
I'm gonna say it, no real surprises so far for the sort of 0-3 teams.
No, not really. I think like Fisher College, the Huns, these are two teams I expected definitely the lower part.
I was... I live it this way. I'm not mad. I'm not even disappointed.
I'm depressed at how bad Huns have become over the years, over the months rather, right?
Like coming into this, I'm like, okay, you know, maybe they could pull off one game against some of the lower tier teams or whatnot,
But just the fashion they're playing right now. They're even worse than Fisher College and Fisher College aren't getting been paid
To play this game by the way, and it's just embarrassing controllers coming in from this little stand in the Mongols
You think he's gonna maybe uplift yeah uplift Chinggis worst, which is the team he was on and then they picked him up
And it's just been miserable because there are a couple of nice pieces on this team score is still there
I want to remember is from the old IHC days
You have nine as well
But it's just like this team feels like a waste of time for everyone there involved
Just break it up and pick up a couple of these pieces and maybe you can build a second better team in Mongolia right?
Yeah, I just feel like they're regressing not not progressing like we saw them like two years ago at some international tournaments
And it's just oh, okay, maybe they can sometimes do something you know a good map here or there
But now we see I mean now they're playing Fisher College and really like you said they look worse
They they might have looked worse, but they still if they lose to them in a head-to-head
I'm gonna be right if they lose a fish at college like I
I might have a nine errors.
How exciting would it be for Fischer College guys?
If they came here, like this college team,
and then they get a win, I love that.
It doesn't be insufferable.
I cannot allow this to happen.
Likely for us though, we don't work with them in the mornings.
A few about from Maui and Richard.
It's not my problem, that's this.
Let's take a look at the best players so far in the tournament though,
because this is always a nice one to see who is sort of performing at a level.
I mean, Blake, you've obviously got something to say here.
Well, what do you like?
I think, obviously, Dong being on top, there will be some big surprises there.
Haring spirits of the playoffs, kicking and screaming.
Yes, it was Mongols all the time affairs, and he was literally the difference maker.
Over 40 kills on that second map as well.
For me, it's Molotov, just watching Furia.
We saw Yikinda had an interminational TV, so it almost felt like we forgot who we are,
forgot ourselves, lost our confidence and whatnot.
And I feel like Yikinda, popping off the way he did it, but more importantly, Molotov,
kind of finding his form. Yes, with the Caviar, still a group stages early in the day. I think
it's a great sign. But for me, the main guy on that top five was Luchov, right? I don't
think anyone of us expected him to be performing the way he did, especially considering the
teams against which he did it.
Did anyone put 9z in their predictions on the analyst days?
Oh my God, you have to set it up in my head.
I'm just curious. Anyone?
There must have been one guy, surely, one super smart, great looking. Oh, look at it.
to me. I had a good job. That was a throwback to another joke.
Just coming back, we say as well. You've got the 9Z. You've got the 9Z call.
That's what made you decide to go this route. Okay, firstly, share your genius with us.
My genius is that it's pretty simple. Firstly, I don't want to be boring and just pick the usual
top eight, right? And then of course, for paravision, Aurora, I'm like, yeah,
the kind of shaky, let's make things a little bit exciting. I've been heroic as well. I think
That's the bigger curveball, so to speak, right?
But I feel like there are just few teams where they've looked pretty good solid in all these
CCTs and G2 events and all of that.
And most of the times these teams aren't quite able to crack it in a tier one event.
But I feel like 9-Z, Heroic, maybe even Monty, these are the teams who could be a surprise
because all these events, you always have that one team sneaking on into the playoffs
into the arena.
So for me, it's Heroic and 9-Z and Heroic look great in day one as well.
I like the look of Heroic as well.
Let's take a look at our schedule.
is what's going to be happening on the B stream. So you'll be able to watch that last game and
obviously Dust, I'm sure, will have an eye on it. We all will. We're the Fisher College.
I'll be hard drinking at the bar watching this game. Oh, I can't wait. It'll be fascinating. But
these are the games on the B stream. Let's take a look at what we can expect here on the stream
that you're watching. Obviously, we've got two games at the end of today that will determine
our first playoff teams. Very exciting for 9Z. Like we've mentioned, that's Spirit,
Fury a matchup. I'm curious about that. We want to see fury on form
I don't expert is near where they need to be so this could be an opportunity for fury
I mean some could call that the grand final before the grand final some could call the pair isn't aurora the grand
Final before the grand final no one's calling that the grand final before the grand final
The puns on which side of the aurora is so much basically. Yeah, no, but the fury a team spirit
I mean as much as I was disappointed with some things with spirit yesterday, they're still there's they have don't
They're the Donk team and I think they'll be going deep so that could definitely be a rematch
We see in the playoffs later on and Fiora have been doing everything they need to do so far
It's beautiful to see Molo do on this form going into into the playoffs
So Prof is calling it the grand final before the grand final
I'm calling it a major disappointments paravision in Aurora. That is how I feel about both of these teams right now
Convince me. I shouldn't feel this way. Oh, okay. I mean first of all the colors fantastic
I think it's signed. That's the that is the motivation ever loses will have to rebrand that this is the first thing
I don't know if everyone knows this at home, but they need to take no paravisions
Selling point for this is that they both have teal logos. Yeah teal. That's it. Yeah, and also paravisions logo looks like an
Angry southpaw character. Yeah, and that's kind of what that's done is most of the time watching his team play very much
Hey brothers, it's been he's like art met this pistol ball. Well, I'll I'll say this I think both these teams have
Great fan bases. This is one thing. This is the the other thing you are doing such a great job
This is like top-level analysis of convincing someone to get excited about these things
Okay, we can we can work for work. I mean the thing is pair vision blew blew up on the scene this year and the real
Real talk is they kind of skipped a few steps and they're way ahead of where they should be in any way
These players have barely played any top-tier tournaments
And we know even when we were watching them win Blast Bounty at the start of the year
It's like maybe these guys like none of these guys are really like individually that good
There's a lot of different things but at certain points they they performed the way they needed to with Jame
Putting them in the right positions, but unfortunately over time
Maybe it's a bit of the pressure, a bit of the burnout, a bit of other people being ready for them.
We can go also in that a bit deeper later.
Dave not in performing the way they should be. Even when the stack is right, when James calls it into the right people in the right place,
they just, you know, the shots are not connecting. And that's
something that's really difficult to fix in any other way than the way Dastan alluded,
you know, a month ago in Bucharest where he was like, well,
I'd love to replace some players maybe but the major is coming so let's just see how it goes
I also enjoy the fact that if you watch this team when they're playing on LAN
And you watch the the team cameras you can pretty much tall straight off the maps food desk
Then once out because he very obviously starts shouting at them when the game ends
So it's not even hard. Well, they can't cut off the teams. I miss you. I look at everyone
I mean, there's there's two players. That's pretty damn obviously heads on the chopping block and they must know that which is terrifying for them coming into this
I mean that can't be easy.
That can't be easy but it's also like you know at the end of the day you have to deliver
and like the system is good.
We like what James does right.
It's not the old you know James time of all it's there's a lot of variation they'd be
willing to speed things up as well.
They're looking to do a contact place not just about textbook correct counter strike
all the time but when you when you're individuals when they don't have the game maturity or
when they make too many mistakes right there your plan doesn't really can't work when
when the tools are failing multiple times, right?
And then the pressure's mounting on you
and you can't eff up anymore,
and then you start making even more mistakes.
And maybe it seems like a cascading effect, so to speak.
And at least looking at the past day one,
it was just miserable, bro.
Just the way they capitulated against Ninesie,
ugly to see.
Yesterday, sure they destroyed who was official college,
I believe it was.
Or yeah, or played against the Huns.
Yeah, that matchup does not count at all.
This is a real test for me for Parvish.
Do you think we put too much pressure on this team too early on?
Like, I know that they won that blast at the beginning of the year,
but to be fair, none of the other, if you speak to the top teams,
they all say they treat that as a sort of warm-up,
so maybe they weren't firing on all cylinders,
Falcons had a stand-in, and then we suddenly went,
okay, cool, now you need to be the best in the world.
But even Dustin said, like, it's quite a young team.
I mean, he's constantly trying to lower the expectations,
and I think we gave them, like,
we raised the expectations a bit too high,
but at the same time,
It is a team that's been beating Falcons all the time.
Every time they meet Falcons, they beat them.
And Falcons are the only team that can beat Vitality.
So in our heads, it's impossible to not have
higher expectations from them,
because you watch them in these playoffs games,
the important matches against the best teams in the world,
and they look really good.
They're calling, they're battling in these tactical,
tactical masterminds on the map,
but then you just play someone like
Nines E on the first game,
and it's just like they look completely disconnected.
We're talking about expectations, but let's look at the actual numbers here from the beginning of the year thus far.
Apart from the ESL Pro League where they got knocked out in the group stage, which is basically online.
They've reached a playoffs of every other event, apart from Cracker. Cracker was a failure at the second event right there.
And then if you look at Cluj's second place with the loss of Vitality, right?
Pijal Bucharest, which is also land, which is a big disappointment, but it was still a playoffs run.
It was still in the quarterfinals and it blasts rather than third and fourth.
They are delivering it just that when they lose, it just looks so bad sometimes.
and for a team of this caliber, losing the way they did in day one is just not a lot.
Considering Darshan, 100% would have been trading them, drilling them in the Kazakh mountains
for a past month saying, you better not lose here because it's my hometown game.
On the other side, we have Aurora, who I like to describe now, which is the first time I'm going
to do it, but I've been thinking about it for a while, is when you were a little kid and you
got a balloon for your birthday, and then you accidentally let the balloon go and it got stuck
in the trees or power lines and then the next day you would go look and the balloon was still there
so it was still high up but it was kind of deflated and saggy and you knew that eventually it was
just going to drop to the floor. Aurora for me is that second day saggy deflated balloon at this
point. Why are you talking about Richard like that? Look Aurora are the most second most frustrating
team for me to watch.
We're going to be punished for that later.
He's not awake yet.
Who is the first one?
The first one, Treaty Max.
For me personally.
The thing with Aurora Gaming is they are
frustrating because you know how much talent
there is in this team.
You know how good they can be when things are clicking.
Also, by the way, once upon a time
Offers on Tyrus and who's there
where Kayle stepped up.
We finally felt like this team has come together.
you're like, where are they going to peak, right? They never peak, they plateaued.
They plateaued. I'm like, you know, plateauing at a high level is still a very solid thing.
Not every team can be a champion team. That's great. For me, the problem is just how up and
down they are. A platter is supposed to be reasonably flat. They're not flat, right? And
also this year, we alluded to this in the pre-show of the day one. They've only lost
to Na'Vi in Vitality. Losing to Vitality. Emerson is losing to Vitality. That's fine.
Also lost to Heroic.
Sure.
Things are getting worse.
Worse, exactly.
But initially, at the big events, you lose your Navi, a top three team in the world, in
my books right now, the way to playing, right?
And then you come into this one, and then you just completely capitulate and day one
itself.
Like, this should not be happening.
And again, yesterday they beat the Huns, everyone's beating the Huns.
The Huns are beating the Huns as well, so it doesn't really count.
Coming in here, I want them...
Oh, it's just looking at their faces, looking at their...
So miserable.
They like to face the balloons, guys.
Yeah, yeah, no.
It's a sad face.
All the time.
I was going against you on the first day, like, ah, you know, maybe some players are
still playing for their position on this lineup.
We know there's been rumors about what's going to happen, maybe international coaches.
I did call it, I think it's a dead team.
Yeah, but the first day gave, you know, also that team can sometimes be scary.
They can be like fearless.
They can kind of let the, ah, yeah, kind of, but I mean, for now, they're definitely going
into the major with their lineup, and they are too, right?
Aurora's not going to change their lineup before the major.
they still have somewhere to go with these five players.
And they have five pretty, pretty strong players
and Turkish team, Turkish pride on the line.
I don't know.
The first day really left me kind of baffled
that Major and Faber can't like just get rally the team.
Just get something going.
But that's a problem with this team as well
is the fact that it's not like in certain teams
you have like the IGL and the coach
Well, come on guys, let's do something.
But it's a disconnect with the rest of the team, right?
No, it's everyone tilts.
The coach tilts.
Maja starts tilting.
And everyone just tilts.
It's a tilt show.
And I'm like, well, who's going to bail the art from this,
right?
And ironically, it seems like the player they cut,
I think Jota, when they cut him last time, he was the guy
who was like, come on, guys, we can do this.
Let's go, let's go.
He gets cut, of course.
Yeah, so I don't know what to do with this team.
I think there's a lot of promise in them.
I still feel like they can win a couple of events.
Actually, one book rest last year,
Why is their sponsor CS failed?
I can't deal with this.
It sort of sums up everything we've said about a role in the game.
Let's look at some maps.
One thing about this matchup is that the map pool for Parivision,
they play 3.5 maps.
3.5 maps because they play them well, right?
Mirage, Ancient and Inferno, but Mirage is very bad. They play it all the time, but they lose it all the time.
They only, they beat Wildcard in overtime, they beat Fisher College or whatever, and then they beat obviously Falcons.
Who else? They need to beat Falcons every time.
Rather than that, they have three maps that barely played the last three months, and they have three maps, you know,
that are pretty expected from them to come out to Dust2Inferno.
Mainly, and big problem, one of these three and a half maps is Ancient, that is Aurora's Permanent Ben.
So now they have two and a half maps.
So not a really good map.
It sounds like a sitcom, just like a really bad sitcom.
Is it a good way to sort of summarize it
about what we can expect here?
My question here, Prof, is like,
Aurora going to go with Anubis,
which is going to be the first time we've seen Anubis
so far in a tournament, which is a comfort pick,
or are they going to put a punished one?
No, they're going to play it safe.
And I guess you kind of play it safe at this point, right?
I mean, you play it safe, but it's also punished,
because it was played once by Paragusion.
They did beat Spirit on it, but still.
It's Spirit. You don't know what Spirit it was, right?
I mean, they were having a little fling with Anubis.
Dust 2, there we go. No surprises there.
Paravision Extreme Predictable with their picks.
And I'm assuming Paravision banned on Mirage just to avoid it.
And I decided it should be Inferno.
I know, we're all banned this.
Paravision banned Inferno.
So Mirage comes through then?
I don't know. Well, uh...
This is either like giga-brain movement
or like you need to be hospitalized.
What do you say about that one?
What? What?
Is this video correct?
What is happening?
We're going to Overpass, but this is also, so now, out of these, out of these three maps,
out of these three maps, our Vary Visions have played a total of three, so no, two Overpasses
and one Anubis in the last three months.
I'm having to open them up, but why is Aurora?
You know I get serious when Blade, you can't see this on camera because obviously we're
looking at the place, but Blade has a little notebook which almost never gets open and I
see the notebook.
No, he never has to check his facts. He knows that he's opening his book being like I am confused
Why? Well, now he's like flicking through his notes being like none of this makes sense. Is this correct?
It doesn't and none of this is correlating. I know Aurora rarely ever picks Mirage
But it's usually other teams picking it but they have a reasonably good area
They have one nine out of like what 18 maps have played so far in this particular Mirage and listen
Paragons of Mirage is miserable to watch. It's painful like it should be used in a torture chamber. It's terrible
Why aren't you allowed? Why are you taking it out? Aurora was supposed to ban it
It's a why are you going to overpass bro like it feel it. Yeah, it's a tricky one because now
Aurora we're going into this with very limited like tape on
On pair vision on two of these maps like there's you know, literally three maps in total that they can look at and be like
Okay, how are they playing so it is just gonna be about
individuals showing up and I think Anubis is our must win this this is like
their their bread and butter they love this map to death they loved it before
Walks it was super happy when it came back yeah it went out it kind of nerfed
them for season two seasons there and now it's back in the pool I think they're
super happy the biggest problem is a lot of teams don't play it so they don't
get to really flex it that much they've been playing it only against the best
teams in the world so their win rates are not that that great but I think this
This feels like a really, really good situation for them, especially Dust2 is also a good map for Aurora, so all of these maps are just great for them.
So are we leaning on the fact that this Vidor does feed in the favor of Aurora?
Or is it scary to say because we don't actually know what Paravision is going to do on this game?
No, it does favor Aurora.
Favors, but it's also just like if they lose this, then what the hell?
If it goes to map number 3, it's a total coin.
It's going to be fun. I like whatever attitude we had here. I can't even figure out where it goes.
There you are, the Schizophrenic Disc, that's how we'll go. Harry and Hugo are ready to take over from us.
Ah yes, that we are, and what a nice little series we have in front of us Hugo. Aurora vs Paravision on Anubis, you and I very rarely get to look at this map.
Yeah, I don't think we've done Anubis since the last time these two teams played each other on it, it's been a while, so let's get crazy.
Harry, as we have a quick rush towards his B-bomb site, who's faster? Aurora, Alphie, Mane, or ParaVision? They're gonna storm the site.
Oh my god, and they are really swarming, man. This is brutal.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
S-HOLD YOUR HORSES!
Oh, no!
Cardi has answered back as well! The dual barrettas getting the job done!
This was a 5B2 for ParaVision! Don't give this away!
We're cardio
Think down range on a jane this puts a lot of pressure on no it'll be the guy to secure this pistol round
for a four paravision
I'm scared
As you should be you count down swinging together
Cardiac losing in
HP on jave to be fine
Wiccardia seals the deal.
Him and Ventarez all five between them on the dual barrettas.
Oh, that's just despicable coming through con to trying to clear that player
before they put the bomb down.
If you think two's enough, apparently not.
Ventarez cuts heads off.
That third player hesitates, and that's really a cop blame.
I mean, he wants a teammate to trade, but then Wiccardia picks off Zelo
and Aurora with a 2v5.
To be fair, the Juleys, they're the only overpowered gun that I never want nerfed.
I like them just the way they are.
5-7 busted.
Juleys, they're fine.
That's a crazy round to win though.
No business, and yeah, I would go over my notes too.
James looking so stoic he's frozen.
It's a paravision taking a breather here.
For a second, I thought...
Hey, bro, the cameras were working that whole time.
It's just how little they're moving.
Oh, there's a case in the background.
You can see their lips moving in the background.
Dude, T-Rexes would never hurt James.
They only see via movement, right?
Or is that just a lie?
I think that's a lie.
Were you around?
No.
Exactly.
How do you prove that? How do you know dinosaurs weren't covered in feathers?
You can't prove it.
No, I... weren't they? I thought the whole thing was that they were.
Exactly! How do you know they were?
Well, look, from T-Rex's to T's getting wrecked, that's what happened in the pistol round.
Is it a stretch?
It's...
It's the same two words.
Okay, fine. I'll allow it.
Really coming for me to work stuff.
Now in the dinosaur stuff didn't like the joke you thought jaymond frozen
Nothing in this one frozen
Well, they did let that 5v2 go there's another that's true. Yeah
It's frozen Jake let it go. Oh
Oh, come on, man. Sorry, dude. It's all good around the kid. No, that's fair
Yet here we are Hugo to offer Aurora guns coming out for paravision
The last time we saw these squads go head-to-head Jim kind of told the guys look
We'll start playing next map
The Paravision have actually had some good victories here on an UBIS since that point
Yeah, they're coupled though. I mean, this map really doesn't come up as of late, you know.
When it was in the pool the first time, it was popular. Everybody liked it.
Top team's handshaking on a third map. But these days, we don't get much in UBIS.
Paravision. Find a player though, right? Saw them at Krakow beat Narvi,
who took down Spirit and Roller down. They got a track record here on the UBIS.
just not that much experience. Aurora, this was always a classic for them at
one point the best team in the world on this very map, but that was some time ago.
And the desk doubting Aurora, Harry you're still high on them. Well, no. Oh
Oh, okay, you're walking it back?
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
In my opinion, you know, they're actually like,
in terms of where they sit in the rank,
and they're at a little peak right now, man.
A good place, yeah.
And on top of that,
I think they get swings under their belt in playoffs.
That's a good thing for this team.
I like the optimism.
Right now they're gonna need it.
Three on five, pressure on this B-side.
Bob was rotating.
You can't leave, James.
You got 20 seconds, my friend.
Into this stack, they go.
Aurora are all here.
Uh-oh.
They're going into the crossfires at Perez.
We're going to get away with the multi-kill, but the bomb was dropped there on that spare
matter with Cardi.
On it.
It was seconds to spare.
Oh, it's close.
He won't follow up on a Belchonok.
And now the Dooli is firing back.
No way!
Oh, Cardi!
Ah!
Three on play.
God, Cardi!
A moment right there.
Open the door!
Brows away the primary onto the dual barrettas and it's another clutch forward cardier with those damn doleys!
Wikipedia, reading in weak paravision a 3 on 5, a 1v3 and another ludicous loss here for the paravision boys.
That's actually a 1v4 pre-plant.
My god, my god, Wikipedia again. I got his name wrong.
How does he keep doing it?
These Juleys, I don't know, maybe they are busted, who knows.
Full guy, just wrecking game.
He knows he did a great job.
Actually, he's done a great job twice.
This team's alive and well right now.
These are CT rounds, these are so hard to come by, and Aurora are
shlacking Paravision when it matters.
Cardius 7 and 0 and he's pulled off two monumental clutches.
Don't worry man, there's the rifles.
5-7 who?
Paravision, some desperate situations that you could see
get problematic before they even happen.
Give them a few more rounds, let them warm up because
because a little bit sharper and none of these go down.
Paravision. Gonna have to hit hard here.
Going full in on an A-flame. Cardi, you're up in heaven.
Ah, Woxic. AWP pulls up to the party. Hits it.
Oh, hell of a sequence!
Alright, James, try to have a moment of his own.
That's clean stuff on the Galil, but he's still got two more to deal with.
Ah.
Well, I'm down, but in they come,
Jane, big ass kid, trying to have a clutch,
finally go the way of paravision,
but it won't come through.
I think we're in the recording, bro, this is so over.
You don't recover.
Any other team and maybe,
but I'm never going to count paravision
out for four rounds.
That's crazy.
In this one instance, you should.
Okay, I mean, this is the best case.
Bro, they lost a...
I nearly said bad words there.
Yeah.
They lost a what?
1v3 in the pistol and it was a 5v2 and then a 1v4 post blood.
I think the pistol was 1v2, but yeah, the next one was 1v4.
Look, yeah, it's paravision. They've got steel mental, but at the same time,
I think what's exciting is Aurora, who we often see emo, we often see tilt.
You can't be emo right now.
Exactly. We just see everyone feeling good. They're laughing their way to these rounds.
Woxid just runs through that that camera Molly and find a triple orpacill. I think everyone's now got a lot of faith coming into this game
So that's a it's a mental battle now as well as counter strike
It's not just parrots are trying to fight the demons in their head. It's Aurora who are on a high and
That's nice. You don't get that every day
So
Everything's going right for Aurora. What could go wrong?
And I say that's empty fate, but can I? I don't think so.
Bang a beginning to this first map of the series.
Do we get on the harder half?
Zataris keeps going here, but we haven't seen mid control for Paravision, so they get to
no.
We're about to find out.
Who's getting the highlight next?
That's what they're asking themselves right now.
Oh, timing not great for Zantares.
Lasting the creep on up, and they're actually down towards Darknought a way quicker timing than you'd be ready for.
I am still outside of A here, and well, we can't hear it scared of anyone right now, so he's playing around this smoke in main.
The contact's gonna come the way of Magi down here in the dark position.
He might let them past.
Oh my.
Oh my.
Jesus, I'm basically going to get right past him.
But as long as you've told Soulfly that this could happen,
it should be no problem.
Dolcanok, one to the dome, nearly dies in their own molly.
Hey, Domi's here.
Main split coming in for the rest of Paravision.
Two players from this side, and Soulfly can't finish the job.
All right, looking at Zantares now.
Be the guy to put a bow on this round.
He's got support every step of the way.
Wakadia, top of the charts, crazy clutches, and Tara's nade will seal the deal.
Jame, another clutch attempt, first shot is convincing, but time is his enemy.
In addition, all these damn enemies.
It was a 1 on 3, now 1v2, but bomb dropped out in the open, 10 seconds left.
No reason here for Wakadia to give him a fight from behind the site, and there's no winning
this for Jame anymore.
I'm gonna just say this like the thing I think you know why I'm being so bullish right now
I don't like it's not buying into the whole comeback thing is when you think about power vision
I know they have great mental one of the things that made this team stand out was they're really strong fundamentals their trades right that was something
We went when they were kind of peeking in around the major and the events that followed you were you were saying like the fundamentals are so good
They had the best trade percentages out of any of the top teams
No.
Losing the rounds they have are not the rounds this team is supposed to lose.
It's very fair.
Paravision, will they get frustrated?
If this was Falcons, you wouldn't be surprised.
Okay, sure.
But...
Yeah, that's a fair point.
That's a fair point.
We'll see.
Paravision, just look, you've got to walk right through a round, going for a peepop here,
into a four-man hole, and come quick through the water, hiding out behind the smoke, so
He's getting his time wasted here, but his team are patient, as every time Paravis are pushing to that connector, they get their heads lobbed off.
The 1v4 for Jayme, again as he's left in another impossible clutch, and even though he has timing, Elevator surprise, that only lasts so long.
Aurora are everywhere on the site, and Wakadia is always in the right place.
I'm feeling like I've got a hot hands man, I'm just kind of feeling it, everything's going right. That's Wakadia right now.
I'm less worried about all the Paravision Mentor and all of this than I am about the Aurora Hot Hand Syndrome.
I think they're feeling invincible right now.
Dude, look at these fights down in Connector.
Every time Paravision have tried to enter this part of the map, they have just been destroyed, no matter which side they're coming from.
So yeah, second time out from Dastan in just six rounds, fair enough.
the other thing that's a just a huge help right now is I don't necessarily think, you know,
obviously all the flashy moments have kind of belonged to Wakadia, but he's not even top of
the board right now. That belongs to Zantara's who's just kind of been putting in this really,
really solid 9-to-5 shift over to wards B where he's always good for a multi-kill. Every time
they've tried to come towards his side of the map, he'll deal with the dark push. He'll deal with
the guys coming in through main. It's been no problem. So this is kind of the dream scoreboard
right now for Aurora. You've got Zantares getting Maltese, you've got Waccardia dominating
in clutches.
Hey, respect the Waxing Triple Kill on the ace.
Oh, I do.
Magi with a thinking man's move coming through that con smoke. I mean, we're seeing all these
little moves from Aurora. Zantares hasn't even been spotted in window yet. Paravision,
they are a team to be fair, but don't really touch middle on this map. We don't see them
go for mid control. Aurora on the opposite. Okay, humbled finally. This way, getting an
opening kill, and it's in a bit of a downtime. Paravishan get to breathe, talk about how
they want to use this. 5v4. Wokse can't hang around mid forever. This is a lot of resources
on a part of the map that has not been tested. This angle for Xantaras might finally pay
off, but he's looking forward, and he finds that shot. Three on five. Look, if they lose
this round the game is over okay I agree with you there because there's no one in
a there might be about to be people in a you can't you physically can't lose this
round it's impossible let's see
while we're cardio lives there is hope okay sure they're just kind of standing
around right now yeah yeah but it's way searching bees looking for an entry is
He's trying to draw a play out of that.
What, so you're going to rotate past the triple stack in mid with the bomb to go back B?
Well, look at this.
Where Aurora are also going?
They're going B, they're going B.
Alright, Matt just got a great timing, and so does Woxic and so does Wakadia.
But they've lost the beast there.
They hear them now.
Stop selling this, I'm not buying.
Oh god, I'm buying it now.
Alright.
It's on discount.
Felicianock dead first, you at least now know that there's this presence back in May, and so...
...Aravision gonna be able to block off the angle...
Phew!
...and Aurora will not give this one a go!
They're about to go...
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
James dead!
I really want them to recommit!
Yeah, it's too far away though.
No, wait, they're sending toot now.
They're gonna be getting exits.
I had sure.
There's no time.
Is he gonna...
Could he?
Is he gonna...
Oh no, it gets...
Oh, okay.
Of all teams, I respect that match.
I feel that, yeah.
It's a good try.
It's a very good try.
Paravision, I'm not letting it happen, though.
It's the kind of game where you've got to give it a go.
Yeah, because every other crazy round you've won.
Oh, what a fun match.
I knew this would deliver, Hugo. This is good.
Paravisioner on the board, round seven.
is where they finally break this street.
Okay, genuinely though, like, do you have any hope in them winning this game right now?
Are you still all out on them? Because this would be so paravision to recover this match.
No.
Okay.
I'll remember that.
Counter-Strike comes in quick!
A lot of control here.
Turkish side pushed into water.
Haja holding rugs, stairs re-spoke.
He dropped him with a flash and went off.
Thanks Haja, he just goes back in for more.
Haja feeling very confident right now.
Waxing won't take a second.
And 4v2, the early move of Paravision, shut down.
Gap is able, Waxix holding pixel angle here in towards the camera, so he'll at least spot
them on the cross.
There's the info.
He now knows they're coming his way, gets eyes on the camera, with Jane gone, his way tries to go back and fight that AWP.
Quick today, you're not getting past him.
I like that as well. Pixelgab, he's holding for a close peek, but he lets the first player go, because it's a very quick shot,
and then he gets to take a wider angle to kill the second guy.
Paravision feels safe now, not.
And Magic is up to conform this year, it's an excellent...
B-Killer, Matcha. C-Zantara's at the wall, it's mid, so you're going to try and pick up the pace, right? Get past Soulfly, who hasn't really contributed a lot to this game.
me at right be feels like the way in for power vision how was the bomb solo
running in on no time 4v3 post plant and rotates a long way away for Aurora just
gonna be a save yeah you need these guns though not yeah right but like if
you're gonna give it up make sure you don't lose the lurkers you know I think
boys have lurkers you know it would be very easy to sit here and say I but they
They've won all these crazy clutch rounds and it's like, yeah.
Oh.
You know, it's kind of...
I imagine...
Oh my god.
I imagine it's like, it's always tempting to try and go for a round like this.
It's probably in your head too, if you're Aurora, the idea that think about all the clutches
Wakadia's had.
Like, we could do this, but they're just playing the long game, right?
Likely for the reasons you've been talking about with Karavish and the idea that they
never, like, down and out, they always have that ability to come back.
And so, while you've got plenty of money, keep it that way with these early saves, don't
attempt these desperate rounds where you're mega out of position, Aurora, still fine in
terms of the cash, they'll get all the guns out, they save on three.
And you can probably compete for the rest of the half here, there's probably no more
saves right, unless you're in a really unwinnable position like, you know, 3v4 you can go now.
Yeah, exactly, yeah, you've kind of bought yourself the ability to go for those clutch
attempts in these final couple of rounds.
Paravision never gonna have to be able to let that foot off the gas here.
Oh, Jane got legged on that peak.
Foxy's all.
Spikes, Jane.
So, Paravision pulled back.
Jane resets, looking to avoid utility.
Santaris, I'm shocked this has been seen only once.
He starts every round in his position.
He definitely is the pressure point. This is a temple smoke from the middle.
Paravision trying to fake some mid control, make it look like an A-split. We'll see if I roll a full for anything.
That may they keep throwing. Also doesn't touch our cars. There's that mid smoke. The rollage is peaked mid though.
They just swung bridge so not too much fear right now gonna start to rotate back mancher. Oh leaning a Santas is getting activated in middle
He just peeled out the window went in deep cleared mid. I wonder if he was gonna try and make a move
No, it's about to be a sight
All right
So fly burnt out
Wow
And what a block with one of his own
He's trading this UTEL out at Main and now playing a slow down Power Vizion at this point.
Not a guessing game where this round is ending up.
20 seconds left on the push, you need these entries.
Zataris mow down him and Woxic.
That would have thinned the herd.
Power Vizion realized now they're walking into this full-on stack and with Woxic and Zataris hitting this hard.
No, it can't do a thing.
Dude, I love that from Zataris.
I think so many other games you just see him swing Main into the orb.
James is banking on it there with the AWP, just holding what his team's scale up.
Because Antares knows who he's playing against.
There's 15 seconds.
He hides out behind default, giving Paravision absolutely nothing to work with.
And what excellent utility from Self-Life.
Yeah, he's not been a star player in this game, but, you know, he's found his one every now and then.
And for the most part, just been buying so much time with utility.
That's a great example.
Dude, also, like, I don't know, the three horsemen of the apocalypse are here for Aurora, man.
You've got Santaris 14 and 7.
Wokati has died once in addition to all those clutches.
He's 11 and 1.
And Woksik, big beam in smile because he's having one of these games or he just can't miss.
Very happy to miss.
This is, and again, they take water, they put three players up.
They can even leave Wokati at any point.
and I feel like he's still gonna be good for a couple of kills here.
So Aurora...
firmly in place here down in water.
We'll call it anti-flash.
Self-light, nice shot.
And then they block, they say, you can't trade this.
Remoly, they are wasting so much time.
And for a team that's so good with a clock like Paravision,
it's not felt like that this game this hasn't been their decision
the door slammed in her face round after round okay aggressive replay with the
flash oh the flash missed
They've still got 20 seconds to make this site hit work.
Aurora know exactly what they're up against, they've been holding onto all this util till
so late in the round.
One kill for Maga down in lower, it's all fly this time, able to do something in defensive
B as Antares arrives as well.
There's no time left in this one for ParaVision.
It's a mix of Aurora playing very aggressive at the start and also still pulling back to
hold Util for the bomb sites, right?
Just the fact that they're throwing flashes, mollies, there's smokes fading at 18 seconds
down in Khan.
It's every factor put together to delay ParaVision, making these rounds extremely uncomfortable.
Because you're going to, you know, if ParaVision have 40 seconds on a site here, you're going
to get itchy.
You're going to re-swing.
to be standing still, but there's the precious knot there on Aurora. There's 15 seconds on
these sight hits. They don't have to peek. You keep seeing them when Paravision in B,
keep seeing Aurora just retuck because they know they don't have to take the fight. This
is really good understanding today of what Aurora played against. Just a perfect game
plan. And when you add in those two massive early clutches at the start of this game,
it makes it just feel unstoppable. Finally, Zantara is a bit of value from this position,
but it's 9-2, boys. Everything's working.
I can still a good chunk of you till here in the minute mark final smokeout for Aurora
but only on magic good to try and throw the timing off for the dark play since in early
this is the least you till they've had at this amount of time on the clock and only
B2B Aurora gambling and they're gambling wrong this round so this might be a way in but guns still on great
Here's the first steps again. It's just this B place
Well magic thought soul fly was covering
The laps and communication they are over towards the B site so a post plot for two low players
So fly kind of let him down in that one now they just go for it because they have to
I haven't spotted this player out on the platform.
Lord Jane was gonna maybe swing on the back of these flashes, we'll eventually get it coming through.
Dink on a Wakadia brings him down low.
Waxix had to trade off that AWP onto the rifle, a test of his rifling talent now.
Opened his baits of swing, Waxix gets one, spotted the player down here in dark,
but with no us securing that kill on Wakadia, it's close,
close, but no, not gonna happen, Paravision will secure three.
Yeah, I think so.
I kind of lost the round though there, right?
Not only not covering Madge, which is fine, but when he
repeats, he fully whiffs like he needs that kill.
Suddenly, it's a 3v3.
He can live, play back side with the retake, but kind of gives it up.
And instead, Paravision breakthrough with a third, not the end of the world.
In fact, far from it, when you consider this is a typically T-sided map, this game may be a little bit different, but Aurora making mincemeat out of the Jamelet squad, I'm just shocked at those early six rounds.
Well, yeah, I mean, also, I think there's a number of things that are frustrating about that final round of the half for Aurora.
It's like they also just expected Jane would change things, you know, like they let into the AAA.
They dumped a lot more there.
You tell at the start thinking like, surely there was going to be a pace change,
maybe something a little bit quicker out of ParaVision.
Yeah. What was that? Two rounds on A in the entire half.
Yeah. Also ParaVision.
And I think that frustrates you a little, because it's like, damn, we kind of gave him too much respect.
We thought Jame would vary the game plan a little bit, but he didn't.
Well, I think they're going to be okay with it.
Yeah.
9-3.
If they win the pistol, the map should belong to them.
Fall armor except for Xelo.
Smoke kit.
And only one belt of utility here for Maga.
So fly out on a beat with this smoke bomb.
And a painfully patient pistol.
I'm not sure what's going on.
James.
Once we certain they're taking middle.
Can't hit the headshot when he's jumping.
Right.
Okay, he sees the bomb, sees three, gets out.
Look at this gamble right now for paravision.
Try me.
I'm looking right in the gamble.
Well, not gonna be jumpin' the corners anymore, Jame.
Wanted the dome.
How much you pull them in?
It is gonna pull them towards this stack.
Smoke down over towards Temple.
They definitely these two players out of the water out of the fountain.
Still the kills right now belong to Aurora.
Flies under the radar.
Can't get out with anything else.
Three kills and they're still down a man.
That's why he arrives a little bit later, needs the clean tap on Santares, he doesn't
hang around to face him.
They know that if they win this round the map is almost a lock in for Aurora and so they
peel back, face him together, pistol round secured, they walk into a format A stack and
they get out pretty darn clean.
They do indeed, that is only your triple kill for Nota, no one else puts on a frag in that
round for Paravision.
USBs can be a thing or beast for sure, but that's not like blind players or anything,
that's just a roar trading out really well. Manpower on that split. And you had a force
Life in Paris and felt like an assurance here.
Bastard made.
Belgium could have smoked down 5'7", but they jumped in.
That's a nice trade set up here for Santoris.
Storming this site.
Does they run a gun, good flash?
Well, Aurora, slow it down.
It's kind of awkward here, kind of stalling out,
but Woxlik has provided the escape route.
I don't think you would he has to clear temple then he's gonna hit these rotates that's like
yeah you know you won't be expecting this I kind of like this move he's pushed all the
way in a seat here's them coming because they're running the whole way you don't anticipate
anyone that deep he gets his two and that's round over oh don't jump the gun but yeah
So, in Torres lives, Nota has been the one reliable player.
Name there's something here, but that Molly is a middle finger,
and that Famas feels tempting for the save.
He's also getting re-wrapped.
Nota reads it, but he can't wait forever, so now walks it with the...
Oh, you're kidding!
He can't catch a break!
Surprise, surprise, but you're not getting out of here alive!
What a round from Woxic, 19 and 5. Now he's the top of the server.
It is that triple threat, Harry.
Yeah.
20 and 5.
One more for Woxic.
Talk about making money too, my god. 4 kills on the Mach 10, love that.
This is over.
Respect Paravision, but at the same time, just go Dust2.
Are they paying you or something?
For respecting them?
Yeah!
No, I just respect this team, Harry!
Just they've lost, I just said it's over!
Yeah, okay.
They do deserve all respect.
They do, yeah.
For the three rounds.
That was a great three rounds.
Alright, a little B-play for Aurora.
Cancel. Just cancel. It's okay.
You're allowed to.
I
Okay
They're walking it.
Olly.
Out of the cubby goes away.
He is stuck behind the site.
Go for making it look like you're trying to go slow and contact and draw the fights out
to suddenly have players rushing through on a flash.
Looks like they did use all that big money he made to bring out the AWP and they've not
been able to deal with this throughout the entirety of Anubis.
Well, they dealt with it there, didn't they?
But getting past Sulfly here is still easier said than done.
James doesn't look entirely aware, but Sulfly walks in.
And this might just be the temptation of saving the North right now, because Belginox on A,
fighting Maga for some reason.
That's a fight that's going on, and this round is done.
James waiting for that Orp to get blown his way.
Look out the map.
okay that's on cam
it's weird it's right down for the take
psych you thought
good knowledge there right knowing what James like
knowing how his brain works that he's going to try and extract maximum
value with cardio on the good idea big spawn wrap
it is a good idea you gotta extract maximum value all the time
what are you doing if not
I agree
I agree
12-3 Harry, another buy, another try
Is this where you remind us of Paravision's Steely Mental?
Paravision are a strong team
Yeah, they are
Just not right this second
I feel for the man
Those two rounds would have broken me
But Harry, when you're least expected...
We had like number one Aurora fan and biggest paravision apologist
passing alongside each other.
When you're least expected to come back, that's when it hits.
Like how could they win from this position? Just watch.
I'm watching.
It feels impossible.
I was watching Hugo.
Now take responsibility.
And leave.
It's Aurora looking to run away with an UBIS.
And it's not even close for Belchinoch in a strong position here
Ignore the nades
Dodges a flash and now this comeback is on his back on the menu double kill from Belchinoch
Santar is creeping away Zelo is being flanked as well
But he might have the big man up in campus
He is the flight magic gives it up and suddenly you said this was done. You weren't paying attention
Well, it's Santarez in this clutch and he is not Mr. B. Clutches have all belonged to Aurora finally one doesn't come through for him
I'm right when you're ready to write off paravision. That's when they give you the first round of their half
Up to four now Harry
One step in the right direction
It's never too late
Yeah, if this happens, I'm gonna look like a genius
Don't worry
Let's see, paravision they've gone up, they've got four rifles, Arora don't have a lot of
money, but they still bring out guns, let's see what kind of a round they give us here
with a couple of limitations, early cross with numbers over towards A, are they just
It's gonna run a set piece, feels like it.
Jane waiting on the line.
I'll connect on to her, so easy opener.
Oh, what a shot from the Soulfly!
It pulls after one.
Meltron, I'm just trying to survive this corner here.
It's getting dunked on right now by Nades.
There's a lurk in the middle.
I had to wait until the time to strike.
Now would be time, and then Zwei turns around, so, for the two, no clutch antics today, unless Waxit can put this AK to use.
No, not happening. Zwei triple nice-holders first impactful round of the game, it feels like...
Paravision onto five.
Gotta acknowledge that was actually a really nice round out of Paravision.
Oh, now suddenly...
Well, no, I'm not saying, you know...
I'm just saying, like, that was sharp.
I'm just respected them as you wanted that's good. You should respect them
To care player
It's got to be bad for your knees, you know, jumping window like that.
Imagine you were...
It's how you're checking a corner.
That would hurt.
Where am I meant to go with that, Hugo?
No, that's fair.
I'll give you that.
So, this game's not very realistic.
No, that's fair.
I'll give you that.
So, this game's not very realistic.
No, that's fair.
Although they did make it now that your magazines disappear, obviously, that's nice, right?
Like when you reload.
That's reasonable.
Don't think that was the reason they did it.
So they're making it more realistic, which is really what matters.
I'm not sure about it.
They're gonna add food.
You have to eat and drink.
You have to eat and drink.
You live like more than three rounds.
Yeah.
You need a bathroom, right?
Exactly.
Like, you have, like, a 1 in 10 chance of spawning with, like,
I don't know, some type of, like, blindness and no, actual blindness.
That's not realistic, Stance.
It is.
I'm sorry.
It's, like, I mean, I mean, I mean, like, you know, just eye problems.
Okay.
Like, what's, what's the word?
I don't remember.
Well, no eye problems here for Paris, and they shut that down in a second.
no idea
harry
mm-hmm it's a six round game
how very interesting you go
it's six rounds in the game version of the game you're watching my my phone it's twelve
who built it?
we'll never know
maybe they built it so aliens can come
we'll hang out
Yeah, sick parties in the pyramids like that.
Alright, Aurora gonna go a bit faster here.
This is a straight contact under the window, imagine E-Tact grenades are gonna boost that Taurus up, I like it.
Let's get weird.
Xelo walks in, oh ho, lucky to be alive!
We're really taking that stat point, these Taurus, dangerous!
Ooh, no TAR punished!
They not worth it, and now Aurora attempting to go for a site hit.
Good flash, there could be a problem for Belchanoch.
But they walk away.
Uh oh, he needs something.
Well, this is done.
So he lives nearby, but how much can he help?
Belchanoch?
He's not walking away, he gets players with their backs turned.
And they've got the opener and that is the red carpet Zelo hangs around trying to fight this
first kill secured
Backstab connects on his way
So fly up at a turnaround and deal with it. Are they ready for James?
Oh my goodness he's stuck in a corner with the orb, but as they sneak his way that kills free
He's trapped
But this is Jane
They're both grouping up as well
Nice shot from Jane damn they bail themselves out 3v4
down and they break Aurora's money again, putting them back to just lost bonus here, Harry.
See, luckily I bought in on this early, and that overtime is sounding tasty right now.
Five rounds of difference.
Dan, you're gonna look like a right ass.
No, bro. Real bull knows no, that Aurora winning round 24.
That's fair.
That's also not true, by the way.
They have to win really soon actually.
That's fine, there's plenty of chances.
Plenty of chances.
Yeah, a whole five rounds.
Speaking so confidently.
Thank you.
Because, let me just get this clear.
Because Paravision won two rounds in a row.
For the first time in the entire series.
Your confidence is peaking.
Using the word series?
Sorry, I mean maps.
I mean maps.
I just said the wrong word
Okay, this could this could be it this could be a rora
Good surprise surprise through camera Molly Belcher not spraying getting crazy
We're cardiac or he pushed up in pain. How does he get to shot of the back magic doesn't finish the job?
Whoa to be a 3v3 now
Yes, I'm sorry let's get close
Back 10 tears through as an AK on Soulfly
Belchard's been a big problem over here in May and they're trying to peek him together right now
They're gonna deal with one of these guys or else it's gonna feel real claustrophobic left as Antares in the clutch
Both players are paravision tagged up
Antares he's just been putting in multi kills hasn't had to be the one delivering in these clutches. How will he fair?
That's a nice one and there's the close. No issues. No choke Aurora 13 7 domination on a new bus
I didn't make jokes about over time. The truth is Aurora didn't dominate a new bus
That was that was a fun game from them. It was fun fun game Aurora
Hey, hey, it was it was a good game. It was a great game started super high intensity
Clutches Wikipedia putting like the you know put it putting in the work
Putting in the work, best third player, I call him personally, this is my name.
I just followed him on Twitter, yet today, I realize I wasn't even following him,
even though I'm typing him off all the time, but great, great CT side.
T side, I think they're also in really good positions with Pyramids, and with Pyramids in it.
I mean, two guys riding with a very smart man, they're really hard to put away.
Those Pyramids and Obelisks in Egypt could summon five aliens,
and they could probably put together a better T side on a Novus, that Paravision that right there.
Oh, that is... Wow, that was cool.
You don't think they're like aliens are smart?
For me, this kind of compliments, you know?
I'm sure it's smart, but I don't think they know what counts.
If they can fly to Earth, I feel like they can also put a really, really good T-Side.
That being said, they didn't really do much.
Sure, man. If humans are smart, can they climb trees like monkeys? No, they can't.
We did. Okay, I'm gonna stop you there, boys.
They can.
Life monkey.
ADHD brains. Focus, focus on the game.
But, hear me out, we kind of knew this was going to happen with Paravision though.
We haven't seen it show this in the internet.
Not in this fashion.
It's going to be this bad.
I mean, this is literally their map.
They love this map.
Sure.
But let's talk about what Paravision didn't do as well.
I think, first credit words here, I think Aurora played phenomenal CD side, right?
But by the time of 6 and all, you're like, this one's done.
There were a couple of heroic moments that 1v3 from Wickedia comes to mind and so much
of which not be happening.
But it shouldn't be happening.
You have three players on the bomb side, you know, you have rifles.
He's got dualies, man.
And then they lose that round.
And then all the times they've never really pressured mid.
Barely ever in the first, what, 10 rounds on the T side.
And then for Aurora, all they go is for the default,
you know, the meta, Stair Smoke basically
have Zantaras in a dropping down
or fighting from the window position.
And what do Parisians do?
Just stall out.
They're looking to try and get early map control.
So by the time they're coming into the bomb sites,
firstly, they have not much utility remaining.
They don't have much time remaining.
And also just the way the waltzing in,
the spacing was off.
he was just so discombobulated and listen, looking at Dostan's face, I'll tell you this,
if there are any fans out there behind waiting for the team to come in and they asked Dostan
for a photo, he's going to be hitting a kid.
Hopefully not.
Hopefully not.
I hope you guys will take it out on the fans.
I want to say this is what we spoke about in the pre-show.
The map pool, four-pair vision, very small, actually very small and now it's starting
to get in this specific matchup, it is under fire and they just didn't have much, they didn't have
much, and it looked so easy for Aurora to keep that map control and just chill everywhere. They
just had all the information all the time, and of course it helped that Wukadia, those first two
rounds, was huge. I mean, it shouldn't happen because Wukadia is just too good. That's why I
It was really good, but also like you know, you could see we had a classic Xantharis map as well.
He was the phenomenal at Woxic, bro. I don't think he missed a singular shot with AWP.
He was looking very, very lethal. And that's what's worrying for me for Aurora heading into map number two,
because of the minuscule map pool that they do have, Dust2 is their home ground. That's their playing field.
It's a map they always go for whenever available. But that's a map that Aurora very comfortable playing as well.
Once upon a time, it used to even be their best map, actually. And that's a map that Woxic can't pop off,
can be a nuisance and if he's going to continue with this particular form alongside wakandia and
and even mashup for example he was outdoing him as well thus being a pugimab that is this could
indeed be a very quick 2-0. I mean walkstick is literally one of the best offers and thus to like
he's ever he's always always dangerous on the cross ttt side he's going to go for these fights
it's uh it's really not something uh enjoyable on the other hand great from production jame also is
Amazing on this map, but in a different way. He's like he's he's a nuisance
He's that's that's his style, but he will also go for some duels in mid
We actually might get these all head-to-heads on this map
So that's gonna be I mean Jim needs to win that out because the rest of the steam is not gonna be able to
To match what we KD and in Sant Aris has in the right wing
Department I feel for the wind condition here for power vision at least in the first half over here
And I don't think they can afford to get up to a slow start would be I feel so fly might be
kind of the weak-ish link here.
Yeah, whole fly versus way, I feel like that's where Paravision has the upper hand.
And that's where Wikipedia and Soulfly, like the way they're going to be working in tandem
over there, towards B, towards the mid-to-B position and whatnot, I think that's going
to be very, very pivotal.
And just one thing Paravision are very good at is to force its rotations out and kind
of try and potentially isolate Soulfly, keep him in a very uncomfortable spot, and just
abuse and leave on site.
Can Paravision equalize this series?
I mean, they can. I'm not writing it off fully. Obviously, this is the Aurora that we wanted to see from day one, right?
As you mentioned, the big three of Wickedia, Woxic and Zantaris actually firing.
This is the... when we think of like a good Aurora, this is what we have on the CT side also.
Having some nice setups, they have some like little tricks, but mostly just having the fundamentals down and some individual pop-up moments.
That's kind of what they play around, not over-complicating anything.
So if we got that on the map one, I'm I'm confident that they can bring it to map two and just close it out to
Oh, but paravision you can't you can't write them off
I think on Dust2 they also showed a lot this year that they can be faster than older Jame teams
They can they can just hit the bomb site, you know
Just walking to be at 140 or whatever and it got someone off guard when when these things get rolling
We saw even in the second half here how many rounds were where I wasn't in an advantage and then just like
you know an over peak or a bit of a whiff spray and suddenly you're losing
the round and this little comeback is kind of starting to build back up and
you can't really allow that and I think you know Aurora would be super
disappointed if after like this kind of a start they would just start stalling
out on dust. Yeah I mean I'm really crunching numbers but how many times
have we seen Power Vision win or lose a series to an old or two right so I
could very well see this going to map number three. In fact I kind of do want
see to go to map number three because we did say right should have been mirage
with a punish pick overpassed I don't want to see overpassed away but also
kind of do because I maybe have a masochist who knows okay so when we're
taking a look at dust tuna if Aurora wants to close this one out what do
they need to do okay so I mean disrupt disrupt is what I would say yeah yeah
Yeah, and again, not overcomplicate, usually the side hits are pretty good for them, and
just isolate, you know, the rifler avoids way as much as possible.
I think he is like for his position on the CT side, for example, you know, a standout
player playing A long, but finding so much impact there, and being a guy that can just
hold long on his own sometimes, which is even when the opponent is going to send out two
or three players, he can like get a positive trade there, which he shouldn't be able to
do.
the area to avoid or try to manipulate in the rotations, and other than that, I feel
like they really do have open hands about where they want to go.
I feel like for them, they're going to be starting to see the side over there, because
there is dust on his man's map, they're coming in.
I feel that T-Sides can sometimes completely crumble, right?
Maja's calling Canby Lilly iffy at times, so when we start on the CT side, for me, it's
about get those seven, eight rounds right there, I think you've done your job then.
There we go.
heard it from our analysts and now we'll find out if they are correct we are
moving into the second map of our first series of the day here at PGL Astana
but first a quick break.
I won't do anymore.
What's going on?
The human body was built to move, not to rather to desk in one singular posture for 12 hours
a day.
It's time your share evolved.
This is Secret Lab Titan Evo.
Ergonomically engineered for you.
Gamers.
Hybrid workers.
Artists.
Back in your every move.
We are here in Astana in Kazakhstan.
Dastan, you're home for an event. This is a great feeling. Are you from Astana or are
you from Almaty or somewhere else? I'm originally born from Kizilardar. It's
city from south of Kazakhstan but most of my life I live in Almaty. So tell me,
obviously you're not playing, you're coaching right? But you still get a more
special feeling like what what is going through your mind where you're on billboards you're on
big billboards outside in the city your face yes like that's crazy yes i didn't see from my eyes
okay i don't know my feelings is first of all the people around in hotel are same like niko walking
But when I go outside, when I see the young school boys walking and asking Dastan to sign, it makes the feeling different.
Ten years ago, when Gambit won the Major, it was a fun meeting. It was in Astana. It was crazy.
And security can't hold the people and it wasn't.
Okay, we're going to need to get extra security if Hobbits come in, but I also need to talk a bit about
power vision and where you guys are at because
beginning of the year
champions last but not the finals right crack out an early exit where we understand you guys were tired
It would been the grind going on
Clues in a poker second place
Rotterdam top four we can take that as a positive right
But then Bucharest where I think many people expected you guys to do
better probably win that tournament you were favorites it didn't come together
what is happening in your eyes with the difference between the team of this up
and down like the inconsistencies you have I think when distance is increasing
you you find your original level it's like as I said in Bucharest I hope
Xiello, Nota, Belchonok, they should play better because they have more experience but the level
is increasing right now. That's what I'm worrying. Even before this tournament, I don't know what to
expect. For me, for me, it will be nice if I go to play-off and win at least one game. Semifinal,
okay. Maybe it's not the words which coach can say. I can say, oh, we will win. It's important
No, I don't understand.
The semifinal will be nice.
Of course, if the opponent will be not like, I don't know, Spirit or Furia, I think we should win.
But there are like four or five teams that are good, and I want to be in Arena, I want to win.
But I don't want to have like extra pressure.
First of all, let's go to playoffs.
It will be already nice, because if I don't qualify, I will be sad.
But even if I lose, I don't want to show better emotions.
Yes.
So, I understand you want to make playoffs.
You'd love to win the tournament, you have a deep run.
You've been there in practice, you've been seeing what the team's been doing.
How confident are you that the team's form is better than what we saw in Bucharest right now?
I think we are better than in Bucharest, but right now I don't feel like...
In practice, it was not good.
Some, we lost a lot of practice.
When we play practice, for example, we don't play against a lot with tier 1 teams.
Yeah.
It's always...
I don't know, because maybe for us it's better because they can learn us, maybe.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're trying to hide, trying to stay.
And when we play against tier 2 teams, it's good because we're playing like an official one.
That's sometimes we're training, but we didn't play for win.
We play for practice rounds more than maybe if I win here, it will be unbelievable.
It's the feelings will be like major.
Yeah, yeah, that for you.
This could be a major.
That's for sure.
Well, good luck.
Thank you for all of your explanations.
All of your deep diving.
I always appreciate talking to you.
Lastly, I'll just let you.
Is there anything you want to say in Kazakh, if you can, to all the
Kazakh Stani fans that are watching and supporting?
I forgot to tell you that I was in the hospital for 7 weeks.
I was in the hospital for 7 weeks.
Parivison was sick. I forgot to tell you that I was in the hospital for 7 weeks.
That's all. Rahmet.
PGL Astana. That was an absolute banger from Aurora on a new bis. But now we head to ParaVision's
pick. Dust2 that puts fear in the hearts of most. Question is right now, is our ParaVision up for
the job today? Or is Aurora's life game going to continue? We had three superstar performances
across the board from Riccardia to Xantares and Waxit right there as well. And I've got to say,
Harry, that was just a joy to watch from. Yeah, yeah, it really was. You know, I think
Paravision as well. They've always been like literally the last time this series went down
and they were facing Aurora on Anubis. They kind of threw in the towel under the idea
that it's better to conserve energy looking at the rest of the series. And they went on
to win that series despite losing a new bus in a similar fashion. So you know, I think
for ParaVision, likely from the moment they lost some of those early rounds, they were
already turning their minds to the idea of Dust 2, doing this in the classic Jane fashion
across the kind of longest possible route.
Oh, that's big info. Belchance just jumped off Cat with the bomb and they saw that, so
Aurora will keep this triple B.
Matt just playing T-Sport right now.
Where else can he go?
James and Matt in a battle of brains.
Matt just moved just far away, and now he starts to run.
James heard this.
He's going to tell his team.
He's got it unlocked.
Oh, dear.
Oh, dear, oh, dear.
Well, forget the plan.
He's got to flush this one.
Matt just knows he's now getting chased, right?
If you've been spotted here and you were firing the rest of your B,
it looks like you had to go back and try and find a way out.
Oxyx here as well.
We don't want to siphon resources from that B site.
That's where Paravision were and are intending to go.
B stack would go a long way, Soulfly. It's stuck in in time.
This spot for Soulfly.
The Centaur is stuck under the car, but there's something out to connect there.
USP backplat.
Three, two overlooks Antares, getting him out with a double and Woxic a long way away
is close to distance pretty quickly all the way through spawn.
Gonna arrive on the tunnels, he's got the ocean foam.
P2K pulls up.
Bandition.
Put him down.
Nice round from Jay, man. He bailed him out every step of the way, the entry to B, the
clear a match up back in spawn and shuts down the clutch. Man, Soulfly needed one, needed
something there. It's been a rough series for Soulfly. You know, despite the wind, he
was at times the problem and I think one kill there would set him up so well for the round.
It's harder to miss them. You know, he had such a great breakout event with his team,
definitely strong to maintain that consistency. He hit one single bullet and
it was five guys running through the tunnel. It's a USB you know but yeah. Big one.
One bullet. That's not ideal. Fire in an old pack of dudes. We've got a force.
They're all fish in the barrel and all you managed to do was clip one. Those fish are
These fish got hands. These fish are moving. They're slippery.
That's evolution for you.
Do you believe it?
Offsick. Scoped up.
I'm baiting for Maga though. Like, swing me. I'm going to reload my scouts.
There's no one close to us. A sad Maga.
Nice.
I'm alive and well. He's doing great. We wish him well.
Friend of the show, Maja. He's back into that site.
Mikati's trying to cross out a B as well. Paravision on Cat.
Which is in a spot of bother.
Go Mikati, what you got? No, it's always me.
It's a box jump.
Just gonna get on out of there, running back into next.
It's the best.
He grabs the big iron on his way out.
Paravision it back. Here on map 2. There is never a doubt on Dust, of course, home map
for this squad. It's one of Rora have definitely elected to play this season though, constantly
picking it themselves, pretty much handshaking on this one. And given, you know, decent results
as well. So with Wind in their sails from Anubis, there should be anything too shocking
here. It's that third map that has a desk of establishment that has drawn a lot of questions
in this series.
Will we get there?
I just should get mollied.
Foxx just given over the scout.
Nice guy.
Uuugh!
That tar is...
Foxx looking for something in the smokes.
Oh no!
Oh!
I
Want to just see the watch
No x-ray no hard just watching jumping around in smokes. Oh, dude
That was a brain rot round. Yeah
Well, let the meat fish and get back in
Yeah, gun's out now, AWP for Woxic, and a longspawn for Jane with his AWP.
Oh, him and Woxic clash, and Jane comes out ahead.
Good realization, right, he was gonna run away, but upon picking the AWP, you know no one's probably crossed pit.
Got the whole angle, so he may as well take it.
The re-peek with no flash, and Maga picked that up and put it to use.
I'm not getting run down on being good trained for self-flight to keep this site alive.
The war is shit, oh sorry, Panavision's shit realized it's a 2-1 split.
Despite that they still woke up cats.
Centauri's is a question mark, it's magic, back on the line.
Oh, he just ate the flash.
Dangerous cool.
There's a swing out long, perfect peek for Nota. Might be the round winner. Bombs in.
Oh, there's a big plant.
It's a fly arriving over here on short, and Zantara is so dedicated.
They're interested in giving this 2 on 3 a look in.
and
say not overplaying their hands but that spot there on Belchinock has actually given Aurora
a way back in. Zelo's swing cuts down Soltfly and Centaurus.
King shot, six bullets left in the M4 and he takes that fight still. The round is lost.
Save cold.
Paradigin, continue to accrue this early lead 4-0.
Important swing there for Xelo. They have a nice set up, but the danger is they don't have any info on Kat.
So Xelo's waiting corner. Belchinox gonna swing off him, but it's when that damage comes onto Belchinox.
Xelo realizes, I need to just take this fight or they're gonna clear me together from Spawn and Kat.
So that was the most important killer that post plant.
just going out wide forcing a 1v1 and of course if he loses it puts no during
quite a predicament but it was a risk you have to take puts paravision back on
the board with a gun round 4-0 lead back to business I'd say Aurora have
cooled off from Anubis still waiting for a heroic moment we had so many back in
the first map. Maybe Zantara's on that saved M4 might be... the answer here. Otherwise MP9's.
Take that tag!
That's getting flashed through the long smoke.
Thanks for doing a good job of kind of tanking Waxix's confidence after a stellar map one.
Push again.
That's good info.
Flash pushes Waxix back further, he's not had a chance to fire a shot.
Tori's coming in, but he jumps up here James. What a peak and there's the one to punch
Catharic there for Woxic right revenge on Jay makes it happen with real style of player tag down range now as well
No is softened up
It's this little partial by very very threatening indeed Aurora in an unlikely round
I'd be about to get on the board. Paravision is split up. They're tagged on no
That was actually been left with the orb and bomb alone on short so flies fighting the inner demons selling him to peak middle
But it's 5v3 with 30 seconds of pressure really is on paravision right now
Good timing on that though. It works out. Well, Nadra is picked in the meantime
I'm getting that bomb on cat is a big
I can't
Woxic just lived there and got the tag right softened him up somehow left the way to car round cooked
And so Aurora low econ round no problem
It's one way to get in it comes off of the back of centaurs and Woxic
With two early kills and then all of Paravision is split up in their default. No one has to trade
How did they get him after time as well?
So, power vision plucked apart one by one.
timeout for paravision.
It looks like there's a spillage there Hugo, did you see that?
I was just checking.
Did you catch that?
No, what happened?
a spillage. Oh dear. How bad? Pretty, pretty rough actually. Pretty bad. There's a little
wet patch on the mouse pad. Nobody wants that. You know, Santa is the borrower's hand towel.
Oh dude, he tried to crack open a beverage. Yeah. A carbonated beverage. How'd that go
from no dude I know you're responding to me like this is a bit or something
this I don't know who you're talking about I don't know any of this okay who
look at your screen I'm watching who I see a raw they look fine I only caught
the end of it but I think it was either notar or belchinock have you ever
spilt liquid on your man. This is bad Hugo. This is bad man.
Okay, doesn't look like belching. No, no, then it was no
though. Okay.
I only caught the end of it.
I you see him smiling down the line, it went everywhere.
No, we are man, that's wrong. Okay, that's rough. That's
really sent me off it was I it was on the mouse pad it was on the keyboard yeah
on the keyboard okay whoa no no it was we're talking like you imagine you
imagine you've shaken up carbonated beverage yeah and then you won't like
that's how much it that that that was coming out
You saw this, with your eyes.
Clip?
What is wrong with you, bro?
Are you sure it was not a right now?
It looks like Zelo.
Oh, no, he's cracked a new one.
It's mine.
It was.
Oh, my God.
You don't like how I'm...
Why are they all drinking the same?
Everyone's sitting around.
carbonate beverages. No pressure. No pressure. We're back. We're back. Oh, oh, suddenly the
spillage isn't that bad, huh? Keyboards fine. Mouse pads fine. I feel like you've overplayed
your hand, buddy. That or no two is gliding through straight liquid on his pad right
now. James taught him how it's done.
Both players.
I thought we were about to get rained off, bro.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I thought it was over.
And then we're back.
I feel like you've exaggerated.
and you can't be trusted
if you were watching the game you're meant to be talking about
it was a pause we would have been fine
anyway here we are Aurora just got one
on the board it was a partial buy
and they still were able to find success there was a tech timeout before the tech timeout
transfer that's not a way in there was a tech
sorry so fly trying to get the practice in from the pistol
yeah okay now I see
block it Paravision just want to hit this site notice is out mid right now
No two was out, mid. Triple B, good luck!
Oh! Don't fly, that's more like it!
That's how it's done!
The practice pays off!
Massive 3k from him, double for Zantares!
You'd read from Aurora having three players just there, the whole map's quiet.
I think that's just off the fact that we've not really seen these B-Plays.
It's about time.
And not much staging U-Till on Catwalk there to make it seem like anything else.
I'm going to mission now on pistols.
Careful, that'll...
Ooh, see that's coming out low with the D-Gallon.
Hello!
Oh, what a shot!
Alright, Wakadia. Nice little sequence there with the spam connecting.
And a clean round follows. Zero rounds since the spillage.
Noticing.
I mean...
Not wrong.
But the guns are back out.
James Orb.
And yeah, Woxic has been willing to tango in middle in this game.
Off from coke on the keyboard to tango in middle.
All the soft drinks are coming out today.
smoke in. And Moxick again goes looking for that mid fight you just spoke about.
I like this angle as well. Get the full sense of security from that door smoke.
But the flash, Moxick back before it, and Aurora sets onto a setup. This will be a B-pop and so
Without Xantara's here yet, it's Paravisional's best chance to get back on the board. This is what they're best at.
Just these out of spawn B attacks, but not a lot of utility, not a lot of flashbangs here.
Might make this a little harder. That smoke's so annoying.
I don't know if it's going to stop them though. Just coming at it a few seconds later.
There's that mid to B move here for Nota. No one watching right now. All eyes on Catwalk.
Oh, fuck again!
Are you really gonna wait this?
James trying to fake catwalk with his flashes.
But here we go.
I mean, eyes right now are on middle and away from this B site for Aurora.
Flash to TF Soulfly and here comes the push, Wakadia!
One, Ccedo a retake here as the smokes fall in, on three, but infamously tricky sight to retake.
Even in these man advantages, what a Aurora got.
They're sent two players on for the tunnels lurk.
James holding for it and a convincing shot to start things off.
off. Oh, didn't even make it on the corner and James off delivers. That's it. Oxy doesn't
want to go any further. And so finally Paravision break this little streak of Aurora, converting
on a three on four post plant over towards B.
And James is so tricky with this AWP man min maxing every damn day, playing out and playing
side on that box giving you absolutely nothing until your team draw the attention. He is
a rock star. Paravision. I'm shocked they get away with that as clean as they do. Sure,
it's a man down post bomb. As you said, almost favored once that bomb was planted. But Aurora,
it felt a bit obvious, didn't it? You know, that late catwalk flash was pretty poor. And
Aurora still flushed out the mid to be player first.
I felt like they were going to be quicker on that rotate.
Not believing it with it, stared into the face.
One control now for paravision.
Oh, it doesn't really break the smoke.
Nice move.
Elchinok and his teammate out behind it,
able to punish Maga.
Just a dry walk.
Now did Aurora miss the smoke on Long or did Paravision molly it is the question.
Either way Long control there's but only for a moment they give it up and go back to B.
It's a nice move though right? Zantara's anwoxic both clearing Long.
They're in a set up. They're not pushing. They won't actually know till it's too late.
They're just kind of sitting out the 2-2 setup between A and B, and they won't go and try
and clear Long.
And once Belchnock gets that info, you're going to see Paravision speed up on Catwalk.
Alright, they really know where this one's going.
Long's clear, Belchnock's been sitting here the whole damn time.
It's a good time to play now.
25 seconds left on the clock as this push begins.
They need to do good damage.
He slows the push even further.
They need him.
Santares gets his 10 seconds left.
He's done.
Gotta go.
Oh, Oaks is dead.
Leaving this one in the final few seconds.
Santares can't stop the bomb, but...
Oh, they just... God damn it!
We're cardiac!
That's so wild! None of those shots connect, could have stopped the bomb plant!
Soulfly attempting the clutch, but with the AWP here, it should be a safe round for Paravision!
Bomb's not parking for long, gets his belchinock. We wonder where he was earlier.
Might come down to the jump shot and now Soulfly knows I'm not deep
Do it
How does we can't he's shots not killing me's right now, I know he's jump
I have no idea anything that could happen.
Belchinoch is so late.
Video games?
Yeah, Belchinoch is so late up long, right?
I don't know what read they have.
They must have a reason for that.
Look, it's 7th business game!
They're scared of the AWP or something, but,
dude, if Xantar is...
doesn't wide peek, I think he got team flashed.
If he hides default, he wins the round as well.
There were so many ways Aurora could have won,
and they still pick it up by sticking the defuse.
Belchinoch...
That's just unbelievable.
I can't, that was the weirdest round.
That was so strange.
Yeah, I feel you guys.
What the hell just happened?
This series is crazy.
I don't know who's winning.
And somehow Aurora won that round
as it felt like they were always meant to,
just in the one way that didn't feel like they were meant to.
Since what is now being referred to as this village incident as well,
things have definitely gotten clear now.
No, stop.
It's a coincidence.
They've missed us a couple of times now, Paravision.
All right, Madge, are you going to start pushing long doors now?
Like, just throwing nades.
You don't know when you're getting baited by the footsteps, so 5v5, no reason to make a play.
What a recovery story for Soulfly in this series, man.
Topping the charts right now, string of important rounds, big multi-kills, big clutches.
It's true.
B-Site has been the object of Paravision's desire though, so let's see if we have another
one.
close with the orb.
Oh, that's a really rough kiss, and the Dover at his front is friend this time.
Soulflight, hell of a fight to go and take.
And you're locked out, the pistols have done it.
Paravision, low econ round.
Just don't die here, Geoff.
Oh, he slipped it.
I'm about lower though.
Still, I don't know, this is a really hard round to win.
And they don't know it's two tech nines.
Are they going for it?
They realize they got money, it's late in the half, why not send it? Give it a go, you gotta be quick.
Great Molotov!
It's yellow, but alive, Zantara's making a window, smoke on that one.
He's gonna just try and stick it in their face.
Oh, he's right under the shot, can't get him off.
Not again! Paravision will prevail!
Belcherock, it doesn't happen twice. A nice try from Aurora. But not meant to be today.
I love that they're going for these rounds. That was chaos.
That penny maybe dropped a little too late there on the money. What a few seconds could
have done. This is the weirdest game I've ever seen. Lovin' it. I have vision, have
it in them to go 8-4 here. If they win this round they break the money completely. Four
that last round of play.
Oh my god, how are you still alive, my friend?
Double AWP feels kind of crazy.
Trappara's hounded down after the first.
Zerora looking for solutions, they seem adamant that this double AWP is here, bringing out
now in back-to-back rounds side-by-side
what's going on
could have fired there but he just switched off
notice is standing in middle
there are two ops here boys watch out
this could be one okay finally notice low James dad so he's got the orc
walk sick they won't be ready for a second one right here though that's
better all right that's why they wanted to do it there was some weirdness in
there in the beginning this way has made it out deep through the short side
Down CT.
What?
What? Where?
He was elevator.
Sure thing.
Big round here out of Aurora.
That's huge though. It stabilizes the money.
It puts Paravision on low Econ
for the last round of the half.
It stops at A4.
That's kept Aurora in this game.
Trading rounds for the last five.
And so Aurora have recovered in a huge way, and you feel like Paravision are destined to go for a B-Hit when you try to buy it.
Yeah, and you know, still a little nervous. You know you're up against the double AWP, right?
So the B-Hit becomes even more tantalising if you're Paravision.
I'm shocked it's fully open right now.
Yeah, only one guy here.
It feels like a massive oversight. You know the money is with you.
You might have double AWP on the retake.
A1S, not the gun. It's going to run dry as well. You can't kill five players.
can't kill five players can't get a single one I'm shocked what's it's a
loan oh god they've got the site
it's arriving
look hardy signature weapon in this series
Tech night his way cleaned up Zelo now takes it his turn to bat magic will get
And Paustin, down to this, captains up against each other in the clutch, and James got a smoke to play with, made it out through the double doors,
Matt just pieced it together, and that gun pickup gave it all away!
Not gonna lie!
Aurora, tie up the half!
I don't think they should be winning that round at any point, that is a zero kill hold for Soulfly on a B rush,
when Aurora are pushing top middle against Anti-Eco.
How are they winning this round?
It comes down to its way into yellow, getting stuck on each other below the window, not having prime positions in that post-plant.
Imagine, you know, it's a pretty simple clutch, it catches James, going through that smoke, knows exactly what he's up to.
But Aurora couldn't have been more out of position, and they still win the round.
I think Paravision are kicking themselves in this half.
so many opportunities slipping through their fingers that bell should not go on
be one these last couple
that stand will not be happy because this could be two and zero now Aurora make
a case for it I think we need to install the carbon monoxide detector
Because things are all going loopy and crazy in this series, bro.
St. Beeping.
In the building.
That's not ideal.
You will find salvation in the form of a pistol.
It's weird, but it's fine for Jane.
She's gonna keep Aurora honest.
Grenade could go hard right now.
They walk through?
Who's not today?
Good opening.
The rest of Aurora try and come through and it's just clean shots.
Paravision across the board it's Jane with three
What's it one B five?
Not gonna happen
They're back
They never left and that was a pretty clean round as far as they go
Five alive when all this said and done you love that checks out
Woxic loves his scouts in the second round.
Are they buying?
He's buying an over and selling it, so if I has bought Mac 10,
he's going to...
Is this live?
Yeah, is this live?
He sells it, Woxic commits.
Woxic will do this, he'll just play scout first by round.
So I'm nothing wrong with this.
I guess I'll send Glocks out first.
Oh my goodness!
It's fine!
Gonna get cleaned up here by paravision and he walks to remains.
Second attempt at the 1v5, they're giving him a lot of chances.
This highlight moment.
Oh, he hears the backstab.
Oh, the jump is brutal from his way.
round out of parry vision. No deaths yet this half.
What's it going for the Mac 10?
the
early lean over towards be
the
wall
to not
watch out
james from a smoke and then also is going to get picked up
But he's gonna watch out on this B site, not be alone, but on low health.
Jayce is going across this sharpness chance.
And suddenly big problems on this B site.
Yeah, you rotate slow.
You anchor's low.
No kill for Belchinov.
Round over.
Paravision were actually already saving.
They knew that Aurora could kind of piece together where to end the round.
With Jayne getting tagged up
and Belchinov being low on health,
They knew there was kind of no point even in hanging around to fight that just get out early try and save on as many as you can
This way we'd have loved the upgrade but matcha won't let him have it
It's Aurora.
Now guns come out, they get on the board straight away with a flawless round.
a little pocket strap, but we know Paravision are the masters of the triple B stack, so
we'll see if they start to employ that on the CT side. Whether their reeds line up,
Aurora's didn't really on their first half.
I need two kills for him since the spell.
No way you're backdragged for the full sound.
Aurora.
Again, we make control and they get here very quickly, very early.
Now, you wouldn't try peek this, would you?
You shouldn't.
It looks like they're knights.
Waxing, holding, flash.
It's about Molly.
She leaves the gap.
Stormy!
Jay, just makes it back to long.
Hit that.
He just makes it back to long.
One more chances will he get to fire on this AWP, Noter.
On the board with a double. Backstabbed by Sulfly, but he's done his part.
That's enough for Paravision to give this retake a go.
Spilling blood now, Noter. Dropping to spawn. They hear this.
Centauras.
Two players behind the smoke.
Trying to make his mind up whether he wants to hunt long or deny this creep on through for Paravision.
Paravision caught on the push.
Good shot for Woxic, but can't follow up and that leaves it just on Soulfly.
Doesn't even feel like he wants to try this one.
Gonna get out of there low on health.
Yeah, it's alright, cool. Smoke comes down, makes it impossible.
And I think Paravision, they're one of the best teams in the world of that ramp fight.
It's not a ramp but CT walk-up fight to cats. See walks are realizing to be for I have to take a
Wide angle and just try and pick them off early before they get on default
But Paravision is so hot to trade that kill
And you can feel Aurora feeling the pressure in that post plan with centaurs dropping down
So fly low from the orb. Someone had to make a play
Paravision do not allow it
Sponding quickly to their first round loss
Maybe a desperate B hit again here for a roar of it.
Two players at least start in the site.
RDS, Bournemouth, you all...
Ain't gonna go!
Not today!
Segmented by the Molotov. Two easy kills for Paravision while flying.
I don't get killed on spawn.
How much wonder if you just save?
Yeah.
I'm going to hang around and look for a kill, but Paravision is not the kind of team to
give you a frag back into the round right now.
Jane backs off into spawn, Goose set up for Zwei, and a high low on B, so I don't see
the options. I have to force it.
Sick.
No way, they're going for it.
Centaurs, 1v4.
Oh! Full blind! Still good for the kill! Jump shot, just a little love tap there from
Jane. Belchernock closes in. Paravision. I'm gonna deal with that one nice and easily.
So many nades on Santariz. They got triple flash and a cheat. Not getting out of that
one easy. Hero warp for Woxic? No. Seriously?
Yeah.
Soldatious.
Yeah, he's got a spawn long, so...
This has a move behind it, but it's really not swinging long.
Here she is. Yeah, this may give a roar of the roof, but do you want to take it? You have pistols.
And an AWP.
Oh, yeah.
I could do a bit of a El Classico, you know, get the orb down in the pit.
No flash to do that.
Might be tricky.
I'm just going to try and manually peek this corner.
That's why he's jiggling though.
Yeah, it's like a little bait right so fly
Gonna try and get the info maybe get them to fire off a shot and then walk sick
Thanks a good target, and then hits the flick on a Jane, but just the leg
Pop potato with the orb so fly get to go
Still quite constricted here, this is set up, but there's just nothing to capitalise.
Only pistols.
They've hit two tanks with the AWP.
I think scofflight's going to save.
It's a match of 1 to 5 then.
Not going to happen.
Aurora running out of steam here on this T side. A lot of walking around. Failed B hit.
Around them, maybe you could justify a save. They sped up on Cat, got massacred.
Oh, Zello just knaded Belchnook in longdoor.
What is happening?
He had two teammates in longdoor and he knades it.
What the hell? I watched that happen. He had two teammates there.
They were running into Longdor and he just throws an aid.
What's going... beep beep.
And why?
Well they're winning, so it's okay.
That's the main take away from this.
They're allowed to do that.
I guess
The map is overpass I
Want to see what the desk you gonna say about this game?
That's what I want
What what do you say about this map of dusting? Oh?
stylistic flash
They're like a TV shows where they have like a game on it sometimes on a video game, and it's like a fake game
That's what I feel like this is.
People just mashing buttons like,
I swear you don't hit controllers that hard.
My gaming isn't just the maximum of the outputs at all times.
Right now it is.
Alright, I guess inputs.
I can't put the gap on this thing, he's messing this up.
Walk him, go.
Yeah, you've got a lot of room right now, Zantara's.
Get out there.
Oh, he's in.
That's round.
Every time they tried to throw this, Molly, it's had that same gap.
He has won the round from this move.
James Toro.
Too late, Zantara's clinical.
And Locking Down Sport is integral to winning this round, Paravision have no point of rotation.
That's it, save!
Wacati is in T spawn, you're not getting up cats.
What a great little gap found by Zantara.
Wacati is left.
Should still be fine.
Nice flash fight.
Paravision exits.
No one knows they're here.
They're so close to knowing about each other though.
Oh my, no one's parole is leaving long.
So close to seeing each other there.
No info.
This short money missing is a big problem.
Couple of times now it's...
It's caused issues for paravision and that one, the most glaring, right, gave Zantares
the timing.
And he's been playing it for a very, very long time, has Zantares.
He knows when he's got the gap.
I mean, it's two gaps, right, it's gap on the molotov, it's also just a gap on the timing.
If he doesn't throw the molly, Zantares is in.
Wait, that's what I meant.
Okay, yeah.
Sorry.
You don't have to be playing long to know the molly isn't burning you.
Someone who's been playing like 10 seconds would know that.
No, I also meant the timing gap was open, if they don't throw the molly, I'm sure Zantares
never just walks into the site.
He knows he has the gaffers in the timing.
Okay, wait, you're doing a play on words?
No, there's no play on words.
Okay, I'm agreeing with you, Harry.
Yeah, no, we are agreeing.
Okay.
You just basically said, I don't want it.
Okay.
Anyway, here's a round.
Let's see what happens.
It's a little B-pop, belching off, dead straight away, Zelo.
Let me good for one, it's just going to be a save for Power Vigil.
Yeah, fair enough.
This B hit hits hardest.
Oh boy, still having a great game here.
Started pretty poorly.
Got tested on B a lot in his CT side.
Put up some nice rounds.
No, Jerry, you can't do this again.
That ain't perfect there right there.
But double entry, this be here looking a lot better.
I'm paravision, just gotta keep them on me standing.
I think you've been hilarious as well me yeah I think I peeked last map
Okay, it's been down hill since yeah
Do you know I'm getting so nervous every time they're opening these?
Carbonated beverages. I love how you're calling them that I mean
These unbranded black tape drinks
Okay, that stands weighing in
Is this lead Hugo could get away from para vision now what I'll say is as often the case of para vision
Their saves have been really really good
In the sense that they will have money all the way to the end of this game shame not someone who gets caught
You know getting the economy broken
In round 23, so oh no, I didn't plan for this. Yeah
Exactly. He is always planning the accountant is always planning
So Aurora it's gonna be a grind. There's no free rounds on your route to the comeback here
You're gonna be against rifles every damn time
Two rounds in a row for Aurora.
But yeah, this is what Parisians say.
Alright, lock that B bomb site, don't let them in.
Belchernaut plays close.
We've got a third player hanging around.
James is classic, trusting himself in the most important position
to allow this triple B setup.
And it's nice, and James we trust.
But it does mean he has to hit his shots if they go for the cat play.
Zettara is mulling off.
Aurora will get that short control, but James is waiting.
He's asking them to come his way.
Aurora looked to do exactly that.
No long look and no control there.
Paragish and Noah's happening.
Oh, James dead though out on the crossroads and Waxix even found another.
It's a clean sweep from Aurora.
real rarity that you're able to get this many fights all at once was just kind of credit in our
paravision they're gonna have money every round this one comes at one hell of a cost.
Not only do Aurora swing her first flash it's because they only throw that new box smoke I
think jame doesn't realize they've already crossed he's expecting double smoke wall
they make it nice exits they make it in and by the time he repeats they're already past that
new box smoke so awkward timing there for jame and great utility i will say these last two rounds
from aurora they've hit some really perfect executes the b hit and now this cap play i really like
how simple they're keeping it it's punishing it's working well they're avoiding the stacks and aurora
are up to double digits now three rounds in a row jame blindside is not easy to do double kill on
on the rotate for Woxig.
Yeah.
Didn't even feel necessary, but it makes you feel good,
doesn't it?
I mean, dude, this has become a very, very competitive game.
All of a sudden, I've got a timeout called in.
Oh, it's tech.
And Harry, danger is here.
Harry, if they lose this round and they don't save any guns,
they will have no money for that next round.
They have to play for OT.
That's fine.
Yeah, I know.
But that's why, like, the kind of hunt at the end,
The Woxic lurk with the middle AWP getting the double is so impactful. It's so huge.
Yeah.
Paravision or a team where like, if those kills had come in over towards A,
as quick as they did, they would have looked to save.
But because Woxic's hanging around middle,
plucks the players rotating out of the round,
you don't get to save anything here.
It's true. They would have three guns.
And we were saying, like,
James not the type of guy that gets reset in round 23,
wouldn't you know it?
They could get reset actually one round earlier, round 22.
Not if they win this one.
Paravision all in.
Orp on Jame.
It's 20, they got everything they need.
What is that for magic?
Xbox Smoke from long.
That's really nice, cause now Paravision is in Paranoid about Catwalk at every point around.
Block on the long smoke though.
Frustrating.
I'll round this.
Ooh, and Paravision blocked short.
From that paranoia that you're talking about, but that means they're not going to have the info ahead of time that it's clear.
Cross again! Oh, good spam for Zwei.
Hey, could be big.
HP on Soulfly, the need won't find him.
Still blocking short, they still don't know.
Why not matter, but Aurora are in the bomb site.
Oh
It's the opening for Cardia this way tries to barrel through their reflection low players there
Nothing connects bomb now planted with Cardia and soul fly low on HP HG
They can't get away from it in time
Big Frank for Jane, but he's walking
Santerres v Jame for the game right now. The most important killer this round, but are they even going for it?
They're so far away. Back to spawn. Santerres will not commit.
Jame waits for the peek and Mccardia 1v3 on low HP.
Oh, that's clean! Waccadia! No way! One on three! Another clutch! Four Waccadia! The whole time, a shot away from certain death!
Had to hit the first bullet every time, and he does. He makes it look like anyone could do it. That's mad! Waccadia with a string of mad clutches across this entire series.
he jumped away from that H.E. on D4. It's that earlier move that let him live.
Almost a double-nade kill. And look at these shots.
Splinical. Nice!
So pretty.
Oh, Wakadia.
Dude, they are now favorites for this game.
It's the clutch.
Yeah.
What a recovery from Aurora in this match.
It's that first kill.
Like, and then the 180 turn around, the one bullet onto the short player.
Dude, 11-7 down and four rounds in a row.
This game's tied up, Paravision are all inning, Harry.
They saved the AWP on Jame, that is justification alone.
And so, multiple rifles,
they have enough to compete for map points.
But for Aurora, this is matchpoint. This is a 2-0, staring Paravish and dead in the face.
Woxic?
Oh! It was just about to...
Woxic's not had a great game here. He's had a couple of impactful rounds on this T-side,
but that is the kicker.
Finding a 5v4.
Jane burnt down to 40 from Woxic as well.
Oh, it's all going wrong here.
Again a good block. They re-smoke straight away. They know it's coming.
Woah!
Oh, the need to find soft light break off this smoke.
No, buddy, you're in it!
They're all there.
Mount Dash across for Zantares.
I saw four.
Boost up, boost deny, as the Dink comes in.
Oh, no.
So he's run into the molotov.
Save.
You got one, two.
Stubborn.
Jump shot.
Zelo blocking long.
This could work.
Yeah, Woxic won't be able to help.
Matcha had to do it alone.
Low HP on both players,
but it's Woxic with an orb.
Maybe not the gun for the job.
Right on the edge of the smoke.
He connects and now hides himself away.
Time is working against Jame, shots connected,
defuse in, paravision on to map point.
Only Jame can win that clutch out right there.
Waxig hiding out of his smoke.
Jame has no kit, he grabs that kill,
picks it up and gets the defuse.
Unreal.
I think Aurora didn't get that information though.
Wikadia saw four players when that smoke got broken
and either didn't realize or didn't communicate it.
Because suddenly Aurora hesitant. They're scared of catwalk. They're not certain about the call.
A nice try in the clutch, but can you believe the Paravision just break in in that 4v5 and find that point?
Overpasses our decider.
And Aurora...
Going for something classic, something that has done them well in this game.
Paravision fall blind from the T spawn flash!
that might be overtime nearly the line up arrives at the window trying to close
the door on Aurora only good for one
couple of weird smokes and James blows them right open one in at the door
allow you to move across the bomb but you saw the longest time Aurora very
Paranoid even after they got those two openings
Oh, that's so risky, that's a really nice shot and so fly looks for overtime
It's past jaymen one shot would seal the deal on Zway, but this has been a wild game
So fly at least restores a bit of normality there over time
Required to decide who takes dust to I think we deserve it at this point. We've come this far
Let's go a little bit further. I cannot believe Aurora just punched that b-site in a 5v3 and
Paravision almost win it out before the bomb goes down
The bomb bomb makes it very hard to self-fly with some huge shots
That flash did look like it was gonna be so effective from T spawn over the roof, but a crucial entry
Second timing, Xantai has to cover.
Dinked low.
5v4.
That's why he's ready to block that smoke, because he's been doing it every single time.
James clearing B with a 4.
Smoke is blocked, yellow plays ahead of his.
There's one way to do it.
Team Flash catches him though.
There's James Patience paying off.
No get out of jail free card.
No escape from this long position.
Aurora are committed.
No fall.
Oh no!
So much damage.
That's the way it's six health, four health rather.
Nate didn't find him either.
It's Matt you're arriving on the short side, he's got a bunch of dudes in front of him, Wokadia mid-air!
Oh!
Game and then goes on a tear pass, that point it's the four health, Zway!
It's the source of that and not for long!
Wokadia with a stellar sequence!
He's still in the negative, but his impact in these last couple of rounds has just been monumental.
Yeah, a clutch up, and now the jump shot to find a triple entry.
Magus Lurg, high impact there. We've not seen any short lurks on this on control,
so Paravision finally discounts it. And that is their undoing.
And to put so much pressure on, Wakati just scoops him up.
This Aurora is a lot of fun to watch right now.
Playing fearless, playing very quick rounds, and Zantares as well.
Can you believe that every player of Aurora is in a negative KD, except the Soulfly and they're winning?
Oh, damn, Gaurd.
Torres, it's his turn for the triple entry out here on A.
Okay, Zelo will claw back and kill each, but Zantara is low, that need could be big, he just gets away from it.
Still, this round's by no means over, in spite of that bomb going down, another kill, this is a 2v5 looking to come close.
Oh no!
Zantara is in the 8th spot! Not doing it!
How though?
2 vs 5, full paravision!
What, what more does he need to do? How much is enough for Xantaras in that round? Four frags!
All the entries, reroute CT and it's a great position but he needs a teammate alive.
They get picked off one by one.
That is ugly for Aurora.
What is happening?
That would have been a bit of a moneybreaker as well, taking two rounds straight on T-Side
Dust 2, in overtime, but Aurora have bailed themselves out, or rather, Paravision.
Still an all-punch aim, still everything to play for, still maybe a third map.
I'll fly entries alone out along.
Supportive flashes from Maget.
Go on that way.
Look at him go away!
Oh!
Fly the Wrecking Ball.
The one man army out at the long doors.
They're hitting B.
Yes.
They just like B rushed.
Kills everyone.
B empty.
Aurora walk in.
Jobs are good in.
That's crazy, man.
Well, Jello, nothing to lose in trying, I guess.
Sulfi, finding a fourth, he is having one hell of a match right now.
Or rather, one hell of a map. This is not the Sulfi we got on Anubis.
So, he was like the only problematic piece on Anubis for Aurora.
He looked out of it. Hell, even in the first round of Dust 2,
we were saying how rough it was because if you remember,
back flat with the USP had five guys running him through tunnels and hit one body shot in a 12 round spam of the mag
But past that point he is being an absolute beast and the confidence he is exuding in these rounds dude the
Solo self flash through the long spoke for the triple kill. I think a crazy move
He looks so hesitant. I think someone just told him bro. You've got to run and die
We're going B. You got to just run and get either get a kill or die
Just cause chaos in the communication right now so we can go for this be here and he goes. Okay. All right
I'll run at them triple kill one long alone for in the round and that is Aurora
man, they they really should have won that half 3.0, but hey
To one will have to do off to the CT side
They call the time out here because they know the importance of finding this next round guaranteeing
15 and another overtime, but
More importantly ending this series two and zero
This isn't seem like paravision. Yeah, you're really quite I
Think you'd be pretty pissed that you didn't get that three oh considering the round that they gave up right then
3k Zantara's one
No, he ended up getting four in the end, but 3k entry by v2
Let's hope that that doesn't end up being too much of a cause for concern for Aurora.
Got the warp again.
Good catch.
Box six hits his out towards mid.
Now it goes and takes up defense over the wards B.
Aurora, plain passive, backward in the bomb sites.
Triple HE here for Santarans.
They're going B.
Soul flyers, quick rotation.
Woxic smoked off in tunnels and parabasit.
They just got locked on shorts.
They're going mid to B.
Everyone?
They wanted to go cat, right?
But they've just been blocked at the 32nd mark.
It's fading by the time they set up their nades,
but Zantares could just turn them into mincemeat here.
These Achees could be a huge problem.
Not bad.
Needs to do good damage.
Zantares does even more.
Support from Wattadia, this double-awe,
tears through the Paravision side,
and Aurora get on to match and series point.
Point, a difficult game today for ParaVision, right there,
they have run into the brick wall of Aurora who, I feel like anyone can give you a multi-kill at any point in this game.
Even Woxicu's had a struggling second map, has come through with some integral opening kills on both halves of this game.
And Matt is feeling good about that, as Antares stepping up late in this match,
running away and trying to catch up with SoulFlight.
Ceres points it for Aurora, two chances to end this game.
And there's Woxic again.
There's the same pick.
Another attempt.
Maybe he'll find it late today.
Hit the tag.
Woxic's certainly gotten a lot better as this game's gone on, right?
Struggled a lot in the early stages, but had some impactful moments.
getting away with the openers finds that 5v4 for Aurora they try and sneak
through the molly but a tag made info for walk stick close peak oh nothing
that's where he gets past him now for the long side at Santarez they're already
out Molly buys a few seconds but this orb is still waiting
I don't see Jay miss those every day.
Miss Molly as well, so they get the plant, they get the backup.
CT spawn is the route here for Aurora, trying to finish this series in two.
And now in the 4-on-4, not super comfortable.
Low players here after the skirmish.
The Paravision had closed on some of these fights,
and what if they closed on all of them in one second?
Paravision looking to take us to another OT.
You can just get one more round.
Very strong post-bond positions, top default,
playing behind the smoke, all peeking off of that contact.
And Jenta is a great flash as well,
right as Aurora's skill up ramp.
So here we go.
One more chance,
and you're gonna kick yourself again, Aurora.
It can be very hard to close, I'll see.
It's way to 5v2 man, like, still thinking about it, this would have been all said and done.
For sure.
I think now it might go to another OT.
What have Rory got for us?
No permission of thinking about that B hit right now because it is so classic, but I
do want to go into Solfly.
He's been, I don't even want to, it'd be rude to say 50-50, but like, he's everything
or nothing. More often everything. So what's he going to do now as Paravision are grouping
in tunnels here in ground dirty? He's got support of Vokadia. But no need to soul fly,
eye on the crosshair. Imagine ready to flank but all of this depends on the hold of this
B site.
Need to be smoke lobbed in but with four players coming in through the tunnels, I have to keep
They're wits about them, and they go on over worry about mid.
He needs to get eyes on the...
There it is!
...decision!
Soulfly with the line-up, and it's a shut-down.
Aurora get it done.
An extra overtime denied, a 2-0 finish in what was a wild series.
They're now a series away from the playoffs,
and for ParaVision, it's a series away from elimination.
That was fun.
Did we enjoy DAS 2?
I mean, it was a wild game.
It had some ups and downs, had some exciting moves.
It had more downs than ups.
Had some lulls, had some lulls.
Definitely that second half was a bit of a...
They were like enjoyable lows, if you were watching.
Yeah, let's say like a sleeper pick for the match of the tournament, I would say.
Highlighting the super part.
If you just go to the extreme every time,
from now it's like this is match of the tournament, this is the grand final we won.
What was the soulfly game?
This is so weird.
Like, I think you will highlight it as well.
I was like, I feel like half the rounds, like he was playing like shit and then he just gets...
Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit. That's a classic right there.
Listen, I want to award the PGL Astana 2025,000 Yards Stair Award to Dastan.
He didn't change his facial expression.
He's like that's controlled rage in his face right there.
He's like, if I open my mouth, I'm in big trouble.
Or rather, a lot of these people are in big trouble because, okay, let's break it down a little bit here, Dusty.
He's left. He's gone.
Where is he?
He's just gone. He's just left.
He's like, I'm done.
This is scarier for me than when he publicized me.
Maybe he's at the end over there.
He did say in the Bank's interview
that he doesn't want to show too much emotion.
He wants to keep it together.
Oh, he's gone.
Bro, he's walked away.
No, there he is.
Look at him.
Look at the look that he is wearing.
That is terrifying.
He's in trouble.
I would not get on the shuttle.
I would not.
Bro, no one's making eye contact.
No, it's me.
Look how he walked up and down and just gave them the death.
Oh.
Look at that.
I would sit down in their chair and refuse to move.
I would look at the admin and be like, I cannot eat.
This is the way my daddies look at me,
just pure disappointment and rage.
Oh, some people are in trouble today.
Oh, I could just walk.
You watch.
That's cinema right there.
That is cinema.
But what a crazy game.
I mean, he didn't think back to at least three clutch rounds.
This is one of them, Belchnok.
I'm not sure, I mean, that's not Belchnok,
but he is later in the 3v1.
I, a lot of things happened.
Honestly, I enjoyed this game.
It was exciting.
It was exciting.
This was egregious.
That was egregious.
Soulfly, what he was doing on the B bomb site
in some of these rounds,
horrible in other rounds,
he just killed three just like in the last one that we saw.
So props to him.
Like, obviously, Strudelon on Obus,
Walksick who he highlighted practically didn't do anything except like then towards the end of the game
He had one kill down mid through the wall. No, I think he's do one every dust dude. He has to have
He had yeah, I think he had some moments. He wasn't very like, you know popping off the thing is from Aurora
It was tepid. It wasn't too crazy, right? It wasn't like, you know, super impressive one. But what was shocking for me
I think all the viewers would notice as well
The CT side from Power Vision the way they allowed Aurora back into the game when they're like what 10 or 11 rounds off
It was just unforgivable. There was no aggression whatsoever everyone's playing the same
Static set up for like four or five rounds in a row. They're not even looking to fight long
They're looking to fight short and every time Aurora and or I just went for the same thing like all right guys
By man push towards cat up cat by my push up cat by one push towards long and every single time
It's the same set up from paravision, right?
And it is hoping to get lucky or something and it's just ugly to watch this is your best map guys
No, it reminds me of that quote from James Bucharest when he said I don't know what to call because whatever I call people will mess up
Because they go for like three long take on the city side
Yeah, the war arc is coming long and they just leave long. It's like, okay
If you're well, why why are you sending two people along?
What's the what's the point if you know off of like a few flashes you just pull out and then we saw later on when Soulfly was there
Solo coming out long killing the three guys by himself. Yeah, he had some supportive flashes and all of that
But like that's that by the way that that wasn't even like you know, the Bresov's team falling behind it
That's a bit of a bait setup right? You see me exactly
This is nothing but a bait he was a fey and it gets all three players as well
How many rounds can we count where on the in the second half the paravision ever contest for short or cat control?
I think zero if I'm completely honest
And then this is somewhere where it looked like they were winning with that because they stopped a few
Executes when they came to the bomb site. I was like well, this is this is weird like I feel like I don't know what's happening
And then after that they were like, okay, we don't need to use any utility to actually take mid, because there's no one mid.
Jame has never contested mid because probably expecting Boxic really likes these fights, Zontaris likes these fights, so we're just going to play back.
But after a while it becomes way too obvious. You really need to mix it up in some way, and Aurora really didn't need to do any, like, even Beast plus.
I don't feel like they did any Beast plus. It was just like coming up short or long, and that said, mid to be not necessary for them to put any pressure on.
at all and there's no tunnels pushes until until overtime pretty much and even like i remember one
particular round where it's like the Eurora player was coming up from long all five of them and a
couple of them have been whittled down to i think like red hp 15 hp one player was down
five before advantage for for the side of paravision and just a way they were total
total up towards short towards gandalf towards you know the the new box position whatnot just
like holding super passive angles not really been contesting for their control not really forcing
or throwing utility to make Aurora struggle to get up to the A bombsite and then suddenly
when the moment Aurora get there, the credit where it's due, I think so fly, you know,
white kid hitting some nutty shots as well, but just immediately you can see the defense,
just like completely crumble. I mean, this is not even about, you know, I'm not asking you to
play super, super little counter-strike, vitality, whatever. This is like textbook CS, which you
have done in the past. What's happening here? Is there no strat book remaining?
I mean, here's the question, what is happening? Where is the fault lie? Is it the coach? Is it
Is it the IGL? Is it the young players? All of those questions, still unanswered.
We'll have to see what happens with ParaVision, who are now fighting for their lives.
Obviously, super important for Dustin, because this is his home country.
He wants to be in the playoffs. We'll see how ParaVision progresses.
But now we're moving on. We have our next game coming up.
It is Monty up against Falcons. It's on the way after this.
She said she loves you, but she can't love me.
But I love you!
I won't play Windu anymore.
What's going on?
Play your role, one expect.
The human body was built to move, knocked you out of the desk in one singular posture
for 12 hours a day.
It's time your chain evolved.
This is Secret Lab Titan Eva.
ergonomically engineered for you.
Gamers.
Hybrid Warpers.
Opus.
Back in your every move.
You're watching PGL,
and we're moving into our second game of the day.
It is Falcons Up Against Monty,
and I have a bone to pick with the viewers at home.
Because they claim,
Saw someone actually tagged both of you as well in this they claim that since Kerrigan has joined Falcons
all we do is
Deep-throat Falcons and talk about how great they are and I was a little bit offended by this because I think we on the first day
The three of us had a pretty balanced conversation about how Kerrigan might not be the savior of this team and Zonic
They were question marks over his head. Yeah, I feel that way still
I don't want my hosts are getting one guy Chad gets one guy. You're getting one guy. This is this is insane
What is going on? But no realistically we didn't even have a full desk about Falcon. So let's just start right now
No waste no waste time. I am very excited. I'm very excited about the concept the idea. I think
Where they want to be Karrigan makes sense not in terms of like, oh, he's the best IGL ever. He's fragging so well obviously
He is historic to the best IGL ever probably
Slightly contested, but they just need someone with charisma with experience that can bring these pieces together
They have really good pieces that have been underperforming even monosy to some degree, but definitely kiyosuke has not been what was promised
I think absolutely hit the nail on the head right there
for players like Niko and monosy and what a lot of
plebs don't really
Understand and even into even including
What I'm being nice here. What we can be not nice
Anyway, the point is I've been Sonic set as well
You don't just need an ideal whose style fit the individuals he has but someone who commands respect
Carragane commands respect no matter who you talk that enough though
So I'm just gonna so I hear that argument right? Yeah, but here's my thing and I said this when this whole change happened
You have made this change as a Hail Mary from the major. That's what this was
Okay, Mary kicks kickstand, which was a very good movie
It still rates to be seen whether this will be a good movie or if it will be an absolute flop kickstand
I understand what everyone is saying about he didn't command respect or whatever, but I would argue that maybe there are more problems in Falcons than just changing the IGL.
And this is historically a problem in Falcons. No matter what pieces you put in, they cannot seem to make it work.
And I think, look, yes, sure, but I feel like for Karrigan being the right piece, it might be the final solution, so to speak, for this particular team.
It's going to font places, just carrying on to what he said.
You get first lady demands, he commands respect,
you listen to him.
Also, he's such a good, look at the players
he's been able to really blossom under his wings
over the years, frozen, comes to mind.
One of the best ever.
It's only 23 years of age, by the way.
I know how good it's been for all these years.
So many players have just clicked into place,
clicked into the right state after he was under his wings.
And looking at Kyosuke, he's obviously very talented,
but he is very raw.
He makes so many mistakes and whatnot.
Just forget what happened like three weeks ago. We did have we just gotten that he didn't qualify
He could not take that line up and qualify for the main. There's one one. There's so much a man can do as well
All right, like there's also one more thing. It's not just a respect but taking responsibility
And I think that's that's what Falcons have missed and if you watch the vlog from Rio
Like I was kind of baffled to see how these team talks end because like Sonic is like, oh
We didn't play together. We need to do this better and then yeah
Yeah, we need to do about who is making mistakes, who is responsible, even Niko, then he would take almost.
And he's looking around and that's what Karrigan is there for.
He's gonna be like, okay guys, you shouldn't have done this, we need to play like this, you come here with me.
And mostly he also spoke about this in the interview.
He said, kind of the main job is to activate Kiyosuke.
He's a guy you said makes a lot of mistakes and also a guy that is
Not as aggressive as maybe you know people compared him to donk
He's not that guy
He wants to go a bit on a slower pace and carrying wants to be that guy to go in front for him
That's gonna probably end up not great for carrying stats
But that doesn't really matter because the T sides from Falcons were ass
And a lot of it was just because of the roles don't really fit
They never really fit and that's why like when people thought is there more problems in Falcons
Yes, they bought a piece that is like very similar to the other star rifling piece that they have like Niko and Kiyosuke are not that different
In their style and putting them together means that both of them are kind of uncomfortable
What they're doing and one of them is super experienced Niko is a fantastic player
Most of the times he's gonna make the right move. Yeah, maybe in a playoff in a super
Kiyosuke even in group stages sometimes he does some plays that you probably shouldn't and gets away with it
Just based off aim, and I think that's as the tournament progresses gets more and more
Liability for Falcons. Yeah, sure. And look come here in Monty here
Obviously Monty will will be the underdogs even though it seems like quite a few of us like you can maybe make it
Good team for we don't know how they play here. Yeah, and also the prom here
It just took a look at the the map spider graph right there's a lot of overlap as well
Of course, this is obviously, you know
Including the the pre-paragon era so to speak the past three months a lot of and what not so it's gonna be an
interesting test for Falcons. Again, you know, you can never count on all these like yesterday comes
to mind against 90 where they got absolutely demolished. What happened? Like, what happened there?
Should happen sometimes. I just feel when it comes to Falcons, everything is hyperbole.
Everything is just like, oh, the worst thing ever or the greatest thing ever. Why can't we just be
a little bit more rational? Why does everyone get so super emotional and so like, that's it,
it's over. Fail comes, an Italian should be kicked, this is what you've done, you've ruined it.
I just think that if you are going to make such a scene two years ago about how much
the pieces you're going to get, you sign Zonic, you do interviews about how you're
changing the game, you're flying players, business class, blah blah blah, you're going
to make that much noise, you're going to spend that much money, you are going to be
held to a standard that no other team will be held to.
That's how this goes.
Sure, absolutely.
But this is like it was a second game with the team.
I think they said eight, nine days of practice due to the team coming back from Rio, that's
just something to to mention right there yeah well just want to point out if you
harken back to the the map's biograph right there even though there was a lot
of overlap the one difference was Dust2 was a map where you know Monty are
pretty very very decent on very solid on yesterday we saw how miserable it looked
for Falcon so this it's not necessarily punished big so to speak but it is a map
that could potentially maybe go the way of Monty if we see anything similar to
the old Falcons over us getting banned by Falcons no surprises there they're not
going to be taking any chances because Monty kind of have a seven-ish map pool.
Ancient, the pick from Falcons. I'm okay with that. They looked pretty good on it
recently and of course Nuke the sider where they played it again. Who did you play it against?
Falcons played 9-Z. 9-Z on it. You had 0-T rounds. 0-T rounds again. Maybe second
times a charm. Yeah, maybe second times a charm. I have one question for both of
you. At what points does this the the the narrative around Falcons stop? Because
since they're in scepter. Every time we start getting unhappy with them and we call them out,
they change a player and then we all go, okay, we have to give them time. Then they start
faltering, they change a player, we'll give them, they need time. Now Kerrigan's coming,
oh well, they need a bit of time, they haven't practiced together. At what point does this
behavior stop? At what point do we say, hey guys, no more time? I mean, I think there's always time
if you make changes, it's a new team. I'll give one event, you know, it always changes. The thing
is I think right now, Zonic is the person on this team with the you know expiry date
coming close.
I mean he's giving the reins of Khargut literal quote, yes so what are you doing?
For me that's where the next change is because if you change three players and it's the same
name like of course you're going to give people time, that's not the same team it was before.
I think what Khargut is doing and he highlighted it a lot is not going to be the same style
that Falcons had before.
So you know you compare it to Miles where they changed the ideal but they didn't really
changed much. They're still going to be the same team. Here it's a team that wants to
approach the game differently. And I think you need to give them time. But, you know,
if they're not playing real CS by the major, then that's super concerning.
Here's what we have. We have Falcons on one side, massive superstars, massive salaries,
an incredible backroom of people to help them. On the other side, we have Monty, one coach,
and an IGL who is still studying and still does all the anti-strats. It is literally
the David Goliath battle. We're about to find out how this is going to play out.
Yeah, Falcons versus Monty about to go down. And obviously for Falcons yesterday,
surprising result in that 9-Z game, Hugo. They're out for a bit of redemption today.
Absolutely demolished, Harry. Absolutely demolished. But this is another big underdog. I love the way
in the desk frame it David Vigal life quite literally but you know David's got another
stone in his slingshot because caca was back in the server or back behind the team here
for Monty obviously coach wasn't here for the first couple of days has now showed up
in time for the big match and boy is it a big match Falcons with new and game leader
with all eyes on them, looking to undo embarrassment perhaps given to them by 90.
Monty walking right out middle.
I get some honesty involved on these door barrettas.
Oh! He's onto something!
Dolly's chew through Monty!
If that's a sign of things to come, we'll be keeping an eye on Monacee throughout this series.
Beautiful.
90 degree flick into the tunnels, then back into the doors.
A 3K in the pistol round. Afro 1v5 ace clutch required. He's got a minute to play with.
Let's see if Falcons give him a reason to believe two players ready to backstab.
Afro is a dead man.
Monosy has been obviously the standout player here for Falcons recently, he's
really really good, obviously getting a lot of praise from Karagun even saying
this is the best all-by I've ever played with, I mean it tracks, it follows, but
it's great to still see Monosy in fighting form right now, game to game, even in these losses.
Two teams have set one on one. For Monty it was, well they got demolished by Fjord on that day one,
but I found a clean enough win against Magic.
It's another true test against
one of the top four teams at this event, one of the favorites.
There's still obviously, you know, with Falcons,
akin to a team like Maus, questions on performance in the big games, in the playoffs.
I didn't think the questions would come in the group stage so much.
Well, I know you say that, but even in like Carrigan's interview, he did with HLTV, he
touches upon this.
He's like, obviously Falcon's never at this stage in the group stages.
He said, that's not been the case for me in my previous team, so when you think about
FaZe, we always said they took the longest possible route.
So, you know, curious to see which of those two kind of went out.
What's he saying? He's flipping the script like we're gonna suck in groups, but we'll win. We'll be in those finals
I mean that is the goal at the end of the day
For now, it's just glocks for Monty storming this B bomb site hoping
For something to go their way. I don't think it will
Hello, Monacy is just jumping off catwalk right now
Coming into this looking very aggressive is Monacy
From the word go
Where he's connected himself in both of these rounds. It's just been
Quick fights quickly, you know trying to get involved as fast as he can the moment he's got info
And he's got a lot of money from the first couple of rounds. So that all makes an appearance straight away
X3, you're still getting left for that B player, because Falcons are making a move coming in lower, doing a classic setup.
Got a couple of these nice high lows, they do it a little short, they do it a little lower.
This flash might go a bit deeper. One player turns, the other holds the line, Nico is that opener.
Oh, they try and they succeed! There's more where that came from. Kiyosuke can get out.
So escapee shall cover from that all pop top middle
Now Monty. Yeah, sure you're allowed back in lower, but sure you want to try forward this sniper
Falcons decide to recede to the bomb site
4v3 and a lot of the map to clear here for Monty if they decide to use their utile
They're gonna have nothing left for the execute
Decisions to make, forgive me. Be split.
I'm not going through, but that molly splits up the push. Big problem for Monty.
And for coming in a little bit later, dead as soon as he rounds the corner, it's another
very clean round for the Falcons.
Just really sharp kills there for Falcons, so a good sign of things to come, especially
on this B bomb site where you can't blink
without giving away around
so Monty I'll build battle here on pistols now
back for the B lean
I'm trying to fake something on A.
Damn, late mid smoke.
They're just going for this straight up B-pop. Only Tess is in position.
It doesn't look like a door smoke is being primed, so...
There'll be no problem for Kiyosuke to get involved, jump through the window, or assist on that cross.
Okay, double, and suke, one to the dove as soon as he arrives at the window.
Oh, my. Shut down. It's convincing. Monocene Karagin now. Left in this two on three. Weighing
up if they didn't want to give this a go, and Afro just continues this tear. Window has
been a slaughter for the Falcons. Unable to break through into this B retake. Some Monty
looking to get on the board here and now carrying none of the clutch hit him and
that orbs save will get denied. What a double from Gizmy. Picks up Tessus's AK
there on the cross. Tessus's getting zero kills. It was all Kiyosuke, but jumping
out the window and Gizmy gets a double on that cross. Falcons have no one coming
through doors.
A B site, the hardest ever to get back in once it's lost. Even in the 5 vs 3 like this.
It's shocking to see it look so easy here for Monty.
Double warp even comes out here for Falcons, not looking to let that happen again.
Keeping one of them near that B site.
Go flash.
Feels weird to think about, doesn't it, but BMAS has been a former teammate with Niko and
Karagin on different rosters.
Insane.
Niko in phase, Karagin in mouse.
Wow.
Disappeared for a few years, came back, blew it back.
This Monty Team has definitely been one of the more exciting upcoming squads to watch
this year.
Coming up quick enough to make it to the Major, finding some significant upsets across this
year on and offline, beating Navi at their first event.
The Rain Waker Redemption Arc.
There's been a lot of reasons to keep your eyes on this Monty team.
So it's not a squad that Falcons can just forget about.
5v4, a Monty going for a cat hit.
Wow, we've noticed from the word go how keen to fight Monysse's bin.
He's playing here in tandem with Karrigan.
He's just kept his captain alive for that much longer.
Catching one on the cross.
Mass will eventually come and knock it.
It's one over Karrigan in that head-to-head.
Oh, for none of our Fnico!
Very nice to see the synergy on display there.
Calling for flashes, playing off each other very well. Nico just throwing himself in.
A fearless CT site so far for Falcons. Even with that last round. 4-1 lead, good start.
And seeing the anchors look solid here for Falcons so far. We've got a mixed buy here for Monty, Eagle Scouts, and some AKs.
This Xbox 5 gives Nico fights down low up, but...
...just needs for now.
Scary, that Molly has to work, because that was the bomb out on Cat there.
Back of Gizmy.
Fortunately, Nico pushed off by that molotov.
Allows Monty to execute if they want.
This would be a great time to go.
There's only Monty in position to stop them.
He's got no one in the bomb site.
Okay, with a spam kill, just to turn the tide early.
At least remove some of the fresher from Monty.
Having to stick around and fight for this.
Could look to leave it to a retake now.
See how it doubles up over on the long side.
Now we're going to, honestly, start closing in and Niko just ripping heads off.
It's another commanding retake from the Falcons.
B-Mas is going to take a couple with him or at least try two, but Tess has put some down.
What a slaughter right now, these retakes.
They are coming in very quick.
Monty not even able to get back into post-bomb positions.
Individuals on the ITAS just looking really, really crisp.
some of the shots that are connecting right now for the Falcons. Super impressive.
You can imagine the loss to Ninzee yesterday.
Probably ignited a bit of a fire under them.
They went that much harder in the warmup, even leading into this game.
Mark Zunika saying how sharp Ninzee felt.
Part two, he wants some of that for himself.
Yeah, I like, I don't even want to call it chaos for Falcons.
I just like the pace they're setting here on these post barns. They're not sitting around. They're not playing too safe, right?
They're calling quick retakes. And so Monty are not able to get comfortable, you know, call any protocols in that post barn who's speaking first.
Monty aren't really able to initiate anything. They get that bummed down. Falcons are chewing at them straight away.
Double up again. More pistols for Monty.
This is a fearless Falcon right now.
They're just wanting to fight.
And it's not hard to see why.
Every situation is scary. It's just you're getting run at.
6-1 lead here, CT side dust 2.
It's like they all go to their bombsites, they all go to their spots,
but the moment they get the info, the moment they know where the bulk of the team is,
they're running at you.
Hard to argue with the results right now, only losing to...
One B post-bond that was in a 3v5 for Monty
Feels like inevitable that Monty will go back to something on this B site
The easiest way to punish
Without having to fight the full breadth of Falcons
Second door fires off the middle
And no actual guarantee that Monty know that's the second door right now.
All they know it could be Monacy.
It's back on the B-Line anyway.
That's Monty B-Line for exactly that.
No smoke on this site.
on the fade. Easiest shot for Kiyosuke than Afro here. Holding for a triple boost, but
they're walking right through.
Oh, this shot. Makes up for it with one again. But all the entries coming through right now
from the Monty.
That's why you hit the B-side right there.
Ooh, carry good, knife out!
Gives me, we'll get rid of him.
And if that fight had gone the way of the Falcon,
suddenly I think we were on for something.
Now, it should be a save here.
Falcon's been super keen to fight.
We're re-smoking at the door.
Like to think that's enough just to scare the men
and give them this a look in.
Monty, I'm letting you ninja in this game.
I can assure you of that.
How does he do this?
He goes around and survives as well, locked off.
Honestly, he didn't hit that on the cross.
They get out though.
Orb survives.
Monty keeps all their guns past that point.
So two rounds, both coming from these B hits.
Monty keeping it simple.
Yasuke had just two shots on that orb and one of them missing.
problem.
falcons getting ahead of it
And you have the chance at a very dominant first half.
You don't want to give Monty away back into this game.
Monty's still good for Falcons moving forward, even with the double orbs they've been purchasing
up.
That's how clean this initial slate of rounds were.
Big tag for Afro.
He's modesty down lower, and I mean with how...
How could have involved he's been?
Now Kini's been to throw himself in a fight, so that feels like a very worthwhile tag.
It's shot redemption now for Kiyosuke.
How many shots?
Another swing and a miss.
Now the orb takes the line, instead it's faster.
Nail it on the AK.
These guys shoot hard though, Monty.
Given the chance, find two massive entry kills.
Molly will buy a few seconds on a safer plant.
Gonna go back and pick it up, gives me going for that stick.
Niko is crossing in, denies that bomb, good trade.
Has that chaos opened up a chance for Falcons in this post-bomb?
Honestly, low and carriage and no nades, they're not feeling it.
Maybe time to move off that double orb, because it just hasn't had the Kiyosuke.
He started this game strong, but that was off the AK.
That's two shots neither connecting this time, regression on this b-hold and Montia very quick to tap him out of backplat.
Whoa, that's cool.
Rainbow and B-Mass have looked very sharp.
Zulu starting slow, 0-9.
Honestly, holding for the boost, and that's exactly what he's going to get.
Oh dear!
Don't you just feel countered, uncrouching into that fight?
Zulu realizing the gap though, straight out middle.
Well putting down the orb, Kiyosuke arrives with the M4. Still another one of these
rain waker entries out into the V-Site. Flash at least keeps him at bay.
Perfect roll out though, the UTIL blocks him off from B.
The bomb's coming in to join him. The site will once more belong to Monty.
3v4, who's the favourite now?
Monty's asking for this boost and this guy's been lightning fast. Creeping under the crosshair.
Making a cross into the site gives me with a bomb plant.
Re-smokes a problem. That's it. Falcons have a decision to make.
Rain Waker in the best position.
game.
Knocks down to and it's all left on a famous one be three back in the tunnels on being held
in double swung on carrying an eco. Take that fight together.
I'm shocked he goes forward into the smoke. I thought he pulled back to have more of a
view of a player doing exactly that, right? He gets kind of stuck in, he doesn't get to push
through the smoke. Carrigan gets behind him in the best position. He can't assist window,
he really has to stop the door swing. And look at this for Carrigan. He gets so perfect right
behind his opponent. Great move. And around Monty will kick themselves that they lost.
I felt like that key be-it-your-protest is enough.
Late long pop coming in, Monty, go fast, Carrigan sees it coming, he gets out.
So, Stale made up his position.
And Monty looks for kills elsewhere.
I think it speaks to just how hard he's been hitting the idea that you know where Monacee's
going to be and still the best way to deal with that apparently is just don't fight him now Falcons
have actually pushed D in this round so they've cleared out half the map a no Monty must go for
this long hit so the only position they've seen them in yeah there's a lurker top mid Afro is
waiting maybe he can find some kills but it relies on these entries coming in up cats Monty moving
on the long cross right now Nico trying to desperately get back in position that Molly on
ramp buys more time for falcons to set up and a missed shot in middle is disastrous from Afro.
Dude, Monacee's been setting him up for success on this CT side, he's hit some
great flashes for Karagan. And poor Azumu, back of the pack holding the flank late to it,
zero and twelve. There's one more round. Yeah, it can get worse.
You're shooting players in the back right now.
Have a good cocky double lower again. Oh, info how they're getting cocky.
It's the same double lowest set up again. You've run into this once already and there
There is 012.
Ah, 012.
No for him.
13 ADR.
And Falcon suit like, aren't playing some mega brain tactical counter strike.
It's Brawley.
They're doing it in these kind of little two man pairs, getting super aggressive at any
opportunity. What do you do
against that? Don't don't do a
thing. You hope what do you do
against that is four kills from
monocede is seal that one with a
nine round CT side Falcons
having fun. You know, we talk
about the difficulties Falcons
have had in their bad moments in
their poor moments losing in
in the stage games where they're expected to perform
where their favorites.
But the one thing that's been clear
from these couple of group games is,
when things are going well, things go great.
Like, Karrigan is a vibes merchant in that sense.
We've seen the energy he's brought to this team.
We've seen Falcons smiling more than ever.
I think as well, it's like, there's a reason why
when you think about a lot of the super teams of old,
Karrigan found himself at the helm of them, right?
And it's because he's always been a captain who, at his best,
He puts a lot of faith in his teammates.
Oftentimes, they were super skilled players,
super sick individuals,
and kind of had the knowledge to do that, right?
Things just flow.
There wasn't necessarily that time
where you have to think everyone's communicating.
You have to in that type of environment.
And actually, some of his lowest points as a captain
have been when he's really intensely micromanaging.
And then it's like, you look at kind of the other leaders
that existed in Falcons, you look at Kicksand before that,
you look at Snappy, as things were going on,
it felt like it was leaning more
towards that micromanaging heavy style,
but you just have a lot of talent in this team.
If you want to just brawl, if you want to just scrap,
this is the team to do that.
Yeah, definitely.
You felt like what we got in that first half,
no one told off, no one told to not trust their guard.
That's a big opener for Missou.
And he's on the board.
He's on the board, first kill in the game,
And at a very important time here, 5-4 for Monty in this integral pistol.
It's never too late.
Back to B.
I guess we might have to help out here, it's moved over towards that B site, the whole
map is quiet, we still have info up top middle from B-Mass, so it feels like a B hit, smells
like a B hit, wonder what it is.
Shenmueco is really, really good at getting entries on this side of the map. Let's see how he does in defense of it.
I'm almost lost in towards B, but I'm trying to wait for Niko to link up on that mid here.
I'll never get to arrive. Tess says low health.
Swing off me.
So, one shot, but then there should be trades.
Tess is trying to bait the peek if he gets exactly what he bargained for.
Be mass with a close and a huge pistol here for Monty.
On this CT side, splitting the difference.
Kagan's dropped Monosita's scouts, giving him Kevlar behind it, telling him, go off!
Yeah, I mean, it's absolutely no secret how good Monosita's been in this series or in
this map.
Let's see, yeah, give him a fighting chance to do something cool in this round.
Well, they heard the scout rally off, there wasn't a chance on that cross, but I feel
like Monty don't want to take that fight.
Not even just because they're scared, but more so because it's the only thing Falcons
have to make this round possible.
So why let it be possible?
of cats instead. Now throw it in the bomb site.
I'm honestly an impenetrable crossfire here.
I'm getting scared, good molly, but they're already out.
Clean enough.
Oh no, out of ammo.
So it cleans up and there we go.
Monty deal with the first step in this very long journey.
Gives me cooling down the line.
So two SMGs might be a more active round here for Monty.
This one can't walk. Only B-Mass starting long gives it up pretty soon.
How come it's all coming in here?
Okay, Kyosuke double. While Falcons were spending all this time going about the long take,
Kyosuke's likely just done enough for them to take the round here and now. Afrotuk
The car will go unaccounted for a huge double. It comes to you. Okay from short
You just want to hang around trying to get away from this MP9 and with so much damage done onto a zoo
You will not be giving this one be three ago
Escape there from Nico
And he might have fought when all is said and done.
Wow, pulls that gun out, puts it to use in a nick of time.
Monty, shut down in the first gun round.
Falcon's clinical.
And you're going to get one more buy in this city side
without it.
Falcons are running over Monty's map pick of Dust 2.
And he should have next, not just a reliable map
for Karaghan historically, but one
that the Corps of Falcons were already apt at playing.
And I mean, Carrigan's had some poor games so far
individually, it's almost to be expected,
but I think fourth lowest rated player
they're then coming into the day,
but this is not one of them.
So it doesn't get easier.
Now for a no warp.
Yeah, I think you know saying fucking's what after ancient is
was the underselling
There's a lot this year things have been a little shaky and boredom on it, but uh
Thinking back to 2025. It was uh, insane.
Yeah, they had a every double-team at win streak
Every team that wasn't called bait, basically, no match for Falcons on that map.
You got about that.
17 and three threat 2025 on the ancient.
I'm not sure if it's the right position.
B-Mass quite an off angle, just in the middle of the open, but it's close position and Tess
is just waiting for it, position revealed, B-Mass in trouble, there's three rifles running
his way, he would hold the line, and if he plays off him and this one too much for Lonty,
might keep them here on Dust2 for another round.
5v2 with the bomb control.
The combat saviour of the falcons.
I'll take for Monty, just kinda boost over this smoke.
Right?
Double-nade is good info there.
Aware of the two players' catwalk on this staff.
So that's gonna send Karrion out early into this mid to be...
Raster Falcons start to come through the tunnels, Karrion first to fall,
and now it's just eyes forward, Azumu!
Oh!
Cut down there, is he?
Tried to ride the hot hands of the double.
Team flash, no problem now, Monty, I locked out.
Tap on that bomb, you can see if they give you the fight, nothing comes through,
but you've baited out the Utila, at least.
This delay is buying time for the flank.
flank.
Well, as he commits second time around.
Tunnels flank arriving very, very quickly in Kiyosuke.
Nice way to stop, but Lil'Amo in this AK.
Everything had to be flawless.
Good stuff there on that wrap round through the tunnels.
Now down to just three rounds between Monty and the Falcons
Falcons in what felt like a super one-sided map
It felt for a moment like gives me not being able to get that fight because of flash
Was gonna hold back Monty and give Falcons a bomb plant give them time to get set up
But instead it allows gives me to use his utility
Monty able to buy time for Afro and we saw how difficult those post plants are to deal with
Back in the first half, but having Afro with great timing backstab keeps Monty in good state
He's got the orb now as well.
Three round game should close up here as it's just the monosie scout and peppered pistols
here for Falcons.
Hard to expect much, although the monosie scout is still in the round.
Oh no no no no no.
Stay away from those double doors.
You just know that one entry on Gizmy could set Falcons up for an unlikely round victory.
I'm running in here, there's no idea who's throwing nades and they're glockin' down!
Beemas has saved his captain's life, bomb loose and a third headshot comes in!
What a round from Beemas here man, the cover forgives me countless times.
Scout lands a couple of tags before all is said and done, but clutch up
I know
Does like his utile on the ramp right? We've seen this a lot
He's always cooking in terms of the nades in that position, but yeah B-Mass wasn't there
That could have been a really dicey round. My goodness. Yeah, he's caught but throwing needs twice over gets glock headshot
B-Mass from afar just
picking them off
And maybe some stress over the Falcons is this game absolutely is closing up. Yeah, wasn't stressful in the beginning
Was it they were fighting everyone all the time and every opportunity?
Okay, monocies orbs out, but I don't know if it's a fight worth taking for Afro here.
I'm gonna do a lot more, for the honesty, than it is for Monty.
I can't long late, I think I'm going for the pop here with a late flash and B-Vas gives
it up.
It's after a boost if you're lower.
Falcons expecting a play here, very patient in tunnel.
Not much going on for Mons, we've got a Zewoo in a committed position to try and catch a
player off guard.
He's going to get support, perhaps to get out here from Afro.
Falcons now start to clear lower slowly.
Trying to be method of flash for cat, Kyosuke's out and about.
And the Zulu's still stuck in this corner.
Falcon's trying to find that first player.
Nice.
Nice.
Look at Monty immediately if you ask me some tell here.
They are setting up for this A-Hit.
Flash play out on short carrying and dead.
Reflash.
It's the Afro Warp. Monty and Niko 2v5.
So I'm gonna have to come through. Good shot for Monosy to start things off, but 15 seconds there's no winning this.
Surely. You're going into the stack and you realize just how bad this is.
And so it's a one round game.
Oh he needs to sort out anything after he's running at him right now.
Careful Monosy. Another missed shot. Knife is out, he's just gonna fit in.
Monacee stabs the offer on his escape and he survives.
Disaster strikes for Afro. Sure, they'll pick it up, but ugh.
Egoed here by Monacee.
She made his own loss bonus, right?
Yeah, true.
Well, they'll laugh it off.
Fun and games here for Monty as Falcons feel the pressure.
They feel the stress. They feel the burn.
This is a 9-3 comeback right now.
Down to 10-9.
I'm on you with money advantage
He's T side starting to get very very worrisome for the Falcons definitely are
Didn't he source a worry for them?
here in a star net
Zero rounds on nuke versus 9z
Didn't have the room on Dust2 to even show one.
And even...
Pistol's in this now to level out the game.
Oh, wow, monosy, 20 and 8, Kiyosuke, 19 and 10.
These were a long while ago. Monty have remained very active. They're always moving on the
map here. They're always setting something new up. Double setup in middle. Had the cat
flash last round. Got ideas, man. Falcons have yet to punish this B bomb site properly.
It was Monty's way in. Think about that, right? Those three rounds coming off of the B hits
for the most part. Falcons are able to replicate.
We're gonna have Kat, not a seat with a try, but he gets lagged.
If I just end on that B-side, but there is no re-smoke, oh it's gone down, there it
is. CT spawn smoke has now put the pressure on. Gives me gone on Kat, will that change
the tune here for Falcons?
Oh Niko walking the smoke out through the tunnels.
He'll get his while moving back in to try and join him.
As Uwu can hear this, the rotates can start to begin.
Uwu holds the line for the first, gets out with a double.
Will that be a no?
Oh, monosie tapped.
Beemass, I don't even know he's done that.
It's a test is now being asked to clutch for the Falcons if they want to maintain this lead.
This was a nine three half could be in jeopardy with test says just falling shy of the clutch
Monty of tight things up dude 11 help for B mass not just one tapping out monocy with
the game he's having with stopping a very difficult clutch strong position for test
says, almost converts it with that spray and that went so wrong.
I guess the zoo was anti flash or really deep in that corner of car.
His teammate just gets walked on the smoke and one deekt makes up for it.
Sure, the hold, but the margin is so tight there for Monty.
And now they're on fire.
Five straight rounds on CT side, two saves for Falcons.
And another try on the fall by, but you are running out of room boys.
Honestly, not giving that pick. Missed Molly, big trouble. They realize though they don't.
Afro tries to take the line, but that Molly falls short and Monty finds the pick.
Falco's needed that.
Be pushed for Monty, perfect remedy, but Niko's holding on from Tunnel.
That's going to tempt you into a B hit, surely.
They have cap, but they go back.
Anyway, it's still here.
Okay, it's a 5v3.
Surely you can't lose this.
This is how they look to maintain the lead.
Rainmaker firing off only gets out with one.
Very aware.
I think seeing one player push up,
he's sort of going to back up straight away,
realizing that this could be a double play.
Let's see if Falcons are able to trade that out, put the bomb down, and force a save.
My money's not perfect if I'm on to either, so these guns need to be held on.
Falcons shouldn't hunt.
They don't have their own reserves built up either, so stalemates here on the save, Falcons
break the streak.
That fire
the
the
the
the
down to one misbitter you tell I think he was running and you know throwing a
trigonometry molly
that has resounding consequences here for monty all of this comeback all dangling on this round
if they lose this step broke
And is it really gonna be the all-in at this V-bomb site?
Monosy could spawn, gets posted on the AWP, and the one player in the site for Monosy
would like to go down with nothing, Azumu, pick through the door.
Gotta kill the lurker now.
And they will.
It's back on.
Still, if this baits you in to go for this retake and you lose everything, there is nothing
left for Monty in this next round.
This is the map right here, resting on this retake.
Flash for Afro, that's the go signal to the rest of Monty.
Kiyosuke and Tessayus in their crossfire, shut down.
There's two players that try and move in, it's just Afro.
out by the utile at nowhere left to turn. It's a Falcons round, map points secured and this AK
is really all Monty are going to have to work with. Oh, they need it. They definitely need it.
That's not a nice fight and Afro falls at the end. Nothing to show for this CT side. Have Monty
up against map points. Oh, the margin of error there. Rain waker pre-firing out of fear of the
flashbang, he wasn't even full blind and that gives Falcons the warning on B. Azulu almost
gets a double, a 2K that would have made the difference. And with neither of those players
stepping up here on this B bomb site, Falcons punish the weaker half of Monty. Final timeout
of this regulation, called out by Kakafu.
And what do we have here for Monty?
A rifle on BMAS, FAMAS, forgive me, and MP9s to survive.
Falcons may have dodged death.
now it's just about not messing this up how is they surely you do just go be
again it's the side of the map with a zoo who was really really struggling at
the start of this series zero kills throughout the entire first half
Rainmaker was solid on the T side but since we've changed halves he's managed
Just one kill.
Really, the bulk of this game has been held together for Monty by Afro and his Orp.
And BMass out towards A, putting on a clinic.
Gives me even getting pulled over towards B, anticipating a hit here.
Three strong on the B side of the map.
Four Monty.
It's a good move. If you wonder if Karagan's position will pay off later, we got Monty very close long.
If they choose to flank, they're going to get punished and that could let Falcons bail
if the bomb is out mid to B.
Good re-smoke though for Monty.
As Falcons set their sights on this B side, Karagan is left position.
I mean Monty, this entire game comes down to a triple B hold
and at least three kills needed. Even then they're not favored.
Zulu close middle, Kiyosuke with the AK, his monocle holds window he can scale.
You need even more than three out of this sight.
All the rotating is so far away, you've got to hope the stack can prevail.
Where are they?
I'm going to load all the monkey yet, but there's the backstab for Niko.
This means he's got a check.
Ten seconds.
in the pack, and they don't know about him. He can stop this. Kiyosuke-
Oh no!
Quick switch! Dropping down! Carplot in time! Gizumi is just stolen that from the Falcon!
Kiyosuke is just tapping QQ. He is in the window looking at car tapping QQ. He can't
cover the player at car. He can't stop that bomb. Look at this. He's dropping nades to
Oh
Disaster strikes gives me height in plain sight and he wins the round off dropping the bomb I
Don't believe that I can't believe that so Falcons. Oh
Dear
You can't say it's not entertaining.
You can't look away.
Kiyosuke, back for revenge, walks in smoke, and that smoke completely catches Usuru off
guard.
He thinks he's safe.
Despite the fumble for Falcons, they might just redeem themselves with a brutal B hit.
Rain Waker holds on.
There's no support right now.
Stuck in middle is Niko, but he gets the kill anyway.
Vulcan come out tunnels.
Make sure you clear the car.
Oh, this round is all Niko.
Flash is leaving blind.
Traitor least secured.
Finally, Niko bought down.
Surely not.
The one man in this site right now for the Falcons,
The other two back in the tunnels, they'll get blocked off by that smoke.
This is a problem, Tess S tries to throw in one so they can cross on through, but Modesty's been spammed!
Tess S and Karagin!
Not the ideal names you would have picked to close in this clutch.
BOOM!
Not smoke or Faye, but the time is ticking, they gotta go!
B-Ness and Afro, the two top performers get lined up and knocked down!
It takes the fall 24 rounds, but crisis averted Falcons will lock in the dub
Okay, so Falcons takes the first map. This is against Monty
So I just want to highlight that half time nine creator Falcons should have been a quick easy win
So what wasn't working on their tea side prof? They were taking some time trying out different strats
Sometimes I want to throw a thing
I need the water bottle right there.
Yeah, it's done.
But no, it was pretty rough.
They looked very readable, I would say.
What was happening, Monty was ready for a lot of the plays,
the takes, you know, we're going to take long.
Okay, Monty's here with 4 on A.
They're aggressive on short and ready for, you know,
the slow peeps, the map control coming in,
getting picks and just rotating in time.
And they looked quite comfortable.
Afro on T side, he was no match for Monty,
for Monosie and that's no shame to Afro, right? But on the city side he had a lot more freedom
to move around and find some picks and it was looking really good from the Monty side.
I honestly feel if not for some of the individual plays coming up with Falcons right there,
this could easily have been Monty's map going away right now. And speaking of which,
I had to point out that Azulu, sorry, Azulu, yeah, he had a nightmare of a first half right there.
But apart from that as well, second half, I liked a lot of what Monty did in the city side.
You had a little bit of mid-round aggression coming out.
We saw one round where two of them perfect timing, push out to a short.
Q and C is all alone.
Should be a kill.
Should be a trade.
Instead, he's a pop-up.
Right, but that's what happens when you go up against a team like Falcons
with a caliber of just pure individual prowess they possessed, right?
But overall, I honestly, Monty did a pretty solid showing here,
even though it was a loss.
So, do you want to jump off the back of what you said, Ben?
Because I think maybe to give a little bit of sort of substance to Monty as a team.
This is a team that I would argue, easily one of the best in Tier 2.
They've just come off winning the CCT Global Finals against Heroic.
It's a team that consistently does well, is glazed quite a bit in Tier 2.
They've qualified for the Major.
This is the litmus test though, and I think it shows here that there is a very big difference
between sort of sitting at the top of Tier 2 and then going against a team like Falcons,
who I would argue has some issues, has some things they need to work on.
Some good players, a few good players.
Well, what I was going to say is the quality of players is just so high
that even with those issues, sometimes they just shoot harder.
Yeah, I mean, that's kind of what we saw.
Like, what you highlighted, the round where two guys push short
and Kiyosuka's there and they can't get the trade
and then they're trying to hunt Niko, they can't get that kill.
And despite like one guy being in a good possession,
they just can't convert that round, right?
And just as who was first half in general, zero kills,
That kind of stuff puts you in such a tough position that even if you, like,
gives me even with an interior is saying, like,
I watch all of these tier one teams all the time, I know how they play.
I'm really curious to see how I can match up.
It's definitely when they swing on you.
But then, then you're just like, I'm in the right position.
Everything is how it should be, but they just win.
I mean, I honestly think I was what, looking at Kyosuke stats, top frag,
23 kills, 12 deaths.
I feel like it's such a fraudulent top, top of the board performance as in,
he, like all of the CT rounds that they lost was on B,
when he would even get two kills, but still misplay the situation.
Like, allow the team to get a trade frag, and then take the bomb site,
he would go for some unnecessary commits.
I mean, we saw the Gizmi round when he was hiding on B.
Kiyosuka was kind of covering, but Cotton kind of knocked.
Then the next round, they get this opening towards B.
He's so much ahead of the play.
There's like, Niko is sitting in mid, everyone's waiting for the rotation.
I'm just taking the one-to-one fight.
And he's like, in the B bomb site, gifting an AK to the guy there.
It's like this is literally the only way you can lose this round. Just chill out wait for the red
It's not on you. You know, you're not you're not that guy
You mean you are but you know, take it a bit slower sometimes. I agree. I feel like we could see how
Sometimes the school underlies how you really did in the server, right? I think that was definitely the case over here for Falcons
I did feel like when they
Were a little bit more, you know, directly they're approaching some of the rounds
All right guys, it's just gonna be ending B right now.
It's just gonna pop on through, group up together
and get the kills, just shoot heads.
That's when they were finding success.
When it comes to defaulting,
it did feel like their backup plan didn't exist
or was sloppy.
So for example, set up for like a long take, for example,
like sorry, a long and short pincer towards A.
The moment they lose to like a nice power flash
from the CTs, they lose one of the short players
and suddenly they kind of stall.
They're like, okay, I'm gonna go for the trade.
We can't get the trade, it's a four versus five.
And then they start trickling in one by one
and just get massacred by the CTs instead of being like,
all right, pause, four, five, let's rethink
and re-approach how we want to go ahead with the round.
That seems to be lacking.
I don't think it's lack of ideas.
It's more about in the moment, they seem to kind of freeze.
And I think that's something Kerrigan really is gonna be,
he really has a need to work on.
Because I do think along, I'm gonna hold thought,
we all hold talk is to a different standard, right?
As far as I'm concerned, they need to lift a trophy here.
Like that's kind of what the Kerrigan move was.
And if they're not winning a trophy,
They definitely need to make a deep run in players.
Yeah, I mean, it depends on who they play, who they face and how they play.
I think that's if you go and they don't...
But if they play like this on the T side against Furia, against Spirit, like, you have an issue.
They're going to get ripped apart, that's for sure, but credit to the CT side,
but the CT side was just enabling kind of monosy.
Kyosuke to some degree as well, but it was a lot about just outclassing individually
the players on Monty, which you can do
against some of the other title contenders here.
Yeah, for sure.
I did like how emphatic and aggressive
they were on the CT side, right?
They were just being in their faces of Monty,
not really allowing them to do much.
But this just feels like deja vu.
Every series we've seen from them thus far,
you go back to day one, the first matchup,
they had ancient, they just kind of like come back.
I think it was 13-11 win for them, narrow affair.
Yes, against 9-Z, there was seven and one,
and then lose, I think, over the 13-8 or something.
Again, right?
Even here as well, just allowing the team to come back.
I guess a little bit of phase effect right there.
The character coming in, just making things entertaining.
But look, in the end, like I said,
I'm still gonna give a little bit of leeway
because of the new IGL coming in and all of that.
But they got a job done.
I think there's just bigger issues in that.
I'm a Carrigan believer.
I am, right?
Don't get me wrong.
I always believe Carrigan's gonna win a major.
I'm worried that this is a big expectation
for him to come and be a miracle worker.
And if he does it, he is my kind of strike guard forever.
Let's talk about...
He loves being in that position.
Yeah, let's talk about ancient though,
because that's where we're going now.
By rights, Falcons should wrap this up pretty quickly.
This should be a two-zero.
I mean, yeah, they like to snap a lot.
They pick it a lot.
I mean, on the other side,
Bonte also played to a decent standard, decent amount.
So I'm not thinking of them as being some like
pushovers on ancient specifically.
I think it's the same kind of story of this, you know, match in general,
where they are underdogs and they will have to find some tricks
and try to exploit some, you know, sloppy plays from Falcons that will come in.
It's just like the nature of roster change and the nature of Falcons in general.
So, I don't know, I think one bonus for Monty is that they didn't have their coach
for the first two games.
I think Kakafu coming in, he's definitely a big part of putting this whole team together
and having all of these young and experienced, not inexperienced, kind of players that have
been around but haven't really broken through.
Bimas is a guy that actually played both with Nico and Kerrigan, but for like two months
each.
So that also shows something about him.
Right, because it was a liquid.
Yeah.
That's it.
That time doesn't count, of course.
No, that time definitely doesn't count for him anyway.
We are going to take some time now because we need to take a break, get everyone refreshed
That includes you, because when we return, it's Ancients.
The human body was built to move, not trapped as a task in one singular posture for 12 hours
a day.
It's time your chair evolved.
This is Secret Lab Titan Evo.
Ergonomically continuing for you, gamers, hybrid workers,
offices, and in you every move.
PG Lestana, 2026, and we've got probably one of the most exciting teams
coming out of Europe right now, which is Monty, who have been building
and growing and developing, working with the players you have.
Will you give me the in-game leader?
What's up?
A British in-game leader as well.
Finally getting some more British talent coming through the door and making it work.
Yeah, happy to be a rep in the country. There's not many, so it's good stuff.
Looking at just you guys and your consistency, this is what impresses me the most.
Because lots of teams are fighting in these tier 2, tier 3 level events and they can get a win or they can get a deep run, but they then fall off a little bit.
What is making things so different when it comes to Monty?
We were just talking about it, right?
You had some earlier exits, but I mean, you didn't have bad performances,
like losing to some of the random teams, for example.
You've been able to stay steady and keep growing.
Yeah, we've been doing pretty well.
I think that it's a mix of good preparation, in the sense that we've also learned a lot
from past events in the past seasons and you know the conclusions we made from them we actually
took to heart and we you know worked forward to fix certain things that needed to be fixed and
there's it's like because of that we've improved a lot I would say and then so it's a mix of that
because and that also combines with the preparation because sometimes for these lands we weren't
properly prepared to not just in like countering the enemies just of how we want to play
Like, coming into the game, kicking, basically.
And, you know, sometimes we'd come into the game without a game plan, for example,
and people would be quiet or whatever it is.
What makes this Monty so special?
Why is it working?
Everyone's doing something, basically, for a team to work, as we all know.
So, you know, of course, I would say I'm having a good impact,
but to speak more about my teammates, like, we've got Afro and Rain, both, like,
Doing extremely well at the moment and everyone coming together has made the team work
Who is the like of a voice in the team to help you out?
Who is the one been able to give you the extra information or give you some support when you need it as well
You're just still young throughout going yeah, all of this and you do have a couple of players with this experience
Like even B-Mas he may be young, but he's been through some big events in his career
He's been through the experience part of it. Yeah, he's he's he's legend phase B-Mas
right? Yeah, I always crack jokes about that. But I'm glad I'm glad you do that. Yeah. Well,
outside of the server or yeah, generally, in the server, yeah, but in the server, it will be Afro.
He's the second voice for sure. Yeah, he obviously is the orc. So he's finding himself in all
active positions. And he will, he will have a lot to say. And it's also good as well because
of my role on CT sides. Some maps I'm in the map control areas and some I'm on like the
small site, small bomb sites just varies between the maps but it's good because I have, I always
know that Afro will step up on the CT side as well. If maybe people go quiet or something like
this, he's one not to and he will continue having a voice and making ideas on the spot and stuff
like this. So I already asked you, would you consider this event for a star to be like
the biggest test for you guys now as a team before you move up into the major? For sure,
for sure. Yeah, I think the competition here is pretty good as well. At least with the
top eight teams. So we're really looking to challenge some names this tournament will
be a great test to see how we're doing. Also before the major, you know, if anything, hopefully
not, but if anything does go wrong, we'll have a bit of breathing room, right, before
the Major, which obviously is also extremely prestigious tournament.
What would you see as the leader when you go, okay, we just had a little bit better of
this, maybe something team play or something on the communication or this would be the
thing that could unlock us to the next level?
Yeah.
Okay.
To go then into the details, it would probably be regarding free planning things in the game
and essentially ping ponging off teammates.
This is currently what we're putting the most attention to, and we think by doing this
it should make us a lot better, but I think it's really important to have a good flow
of communication in the rounds with your teammates, and when there are those buffer periods of
of 20 seconds whilst the smoke's still up or something like this, we need to be communicating
about how the setup will look, if the enemies do this, we do this, etc, etc.
And when we do that, especially in officials, our games flow so well, and that shows to
us what our, you know, essentially peak can be, and we need to continue to replicate this.
And that's what we're trying to do as often as possible.
Awesome.
I'm looking forward to seeing it, man.
and I'm excited to see what damage you can do at Astana, like I said, very exciting team for
the rise you've had and being able to challenge some of the bigger names, so let's see what happens
in Astana and good luck throughout the journey. Thank you.
Falcons avoid the fumble on that first map, 13-11 win over Monty, this spike is me's best
efforts and be massed with a fantastic individual map. Now we head to Falcons map pick the very map.
There were 17 and three on last year alone. Monti no stranger to ancient but might be down to the
one two bucket of Falcons keep up. Honestly started very, very strong last game and hey,
despite all the danger, Falcons did close. Yeah, that they did. A bit of an odd feeling
right at the end of Dust2 because you kind of surprised it was so labored after the 9.3 half
in the form you were getting out of your, uh, your stars, monosy, super keen to fight Nico
looking crisp and Kiyosuke finishing top of the charts. That's a good job highlighting some of the
kind of Kiyosuke fumbles, some of the kills he gave away and weird spots that he would put, uh,
Falcons in. I'd like to think now though arriving on Ancient, you can put Dust2 behind you. This
should be a better time for the Falcons as they go looking for the clean 2-0.
Definitely expectations of that. I mean, they had a close game versus K27 on this very map,
but again, similar. Shut it down, 13-11, and you know, that was Monty's go-to back on Dust.
That was their most played by a significant margin, four times as much as ancient in the last
three months. So they had the track record at least. You know, we had some quieter players,
which is a bit of a shame, right? Azulu unable to kill in that first half,
Rainwake as you said, great first half, but then nothing done in the entire CT side.
And those two were the B players that were just consistently abused across the end of that game.
It's what really got Falcons back in the swing of things. We'll see if there are the same problems
here on this CT side of Ancient. We're going live, map two of this series, Falcons trying to bounce back
from a difficult day yesterday as they fell to the up-and-coming 9Z and now look to take on
another major qualified team in Monty to get through to the playoffs. They're going to need two more wins to do so.
Fast out mid here for Monty. Flash and up heaven. They're fighting for this, but
Alters will meet them there, out elbow, Monaster draws them in.
And throwing the two who hold strong for a second, but then they get stuck in the mud.
Nice!
Rolling around for Afro gets dirty.
Double kill from him, three in the round and gives me his every step of Karagin, so this A-play is denied.
I like that.
Karagin falling for it.
Seeing a triple mid, you think A is open, it's anything but.
Captain puts on the pistol here for Monty.
And Falcons rock and roll here to start this game.
And Convincy shut down.
And now full eco.
Oops.
That's fine.
You know, one smoke for Carrigan, so you're looking for a bomb plant here.
Don't think you're gonna get it.
Oh, no.
I think they might.
Now with that smoke.
Oh!
Just about denied.
Can they try to prioritize it?
It honestly jumps out into BMAS.
So, all is fine here for Monty.
Only one casualty.
Remember the track record I just said about Falcons on this map, right?
They are more than prepared, so let's see what their first T-Site gun round has in store.
Got a build bringing something with a high success rate, and that is the A-Abuse.
Nobody home, on to triple myth, all fighting as Falcons.
Do I need to pick up the pace here?
Are they going to double fake it?
First smoke's gone in, second smoke in the donut, Falcons starting to move.
This is really slow, though.
Tessa's good to open, but the rotates have already arrived.
You've got all the Monty here on the other side of these smokes,
and a bunch of low players for the Falcons.
Zulu made a step.
Niko's got him. Unlucky.
I'm shocked Falcons plant so open as well Monty even Molly default they don't spam
they don't Molly the corner Falcons is just able to get away with a wide plant
and with two players low health a bit of spam for Monty could have made that
round winnable again. Nice luck position from Nico to punish and that will send
Monty out. Sometimes kind of like dust too, felt like towards the end. Games of
ancient will just regress to finding different ways of punishing this A bomb
site. So Falcon's gonna make use of that here on this T side we'll have to see.
I'm chance of the early break here for Falcons, and again, just looking at this round, it's
a lot of attention afterwards, eh?
I think you just want to keep up that constant threat, right?
CT smoke, steps in main for the Donut player, get that U2 out of Monty early.
It's going to even make retakes of B really, really difficult.
If at the start of every round you're just putting pressure point on A.
I'm pretty exact, but once you still have two players at B,
gives me just moves position.
They can walk right in.
up Tom Brams right into Niko who's snuck in deep.
Karrigan even catching a zoo back on the lane and why not make it a double there?
Wide swing out gets the info about the double heaven climb up.
This one is over, it's Falcons tying us up early, save us a requirement here, and even
though you get out with these guns, I don't think that's going to make a world of difference
to the purchase for Monty and the next.
It might just be playing around these rifles.
Really nice call for Falcons though, early pressure on A, they then recommit with more
smokes making it look like a proper A here to Monty.
Just take eyes off the ramp as that happens and that's what Falcons can contact in.
gives me stave long gets our spot he can block ramp he can keep up the pressure they're not forced
out of cave maybe they can compete for the round but falcons just punish on the lane
and so couple of saves as you say but staring down a bit of a falcon's streak now
BMS with the mag dump all the while Niko is closing in through heaven find the
early 5v4 like that and on to what has been the heavy hitter for Monty across
the series feel quite comfortable now one of the rifles gone and you learn
about the next rain waker aggressive in made
two rifles a side on T is known about I said Falcon's just back into be the
climb up heaven which shouldn't be all too threatening
I don't think the 20 bajillion dollar roster can take down the one vanilla pistol.
Although there's a rifle in heaven.
A rifle in heaven is a bit of an issue, but honestly, stops it, makes it a double, and
now it is just these USPs.
Whoa.
Whoa.
Smoking me.
Oh, that's been fun.
Smoked by me.
But it's okay, it's under wraps.
Honestly, I get the only shot required, which was to get that bomb back off the lane.
And then we go 3-2 with Monty, coming in with guns again.
Afro's gonna have that all.
And he's got a lot to do, alright.
Monty started strong yet again.
I can be missed by everyone, I was on one T-Suite after.
So lots of pressure on just one man, BMAS coming in alone but clearly middle, Falcons
look like they just want to contact out smoke adds a bit of threat to heaven but
monocle just walks it down yes you can get started as well
triple B setup, monocle punishes that's a pick into donut on a jiggling B-mass so
How could you speed up?
Brooo!
Ouch!
And that should be the round.
Set of entries.
Get past the Afro warp, get past
BMAS out in donor, jobs are goodin'.
I'm declaring everything this time.
Yeah, well, Rainweaker's giving them a lot of anxiety about some of these corners.
Oh, I'm husband planned.
Hypnotizing.
Like a metronome.
Oh, it's okay.
Careful.
Hey, Falcons could afford it, they've got a win streak as well.
Four rounds.
on this T side. It's been very slow as well, probably difficult for Monty to deal with.
It's not like you can win the round in mid at the start of the round. Falcons aren't
charging anywhere. Happy to wait for Monty to back up.
Thought I saw an elf on the subway. It was actually a metronome.
Metronome? Anyway.
That's what you've been thinking about for the past minute.
No, sorry, I was looking at you smiling. Metronome.
Metronome.
Metronome.
I get it.
Falcon's 4-2 up.
And just those saved guns for Monty to work with.
Well, a couple of deagles too.
Why not?
Su-Kate.
Now in the middle.
No contest.
He's got this space for free.
They have a lot of space.
They're walking dry-up ramp with this orb covering and full mid-control.
Gotta be scared of a triple B.
Oh, gives me jump set and he does find character.
A lot more to do here.
Molly, respect this by Niko.
Just don't get wallbanged.
Nope.
Like that.
Oh dear, that is brutal, isn't it?
Wallbang, HG, and now they line up for Kiersuke.
I don't think that could have gone better for the Falcons.
For a triple B set, our back crumbles in seconds.
Seen a nice variety too to this T side out of the Falcons.
Set that kind of early game precedent, worrying about A, worrying about the AXX.
Now it's been theorised we're here there, and even everywhere.
Falcons with five in a row, Monty, the only success they've had is the pistol and those conversions.
than that. Ah, these rounds have been particularly close. What a nade this one. Get carried to
exactly where it gets me once.
Very blind. Very dead now. Rain waker picked up first.
Niko holds on for a potential heaven re-swing, but we know no one's coming from here.
Instead, it's a Zewoo.
Now the world into the red room. Cover in for Kiyosuke.
He is killed and kept around alive right now.
He's walking through that donor smoke.
Pressure on B-Mass is carrying him molly to the mouth.
The donor still smoked.
Falcons are going to hesitate.
They're going to let Nico whirl.
Because if he gets this entry, it opens up B.
Gizmy's missed that timing, Niko gets closer and closer, an unfortunate set of circumstances
for Gizmy as he might walk in instead of waiting Niko. Great kill! And so Falcons must go forward.
Gizmy's realizing that as well. Oh, Karagun bangs out B-Mass. And so crisis averted.
You know, we've definitely seen, you know, small mistakes, Kiyosuke, and a big playoff
game, so he's gone missing, but when he's in these environments, watching his death
POVs, his kill, you know, the death POV, no, opponent's death POVs, you really have to
marvel at the time to kill.
Thank you, Harry.
I was I was laughing just because yeah at the metronome. No
Just the idea of watching his death
He really dies quick
All right in full swing right now in red in red
Afro Hero Orb, on the eco, thoughts?
It's uh...
You know, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Nice grenade, I like it, can you teach me that one?
They've smoked spawn, they've naded spawn, what's next?
Alright, getting crazy in middle, P-class will win that fight out.
And that's the Death POV collection?
Yeah, it's one of his better ones for sure.
And Afro hits with his cover on the heaven. That's why B-Mas goes swinging an elbow
He's got that cover and they've got a 5v3 B-Mas tucks in
Monacy moly's
Big problem
Do they clean this? Oh, yeah, Tess says
What a bait from Tess says
Oh, no, monacy wins that that's sick
It says to just fire at random shot and maybe mass peak and fed to the wolves here 3v3 back
from a two man advantage.
The gamble for all of the dice Falcons walk through red though they could go either way.
the bomb over here to a you got
this boost in play.
and we can is committing to the
flank though.
the zoo chance to stop the bomb
plant. That one's easy need this
All right, we got ourselves a clutch off 1v1
Snesses tucked in
I'm gonna try and get away out towards CT
Whatever he wrote as well
Can you put it together test this is what ground the world
Gives me gets on that bomb for the full 10 seconds stick
Tess is missing the shot, he's off the mark, gives me nose, he's got deep use of Tess as he's getting hunted down, so Monti's 10 seconds stick off their captain in the smoke, and Tess is just a little off the mark on that spam.
Oopsie!
And so Monti, despite almost choking at 5 on 3...
Oh
Not surprised to see a timeout after that round because it is a victory, but it's a almost hollow victory
Could have been a lot easier and
and maybe time to rein it in a little bit in some of these advantage moments
because we've seen Falcons win from manned down multiple times now, streak
broken, six in a row,
This multi-triber cover their CT side.
In this mid-fight it's been super important to finally be able to get one back of it.
Okay, in that last round.
And so this time he doesn't attempt the early midtake.
Triple B star and Falcons are looking towards this half of the map.
Two Brits on B. Two planes in delay with the smoke.
Gizmos is forced out early.
He's setting up an execute.
Not in a hurry though.
There they go!
I'm not sure if you can see it.
There's a remoly over towards
the ramp. Can try to come right
through it. That splits the
push up. Oh, Eco two quick
kills back, but he's so low on
health. Low on time. There's no
winning this one for Nico.
He tried to have a bit of a
resurgence here as they chain
very low it felt like there was no way Falcons are pulling any kind of fake in
that round lurk out mid denied on Tess's and nice kills from tucked in the cubby
there. Monty an important be hit to remind Falcons or be defense to remind
Falcons that they can.
Two more full by Stevan dead in the face. So pressure never alleviates hit for Monty.
This thing's on B2 high damage. Oh my god, do they do?
Honestly, burning alive.
Niko runs through that molly and does find a cave player.
So low health, some serious tags, but Falcon's at 5v4.
Oh boy.
This is an interesting routing, isn't it? Forgive me.
But if Niko finds the gap B, it's a problem.
For now, it looks fine.
I think he was coming back Teespawn.
He's gonna be left out of this round. Might not matter.
B-Masses drop two.
Now you've got to go mid to B. Afro's on his own.
It's me finally arriving...
On this flank, and that's Monosy dead.
Karigan, no, he slipped the net.
What? How?
And this would be a bomb plant over in B.
You know, this is site taken, which gives me revealed on the flank.
They know him as the B player.
Nico, able to shut him down.
B-Mass dead, climbing up through heaven.
You've been able to claw this one back.
There's 2B4 and it was 2B2 and you've got the bomb planted.
Nico, low on health, doesn't care.
Absolute mission.
Nico with four and one hell of a sequence from him in Karagin.
So what's that one over the finish line?
That's a duo we waited to see.
That's the Niko we know and love.
What a combo.
Perfect play from Karagin.
Flank all the way around behind.
And Niko, just beautiful mechanics.
This is how it started.
Remember, he ran through the molly even to get into cave.
I just, I feel like Monty really overplayed that.
They split up completely.
Afro not realizing
They could be Red Room even though they've seen Monosik in there.
The one thing I'll say is like when the risk taking began, they were on the back foot, right?
It was like when they split the defense up, they were 4v5,
and then BMAS got that double kill that kind of changed the nature of the round.
Niko just found a crazy double entry triple kill on ramp.
The Niko show.
There's Ponti and the gutter right now.
And there we go, eight round half here for Falcons on that T side.
Those last two really just put a bow on it, don't they?
It's just always such a treat whenever you get Niko in this form.
Even on Dust2, I know it was kind of the trifecta of him, Kiyosuke, and Monosil hitting hard,
but when Niko is playing good, there's just something about the way it looks.
You know, it's so nice to watch.
Alrighty.
I mean, you know, Niko has always,
since the addition of Kiyosuke,
always kind of taken the stance of trying to be more
of a team player, create the space for the young,
you know falcons kind of young prodigy player
but uh... then you bring carrigan into this lineup
not only do they have the history but i think uh... he still has a lot of respect
in
admiration for nico as an individual
it's hard not to get these games out of nico reminds you that i get this is
still a
talk to you about to put a bit more of a spotlight on him while giving him the
freedom to uh... to do the
The madness that we're getting in these games.
Seeing him find a lot of value on extremities in this match.
What is this?
Crash down the ramp, Falcons don't wait for you to play, but
Giyosuke falls and he's bought a lot of Monty players.
Does that change the plan here?
Cave smoke coming in, looks like they just want to go.
Oof.
Whoa!
Brutal from a zoo. Thank you for the Julees
How
You ain't winning this zoo is coming gunning for a fourth
Monacy
Surely not right
I'm off the line to take off the bomb, Monacee really started to believe now.
Monty trying to run away, they decide the best way not to fight him,
because Monacee's a killer way from the ace.
So much time ticked off this bomb, and Monacee does never get to work with,
so he's just going for the kills, for the ace, for the glory.
And it gets denied, Rain Waker stops facing him.
We've had a couple of near 1B5 like pure 1B5 pistol rounds here in Astana.
And Monace now adds his name to that list.
Can't believe they just keep fighting him.
Be must in the open.
Confident, but maybe too much.
Monace, great display.
Although it is Monty with the pistol.
Let me just remind you that was a beautiful triple from Azul on entry.
Picking up here, suitcase, jewelies.
Put to use.
Falcons with a mid-pop.
Monty.
With bomb outside of B, should be no problem here, even if they lose players out mid.
So, flash call.
Here it goes!
Nathima, sorry, you're a sacrificial lamb, but...
You're still gonna get that bomb in the B bomb site, you'd like to think, it's taking its time.
Don't lose K now.
Okay, that's fine.
Wait.
Okay.
He's alive!
No!
Niko gets out!
They can win this.
Zuru placed a fade.
My flash is good!
Zuru recovers!
Thank goodness for Monty!
Did not lose to Niko.
Azuru back to back triple kills.
He's alive!
No!
Niko gets out!
They can win this.
Azuru placed a fade.
My flash is good!
Azuru recovers!
Thank goodness for Monty!
Did not lose to Niko.
Azuru back to back triple kills.
Eko Azuru back to back triple kills
Bails them out of a very scary situation. It's only a USP round
So it feels silly to even like over-analyze it
But I almost wish that kids who get like didn't go so soon out through heaven or on his lonesome
teammates went towards elbow to go retrieve the guns there were two rifles dropped it's like
No, I like it. I guess at that point they didn't have the bomb
Tom, a plan to kill, so it was about 33.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm with you.
I know, it's something that we even saw at the end of Dust, like you finished at the
top performer, but in a couple of critical moments, sometimes you get a little too trigger-happy,
you know, like you want to...
Yeah, if a C-Mex came to trade in there, could have just swung together Cave, maybe winnable.
Yeah, it also like affected the path in Day-Take, right?
They feel like they can't go heaven because they don't have anyone there anymore
You have to jump up which is like a whole scuffed battle in the first place, especially with no armor
What could have been hmm could have been the USP upset so now a two-round game
We've been here before
This would require a very strong T side from Monty
Stonelby A site here. He's going main. Not the guy you want to mess with right now
And Monosy not far away, AWPing in the donut.
BMass, good luck here.
Gonna need it.
Simple shot for Monosy.
Eco blocks.
And Monty, game plan kind of ruined in this round.
They're just gonna come through to smoke.
My shot, Azulu's back.
Yeah, what's changed?
Azulu's just a second half merchant.
Seven kills.
Three rounds
That should stop this retake
As long as no one gives it away huge lolly forces carrying it forward can't convert it
But then he does gives me swings back into the spray three on three. They're moving speed
I'm ready for that swing but an uncharacteristic miss and with Tess as iced out that save call
comes through for Falcons.
Dude if Monacy hits that shot they've won the round.
Straight up.
That is the peak of uncharacteristic he has been on fire in this series but the one shot
the would have made all the difference in that 3v3 with his teammate on site.
And Monty Persevere, the scary post-plant nonetheless.
Monty can't get two ahead of themselves in this one.
It's not the
anti-eco with that Monteseo save now.
You're always going to be paranoid as to where he'll crop up.
Don't worry, he's going to show you that.
Plays it fast down through the ramp, burns low in the molly, but gets out with the advantage for the Falcons.
I would have liked that smoke a bit quicker on the molly by his teammates.
He got out before they smoked it. He lost 80 health.
But hey, 5v4, and he's moved quickly, and I like that Monty just immediately recommits
a B because I don't think he's just going to be sitting here at the back of the site.
I think it's a gap, and they're right.
Perig 5-7 needed something there, and Monty might have just avoided danger again.
Those aren't walls though.
Oh, B-Mass baby.
What's he saving?
Monty are giving quite a go at it here. Falcons yet to win a round in this half.
Oh, yeah.
I'm going to have the buyback out for Falcons, but starting to get real nervous now, right?
Surely this don't happen twice over.
Yeah, it's just like these rounds of it super close that Deco win almost there's then they retake almost there's
So maybe fuckers not feeling too worried just yet, but
It's an early kill and Karagan's under pressure. He's alone on this bomb site. It's gonna play cave right now
Professor's needs to come back. They've rushed on. Karagan doesn't even realize how deep they've gone
And Monty, I've just rolled out the red carpet
That's that!
Yeah, they're saving.
Pack it up!
One kill all it takes, Monty into the lead!
I mean, the Karagin Tess S bomb site...
...killing like the gap.
Monty, very vocal.
I'm already...
...trying to offer his suggestion for that next round, perhaps.
31 kills on Niko and Monosy, but they're largely left out of these rounds.
And for the other three,
8 for Kiyosuke, 8 for Karagin, 6 for Tesses.
24.
The last win.
B feels like you're way in.
I have the choice between going to go fight Niko, Monosy, or Karagin and Tesses.
I know which one I'm picking.
me too. I mean, but yeah, well,
that's why we're seeing monos start there sometimes with the
Op. I wonder if you will hear
or if Monty are going to make an adaptation abuse of this B
bombsite very clear in these last couple of rounds.
Spricy carrying caught off that much. I think the cave smoke
he sees it coming things. They're going to wait for this to
bloom. But pretty fearless play out of Monty right now.
Willing to take heads up fights versus the Falcons and they're
coming out on top every round of the second half so far.
all
triple B double mid
see us here
And Monty go for something a little bit slower here.
Chance to test their default.
Monty's getting aggressive down the rampside.
Soon knows to watch out for this though.
Question is, if he wants to leave, can he?
here at the back of me.
While Monty make moves in middle, Monacy stays still
and Azulu looks like he's going to walk into this all pretty well.
So 5v4 for Falcons and Monacy all put to the right place.
And now you go into Kyosuke and Niko.
Karakin covers red.
It's gonna have shadowed Vantage here if Afro comes around the corner shifting with the AWP, it's unlikely he's gonna cut rotates.
Yeah, exactly, right? And if he can just serve that function, it's actually a powerful position on this all.
Go though.
No reason to go any further. And with Niko and Kiyosuke overran, the A-Site crumbles and you've got Afro to worry about.
Modesties hits are so strong right now, just trading excellently, even though they're coming in from different choke points.
No one rushing, no one overplaying.
Oh, that was close.
Modesty unscopes.
And maybe they feel like they have to go for this right now, because Falcons just can't get a grip on their second half.
Modesty moving in.
One player committed in this fight. Modesties gonna grab it.
This retake is on.
Both of them hits. Modesties has a flick.
and Afro's gonna hold this down. Nice shot, Tess's tap.
Afro doesn't forfeit.
Flash gets him off Tess's.
Fights the blind shot.
And they will win that retake.
Nice shot.
Can't believe they've won that.
Keep going or two.
Can't believe Tess's gets the full blind headshot there on Afro.
And of course, Modesty just nails two.
massive kills back out from temple the flake master that was going so well for
Monty too well for Monty look at that
Valkyrie's first of the half.
Gotta tell yourself it's the first of many.
The Izuke and Tess's alongside Niko claps down upon middle.
Oh dear.
Zulu has been able to sneak into the cave.
So hoping the Tess's comes back, but yeah, Tess's is resetting.
It's on B, Karagut Close Ramp, inside of the smoke.
I'm ready, flash down, Afro-Tons, what a shot!
Flink-180 gets dinked and still survives, as OoO's hit the timing.
Oh dear.
Will this make or will it break?
They don't know Tessas is here, they shouldn't.
So they get caught off guard.
KSUK backstab connects onto a Zulu.
And Gizmy's getting sandwiched on this AWP.
Oh, hangs out in the open there, and that gives up a 1v1.
Gizmy's got a route to go A.
Honestly, left instantly. He has great timing.
Gizmy ain't usually the AWPer, and he's got a face-off against lightning-fast monosy
in this clutch, got the spot, but monosie, calm and collected.
Perfectly played for monosie. Soon as Kiyosuke goes down, he is knife out rotating.
He could not be quicker. Gives me jump spots, thinks the angle is clear.
clear? Monacy moves in. Here's that jump. Perfection from Monacy in this game. He has
just been a brick wall, both the unstoppable object and the immovable force. Or the other
way around. Yeah, nearly. Same thing. He's all of them.
He is an unstoppable object, I'll give you that.
He's in a movable force.
Nico?
Chance to farm the pistols.
Dude, are you telling me Monty brought this excellent 5 round streak, only for two brutal post plans?
And now Falcons wake up.
I mean, their mistake about it, Monty is the reason Falcons are even in this position.
And even now his work is not done. One through the smoke.
Eco here alongside him
And it's that duo that have powered Falcons through this awkward second half
I mean both of these games felt like they were
Chokes for the Falcons and so far they've stepped up right at the end in order to save themselves job
Not done here on ancient
But they rallied through Dust 2 despite a 9-3 comeback for Monty and the same thing looks to happen again
To commendable maps for Monty is there anything left in the tank for this young team
They needed something they're speeding a
Okay
I used to see him on a CNS
And Izouwu running back, this fucking Entry's seen him do this once already, it's like déjà vu!
déjà vu.
You carry and saving.
That's a mental triple kill for Izouwu, he does not stop.
Run that back, triple entry, saves Monty's souls.
They lost full mid-control there with nothing to show for it but that one
monocy miss well it counts
they take that
okay half of it doesn't need help comes right through gets that all back
Look at the money, man.
Hmm.
Hmm.
You can buy a monocle.
Yeah, exactly.
That's really what the entire CT side is, Bin.
So actually, this is fine.
Two M4s.
Monocle, better not drop test as a rifle.
I'm sorry. Get that AWP right now. Yeah, three rifles.
I'm on a sea armed Falcon's dangerous Monty clinging on.
He's just given him a lifeline on this T side.
He really is a second half player Harry.
Three kills first half.
It's up to 14 now.
He's had three triple kills in this T side.
Yeah, in all the first halves combined in this series, he is three kills.
He literally doesn't show up till round thirteen.
And boy did he show up.
Okay, control taken.
Triple B for Falcons, it's fair.
Some of the hits we've seen from Monty be extremely decisive.
This bomb position scares me, but Rainmaker is out of there,
Nico's deep aim and control yet to activate.
And Falcon's conceding middle, and they are on the money with that call in this round.
There's still going to be this feeling of paranoia.
Kiyosuke is watching red.
Modesty don't up.
But once the hit comes in, Falcons are all here, three players to focus on that ramp.
Can Afro ease the tension?
There is this stack here for the Falcons, but it's their three kind of most struggling players.
So this is where you've got to brush that off.
And you've got to get a bit more mileage out of the rest of the gang.
Tess says with a good start, Azumu dead, not going to go on one of these Reins of Terror.
When Niko closing in, a movie's been making for some time, these kills are on a platter.
MP9's feast on the top ramp here, and Rainwaker might think the site's clear it's not Carrigan and Niko back here in the cave.
A third for Rainwaker. Surely this though is the end of the line as Niko hounds him down.
Falcons will make it on to match in series point.
Yeah, nice hold there for Tessa. It's nice to see him show up in a big round here.
It's been a quiet game like you said from those three, especially the bottom two.
But I love that he drops that smoke at 35. He's jiggling Afro was about to peek that with the orper
Could have been a free clean entry test is realizes with this much time on the clock
My smoke is more valuable puts it down Monte break it
They can't find a kill and then they just force through the smoke
Maybe the best move was enter line up in it and go together, but either way it's just mincemeat from test as
danish beef
As he smores them with the MP9
It's a nice close here for Falcons. One more round we'll do it.
Three A-gays to stop him.
There's a Zulu who's gonna have another entry moment.
He's crept up ramp.
Hello Tesses. Nice to meet you.
But Tesses responds.
And just like that,
the triple stack on this B site
might hold strong enough to shut down this series.
Monty put in one hell of a shift today but Team Falcons show up when it matters
right at the end of the game. So Team Falcons they close us out 2-0 it was
expected it was necessary it needed to be done before we talk about their victory
though I do play Prof Warner focus a little bit in on Monty because even
though this was 2-0 we saw two impressive comebacks hard fights I don't
I think it was a walkover for Falcons by any means.
Yeah, for sure.
Credit where credit is due.
We did touch upon how they are kind of the pinnacle,
so to speak.
No pun intended of the tier two scene right now.
But overall, just the fashion in which they're quite tenacious
overall, Azu had a nightmare of a map number one.
Map number two, we've seen just running on in.
Just absolutely clothesline in Kyosu came on us here.
Niko's a really cool stuff from them.
And honestly, if they go up against a team,
Like, let's say the 7th, 8th, 9th, 6th best team or something.
I think like it would really give, for example, the Mongols, or the G2 run for the money.
So like commendable effort coming out from Monty.
Obviously, some frustration there.
You can see Gizmy, the IGLE was there.
He seems to be having a lot of discussions.
Yeah.
People, quite, quite emotive discussions with some of his teammates.
Interesting.
Interesting that that's the level of frustration losing to Falcons,
also being like super down on the first half.
and everything. Yeah, they had like a five round streak where things were looking good.
Unfortunately, Ben Monacy showed up once again with like a double kill in that retake
and I want to be one clutch that turned back to Tygen and Falcon's favor.
I want to give some props to Monacy. He went
12-0 opening kills
over the series.
Bro, like he was just a force we reckoned with. That was classic Monacy, especially in the second half as well.
It really looked like
want you to be able to kind of, you know, claw themselves back and even run away with the wind.
But he was a difference maker. He was getting killed, which we were just yelling in the green and be like,
what the f is that? Right? So good to see Ilya back. You know, he's looking good. Nice Ilya.
The best or per Kerrigan's ever played with. That's what he said.
Yeah, I mean, I think he's definitely the most aggressive, influential, maybe the best at the time
Kerrigan played with it. Maybe that's a discussion. I think Device is there every back in the day.
I'm just supporting Karakin, Kaga, she said it.
I think it's always great when a big roster moves like this happen, and you need to see
one very, I don't want to say outrageous, but wild claim.
Back in the day when Twist joined Liquid and Cadian's there and he says, oh, this should
be better than Karakin as an IGL, I was like, okay, didn't have to say this with zero matches
played.
But this one is a bit tamer, a bit more understandable.
It's an opinion, everyone has one.
That's fair.
I had so many jokes about Cadian and Liquid, but we won't go there.
Let's focus in on Falcons though, like I said, this was kind of a job they had to do.
Obviously the 9Z last year was a surprise for them as well as everyone else, and they
just made sure that they took care of business today.
Yeah, I mean, honestly, this round here from Honesty, this is bad.
I think of the tide for sure. I mean, individuals showing up doing some good work.
I think the CT side was overall pretty strong. The T sides across both maps left some things to be desired, I feel like.
I feel the CT side on Angel of C2 twice thus far, right? Both the times have allowed their opponent to kind of claw themselves by K29 to K27.
I believe when they played the first game, they almost pulled off a comeback as well. It was a 13-11 scoreline.
memory serves me right. I would say this, it was, I felt like Karrigan, it was 11 kills, had more
impactful rounds than Kyosuke did on the CT side here on, on, on, on ANCHY because there's so many
rounds where he's just holding towards A prof and he's just like one guy running out, no pot flash,
no trade potential for the T and he's just not able to win the deal. And this is Kyosuke, like
this is supposed to be the aim star, you know, the main right for, for this team, a lot of money
paid for him and we know how good it can be. We know how when it comes to raw, fragging ability,
he should be able to pull it up. But for some reason, sometimes he seems to kind of fall asleep
and he just left scratching his head wondering like, you know, how are we just getting close
time with Zulu, two or three rounds in a row. So a bit confusing game from the young Clare there.
Yeah, I mean, that's the thing that I'm watching the closest with this Falcons development is like
how Kyosuke is going to behave. So far earlier in the tournament, I was checking the stats,
nothing too crazy. And after this series, I know the first one had looked pretty good on the
on the scoresheet, I still feel like there's a lot of development for him to have, obviously,
Kerrigan and him have been playing together for like 8 or 9 days, like 10 days now, so
not a lot of time to make any changes.
I know that this is quite a difficult one, because we've only seen them play 3 games,
but I'll throw it out there, there's a couple of questions all bundled into one, right?
Is Kerrigan enough to one, fix Falcon's T-Sides, to activate Kiosk and three, get it all done
before the Major?
I think the most impossible one to answer is the Kyosuke thing.
It is such a subject, dependent literally on the subject
that is Kyosuke.
And we don't, we're not him,
but we just assume what we see from outside.
Comes in a fix in the T-Sites.
I think the Karagans work miracles with multiple teams,
multiple lines over the past.
So while it might not be a perfect fix,
I'm sure it's gonna improve.
In fact, I assume like, you know,
the deeper you get into this tournament,
they're gonna look better and better.
I feel that's definitely going to be the case.
I mean, for me, I think they'll be able to get to playoffs.
But then I want to see how that playoffs Falcons looks with Kerrigan.
Because what we saw this year is whoever they face on a state game,
they're going to lose to them.
And that is the biggest thing that's unacceptable for this roster.
Because it didn't matter if it was Vitality or if it was Parivision,
they would lose.
And I want to see them change in that direction.
But they do have the greatest showman on stage, right?
that this guy lives and thrives on the arena.
Like if you go back to his previous lineups, you know,
on face multiple iterations, everyone needs to say,
the hardest job as a neocoding neo
is to just get them out of the groups into the stage.
And once they're on the stage, it's just easy for them.
Of course, different lineups and whatnot,
but the commonality, the common factor here
is Karrigan, the leader, the greatest showman we have.
So I really do expect to see some crazy stuff
from them come to the playoffs.
And I 100% believe they will be there.
CLDR, they're still question marks around Falcons.
So there you go.
That's what we got from all of that. Thank you so much for for watching and I hope that you'll continue to do that
We're done now Richard's gonna be in this chair in a little bit and we'll find out which two teams are making it to playoffs
She said she loves you, but she can't love me, but I love you
I
Won't play window anymore
The human body was built to move.
You're at the desk in one singular posture for 12 hours a day.
It's time your chair evolved.
This is Secret Lab Titan Evo.
Ergonomically engineered for you.
Gamers.
Hybrid workers.
Artists.
And back in your every move.
In Astana we get a very fresh, completely new, changed mouse and I'm excited about this
move because they have stuck with the same players for a long time but this is kind of
monumental.
Zersion, you're now sitting here in front of me as an IGL but of a very different looking
mouse.
How did this discussion come together for you to be in that position?
Was it you saying at some point you were interested, did they come to you, taught me for it?
Well, I have to be honest. It was a long time talked behind the scene. I think that my coach Dennis always wanted me in this
Row. He always envisioned me at some point going into the Agereau.
Of course, also when Boran became Agile, I was I was he really wanted me to take it.
Also Maus is an organization for the last year and a half.
They've been pushing me a bit in a way of like we would like to see you in that role because they think that I can benefit the team a lot.
So it has not been something new, but after our loss in Rio, me and Denis sat down and basically told me that he would like to see some changes in the team.
And I told him straight up that I'm down to take the IGL role for now.
At that moment, we agreed that it would be a trial period of two months or these three tournaments now.
But I'll be honest, after the first week and a half of practice now, I don't think I'm going back to be a player.
So it's also something that's interesting for me is looking at you now stepping into the IGL role,
how you want to handle what can often happen to IGLs where the performance drops off.
Is this something you've discussed or just thought about on your own of trying to minimize that?
There's probably no perfect way to do it, but it's definitely a transition all IGLs go through.
Well, of course, officials will be different, but at least in practice at the moment.
Not necessarily about my individual performance, but I've always been a player that talks a lot while he plays,
so being not focused on my crosshair or something, I think it's a bit...
People are overestimating how much it hurts if you're used to it.
I think most IGLs now, it's not the reason they're dying, in my opinion.
I think that I hope I can bring a new era of IGLs in a way where it's not about being in the bottom of the scoreboard,
or not having the impact or always supporting,
but also being able to clutch well,
or also being able to set up your teammates.
Also sometimes I will need to go in
and make that good play for the team
if we need something under the stress.
But I think it's definitely has a lot of responsibilities,
but I don't think that I'm going to be that IGL
that is a burden, let's call it.
So I'm not that worried about my performance,
but at the moment my goal of course
is to help build a good T side
because we have been really struggling
with our last lineup on this.
At least for me, the next two tournaments for me and Dennis especially, as the kind of sea level of the team
the coach in the IGL is to make sure that our T-Sides is improving with the new team as well.
You mentioned the T-Sides, obviously it had been a struggle point, but when it comes to doing these T-Sides
obviously there might be a plan that say Cyclo and Zipnix make together, but are you now more involved than what was happening in the past?
Well, I think definitely always our coach Dennis has tried to have a lot of his footprint
on how we play, but I will be honest, I think the last six months in the last roster we
definitely lost our identity completely on T-Side.
I think 2026 has been really rough for our last iteration of the roster, but to be honest,
I think that we have just spent time at home now, me and Dennis building up our system
on T-Side, making sure the guys understand what we expect from them, so Dennis and I
made sure that everyone is on the same page about everything, that we are doing things
very slowly even though we didn't have a lot of practice.
I think that for me, in IGL, it needs to be able to call tough mid rounds more than just
set strats because everyone can take the script and read the strategies and what to do that
you practiced and you theorized about.
But once something happens in the moment, someone has to come up with a plan.
And that's what I want to bring to the team, which we lacked in the past as well.
So, I think that we are super prepared how much we can be, we only had a week and a half
of practice, we've been working our ass off, but I think that we're at the surprisingly
good level for two player changes, a lot of role changes and me as a new IGL basically
never done that before, so I think our base level at the moment is very high compared
to what people might expect, which is a good thing.
I'm looking at that mid-round thing that you were saying is that's what separates the good
and the great IGLs as well, being able to do that side of it.
Now, with Xelex and Jail coming into the team,
a rookie and then a major MVP.
So you've got a bit of both on this.
What has that done to the dynamic of the team right now?
I think it's bringing them both is basically the perfect thing
we could have done at the moment.
They are the perfect two pieces in terms of the vibe
and in terms of what we need, the new energy.
In one side, you have Xelex, who is a very young talent,
who basically never played in this level,
but he's super promising. I'm very surprised by the level of intelligence he has about the game.
Definitely some things that you need to patch up. He's only 17, but his base level is
one of the best I've ever seen in that age. Aim, everyone has on that age, but he has a lot of
good fundamental understanding of the game, and I think that he's a very open-minded person, so
I'm really enjoying his presence. And he's also a little bit more quiet, but when he needs to talk,
he's also there because he's playing, he's going to play a very important role for us.
And with JL as you said, the major MVP, he has been on the server for a while.
You can definitely see he's a bit rusty sometimes and has a little bit of a face-it brain.
Maybe we need to ban face-it from him.
No, I'm just kidding.
But I think that he's doing a really good job as well.
I think that he's learning very fast.
You can also see that he has great fundamentals when it comes to the game of what he's supposed to do.
And yeah, I think with time he will only get better, but I think that we are all starting at a very good level individually as well in our roles.
So then give it to me with the week-and-a-half practice with what you've seen on the server with the way you're talking
What do you want to see happen here in Astana?
Well, we talked as a team if we're talking about goals
We said to make the playoffs, but we also agreed that we want to make playoffs and win one game
So like go to the same is essentially or if I don't know whatever happens, but essentially go to same is at least
I think that we are definitely have a lot of new things to figure out
We have never played an official together and stuff like that, but at the same time there is many teams here
Who we should be beating either way? I think if practice was worrying I would we would maybe settle down on expectations
But I think practice has been going pretty well as I said, I think people slot into the rose
Well, and I think me and Dennis get along really well as always so I think our IGL and coach
Work is been going super well for us
And I think everyone understands the responsibility in the team even though only a short time playing together
So definitely there is some expectations, but also it's a good time to just relax a bit and with the expectations
But the work always continues at first. It really does it never stops man
And I'm just sat here kind of looking you smiling throughout all of this because I get a different
Sense of you even despite having done so many interviews with you and it feels like a positive change
I definitely feel the positive vibe. So good luck throughout the whole tournament mate and let's see what happens. Thank you
Welcome back to PGL Astana and Mouse are in the house. You can see there the preview of what's to come
I'm your host Richard Lewis. I'm gonna be helping me set up the mouse versus 90 to 0 game
I can't even believe I'm saying that is of course. It's gonna be mousey
Snake mousey 90
Oh, you're gonna find a way to workshop that one. Yeah, and of course, it's dust Marae
So look, a great interview there from Zershin, I think that's a really good place to start
because it's our first time as a panel looking at this mouse and seeing what the new IGL
you know, style is going to look like.
So I'll get the early report card from you guys.
He said in that interview, after one week of practice, we said, I'm not going back,
I'm an IGL now.
Do you think he's got the chops?
I think he benefits from the fact that he was already a very vocal member of this team.
You know, you've seen it yourself and you've talked about it yourself that when you would
listen to Mouses Combs, Time Outs, the guy was talking at times more than Brolin, right?
And we all know that there are many players out there who serve as that second voice and
are a key factor in how their team operates.
Now that pivot from being the secondary voice to the primary voice is a tough one because
now all the weight's on your shoulders.
You do have the final call.
It's no longer you making suggestions or trying to, you know, come up with something that
No, you are the guy you need to make the call and so we'll have to see how it goes
But so far so good considering the circumstances and he's also performing at a high level
So can't really complain yet. I think it's a bit surprising that he's been able to keep up the individual level on top of it
I mean the 1.39 rating for the event team highest is extremely
Impressive it sounds like right now. He doesn't think that it's gonna impede his individual ability
You could hear in the interview with James Banks fantastic work by James by the way as always
That that one he talked about just that he wants to usher in a new era of IGLs that are gonna frag
I feel like I've heard that story before from other in-game leaders naive ones in the past
But so far he's proven it which is extremely impressive also
I feel like the day-to-day changes in strategy have already been exhibited
I feel like the way that they played Mirage day one to day two was a little bit pace here
They weren't trying to go through these slow drawn-out rounds
And I think that he's recognizing his limitations as a caller
I really liked what he said as well about Zellex, you know, we're bringing in a rookie and we're bringing in JL
That's an obviously very opposite answer the spectrum
You know JL's won that major been a major MVP Zellex is the start of his career
And this is his first big opportunity to shine. So let's start with the Zellex
Comparison and you can see by the way look very similar numbers that they're putting up right now
into the team.
As Zershin said, we've got to remove some of the face hit brain.
I understand exactly what he's talking about.
You know, these young players come through,
they think pro-play is going to be like their pubs
in pick-up games.
It is, and it's a completely different universe.
What have you made of Xelix so far?
Yeah, I mean, Xelix, look, the Blueprints are already there.
All these guys, or most of them,
have come through the Mouse Academy system
onto the main team.
That was what was such an incredible story
about this squad when that transition took place,
and they wound up becoming our top five team in the world
after being an academy team. It's what's Foot's trying to do now, right? If you're kind of making
comparisons. But I think with Zelecs, you know, obviously very young, very inexperienced, but
very good mechanically, I think they've done a pretty decent job of trying to give him the spots
that lets him thrive, like the spots he's used to playing. But also, they've had to pivot him in
a couple of more anchor roles on the CT side that maybe he's not used to playing. So I'm sure
that's going to be some growing pains. But I think it helps if he can kind of just pack up
with Zershin in a lot of situations and just kind of trade off of him or entry with him,
which is something he was already doing quite a lot on Austin XT.
Again, I think it's just him having to probably get used to playing some of the new anchor roles
he has to play on the CT side.
I think the other big thing is he has to get used to playing in Furno
because his team didn't play that map.
So there are certainly some, you know, things that he has to adjust to,
but I think that we've already seen some pretty nice high marks
and now he had to seek out evens out.
Yeah, there were definitely a couple of rounds in the game versus G2 yesterday
when they played Mirage.
I mean, he was sick.
I mean, they set him up with a lot of just poppy plays.
like you said, running in with the pack, those kind of moments, all of his capabilities are on
display completely. It is the CT sides where I find myself wanting a little bit more, but that's
going to be expected when he's just getting blooded for the first time and having to change up.
I'll come to that in a moment. I definitely want to talk about JL as well because, I mean, when a
player, I put it a bit this way, I was there when he won the MVP. I watched that live. I couldn't
believe the things he was doing at that time. He was so clutch. It was almost as if pressure
didn't affect him. It just didn't go into his brain. He just wasn't aware that actually
every round mattered to the level it did. And I hadn't seen anything like that since 2015.
That was like when we were in Cluj funnily enough. That was like when you had that Macalaila and
and Jacob to, you know, that just,
they clutched out every single round.
JL was the most clutch player I'd probably seen since that.
And obviously you then take a break, you go away,
he's at drifting cars, he's trying to be an analyst.
He's been on a little side quest,
and now he's come back to the game.
What have you made of him since he's got back?
Can you get back to the heights?
I feel like, I feel like it's actually helped out
in terms of just kind of bringing new ideas to the team.
So I feel like that's something where he has
own experience. He's already kind of talked about the fact that he can read some of the
mid rounds in a way that might actually help out Maus. I think that the exact line was
more or less along the lines of him saying that in the mid rounds they might be missing
opportunities. And so he can like find, he can find these moments to strike for them.
And that could also, I'd say yesterday we saw him taking some initiative on his own
in some of those anchor spots that he's now filling in on. So that's, I think that he's
He's actually doing what needs to be done, just kind of being a little shot in the arm
for a team that just needed a little bit more, dare I say, Riz.
Yeah.
I mean, definitely he brings the aura, as you would like to say over there, Maui.
You know, a guy who can be an extremity playmaker.
He's being relegated to kind of more anchor positions, and he's probably used to playing
when he was on Navi, but it's actually kind of neat because on a couple of maps, he kind
of gets to do exactly what he had done before.
Like on Ancient Inferno, he's playing very similar roles to what he played on Navi back
in the day.
And so I think that's been kind of nice that he gets a mix of familiarity.
But then also, yeah, there has been some situations where
Spinks wanted to move a little bit because of Jimmy's
absence.
And so JL's had to kind of find a way to wiggle in and fit.
But while we haven't necessarily seen him pop off,
by any means, I think he's had a decent average level.
And I think this time around, it's for real.
When he stood in for liquid, that
was kind of just a meaningless hurrah
that maybe gets some reps in the server,
but really just kind of helped liquid out.
This is actually a true test.
This is a trial.
This is a situation where after the nature's over
and next season rolls around, if things go well,
This could be a guy they look to to be a facet of this team going forward.
So, so far, so good.
Speaking of so far, so good.
Of course, he here on the screen really having a huge recovery.
And I want to point this out because this year he had two of his career
worst tournaments at Rio and at Rotterdam like since 2024.
I mean, it was really, really poor.
He's really recovered this event.
Well, I mean, look here, he's like imagining happier times.
Why did I say all that crazy shit in Budapest, like why did I do that?
I don't think he wanted those foods anymore.
He's trying to figure it out.
This is just classic Torezi.
You've seen him in this pose many times waiting for games to start, especially during tech pauses.
It locks him in, okay?
You know, I don't know if people know this, but if you stare at walls, apparently, it improves your attention span.
So, similar things.
Good for him. I like that. He's doing a little bit of meditation.
But anyway, let's talk about their opponents. Sure.
I mean, he's gonna need to be in the zone today because what I've seen from this 9Z,
for the first time ever when players were telling me,
watch out for these guys because they're amazing in scrims, it turned out to be true.
20 years in the making, guys, and you've finally done it for me in a tournament.
These guys have been the surprise of the tournament.
They've already got two legit, I mean, beyond legit.
Let's be real, they mauled Falcon just today.
Luchov is here, he's arrived on the big stage.
No matter what happens for the rest of the tournament, that will be true.
And I think they're going to give Miles a hell of a game today.
Absolutely, I mean they're playing against a vulnerable mouse that's going through a
transitionary period. Meanwhile, this is a core that's played together for a long time.
You know, again, this team kind of came onto the scene when DGT was originally on the squad
back in 2024 with a top four finish at Dallas.
They kind of faded off and now they brought DGT back.
And as you can see, this is such a complimentary rifling duo for this squad, and they've used
it to good effect.
We saw them upset Mouson, Rotterdam.
We've seen them beat Paravision and Falcons at this tournament.
We've seen them dominate South America.
It's because you have a guy like Guilchov, who is an incredible aggressive rifler, you
know, and you have DGT, who's like kind of your more lurky T player, but plays a lot
of star CT positions to a high level.
And they have really bounced with each other nicely to turn this squad into someone to
be interested in.
Someone to keep an eye on.
my opinion is that this is really almost the best five-man
hispanic latino lineup you could put together it's very difficult to even
find somebody from latin america that could improve this team the only name
that dustin i kind of floated when theory crafting would probably be try
funnily enough uh... given his history with them so
but other than that yet you you have uh... an elite
south american team now
that is actually making a wave on the big stage
Sorry, Jail, doing silent.
It's not a tech policy.
It's the game starting.
It looks like he hears stuff.
It looks like he's reacting to us.
Yeah, this is what happens when you've been out of the game.
The problem with Jail is that I think he's too good of a reactor.
I know, I know.
I think his streaming career is actually way too successful.
If there's any hiccups with this mouse team, expect them to get back on Twitch.
But anyway, as I said, I mean, in terms of rifling duos right now, I mean, like, I remember
Remember how explosive Yuri and Keisaratu used to be back at the start of the Furia
days?
These guys here on 9Z, they really remind me of that in terms of how they complement each
other and they're both capable of big performances.
If one dips, the other steps up, like, what a rightful impaired they've been.
And ultimately, I've got to say, it's not just that.
It is their CT sides, they're hyper-aggressive, push you in, squeeze the map, close it off.
You're never safe on the T side.
You think you're gonna get a flash lineup?
Two CTs gonna run around the corner and pop you out of.
The best two examples I can give,
and these are maps we might even see in the series,
honestly, is, you know, we talked about their Dust2 yesterday
where they're so disruptive in middle, you know,
defensively, being able to, you know,
pop the door smoke very often, flash, poke and prod in
the lower tunnels, poke off of cat,
never really let you feel comfortable taking mid control.
And then, you know, we've seen them, you know,
at times on ancient, be very, very good at just
how they use their utility, how they scale,
the spacing that they have to take map control,
execute on the bombsites. Their utility is so so precise and really really calculated.
So I really like watching this team play a pacy style but one that's very much organized.
There does seem to be a bit of a telepathy between the players as they're scaling towards sites the
way they're able to play off of each other in terms of the angles. Vito's are coming in,
we're getting Ninesi banning out Mirage to kick things off.
That's a luxury for them because they know that Mouse has to ban Anubis. Ninesi is normally an
Anubis banning team so that's the freebie that they got there. Just to point that out.
That's a nice advantage in the veto that they actually kind of won the game of chicken there by not banning what they frequently go to
They go to nuke the map that they beat mouse on in Rotterdam. So it's already some some bad blood
I mean, I didn't even get around to mentioning that we you know, we saw mouse is record in this tournament
But obviously 9z have the psychological edge here because their first big women were like, oh, okay
This team's real was obviously over mouse
Yeah, of course
I mean, yeah, the fact that they beat them there kind of I'd say kind of ended that last five-man roster
They kind of killed the last iteration of mouse with that victory
And so second pick here or the first pick for mouse that is inferno
Now I'm anxious to be the third map. I feel like that's a good call here. I think that you're I think you're on the money
Does I think you're on the money?
I think that's a smart ban too because you know that coming out that was a map at one time that mouse
We're very very strong on you know
Even with the old one up when they were having all those troubles overpass was still kind of a go-to just because their city
These guys are usually good enough to get the job done, no matter what happens elsewhere.
So I actually like the way this shaked out for 9-Z.
I think they're going to be pretty happy with how things are.
I think they kind of chess moved them by not having to ban a newbis and then being able
to get rid of their pick that they've been using all term at long.
They've picked Mirage both series they've played.
You get rid of that and then yeah, ancient 9-Z are totally happy to play that map.
Yeah.
Good video here for you.
Yeah, actually one of the few times where I've seen a video with some intelligence,
like instead of just permaban permaban, best mop best mop.
good on the way. They've really played a blind of their 9Z. And it's another reason why you're
going to pay attention to this team. They are a lot more cerebral than their style might give you
a point. I think it's just that the way people would generalize South American teams is just
hyper aggressive, always going to be just individuals playing at balls to the wall
counter strike. But there's just a, there's more of a method to the madness watching 9Z,
even the way that a lot of their players can pause in the middle of the round, recognize that they
don't need to be that next point of contact that they can wait for their teammate a little bit more.
It's just a team that, it's the right blend of raw skill along with enough high level tier one
counter strike experience that they know when they are about to run into a mistake and preventing
themselves from doing so. And so their pick, 9-Z, as we said, we've seen them on Nuke. They are
very good on this map. What's the key to victory here for them and what can Maus do to shut it down?
Yeah, I think the key for me with Monsie is just how precise they are when they attack.
You know, when they go for these, you know, upper executes, the utility is just so well
placed and they're so well-timed in how they space and actually take the site.
It's just that level of precision and explosiveness that they have at their level.
Meanwhile, you know, on the other end, you have a situation where Zox is having to get
used to a new CT role.
He used to be the yard player on this team.
He has to play the A site as Zershin.
He's his yard position, JL, you know, formerly an A site player, not playing Ramp for this
squad, the Phyllian for Jimmy.
So there's definitely some, you know, different adjustments that's having to be made, you know,
and I think that, you know, all in all, they didn't look too shabby when I watched them
play New Curly of this tournament, but you can tell there's still some things that they
have to fix on, whereas 9Z are already totally prepared to move back.
I'm very glad you brought up the JL thing, because I think it's such a huge responsibility
to put a returning player on ramp.
We all know it is the key to you.
You lose ramp, generally speaking, as a CT, you're going to lose the round.
It just opens the map up.
You've got upper, lower, heaven, and outside again, you can go anywhere.
JL's got a big job here.
It's also just not a position that really, in my head, screams JL.
JL's more of a guy that likes to be a little bit more active, move around.
Ramp is usually where you just put your best raw aimer.
Like, dead ass, just your best headshotter, bit plays there.
Obviously, Ympat's super sweet, first bullet, Kyosuke now plays there.
JL's more of a guy that probably wants to move around, and the only thing that I would
says the saving grace is that I don't think 90 love to use ramp as much as other teams like dust already predicated the fact that they love their a
hits their a splits with a little bit of outside pressure as well that's kind of their bread and butter so you're probably going to see more
pressure on zelex and sphinx but that's worrying for mouse because they haven't really been the best duo together on bomb sites on dust
two at this tournament earlier zelex was just getting exposed because sphinx is a guy that he likes to leave he likes to just rotate off he
He thinks there's always some better action.
He always thinks that the grass is greener on some other part of the map, so he wants
to get there.
And he doesn't just hunker down on bombsites as much as he would sometimes want to support
a new up-and-coming anchor like Zelex.
Yeah, I mean, we could see some switch around.
Absolutely.
It is early on.
You know, we've had a bit of a problem picking out these positions, just so everyone at home
knows, because so many teams have changed IGL change systems, so you never really know
what you're going to get map to map.
There's always a chance that they could just put JL back in a spot he had already played
in the A site, maybe you chose LX on ramp at some point.
So there's a couple of different things that they could tinker with that they don't find
the right plan here.
And that's really one of the things that you have to kind of think about is that I think
there was a lot of criticism towards Mous to make them move the timing that they did.
Because it's like, well, why don't you want to keep the thought that you're kind of enrolling
for the major.
But their kind of logic was, well, we want to get a head start on what we are planning
for the future.
And that is, let's see what Zershin can do as an IGL and see that really is going to
be the long-term goal of this team.
Let's see what Zershin can do when we bring up for the Academy System.
Can he actually fit on the squad?
And again, it's a trial period for JL.
Like this could be a guy that they do sign next season
if things work out and everything can sort out financially.
So it kind of gives them opportunities
to get tier one looks before they make final decisions
for next season while still having some hope of doing
a little bit of damage at the major.
So I kind of think that it works out for them in that way.
Yeah, I agree with all of that, gentlemen.
And now we get to see if we are correct
because we go into the game and this one's
going to be called by Launders and Scrony.
That's right.
keep a close eye on it panel because you guys have had a little bit of a wishy-washy record
this week. It feels like some of the underdogs that our gentlemen have so smoothly hyped
up have just kind of under delivered. But now, I think this one's different. I think
this is a real, you know, call it an upset if Ninesie wins this, but I think that even
is kind of like the jury's out on who's actually the favorites for this matchup.
Yeah, I also do sympathize with them because a couple of the stories coming into the event
are some of the better teams were not likely to play as well as they have.
and or unclear whether it's you know Falcons or it's Furia or whoever and
So what we've seen is a very strong sort of top level from the competition
Donken total like complete dominant form and everything like that mouths have also been quite a surprise in terms of I feel like
Zelex actually had the map that we really really impressed so far
Even though it's average rating is just average
This is going to be just a great game. I think what we saw yesterday was that 9z
You know, you could say that Falcons crumbled because they're new, but if we if you really just watch that dust 2 match
You saw quality gameplay incredible trading this super good calling
I mean, I actually look at that dust 2 and I think that's the way I want every tier 1 team to play dust 2
It was less less cat execs less long rushes
Which I feel like are a little bit more RNG and come down to those quick fights max found a way to just slip the defense
go for those mid-Bs was really slick and I'm really looking forward to what he can do here on nuke as well
And it's awesome that it's nuke to start off for both of them to be honest
I think you know at the moment when you look at the stats for this event
You see that dinesie have two players in the top five performers and DGT and luchov
It's just kind of a testament that they didn't just win their games
They've actually kind of owned in certain elements
So we'll see top to bottom whether things come to the table not to throw him under the bus early
but Mayeron's AWP is still a question that is one of the kind of like it's just not a win condition at the moment for
Ninzee not in what we've seen this week
So we'll keep a close eye on that one and see if he can step it up as well
But this is Mao's new in-game leader two new pieces stand-in situation call it that and it's LX
Easy does it buddy two kills to the back of the site
Mayeron's gonna find himself in a 1v5 and this is Mao's very ready to have just swarmed into that attack
So no surprises by 9z to try to get that upper pop going
We saw them kind of flail around versus Falcons in the 9z t-side right of the game yesterday
The t-side of 9z on nuke was their flattest of all the haves it was and they broke through a couple of times a sudden a
Pop, you know a late few rounds sprinkled in and their ct side was literally flawless
So we can't criticize too hard
But nice to see Maus's defense is gonna survive the test of a rapid pistol play. Yeah, and we talk about what?
Yeah, Nines easy, you know, game yesterday. A lot of it was like perfection on Dust2 and an overall good series, but
Marin's op was a straight-up liability on Nuke. It wasn't even just okay. It missed way too often.
It wasn't effective, and I'm pretty confident that if he had a rifle in all those rounds, they would have actually just done better.
So that's definitely a problem, um, considering the map and how welcoming it is to an Op-er.
And also, T-side calling on Dust2 was great. T-side calling on Nuke was
maybe one too many opera pops and too many of those sort of RNG based plays
that could be like moments of heavy end if they work it's great but if not you
get a flat T half so it's definitely possible a comeback could take place but
you'd really like for 9z to start off better on T side than they did yesterday
it'll be a tough goal this time with only blocks outside of pain and not looking
like any kills murder four mouse and a total shutdown outside so make your
money couple SMG kills in the middle of that couple rifles in the get-go for round two and it's very cool that Zershin's playing so well as the
IGL for the team now because that's also another thing that I think it was it's like one of those
I know we call it a classic example of oh a player that talks a lot
Let's make them the IGL but they weren't the IGL originally they weren't I think I gel when they switched the IGLs
and so you wonder is that just
something where they didn't think there was anywhere else to go so they tried it.
But the fact that it's not affecting his performance is a really great sign.
They haven't had the most demanding run so far.
The teams they played against played well to make the games close.
You know, that G2 match and everything, but...
This'll be sort of a test on the same level I feel like as the, you know, the Gentlemaids G2.
Luchov just got dunked on.
It'll bode well for Maus to keep Luchov as limited as he is right now as 0-3 start.
I mean, to be fair, there's only one kill in all of 9-Z throughout these first two rounds.
But Luchov has been rock solid and some of his plays yesterday versus Falcons were just...
They kind of stemmed from confidence.
You know, that 1v3 on Mirage from the ticket booth, like,
it's the type of play that just banks on good aim,
and he delivered each of those kills.
Keep an eye on him as the game goes on.
For right now, JL draws attention towards him
on the Astralis, trying to get that deep angle from Mayer
and is good for a kill.
And Max has also added one to this tally.
So man advantage is maintained by Maus short.
Trying to sell a bit of a fake Util here,
but it doesn't ultimately get anything going,
because no CT actually approaches this side.
Max plays behind that fire.
I don't wonder how Xershin knew he could just take that risk,
but it was the right one to do.
I like that he's just playing this kind of swiftly, right?
Go get the bomb. You got 15 seconds.
Don't waste 5 seconds trying to go grab it.
Little awkward there, caught out, and Xershin's going to make sure he fully punishes.
Wow, that's really cool for Xershin.
I mean, like, all those moments where he's being aggressive,
it's all the right moments.
He's never actually getting fought back against.
He also takes out the kill before it's a 1v2, and it's another moment where he knows where he can swing the door open, not knowing where the second player is, but it looks like the confidence is right for him, and JL also just a fantastic job.
So much damage on the first kill, finishes off the guy he tagged in the beginning, and it's all in a spot where he will die eventually.
I bet you it's a very freeing experience to go from a very aggressive entry-frag player to the IGL,
because now you don't have to ask permission to do things aggressively.
It's kind of your choice when to do them.
It's true.
Watch out for Squeaky, he's going to catch you off.
Tech 9 headshot for Wassop.
Here's that dangerous explosiveness that 90 bring to the table, even with limited guns here.
They catch you off guard.
They take over the real estate and they'll make a bit of money with the bomb plan.
Quick swap out to the M4, utility to both sides. They know where the CT's come through
and that's actually towards the drop-by pistols. This would be a great way for 9Z to break one through early
but you're up against a 7-1 Zershin.
Oh, he's dinked down to 50.
Wants that fresh mag for the kill versus Max, who's sitting on 27 health
and he goes silent on the crawl forward. Max feels the squeeze.
It takes a different position and now knows exactly where Zershin's at, Zershin's gonna
have to wide swing in, and it's a headshot out from the pistol.
A beauty of a reminder from 9z to Maus, we do pack a punch.
And that's why it's nice actually to use rounds like that when you're kind of half buying
because you can see that you can close a distance really quickly on upper, and one flash and
one wrong time where someone holds an aid out, and suddenly the entire site's compromised.
You've got guns all over the floor and you can easily post plant.
So they kind of barely get that one through, but that's all they're looking for on a round
where they have TAC-9s.
They're speaking of IGL, so you can frag Naxx, but the other are a lot of good rounds, mechanically.
Ooooo, BGT though, clipped off by Zershin from main to squeaky.
There's also something about playing in the information as the IGL, and if you're an
entry fragger, front of the pack, you really do have a lot of that active data.
I think sometimes there's been, there's been callers who are also lurkers, but
that's also been a weird place to call from on the map, where you're in the back,
you rely on info to make calls, but you're kind of flying off of what people
tell you as opposed to what you see.
He's got Zershin and an array of active positions. He's playing mini here on CT side
Careful
Trunks of smoke to the double doors was so peak yet to swing them wide
I
Where's it like that's a crazy kill to get did that wait the door open you opened it
Wow just for that little bit of spam what a call out
I was honestly wondering where Zershwin was pathing to or he just shot enough through it
No, but it didn't have a wall bang icon. Oh, okay, it's been broken busted open
Here's Luchov
A little passiveness here at the bottom.
That time is super low actually.
Oh!
You know, again, we, unfortunately for Mayer, we were already bringing up the shortcomings
from yesterday before this map started.
And it's very key for him to have just cleared that back site, make sure the defense down
there gets nothing going and down as clean as you want from Max with his double kill
upstairs.
So, 9z, here we go.
Games on.
Definitely.
It's an energizing victory for them.
It's not the upper hit, it's a full rifle, it's a lower play, and it does really come
down to the wire.
I think if the first kill goes down on the guy control, bomb also can't get planted.
So very fine margins, but they make it work.
And they get a eco out of it.
There's coming into this round, 1-H-E on Zershin, and that's it.
Yeah, you can see, 9Z are tempted to not bring this outside.
Yeah, they throw their smokes, put nothing behind it, and move everybody towards this
ramp number strong.
That's five players out of 9Z heading towards ramp.
Still making sure to go through protocols, minimize any chances that maybe Maus has run
risk have something to catch you off guard with but that will not be the case fully open for the take
downstairs thou shall go or not
yeah it's well looks like they're not doing too much because they've got two rotations downstairs
but they've got to get through towards the end
And...
A little awkward. Very awkward.
But mind you, it's just a USP.
It's very awkward because if they...
Well, actually the CTs are now outside.
That's alright, wrap around the...
Heaven, and it gets all the easier.
Now you got damage on DGT, damage on Max.
USP's still out there on the field.
They'll take over position.
Torgy has to let them up the ladder now.
A third player's been dinked.
We're getting into a weird place here.
Torsi, off of the rafters, finds a little bit more damage, but still it is five players strong for 9Z. They get through.
And DTT towards the ramp as they try to chase him down, looking to top hold the 22 health he has left over.
We've got a full bar of HP to come and help him, but not even called on. All five up for 9Z.
He takes some USP shots to the face, but Mohan, that's why we wear helmets.
That's right. Safety first.
And ultimately, Torsi could be up there scaring them about coming up the ladder, but he really doesn't have the guns to completely stop them.
Yeah, so even if Thittus added three guys fly up the ladder, like one USP cannot stop that. It is an impossibility.
But avoid even one death, wrap it around, you've got the time, you play it correctly, keep all that extra money just in case things do get rough.
But this is a three round streak in response to Mouse's triple round start off speaking of helmets
Mouse don't have any just speaks to how much or a little money they have
Man and this gets really scary if they have to save again
Search and trade it over towards garage. We see him catch Luchov
Who has been effectively?
Neutralized in this game so far. We have high expectations for him just because what he was able to do to the Falcons
And as time goes on, in this one, Mao's aggressing into the lobby to find that solo player of
9Z.
This is going to force their hand to head downstairs, and Torsi, with this AWP, could
damn well stop this in its tracks.
First shot connects, and now you've got Mao's rebounding into this round, holding on-demand
advantage.
Torsi gives himself a pocket.
The play within, they're going to try to pressure that via Molotov, via AK spam.
Now Waso peeks right on the other side.
He's going to draw Torsi down through the smoke by the looks of it, but Zellex has actually got the dual instead, and that is not to his advantage.
Spinks' trade is clean with the headshot.
But look who's upstairs.
Max has used this chance to leave.
And he can actually plant back side safely, he can get that molly out in time, scramble, eats the dual, Spinks 45, Max 41, wants to tap this once just to fake, Spinks doesn't bite, now you can go for it, but he decides to fake the second time, and it's worth it.
That'll be Spinks down, and Torsey, no frag grenade, no Molotov to force Max off this bomb site.
They know he's offing.
Trying to spot it with the jump over the middle of the site, double flashes, doesn't blind anything.
Torsey takes his time here, but he can't take too long because he doesn't have a kit.
Bombs at the 22nd mark.
Torsey is shot!
Am I missing that shot? You opened the door for the clutch.
90 at one point had the advantage hard-fought battle back into the round at a 1v2 to close it
Oh, that's a critical miss because now it's a save again for mouths. I mean they have enough money because of this
Lost bonus maybe to invest a bit. No, uh
Yeah, that's pretty rough, I mean the difference between a buy and a save was was that shot right there
That's well done for Max, and he, you know, he preyed on the little bit of ansiness that
Spinks had to take a peek early. Two fake plants, but they weren't ready to double peek.
And I think there probably was a part of Spinks that thought, if I don't peek at all,
it's actually kind of not safe for Torsi to come up the vents. So it makes sense.
It's again well played from the captain of 9Z.
That's Max's third multi-kill round. That's Max's second 1VX1.
Both clutches in this game so far belong to Max.
And that's the difference between 9Z and Maus having the lead at the moment.
So we'll get MP9 sprinkled here into round 8 for the Maus defense,
but it's a rapid move out of 9Z immediately down through the vents.
So nice to get this out of the way, especially on an anti-eco. Keeps your options open.
Move it quickly into a double ramp setup.
Or not at all, actually. Totally for going this. If you look at the pressure on ramp,
Maybe Max is looking for someone to drop or
For him to get some kind of audible
Nines you have to be careful because they've really played with the clock in a couple of these situations
And we got a bomb going back to spawn to set up utility
All right guys, let's just reset everything
everything. While the smokes to try to get Luchov down stairs to join Max, or at least
that's the fake they want to sell. That is kind of wild then. They're going to try to
end on A site. They've actually avoided Zershin, but Zershin, he doesn't know that they're
in squeaky. This is Max to be able to come back up the
vent whenever he wants to. They've secured that at least. Luchov gets spammed down by
by the MP9, but that'll just facilitate 9Z taking the site,
but one defender's already forced forward,
tries to dive back in, and obviously,
little known desertion, there's three players
that have walked out squeaky onto site.
So sure, you'll get one, but you get caught off guard
as badly as you catch Luchov off guard.
JL's trying to find an exit strategy here inside of the lobby,
but instead now he's gotten two kills.
This becomes doable, all because of JL.
A triple kill from inside of the lobby
with a teammate right behind him.
Sure, JL's low, that MP9 could trade it.
Wasso trying to dive into the cover, getting chased down.
Spinks stays on top of it.
And that, even without a kit, is a defuse all made possible
by the JL triple kill in lobby.
Man, I wonder if that was correct.
It looked like, obviously, he was going to get hunted down.
But Wasso could have taken that duel from there.
He still has an advantage being above,
but obviously, it's scary with an MP9 that's just spotted you.
Either way, that comes down to JL saving the day.
A massive triple out of him.
This was a round that was a little complicated out of 9z,
but in the end, they still kind of got
what they were looking for, a free entrance into upper site,
even though they had to fake outside, fake the ramp.
It looked like they were actually gonna go outside
and then they walk back into Squeaky.
They are a hard team to read.
There it is.
He's back.
Honestly, where he belongs?
I'm glad he had a little break.
Glad he got to go do some drifting.
Yeah.
Hobbies are very important.
Hobbies are so important.
Great for the mental health.
Go burn some gas, you petrolhead.
And then come back to where you damn well belong.
And that is inside a Counter-Strike server with rounds like that.
I think the video was he wanted to learn some martial arts.
He wanted to drift, you know, just do some real adult stuff.
Pretty early midlife crisis.
You know, Jail's really been speedrunning, right?
About a billionaires not enough anymore.
He said he had to, you know, remember once upon a time before he won, was it opener
of the year?
Yeah.
And he said, you know, I set this goal for myself.
I wanted to win a major.
I wanted to get opener of the year.
I wanted the best in my role in the world.
Never did he think he would achieve that as quickly as he did with Copenhagen.
But hey, life comes at you fast.
It does.
And Counter-Strike is always around.
So it's a waste that you're God-given skill to go drifting when you're this good at entrying.
I think that alone even makes them more exciting.
Now it's never been the problem for Maus that they haven't been exciting.
They've always played great CS, but now they get a bit more of the personality, the person
that everyone loves, which is JL, but then they also kind of become even more aggressive.
And that might be fun for Azershin to call with because he's obviously now the caller,
but he's also entry-fagger-wide personality.
So the fact that they can be extra explosive and there's more guys behind that, I feel
like, is kind of a cool look.
It's really strengthened numbers in that regard.
He sees himself in JL's playstyle.
They both do the same thing well.
Why can't we be hyper aggressive all the time then?
And what does Zellix bring to the table?
Well, we're all here to learn.
Yeah.
We're all here to learn.
I think definitely a lot of potential.
We saw, I mean, again, consistency has been good,
but like some of the peaks have been really high.
like a lot of great rounds out of him.
Tech issue resolved and we jump back into this game at a 4-4 score with buys on both sides.
Back to the ramp room, off this pause, and back to the hell.
Just delete JL.
It's so quick that they can't even get into place in time.
Ah, Spinks has got this kind of like Hail Mary run down, single door open, and there's
a pause here by 90.
Can you force Maus to scramble so quickly that it's interesting that they decide to not capitalize and it opens this kind of a door, right?
With moving parts, DGT finding Torsi blindsided like that, you just have to hope that as you double back, Maus haven't pushed into your lobby to stop you there,
but that is exactly what Xelix has in mind.
Triple from him as they tiptoe their way into the crosshair.
It does get answered back to the 2v2.
9z once more, able to equalize around where once upon a time they had an advantage, but they no longer have that bomb.
and somehow Luchov has to get this back, and he's gonna try to do it on his own.
Xalex's position confirmed that is a quad kill from the kid.
And as you know, DGT was once upon a time outside.
You've got 40 seconds to ace out what's left of this round.
He's killed four guys that were looking for him, and he's only taken one bullet of damage.
He's also looking at the right spot for this ace.
GZ catches him off, second player also back there, Zershin's got you turned, and that'll
catch you entirely unprepared.
Massive quad kill inside of the lobby, as 9Z try to get tricky with the double back from
ramp, they meet their maker.
That's an incredible display of firepower out of there from Zell X.
That was a silenced M4, every bullet, one for the head, it was, again, three guys who
knew where he was and still couldn't kill him.
Oh man, no double swing right here but you don't gotta make sure you get that kill.
Even though you would have liked to see him get the ace in that position, it was better that he died first because then you're not looking for another guy inside of lobby, necessarily.
Trust insertion to close out, which he does as the highest performing player for VAUS at the moment.
First clutch round of four VAUS. Excuse me, second secured.
Spinks with one as well, you've equalized the clutch wins 2-2.
Oh my goodness, sorry.
He comes out, Spades tries to hang on to main.
Two players in lobby looking to get their T-sun into the A site, Zellix locked into the rafters,
nowhere to run.
And he tries to snap it down to Wasso Peak.
It is he instead that collects the second kill with an instant headshot on JL.
A third clutch now needed out of Maus's camp.
The way Zersh has been playing, he is going to test this.
But versus three.
A kit and a smoke.
This AK has currently got 20 bullets in the mag.
Gonna have to keep it clean if he even wants to try it.
But by the looks of things, he's out of here.
And that'll be them conceding a fifth round and this game remains tied on Nuke.
Well, it's been a very good game so far.
It's exactly what we wanted to see, man, from both of these teams.
A lot of the same stories following through, but for Ninesie already getting five rounds
out of the way, the Coss T side is great.
It's funny because this is their map pick, but you'd argue their Dust 2 was the one that
should have been their map pick back versus Falcons.
and you could have expected falcons to have kind of flopped that badly no yeah
I have higher expectations there was no there was no beating that I don't think I
think they would have taken my talent over time hey vitality have lost on dust
to us of late longer. That's true.
What kind of world are we living in?
Hero AK for Zershin?
Why are we even talking about those guys? They're not even here.
I don't know, yeah.
They're too scared to play against 9Z.
Didn't want to lose Dust 2 again.
What else could you be doing other than participating in PGL Astana?
Beats me.
Nowhere else I'd rather be.
Some of these rounds have worked out really well when Ninzee get a fight early, because they're really hungry for it.
Uh, my hearing's on, man.
Man, it's I'm just I'm gonna let him have that one
Yeah, I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that pretty that one. I died. I'm not having that conversation about mayor just yesterday
Just the USP let it go
There we go
Rifles all around and it's all about whether search you can get this AK in place fast enough as they chase down
They're already going up and over as well so tough spot for jail to be in
You can see him calm and trying to figure this out, but...
...whasopeak.
Locking it in through the windows. Here comes that AK.
It's in the middle of the back. Definitely damage to be done here.
Back turn to the player towards main. Second kill for Zershin.
You'd think him doing this alone is too much of an ask.
Okay.
Mayeron's gonna figure that frag out outside, and that'll be 9-Z pulling into the lead.
Man, a lead on T side, especially considering Maus have two clutches.
They have Zershin playing this well. They have the JLs, 3k, they have Xelix's 4k. Pretty impressive.
See if you only watched the round from that shot on.
Nicely done.
You know, it is okay to miss shots as long as you keep giving yourself, generating more chances for those shots then.
Can't get inside your own head.
Whoa, Luchon, good cover.
Felt like Wasso Pete could have died to that. JL's line up.
Whoa, got him both.
Yes, sir, Wasso kind of takes the right side of Unbreakable, steps into that stream of bullets.
JL trying to be that secondary hero beyond Zershin.
Xellax up in the rafters, gets man advantage for Maus.
There have been a lot of rounds where Maus have fought back in versus a disadvantageous spot.
And this is yet another example of it.
However, despite overcoming disadvantages, sometimes Ninesies still win the rounds.
They do love positions like this. They'll play mid rounds in a really weird way.
Oh, and that's the bomb gets spotted outside, and Torsi also is a little off today, isn't he?
Mischot that should have had Max on the ground.
40 seconds, Max takes into the vents.
Bomb carrier behind him, Torsi.
One more chance.
Two kills on this half. Max is gonna get flashed into it.
Torsi just tries to bail out, looks to run, and then holds his own as the secondary player follows suit, may earn into the 5-7s.
Yeah, rap rotation to deal with him. So JL with a triple kill for the road is gonna keep this game tied up
Jail kind of sassy like that, huh? Yeah
Sipping that iced americano. Oh, no
Got the windows down California doesn't even realize it
You know how I know a Maui snake is American how do you know I came into the green room today?
I turned the corner and that guy had found Popeyes in Astana
Shout out the globalization one time. That's like this be comfortable everywhere. There's no Popeyes in Montreal
How have you found it?
It was blown away and of course he gave me a raving review, broke it all down, as Maui
does, tier list on his order, and what not.
What was the order?
Uh, chicken?
Chicken, yeah.
Yeah.
As it would be.
Couple sauces.
Yeah.
This one's my favorite.
He's passionate about those bites.
Can't believe he found it.
Damn, there's a will, there's a way.
This game was tied at four all, five all, six all.
Now, 9Z's CT side to take over.
This is a CT side that had Falcons winning zero, that's right, zero terrorist rounds
yesterday.
9Z also gets stuffed in the locker like the Falcons did.
This armored P250 for Torzi outside
makes him a powerful unit in the pistol,
but these Berettas, the solution to an all-in ramp hit.
Luchoff with the triple.
Max taps one out of the round.
That's bomb possession for 9Z
and a perfect setup to deal with Maus.
And there are people who had a rough half.
I think, you know, Torsi was really off today, or really off to start at least.
There's still time to come back, but Luchov, I think, definitely got a few unlucky timings
in that first half.
In fact, they haven't had him happen to him yet, it's a little scary.
Nice close from Wasso, he's on 12.
You know, when we talk about 5-7 nerfs every once in a while, just because of the one-shot
kill potential in one spot. When do you think Barrettas should get dropped to 20 bullets
instead of 30 bullets? Or just back to 500. Yeah. But. Because beyond the 5.7, I think
for me it's the Barrettas on the chopping block next. Yeah, but let's do the 5.7 because
we never have. That's fair. It's really just the one shot kill. Yeah, that's the only thing.
would still be worth it I feel for sure why can a 5-7 do with an m4 can't it's a valid question yeah
and I'm not saying nerf it into oblivion
I'm just saying like 80 damage headshot point like yeah that would be fair yeah
I mean, the Eagle has to work so hard to get its head shot.
Why could a 5.7 just spam and get it from close range that easily?
All this talk about pistols and all we have for Mauser glocks.
It's a nice looking setup. Very safe. They've got the mini-crawl.
They're not playing back big rush, so they're still more active and they have someone to have it as well.
Well, it's a wrapped up serial.
Damn, Luchov, another triple kill for Luchov
in this one from the Berettas in the pistol to the MP9 now.
He has made a lot of money and made up a lot of ground.
He was previously three and 10, now nine and 10.
That's the kind of turnaround that by the end of this game
we're gonna forget that he wasn't a part of that first half.
Yeah, he's a tank, man.
I'm really trying to figure out exactly where he stands,
but we've seen so many great rounds from him.
Um, it's definitely been the perfect balance between smarts and mechanics for this team.
Whether it's in the clutch or the mid rounds.
And then we get because I mean desertion's obviously
Been a big voice on this team, so it's not like their t-side is starting from scratch
He knows how everything works, but he's got two new pieces to work with sure
There will be a little bit of pressure on him to put something together for us here on nuke
I think that's the problem is as much as he can just kind of translate the system
It is two new pieces and those pieces need to learn it. How is that happen?
I don't even know how that's possible DGT burnt to a crisp
He drops the smoke grenade at his feet, but he still dies in the end.
And now Max over towards the ramp is on the recovery mission, but you've got three players
still extending beyond that first kill on JL.
And a fast flank from an MP9 out of Luchov to try to keep this ramp whole flowing.
He's got a double and an upgrade with it.
Jumps back across.
Dangerous game.
And as Torsi sees that attempt, he will reopen the threat of taking over the A floor, but
his teammates downstairs in Zellex.
I think he's got the info. So, Waso Peak will have to rotate up through Heaven.
But that's obviously going to be very clear.
He comes in with a kit and a flash.
Man, it looks like...
It's just not even sure that someone's not up there, too.
So, Bill can seed this round.
There were some crazy trades that went down in this round.
None more crazy than Luchov with his MP9 2K.
But the ramp entries were fantastic at a mouse.
Double up on turnpike wasn't as scary as they thought it'd be.
It's really just the Hail Mary moment from Luchov to chase it the way he did.
I think the timing is really what catches mouse off more than anything.
And we saw him in a form yesterday, good enough to get 3Ks, but in that third attempt, Torsi
was just ready for him to try to kind of like overstep it.
I don't know what else he could have done.
Switches out to the AK, goes for the jump to get back over, and then into the peak.
Just felt like he had given Torsi enough info to be prepared for that, and we see Torsi
pick that up.
So, they are not at the AWP for 9Z.
It was a bit of a bonus round out of 9-Z considering they still had SMGs in the mix, now full-fledged rifle round.
Yeah, true.
This is the one that really matters for them to maintain the lead.
They will lean on Wassoke, play top A site, eats the flashbang.
We didn't fall.
He stays up here and so, a lamb to the slaughter, Bluejaw, a one-on, double-headed thief to come through, and JL, far too ready.
DGT catching you through smoke though, reopens the threat of this, it's still a 2v3.
You could take some kind of weird risk here. The bomb hasn't been planted just yet. It's going down now.
Drop some nade in front of him.
Mayern, known to be up in heaven.
And a tantalizing save with that AWP at Mayern's feet still. But they just wait this smoke out.
There's still a world where they could threaten the retake.
Ah, they won out.
Mayern into the AWP save. Ninzey concede the lead. And we are tied again.
It was risky business right there for Mouse. Could have died as they started to approach
Hut just to get a little edge on the exact with the speed, but it's really the flashes that are the
star of the show. Even if he had dropped back onto the site, he still would have been full blind
and would have guide anyway, so didn't affect too much. Just a real solid exact and a nice momentum
call here for exertion.
Matt balance usually not a problem for mouse even if it's a T side that they might not
look forward to.
They know how to climb back into a game.
They know how to play against the buy you have, the amount of money you have.
In DGT, we didn't really talk about him too much, but the volume of kills, like, wasn't
sane.
He was the best performer yesterday versus Thalcans.
That continues to be a tank.
I'm shburning. Luchov.
One of the three weakened players in this one for 9Z. It's really eyes on DGT and Mayer, and thanks to their saves.
That's an off-deep-on ramp in this M4 here, off Blue Box.
trying to get something done.
You've got to make a move of your DGT, so if he wants eyes on Outer,
and he sees this utility, he knows damn well where it's SELX is.
So nice. Took the flash, didn't believe the bluff.
And now that off on the other end, but that's a shot.
The flash was bad too.
Yeah, that's the one. That's the one you can't miss.
This would be one player left,
would have set up a scramble downstairs,
and then maybe the M4 is still able to get into the engagement.
That's now an M4 and an AK, thanks to the kill on Zelex outside, but that one Moe I definitely saw.
Yeah, and it's, you know, if you hit everything else but don't hit the jumping shot, obviously it's not that big of a deal, but there is like a...
Unfortunately, a pattern for Mayeron on his first shots where he's really struggling to just like lock it down.
Also kind of gets caught out of position there, right, for what was once hiding behind the box deep on the ramp,
And he had gone, as you can see, closer towards hell, exposed against the wall when that sudden pop comes through.
And Maus will tiptoe their way back into the lead. Absolutely impossible to figure out who's going to win this game, huh?
Agreed. I couldn't tell you.
They're really good at, like, Maus are really good at building into a half, though. Like, they, you know,
They know how to, they don't just fly blinded to execs and hope they work.
Like some of the 9Z plays that we saw on T side, it's like, they love the mid-round,
that's where they thrive, where they can get really creative.
But I think opening up rounds, like they really hunt for information and, you know,
start to build their game plan off of what they see right away.
Whereas Mouses, I think they're always thinking of the whole rounds ahead.
They're really good at planning out to make sure they don't lose enough,
like the wrong amount of players on a round that doesn't have high odds.
I
Slammed sell eggs out of this one
That'll be heard.
Reach off.
Just on the brink of the flame, steps into it.
Said it would be heard.
I thought so too, but Mayer picked up a kill on...
Speaking of JL, the garage guy gets popped.
Second off kill out through for Mayer.
And now a 2v5 recovery is what's demanded of Malice.
Spinks has been read like a book by Wassopeak.
For the sixth time in this map, we are tied.
We're tied and it's 5 alive for 9z, which is huge for the money.
Dig recovery for Mayer and to keep that clean with the double kill.
Yeah, yeah, great first shot and you can see the domino that happens.
I mean, again, you're the operator, opening duels, 5v4s, everything and counter-strike and...
...locking down a simple opportunity like that is...
...what needs to happen. He also puts together two for this round.
Then everything else is just free.
Also, Torsi again, he's one of the best really good.
Having a tough time getting online.
Max is through!
Oh!
Blindside's JL and catches the second player with a grenade in hand, so no trade potential there for Maus.
And as quickly as he attacks, Max is out of there.
Oh! Torsi.
A shot?
We just put him kind of under the mic.
Ah, he tries to cross over and the smokes were already fading.
I guess that's why Mayor jumped off.
It's like it would be kind of crazy for him to be outside right now. So at least there's the trade back for 90
That's the silver lining. They're gonna shot a pop through here mouse staring at the flash was max
It's got a teammate behind him to work with DGT lets one get downstairs
He lets both go in fact and there's a good amount of room here for mouse to put themselves in a post plant
They have three people coming in so actually appreciate them not taking a fight. They're gonna go in for a retake now
It won't be clear to mouse exactly where they're coming from. This would be the least expected thing
Triple up this quickly on ramp already.
Just entered from this position. Maybe there's one or two, but an all-in moment here for Ninesie.
Starting to move it inwards. DGT's the one-kit of the three. Luchov clears out Dark First.
Big clutch here for Zershin, demanded, and he will find Wasso's head to kick this one off.
DGT to have hand. Zershin, little bit awkward. Plays with the door here, and they're diffusing this.
using this, DGT's committing to the defuse and he gets the kill back, but there was just
enough time, just enough to get back on, I thought, oh, he barely misses.
I think he could have just stuck it, right?
I thought so too.
No, he could have because Zershin just, I think his spray was battery, like, switched
his gun again or something like that.
Oh, that's a close one.
Yeah, just had to trust it.
It was very quick to get back on the bomb, but it will be the clutch for Zershin.
That was a little messy.
I mean, Zershin messed up a big opportunity just to end it right there when he opened
the door.
Right there looking up the control window and he just had an accidental gun switch, so.
I feel like he wouldn't have survived that, but it's possibly didn't.
Now level 1v3, to get yourself back into the lead.
Help, they survived the 3v2 retake.
Yeah, this game at this point is a total coin flip.
We've seen enough from both teams to see that they could easily win this game.
Very clutch heavy match.
That being the fifth, one, one VX.
Oh, nuke.
setting that A site ablaze you've got three defenders here fourth one
one by main and denial in a matter of seconds.
Max will be the only casualty.
Oh, until Zershin finds Wasil with just that continuation on the smoke.
Luchov knows what you're up to, reads the push like a book.
And by God, we are tied again.
Yeah, it looks like I'm kind of surprised at the amount of upper plays here.
Unless we go back to back 1v3.
That'd be great for the confidence for Torzi.
I'm going to play her up above him, and then that Lutoff position he knows about gets some
damage on DGT this time Ninesie survives.
Yeah, he was locked in.
I mean, even if he was pinned in that corner, if he swung again, he was dead anyway, so
no chance for that point on.
And Ninesie will be very happy to see that round coming their way.
Stylistically, I don't know, I was thinking Maus would, like that's one of the rounds
I was talking about earlier where, like, Maus are normally really good at identifying,
okay, here's a round where if you lose all your money, we're kinda screwed.
You know, if you wanna throw it all in on an upper hit.
This is all they've got.
Ooh, that gets out.
That's huge, actually, they needed to find something.
sort of map control convincingly without a big price tag and that is exactly what
they get. A lot of bodies downstairs suddenly the Founta round feels very
much winnable. Four mouths. Just a bomb plant and Zellex gets that AK into the
engagement. So not only do you surprise a portion of the map you take a bunch of
space you put your bomb down and you get that 5v4. Pressure is on 90 and
Luchov steps up into that pressure to deliver a 2k. Zellex is leaned back on
the rifle here towards control panel. He will find mayor. A second kill for Zellex
But this is Luchov out with three bodies dead thanks to him and him alone and as Zellex anticipates the peek up the stairs
Tucks into the corner and DGT will blindside that now Zershin back for another clutch
Pressured by the rifles stuck inside the ramp and this is his chance to get you off the D. Fuse
So that is 9z with 11. You shut up Luchov for his two kills when they got the D. Con his teammate in the back died
And that was an emergency situation. I felt like the rotations were one second too slow and they almost gave mouths a little bit too much space
It would have been an exciting moment for mouths they got ramp for free
Had all five so they were ready to go downstairs as well, but this is now 9c
Comfortable 11 to 10 a save here for mouths
Stuffing mouths on that A site two rounds ago is what set all of this up.
And you know, it's big for Zelecs to get that kill with the AK early before the retake happens.
But from finding a kill before the bombs down to then just hiding in control room and kind
of letting the retake occur, we didn't get to see that rifle try to press against 90
So they were very comfortably in the process of the retake.
Maybe he would have liked to see that get a little more active, but it's gone now, and
Lasso peeks already confirmed one inside of the hut.
It's a free frag for him.
Yes, sir.
Zellex doomed whether he knows it or not.
Flash will find its target right before he shoots, and things get a little squirrely.
Surtians come through with the Tech 9 frag, but for the most part, utility makes the difference,
keeps Maus on ice, and keeps Ninesi, seemingly, in the lead for now.
It's got JL's name on it, and that is Torgie walking it back around outside.
Nynzee will have two opportunities to close out their map pick.
It's kind of incredible for Nynzee to put themselves in a winning position here on Nuke after their massive win yesterday.
And that'll be Falcon seeing, saying, see, they're good.
to walk into PGL Astana with the prize pool that we have, and to clear this group's 3-0 with a win over Falcons,
and then a victory over a resurging Maus.
I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but this has been 90 now. I mean, dominated ParaVision, dominated.
Yeah, they made ParaVision look like they were totally lost, really.
They had one of those maps versus Falcons in the Dust2 game. That was a 13-1 versus Falcons.
versus Falcons. I'm not saying you just squeeze the victory out versus Kerrigan's Falcons.
No, you own them.
Three top ten teams on a run, that's, you know.
And now today, a little more of a grueling affair.
A game that has been tied at eight separate score lines.
Here on Nuke, and 9-Z pull ahead when it matters,
currently on a three-round win streak, and two math points.
It's always been our sort of favorite part about the team that they're they're not the
ones who get nervous they're the ones who get more clutch.
Oh, that's just so low already.
Ramp has been a bit of an issue I don't mind vows trying this again.
They have a new setup for it.
Offers the perfect distraction and Mayer peeks back in to close this.
Maus had their moments, they had their clutch opportunities.
They will finish this game with one more clutch, one than what Ninze posted.
But this T-side, which had legs once upon a time, meets its maker once Ninze find their groove.
We're looking at four rounds consecutive to shut this down unless a 2v5 comes together with a low health salad.
I don't think so.
9-Z cementing themselves at the tip of the spear here in Astana.
Their map picked secured.
Maus fought valiantly, but 9-Z emerged victorious.
Yes, Maus, historically a German organization.
They just got told, 9, you are not going to win this.
Not bad.
9-Z actually.
Yeah, there it is.
There it is.
Look, we promised everyone at home
that this was going to be an amazing game close.
Conor with a fantastic stat there.
The game was tied up eight times.
That's how back and forth it was.
But remember, we are talking about the upstarts of 90.
This is the team that people were looking at going,
ah, maybe they're pretty good for the South American team.
What does that really mean in this era?
Well, it turns out they're good enough
to take on the big boys.
No doubt about it now.
First thought, amazing game.
Really enjoyed watching this one.
This is one of those one of the best games we've
gotten to watch for sure.
And then two, but I think it's keep
repressing me, bro.
Like every time I watch them play,
I just get more and more confident is the team that we got to pay attention to because you know, this is you know
Obviously a situation where they're coming in on their their pick a strength that Matthew've already eaten mouse on before
Obviously different version of bowels and yeah, we can say that now aren't at a hundred percent yet
But still they have some very well-known players that have done some big things in the scene
It's a scene I'm zee be able to go toe-toe with them like this and just look so impressive and crisp when they do it
It's just it's awesome to watch the team kind of thrive right now
There are moments where I was really worried about nine zee in this game where
single player that just doesn't get the kill that they're supposed to. There were moments from, I would say, a lot of them, like, Mayer and Hwaso Peak.
They kind of had these moments where they kind of let the floodgates open, and now all the players kind of rush in. They take so much space away.
But then other guys were able to pick up the pieces. It was really actually a pleasant sight to see Max as in-game leader have a couple moments himself.
very clutch in the first half, multi kills from a lurking position, him and obviously the usual suspects again showing up.
Luchov and DGT, I don't think we can sing their praises enough.
They're just so damn good.
Like Luchov is just such a great initiator, such just a great, you know, player in moments where he's able to just focus on aim
and just locking down an area.
DGT again, more of a passive force on the T side, but playing that CT or R position.
Look at the CT multi kills.
Yeah, it's unbelievable, bro.
Like this is just such a fantastic and look at how proactive he's being you know like getting into these these tight spaces
So it's really awesome to watch this team grow then like I've really watched him play
And you know you were talking about max that was kind of one of the cool things like back a couple of years ago
And this team had that top four finish at Dallas in 2024 and kind of put the the 9c organization on the map
Max was actually a pretty solid frag as an IGL, you know at that time period as well
And I'm not gonna say that he's like oh fracking IGL, you know in the sense of you know some of the other guys
We have out there who are at a very high level fragging while IGLing but he ain't too shabby, bro
Like he ain't bad totally commendable
So I like a kicks in Bible almost where it's like a he actually came have games where he has impact fragging as well
Totally, I mean he doesn't embarrass himself. I always said about kicks and I would say the same about Max here today
Mm-hmm. So look about miles. I still don't think it's all doom and gloom. No
You know, obviously it was 90s pick it was still very close and
And Zershin has said, you know, we are still moving pieces around.
We are still trying out things.
And I thought Zellex, the rookie, thought he had a pretty good game,
looked to have some bright moments.
So, you know, that's life.
Life in the field.
Absolutely.
You know, I think that you definitely saw some positive signs at times.
Like you could definitely tell if they're very confident playing like these punchier
plays and stuff like that.
And some of them actually worked out quite well where you're like, OK,
like I kind of see the thought here.
They're just kind of brawling, but they're doing so with good spacing
and they have a clear intent on what they're trying to do.
But there were certainly a couple of times,
you know, throughout that second half, where it's like,
ah, OK, the timing was a little bit off there.
Like, it felt like maybe they weren't quite on the same page
like they should have been.
And so maybe got caught out a little bit, you know,
in an awkward space.
So, you know, I think I see, in the very end of it,
just were the better and more complete nuke team.
I mean, they kind of funneled Maus to where they wanted
in some of those rounds.
I mean, the fact that they had two ramp defenders multiple times,
I think, just as Maus are going for a ramp play,
some of what Maus was doing just became a little too obvious
because 9Z had enough of an idea on the map of what was cut to come next.
So, to me, it was great on the proactivity side of 9Z,
which we kept seeing that they always had an eye on what's going on.
Like, DGT was peering over the outside yard smokes.
They had eyes in lobbies sometimes, just with kind of like flirting with hut control.
A lot of great initiative being taken from 9Z that made it too obvious what mouths were doing next.
Yeah, good call there.
I agree. Like, it definitely wasn't like that second front or that second threat
That really was ever there that would make 90 second guess if they were making the right rotation
They had a very good read on things the entire time for sure. Hmm. I think look is as well
You have to understand that mouse like this. There's a lot of issues to still fix
In terms of you know, we've got to get jail comfortable
I like he's not a one-for-one replacement to Jimmy by any stretch of the imagination
We're bringing through a younger player. I think that's a good accounting of themselves ultimately on a map that might not necessarily
necessarily be one they're gonna play a lot of moving forward. What we need to
recognize is that this mouse team is still in a fledgling state. It's one
that I would totally expect that they're gonna change things up even though
right now they did say are going into it. Jail's gonna play some anchor spots,
exertion's gonna keep some of those active positions, Zellix is now gonna be
an anchor. I feel like they, what would future-proof them more is to put these
guys where their best and let exertion take the bad spots. That to me is one
way, I think right now this might be the most competitive way to line up these
pieces because Zellix is still getting integrated to tier 1 CS, but if you want
to maximize his potential he should probably be in more active spots.
It's a good point you know I think it's one of those things where different
teams have different philosophies on where they want you know the role-wise
to have in an active spot whether they want it to be their IGL so he has
information, he can make the right calls and kind of micro people around to do
certain proactive plays or you put your star player there because he can
frag real hard in a star role like that. I think like Sergean is in this weird gray
space where he's kind of supposed to be both, right? Like he kind of was already playing
a lot of those roles as a quote-unquote star player.
And that's a problem, by the way. For me, that's a problem, because Xersion is one of
the least mechanically strong star player entries that we had in Tier 1. It's often
times why they would hit their ceiling when they played the Spirits of the World, the
Falcons of the World, Vitality, what have you, because, I mean, Luz, one of the guys
that's just become a really big stat guy on Twitter, showed that first bullet accuracy
consistency for exertion is the worst of any Star Rifler that any team has.
We should stop playing those positions.
That was always a big criticism of Mouse in general.
Like, they just have flaky players.
Like, guys who can sometimes pop off but aren't able to do so consistently.
And it's like, they're good, but not great.
You know, I think that's something that does maybe can be that great piece for them.
That's been the tale of Mouse in general.
You know, they've lived in the shadows.
I mean, everyone lives in the shadows by quality, but every time they've been,
you know, potential contenders, it's, you know, semi-finals, quarter-finals, you know,
run us up. So maybe this lineup can get to that next level, fresh ideas, fresh look, but it is
going to take time. But the good news is, they have their map pick coming up, it is Inferno, so
if they are going to turn this series around, it's going to have to be here. Great veto from
Main-Z. Mirage has been the go-to map for Miles, they're not going to get it. This is their second
overall preferred map. So again, keys to victory guys.
Yeah, I mean, I think this one's interesting for Mouseports because, you know, for Zelex,
He was a map. He didn't play you know mouse next to you was a permanent player
So it's very much new to him and what he's gonna be doing on this squad
I think the other really neat thing for mouseports is this is one of the mats where jail actually kind of gets to do
He was doing in the past right?
He was always a B player for Navi a very good B controller also very good B defenders
So he basically it's to do both of those things now
So that's nice. It also has allowed sphinx to move back into the apartment
That's the role he used to play when he was on Vitality in 2024
Obviously he had to play more mid because Jimmy was on the team
So everyone should except for zealots who's not played inferno much in official setting this should all make them comfortable
It's a question for you, Maui
What do you do if you've got to play it that doesn't play a map doesn't play inferno specifically
Where do you put them? How do you make them comfortable?
Well, you can either just make them the trade fragger which is Alex more or less
He's kind of becoming the floater like the secondary halls guy in this sort of way
Which I'd say is one of the positions that has the least
Responsibility where if you're just coming through boiler a lot of the time you're oftentimes throwing supporting utility
just from that boiler position, you're not really
supposed to be the point of emphasis on attacks.
And then you can also just slot in late round.
You're throwing some of the needs on a B exec, for example.
Get to be that late round player.
Watch the flank, maybe at banana.
So I think they've put Zelex into the right spot for a guy
that doesn't play the map as frequently
or didn't play the map officially at all
before coming to this team.
It's just going to be tough, man, because Nines here
are so ferocious on this map.
But they've done so well in South America.
We saw them beat Paravision in this tournament.
They have a very good clean record on this map.
And they're just so dangerous because of how they can spread
the map so well.
You have Lu-Chall who's just such a beast at banana on both sides of the map
He had so much impact
We saw that game that he had against Paravigion where the dude dropped like a nuclear
3.7 rating on the CT side. He's just so good there as an attacker as well
Then you got the other guy of that duo on the opposite side of the map doing big things for in the apartments in a
Rotating so they just have such good to shoot a talent on this on this map in particular
All right
Well, thanks a lot guys time for a break when we come back
Mouse will be hoping that the meek do indeed inherit the earth on Inferno
She said she loves you, but she can't love me!
But I love you!
I won't play Windu anymore.
What's going on?
The human body was built to move, not trapped at a desk in one singular posture for 12 hours
a day.
It's time your chair evolved.
This is Secret Lab Titan Evo.
ergonomically engineered figures, gamers, hybrid workers,
artists, and that can yield every move.
Starting to become the talk of the town is the 9z caliber of counter strike this week
Mohan because, again, dispatching a paravision and a blowout, beating Falcons and putting
them down a notch, and now handling Maus on a game that was a nail-biter for the majority
of that game.
But once they really slotted into that convincing CT side, they closed it out.
And so, 9-Z, step forward now with two chances to make it into playoffs, and not just limp
into the playoffs in Astana, but to be the talk of the town.
Yeah, and the desk has a dust pointed out super amped about them playing on Inferno too, which makes this a difficult veto overall for Maus.
Yeah, I mean, it's just so many great things, and I'd love to go back and compare this run to some of their previous, but it's feeling like this is the one.
This is the best roster that 9-Z have got. It's the best run they've had in the event to soar into playoffs in this fashion if they can actually pick up the win, and that's definitely not guaranteed.
It's still Mouse, and it's Inferno and Ancients.
It next, if we need it, it's totally possible
that this doesn't end the fairy tale ending
that it feels like it's going to.
Is it possible that Ninzy will win the Buenos Aires Major?
Dude, that's, I mean, wait to see my pickums.
Phase Silver, phase silver.
I'm only speaking new languages in that one.
Yeah dude, sorry, that slipped out.
Got all excited.
Big execute into the B site, DGT is going to be blind as a bat.
Everybody pretty blind from that one, flashes both directions,
4v5 for 9z to have to fight back from,
and there's a lot of bodies here for Luchoff to have to handle,
so a bit unfortunate for 9z, both their defenders go down with nothing.
Hwaso P, timing this to perfection, and as that smoke is about to fade,
he's gonna have vision on the site. They try to scramble it in, his Maus are still standing out in the open.
Two players to push around the back of church, and that push is what's really gonna secure this.
So Maus will start their map pick with a successful pistol win.
Very, very clean, simple, and well committed to B attack here.
Everybody dead within the side door, just rotating in from CT spawn.
Waso Peek can take this Glock and leave first time so let's downgrade it on a
save. I wonder if there's a Waso Peek steam group there should be I started that
you know the Honda Peek steam group you started that yeah I went after he got the
two aces in his debut, and that Steve Group actually got pretty big.
Bigger than Honda.
Bigger than Honda.
Where is he today?
I'm gonna look right now because I think he is still playing.
Sure.
I mean, he wouldn't be the first player to kind of have like a bigger than expected breakout moment,
Kind of falter and then have to disappear for a little while. I mean foosie had to go else is
What about oh it's else is yeah the valorant pro ace this first round in a major
That's true
Foozie had to go play Chinese Counter Strike and now look at him. Yeah, he's playing three different continents, right?
Was the trivia has played everywhere
Well, there are more than three confidence, but you know what I mean.
Does Antarctica really count?
You're not even allowed to live there.
I'm not sure if it's even real, to be honest.
Yeah, we're gonna take you there.
Never seen it with my own eyes.
You know what?
Can't say I have either.
That's what I'm saying.
Oh.
Don't believe big Antarctica.
you know Argentina is incredibly close to Antarctica for the record yeah that's
true that's how this one goes we get back on track
Max is seen in our car
winner winner chicken dinner you breast or leg guy I don't discriminate that's
fair. White meat, dark meat. Dark meat for sure, more flavors. Yeah, same flavors. Problem
with chicken is just, you know, the lack of fat content. You cook through it, it's the
opposite of Wagyu really. The good thing about chicken is you don't have to feel bad about
it. You do still, I mean, can't just feel bad for cows because they're bigger. Ah, to
hell with chickens
wow
honestly though
that's going to be your take that ages poorly one day they're they're going to
come after you for that one
you know how many chickens we kill every day
you know how bad i feel every day
how can you convert you signaling right now
well how can you feel bad? 9C you're about to go 3-0 in Astana
that gets me out of bed in the morning
Yeah, I mean, it's because this team is they're the exact kind of team that doesn't disappoint because they're always an underdog.
So anything they get is, you know, something to be excited about.
And then they overperform a lot of times when they go international.
So it's just like it's just hard not to love them, to be honest.
I think the trend that they're obviously trying to buck is just what feels like this inevitable.
Like they're going to have a big moment.
We're all going to celebrate them again because you always cheer for the underdog.
It's a story that we can all latch on to yeah, they punch up words and they shock us again
And then there's just kind of that wall. There's that that ceiling that they seem to hit
Then it's back into the doldrums and a roster change and oh, oh, we're all surprised again
Yeah, I think they just want to find that chance that six months where they're just taken very seriously. Oh, yeah, definitely
It gets yeah, I'm sure for someone like Max. I mean, it's
I'll see who the round goes actually.
They say really important round to win for Maus.
They blocked this attack on B.
Doesn't look like the C teaser in a position to really move.
They can't get info on brackets.
Oh, that's a bomb smoke.
It is.
It just caught the smallest little ledge at the sidewalk.
It's interesting though, because it looks so weird.
JL is going to absolutely capitalize on that.
I'm not afraid of it because it gave him that vision on the climb up.
Yeah.
That's a weird one.
It kind of caught the, the, the paver, the edge of the paver.
It's just that, you know, Nines, he stay within their region.
I think they'll always be, because like the problem for mouse is like, they're,
they're, they're European.
they get lots of good practice. Even though they don't buy all the star players, they
hit their ceiling, but they still have a lot of sort of, I think it comes down to essentially
the practice and just the players that they pick up are also in the strongest region overall,
so there are higher expectations, but it's hard to come from one of the, I don't want
even say weak, or it's not like they're a weak region per se, but they aren't even getting like
they're the superstars from their regions, come on, from their team, right? They built up Try and
now Try has moved on or whatever, but who's like the most potentially expensive player or
something that they've ever tried to sign? I don't think they, you know, maybe it was, um,
Um, uh, sorry, Luchin, the streamer.
Yeah, possibly just because he was a streamer.
Maybe they had to pay him a little extra.
I can't remember what the NQZ nine Z journey was.
That was one of the bigger signings.
Like, I can't remember at what point in NQZ was before it was before four pain.
Okay.
Yeah.
I believe they had they had NQZ when he had hair.
Oh, wow.
Oh.
What? Suck on that, surgeon.
Oh my god. That was two bullets.
Roughly.
It's a hell of a way to establish the 5-4.
Nynzee gonna put a pin in Maus's streak here.
Eight times on Nuke, Mohawk. This game was tied.
Eight times. Incredible. That's pretty wild.
That's the other cool part about 9Z is like they're close games, they seem to just be able to close.
They don't really, they get better and better as the game gets closer.
The mayor is in a great spot here. Sometimes he second guesses, but little off angle.
It's interesting, you don't normally see an opera this far out in case you get flashed from the bottom of the pit.
Aw, but he'll miss his chance.
They didn't get away, but he hasn't dropped a molly either.
And now the molly's too slow, and now you're just giving up a lot of space, Mayer.
There you have it.
He's gonna get a push from D.T. that gets caught off. He is not ready for Maus to be inside his spawn.
Yeah, C.T. is gonna have to come back now. They were so ready and prepared for that A-take.
Lutrov's still able to find timing. He went through the smoke, but oh man, he oversteps it in a completely untradable moment.
Yeah, it's all going wrong. Max would have loved to be in Quad of it.
He can actually stop the bomb if he just tucks properly.
This is a 3v5 for Maus.
Okay, they're gonna...
Flash announces that there is banana presence.
This much like that ramp retake on Nuke.
Three players here, do you anticipate this?
Tree position could just blindside 90 once they try to overstep.
And that's what Zelex is trying to force.
He wants them to just go wide into Spinks,
who's gonna collect the headshot on Wassopeak,
and by God, 3v5 for Maus.
9z in one of the first moments in this series
just really caught entirely off guard.
I'm not gonna lie, I feel like Maus did something
that was like really strange
when they lost two players
and they committed through CT spawn.
The B players, if they had even the smallest suspicion
that that could have been possible, there was three.
One ran into CT, Max could have stayed at Quad
and then they could have had, you know, someone playing Tree or someone in Ruins, and that
would have just been way too difficult. But, from the perspective of Maus, they're down
to three players. Let's take some kind of risk. And they completely caught TGZ off guard.
So, that works out very well for them. It did take a sort of series of unfortunate events
to make it possible. But for Maus, I don't think they care how they won that round.
I countered a very nice start between Luchov's pick-off on Zershin and that's Wassopique.
He's got all kinds of specialty drinks.
I love a good beverage.
I'm not going to lie.
I'd love an interview where it's like the top five things that JT, uh, what did I just
say JT?
Oh, JL.
Wait, JT is a person that JL learned during his time off. That's what he wants you to think
JT is no mere man
JL
Looking manly on top of the
Barrels as he tries to find early duels towards being loot shop behind the half wall with an op to give him cover
Yeah, full-blinded skill! They aren't over top, catching JL on the perils as well, so
9Z, they come into this one with some limitations, right? 5-7, double MP9, and tons of damage
on the receiving end of 9Z's B-play, but that damage is certainly worth the 5B3 they pull
off.
And now there are no more AGs to really take advantage of this. Obviously they still have
Try to find Luchov if they could
He's so low. I think he's just gonna risk it. Yeah. Oh, what a find man. Oh
He sees all three of them as well
That's how you use a low guy
But man, look how flimsy it is over at beats him and
Yeah, I'm shocked that they haven't put one of the full health bars
22 health over here on this side, but there here's Mao's not even thinking about this at all
Are they not?
Taurus is coming!
Oh, okay.
I'd say thinking about it a little!
Yeah, they actually are.
I saw him throw away guns, but then I look over at 9Z and it's like, yeah, they would love to go get those, so...
Spinks has got a potential CT smoke.
He's got a...
Oh, never mind. They got utility for this, but...
Oh, no.
No, they don't.
Spinks catches DGT.
He could kill them.
These other two players are low, but the ball never got my plant.
Oof!
It's a weird one.
Yeah, very weird, but hey, Ninzy put it on the board. Five rounds into the CT side, they find their first.
And it's really the risky moves of Luchov and Mayn,
both who come away with a kill towards B. One of which was fully blind.
What's funny about Max's monitor, it's even farther back than normal.
Yes, he pushes it as far back as possible and goes to it.
and then leans over the desk.
Crazy setup, but you know what?
He's better than I am at Counter-Strike.
Way better than a lot of pros, to be honest.
He's really good.
So I won't say a word.
You won't criticize anyone better than you, Metzia.
Is that what you just said?
I try not to.
Yeah, fair enough.
I try not to. I really do.
We do have to be humble about the fact that we get X-Ray.
That's a nice one.
Yeah.
Does that mean that God can't criticize us because he has X-ray?
Whoa.
What a pervert.
Just checking in.
I keep it on as well.
Game is game.
What you doing in there?
In this world I created for you.
Double Mp9 still a part of this 9Z5 and happy to move it down banana.
This game is looking way more difficult without X-Ray, isn't it?
Little jump spot over top, blue chop on the retreat, where'd he go?
We don't know. And neither do maps.
How's he not scared? He could die to an HE, a random spam.
I like this chef good decision sprinkle it in
what's that turning the x-ray off oh this whole round didn't even notice oh it's J
Razz is disabled. Good trade back by Torsi. Luchoff low, Mayer 100 health, but on the
other side of the map, so this B bomb site belongs to Ma- Maus, and that's gonna be
nothing but a one-off 9Z. Meow.
Maer dies too, so Maus, they had to grind this one out. It got a little bit tricky with
The HP bar is coming down low, but they kept managing to stay ahead in terms of the kills and it's not the normal way you went around on inferno.
But going up against Luchov and his propensity to just go crazy with Zemp9, I think they were just the right amount of careful.
I wonder what Max is always typing at the end of rounds, like how he's like distributing
his or delegating it to himself sort of what he speaks and what he writes in chat.
I love to imagine that he's just talking mad shit in all chat.
Just smiley faces every round.
Max stuck in front of it.
Oh, he tries to fight and hang on for dear life with a single kill.
All he's able to get on that one, Luchov freed up to take position back in Banana,
but you've lost the teammate in front of you and you remain alone on B.
Flash around the wall, here comes Zershin on the hunt.
Oh.
Luchov, ooh.
They gotta get used to the fact that he doesn't care if he has teammates to help him.
They think they've cleared this.
Is he patient enough?
Execute Zershin on campus!
Oh, it is.
Because if it does, that happens.
Luchoff doubles down, Mayerns clipped one towards Boiler, and Spinks has been found out at a distance.
So it was feeling like a one-off round win for 9Z, they tap right back into their potential,
and now we go four rounds back and forth, non-consecutive, which we know will start to whittle away at the economy of Maus,
and will open a door, and if there's a door, a jar in front of 9Z, they will full body rush through it, so be careful, Maus.
I love the way that 90s velocity on some of these maps, it kind of looks crazy to see Luke gov in this spot staying on banana, because number one he's done it a lot, so they come in to try to clear him, they just don't do it properly.
But the fact is, you just don't give a team who has numbers or can take car control a full exact opportunity. Fighting for car is the best way to fight for banana.
Ultimately, if you play back in the sights, you're just risking so much, and I think 9Z are really recognizing that, trusting themselves.
And sometimes you see a team, they leave a player up there, if he dies, the whole round's over.
But it could be true that if they played back in the sight with him, just playing passive, the same outcome could happen.
But at least out there, he has a better chance of finding duels like he just did.
And you know Luchov's not scared.
It could have been worse, it's a good name, but it could have been worse with those two
players as close as they were.
That made a little too far.
If they're out in brackets already, smoke on Arch about to fade.
Mayor top posted on.
You landed that boiler shot a round ago.
Oh, it's made awkward, Max eating flashes, but he wins his duel.
Yeah, fight for a car.
This is the bomb surgeon.
You can't just poke this by yourself.
This one's going to be free for me, or surely.
You'd hope for his sake, yes sir.
Zalex dropped, flashed for the fade away, and he'll take up position in sight with the
double pit set up on 9Z.
I save I think time such a big problem. Bye. Bye
Guardian bye-bye sorry I had to
No, I'm uh, I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the way that night's ear just
Willing to scrap it out on from the sandbags
every round
It's gonna be frustrating for mouse who are really trying to condition them out of being so comfortable there. Yeah, right
Like really you're willing to stand there with no utility or teammates yep and play sandbags
Yeah, we know it's impenetrable. Yeah, we know you have some good CT angles to work with but really like we're a scary team
And they're like no we don't care it'll be mouse then it'll be luchov mouse is willing to die luchovs willing to stand there afterwards
That's a good name I
I think Zershin would have loved to have not been shackled by the bomb last round because I feel like he peeks around that half wall with it
Yeah, he's like, let me out of him. But with three players up brackets, you know, they don't know that that ops about to kill one
They they really had to keep the threat of going A alive
So he's not allowed to force the issue
But I think again if not for the bomb he would have loved to. There should be a button to put the bomb down gently instead of throw it to the ground
Give him a little kiss
I don't know if I would try that with a bomb, but...
Gotta be careful when you're pushing buttons on a bomb.
Flash to get Mayern off the line. He will fall back into the site, which does again allow Maus to emerge.
Into brackets, they'll go once more. Flash over towards the archside.
Mayern is not a part of this hold, and so they are still numbers strong here, Maus.
But Lutrop's come over and I mean he's been very confident in these moments
goes for the mid-play catches Zell X with his back turned the only player that
was still extended beyond this line and he gets caught trying to retreat back
with the rest of his team so 5v4 established off that one 35 seconds
on the clock Spinks is gonna be the solo apartments player we'll see what
Wasso can get done as he's got teammates all around him oh beautiful shot for
Zershin, JL clips DGT, and Hwaso's the only one of the three, so that is big individual plays coming out of Maus
What a shot by Zershin. I mean that was long distance. That was no moto smoke
He was so sure that there was gonna be someone right there
That was not an easy shot. The odds were not on the side with an AK from that range
But man, did that matter?
It didn't even look like he stopped moving. Yeah
I was looking at that position Mayer and took him like,
man, he put himself in a really good spot with the weirdness that went on towards Arch
after Lushop got his kill.
Right.
And he did have a great line.
There was nothing bad about a spot, but he actually, there was no time for him to shoot.
That was just, that was uncounterable.
Had to be a first bullet headshot, resurgent, and it just was.
It was just weird, buddy just got a laser beam.
I want to keep going, but I want to stay a little bit more...
Perfect moment to sprinkle that in if you're a mouse and if you're specifically Zershin
just to get back into the 6-3 lead.
Put three rounds in between you and your opposition and you could still have yourself a runaway
map off the back of that one.
At a timeout called by Sikrone.
I'm trying to ice the kicker right here. They're in the lead. That one, that round's pretty strong.
They've already had a commendable T side to look back on. I'm thinking about how do we make this worse.
DGT not in the game yet. That has not happened to him, I think, so far this event.
True, you know what? Let me go double-check.
Let's put DGT on a quick fraud watch.
He's got to be low-key on the top performers, I mean, even though Luchov is number one.
Ceres yesterday was super good, that last map was excellent.
It has not happened after this event.
He used an excellent.
Relis rating was a 0.85 in the 15-14 score of Mirage vs. Falcons.
His worst map in Astana yet.
And you're just trying to draw it all back until anything.
As you're flying back, but making it feel like they're still forward, and you know,
Mao's got to respect that because they've been here so much.
They'll flash through it and not see anybody.
Oh, and there it is.
All hit.
It's like the big grenades coming out late.
That's a nade on all four members of Mao.
It's met by a smoke as well, and the fire had kinda cooled them off.
Very awkward for Mouse.
Sort of stuck there, but Spinks has found some free real estate.
Ooh, things get interesting from here.
Kind of, but there's already three at B.
I don't think they can wait for him now.
We could call him the smoke that would have given him a DGC spot so that...
goes for the whole mag dump.
Okay.
Spinks starts to activate.
Oh.
Survives that volley of fire and now Spinks and him are gonna lock horns and CT spawn is his 2v4 towards banana
But still trying to push that away through smoke Luchov's got one max down it orange holds on for another
And it's gonna be the 2v1 inside the bomb site Torsey in the open gets the op back up
And he does got a chance to reposition wider on the site. He's concerned about banana, but it's a double CT retake here for 9z
op on Mayer and deep angle Torsey
Manages to get the line on the back of church.
Oh, and he's gonna punish Mayer for the jump across it.
Wasso taking up the same angle.
Now tiptoes his way into the line that Torsey just held onto.
This is with a kit for Wasso.
And he's got the information now.
Torsey with the reposition all the way back around the church.
It's a ring around the rosy.
And 9-Z tapping the bomb to try to fluster.
1v2 clutch out of Torsey with a shot to close out.
Yeah, he won that either way just off of his smarts, but a great flick for him and
Yeah, he's looking for some confidence to get back into this
How did he end up knowing that there were two in CT who's certain of it
But I didn't hear that fast step come out for the second guy
I guess when he saw the jump he was just like they must be together
together.
Great round from Torsie.
Those are the clutches that matter.
I was thinking the runaway, but it was...
I don't want to say obvious, but it was so much noise right away.
I wonder what that means to the CTs.
Yeah, I mean, you can also just kind of...
a little back and forth on the damage there.
We've seen rounds get into brackets more often than not, without too much resistance,
but they've also fallen away from it at times on their terms.
So once again they've got this same smoke in front of them. There have been moments where Mayern's on the other side. There have been moments where he's nowhere to be found.
DGTO in six.
That first kill remains elusive. Zershin closing the distance into CT spawn ahead of the T smoke. Currently on his own.
Oh, he's totally missing.
I see none.
He wouldn't be approaching this way if he thought someone had leaked through, Max.
Oh, and Luchov dies on the pushdown banana.
This is crazy.
I mean, yeah, this is going to be a free round for Maus if they get away with this.
Zershin hanging onto the truck.
We'll see if the CT's even consider this, but I don't think so.
They've got a scramble to try to stop the Rotate.
Zershin serves up a great distraction.
Slows everything down long enough with a deep tree smoke coming through for Maus and a bomb
plant to boot, and advantage looking real good, but look at the health. That health
keeps it curious. They just keep them so far back with that deep smoke and it makes
it feel like miles before they can get that retake to begin. Good on mouse then.
They have most certainly taken control of their map pick. Inferno becomes a whole
other beast with an 8-3-T lead. And that is gonna remind us that despite 9Z's
It's great showing this week so far, toppling Maus in the best of three.
Not a given.
Oh, that's just about as good as you could ask for out of Maus, really, really nice moves.
And using CT in a way that you just don't see as often for a lot of teams.
It feels like that's where everything can go wrong for you when you try to do p-splits through CT on inferno
But the amount of places that can be you know
It can be held from as you're trying to approach not a lot of good cover on the way
But so far every time they've lurked they've actually tricked to 9z got a flank kill
Even with that 3v5 to kick off this
Really hot seeds are a T side
Oh, I'm exposed to the call-out.
I'm thinking you could just tuck yourself into the corner, but it is Maus with other
ideas.
Maus have had multiple ideas this map, haven't they?
Yeah.
Nice different approaches.
And they've also had like no hesitation at time to just kind of cancel things.
Which I think you've always got to respect for somebody who's picking up the reins for
the first time insertion with two new pieces. Sometimes you just kind of want to not overcomplicate
so that things don't get lost in translation, but...
True. Yeah, it's been ambitious in that regard. Like, a lot of different looking rounds.
We can infer no fun to watch.
You know, a lot of the times, let's say a new in-game leader comes in, we just kind of give them time.
We're like, yeah, you should keep it simple for the...
Yeah, I'll see if the fundamentals are good or whatever, yeah.
Bank on your aim, etc., like...
Ooh, this is a nice, uh, nice lean from 9z. It will be a B take, and there is utility over here.
EGT again.
I feel so far, but there's his first.
It's been too late. 12th round of the half, and he finally has one.
It's actually insane how much saving they've all done. The most deaths on the team is seven.
I mean, it's inferno for you.
Yeah, true.
Forced retake in this one as it is round 12, and Mao's on the brink of a 9-round T-side. Very impressive stuff.
Try to turn this series upside down.
I haven't managed to get through a series so far here in Astana without losing a map, and this one will be no different.
But it looks like they are back in the driver's seat, at least here for Inferno.
Very comfortable closeout for the ninth round as well.
And what could be a quick, swift move to the decider in this series?
It's totally possible.
Still going to be a comfortable map. The comeback is always possible.
You know, it's not like it was dominant for Maus in terms of they got away with the same thing every time.
It was very impressive because it was such a unique T-side.
and they a lot of the hard rounds they figured out they really had a lot of good chemistry to keep it together and
Stayed on time and really trick 9z a bunch of times
Can imagine they really studied that game versus para vision just to figure out that CT side
Just felt like an ambitious mouse throughout inferno
Commendable the fanatic mousepad that's not a sponsor problem in any way oh
I mean we're just like your your own team is like
You know we've got ninesie mouse
No, I
Love crims. Yeah, make him an orange
You know, that's my color
I have DGT Meister.
So the best and maybe only chance to make this happen, T side pistol for 9Z.
Jail's gonna go looking.
E!
That's a lot more CTs left.
Oh!
Nice!
Spinks.
And that's gonna set up the second sandbag player forever.
Spinks will see when he finally goes down how much they believe that this is clear as
LX in the middle of it all.
Might want to take that shot just in case.
Buh!
Gah!
There we go!
Oh, ow, worth it!
Ends up picking up all three in the sequence, but you know for about ten seconds there,
he is not breathing.
I was worried about him because sometimes what happens is someone just jumps over sandbags
and then just sees you incidentally.
Steps on you accidentally, or you pop up on the radar, but nope.
sequence with the 1, 2, 3.
And that's the thing you see like the high ceiling from him, you know?
Just, you know, obviously he's still brand new, but we saw that one great round on Nuke and...
Yeah, he's had some great rounds this event, that's one of them.
You know, he's just kind of watching in the last half, he was 2 and 6 on that T side.
And so...
Cool sequence for him to just kind of feel like he's left his mark on the game,
it's gonna, obviously you hear with the celebration there for Maus,
really cements this lead from what is just an impressive first half to what
could be a stomp on inferno and you're gonna know that your pistol victory
keeping your cool not whiffing when it finally comes time to pull the trigger
yeah that's actually a big deal for Zellex so props to him for winning that
one you see the advantage over top of the glocks here at round 14 and now is
feeling confident enough to obviously extend off of banana take a ton of map
control and make ninesie feel all the smaller there's money to be made here
with this mp9
doesn't get blinded collects two frags and it's got gorgey and spades with m4s
all around him so rock solid A site never gonna get in there not without some
kind of an early kill or whatnot. Desert Eagle doesn't even really get a chance to shoot,
so we are a mere two rounds away from Maus, victorious on Inferno.
They might be left impressed by Nuke and N90's performance back there, but now they've got
to be a bit proud of themselves for the total bounce back.
Full control. Full control.
This series will move on to Ancient, assuming this Inferno gets mopped up.
Now it's hanging onto a 50% win rate on said map.
We'll see how things look with this fresh mouse roster once we get there.
If we get there, Mindz have got guns, and if they're gonna change things here on Inferno, it's gotta start right now.
that's good info
Find your opening, Luchov's got his too!
Ooh!
Wow.
That was powerful.
Why was that so easy?
They just got way too close up, I mean...
So, man, I can see they bring variety.
Like they'll do that on Overpass, they do it on Dust 2, sometimes they'll just walk.
They walk the entire way, save all your grenades, never alert anybody.
I like when they throw those in, you know?
It's never out of spawn, but it's always just following, okay?
see some information or no one's fighting back. These gaps always exist. It does take
some, sometimes, some bravery. Oh, he's collecting chickens. He's the opposite of you. He takes
care of chickens. Yeah, well if you took care of them they wouldn't all die to this bomb
now would they? Oh, come on guys. No, my chickens! Well at least he tried man, that's what's really
important
yet giving them false hope
they were close
they weren't stupid ass check it's gonna be faster
that's what i'm saying
stupid birds
scrawny little birds
just feathers and bones
once last time you heard that voice line in game
uh...
when you said it just now
surgeon gets thinking
said if the comeback was to happen it had to start that gun round and they kept
It's simple with the walk-up, so now's a good time to recalculate.
You do not want to give Nynzee chances.
There are a team that genuinely seemed to always have that self-belief.
We praised them for it.
Oops.
It's a bad name from Zershin.
Not that it would have made a difference.
Nobody home, 9Z tucked into the safety of Ramp for the time being.
You're not just gonna walk out here, are you, DGT?
Zellix is gonna take a peek in a second.
But he also has an MP9.
DGT's exiting!
Nicely done, Zellix passive and waits it out against a fight before.
There's a banana fight to be had, but Max doesn't want anything to do with it.
Go for Arch right away, this is a huge call out from Luchov.
Did you hear that CT running?
Now he does.
Yep, he's there.
He's just worried about somebody else.
He'll execute.
Spinks dead.
You've got still two players on this A site.
One of them is in the site.
That's Torzi.
He catches Luchov off.
If that was looking like Torzi, he just wanted to reposition.
In fact, he finds a fight in the middle of his grave.
Zelex's headshot clean as need be.
Now it's just a short play and that gets mopped up.
Beautiful sequence here from Zelex and Torzi.
Five kills between the two.
I mean, a lot of TORZ is just dealing with the problem right there.
After that kill, it comes down to Library.
It's so nice. It is such a good looking crunch on the A site.
One Luchov finds a rotator kill, also just the fact that the other rotators...
They know they can't just walk over through CT spawn now.
The two CTs on site were left stranded, but left them alone with their aim. That was good enough.
No messy sprays this game.
Oh, Max, brother.
He was standing in fire the whole time, made it easy.
Let's move this party on, they keep it shallowing.
Whole other beast out of mouths once they get to their map pick.
9z couldn't keep up in the first half.
A T-side that just trounced them and they had a moment.
A moment, a singular moment on this CT side, or T side rather to answer back, but not going to happen.
Now is looking untouchable. We'll see what they can offer on Ancient as this series needs a third.
Needs a third and deserves a third in my opinion. When we were looking at it on our fixed list and doing our prep,
we knew this was going the three maps deep down in our heart of hearts.
It's good to be a watch from 9z agree with me Maui. I thought Luchov could run it back
No, I thought Luchov what he did the paravision he would do more of that here. It didn't happen though
I was just under the 3.8 rating on the CT side this time. Yeah, was he gonna one up himself?
You gotta hope for it man
The problem was is that only one half that coffee do a showed up in this game
I mean Luchov did have a decent game all-in-all considering the score line
But DGT didn't get his first kill like I think the second the last round of the half or maybe the last round the half actually so
They really struggled in that guard.
It feels like Mouse haven't really skipped a beat on this map, it didn't look like a million miles away.
This is amazing by the way, I'll interrupt myself just for that.
That's the rookie dude.
Highlight of the day.
That's what I was thinking.
It's not like it goes so wrong, but it went so right, actually, and really, really well done.
But anyway, you know, for me it looks like this, it's just a continuation of how they used to play Inferno,
the parts of actually fitting quite nicely in what I said.
What was impressive about Maus is that they fought up against a pretty stiff competition
in terms of the setups.
I had never really looked at a setup and thought, wow, 9Z looked really out of position or they
looked like they're reading the situation wrong.
It's just that Maus sometimes when they piled into bomb sites, even with fairly basic executes,
they would just get the entries that they needed.
There were times where Marin just got completely clocked, holding an angle with the AWP.
This is one of the times where I would rarely say, I didn't think I was going to say it
in the series, but this felt like a skill diff in some of those situations.
Yeah, it's interesting you say that. I mean, like the fact that DGT didn't have any kills
for so long is because mousebooks were so good at messing with them because I don't know
if you noticed this, but I think Lawners even mentioned on the broadcast, it's like the way
that they were, you know, using CT spawn to their advantage even as a T side team, I think
really made DGT uncomfortable. But even when they had the right rotations as you were referring
to, like that last gunner that they won, they had three players in position on the B site.
It was literally the perfect setup you could ever hope for. They still just got absolutely
brute force just bulldozed over and Zershin continues to put up really really high level
known as a far-reaching.
Well you said he wants to be the guy to usher in a new era of fragging eye gels, obviously
we've heard that a million times, a million eye gels, that then go on to not frag and
play terrible, but so far so good.
I mean, you know, we've said probably wants to maybe take himself out of some of these
roles that he's in and use some of his pieces, but not on this map.
No, I mean I also think I'll refer even back to what does was saying with the CT stuff
I mean yet they would sometimes even lose opening picks and they got creative with how they wanted to play the mid rounds out
Which was really impressive because I just thought okay
They're gonna try to take space if they can't get that space
They're probably gonna sputter out and not be able to find an answer
But they did pressure that arch side exertion the rest of the guys
They would actually be willing to take that sort of space and I'd say most rookie IGLs
I'm even referring to somebody like say twist for example when he was with liquid they usually are just gonna
3v4 try to hit B try to go up the short side a so to see exertion as
Early as he is in his calling days be able and willing to use all aspects of the map is very impressive
Absolutely again, I was definitely impressed even that last game that they lost
There were still some good things to point out and throughout this tournament so far you've seen you know that they've already played five different maps
They've already showed too much of their entire map pool at least once in this tournament.
And so that's a lot to ask of a guy who's, you know, yeah, an active voice at a previous
time with Brolin on the team, but now he's the main guy, you're embedding two new players.
You didn't have that much time to get things prepared.
And so to see, you know, what you're referring to the creativeness in these mid-round situations,
some of that's going to be intuition, some of that's going to be just kind of on-the-fly
thinking, which is nice, but they're also just, you know, doing some well-calculated
rounds as well, which I didn't expect them to look as sharp, you know, in those situations
as they are.
I mean, I will say this as well.
We didn't get time to mention it in the previous segment,
but Maus are going the scenic route.
You know, they've dropped a map now
in every series they've played.
Could still go through 3-0.
I actually think this might work for them in the long term.
It's more reps.
Yeah, I didn't get in these reps
and learning who's comfortable where.
The more you do that heading into the playoffs,
assuming they're gonna make it,
it would be unthinkable that they wouldn't.
And what do we create so often?
Most four, T-Sides.
That was usually what really got them wrong.
And so to see them have some good looking T-Sides
a couple of different games. I mean that is huge just for a little bit of a morale boost
if anything, that they can actually make things happen on the offense.
I just don't feel like they've lost too much. That's my biggest win for watching Maus so
far is maybe they'll 2-0 a couple more of these teams, but they're still getting it
over the line against other teams at this level of opposition and by doing so, showing
the whole, I guess, the wealth, the whole gamut of when they actually can run. And so
I've been even more impressed because they just kind of have gone the fury route, which
which is just a lot of clean victory so far,
just look like they're stomping everybody,
then it doesn't really leave a lot up to imagination of,
okay, well, when they are pressured,
how are they gonna respond?
And now we've seen man-deficit rounds here on Inferno
against the 9-Z team that also looks good,
and they're still able to find ways to fight back.
It's so interesting, they've come such a long way from,
I'm trying to think when it was,
it might even have been the previous Astana
where they did the interview and they were like,
Pro Lancer guy, Pro Lancer,
a few cheese, gonna be a great ITL.
It's like, okay, well he's gone now
and we're just never gonna be able to do that again.
Then it was like Jimmy,
is he the best anchor player in the world?
He is, he's a star player,
and an anchor, oh my God, look at the numbers.
Drops off, drops off,
Lincoln Falcons didn't take the move,
re-science contracts, gone.
You know, and it really shows you kind of how,
like, temporary all this can be, you know,
because that was meant to be the definitive mouse.
People looked at this line up when it was announced and they were like...
Rossers and Brotherhoods, they're ephemeral in the Counter Shrike space.
Especially in the Talon Pool.
Okay, well, Dust is going to be here for a long time.
That's what I think.
This time, that's the goal.
This time it's for good.
That's the goal.
My boyfriend apparently.
Cool.
That's what it's about.
So what...
Not the worst thing I've been told today.
We'll take it.
I'll take the W on that one, yeah.
I do love you.
Appreciate it.
So I only set up Ancient.
You didn't even say it back.
Why'd you say appreciate it?
Why didn't you say it back?
I know.
I do love you.
I love both of them.
Look, you're trying to do the hands-on bullshit on me, you're trying to mug me, dude.
Right, anyway, let's set up Ancient.
It's great to sign up for both of these teams.
I'm very excited.
This is where it's going to be settled, because, you know, I do like Ninzy on this map.
I'm excited to see what Maus is going to do on this map.
Again, as this evolution continues.
So, where do you guys have it going?
It's interesting, because, you know, this is one of the match results gets to play his same role that he played in the next game.
role that he played in the next team, so one of the mess he does not change position, he's mid both sides.
And the thing is though, he's going up against a very calculated 9Z team.
We're actually going to show you around here, just showing you how good 9Z actually really are
at taking mid control on this map. You're going to see here just how quick these smokes are going to
land stairs, donut, and shelf. But on top of that, it's how they cover the entirety of mid with molotovs
and just the flash chaining that comes out that allows them to really, even when there's a lot of
CT presence there and a lot of counter utility available. They're still a little brute force their way to that with their own superior utility and
Stacing and they try to three for one in that round against the elite team
So that's the type of looks that is else is gonna be looking at he did very well as a mid player
You know when he was on mouse the next team
This is a different level of competition your face now different level of sharpness and so I'm curious how we'll respond to that
I just love the style. I mean the way that they it was so thorough
Yes, the fact that they everything smoked
There's a couple gaps in what the flash would actually cover those are where the mollies are covering
and the only areas you can stand, you're going to get blind.
So your head's really just got to be on a swivel, if you're a Zealot.
And they bring that sharpness to their side executes as well.
Like, the way they can layer utility is just so nice
and then it allows them to, like, kind of condition you and make you fearful
and then they can throw in some fakes.
So, mouse, you know, they come in as a team that definitely could, you know, be that 3-0 team,
but in IZ, they pack a bunch here, too.
Hmm? All right then, guys. It sounds pretty good.
I'm sure we're in front of the treat. Series is delivered so far.
So, two new teams, one of them looking to go through on Ancient.
We'll see who it is after the break.
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I
I
90 may have been turning heads in the run-up to this 2-0 game, but that map of Inferno
reminds us that Maus absolutely have the class to take over in a match like this.
So Zershin at the helm, a new in-game leader for Maus, and a role that he wants to redefine
with the likes of J.L. and Zellix added to this roster, the series heads to Ancient Moe,
the map that decides who gets to playoffs first here in Astana.
I mean, it's the other map that 9-Z crushed on.
You look at this Vito, it's kind of crazy.
It's very good Vito for 9-Z, huh?
Yeah, and they're super happy to be playing here on Ancient.
They destroyed ParaVision on it.
They know they can win, actually.
And it's a good match for them.
It did feel like Mauser fighting back at first,
but then they really dominated back on Inferno.
That's a huge win for the confidence.
Torsi got himself back online too, which I think was really important in something that was missing on Nuke.
And so, now we're in a position where there can be just a, you know, all the fireworks to be on.
It can be a really, really strong end to this series.
And I think no matter who wins, it's going to be impressive at this point.
So let's get into it.
Nyanzee struggled a bit on T-side, but they know that.
Maus have given up a map to each of their opponents so far in Astana, but within those same series
They've also had totally dominant blowouts even more dominant than the map we just saw in Inferno
So I think this is a great first outing for the likes of Maus with a lot of new pieces not just a new in-game leader
But two new players on top of that. So this isn't the Maus, you know, but it can be the Maus you love
because a 3-0 run to playoffs is a great way for this roster to res cement
themselves at the top. 5 vs 3 advantage secured with Spinks having the middle
one tap and that's just gonna take the wind out of the sails for 9z. They
remain adamant about trying to take that duel back on him and look at the health.
Maus have two players dangerously low and with Zell X giving that space over to
DGT, what a smooth way for him to slide into the corner. They're all headshot it.
Now everybody's tagged up, barring two, for Maus, DGT quick on the chase wants to try
to get this control of CT, but as Mayn and him go quiet, I thought JL would follow, but
he actually pauses just in case they decide to double back towards B.
There's the illusion that they have a man advantage, I mean they do, but look at the
HP on the two guys that are here on B.
Tough shot to hit, just a little bit of that CT pops out here, comes Zershin, low health
as well, and this 3v5, truly underway.
JL comes stomping up CT lane, they know about him, he gets gushed, and every piece of mouse just keeps on taking damage.
Oh, this walkup is huge.
Nice.
Torsey, the last remaining player on mouse with full HP, collects an easy kill, finally not taking damage back in return.
Man, advantage momentarily.
DGT opts not to play deep, don't have to add some bullet to the back of the brain to put this pistol in mouse's back pocket.
Yeah, that's why numbers are king. Even with the headshots in the map control that they retained, having that extra player up was big.
They picked the right site to get to. They got the two players down who were initially gushed, and a bomb plant is pretty nice for 9z.
But it's just, again, a close round. These two teams play close in a lot of situations.
They're just 9-1s towards Maus. They'll be very happy to start off their CQ side this way.
You have the end of that round looks really decisive, huh? Those two quick taps, the highlight reel just really slams it home for mouse.
A lot of damage done by 9z, loved the direction they took through the red room.
At one point that was a 5 vs 3 and they were all stuck on the B lane.
They really made a round of that, got the bomb plant, found an additional bit of money and decided to buy into this round with what they earned.
what they earn. Careful. They find the fight before that one rifle for Luchov. Spinks with the
multi. Mose down three players at the base of middle and leaves port TGT outnumbered outgunned
and now back into the save goes 9-Z. There's that star player potential we we see from Spinks.
He was he was carrying a lot of weight for Maus and he has been in the in the past couple years
since he's joined the team to be honest just equally as consistent as he was on Vitality I
I think is all put it a very very strong player
Didn't really have an onboarding period just good right away
It's been good for a long time
I'm out. He's like the one guy for men's that's just been good. Good. Good. Good all the way through
Good good
Sometimes great great
Well, 19 almost had a bombsite for free.
Torsi so rudely interrupts that, and JL, monkey see monkey do, does the exact same thing.
Pops it open a second time, denies any kind of a bomb plant, and his mayor scrambles for
the attempt.
Now he can't collect a kill, but it's Torsi right back at two of his antics, and a close
here for the SMG insertion.
game with 20 health for two of the mouse players combined but at the end of the
round it's four up and another denial with not even a bomb plant for 9z.
Getting a lot of damage by not finishing off those kills.
Marin goes into the op here on T side and sometimes your options can be limited
but it's also a map where you know you quietly sit around when you're
You're boosted on the tall box outside of B or you want to wait an elbow and break open a smoke you catch someone
You can't passively collect a lot of chances
Find the op impact
See how this maid does looks like really well
Yeah, that's fine you could just you can just camp here to be honest
Uh-oh, holding a little bit too wide and moving a little too much in there.
Torsi, six and zero, and Zellex leans back comfortably in the A site to really put this
one on ice.
And I'm not talking Disney.
There goes the hope of this round.
What do you think about adults going to Disney World?
Like, specifically without kids.
Dude, I have no- I need to go there because I don't know what the deal is, but it seems
to hypnotize some people.
They love it.
Look, I know a perfectly normal dude who goes there.
Well, I just-
You think you know him?
You think you know him.
You think you know a guy.
and then he goes to Disney World.
Yeah, I mean, it's a thing, dude.
There's people listening right now,
and they're like, they're mad.
So I, and I don't understand, I don't understand,
but I mean, it's a thing.
So I guess, I mean, they have a lot of IP, you know,
they do have a lot of IP.
Like they've even got a lot of.
Yeah, you think the Disney World counter strike?
Yeah, the Star Wars and Marvel and stuff like that.
You think that Venn diagram really crosses over?
Uh, yeah, I know a couple of times
it's an encounter strike actually.
I'm sure you can think of it.
The biggest Disney guy I know from Counter-Strike was Prius, and now he observes Valorant, so...
Yeah, right, right, right, right, yeah.
And the strong air is also over in Valorant.
Somewhat.
Point in case.
Case in point.
Case the joint.
They have Marvel, you like Marvel.
Yeah, it's my favorite Magic the Gathering set.
They probably have Hasbro too, man.
God, that was a mirror moment.
Here I am making fun of Disney people and I have cardboard in my backpack.
Teach their own.
All right.
Three Galils for 9Z.
No op this time for Mayor.
It's already looking a little scary.
Look at how good tours you go in.
Very comfortable, I would say, you know, for a mouse outing.
Like, just the way even Zelex is leaning back on A site into that double peek, like,
there's not any disjointedness or discomfort in the...
Okay, to be fair, four rounds we've seen, but it's looking like more of the mouse we had back on Inferno.
Yeah, really well-connected team.
Three towards A main, and A a little understaffed, and Lujav had a great chance to catch J.O.Haw.
I don't know if the fake anyway, so two players here, they're gonna be freaking out a little bit,
So look, look at this, empty A site.
Totally empty.
And they're wa- they're still walking.
Spinks is watching for a lurk through mid.
He's worried about both directions. You know, he's considering this A walk up, but this close already?
Yeah, you're not gonna be ready for that one.
That's the thing they do so well, they know when to just walk the whole time.
Great strategy by Ninzy, even though Luchov doesn't get either of the two players, he has a chance to shoot at.
Ooh, but what about the retake attempt, huh?
Yeah, be careful behind the donut smokes, actually.
You get this very late lurk from two B players as well.
There's a part of 90s that's actually going to have to scramble back into this.
It's pretty well timed from Luchog, but he can't actually be the one that stopped the defuse.
Plenty of kits as well here for Maus, and a lack of bodies on this bomb site.
Smokes about to come up dry, Zershin sticks this!
They were far removed.
Both Luchog and a second player were running over to try to support that,
and Maus didn't waste a moment for that retake.
It was kind of too many inside of Donut,
and if they had obviously someone in the back of the site on single
and someone A main that could have fought against Temple,
had another line towards the bomb,
but instead, they were really relying on that smoke,
you know, breaking open that smoke, which they couldn't do.
Because the players on site take a Donut.
They don't have any HEs.
But then the B rotators also needed to come through,
obviously, Red Room or Donut.
You'd think that the guys that come through site would have maintained something of, say, temple or backside, like you said, have a crossfire or whatnot, but no, sir.
90 a bit too clumped up, and now Mao's gonna try to run down the mid-duel, and they'll take Luchov by force, and DGT's got a player to peek cave in a second.
Oh, it's all a little rough. Flashes are late. I won't save Luchov. Another player gets tagged down low, but survives.
I'm gonna try to boost in. Nicely done to unravel Zershin's front cave play.
I can't believe that worked so well. That was smooth.
Couldn't have asked him to be positioned in a worse spot, as far as Maus are concerned.
I like this push from Maus off the A site into main. Just trying to feed over Zellex.
He'll run that risk being the low health player, and you're gonna find Ninzy here in transition.
Galil vs. M4. Low HP dead. Did they anticipate a second? Yes. Very cautious about the way they came at that, but we get trades on the other side.
Oh, that could have been 2v1.
Still on Jail wants to get into this. The smoke is very far back. Flash to help him scale a bit.
Interesting that he gets the cave now.
I don't think they're going to anticipate that.
that technically Kate like cave might not be an issue apart from a spam what
this is a nice threat though there's no way they'll be prepared for a full flank
they saw him pulling back really nice move JL has slipped in at far max is
going wrapped around cave Torsi you'd think could get caught off by this but
you really think the element of surprises JL here on ramp also comes back
and he's ready whether they realized that was they probably thought it could
That's what I'm thinking, but instead Max will put this one down for the count and 9z6 rounds into this t-side win their first
Lost a couple of chances mid did not go well that round and it looked like another round where they get damaged
But no kills and right here, you know, you really want to see more flash support. There was no one
Shadow I was looking at that. I you know, I thought he's right in front of the wood. I was like
I thought he saw him when he jumped up. Yeah barely even
So...
That's pretty cool, it looked like it was totally by design as well.
Perfect tool for the job!
They're gonna pop open elbow as they set Zell X ablaze,
three kills instantly here for Ninzy!
Torsi wants to try to take this back, little to lose being down on the 2v5,
and already this donut challenge, but...
Plasso emerges, uncontested bombsite. We'll see what JL can get away with as Mayer keeps that opscope on this push.
Just need to hold it, yeah. Nothing.
And through the smoke they'll predict Torsi's reposition, so four players strong and Ninzee capitalized off their first round win with an instant follow-up.
That'll be a touch frustrating for Maus. Ninzee do not need that many T rounds to feel comfortable.
And with that, let's see.
Torsi doesn't save his op actually, which he would have loved to.
I'm not sure if there's a gift for him on the ground. Looks like an MP9 for Torsi.
That's an instinct disadvantage.
Is he going to try to finish off this 1v3?
Fire in front of him.
We'll give him an easy amount of time for 9z to reposition.
Now Spinks has to reconsider options.
Yeah, that's beyond brutal for him.
He thinks he might even be hunted down from the bottom of Banana,
so he's just going to get out of here.
Gotta love how much trust Mayer put into that flash.
His sidearm was only a glock, but he was up front.
Making the most of that Hwaso peak damage.
Suddenly we've got a game, folks.
9Z three-round streak.
And that one just like, I mean, that one reeked of confidence for 9Z.
Seriously, this really got the pace up right there.
This goes from excellent to actually very scary now for Maus.
They get the 1-AK saved, and again, it's been a lot of eliminations.
Not many saves here.
With the economy building up on the other side.
What? They're buying?
Zershin's the in-game leader.
Oh, no, OK.
What the heck?
I would have been freaky.
Thank goodness we can sell things back and spawn now, huh?
No, I-I-I'd like if you couldn't.
Really?
Because somebody never makes mistakes.
Like in that situation, I would have been like, I would have just been like, you know, you're
crazy.
What are you doing?
And I would have enjoyed that a lot.
But then the watchful gaze of your coach convinces you to sell it back, still afford
to themselves 5-7s and deagles.
Reason enough to be cautious if you're 9-Z.
Blue chop not jumping up here is pretty wise.
A lot of threat in the middle at the start of this round from Maros, but in the absence
of much pressure from 9Z. It's a quick reposition to the B site.
How many players can they get here by before 9Z go for the commitment?
Mayeron's got the line, but they've already allowed two players to cross to the right side up long.
Pretty late to it. It's cleared out most of the positions besides cutout.
That gives them a chance to deal with Cave, but the smoke comes down a bit late.
There's already players ahead of both sides.
And Mayeron in the middle of all this is still meant to give cover, but it's the AK's little feast.
Beautiful headshot out of JL.
As you want to push through.
Interesting.
O2, V2.
Bomb gets planted.
They can't recover the guns.
Just going to wait that cape smoke to fade out.
You've got a player stuck in the back site in Luchov.
And he hasn't been able to go for a reload.
So that AK doesn't have all the bullets in the world.
And JL finds another.
DGT towards ramp, V2.
Now they've got that AK.
They tap it to try to frazzle, and he doesn't bite.
Bombs at 15 seconds.
Wow, that might be the winning play.
Stays locked in, bomb now, 10 seconds left,
and he's on this diffuse.
You've got to get him off it.
You've got to go wide, the cover is there,
he's got the first, and sure the frag goes out for Zellex,
but it is still the round win,
nine seed, four straights off of the back
of that very close round.
My goodness, so critical they closed that out,
and calling the bluff was huge.
Scary to do that in a 1v2,
but you know they don't have kits as well,
So really milked even that second one.
And their money was fine even if they lose all their players.
So nearly a full recovery here on the T side.
Go ahead, armor.
Two players, one kit coming in for mouths.
Oh, Spix eats those counter-AGs.
You don't see those often.
Not enough health to work with their spanks.
9Z ready to swarm this A site.
Torsi delivers his one, but on the job the capital gets popped.
Nice couple of headshots back to back from 9Z.
They've still got that one straggler on the other side that could deny the safe here for Maus
because that's all they want from this point on.
And DGT, here's it coming.
Very likely denial.
Poor Surtian, last man up.
Down he goes as well.
Ninesie tied this game with a five round streak of their own
and show no signs of slowing down from here on out.
It's pretty incredible.
Shots are looking good.
It started with just winning in mid.
After a couple of rounds where, you know, Luchov would come out
But the counters were so good for Maus,
so many of those early rounds were tons of damage,
but no kills.
And as he just tracked on,
and suddenly it's all come together.
It's really the increase in speed, I feel like,
in ferocity and just like the lack of fear
that has brought them success.
Now Maus can absolutely still win rounds like this.
We're kind of correct about potential for a late B play.
Surtian really trying to convince them to just back off cave.
Smoke out.
I'm ready to throw it in front of what is three players.
He's hitting JL on this side of the map and that smoke will buy time.
Buys time for the climb, look at this push coming in.
A distraction as well, we'll see if Cave gets push at the same time, Zershin gets active,
finds a second headshot, DGT turns around Zershin, he's the one that pushed them back into
this.
A single smoke that gets 9z on the retreat and what a round for Zershin.
a triple kill in and of himself, and also just deterring them back into his teammates.
One smoke to make a world of difference.
One round to stop Ninesi's streak.
V's MP9 headshot, that's his own smoke he pushes through,
while Ninesi are trying to deal with what was three players climbing up there.
And even with the setup that was inside of Donut, you can see they're ready to get rotating down mid over towards D and it's back to mid.
Who doesn't even know what to shoot at!
Blue job, two targets, very awkward sequence, and Spinks finds the fade away connection onto Wasso Peak.
Mav's trying to take back control of this game in the final two rounds.
It's a man advantage still to play off of, but it is 9z with at least one hook into this B site.
Torsi drawn forward through cave, looking for a gun for Mayeron.
This will let him take this risk on a deeper line, and Spiggs...
That smoke comes out just in time.
He's not a man.
He's not a man.
They'll take over his position.
We get the Zell XA main push being held by DGT, but it is swift with the headshot.
Oh, Torsi. Careful. He is checking his flank.
Here's the stomping out middle. That is the bomb sprinting up Donut.
There's actually nobody to stop this.
The Towers, he'll deal with his teammate, so it is all on Mayeron to try to close out the half.
Coming in from every single choke point right now.
Blinded in the process, eats the second one as well, full white, still alive.
But the pressure's on, like you said, from three separate directions, and once the CT smoke dries up, ooh, this is curious.
But instead Xershin just barrel stuffs him and Maus will find back-to-back rounds.
And Cave ends up being very valuable in those moments, too.
Thorzey finding the back of what was left there.
Obviously Spinks holding off middle with the smoke spam.
But really, hero of the moment is Xershin from the bottom of the scoreboard with that triple kill two rounds ago.
What brings us back from Maus is calling out the antigo play towards B, repeating what they did earlier.
did earlier and then the next rifle round it's all about how do we do a bit
better in mid I think they really have a you know clued into what 9z we're trying
to get out of this t-half but again in terms of quota even though they won't
win dramatically when they make that streak of a comeback they got enough
rounds I think to feel comfortable
Sometimes I wonder if anyone's even talking to jail if he's just making happy faces.
Just aura-farming at the end of the line.
I mean, he had that little streamer sequence, so he was kind of used to talking to himself
in a way now.
True, true.
in a chat still, eh?
I mean, that's the evolution of Counter-Strike when pros start streaming their games live from stage.
In fact, that floor wasn't first.
I mean, Flamesee's vlogging trophy list.
We're almost there.
Yeah, we're in the pen-opticon now.
It's all about the content.
Mao's content with the way that half ended.
Try to...
Oh!
You're joking.
Max, nasty double headshot.
Just like, yeah, you, then you, no problem.
Oof!
DGT collects a clean one as well.
Ninzey want to get this game tied up as quick as possible,
and a pistol is the fast track to doing that.
Torsi, 1v4.
But that wasso peek push through middle is going to confirm he's just outside of the cave.
The bomb is in his possession, and with this push from Luchov down into the doors,
it feels like Torsi is a sitting duck.
A lot of bullets to go around, but not enough to kill all these players.
Nice 2k out of max, I don't know how he adjusts his aim so well.
the lead could be just an illusion
and
that works out nicely for waso
I think it's important to be transparent
All right, I picked Max then. Oh, why?
Why do you hate Max? I don't
Kind of rude putting words in my mouth
As you'd anticipate this one was never gonna happen
Not with having so little 9-Z hide game at 7 rounds all I mean what we're
kind of looking for there is one one or two kills from mouse they don't do that
the real threat is all the mollies in the incendiaries the CTs can buy the op
that may earn can get surplus of kits so it really brings in the CT advantages
Coming to this round with the two FOMAS's they had.
A good chance for Mousetans early.
Easy one for Max. Calls for help. Is he here for stall?
Oh! Max!
No help! What a sequence!
A FOMAS quad kill with one mag!
You think that was some kind of disadvantage
That's not something you see very often that is
Pure efficiency at a max
I mean you could have asked for a better lineup those two bodies inside a main a single like six bullet burst for both
I thought for sure he was getting traded by the guy in the back. I mean, you know, it's not like a great transfer
It's like how many shots for these two from 18. Oh
my god
10 bullets, 2 kills, both died of the headshots.
That's ludicrous.
Look what this has done for his scoreline already.
What a perfect moment to sprinkle in a sequence like that.
Free AKs that come with it.
It's a pretty all-in call there for Maus.
Oh yeah.
default, just let's try our APOP. Well, that's out of the bag now.
Zershens like, what's wrong? You guys didn't like the call?
Really guys, you got 4k'd by a FAMAS.
One FAMAS.
That wasn't even like entirely set up by teammates utility.
I think there's a flash assist on the last guy, but the a main players. Yeah, I mean bam boozled
Crazy they should increase the kill reward of the Faunus like an SMG. Yeah, I
Think it's just pretty damn good to be honest. You get a 4k you should get like 32 extra grand or something
It wouldn't almost never happen.
Well, I can already barely do the math for this game, okay?
Please, let's not.
Yeah, I think a win streak should give you some compound interest on that.
Max is 6900.
Gaggy, all right, damn.
That is FAMAS turned into an AK-47. Three AKs on the side of 9Z, and they are in the lead.
First time they've been in a lead on this decider map for playoffs.
Let's see what Maus are thinking about. Obviously, not the most coming into this.
I wonder if it's been controlled next round.
Calls like that left their money in a bad spot back on Nuke.
Also cost them the map.
Oh, the Technite goes beyond, and Zelex asks to turn around for the kill.
So Max is still able to get one in that sequence.
It's lucky you forgot that one, it looks like.
That's bomb, through cave, on the brink of the B site, smoke into the short side.
We'll see if Maynard can time to spam.
A lot of bodies beyond that, but Torsi actually finds Wassopeak with a smoke spam Technite
Headshot that's something
Bomb plants off the back of it
That's two guns in the hands of mouse and a retake demanded of 9z where they've got very little
Util to work with and mouse offer up some of their own cable be blocked off looking for a boost to catch Torsey if he
Wants to push out, but nobody behind that case folks. Thanks. He's got a dry tool on short side
This is not the round that 9z. We're looking to lose not versus tech 9s
Mows sink their teeth deep into the B site off of the back of the Zellex kill towards cave.
He takes over control of cave, and I've got to see how the hell Torsi got that kill deep through short lane onto Wasso Peak.
Yeah, with a Tec-9 it was from a long distance, probably just spamming as you cross to put that bomb down.
But honestly without it without winning that round, it'd be very word for Mows, even with winning it.
You still have 9z with a lot of money, so this just kind of gets mellowed back on their feet
Get some of a bad sight
Yeah, okay, I mean waso shot first you asked for it
You can play at that game
That one to keep the game interesting yeah quick reminder of what pounds are capable of
The 9Z aren't about to just disappear.
Cershin, eating a lot of flashes right now, DGT getting away with first blood.
But we'll get that Cershin, Geet.
You missed.
Over top, DGT down after 1, JL also traded back to V2, and Sphinx wants to chase down
the AWPer.
Mayer, dangerous game, but worth it, as he'll establish man advantage and now just have
Torsi left to deal with.
Man, and he actually holds onto this line, it's so huge because they thought there was
no mid-lurk.
Bringing it forward, Mayer gives the kill back.
Damn, he takes a huge risk right there. This opens up a 1v1 for Torsi.
And gives him an AWP. And gives him time to put that bomb down.
Luchov, known to have been towards that B site. Torsi's watching for this, and he's he doubles back!
Oh, that is a huge call from Luchov. He's so early to the retake, but doesn't speed up at all.
The brains on this guy, if he had taken any steps, he just loses.
It's a free kill for Torsi.
I mean, Mayer did a lot of great work right there, but then also really gave that round
potentially back.
The pushback into Torsi, point blank missed, off shot, giving Torsi an op on top of it,
and a vacant A bomb site.
Because that doughnut line is one of the best in the game.
The only thing you'd have to worry about is someone walking around through A to kill
you.
Other than that, they're not crossing into window, they're not coming into doughnut.
There's no way to get by your scope.
Also, I understand why Torsi comes back into doughnut, knowing Lutrov was earlier on B,
could have rotated through CT spawn.
But what if Torsi doesn't come back to doughnut?
I mean, Lutrov's a genius.
He was always going to come back to doughnut.
Well, excuse me.
If we didn't know that already.
That puts the pressure on Maus. You've got tech nines that break the door down on the B site once.
That's the only terrorist round win Maus have put on the board.
A bomb plant in the 1B2 last round is the second time that's been planted in this T side.
Ninzee maintained their lead. Economic pressure back on mouse to make something happen here in the 18th, and yet again, it is nighting the pressure of mid-play. The flash sequence great. The counterplay tries to come through, spinks stuff, and Max gets active from the A mid-match.
It's just exploded himself, I think.
I mean, he's a genius. It must have been for some reason.
90 at least find that bomb player outside of elbow with the A main push, and now deep T control as well for Max.
Zershin's gonna-
He didn't see it! Are you serious?
He turns away.
I think he looked at him, though.
Did he not have him on his screen for at least a frame?
Oh my goodness, the way that changes the round.
He was on a screen, wasn't he?
I would have to believe he wasn't.
But we all do make mistakes.
Sweater God, he was on a screen.
These counter-flash threats come from the CT side.
They're really perfectly timed.
times. Oh my goodness. That's a good thing Mayer didn't miss that one. Yeah, seriously,
that's a play-offs difference. Look at the buy here for Maus. Back to pistols. So buy
just like this that broke down the B site and that's why 9C probably throw a third body
on it at the gate. No resistance out middle for HwasoPik.
Are you going to run in shooting or what?
He starts to float back.
Cave is where it all started last time.
Luchon at bat, got himself a double.
And it's a fast climb up from mid for Hwaso.
Max ready to hold back.
The ramp play lets them exit.
And Zershin will collect one and an M4 for his efforts,
but no bomb possession.
Has to double back for it.
And HwasoPik opts not to sit on top of the bomb,
but instead just take position outside the double doors.
Zershin's going to be very concerned that there's somebody inside this cave.
Not the case.
You've got 50 seconds to figure this one out.
He knows at this point there's no way it walks back into him.
But the way that Wasso's watching it,
it's intermittent, should be able to catch this.
There it is.
Three round one.
And 9-Z survived the anti-eco.
And an eco is the only round that Maus have won in this half.
This has shades of the CT side that shut Falcons out of Nuke with how rock solidits look from 9Z.
Their CT side stellar in this run to playoffs.
You just mentioned it, the one hiccup that has happened since Maus took to the attack,
the pistols that managed to get into the B site.
They try to tap into that potential again in this most recent round,
totally shut out of it by the Luchov cavehold. Guns once more for Maus, but
not a guarantee that these weapons keep featuring this attempt for Maus' attack.
DGT and the Luchov back at the top of the board where they belong for Nainzi.
90 of 10 to win the utility sequence out middle, but not this time, Zellex emerges.
And he's on the chase to the donut player, but DGT is gone, and mid control belongs
to Maus for now.
Thank Nade, Miss Jump.
Yeah, that makes it awkward now they heal back, and it's going to be Zellex to activate
through Red Room, his second frag of the round.
tough position. Zellix, I mean, if he does get caught off, it gets a little bit less
clear, but he's making a lot of fast steps as well. Doesn't realize Lushoff is this
close, but still wins his duel. That's three up in the round for Zellix.
Max and Cave has a lot to be worried about, knows that he is surrounded, and in
anticipation of Spinks' arrival, keeps that one clean. So it has to be the 2v5, all set up by Zellix.
Let's go ahead and take those guns back if you can.
Not even that's guaranteed.
Zelex from the red room, on for the quad kill, sees that AWPer trying to retreat and tries
to keep them stuck in.
We'll see how badly Maus want to clear this out.
Mades a little shy.
On for the ace.
Creative smokes.
Still looking to sweep away these last two players.
on the prowl as they will tap into a ninth round win cut the lead down to two
and we'll see whether anybody survives here for 9z. It's a dangerous hunt and
actually it's a Zelex who does get four in the end. I mean what can you say it's
around one by him he takes over mid he obviously has a good amount of support
it looked like a decent flash dodge maybe from Luchov as he tried to face into
Although...
But he wasn't looking in the right direction exactly...
...or was so deep.
Just raw firepower right there from Zellix.
All the time for him to put it on display.
Now it's two rounds from the tie, 9Z, two rounds from playoffs.
And the mouse players clump outside of the B site once more.
Any damage finds Max, cave smoke soon to fade. When it does, Luchov again.
With a chance to find impact, but he's going to let them step into Mayernor, so that's what they wanted.
Molotov disassembles everything 9s he had going for them.
A lot of utils coming in to try to guarantee cave, but 91 it back, he'll re-aggress in.
There's a tool for Luchov, it's a one and done, and Aaron's got the man advantage off
that piece.
Critical time for him to hit the off shot, you'll...
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
Oh!
this holdout gig, finds a thing early on ZLX. Damage goes both ways. Torsi now's
gonna have to do it all in a one versus four. A separate duel here versus DGT
and a smoke fades. He could still find this in a 1v1. He's wary of it, finds the
kill. Taking down to 12 health. That's gonna be critical here for Torsi. Just
wants the bomb plant from here on out, gets rushed down. Max tries to put the
pressure on. Torsi trying his damg this, but too many players, too much damage and
And now three match points.
Incredible stuff out of Mayer, and I mean that last shot was ridiculous.
Drops the hammer on him at the bottom of Banana.
So nice.
Also, that fighting back for Cave, it felt like the perfect call out for 9z.
Now he's wanted it badly.
They didn't believe it was a bluff, and they had the right utility and players
to come in to stay ahead on trades.
You fight for every round, every game, and every tournament.
Always the underdog, and somehow still always impressed.
dominance here to start off round 22. No A walk up, it's gonna be another B play.
This first kill could be everything. Insertion loses.
Here finds it. JL the only answer. 3v4 and Mao is still trying to fight it but it does get cleared out.
And if not for the newest kid on the block in Xelix with no bomb possession, the 9Z have done something they haven't since 2024.
Top 8 at an S-tier event guaranteed with this round win.
Just when you think they're back down in regional competition to be dispatched by European squads,
they take a huge step forward here in Astana.
A domination of ParaVision to open up their event.
Stomping on Falcons in Dust2 in a shocking fashion
and now making sure that Zershin's in-game leadership with Maus won't be enough.
It is Nizing, Top 8, Atastana, and the first team to pull off playoffs!
Absolutely, you can see the big pop from them there.
They also got a huge pop from the crowd yesterday when they left the building.
After having dispatched Falcons, they go through 3-0, mind-blowing.
I don't care who you are fan of this is a story that everyone can get behind
DGT reuniting with some other guys he pulled in 19 years ago
You know, you know scrawny was telling us 234 I am Dallas. It's a long time ago
Are they placed top four there? They never were able to reach those heights again
So to see them claw their way back with this five-man lineup and the teams they beat to get here
I don't poke holes as much as you want about all new players. I don't give a shit it
They beat Malkin's, they beat this team, and they beat ParaVision.
That is a legit ass run of the playoffs.
It's just super to see him like this.
I feel like all the moves that Ninze have made lately have obviously really paid off
to also at the beginning of the year bring in Luchov.
I mean, that's a slam dunk move for Lukin earlier, and I feel like that one-two punch
has just totally delivered for these guys.
I love that it's also not even just purely based on the individuals.
I wouldn't even really cite that as the best aspect of watching this 9z team the fact that they have
So many ideas of how they want to start different rounds so many different setups
You can rely on guys for a clutch here in there or a multi frag
But I mean they just put mouse in their place
They actually cornered this mouse team into
Practically having to go to a single play over and over again as they tried on this very last round
So great great job from 9z
I'm hoping that they still do some damage in the playoffs on top of it
Oh, I mean, don't rule it out, especially now, you know, this is the crazy thing, you've got this extra time to sit down, work on your stuff, prepare, you're gonna know who your opponent is.
Remember, they've come into this, it's Swiss, you know, you can simulate, you can guess, you can't actually know for sure.
I can guarantee you this will be probably the hardest path
any team had to play off.
Yeah.
This is one you just witnessed.
Yeah, yeah.
What a 3-0 one from 19th year.
It's so fun to watch this team play.
As Mali said, it's a team that isn't just necessarily
fueled by one or two star players.
Yes, they do have some guys who frag very heavily.
As we talked about the team which
have all of it long, Max, a guy who frags pretty well for an IGL.
Look at this clip here with the freaking Framoss.
Like he was having loads of impact this game.
Mayer and Green, winning himself as an offer.
You know, it's just been really cool to see how this squad has
just been better than some other parts about how they approach the game.
And just to quickly jump in and talk about Maus.
I mean, they've got chances that they're still going to go to playoffs.
We feel like probably, you know, this was that there were margins
across this series that realistically they could have probably,
you know, maybe stole around here, around there.
It didn't quite work out for them.
You could see the difference in Maus's comfort on Inferno,
where they're willing to use the whole map, go up the arch side,
rotate or move in this CT spawn and ancient,
where they were basically just pigeonholed
and had to only go for B hits here.
It's like the only real success they found here.
That's kind of the difference right now.
They're still trying to build out that playbook.
Exertion's still figuring out all of the plays
that he can go to.
And I think that they still have a great chance
to make it into the Barriss Arena themselves.
It's one of the things where I was kind of hoping
that things would work out better,
because this is one of the maps where they really didn't have to change a whole lot as far as, like,
Guts coming into a rolling and already played, same with JL. This is a spot he played when he was on
Na'Vi. Spinks moving to another side of the map was a little bit of a difference, sure. But I hope
that they were going to show a little bit more comfort, but you're absolutely right. I mean,
this is a team that had only played Ancient maybe like four times in the last six months with their
old lineup. Now you're coming into this tournament with a bunch of moving parts trying to figure
out how to, you know, ascertain how to play the map. And I think you're right, there was a lack of
comfort here, whereas for 9-Z, I mean, this is their bread and butter, they look so sharp
on this map.
Even though we didn't see some of the same crazy executes like we showed in the pre-game
segment, they find other ways to win.
They're very capable of playing different types of countership because of the job done.
Yeah, I think it's kind of interesting, I feel a lot of people have been a lot more apologetic
about Falcons, who frankly have been struggling and stumbling through the Swiss than they
have about Maus.
in the same boat, you know?
I think that people, actually that is kind of curious
that the perception for Falcons has been
that they need more time.
I feel like, I have kind of noticed that also.
You know, IGL swaps can be pretty difficult
as they've shown to be.
And I think that mouths right now are still,
in a way, a feel good story.
I actually feel like the earlier morning desk,
like Prof and Bla, the way they characterize
watching mouths is excitement.
And Tech Girl as well, of course.
So look, we'll put a pin in the discussion for now.
We're going over to Banks, who's with the man of the moment,
Luchov.
He definitely is the man of the moment, Richard.
And I'm good to have him with me here.
He dropped a 1.35 rating so far in the group stage.
You guys beat ParaVision, Falcons, and then just Malz now.
And your first ever for your career, ST Playoff.
What does that mean to you?
I don't know.
I was my dream.
I'm playing in a major, I'm playing in an arena with people, the stage, everything.
Now I'm living my dream.
Living your dream and you guys are looking damn good while doing it.
But look at this, you've got a bit close at times,
but you managed to close it out with confidence at the end.
Inferno, which is normally a better map than this for you guys,
you couldn't get things going.
What was happening inside the server with the team?
Yes, I think we couldn't.
I mean, they played good, they read us and we couldn't find a solution about what they were doing.
So I think that was the key for them.
Okay, and looking at that then, coming back into this ancient, you just told me before we started this interview,
they were kind of giving you the kills, they were giving you the opportunities to look good.
Did you feel like they were just running into you, giving you the chances?
No, I think that everything we did was helping me to get some kills and everything everyone was playing good, so it's more easy.
And I think that my roles also, I used to have sometimes more kills than others.
humble in how you're doing it but you still need the skills to get it done
you certainly have that now looking at the fact you don't play so many of these
elite teams so often you play a paravision Falcons and mouse here which
team do you think was the hardest game for you I think that's the last one sure
Falcons I amir them a lot and they played really good it was difficult also
but I think Maus put us in a worse situation.
More pressure applied, but I think I would agree with that when we're looking at the game.
And lastly, this is only your second event with this exact team going to a big event.
Do you feel like the gap is that big between you guys and the elite teams?
No, I think there is a gap, but we are getting more close and close
the tournaments are going on. So I think we are getting very close and we have the chance
to be champions.
Oh, I love that confidence. Chance to be champions, keep that mentality. Max, I have to ask you
because at the beginning, are you pulling me?
It's his birthday. It's your birthday as well. Oh man.
My present.
This is your birthday present. A big one as well. Big happy birthday to you as well.
You buying him dinner?
Yes, of course. I pay all three.
But Max, I wanted to ask you, right?
At the beginning of the event, I told you,
do you think that this 9Z is the best 9Z ever?
You were not too sure because you're looking at the rankings.
What do you say now after once again making it
to a big event, STA Playoff?
Yeah, I think so.
This year has been incredible for me and for the team
and for the guys, and I'm so happy.
We work a lot for this.
So we are very excited to play in the arena right now.
I'm sure you are.
And lastly, anything you want to say to all the fans back home?
You can speak in your language as well, my man.
Yes, I will say in Spanish, OK?
Chico, muchas gracias por bancarnos.
Nos bancaron todo el año pasado, que fue un año difícil.
Este año las cosas se están saliendo.
Estamos ahí de llegar al tier uno.
Sé que no llegamos.
La brecha está muy chiquita.
Así que gracias por bancarnos siempre.
Los amo.
Y vamos en el set up.
Lovely.
Thank you very much, Max.
We will see you in the arena.
Richard, we're going back to you.
Yeah, definitely are great to see them in high spirits there as they should be.
And honestly, I haven't been this impressed by a team turning up to a
tournament where it was kind of like, are they going to go to the playoffs?
Are they not?
You know, they're in that like they're in the bottom eight in your mind.
Very much looked like, I know, are they the best team we've seen here?
They've looked the most impressive in relation to the context of where they
come from and who they've been up against and what they're up in.
Listen, I know why Max is not jailed now.
I listen to anything that guy says, bro.
Like, what a voice on him.
He's got a future after play, let me just say.
But no, like, it is a really good field of story.
Again, I don't care if you're a FaZe fan or if you're a Vitality
fan or whatever.
You can get behind a story like this one.
You know, a team that dominated their region,
get an opportunity to come to a big event,
did beat mouseports at Rotterdam,
but couldn't quite get it to the playoffs.
Now, this time around, they've gone the full journey.
Against the hardest path, they probably could have taken.
And that is really, really cool stuff.
There were definitely a couple underdogs
from the European region, we're so much more likely to just kind of say that's the underdog
that I'm looking at versus a team who's always harder to assess their ranking.
Because when we watch Brazilian matches or South American matches, that is, you're never
really sure is this actually going to work in a Eurocentric meta.
But it did.
And people like Luchov, I mean, all I have to say to him is Feliz Gupleanios.
And you're working in?
There you go.
So yeah, any final thoughts about Miles on 9Z, about anything we saw in that series?
I mean, Miles asked a little in the playoffs, right?
I'm just curious if once teams watch the footage on 9Z, how that's going to change, because
I think a lot of people probably took the match up a little bit more for granted.
They're going to tell you that they prepared for it, but I don't feel like everybody knew
the style that they were going to play, how punchy it is, how active they were on the
CT side.
But nonetheless, I think that the individuals could probably stand up even with a little
bit of anti-stratting from their opposition in the playoffs.
Yeah, I have faith that they have enough pages in the playbook to make adjustments, even if
they do hit some initial resistance.
You know, I have seen them already just throughout this tournament play different styles of CS,
whether it be like execute-oriented, heavy utility, or a little bit more scrappy, or a
little bit more dry, or a little bit more, you know, trying to catch you off guard.
So I'm curious to see how they can do in playoffs.
It'll obviously be determined who they're up against, we'll kind of be the vibe there,
but I'm impressed.
All right, thanks a lot, guys.
for a break as Vanessa Williams famously sang you always save the best to last and PGL has
done that because it's spirit fury in just a few moments.
I won't play Rindo anymore.
What's going on?
Play your role, one expect.
The human body was built to know.
Not trapped at a desk in one singular posture for 12 hours a day.
time your chair evolved. This is Secret Lab Titan Evo. Ergonomically engineered for you.
Gamers. Hybrid workers. Artists. Lab in your every move.
So at various points last year this series could have been a grand final.
It isn't, we're getting it now at this stage, but the winner will be going through the playoffs.
It's Fury vs Team Spirit, we're going to be breaking that one down on the desk and very
happy to do so.
Where do you want to start gentlemen?
I'd like to start by talking about spirit if I'm honest with you.
Go on.
Okay.
Yeah.
Let me just tell you something.
Go on.
I don't believe in this spirit.
Well, all right.
I think this was a waste of everybody's time.
I think the magic side GL prospect is doing to fail.
I think people in the spirit organization saying, well, it took a year to get the last
idea up to speed, blah, blah, blah.
I think that sucks.
I think you're wasting donks prime and you need to change this up.
That is you want to switch roles.
I feel like you got a lot of an ounce of all the hot tastes. Yeah, you have you have really supplied us a lot to work
I will carry them. I will say you can take it actually
I I I feel like I've heard a very similar spiel from Richard when apex took over as in game leader of my time
Oh, you did not I think I think it was a relative similar
You know, I love done. Oh, maybe now you do now that he's a winner
But you weren't there when he was a little caterpillar. He had to go through the cocoon
happened and now I was literally that
covering so a flourishing butterfly
but in the beginning
I remember you were a hater
I remember you were a hater and I can tell
you're a hater right now of magics but I've already
seen improvements in the way that he calls in fact
I would even say sometimes the best thing
about spirit on maps has been there besides
yep exact so I think
we're seeing progress I think we're already seeing
some of the players actually find ways
to flourish in ways that they didn't under chopper
I think Taneer has actually looked better as an individual
under Magix's guidance under his leadership,
maybe with actually a boost when Sofix sitting behind him
instead of Holly.
But I like what I'm getting from Spirit so far.
Well, a test for Magix today, if indeed what Maui is saying
is true, because the student must take on the master.
Yeah, I mean, Fury has looked ferocious this event.
You know, we were really concerned about them
based on just how they weren't looking themselves anymore.
You know, this is a team that won multiple titles last season,
looked like a favorite at Budapest,
didn't quite question on that this year started okay, but then really we saw kind of a decline and it really came to a head at
Fort Worth where they lost the two teams you just never expect them to do not make the playoffs
I was really damning but they've come in here and while they haven't faced the biggest competition yet
You know they really look good in their wins against Monty and heroic and and look more like the team that we saw last season
Which is a nice, you know one of the best teams I've seen here
Yes, for sure and that's also taken shape and there's just the eye test and I would even say the
interview with yet kind are with HLTV. I feel like the the
way that furious started playing after their loss at
Budapest got a little bit more cagey kind of felt like they
were trying to always play perfectly off each other. The
CS had to be this super well ironed out. And I think that
yet kind are himself bit of a perfectionist. I mean playing
under Jamin Dostan wanted to kind of have this style that
just was super airtight. Nobody's playing an untradable
situation. And I think that probably got to them. And but
But now they're rediscovering themselves, and I think that people like Mola-Doy are
figuring out that I need to come with that individual flair, repeat a little bit more
like I did when I was clearly the rookie of the year.
It's going to be perfect.
That was an interview by Note.
It's spelled N-O-H-E. No one else in the interview wants just Note from HLTV.
This is going to be perfectly clear about that.
But no, I think you're right now.
It is nice to see, you know, when Furio were at their finest last year, it was because
they played very decisive kind of strike, and I mean that in the sense that they had
really fine-tuned like set aggressive plays but also how quick they were to bounce off of a reaction as soon as they felt
Something or as soon as they did get an entry
They were able to really build off of it very nicely and you kind of was a big part of that
You know the fact that he was able to be a successful entry fire again after having such poor times at like
And this is just how unfair the situation is when you ever you compared to donkey do you look at the stats on the left?
They look great
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Donk is just an unreal level of player.
I mean, we've been glazing him for such a long time, but he deserves it.
I mean, this is the best entry frag we've probably ever seen in Counter Strike.
I mean, the fact that he does it so often, so well, in such a difficult role to be
consistent in.
You know, still my player at 20-25, but not that high.
Yes.
I agree with you.
I agree with you 100% on that one.
But the big thing for me is, it's like, no matter what else is going wrong on Spirit,
you always had the punch of chance because it's how good that guy is to create a space
by himself.
Yeah, but let's also be real.
year and you know that put it this way we can have the argument about what
happened in 25 between him and Zeewoo till the cows come home everyone's got
their opinion. Did he fight Striker on that? No no I thought we'll just let him have that one.
It's fine. No argument this year about who the best player in the world is. It's
Zeewoo. It's not even close. And my worry always is what I said at the start of the
segment you know is Donk gonna be Donk forever? The Donk that we know now, the
Donk we see him now? History tells me no. Like think about simple. Yeah. I mean
I will say that spirit definitely looked very shaky after crack out like they definitely have some results that made you really kind of wonder
If they had made the right call, but I really do think that what we saw at Rio was very promising in that run to the grand finals
I think what we've seen so far this event has looked pretty sharp
I think you know Maui hit a really key once at that Taneer folly online
We all know that dolphin shows gonna deliver time and time again a regular base
But the fact that Taneer is having some of his best counter strike since he's joined spirit these last two tournaments is
is massive. That's that third start this team needs to be able to go up against everyone else. So
I really like that. As far as the veto goes, I mean, really nothing of note yet. I mean,
this is exactly what you expected so far. And there we go. Furious, back to Overpass.
I like that they're forced to Overpass personally. Obviously, they've been trying to pick Inferno
over Overpass when they're given the option. So in a fun way, I actually think that this is
beneficial to Furia that they're forced to this map as their pick. As for the decider here,
Kind of with lean mirage as being the common ground between yeah, and yeah
We get the nuke band here from spirit, which does lead us to mirage on it. I think this is actually
Maybe I don't know dust with this veto. I probably I'm gonna say spirit are my favorites
But I don't know if that's actually even cuz of the veto
I just think I like the form way more of spirit in the last month or two
Yeah, you know, I think for me when I'm watching Rio and I'm watching some of this event
I'm just I'm excited about how well they're playing on T size actually
You know, because I think that was maybe some of the hits that they were kind of taking criticism wise when Chopper was in-game leading them, you know,
until he was eventually replaced was that the T sides did lack in a lot of ways because
They just didn't necessarily have as much in the playbook as maybe people were hoping for but I thought they're producing a lot there
They got the tenures getting more comfortable in his roles
I think we're seeing a lot of good stuff. My concern has been their defense it sometimes has really lacked
I think that's the more concerning element. Maybe it's just a you know individual skill issue
Maybe it's a working off roughs issue for Zontics either way that has to be course corrected in the game like this one
And we see obviously the positions here. I'd say key matchup for me actually is just is just if there is long pressure on
Fallen I feel like yeah, I've been seeing so many long anchors get abused at this tournament
It feels like to me it's coming back
It's a big facet of the Dust 2 meta right now
Yeah
late long takes
Smoking off the corner late trying to isolate that player because they because everybody now knows how Dust 2 is gonna play out that you're
Gonna fall into the setup that you see more or less on your screen here
And I think that a lot of teams are now thinking that late long takes in general are just so much more potent as opposed to
Six months ago where the cat control into a cat hit was just the real like ammo of almost every team
Yeah, this for me like first of all, this is gonna be fireworks because both teams play very aggressive counter strike
And they're very confident in how they play so we're gonna see a lot of really cool early clashes in my opinion
I think secondly, it's gonna be fun to see the different styles of often you're gonna see on dust to here shiro much more of a
You know hold angles he could be aggressive defensively, but offensively he's not gonna be necessarily going for entries as much
So just kind of your steady guy that you can kind of rely upon my boy is an X factor
My guy who can create you know big space with the AWP sets gonna be huge and yeah
I think the other big thing to watch out for is teneer
You know we've been kind of hyping him up, you know since he has joined spirit
This event Rio and Rotterdam have been his best performances so far. So he's finally getting himself
I think the big reason why is because on this map even though he's kind of a you know long a player
They don't leave them there very often. They're either using him to take long a actively or he's getting put in the pocket in a
comfortable trade-fragging position where he feels good about being able to address the skills and so I think that's something
That's really been helping spirit. All right men guys. It is time for I'm sure is going to deliver and calling this one always spirited
Occasionally furious. It's Launders and scrawny. Oh, he's smooth isn't he folks?
Yeah, I think this one most got me excited just because of the version of Furio
we've had in the last 48 hours. I mean, damn near perfect in a lot of ways.
Damn near perfect.
And that is all I hope to see versus spirit, because we've been kind of saying like, yeah,
right, it's versus ex opposition. The step up has occurred. This is spirit. This is
Donk. Like if there's anybody that's going to stop this fury and kind of put them back
into that realm of hurt and struggle, it should be this team. So I'm expecting fireworks
with this one.
Yeah, totally. I'm as well. And I'm super excited to get into this. It'll show us and
Forecast a lot of what will you know expect to see going into playoffs? Yeah, it's almost ashamed at them by each other here
That's gonna been I mean it's a it's a taste you could argue that this could actually wind up being the grand finals
Absolutely, it's I think possible people would have had like before the event started furious spirit and falcons in that conversation
Falcons have not hit the ground running
Now everybody is talking about one other team after 90. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking winner of this fights to 90 in the best of five
How about that sounds good to me?
What do we get plenty of games left to play and fallen we'll find first blood
In this enticing head-to-head
We've got zontics out the cap play trying to pressure this a ramp hold
Yuri in with one and fallen still fighting back from the depths of pit
He has stopped the bomb in its tracks a wild move for zontics who is now three kills into this round and
And Fallen was killed by Donk at long range in the middle of all that. That's Fallen who had bomb possession.
The Kindar 1v2 caught out by the Smoke Fade. Good on Donk and Zontix to take that one by storm.
Very fun move from Zontix to drop in to CT spawn. I mean, obviously no one can just get right back up.
And the trades are here.
This game just has so much I want to see unfold, whether it's from very up, they're going to continue to be.
kind of perfect as a team. I mean, there was that quote from your kinder, you know, talking about losing themselves a little bit, trying to
copy what Vitality are doing, but with different players and like their style is a little bit different and, and, and can absolutely keep up.
I mean, I think in some ways they have some stuff that's even better, man, like some of the the
flash tactics that they use and how they draw aggro in one place, push from another, like they're really, I feel like pushing the meta still, so
And over on Spirit, it's going to be more of just a lot, a lot more consistent firepower,
especially with Tenir having better tournaments now.
Like that was always just a weird thing when he joined the team.
Why isn't he comfortable yet?
He's so good.
We've seen how good he can be.
The question for Spirit is going to be like the leadership, you know what I mean?
Yes.
And they make the most out of these players with magic and he's still learning as well.
It's not the only one right now in the top tiers of Counter-Strike that's trying to learn
a new role as an in-game leader.
I remember seeing Dust have a take online when this roster was first announced and the kind
of criticisms for Magix were coming through, where it's like, yeah, but this is a formula
and even Richard kind of kicks off this pregame with a discussion that he doesn't believe
in this iteration, like he thinks it's a bad idea, etc.
But it is also a free move.
You bring back players from the bench, you shuffle the rolls into magics.
If it works, it works, and you can kind of get this and build up from it.
If it doesn't work, well at least it didn't cost you a massive transfer fee, it didn't
cost you any kind of buyout.
You already have these players ready to go.
Yeah, the only thing it kind of costs you is like, time with Donk?
Yeah.
Because like, yeah, I think people have brought this up, but you know, if Donk was an AWPer,
like it might be like, okay, well, you know, we might have another eight years to go, but
with Donk rifling.
We just don't know, we've never seen a rifle or stay this good for that long, to be honest.
It just doesn't happen very much at all.
Niko's literally the only example he wants.
Long-gemity in a rifle or whatever.
So that's the only question, is there a tournament window that needs to be capitalized on?
Right.
And then I guess the answer to that will be just how long does this formula get if it's
not going to step up to where it needs to be.
but they retain the power of friendship, that's for sure.
Woohoo!
Unfortunately, Spirit also have that.
Or sorry, Furia also have that.
Toledoid flashed wide with a teammate,
but they stepped into the lion's den.
You had four players for Team Spirit inside of that one,
Magix walks out middle, just kind of hanging onto map control
in the middle of that smoke so it fell,
but he emerges through, gives K. Serato something to chew on,
before Keisarado turns his position back towards Kar, finds damage on Tenir, who is now almost as dead as Xantix.
And so Shiro's gonna have to be a big part of this shutdown of Furia's attempt in the guns,
and he will do exactly that with the headshot onto Yikindar.
This is gonna be a save call from Fallen as he looks to tiptoe this M4 away,
but it's not even a guarantee with Xantix already here.
Shiro just kills Tenir.
Yeah, and now there's a 1v1 possibility.
It's going to be a little bit unnerving for Shiro as he walks towards the window, leaves
himself in a spot to get peaked.
You might have to time this and it looks like he'll find a good-
Oh.
Oh.
Yeah.
Won't even attempt it.
Get out of there.
That's close.
Doesn't have the kit.
Okay.
No of the ops there to save.
I don't think Shiro killed Taneer.
I think Taneer walked into fire.
You think it was a setup?
Who's the blame?
We'll have to watch it back from above.
They're trying to collect insurance.
watch it back they're trying to collect insurance
just so the schemes it was just arty because restaurant you know a
thanks catch fire sketch fire these kinds of things happen already
don't tell me you didn't do it
the rest of the
And then calling the next one, Vesuvio.
Wasn't me.
Good start.
Start Spirit.
And also, even though they had some rounds versus the Mongols,
they were like, oh no, that looks a little bit sketchy.
They did close that series out to zero.
That they did.
Molo-Doy's op hunts through mid doors.
There's a lot to be done in this round considering Fallen went heavy and the investment gave
that M4 over to Yikindar and everybody brought forth Kevlar.
Not the kind of buy that you want to just completely fall flat, but you've already got two players
up the catwalk bombs, looking to go join them as the doors get re-spoke.
Mischance at killing K. Serato, he will not leave that slack out on Cat.
Instead, sends a deagle shot between Magix's eyes.
And that'll give Spirit something to think about.
Yeah, that's a pretty opportune moment to get a kill.
This really slows down everything.
And now down a player, they're going to continue forward into three on the inside.
That helps.
Okay, Serota collects a second.
Okay.
Shiro's off is making the difference, but Fallen has got long control and a gun for his efforts.
Both players for Spirit on the site.
Shiro, who has opened up this round for Spirit, alongside the demon himself.
Donk looks for duels towards Long, but Fallen has gone for this reposition to Catwalk.
Maladoy's off remains down.
but Fallen has gone for this reposition to Catwalk.
Maladoy's AWP remains down and CT spawn.
Ah, this was always a no-kit situation.
Fallen's got the recovery, but that's Fallen from long, revealing himself
and Don keeping his head down versus Maladoy.
They have just enough room to work, he'll close out the 1v2 post,
another round for Spirit, and get beyond what was looking like a fantastic
Kcerado-deagle round.
It was. It was still great with the two.
Yeah, absolutely pinpoint perfect mechanics at a don't to get that basket spray in for the last hill so confident
Right in the basket and even though no like right here that this basket's a little up
Well, this doesn't care it's perfect about it
Not a horrible round for fear considering they only had two guns
But it's the fact that it comes by way of the Beagle really opening up the possibility of the upset doesn't happen four zero start
Spirit looking to put a dent in Furia after they've built their confidence over the last 48 hours.
A lot of that success from Furia here in Astana has come by way of Quesarado and Mollidoy.
We've been talking about the Mollidoy graphics.
Yup, tape insecure in the graphics, but there'll be a real graphics off in this one with Donk.
Here, he's already collected a couple of himself.
Four and one.
At this moment, Yuri tucked in, hoping to go unnoticed.
That's exactly what he gets.
Tethered perfectly with Taserado from the back of site.
Magix gets this reopened momentarily, but his teammates left.
They give themselves a smoke to play. The CT challenge is coming.
Magix is now pinned in a tough spot,
and hoping that Teneir will take attention away from him.
They know exactly where he is.
He's got to.
Taserado kills Teneir.
And Molo-Doy scoops up the Magix hole, Shiro will down to 20 health, and there we go.
Rock solid tethering between Keisarado and Yuri.
That was a moment where Spirit just needed to go forward with the B-Split, that the Tunnels guys needed to help out while Magix was out there.
And I thought the same thing about a previous round, but Tanir ended up getting the next entry to get into the site, and it was fine.
Here they pay a little bit for it, and Fury get in the game.
And in terms of pressure and expectations, I feel like there is actually something weird where, like, a lot of people are not extremely
expected of Spirit to play well right now, with the new IGL, with, like, how things have been going, expecting Gaunt to play well
every map, but, uh, expectations could not be higher for Furia.
It's the last two days, excellent start to show us that they're ready to actually put themselves in Grand Finals contention.
But I wonder how real that feels, and how much they're now thinking like, is that just free now that we're clearly good enough?
I don't want to get ahead of yourself, but my brown's in and Spirit just keep up the
pressure to the B site.
K-Sirado popping up with one kill, he's got a teammate through the doors, but that teammate
drops with nothing and you kindar now, O and six.
As Teneir brings the bomb in and Spirit will not skip a beat.
Desk promised us that this game was going to be electric and we have gotten some very
fast tempo moves out of Spirit so far.
they will not skip a beat here in this one,
finding themselves right back to winning ways.
Yeah, both teams go aggressive,
and that always just creates
for the most fun atmosphere possible.
It felt for a while that like any combination
of any team versus spirit or any team versus phase
was like gonna be a good match.
And then when you got spirit and phase going against each other,
that was like the best match you could possibly get.
Legendary head to head.
But yeah, I mean, it's the state of it is, I mean, any game with Duncan, essentially,
it's just gotta be good.
It's funny how many Spirit vs. Phase legendary games there are, considering like the different
versions of the teams even.
Yeah.
You go back to Antwerp, like that was a completely different roster, Chopper, Gagster, hello?
And yet still.
True.
There is something to do with the org itself, I mean, even with Phase, like even this version
of phase. With Nature was actually at some of the same energy. I thought that was going
to sort of leave with Karrigan a little bit.
You know, this version of phase, I've never seen him hang out with furries before.
Dude, they're keeping it fresh. They might go to Disney World.
Hey man, when the going gets tough, it's nothing more dangerous than a desperate man.
For anybody that's not on Counter-Strike Twitter, they've got no clue what the hell we're talking
about.
Yeah, it's actually trending, so they can go on and check.
Okay, yep.
Yeah, that's on you, not us.
you're a fan of Broke and you just don't want to see him in that state well if
you're a fan of Broke you'll support him till the end of time bye bye Zontics
Zontics
But yeah, I think if it does take a little bit of heat off of Magix, if T'Nir just gets his form right,
because then their core is actually so strong that, you know, the worst thing you might be able to do is overcall a situation,
like they'll never be a point, I think, for Spirit.
I think for Spirit, I mean, with Chopper, there was like a lot of structure and set stuff where I think as Jane put it,
Donk doesn't even have to think about what he's looking at.
He knows how everything's going to be set up for him so that he can take all the best fights possible.
And a lot of that's still going to be true, but I think you don't really...
You'll have to over-complicate things less if Tenir can get more multi-kills just straight up,
because the player that they signed to get to near
was supposed to be like an insane buff
on the fire power front to Spirit.
And that's just taking a minute.
And you know what?
Sometimes that takes a minute
to onboard a player properly.
It's also something that they've seen them now
go for a couple of times, right?
I think you were looking for the same formula
when you hired Zwei.
And you completely stuffed him into different roles,
et cetera, so it's an understandable departure from that.
But it's like you brought in Zwei for the same reasons,
because the way he dominated with Namiga in Austin,
you bring in Tineer for the same reasons.
And yet, you could argue that comparable struggles
are both those teams, or both those versions
of this same team.
Where was Tineer before Spirit?
Heroic.
Heroic, right.
Yeah.
He was like the best part about heroic.
He was so good.
Sorry, and where's heroic without Tineer?
Oh, they got a young star and they also had the power of friendship, I think.
Oh, great.
That'll get you far.
Look how far it's gotten us, Mo.
Yeah, you're a big friendship guy.
I'm a big friendship guy.
Yeah, like with teams you're like, have a like.
I'm a big friendship guy, but Kerrigan should have left face.
What the hell?
What the hell?
That might be the first time that someone just said that out loud.
I'm being, keeping it real.
You tell me why he shouldn't join Falcons, and every argument you have is just emotional.
Yeah, I'm with you.
I think he liked it.
He did the right thing for him, which is, that's kind of what you should do if you're
a player.
I'm with it.
At the end of the demo, we all die alone.
The King of the Pawn going the same box.
I'm not going in no box.
Light me up, Johnny.
Flash is over the long doors.
Xontix emerging as we get off the tech pause,
and we find Furious still trailing by four in a gun versus gun round.
With no contest either, Team Spirit are like, oh, okay, that was easy.
And we'll see where they go from here.
Mollador is still waiting for this.
Ah, missed chance.
Did they step into that again? No, they'll send grenades at him to try to fluster him out of position, and it's a fresh CT smoke for him to sit behind in a minute.
Oh, oh, God, Jesus. Who threw that?
He's just hoping we didn't observe it, but, uh...
It might have been a really good nade, but won't affect his ability to get off kills.
It's going to be weird.
Weird crawl up.
Like two players in tunnels as you're taking long control.
More smoke to go.
Interesting.
We still have time to move, to be honest.
Made the crossover.
Molledoy's offering an distraction.
I don't want to say, don't forget about it.
Fallen looking to get active top ramp. They've lost the Gendar Fallen. Strikes with the double
Third piece still on the CT cross and Zontics. Cat pressure gets caught jumping wildly
And now Shiro's gonna activate so they know where these last two players are at.
Forced issue for the plant and Molledoy can't stop it. Shiro shaving two men off the moment
And now Molledoy is gonna feel the squeeze so he goes wide out the catwalk play looking for the bomb blaster first
lands the shot, knows Shiro was mid, but doesn't know where he's gotten off to, and Shiro, locking this in on ramp,
is gonna force Molledoy at an awkward retake timing, blindsided by the play. Big round for Shiro to come in with three.
I'll leave it to Shiro to save the day right there.
I can't believe he scaled all the way up and around the ramp, and by that point, there was no way that Molledoy was going to find him.
And, like, normally you'd see a position like that, and it's certainly gonna feel like four players long, one player tough, that's what you'd normally see.
With the amount of time left on the clock, they actually had about 30 seconds before the exact came in and Fallen was a guy who really made that a little scary, but...
I can't tell if everything was going according to plan or spirit in that situation, or if there was some pressure
or something else that was supposed to happen with their lower play that would have made that look a bit more convincing, but
I don't think Fury had really knew that there were two down there.
Shut up, fallen for being able to seize the moment with the two kills on the cross.
He's currently the best performing player in the server for Furio which is not the formula that got them to this 2-0 pool.
We've been talking about nothing, but Keisarado and Mollidoy have the latest...
No, if you kinder, I feel like second to Mollidoy even, but he's...
0-7.
Very bad map so far.
But why, Mohawk?
Wow, 50 on the nose to Shiro.
I don't know why, but without your kinder they won't win.
Offers don't blink when they get hit by nades, so Shiro will still very much be a part of
this engine.
We get utility coming over, but it's a heavy mid-dmove.
Move, Ykindar's first kill collected, and that opens the door for Quesarado to just clean house.
He picks two players off the play, bomb dropped in the doorway of B, and they just got past that top mid timing here.
A push off by Fallen.
Fallen did not see this, so this guy in tunnels.
Shirou could be the hero again, but he's got to get this frag. He has to find Ykindar.
He doesn't have time. Ykindar just turned.
They have to get the bomb.
This is the round over.
If only maybe Magix was working his way up to the B side at the same time to grab that
bomb, but it's not the case, they can't come together fast enough.
And so while Shiro still lights out at a 10-3 scoreline, this is indeed Furia's second
round.
By nature of Yukindar's first kill.
Which is nice to be able to say for sure.
The mid-Bs, a little bit disjointed here for Spirit.
The defense was really good, but I think they were coming in with the Freiburg jump, getting
the mid-B pinch going, but there was three and B ready to defend the whole time.
So I think Fury were super uncomfortable at any moment.
So we think he are.
It's a dink upside the head to Shiro, and around where they are, two players limited
to tech nines. Spirit don't really want to be taking damage on their rifleman.
There's a battle of the operas brewing here once Shiro's freed up from watching long,
but with Fallen having that affinity for the push off long, it feels like Shiro's gonna be a bit
too preoccupied to find fights out mid. He now starts to join forces with Spirit that
look to go push the luck through the doorway. Molotov's patience rewarded with an opening
kill in round nine. Molotov in front of them is going to stall out Team Spirit, and it's
at this point that Fallen Tarts to take that sniff towards the long doors. Kindar's angle
could damn well catch Spirit off guard. Oh, he actually smoke fades, and he's exposed.
Good to hold by Uri for at least the one, and then Molledoy keeping that op in the action has found a third frag this round, but to push outside of the doors and grab bomb is a daunting task for Zontics.
Got a paid out and op shot is what he's looking to do, but not gonna happen.
Oh, that's going to the body. That's two op's up here for Furia as they win another round. Took a second, but they're back in the game.
Fallen actually left that second op behind.
Oh, he picked it up.
Interesting.
I feel like with the amount of walkouts that...
I can't drop it, these might not be a bad idea, but...
It's hard to outshine Mollidoy.
Especially after a round like that, Mollidoy...
Yes, also they know they're going into here, uh, spirit saving.
We'll call that Molledoy's most important sequence so far this map.
And now Spirit will just wiggle around and spawn.
Kill some time.
This one's going to be a pseudo-tack boss as they talk about what to do next.
These stickers
That's ball knowledge
Donk's eagle in the background finds the one
Siri taken out see if the MP9. Yep upgrades collected
K serato
K serato
Ends that round with a USP, but it is three rounds in a row for fury up a well-earned reward off the Mollidoy mid sequence
three-round streak, still a chance to tie this half by the end of it.
Yeah, again, I mean, Kinder's looking like a late boomer this game.
Now this is definitely a slow start, one and nine, but his kill has resulted in a round.
I think they're worried about the lower push, no?
What's up?
Sorry, we were looking at different things.
Oh, okay.
Don't worry.
We've got a lot of space over to spirit this round, Arfuria.
We've seen that B site stand the test, but that's usually when Molotov is kind of helping
out in the middle.
Right now he is very much a part of the B defense.
This looks like they're scrimming this mid B. They just want to get it right.
Main issue so far is getting stopped on the tunnel side and then the mid guys are kind
of stranded as the smoke comes up.
Let's see if they can avoid that hazard.
Another smoke deep into the tunnels at 30 seconds, Molledoy eyes on mid, Yuri collects the kill to Zontics, but Tenir comes through with the trade, that's pressure on Molledoy, good shot back.
Into the site though, Shirou's gonna pull him off, just a bare bones angle surely, and you've got Donk locked into the mid-cross, he will blindside one.
Mad advantage here for Spirit, Donk can't manage the multi-frag and Shirou doesn't actually collect off that.
This is a doable retake although low health here for you kindar and the incendiary is gonna keep him out of the window retake
They are trying to figure out how to go for this case around. It's got a smoke probably tunnels
I don't know if they're just gonna try to dive the plant. Yeah, kindar to flash in this door push
Oh, the wallbangs gonna soften one up, but they are so low themselves bombs at 12 seconds
And they both got hit fury up
Yeah, Kana still taking the last second look, they're still fine!
But Magic's down beneath.
If there's a will and a way for Yikindar to catch that second, he had the time for the debuts.
He'll make sure that it's a costly round, but it's still, at the very least, a 7 round T side.
So they do pull it off. I mean, that's an overall successful round.
The tunnels, guys, get their entries that they're looking for.
Mid guys are successful in leaving Donk to cut off rotators instead of having them get up to window.
That was all they really needed to do. I think Fury at this point are aware that they're...
This is the strat they want to make work.
But because of the casualties, it is DeNier holding a Galil. Shiro will do the same.
And it looks like Zontics will also join them.
the
who would have seen that
spirit of close second
I think he actually skewered four of them and donks on one HP.
I just want to they also made for me to stand for me and see any other play. I was I was so ready for that to happen.
Oh, I saw nothing else.
Oh, that could have been one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments. I'm the mediest off shot and pure one of all time.
God is a lot of crabs get on it.
And every little bit of damage from now on is going to sting extra hard.
Still want to make this mid-D working again.
Yeah, assist city for Molledoy.
One bullet fired.
No, a case or auto must have...
Oh, never mind.
That was the fifth player, so it'll come down to Donk.
We'll see.
Had to have been.
Had to have been, though.
HP 1d5 for Donk on round 12 20 seconds you'd never expect it and you'll never get to see it
You got the he got that tag too as for assist, right? Yeah, well three well three to kill damn a
Quidruple lineup on catwalk kibob. He's telling them all about it right now
Said you got to see this shit
I'd love to know how close that was to just four headshots. They had a bone to pick with that mid VA. I really wanted it
It worked out pretty well overall for first for spirit, but
Man, if you got that kill, I would have flipped this table. Yeah. Yeah, I would have broken something in this room
That's a fine
crushed a headset or something
Okay
If you got that quad kill, I would have picked a fight with somebody tonight
How do you do it though? You got to get all, it's got to be like all headshots.
Yeah, it's got to be headshots.
Oh, if only he had better crosshair placement.
But I mean, when he peeked into that, it looked like one amorphous blob of a person.
It did look like he could have gotten all the headshots, Moe.
Yeah, it was like Pikmin.
We need to run that back.
We'll get the detectives on it.
How close was he from the op shot of all time?
Still might be the highest damage op shot.
in tier one counter strike in history.
You never know when you're on the brink of greatness with CS, that's why we watch every day.
Parts to day, uh.
Every game, every single moment.
Fast move around the long corner for Furia, they're not gonna pull punches.
They've got the smoke for the cross, they've got the bodies for this, but Magix actually finds a gap.
Oh, Molledoy's gonna exploit the same small gap with the Glock shot back through.
Donk is on Cat with Tenir, and we've got a double up of CT's down beneath them.
These Berettas trying to get into the play as Donk is just out in the open looking for tools as he does, and that is why.
Binding the headshot, dropping the bomb in the process.
Shiro's Berettas start to roar, and as he reloads them, the bomb has been picked back up,
but we can see the damage that's been done on all the Furia players.
Clean up on the bomb site!
The way he's just out of your swing in case Rado could still deal with this, if not for Dog!
It's a quad for Dog.
It's not with one upshot, but it is still four kills for Dog.
Up to a 13 and 8.
Thanks to that pistol, Team Spirit's lead grows off of it.
He's just stays out of me open the entire time we see the tail end of it, but he never looked for cover
What do you think don't is afraid of because we know when it comes to Counter-Strike when it comes to video games
There's definitely nothing he's afraid of I bet it's like the ocean
Because you can't stand
Okay
There's where you can't aim as well. It is big. He is small. I mean, it's it's much bigger than all of us. Yeah
Yeah, that's what I mean
Not compared to the ocean.
Donk knows they're coming for him, flying by him.
Not afraid.
Has no reason to be there in the unupgraded pistol round of Team...
Well, just fury up.
Team spirit, 9-5.
Do you think they're gonna put Donk in a museum one day?
We should probably ask his permission first.
I think that's his choice, but...
I think they've put less impressive people in museums.
Name them.
I went to this weird museum in Amsterdam once where it's like a bunch of like mummified people.
It's the guy who invented weed or something.
No, Mo, that's God.
But yeah, I think, yeah, some people just, you know, all height.
Yeah, all height.
Well, Fallen's ranked higher in the greatest Brazilians than Dom Pedro II, who knew how
to speak 23 languages.
Yeah, but he didn't play Counter-Strike, so to hell with him.
Yep, he didn't win, and we'll give you all this.
He didn't bring an entire nation to the forefront of this global offensive.
Three SMGs out on the field for spirit. We'll call this one a bonus.
But just because we call it that doesn't mean they won't win it.
It is a lethal looking round with the positioning of the SMGs.
The long control to near has proc solid and the doc opening kill through the Yuri smoke spam.
See ya, sucka.
And they're going forward with the push.
They've taken over tunnels and now it's just impending doom for Furia. They don't even know it.
Kindar's been heard by Burning and Doc and Magix combined for the crossfire.
Drag grenade to soften up Fallen and here's the chase from Zontics. Absolute
ownage here for Spirit. I know this was a gun round coming out of Furious Teaside
and I couldn't pinpoint a single problem that Spirit made. That was sheer confidence every
step of the way doing as they please and walking away with five players alive in the bonus round.
I just love how quickly they go from tunnels kill off the dog spray to taking over tunnels
entirely calling out that no one is there behind the smoke. Got a really good read of the map.
Thonk's in perfect form and that's what he's demanding of his opponents, but they're not keeping up.
Furia have had three kills so far on this entire T-side, no bomb plant, and three kills.
And before they realize this one could be over.
AK for K-cerado, pistols for the rest, and tons of utility here.
Shiro trying to make things uncomfortable will do exactly that.
as he mows down two, queues up to Nier, and Magix's Nave finds one from the CT spawn.
Oh boy, four kills, all Furia have on this T side.
Yeah, but they did not expect Spirit to be able to disrespect them like this.
Yeah, beat them, maybe. Disrespect them? No, not with the version of Furia we've had so far in Astana.
No, they're not looking quite as just confident out of the gate here as they did.
Obviously, this team they're playing against is a lot harder,
But the ways in which they look good were not all aim-related, and it wasn't all about Furia disrespecting their opponents previously either
They really treated them with respect. Maybe that's their main issue
They're kind of thinking about this opponent is just a lot more difficult and not coming forward with just that raw confidence
Because they have the tactics they have the cohesion they had a lot of a great sort of
stats I think to show that they were a great team not just a team of great individuals, but
They were also both and I think obviously one of the main problems here is the kinder is
This is gonna be his worst map. I feel like of the event. Yes, I
Mean it was the asterisk we put in Furia when they were able to dominate Monty and heroic
It's like well wait for the real opposition, but to see them play almost like a different version of Counter-Strike once
They're up against that different caliber. Yeah, that's what's starting to fall flat for them, right?
We got in the interviews, right? They were trying to play like Vitality, XYZ,
Hey, I was hoping to see the Furia from yesterday at least try to do the same thing to Spirit,
but we really haven't gotten that here on Dust2 at least.
Furia's pick of Overpass awaits.
No slouches on that map, obviously.
But this is damnation at the hands of spirit so far on Dust2.
T-Side off walks its way up alone towards Cat.
Mollidoy chipped away ever so slightly by the frag as his three teammates take control of Long.
No challenge here.
Not one person from Spirit has walked into a challenge until that occurs.
Mollidoy punishes the magic's pushed down caplock.
Donk, only the one.
In Audity, without Impact, will his beanbutton ear hear to pick up that slack alongside Zontix.
Oh, nice nade. To finish off Taneer, MP9 still resides within that smoke. It was meant to be supported, but instead it finds itself alone, and so you kind of are finding impact in this one as he goes from 5 kills to 8 kills in this one round alone.
second extra to get that plant off. MP9 could have got tucked and set now it's
Shiro and a one-on-two Molotoy hole in this easy kill for him. And hopefully this
is a lifeline for Fury to wake up. It looked like it was gonna be finished on
that round after Shiro got that opening kill into B halls again. That's
It's just not happening all the time.
This Nade is so valuable, cause not only does it kill Taneer, but it then beats this MP9 in an awkward solo moment.
Zontix wasn't meant to be the hero, he was meant to be the setup.
Better late than never, you kinder.
But never late is better.
fact statement of truth like I'm there with me
kingdom are low that means have to find a refute of what happened last round
shiro's got fallen dead already Maladoy's response on the magics is good
but donk has got that hold underway k serato emerges from the smoke alongside
Yuri let's take the two of them try to take over be from the other side and
Moledoy reacts to that Shiro CT push.
In the middle of all that heck thickness,
Furia come out on top.
Bomb's not planted just yet.
Taneer at the tunnels.
They're waiting for him to show himself from somewhere.
They're gonna wait the entire time, aren't they?
Bomb's still outside of here.
Yeah, he just picked it up, Kaserado.
Yuri's got it covered.
Taneer's position known.
12 HP and the Nade'll get it done.
Kaserado finishes off the round.
Him and Moledoy with a 2K apiece.
There's that good-looking mid-B take. I think that that spirit are really hunting forth throughout that first half
The game gets a bit closer. I don't think enough to scare spirit though
They've built a lot of money up off all those force first four rounds. They have the op on
Oh.
I think he sold back to get the extra rifle.
No, no. There's the op on Shiro.
There's been an excellent right hand to Donk in this game.
Yeah, there's a certain duality to these teams right now where it's like the Donk and Shiro duo versus K-Sirado and Mollidoi.
Kinder trying to raise the floor of Fury up.
It's near happy to step in front of this smoke and block off the doorway for now.
I can't handle it.
Yeah, a lot of nades are bunk.
If all would match.
All in move.
He's getting older, man.
Maybe it is time to retire.
My kid, please don't.
My kid.
Ten years is looking to go through this smoke.
It's him versus K. Serato if he does it.
It just takes a glimpse and falls back.
Down to 45 seconds now, Furia.
Yeah, if he doesn't see this, he's pushing a few seconds.
I mean, it's kind of awkward for Kastorado.
There could be someone there holding the door.
But I think he doesn't expect him to go through.
What are they going to do here?
Is he just going to lurk back to middle, and actually going to go for the mid-B, surely?
Don't go outside.
Here's the approach, and it's an easy pickup on Fallen.
I'm not sure if this is going to work.
This is going to work. They've got all their 8 players still.
Here comes the cat play. That'll catch you off.
In transition, two players exposed.
Teneir hangs on for dear life as he tucks back down into the spawn.
Mollidoy's at least given a chance to go wide.
Plant safe.
Damn near caught. Both those CTs in transition.
Good on Teneir to try to keep this one alive for spirit.
He could have just been another second victim of that cat push.
Damn, double up on long.
Maladoy's got him locked in in the CT spawn to near-dead to that one, now it's just a cat-hold that needs to come through.
Wow.
Maladoy, good sequence so far. Pack into the even 2v2.
Maladoy, missed shot, and that opens the door for the push forward.
What?
He clips the wings of Magix on the bomb site, and dogs checking Goose, headshot onto Maladoy.
He's gonna try to stick this.
You gotta be careful with this swing case, Rota, should be okay, but, oh right, that's right in the dome.
Yeah, Maladoy, jumping off the site, doubling up long, they just couldn't believe it.
They thought someone else had planted, and the other was on ramp. That is a rare move to make, to be honest.
That's a sketchy recovery in a moment where it felt like Spirit once docked against the two mid-kills, had this round in their hands, but you saw the A players caught off, looking to run off to spawn, and that opened the door for Furia.
Overall take wasn't great like that spirit made it a 4v2. They actually came out ahead on trades. They
Got the kills on the players who are faking
That was really just Molladoys
Excellent little risk to jump off the site in that 4v2
Kind of turned himself into a CT versus a cat take
Maybe Furia don't look absolutely perfect today, but Wolladoy does.
That guy's gonna stay.
Big time, but they get the kills to come through.
Good on Fallen.
The heat of that moment to find the double.
It might not be ready for another player on the site.
It's a 5-7.
Mary Lethal, you find him in the mid-jump.
And Yuri's low, because of all that nade damage early.
You'll clear the player off-site, but Shiro with the wallbang headshot again, Yuri was low.
Molledoy to the glock of all things, but it's only the impotent, but he jumps right into it and spear it with a robbery
Never supposed to win that round that their 12th by way of a capitulation
Durian just give that one over. Yeah
I mean it's the right stack and the perfect grenade in in between three or four of those players on cat and
Again, it wasn't magics who threw the HE in the first place, so they weren't totally prepared for his play
That's the problem with, uh, starting off slow for Furia.
They were starting to look good for a second, but we've room for errors versus a team that
has this much aim in it.
What good tactic makes all the difference.
Man, and that's devastating too.
The money that's left over.
Just with Furia, we're trying to make something happen on Dust 2.
That is how fragile this T-side was gonna be.
Give at least Flash, Shiro off the line, but he still tucks into the cover at 64 HP, you've got two defenders, heart dedicated here for Spirit.
It's only pistols, and those pistols not meant to prevail!
Xontix, oh, he thought he had gotten away!
But spam through the smoke, and a moment here from Alladoy will be denied by Magix going up and over boxes.
Man advantage, health advantage, gun advantage, and Team Spirit's retake underway.
They've got no utility besides this Flash from Fallen to defend.
All while there's tons of nades still for Spirit to set this up.
Smoke off the card just in case.
Nade in front of that one, flashes up and over through the window all on Yuri now.
74 health and he is done for as Tenir comes through with the headshots.
Team Spirit come through with the retake and the 13-8 victory by way of a donk carry to kick off this best of three.
Yeah, it feels like a traditional story being told here, a spirit winning on Dust2, courtesy
of a monster performance from Donk.
I feel like I've done that one before.
Yeah, David Ensign Y. Donk has a big game.
I mean, what are we talking about here?
Just totally annihilated the competition there.
I will say Maldor tried his absolute damn distance to drag his team across the line.
I mean, he had some really good impact with the AWP kind of, all-neft of the combat that
they made, you know, towards the end of the first half and really has an impactful
moment, you know, on this PSOT to get them a couple of rounds as well. So it's
certainly put forth an effort, but yeah, Spirit would have been able to get off to a
hot start and always kind of kept themselves in the fight and ultimately
pulled out in front. Even though I would still characterize this as yet another
dog performance that gets Spirit over the line, a lot of the rounds that led up to
their lead were based off of a lot of the guys in the right positions,
understanding the play that Furyo were making. We had a lot of the players
stepping up in different aspects, Zontics, Magix himself. Just getting opening kills on whatever
sort of fight they were tasked with before the Furia fight began. And even though at the end
it definitely got dire for them, really a nail biter, you had just good hold from people like
Magix, for example, knowing exactly the strategy that Furia were running before they even threw
the first flash. I think it's good to see them have a strong CT side here. I think that's one of
the things that's kind of, you know, in a problem for Spirit somewhat with the magic era, you know,
of the team being the IGL's that, but these guys actually got together pretty decent. Nothing
like crazy complicated, but just simplistic stuff that plays to the strengths of the squad
that they have. But yeah, the CPCS has hopped in at moments and, you know, yeah, there
was certainly some rounds here around the way the company gave them something tough
to work with, but they all truly came on top. I mean, winning that eco round obviously
was huge, and then coming up big here in the final on the close-up.
Yeah, and I've got to say, I mean, they gave themselves a bit of a mountain to climb, you
You know, the 6-1 down and Yakinda, we highlighted how good statistically he's been at the tournament.
He couldn't really get going.
He was trying to play that pure entry and push on the CT side, try and get some picks,
and just wasn't really working out for him.
He got bullied.
I think he was going to not at one point.
I mean, Bach was absolutely annihilating him early on.
Yeah, such a slow start, and I also don't even think his team did him really any favour.
Sometimes the entry fragger is just so based on whether the utility is good.
Pistol round for Fury in the second half.
goes before and the smokes not even bloom to cover the long cross like there were just moments where it's kind of
Let me scratch my head like the polish we saw from fury
How great they seemed in the opening two series at this event kind of saw some more cracks here
And it's against the team that you really can't afford to have those
Yeah, I definitely noticed kind of the the start to the T side for fear looked very timid
It did not look nearly as decisive and as you know fine tune as we had seen in the other games
Obviously they're stepping up and playing a high level of competition and they faced their previous two matches
and it really did show in the slow start, had a little bit of recovery there, but they
were just so far in the hole at that point that it was going to take really a perfect
half to get back into it.
Yeah, and obviously again, I mean you just went out with things to say about Donk and
kind of how well he played, but there were some other bright spots, you know?
In terms of Donk, I mean the conversation for me isn't always about just like how good
he is or anything, it's just that he's got to catch up.
That's my big narrative with Donk right now in the year is that there's absolutely a case
that HLTV will make that Robs, Flamesy, Monacy are better than him right now because of the
amount of EVPs, the amount of MVPs, all of those sort of awards factor into their top
20 list.
Donk should be, and I'd say skill-wise is the second best player this year, but if I
went off of pure accolades and deep runs and tournaments, Spirit are really, really like
They need this kind of tournament to elevate him, propel him into the conversation of World
Number One.
Yeah, and that was where I was going to go next.
I mean, obviously, we're still in the middle of a series, but we haven't had a lot of time
to talk about Spirit and how important this tournament is for them overall.
You know, we focused on Falcons a lot.
We talked about some of the other teams that are looking to benefit from Vitality being
on, you know, another continent right now.
Spirit need this one, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, they were a team that was consistently in the top five last year.
They actually managed to win some titles, things that Falcons and Mouse were unable to do.
And they really were kind of one of the teams that you thought should always have the puncher
chance to be able to beat Bot Taddy's because the talent that they had in Shiro and Dawk
alone was all about figuring out how this new leadership style is going to work with
Magix.
I think it was also about finding out a way to get Taneer online because that gives you
a third star that gives you an appropriate amount of firepower now because you might
be top heavy with Dawk and Shiro, but you need a little bit more and you're going up
against some of these other elite teams that have lots of skilled players.
And I think that I have seen Taneer, maybe not in this map, but just generally speaking
in the last few tournaments earlier this event,
he's definitely been getting back into the rhythm.
So they need to prove that they are still a contender
that can go up there and maybe get a trophy
or maybe at least about to have you a challenge.
And what that looks like for a 10 year
getting back in the rhythm is just that
I feel like they've freed him a little bit.
He's allowed on those lurk plays on his anchor positions
to just make individual plays that aren't set up with the team.
I think when you join spirit,
the fear is Holly stands behind you,
Donk's sitting next to you,
and you're thinking, how do I not disappoint these two guys?
And now I think that Tineer doesn't worry about that.
He allows himself on extremities to push forward by himself
if he thinks that there's a timing.
That was actually what really bolstered his numbers in Rio
where he frequently would just,
if he's the A anchor on Mirage, for example,
I'm gonna push into ramp because I just feel like it.
He did that a lot.
The only team that really punished him
was really Robson Vitality.
So he's been showing that he's kind of imposing himself
once again as an individual
instead of just trying to not mess up,
which is the kind of trap that Zway fell into
when he was on Spirit.
Yeah, I think with Overpass coming up,
it's another map where he has a lot of opportunity,
I feel like.
You know, he's kind of that second aggressor
on the T side next to Bob,
particularly in the connector area.
He's also getting to play the Rotator position
defensively, so this allows him to kind of flex himself
a little bit more and be more of an active force on the team.
But I think the other big thing
you have to think about in this game
is even though Fury had been really, really good
on Overpass in the past,
and even though Spirit don't have that many reps
on this map with this lineup,
The mismatch at A is just so bad.
Like, Doc and Yikindar battling each other out,
both sides, by the way, they both play, you know,
A offensively, defensively.
I think this is a huge problem for Fury,
that I wonder what kind of solution
they're gonna have for it.
Well, what solution can there be?
Well, the flash work and I'd say utility usage
from Fury in taking space was elite last year.
That's why they were the best team on the map.
So I'm not, even though that if I'm saying today,
who am I taking in a 50-50 fight, it's Doc all the way.
It's not even a 50-50 when it's in versus anybody anymore.
I do see that Furia win in the aggregate
where they can use enough to dissuade Donk
from going from those kinds of plays.
I think they have a deeper playbook than Spirit.
You know, I think Spirit understands
kind of the typical defaults that you see on the map.
They have a couple of B set piece executes
that they have at their disposal,
but I do feel like Furia are a little bit better
at the split pressure game.
Like I think that obviously,
Kindar's kind of the tip of the Spirit,
but K-Straw is a pretty solid B playmaker,
a guy that can feel pretty confident
taking short B control,
being a threat there, keeping people's attention.
And they obviously have Maud Boy, who's
a little bit more of an aggressive hopping tool
on the T side that Shiro is just not.
I think Shiro is perfect on this map defensively.
It's like the perfect kind of style game.
You take that initial angle, see what you get,
back up if you need to, take another one.
It's just perfect for Shiro's level of hopping.
But Maud Boy's that battle hopper that can go on those like,
take a peek sandbags into B site, for example,
like a really close quarters battle
and thrive in those moments.
We saw him kick up a notch in that game,
even though his team was struggling.
So that does give them some outs here, for sure.
Yeah, and look, I think we said Fallen calls the best overpass, right?
Out of a lot of the IGLs, I mean, it was his bread and butter for years and years and years.
And obviously, Magix, the new guy on the block, I mean, you know, this is a tough map.
This is a unique value proposition in Counter Strike.
I think it's one where Fury is going to be able to even up the series.
I still have Spirit as the favorites in this, as I did before Map 1 even started,
But I just think that it's a little bit too much catching up
to do.
You know the individuals from Spirit are great,
but I just think that the structure from Fury,
along with the form that they've started to show at Astana,
is enough that they'll find a way to get this one over the line.
And I think that it's going to be off the fact
that they're not going to just let it be Yekindar versus Donk.
They're going to say, no, it's three of us with utility.
Yekindar, sure, is taking that fight,
but it's all of the needs that set up the context that
make it so hard for Donk to have a good fight for himself.
I think it's a fair assessment that you know if you should have a little bit more to work with they have a lot more reps on the
Map they have a lot more history on the map
You know with this five and so yeah, they do come in the front runner
But you got to cash in on that because otherwise, you know, you're gonna kind of look a little bit off
Yeah, simple as that. All right. Well, we'll go to a break
Looks like we've got overpass coming up and we'll see if fury can tie things up in just a few moments
She said she loves you but she can't love me, but I love you
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Overpass, hopefully the difference maker for Furia as they'll be looking to play catch-up
to a team spirit that now find themselves one step away from playoffs here in Astana.
And playoffs in Astana is in fact the last time Spirit defeated Furia one year ago in
the semifinal.
Since then it's been nothing but Furia in the two times they've met ever since.
So in a waymo, this one's about revenge.
A waymo?
Yeah.
Driving themselves to the finals here.
Goddamn clankers.
Taking our jobs.
Alright, well, I mean, off to the start of their dreams.
Maybe that's actually why they got its way.
They had nothing to do with Vitality.
Kicking off all these roster moves to start winning against this team.
Tenir tries to connect one onto the monster push.
Not gonna happen, man. Advantage for the pistol.
Double down on the back of the Yikindar.
And off to the races. This guy took what?
Ten rounds to get his first kill last map?
Maybe I'm exaggerating.
It was a while, it was a while.
Took him three years to get his first kill last map.
But already...
Not MR16 anymore.
With a double.
God, MR16, remember how long games used to be?
Years.
Eons.
Overpass games?
Oh, God.
Overpass Virtus Pro games, MR16?
Who's got time for that?
Ah, versus like complexity or something.
Ah!
God!
Sudoku.
Nice one, Phyria.
In for a T-Round on Overpass.
That's how you want to begin.
Finds it through the smoke, this next kill is INSTANT.
He's like a freaky little jump.
Yeah.
Little praying mantis hop.
A Super Mario.
Triple MP9 for the Force out of Spirit.
I do with the last few rounds of Dust 2.
Just a little bit worried like we don't get the series we were hoping for because they
did start off so slowly and I wouldn't have had any questions about their mental headspace
If we didn't watch that last map, just like start how it did because of the last few days, I just feel like
they instantly
teleported back to where their form was just prime, but
now I am wondering, and I don't really see Spirit doubting themselves, despite them having
some issues, like there's some of their rounds are not that clean, but they're just
way more confident about how they're peaking and trading everything.
So another decent start, actually. This round will not be free for Furia.
Plenty of damage, another MP9 left over here for Spirit.
Spreads wide enough.
This is a dangerous round.
All things considered, with 20 seconds the bomb having to sprint its way down connector
and the low HP on two of the three remaining curia players.
But that's a much needed pick up here for K-Serado to just alleviate some pressure.
10 seconds means it could still get weird.
Xontix misses his deagle shots and with that looks like Furia have walked away with it.
Still... sketchy sketchy.
Hey, Launder, say something insightful.
five seven should be buffed okay no yesterday was delusional day today we're
getting clinically insane
Well, nerve-wracking for Furia to have had that come so close.
That Desert Eagle and Zontix's hands.
If only it was a 5-7.
Honestly, yeah.
He'll probably be behind the sight there with a 5-7.
You'd feel the confidence watching him.
Imagine how he'd feel.
Instead, they get away with it, three alive, and sure, fallen on a tech nine this time,
but he brings tons of grenades to the party.
And by party, I mean long.
Furia, four go, and kind of mid-locking his walk.
This one up three numbers with Bonk.
Towards long bathrooms, and Yuri buffs his chest a little bit down in connector, trying
to figure out what spirit are up to, which is very clearly to us, this heavy beast stack
in anticipation of what is...
Nobody.
Fury, I completely avoid this one.
I've got a lot of great things to say about Fury on Overpass.
I'm just kind of hesitant to like,
get into it because I'm not sure if we're gonna see him today.
That's the only thing that...
Okay.
Like, it's on the scene, too.
But he can't really stop this by himself.
Oh, my goodness, right? Yeah.
No, he will not.
The 1-Tek 9 on the field is the tip of the spear.
going wide into the pistol spam it's in here that is also going to drop empty
handed not a single kill here for team spirit and fury over the most perfect of
T side starts 3-0 perfect is the word that we're looking for absolutely he
packed that whole lion king I mean prof literally packs a pair of shoes in the
In the shoebox, okay, listen a bunch of that kind of space man all of us bring a couple pairs of shoes
You know especially the analysts pass they've got a work full-body on camera totally makes sense
You know fashionistas Prof brings his shoes to events in shoeboxes folks
What are those freaks at HLTV up to I?
Don't want to know first gun round here for spirit
And Furia clearly have their targets set to the B bomb site, Zontik's burning.
Still three quarters his health and bolstered by teammates all around him.
It's Kcerato on the hunt and he finds it.
Magix is naved, the only successful bit of Spirit's hold so far.
And Donka verging out through the Heaven Smoke will catch Furia off guard.
And inevitability is this bomb plant coming down as the smokes begin to fade.
A reload given over, a Spirit buy time for a second.
Looking to throw this boost over, but Keisarado so tightly tucked down beneath it, he won't be found out.
Oh, fallen! Instead, the victim of the play. Man advantage off of that one here for Spirit.
The retake is now underway with no kit on these players.
Gotta get going. Bomb hits 20 seconds.
Shiro's off to be found.
Keisarado with the Glock of all things is able to finish off that clutch.
I'm furious. Squalor's T-side keeps on rolling.
Yeah, that's uncomfortable for Shiro. Two chances at the off-shot.
The first one was harder, but the second one looked like a gimme, and so Casterado will
seal up that clutch, but Donk put in a lot of effort to give his chances to his team
to actually scale up and win that.
And we're telling jokes now.
Observer is a bunch of funny guys.
look in anyways.
Eat that!
He jumped right into it.
I'm gonna go out on the way here.
I'm gonna say Furio wins over Pass.
They just feel it.
They look a lot better.
I mean, that's the thing that's so uncomfortable to talk about.
To start hyping up a team or talking about what they're great at and then it's all mental
mental issues that are stopping them from like playing to their level like they did back on dust to
But suddenly that can all change just really really slow start for them, but that last t attack was excellent
All this should make Zontik's uncomfortable once the smoke fades, in case Serato's gonna
wait for the smoke fade to tell his teammate to throw it.
Here it comes.
Zontik's like not even able to shoot his guy, he's just getting run over, getting his sight
taken.
Another smoke at least put in place, in case Serato's having his stomach the frag grenade
But they can still just kind of hit the pause button at 35 seconds
We've got a lot of bodies down here. They don't like the look of this bombsite. Do they?
But a daunting task to pull away from it at 30 seconds with no info on a only at this point to furious players start to walk
Through bathrooms, they'll be lucky to find no resistance up there starting to hear that scramble
They know that they are ahead of this timing and so the departure of fury a through connector was actually the perfect move
If, and that's only if, Spirit had some bathrooms control, things could have gotten weird, but they overstack B,
Fury's alarm bells were ringing and they had a reason to be concerned. Make it a 5-0 start.
It's pretty fine for Spirit on a round like this to just not die, and I'm sure Fury are gonna try to test them, you know, gently here just to see if they can pick some of these players off,
because it will affect the buy for next round, but if not, Spirit's money doesn't move in a bad way.
They can even keep the MP9s and stuff if they want to.
There are three of them, though.
Well, here they are. Furia playing perfect.
It's been a whole 24 hours since we could say that last.
You can start to see glimpses of it towards the end of Dust 2, like you said when I asked
if you had expectations here.
But it was just such a slow start.
It was such an uninspired start in a lot of ways.
Uninspired in comparison to what we've seen so far in Astana when it comes to Furia.
Yeah, no, it really got me down because I was expecting this game to sort of live up
to the expectations and especially for Fury here in Astana, something special for them where,
maybe they don't win the event, right? It's not really about that, but that they don't go out
just playing badly because we've already seen what they could do.
I think we're all kind of sick of seeing Fury be a shell of themselves. We know what they were
able to do in 2025. Nothing should have really changed. Oh, it's not like they need a roster move
or anything like that it's just sometimes that just yeah I agree definitely
not any of these players should definitely not retire yeah furia just
keep it like it is right now forever oh hey there you can do our walks wide
finds damage on dog if you're is there to clean up his case or auto case two
players locked towards monster a site yet again prime for the taking you know
what that is though that's actually the furial walk that's what art used to do
with this team. Coming up through bathrooms, then a lot of people copied him. How much
success you could see from it. But that's Donk with a shadow advantage, and yet Chiro
still peering over his shoulder to see out wide, and I think maybe that's because Donk
was going to go in for the second swing. But they had a real big gap right there. They
didn't keep the front of bathroom smoked. Obviously not the time to do that. Furious
6 and 0.
Nice to know they've still got it in them.
Worrying to see spirit kind of fall apart as much as they are map to map, but the desk kind of had that conversation about
the map to map basis that is counter-strikes reality.
And we're watching it unfold
in real time.
It's almost like the desk knows what it's talking about.
But I gotta say it's a good desk. I don't want to get ahead of myself. I hate to admit it, but it is a good desk.
I don't care what everybody says, Maui Snake. I think you're great.
I don't care what everyone says about you, Mel.
Oh, yeah. I messed it up. Now I just feel like an ass.
Stupid ass.
He knows what I mean.
Richard will smooth it all out for us.
What name do you give K. Serrano when he's not playing well?
What's his, like, meme name? I haven't seen that one.
It's because he's always playing well.
K. Serrasso. I don't know.
I'm not clever enough to come up with something right now.
Come on then, team spirit, it's CT side overpass.
You're going to win a round at least one round by accident.
Usually that's the case, but I feel like Furia have this one in total control for the moment.
You got to push off the bombsite for spirit, just trying to get frisky, looking to cement
themselves at least to man advantage.
They have had one successful opening duel in the first six rounds of this map, and they
have one palty kill for the entire team combined thanks to Donk.
Those are some pretty damning stats, six rounds into the half.
A blank shot as Fallen jumps over the line, Shiro held up into connector, and he keeps
playing that risky business, kind of forces the AWP back out of the bomb site and Fury
going through the motions of flustering this B defense, but they actually remove a player, throwing Shiro at least back somewhat.
Well, once again, you've got two players locked into the right side of Monster.
Yeah, he has an HE grenade that could definitely do a lot of damage.
I don't know if he's gonna line it up for the...
...would wall jump up or...
But Manfuria, they're taking a lot of time to get this B attack together.
If this is gonna be some kind of fake, it's yeah, well needs to happen now
But also like is it gonna really be that convincing without a player?
Here we go. Nice.
It's a near mine's fallen in case Arado trying to be adamant about taking this monster
You can't get this bomb back in time. It's over. Yeah, this round's kind of buns, huh?
They've got all the money in the world so a three player save isn't the end of this but
That flash
Trying to get that kill after time, all do I survive. Spirit get around!
Well you said they'd win one accidentally, at the very least.
This one's just by not kind of over cooking the situation they played in their site.
They kept it 5v5 all the way into the dying moments of the round and, uh, well, ultimately, it's Fury.
It didn't pick a site. They didn't actually set up for anything and that fake was way too late over on me.
This is a good moment for Spirit to push off of the B bomb site.
First time we've really seen anybody in short water.
Lo and behold, a little pressure on Fallen in connector, man.
Damage on top of it, and that's them a round win.
We saw Furia come into Dust 2 a little bit too late.
Maybe the same happens here for Spirit.
You've already given an immense amount of rounds over to Furia.
Another short push.
This time, T'Nier kind of set off sailing on his own.
He will be the opening death for Spirit to have to stomach.
This makes it very difficult for Spirit because they kept numbers high later, now their wincon is out.
They need to find a new way to pull this off, and it's gotta be by finding the right aggressive move, but
They haven't had such a success doing that
You know with a correct stack that's definitely possible as well. It's not like if you're our scouting every time they hit something
Okay, Serato wants that entry, but now working with 20 health, Uriel surpasses him on the
pushing to B, both of them now low.
That could be a clean up for Magix, Doc is out on the field and down into the water here.
Man disadvantage still to have to handle 20 seconds on this clock and Fallen about to
find Doc ready to duel.
Ah, nice distraction, offers up the Mollidoy blind side.
Nice shot.
Shiro's got the recovery under way as he drops down pistol in hand.
And it's gonna be a late arrival here for Yikindar trying to keep himself quietly approaching out from heaven.
Fallen has just gone silent into the smoke, giving more and more time for Yikindar.
Shiro!
Oh, you get the kill?
Blindsided!
Oh, you messed it up!
Oh, no!
No way.
That is an incredible shot from Shiro, but a massive blunder from Yikindar.
used.
Ahem.
Get on the terrorist's wing.
That's awkward.
Yeah.
We'll see if it matters.
Fair.
It is only a second CT route.
She survived.
Shoot, shoot, USP.
Oh my goodness, I mean, it is quite a shot, but...
Fallen ends up looking a little goofy on that one, sitting in the smoke fade.
And Xautix is just going to die every round.
Okay, there's his first kill.
Shot from all the doi.
Tries to go through him.
Try to go through the monster smoke with an AWP.
They flashed for him, but it was too shallow for Xautix's peak.
And so, led to his own demise, the kinder getting the headshot on Shiro.
They find that boost, but it's going to be Zontics leaving a little to be desired on that one.
He had the opening kill of this round, gives man advantage back over to Furia despite Ykendar barely being alive, but Donk is so far removed from this B site.
It's still going to take time for Furia to get into position. Bomb is over towards the club.
But that smoke will actually open the door for Fallen to go and grab it.
He was worried about a monster challenge. This gives him the chance to scoop it up.
It's quite a late smoke to be having at this moment.
I don't think going all up short is exactly what they want to try to do.
Nobody in headshot right now to capitalize for this boost.
They want to have bow.
Alright.
There's been a lot of double up positionings on this monster wall.
You think they may predict it, but you kind of clip from a distance.
That's that flash out.
teammate eats it.
K-serato with a team kill.
Drops the bomb.
And it's Yuri to have to trade back.
Now him versus Donk.
Seven seconds for the plant here.
Think about heaven.
Donk is not going to run it down.
Yuri's gun back in hand.
Oh, he goes for the smoke.
Just enough time.
Donk spams through 50 health for Yuri, but he gets it what over top the smoke
Donk gets clipped in Yuri clutches and his clutches in this year rock solid that could have been an HE that
Donk had and and instead he tried to
Shoot his way through the problem and they'd get a little bit of damage off, but it's the clutch that matters
That's honestly incredible that theory was for all up short team kill on the way in
The double monster setup only comes up with a kill each
But the money's still okay somehow here for spirit
I mean he's got to be work shirt. They missed this timing big time surely he's gonna move off this. Yeah
Oof.
No kits on this round for Team Spirit.
Yuri is now 27 and 7 in his 1vx clutch situations in 2026.
really yeah that was his 27th successful clutch in 2026 that's crazy right that's
awesome yeah love that I kind of made that offhand comment without the numbers
but just to reiterate like if he finds himself in the clutch he's winning buddy
sticks the landing and he's got the entries as well apparently him over
magics in the bathrooms.
Dog blinded again and again, and so this
steamroll of the Furia push towards that A site
keeps on rolling short to near.
We'll hold one back at B.
But that is going to be fallen to plant
uncontested, and a potential eighth round for
Furia as they will gun still for double
digits on the attack.
They're in full control. I mean, when they
lose it's almost because over past
Eastside's so difficult. They're like,
they can't pilot one home because oh,
It's like the position is really uncomfortable, or they've just tried everything in its work so far.
So what's the, you know, brand new thing that they can do?
But, for the most part, every bit of their map control and they're just covering all their bases,
they really know how to approach so well with Yuri inside of blue.
That's the strong performance that you wanted to see out of Furia.
And I'm showing off how good of a team they are.
Yes, yes.
And that the last two days weren't a fluke, like we didn't just see them beat up some
lesser opposition.
Like, it was there in Furia's play for the last couple days.
Oh, you lost a spirit on Dust2.
You wouldn't be the first.
So how many clutches this case were out of?
year. I'll take a look. That's such a high number. I mean, look at like overall stats for a year,
and some people don't even pull off 27. Yeah. And we're not even halfway through.
Caseurado is 32 and 8 in clutches in 2026. Really? Are these numbers real? I mean,
I mean, I'm looking at, I'm looking at the clutch page of HLTV, K Serato, 2026 time filter.
That is volume.
It doesn't feel real.
Yeah, it might not be.
But could I be wrong about both?
Yes.
Let me check my method on someone who doesn't have clutches.
Mola-Doy does and gets openers too. Everyone on this team does it all.
You really get to pick up round 11 as well.
So good in all parts of the round.
I
Fallen is 18 and 9 in clutches in 2026 I keep it that could be wrong. He could be at 30
I know what I'll do I'll go look at Robs
It's like so you're telling me K serato in your eight one sixty rounds this year
That's a whole damn event
And yet how many maps is that and yet not one event
Well rops at the kind of was that Rotterdam yeah, oh, yeah, no clutches until it was Dallas
Yeah, it was Dallas. No, yeah, like rops is only 30 and 14. Yeah, but rops has been last clutch
You know it's been last clutch in the last couple years. That's just the thing
burning shiro out nobody there to punish it so it's just damage it's near just
could deliver a moment they have so little time it's got a teammate to help
mom now crossing there it is he's out the open six seconds gets the double
another one down to the clock and fury of pay the piper case Serato dot wanting
to die after time will die before it expires and spirit will give us another
her hope for this T side turnaround but they don't look too inspired by a third
CT round win. You gotta play a whole T side to come back I mean huh that's not
fun. Round to round though. Let me do this 4v5. 3v5 actually because of that claw.
The one smoke they needed was for that path, not the site.
the
dog should make quick work at the connector play those two players give a
bomb over
We've tagged him.
That's sure it didn't.
You cana'r is gonna turn the corner here and find a free shot, which puts Donk in a pretty
awkward spot.
He's sitting on top of the bomb, and actually, maybe he's quite happy.
He's got support behind him.
He can fight up the stairs.
40 seconds.
Tenir's got this top covered, but Donk's also just going to keep his eyes on it just
in case.
and not even needed to make sure he gives cover to doc who has sat on top of this
bomb ever since he dropped it
fired a fluster fury up but case rotto ahead of that well enough here's the
flight from the fb nine
get the block case rotto turns and not enough health to pull that off so spirit
with another one for the road
and it's up being a four
round ct side here on overpass
and mohan if i may revert back to the clutch conversation yeah found the
error in my method. On HLTV, they track your lost 1v1s. They don't keep track of the lost
1v2s. So when I said they are 36 and 7 in clutches, it's not counting the lost 1v2s.
He didn't win 36 1v1s or what? No, no, he has 36 clutches successful. That part's still
true. But it's the amount of lost clutches that was incorrect. Which is how many? There's
There's no way to keep track of it.
They don't track the 1v2s, 1v3s, or 1v4s you lose.
Still a lot of clutches.
Still a lot of clutches.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The number is still really high.
That's not all though.
Put the asterisk on it.
If we counted every lost 1v2, things would be different.
Oh, you can't keep track of lost 1v2s.
You're not supposed to win those.
I know, right?
Exactly.
Exactly.
Is four CT rounds enough?
No.
Only if it's a complete disaster.
Yeah.
If you're just watching Counter-Strike for the first time, Firiya, they basically cannot
lose this game.
Wow, that was a curse.
That was a huge curse.
At least this map.
Yeah.
Yeah, I remember earlier this year saying that the Mongols were going to lose a map
to overpass, overpass the spirit, only for them to make the biggest comeback of almost
their history, so stay tuned, just in case.
Mirage awaits, if Urea can extend play.
Molodoy first blood in the second pistol.
Just won't die, gets the third.
It was Urea to actually pick up that first kill for the long push instead, but Molodoy
gets the harder of the two kills.
Oh no, he had a 3k in the end.
Yuri sprinkling one in the middle of all that, so Team Spirit, if you do have it in you, it's not by way of the pistol round victory.
He was like, I don't care what's going on above me, I'm gonna take these peeks nice and carefully, one bullet at a time.
Another headshot. Instant execution.
And they're ready to send this one home.
Magic's is 12 and 3 in 1v1s this year.
Who's losing the clutches then?
That's what I'm asking.
I mean, maybe you should stop looking at the top five teams.
Oh, that would...
Yeah, okay, that's fair.
Maybe that's my problem.
Maybe that's what makes them the top five teams.
You're looking at the billionaires.
Who's poor then?
Yeah, that makes sense.
It's a forced situation for spirit, waiting for an aggression is donk.
What's he looking at?
Waiting for the long push that's just not coming his way.
No better
Who's poor that's crazy
Spirit if they don't win this round that's who
Don't do it you can dark don't do it
Now, it's the time.
You'd think he gets that kill every day of the week, but now there's good flashes to
overwhelm Molledoy.
Oh, wait a second.
Right on the money were those flashbangs.
There's only a small mistake, but now it's become chascated.
Small mistakes.
The fact that the MP9 doesn't get the kill from top mid and in fact Molledoy eats that
Flashbang and then some.
You got emports here. There's a lot to lose if you're Furia.
Yeah, you have to be worried about actually them taking them.
Did Yuri? No, okay.
Yuri got one.
Yeah.
Does he has absolutely no ammo, does he?
It actually showed that his cartridge was red.
His cartridge? That's a new one.
Is that what it's not called?
Magazine.
You know what's so weird in my head?
Yeah.
I knew it was called magazine, but for some reason an empty mag was a cartridge.
Pfft!
Hahahaha!
Uhhh...
The only cartridge I can think of is like, Printers?
What about Gameboys?
Oh, okay. A game cartridge?
Ah, that's true.
You're showing your age though, Mohan.
Yeah, I mean, they don't-
People don't really use cartridges as much anymore.
Ink cartridges.
It's not the only one.
No, it's all lasers now.
Ah! Goddammit.
Well, that's a disgruntling round to lose if you're Furia because it was sitting in the palm of your hand
You had zontics blindsided by an MP9 you mow them down for 80 damage and he tech 9 wrecks your head off I
Said spirit would be poor if they were to lose that round
So I'll avoid the loss coming to this one with three rifles two SMGs and put Furia on notice
It does does make it a little bit tense for Furia. Just only a little not getting the conversion which was supposed to be free
I'm gonna get entry players on the other side just don't drop chances like that
Because I'm gonna start to get worried about about furia
Well, what do I give him a chance to retreat as it's near goes on the chase. They were there quickly enough
I don't know, he couldn't have fallen back too far.
He tries it, but the fact that he waited and then tried afterwards means he's just a sitting duck on the fallback.
Donk and Shiro are gonna try to pressure site.
That's a Yikindar-Digel over towards Optimus.
CTs are a little bit crowded right now.
K-Sirado takes up a position behind this Digel.
Bank pushed dead.
K-Sirado gets to reveal himself.
But they seem worried about this. At least those first two did.
Good on Donk to get their trade is now Fallen's MP9's all that remains.
bomb plant on the other side for Bank and that is going to be Spirit to make quick work of Furia's A site set up.
That was looking pretty good there for Spirit and that's Molledoi getting a first kill, getting out, but
it wasn't going to be easy for him with the way that they had spread outside of bathrooms. There was no timing to simply leave.
He just had to pick one moment where they would maybe think about switching to Grenades that they weren't watching his fall back.
Spirit being able to make this second half look competitive. When it's the T side, after the first half, they just look so, you know, beyond El Clasque.
I mean, that would be a show of resilience, which is, you know, I feel like something that, like Spirit of a lot of teams, that's something that we want to see with their new lineup.
up. Sometimes they really feel like a glass cannon, but it can just be such a deadly pack
on the attack. It's true, but it's like if you, you know, it's like as long as you, you
know, have that, that you kinder moment, if you don't fail, right, it's a little moment.
Of course, of course, dog is gonna kill you every round, every day of the year.
Yeah. Zontec has three kills, and that 90-degree Tech 9 headshot flake was one of the three.
Yeah, so it's true. Their punished game will be A1. Furia's team play, I'm sure, will be A1, but if their aim's just a little shaky right now, they will absolutely suffer.
A lot of bodies on this site for Furia.
Oof, well-timed flash. M4s should always prevail in this situation, but that MP9 is looking to make things different.
Down it goes. No, actually, fallen last to back.
It's a good amount of damage on three of the survivors here, but it's a triple kill for Magix.
As Team Spirit start to close in on the nine rounds Furia have, most of which, from that first half.
And this is the moment right here, out of the losing the conversion.
Now we're in a buy save, but it's the first full goodbye here for Furia.
And they could just win out from this round on.
Could.
Definitely. I mean, this one's to save the economy.
Just so much extra goes into this moment because they come in with no kits, no head armor.
Not everybody has grenades.
It's actually critical that if they lose they save.
That's just the one thing I'll say.
Lost by a full elimination here, for Furio would be a total disaster.
Change the odds of this match drastically.
A little posturing going on through Monster.
Ooh, wow, he actually had the chance to adjust and flick back.
It's awkward for a second, but Shiro doesn't even get a shot off,
and Molotov has got him done for in the head-to-head between the oppers.
Sontex takes a peek towards B.
Operating on his own right now, versus three players on this.
Blindside's the one throwing a nade.
Are they not watching that, Copper?
What a double!
Oh, they have three people there. No one was watching short correctly.
Back to the 3 vs 3 magics on that AWP now trying to work his way up long.
Ya Kindar commits into the smoke of bathrooms and Molodoy peels Tenir off of it.
This push into the bathrooms meant to catch Donk off guard instead gives him a chance
to just go back into the 2v2.
Fallen has one magazine of M4 running up from lower site.
15 seconds to this clock.
Molodoy two kills deep already on the round.
He knew the advantage he had running into that, of course it was a fake plant, maybe it gets sketchy, but there's not even really a good swing after that, so the checkmate moved there for him. Fall in, they couldn't get past that up in time, and Molo-Doy, that's a big round.
It kind of saves it, your kinder doesn't get his kill again when he's trying to hold in front of bathrooms, gets to pick off on long.
Very hard shot, single scoped at that distance.
Which hero looking at you, which I don't know what Shiro saw.
But I'm surprised he didn't get a shot off.
Two...
Two ops.
All right.
Bottle upside the head for you, Kinder.
Just as quickly as he throws himself in connector, he pulls himself back.
Can the two ops on A catch off spirit?
You know, I don't even see a disadvantage to two ops on A. Oh, bad pun, though, I'm
good. It kind of sets up your kinder nicely on the inside of bathrooms for the next few
seconds they know that he can't be there. What truly is the downside to two ops on A?
Like it's just so much room for both of you to have so many great shots. Yeah. Like you
You can't exact from back here, you have to have a lot of space to get that happening, so...
Kind of love this.
Especially if you put one in Connector to start.
Nice one.
Easy does it for the 5v3.
Now they're confused.
They see both names in the kill feed.
Still long control for Spirit.
And I love the move from you, Kendra. You really can play free right now.
You got your long, totally covered.
And time is gone.
it looks like there's candy in those things always wonder it's tempting but
it's probably like you take a bite you could die come oh yeah 100% yep it's
like ice packs, right, right, right, tempting.
It's felt like fury, we're going to win this second map and
extend the series since they had that domination of a T side
spirit make it interesting momentarily. But it's just really
that forced by win that's extended play somewhat.
furious double up evolves the defense. Now being two rounds
from victory and they're gonna hang on to that double up and
works so perfectly in the last round and that's before you kinder even had to
reveal himself down in connector with any kind of opening shot
yeah I guess the main downside might be like rotating in to be for a retake or
something like that but over on a I'd love to see this just continue
Oh, hello. Oh, you do not want to be here now.
Oh, he's just dead. Whoops.
What happened there? Yeah, really rode off that risk and seeing as he was the only A-player,
I think Molladoi's got nobody to blame but himself.
I mean, this is not a great position for you, Kinder. They did see the two ops last time.
He's pushing out to unlock some space for his teammates here inside the site.
Yori can get a quick one, but instead allows for that challenge into the site now.
Kasurado trying to work alongside him, and now you, Kinder's dead. That's no off on the play now for Furia.
Kasurado and Yori were to kill a piece, but the rifles churn through for Team Spirit,
and they will find a solution to the double op.
and that's just catching one of them entirely unprepared
for what was three players walking up long.
Molledoy felt like he had never considered that option.
It was kind of a rare mistake from Molledoy.
I don't know.
I don't know why he just didn't,
he wasn't scared of that timing at all.
And it's kind of one mistake from him in this game.
So, hey, they've got a pretty good lead.
The two ops is an atypical play.
But it was fun to watch.
I'm not sure if they'll do that again.
Well, they won't even have the ability to buy one op, actually, this next round.
Unless Kcerado wants to raw-dog it.
Glass cannon.
Lurker op.
Oh!
He's done it!
it really huh wait okay I mean how were they gonna figure that out what a tease
no half armor do it again but it's insane if he does it again are you buying
it off and not having half armor no it's tempting though because Molladoy
actually would be worth it yeah yeah yeah if someone just dropped him even a
pistol I think I would actually do that play so
Real chance here for spirit to make things interesting.
Just no matter how you shuffle it, they still spend all their money.
This kind of comes down to which weakness would they like?
One player with basically no gun or no ops.
I'm almost thinking that Molodoy op is worth it, man.
Instead of getting Molodoy Fommus.
3 players at B for Furia out of the gate and fall into one of them on barrels.
He's got Donk to try to duel with him.
OOOH!
What is that?
That's gross.
Everyone's dead!
Oh, it's gross.
A 2K back on CT from Donk on that entry and the round is gone.
I mean, the time between locking on between those heads.
What?
Are we talking about right now?
We're talking about arguably the best rifler to ever exist in Counter-Strike.
This round started 10 seconds ago.
Moe, he might just be the best.
Oh!
Chiro locks it in, four players up, spirit!
They don't just beat Furia in this round, they destroy them!
Watch this!
The time between no headshots!
Woo!
Commits to the mow down unprepared for that kind of a timing and you know Fallen who was having his head tucked in the barrels
Did kind of allow that walkout. He had that back on boosts. He went to spot didn't see anything
Well throw his maid in that moment. They walked out. That's off with a timeout
Fury had calculated recalculated decided no off with an op no op back and forth and it is all just swept under the rug like it's nothing
Team spirit within two rounds of tying this a
A damn near non-existent CT side out of Spirit, and yet this game remains winnable.
Again, it was like the full eliminations also makes it hurt extra.
Right now, Spirit are not going into the stack. B is the right call. They're sitting back and waiting.
They can sense the CTs are coming and they're correct about it.
Waiting for more to emerge, falling the next to run down to his death.
That'll be the bomb moving into B, but not even really needed.
Just poor ol' Moledoy, USP, as Team Spirit inch their way ever closer to a tied game.
Double digits after a four-round CT side, after losing the CT pistol to Furia.
But the force that broke through and now their second chance it can second of round wins off of that one
Don't can just rub in his eyes like it's all chill
The money's still not good. Yeah, the money. Oh, it's horrible. Oh my gosh. Yep economy is gonna cause real problems here for
Furia, I mean they went through out this win
They could still get back to their guns soon enough to finish off overpass
before we have to go to overtime, but Team Spirit are truly knocking on the door of a 2-0 now.
They went from two ops to this.
And to be fair, Team Spirit did not try to do too many of those B-plays.
That might have been the first time that they full committed to a contact explode,
and it's right when Fury are expecting them to go for short control, and something slow.
The perfect call for the situation.
Last time they also let Xontix walk into B for free by not watching this correctly, despite
having so many players.
And now actually they could call off that flash.
There's definitely three towards B. This can speed up Spirit in the right direction.
them in the open, find a bit of damage, but Don gets his 20th kill beyond your kindar,
and mows down Molledoy with the wallbang, allowing it to near off the leash to go wide
with one.
One of the two FB9s, we'll find, oof, almost a second kill.
No impact grenades left to finish these guys off.
Could have opened up a possibly...
Incredibly, I think this game gets tied.
Absolutely incredible that that's possible.
the T side we saw from Furia, but just a couple of very, what seemed like minor mistakes.
It was Ykin there with the MP9 pushing upstairs and missing his spray.
It was letting Xantik's walk into B and get two players while he was lurking just to
get some information.
Then that 2K sprayed out the smallest gaps that Spirit punished them on.
Little bit of a shaky spray here and there.
The rounds that Burial 1 were off the back of a lot of Moledoy, Op shots.
Uh, Uri Klutch.
And winning the second pistol, that should have been where it finished, to be honest. I mean...
Converting the second pistol for the 3-0 start would be the difference between a victory right now.
Yeah.
You know, we can play one if all we want.
They ripped away from them, obviously.
Money, cash, money, got sucked up, and that's...
You can just have it a better game, but it's not a good game compared to what we've seen from him so far.
Getting these smokes burned out of the B players early.
I think Farid know in the back of their mind, Farid is going to be very tempted to do that.
You know, the strat that was so easy and worked really well, it could be the call of
void to prep yourself to go for a monster hit. It's the fact that they're abandoning it, I actually
really appreciate it. Right now, Furia don't have anyone pushed up bathrooms. Spirit have short
water control. I think this is a brave move to make if you're magic and it's probably correct.
The only thing about it is that Molodo is back on an op. He's sitting on the A site.
We've seen Molotoy caught off by the amount of distance that Team Spirit have.
They let him go up short.
That are long, excuse me.
He's got to see him.
But he can't get back on that line.
There's an op there.
Bomb included.
The Kindars push beyond the half wall.
Tenir tucked in.
They double back.
Oh.
Oof.
Almost meant to recover.
Tenir, the second victim here of Yaginder.
Doing good work with the AK.
No longer shackled by that secondary op and with 15 seconds left over,
Finally, once Furia are back on guns, forfeit a 12th round.
Magics late to the B bomb site, and Yuri's rotation downwards already here to stop it.
There it is. It took them time to get back onto the guns, but once they've got that full buy in, Furia fine 12.
I mean, it's your kinder, just like we talked about, man. That's the moment that we've been waiting for all match.
match. He takes out Donk as a second player. Spray initially. Looks like he might even give that up to T'Nir.
But he's lucky T'Nir is not ready for anybody to be pushing past his teammate outside of the bathrooms.
Sorry, Donk. And then T'Nir comes in and gets killed too.
That's just what your kinder can do, but just has been struggling with a little bit.
Moledoy leans further forward in this opening setup.
Takes a look towards Long and will clip magics immediately.
5v4 for Furia looks good.
Long trickles out.
Long looking for Moledoy and Moledoy can watch this.
Donk finds it.
Eight bullets all he needs.
That's an A site under question is right now Furia.
players stuck inside of connector and with long already being under wraps for spirit it's going
to be so daunting to take this look over top of the connector stairs but as Yuri takes a quick
glimpse he'll see nothing walking out. It makes some noise here I mean doubling up here means
there are quick rotations to both sides of the map but they don't actually know where spirit are
leaning. Sontex here's the movement back through short he's going to be very ready for Yuri on
on the fallback. Although there is still a connector down inside connector.
So here moves forward. Blindsided by Fallen inside of a site bomb, still yet to move
at 40 seconds. Weird round. And Furia could still just find themselves limping over the
finish line. Shiro opens up, but still down in the depths of Khan resides Yaqindar. Finally
had his moment around to go and could catch them both off guard yet again. Donk is here,
We're going to smoke it off as it is a possibility, and a good push by Zontics off of the site
to come and clear this.
Round 24 looks to have Spirit's name stamped across it, unless K Serato's clutch stats
look even better after this one.
Wow, this round was riddled.
I mean, there's so much pressure you can already see it.
The amount of small mistakes that happened in the micro, the shot that Shiro gets back
to near overextending into the site after Zontics already gets his lurk over into B.
The main thing that went well was approaching the stairs, but round 24, Cacerado's gonna
try it, he dies, and Spirit bring this one to overtime.
And it's just a whole new game now.
I mean, it is another chance for Furia to show us a better CT side, but the amount of rounds
and good rounds won from Furia is very disappointing considering how incredible that first half
was, and why the whole time it was sort of hesitant to even really, you know, talk about
them as this team with all their potential showing again.
So I was getting really excited for a second, and I'm worried again.
So long as here's the Stomps inside site, they've allowed him to walk up like this before,
And again, they have their guard down.
They are lucky that he doesn't hit that kill.
Like, how can that timing be open ever again?
This is Furia on Overpass with gaps in a CT side of all places.
Wow.
Boost disassembled.
Nate goes over for them.
That'll have to be Tineer stomaching the damage.
Hit the minute mark and Uri looks to add himself to this B defense.
It would have been a bridge too far.
One more walkout like that and it would have been full tilt city.
Kcerato setting up the smoke to defend a B-pop.
They are throwing some flashes right now, careful with these timings.
It's a good flash to interrupt, ballin' ready for the fights, good trade back from Magix,
Uri's got him from Barrels, and Kasur Otto here.
Yet again these two tethered.
Taneer tried to twerk his way upwards, but Shiro trying to force it out, along the side
of Smoke, the lineup was right there for the taking, but Molo-Doy's off.
You can see it in his face.
He knows that one comes close, that Spray could have just come through.
Instead, it's Fury at a strike first at OT.
did not get killed when the short walkup took place. When it came to the B-pop later, it's just
better handled here for Furia. Excellently done from Caster Auto, slick rifling from that headshot
position and a one-round lead. I'm probably thinking this one should be over, but now that
we're in overtime, there's actually a little bit more to prove from the CT side.
It's a big press past Fountain here.
Yakindar plays behind a smoke, making Spirits A approach uncomfortable, but this is a Spirit
who I think still have an affinity to just try to slam into the B site, and with this
forward Fountain setup, it does just leave two players inside B.
It's key to watch that smoke timing, because that's a deep one, and they're not actually
in front of it right now, so no replenish it, Zontix gets taken out.
Nice forward move by Kcerado.
Just sat here waiting the smoke out as now we get this pushed by Ykindar into the T spawn.
Defense better get ready to stop it, piss Volotov on short.
Nice.
Fallen's gonna be just as swift as Kcerado in terms of taking heads off.
Donk wants to get in on this, but Flash is fighting their marks, the Kindar's flank flexed,
and I mean totally surrounded inside of the monster pipe.
Monster turns into a graveyard for Spirit, and Overtime's got nothing but Fury aroundwinds coming through.
Yeah, just the two. Again, though, they kinda wanna make it a clean sweep here, just in case.
Shiro's down to a Tech 9 to defend. Finally, Fury is starting to open up a bit.
And it's a nice antidote to their problem to have Quesarada out on short.
It is spirit trying to use, just add repetition to what has worked with Zontics.
It's funny because Zontics had a bad start, he's only got nine kills in total, but
so much impact off of the amount of space he was able to take early to ward short,
walking into a site twice on the T side to get rounds both times.
And it almost happened a third time, but Cacerado just simply didn't die on that peak.
Spirit aren't trying to shroud this movement inside Connector.
Molodoy on high alert and very prepared for the peek.
What the-
That's the re-peak, I love it.
of the headshot on magics he'll go it is a flawless CT side being queued up by
fury at the moment and still with a member towards long in the form of your
kinder retaining that confidence that makes him stand out honestly he's
talked about this as well he's always gonna be confident and
stallifery peeking had to be refined a little bit but look at an example of
when he can get away with it.
Fast step from Donk, Ykinder is going to be listening in.
The play just gets stronger, Ykinder in the spot if no one's wrapping around him.
Like, the odds he gets clear goes to basically zero now.
He actually decides to get active and could definitely catch a player on the commitment,
But we'll see if Molledoy is just going to be the one guy needed.
He falls back into the dumpster cover, goes through the bank reposition, lets Yakindar instead start to get active.
And that's going to confirm all in towards the A site in a final Hail Mary moment.
Perfect for Yakindar.
Doc turned back around and it's a triple to close things out.
A flawless overtime CT side from Fury up as they finally kind of get their legs beneath them on the defense.
That's the best way to put it.
Everything we know that they could do here four CT rounds and regulation three of them in overtime. Yeah, like come on now
Wasn't looking right for a second and the gaps were just too big for the team that have all their T's crossed and their eyes dotted
When it comes to their overpass play
Communication might be slightly off and there were some small gaps like
I'm gonna walk at him once they're happy to fall and miss this because he didn't check it and then
You know there was a window of time. It was very small, but that's counter strike
All good who put that there
It's overtime 2 or Mirage.
Smoke down but they're in front of it with numbers.
Xantix eats a flash just trying to stay alive here and actually he's going to have to pop
up.
Nothing to be had as he kindar taps into the entry potential.
Okay, Serrano moves forward and beyond regulation it comes up all Furia
Damn near as many CT round wins in overtime as they had in regulation how to explain it
I don't know but at least Furia just happy to get their legs back underneath them and
Potentially extend this 2-0 match to a third map in the form of Mirage
Don't taking a look at the site Furia just gonna sink into their post plant positions
Allow for what's left of spirit to announce itself on the approach.
At the end of this one, a map wins, a map wins.
It's all about moving onto that mirage and ending the series there instead.
Shiro not gonna happen the way he's surrounded.
Furia eventually get there.
It's an oddity in the way that it took their CT side so long to come alive.
But at least overtime is a way to reassure us that Furia improved by this game going on.
on. It may feel like a gift for the fans that we get to watch a third map between these
two teams, but for Furia that was a gift indeed. I'ma just say it guys, you know, if that's
old past, that's Furia's own map. They lose that if somethings consumed.
Yeah, like actually. I mean, Furia ended the game the way that
they started the game by abusing Xantex. Yeah, that's kind of a story for me of that
T side but that CT side was really concerning for Furia. I mean I thought that they were gonna wipe
their hands at this map 8-4 up. That's a gift going into this.
You're going into CT?
I know but then they just couldn't find all the answers. Yetkendar, I mean if you're talking
about Zontics losing his hands I feel like Yetkendar, same thing happened to him.
Yeah.
Houdini all out.
Got it back at the end though, that's the difference.
That's the difference.
You know you were watching this and you're gonna see it on the highlights happening a few times.
XonTix was getting this timing where he always could just get it short, not a problem, backspacing him every time, like, couldn't get these kills.
Yeah, it was wild, because we were prepared to come here and wax Niracle about, you know, how Fury had just bullied Spirit,
because what they did was just bully the B defense enough times to where Spirit were forced to over rotate or stack,
and then that opened up their ability to scale on the A side of the map and just really put together a fantasy side.
But the choke that took place in this second half to not close is kind of incredible, especially because they won the pistol too.
So it's like everything seems to be lining up, but then as the game goes on
It's just the only person that seemed to have consistent impact was my boys up
Like everything else was just so poor like he kind of arts and a defender was really struggling
But then finally at the end he came alive
I was like one of us maybe only multi-kill rounds of regulation with the rifle was right here to make sure they got the overtime
So really really struggling there. Maybe you're wrong. Maybe overpass ain't it. I don't know
Well, I think it's still it for them. Yeah
The CT side to me was more of an aberration, and then we saw the correction to the mean
on their overtime when they actually had full utility.
I don't know, that just felt like a weird mental thing for me on the B defense and the inability
to read some of the Zontics' lurf timings for you.
On the good point for Furia, you've been saying you want to see a more activated Molledoy,
a bit more swaggy, hitting the re-peaks, he played that way this time.
Then that's a great sign for Furia because that was the spark that was missing for them
throughout some of these games and why they weren't able to actually push their playoff runs
as deep as you would hope for as they did in 25 because Molotov was falling off.
But I felt like he was the one guy who kind of willed them into this one,
as he really kind of was on Dust2 for a lot of it.
I mean, he's been a very steady force in this series so far,
and he's kind of the ceiling for this team.
If he could play like this, then that's how you take down teams like spirit who throughout this season have looked better
Yeah, on the opposing side you just tell that once we got into overtime spirit ran out of place
They were just going for like set pieces with no information and hoping for the best and
Counter utility came their way. They didn't really have a response to it. They kind of just got mowed down
You know, it's really odd to just see how that the switch flipped from regulation to overtime
They're making this crazy come back in the second half of then once they got there
They just didn't have enough in the playbook to finish things off and yeah
It's a bit of a difference though, like the T in the CT.
I mean, the CT...
This is just standout play.
That CT half was diabolical, I'm really struggling.
It was, it was very bad.
I am struggling to stay here and just be serious and pretend that was acceptable.
Spirit had a really kind of strong variety of plays I felt like for their T side.
Some of the openers had just Zontics really pressuring as a solo B player,
but they also were taking con relatively easily.
I think some of it is predicated or just kind of built on the fact that
Yucandar was a traffic cone today for maybe like eight, seven of those rounds.
Up until that 11-11 double kill, he had two kills in the CT half.
One was on the pistol round, and one was with an AWP.
Bro, so it was not looking good for him.
You were saying in that...
So you said a traffic cone, that at least provides some obstruction.
The deal was like a pedestrian walking path.
Like, and the light was always green.
The green nail was always up there.
There weren't any cars there.
I mean this guy was just totally and we talked about how this could be a mismatch like that
On T side, on T side you were priming it as a mismatch, it was actually the CG side
Where he was just getting completely run over, oh my god
Yeah, it wasn't until, again, that double kill to get them in the overtime
That in overtime he actually had a couple of big moments, yeah
He took a long time to get alive, that's for sure
I mean, I don't even know where to go with it
I think Spirit probably went into that map just thinking like, look, we'll give this the old college try
The fact that they were like, for me, we should be wrapping the game
We should all be going home. Spirit like it was it was right. It was right there for them.
And that's a good chance. Realistically, you're going to have to beat Furia.
Furia give them all of the opportunity on that CT side to get it done.
So how that affects them going into Mirage? I don't know. I think probably not that much
because the worry for me is Furia did not look good in victory there.
They kind of like just limped away from the desk. All right, let's go to Mirage.
now it's the team spirit AIM Fest, right?
I'm going to just say, I mean, that was really worrying for Yekindar.
We have said it before, I was saying it again.
He is so pivotal on this map for Fury.
And if he just can't shoot, if he just can't aim,
like remember the Shiro clutch at B, where he kills Fallen on the bomb site?
Yekindar has like seven bullets free to shoot him, and he doesn't get him.
That's what it looked like when Yekindar was at the end of his time with Liquid.
Like that, that is just, that's inexcusable for a professional player, and if they want
to just have a chance here, then he's going to just have to aim his mouth.
But the counterpoint is at least in that overtime, he raised wherever he was, he was on 11 kills,
he finishes with 19.
Yeah.
You know, so like he gets the hot hand at the end, because that was my worry too, that
he lacks the confidence coming into this pivotal map.
Like, what you say, like, if you kind of can't open up the map on the T side of Mirage, like
I don't know what you're doing because one of those things where when you look at fury and you look at how they play Mirage
First of all, he's obviously going to be playing one of the keys star cd positions
But also on their t-sides there too
That's kind of heavily reliant upon a lot of set plays particularly on the a bomb side
It's either five man a set piece maybe some type of three to split through connector and a ramp
They're very very a heavy
They throw in a couple of fakes recently to try to be a little bit more dynamic
But yeah, they're really relying the fast-paced plays and we're kind of getting back to what we saw on dust to where it's going to be
A lot of early round flashes a lot of just aggressive plays and spirit
You know, I feel like they look a little bit more versed in the map.
I feel like they have a little bit more to what they can do, particularly just the threats they pose on the B bomb site.
So I'm curious to see like just it's so hard to put a thumb on where Mirage is gonna go based on what we've seen so far this year.
That's crazy to me because at the beginning when Magix was first calling for Spirit at the beginning of this year,
their Mirage looked really flat.
Like they didn't know what to do after the first 20 seconds if Donk didn't give him two kills in middle.
Even when he did give him two kills in middle,
Sometimes they didn't even know how to finish rounds despite that fact because they would just all start walking around in different directions like lemmings
Magics has gotten in better as an in-game leader
He's taken better initiative to miss make sure that he gets everybody grouped up
Does a bomb site hit crunches the site?
Well and organized whereas on the other hand when you talk about furia
That's what I mean when it's like they've just swung the needle so far in the other direction because in 2025
They were the kings of mid rounds. Yeah, they were so good at just taking some space there
reading what kind of kills they got or what kind of deaths they have, and then they would make the right decision.
But yeah, like I feel like as they've lost their way this year,
it has relied way more on poppy plays, which I think Spirit are going to handle fine.
If Furia don't go back to 25 Furia and they play more like they have this year,
they're in for a lot of trouble because I think Spirit, they're really good with counter utility.
Shiro's going to mop them up on a bomb site if he's behind one piece of cover.
Yeah, it just seems like they're really relying upon A, those succeeding because they now, as we give them the early rounds,
It also sets up the ability to throw fakes later, which you know they have some good ones
But it's like you have to be able to establish a is a threat to be able to build onto fakes later
And again, I just haven't seen them have like any real convincing be executed gives them like an extra thing to you know
Pose a threat to spirit who were definitely a team that will over rotate and gamble
You know if they feel like they have the right read so yeah, I'm not sure what to expect honestly
No, I'm like
Here's what I expect I expect on the top Frank. Yeah, it's probably just probably
And beyond that, based on what we've seen today, I don't know what I'm talking about.
And Maladoy will probably be doing some good things with the op.
Yeah, they'll probably talk about it in a few years as well.
Yeah, and that's the...
I mean, that's the good news.
Both of the young stars that you wanted to see have turned up and they've done it today.
I'm taking Spirit in this one.
Even though Molotov is so great at being a disrupter on map control, like he's so good
at breaking smokes open at Topcon, at Window, getting one kill, I just think that Spirit...
They actually, weirdly, with Magix at the helm versus Fallen at the helm, they somehow look
like the more welvers team on this map for a recent footage.
Also the Tanierex factor I think Amarajah is going to be really helpful here.
This is a map where I think he's found a lot of comfort trading, a lot of comfort in being
that A anchor, defending against these A executes that Fury like to throw.
So I think those are some of the other variables that will help them here too.
All right, we go to a break.
It hasn't been a classic, it has been entertaining and only one team can go through the playoffs.
We're going to find out who it is after this break.
She said she loves you, but she can't love me.
I love you!
I won't play window anymore.
What's going on?
Play your role, when it's fair.
The human body was built to move, not trapped at a desk in one singular posture for 12 hours a day.
It's prime, your chair evolved. This is Secret Lab Titan Evo.
Ergonomically engineered for you. Gamers. Hybrid workers. Artists. Back in your every move.
I
A win is a win is a win, but I do still think that Overpass is one of those maps that both
these teams in some ways are going to kind of want to forget about, spirit in the sense
that they pushed it to the limit but weren't able to close in on the lethal finish of a
2-0, and Fury adjusted in the sense that it took them a long time to get that CT side
up and running.
So, forget about it, and let's move on to Mirage and let's see whether these teams can
just give us a more exciting way, Moe,
because this is qualifying for playoffs,
and Ninzey did it in such an outstanding fashion
that we might actually be left here thinking
Ninzey played better today.
They did, they're the best team to play today, for sure.
I mean, genuinely, could we talk about how many mistakes
they made?
It wasn't that many.
So doors wide open for both of these squads.
Just called it a great chance.
And the waterfall smoked on the eggs, Zach.
It walks off the air.
That's crazy, yeah.
I actually love that pistol.
The moment he takes a step out,
Magix just straight up kills him,
so he'll have a non-factor pistol.
That's pretty sweet on a pistol.
Like, you're not even normally do this on connector
to scale up to triple.
Really opens up yourself towards jungle.
Sontics doesn't seem fully aware
that there could be someone in window.
Oh, that beat comes out first.
Yeah, again, yeah.
Mollidoi at least able to blindside him because of it.
That's the second frag this round
from Mollidoi, K. Serato slow crawling out through palace.
Call it a way in with a third, Shiro 1v3, first kills fast enough to make it happen, but Quesarado toys with the side of it, and that'll be the fury of retake coming through to kick off a CT pistol.
Well isn't that equally impressive that they managed to retake the spite, how clean the site take was, and how they cancelled out Ykinder's position and took over Window.
Just weren't fully aware of the actual threat that was in there.
CT pistol was countered back on overpass when the four spy of Spirit worked in the next round, so it'll let that happen again.
That really kind of cemented Spirit's ability to push regulation to overtime.
It's a fresh wound.
Back to the A site with numbers, and right now it is just Yuri.
That's the guy that hit.
Drop Donk down to half health.
Let's see if it has any impact at all.
Because sometimes he just gets three kills without taking any damage, so it doesn't even matter.
Height's in.
He goes blindside 10 here.
There's the first.
But 50 damage isn't Donk dead, so sure enough, into the kill feed, Donk goes hunting for the Catwalk.
Oh, what the-
AHHHHHH! From that far away, though!
What is that?
What is that? They literally nerf the jumping accuracy of that gun, and Fallen just gets a headshot from Catwalk into the A site with a jumping MP9.
Make that make sense, as it kicks off the retake.
I mean, after a kill like that, just give the round to Furia. That one's baloney.
But, Shiro, best of luck with bomb on the other side of triple, there's bodies to give this coverage.
He's not going to go wide enough to stop this. Fallen? Who the hell are you?
You know, I mean Fallen did nothing wrong.
It was ridiculous that that happened.
We're just going to act like that's normal.
We're seeing longer range MP9 kills lately. I don't know exactly what changed.
But that's the longest by a log shot. He was jumping away and turning around
I don't believe that really happened. I don't believe that happened. I miss window smoke dude. What's going on?
Like both teams have just had bad nades today. Yeah a lot of them. Yeah nice. He wouldn't have missed that
This matchup was queued up to be a potential grand finals for these teams here in Astana.
Yeah, at least they're getting out the bad stuff here, you know?
The jitters?
Yeah, the jitters are whatever it is.
The funk.
The funk.
They got the funk.
The Java Havana Funkaloo.
What?
That's a music kit in Counter Strike.
Oh, okay.
It's like you just made it sound so much like a real thing.
Nah, yeah.
Kinder's got this all day long,
as Taneer has nobody to tether off of top middle.
It's literally impossible to lose that fight
to Taneer is stuck.
An active case of Rado top middle push
is gonna put Yuri on high alert
now that he confirms presence out the ramp
the smoke wall drops.
You've got Xontek's dead, you've got Donklo,
you've got Taneer in a body bag bottom middle,
already with this ramp flank in case Serato's fast move.
Just gotta get stalled out.
He is right here, primed for the taking.
Knife somebody.
They turn back around, he's forced to activate,
and he'll get there with the double.
P250 meant to queue up the third,
but it's a wall bang headshot out of Yikindar
and another wonky frag coming through for Furia,
But it doesn't matter how you get there at this point, you take what you get, and it's three rounds consecutive for Jurius, CT side.
All is left confused.
Counter-Turist.
No, neither team looked all too excited throughout the entirety of Overpass.
I mean, so far in the series, it feels like the energy has been kind of low.
I think just wanting to prove to themselves that they're better than this, just so they can gear up for, you know, the chance to win this event.
Because again, without vitality here, like they realize like these are the opponents
that they're likely to face again. That that will be the reason they either win or lose this whole event.
And there's a lot of confidence that comes with the win right now.
This could be a great push. Yeah, it is.
This shows of waiting.
Whoa, he gets tagged as well.
Damn, that was a brave move from Mollidoy after showing himself there at top mid.
But again, if there's one guy, we've got no question...
If there's two, it's Donk and him.
Down to one health, but still standing.
versus Fallen over here towards the apartments as Fallen makes noise on the fallback.
Everything else from Team Spirit's still residing top middle, so this is just Magic's kind of puffing his chest up a bit
as he then goes into the silent fallback, but it does draw not just Molodoy.
Also, K Serato joining forces with Fallen here on B. This is three players B,
a palace pus for your Kindars about to find a bunch of players on the approach.
Oh, I hear some stomping. He could catch him off guard entirely. Oh, yeah. See if he hears. Oh, okay.
Perfect play here for you, Kinder. It's so late in the round too, it's just gonna feel like it's a force save.
You can't go back and re-clear Palace. There's no sense in going for an A hit.
Out of round.
Or maybe they do feel like they have a chance.
Well, at least be able to meet you, Kinder, in here, but 15 seconds, they're just gonna save.
Okay, low magics.
Alright.
Needlessly kind of losing guns, maybe just trying to secure the after-time expires, but
it'll be too up for the side of Spirit.
AWP at an AK saved.
Awkward amount of money for the others.
And not a lot of damage done as Furia rack up early cash and an early lead.
The four-oh start for Molledoy, five-oh for Kcerato.
It's also been a stud this series.
Those two players, the reason we've believed Inferia in the last 48 hours, so trying to
Tap back into that to close on the deciding map of this 2-0 game.
How many grenades do you have, dammit?
I like this aggression from inside of the apartments.
Doesn't feel like Spirit are gonna see this coming.
More and more Util trickling out through the window, so...
Longer they delay this, the closer the CT's get, and still nobody's even considered it for Spirit.
spirit not once have they checked this flank to sitting ducks for you kinder
the zoom just wants to kill ten years and snap it on the shiro the moment
you're considered it that's when I pull the trigger
execute with his and flawless for furia across the board a double for fallen a
double you kinder and on top of it you're a lot at a site five zero star is
Excellent. Yeah, you keep saying it's quesarado and in Molledoy, but you kinder before this match
Was the second highest impact and it's that drop-off was so apparent when they lost their map in this series
And when they nearly lost it on overpass too it was you know that push
with the MP9 in the second half it was
One or two bad sprays, but he needed all the rounds to sort of find his form again.
And now he's getting into all these great positions.
The multi-kills are here.
And still nobody's excited because, you know, the job's not finished, and we saw that everything
just goes back and forth.
Ooh!
Oh!
Okay!
With a scout!
Uh-huh.
I was like, let's see it, Shiro.
And it's magic's in the kill feed.
Fallen pulls the AWP back, still nothing beyond that scout to work with here for Spirit.
Four pistols in a scout, and they all move their way back into the apartments.
Fallen swapped out to that AWP, has it posted on the market window, as Yukinder is going to be the one cap player for the time being.
But even the A setup is kind of reactive to a quick B rotate as needed.
Clash into it and Fallen moves this forward.
This is going to be spirit to hope they can just trounce the B-Site.
Oh, what, Magix?
From the Scout to the Desert Eagle, Magix, two unbelievable opening headshots.
He even gets an assist there on your Kinder of the Capplay.
Oh, no!
Scott the Scout, bragg.
What are we watching?
I don't know.
There's barely any friction.
They just got only headshots.
All four down, a homily of a round out of spirit.
They didn't even get a chance to get those guns.
They knocked down.
They were so far away.
That was weird.
Yeah.
That's why sometimes it's so hard to make sense of Counter Strike,
to build the narrative, to build up expectations,
you know, to tell you that the next round is going to be Furia's.
You just can't because Magic's slams Mollidoy,
who's been playing excellently.
With a scout?
It's all probabilistic. It's like, you know, the game gets close a lot.
That's great, but...
You know, that's why Vitality winning, no matter what, even if it's always close, that's the most important part.
You get all these rounds in between, but...
Ultimately, what it comes down to is, can you close out the entire game?
I think Chopper could have done that.
I'm gonna go out on the limb and say no.
So funny that Magix has to give the scout away and then still gets another headshot
just with the Desert Eagle.
It's a little shallow. Do as much damage as it could.
Donk starts this game one in five.
I don't even know how you kinder flanked them and underpassed that previous round. That was so fast.
Yeah, him and Fallon just both pushing apartments instantly.
Man, skip a beat.
From the moment they arrived at B out of spawn, they just walked it forward.
This round it'll be Yuri to get a little more brazen with this ramp set up.
Donk approaching, Yuri's gonna best him.
Make that a 1 and 6 start for Donk.
Uncharacteristic struggle on Mirage.
The Kindar is going to blasts Nero away, blindsiding him off of the cap plate, and now a bolstered
A site with flashes coming in to interrupt the Spirit commitment that still hasn't even
exited the ramp.
There is an AWP on that ramp to try to counterfeit, but it's Molo-Doy to win the head to head.
Or rather, Shiro's still yet to get a chance to fire back.
And that's fine.
You need him, buddy.
He doesn't have to move, really.
You know, Yuri's here.
You can do anything you want.
He's going to be locked into the position, serving up distractions and forcing Spirit
to Tucktail as their AWP in Shiro is nothing but a save.
I mean, the one where they won so far, just an aberration.
Eagle shot, the Scout kill, the Tech 9 frag from miles away.
Outside of that, Furia, full control of the situation.
Still not getting excited about it.
And yet this is a result that an entire generation of young Counter-Strike players in Kazakhstan are waiting to see conclude.
Yeah, that's a great way to put it. I mean, and that might be just weighing heavily on their mind and causing some mistakes too.
But now they're putting themselves in a great spot to release that valve of pressure.
And I'm sure when the qualification happens, it'll feel a lot different.
He needs to kill for Donk.
On the hunt for another one here with K-Sirado to his left, Yuri's hanging onto the ramp
for the time being, and Donk looking towards that default position wants to catch Yuri
but he doesn't let his guard down, sees a sliver of K-Sirado and a second headshot comes
through for Donk.
The third kill for Donk, the Quad denied by Yuri, who gets a little bit more damage into
It's a Fallen 1v3, going to be caught by the ladder push of Magix.
Going to let Shiro just put this angle on, and it's a blind side.
His spirit will find another one, set up by Dawn coming through Connector and slicing through that A setup.
They want him to be Weapon X, and he's set up really well to do so.
That rounds one just off the back of his individual plate, and that's just...
It sort of feels like...
What's going to characterize this match?
Smoking off the approach, they'll disrespect him.
That Molotov bounces off the doorway, pops behind Spirit, and queues up the Molodoy, opening kill, round nine.
You've got Donk on the ground, Fallen dodging the threat.
Waiting for another as Molodoy, he will click Sonic's off the plane.
It's the third shot that gets away from him.
Getting the better of dog to maintain man advantage in a minute and that bombs getting lost inside the smokes towards site
I can't find case Dorado
They know he's back here somewhere and so to near will wait out the second fade all the while
It gets away from to near
Shiro's op strikes
He sees the shots whiz by from Kat and it's a fast reposition from Yuri
He wants to try to join up with you kindar who's just gonna buy a bit of time here as the bomb will need to be retrieved by Shiro and
and CTs link up.
It's impossible to split this crossfire open, but I mean, once the bomb gets planted, it's not going to be that easy.
Oh, they're going to push through early.
He's still considering cap. I love that sound bait.
So good.
That's awesome. Now, your kinder's been very sneaky today.
Or at least you're on Mirage.
Getting in all the right spots, taking all the right risks.
That one could come down to one trade from Tenir, who did have the drop on Quesarado, but didn't have the mechanics.
Another moment for Molledoy to shine, finding two kills in the middle of that B bomb site hit.
Dodging Donk as he hit to the front of the site and headed Arch, but didn't quite have the angles to clear the players off site.
7-2 CT lead.
Off of that defense.
And again, it's just full focus, man.
Even though they're streaking, they're getting these exciting finishes and making really good moves.
There's a lot of tension.
Mollidoy has just been really excellent, though.
And how many offers do you see in a beehole like that, like in Maxcat 1?
They keep copying and pasting Tanir into Underpass and right now there is no one above him on
cat. And the full clear of B apps as they start to move on over. It's an uncomfortable moment
to try to split
pressure the a set up
exposed up there by palace now uri
it's kind of a
hanging on to it as he kinder serves up the distraction uri's revealed
himself but him in case rada with a kill apiece
and uri's afforded a reposition
hold palace drop oh god sautics a lot to be desired on that one and that is not
the kind of commitment the spirit are gonna win rounds with that's not a
great round for spirit for sure I mean yikes they didn't have a molly in
jungle they it was very clear to fear they were gonna split through a there's
three players there and it's even taking the op out with a spam behind triple and
there's still no chance for them to do that
Three rifles to work with here in round 11.
Big folly of utility over top and the CT's answer.
Putting a smoke in the middle of the site to create a question mark in Spirit's mind.
It's low HP for Yuri.
Offerings out on jungle.
Smoke goes deep ticket and Donk hits the head shot.
Yuri, huzz of the low health.
He wasn't able to get away with the gun.
Oh, come on now.
Why not?
Popping it open.
Double little unprepared for that to be opened wide.
Molodoy just kind of-
Took an extra shot.
Yeah, fed over.
In case Serato, and it's a 1v3.
That was cool though.
Spirit looking to go deep.
Cacerado let's him know exactly where he is.
Now he's going to have to try to just fight his way out of here.
Team Spirit gunning for a third round on the T side.
And they'll do so with two survivors, much needed as the economy was wobbly
coming into these last couple rounds.
It's a fast pace through the A site, deep utility,
and an emphasis for ticket control that nets them their third.
It's a really great round for Sniir.
This instant trade, it sounds kind of ridiculous.
Yeah, Molotov was not ready for that smoke to get popped open.
CT-Nade, by the way.
Yeah, yeah, he just shot an extra no scope through the smoke, so must not have heard.
Another Miss Window smoke.
And yet the AWP was looking for the dual at the same time, so what does that tell you, Moe?
Was it on purpose?
possible. I mean, it could also have just, you know, somewhat, they could be preempting
blowing open the smoke and then he's looking for that, but the fact that no one dies somehow
is kind of interesting too.
It's going to be Fury economy limited this round. Haven't really had to deal with that
this half. It's been spirits issue. Here we go, four players towards this site. Yuri
strikes with a deagle to the back of the head, grabs an AK for his efforts, and a perfect
distraction is now he tries to go for the multi-frag, but will be cut down to size by Donk,
sitting on 12 health down in Sandwich. Kasurato whipping that crosshair in anticipation of the
mid-play, but nobody this direction except his teammate in Molo-Doy. Now both Raming Fury of
Embers, whoof, trying to make it move up, Conn. AWP has gone unannounced for the time being,
and Donk tests the limits of ticket.
It's a great post-plant. It's all up to Shiro, but he should be offered up a free shot.
Sees the gun barrel coming. K. Serato, if he steps to the top of the stairs,
should be done for. Counter-part attempts to take the duel, and Shiro lands it.
Now K. Serato knows where the last guy's at. Doesn't have a kit.
Awkward situation. Bombs got 12 seconds left, and with that, it is going to be Shiro to win
the last round of this half. A fourth, fourth spirit, as they sprinkle a couple in, little
economic problems here means Fury doesn't have all the tools for the job, and four rounds
of a T side could still be enough.
Definitely. It's still serviceable. I mean, if you talk about the quality of rounds and
everything, like Fury, I get all the credit. They looked in full control, like they lost
a round to that Scout-Digel round out of Magix. They can let those go though. They just,
They have a very strong score line to end.
They only lost control of their economy at the very end.
They started off well.
They neutralized Donk pretty well this whole half.
I mean, closing out is a different story.
Of course, as we saw on Overpass, they struggled to do that.
It took them to overtime, but do you feel like those overtime
rounds helped.
Just trying to find themselves again in the same fashion
that they played CS the last 48 hours.
This time we get a Eukindar and Quesarado pop off.
Yuri was also rock solid within that A site when called on.
So the rifling court here for Fury up,
Lights up the server and gives themselves a wiggle room, as they'll take to the T side now.
It's not quite a Donk-esque performance so far, but time to turn that around.
Critical pistol, Zontik sets up the flash to rampage, ramp, ramp.
Molotov blind hits the headshot and then counter utility over the top for Furia.
5v3 in the pistol bodes real well for their chances at sprinting to the double digits.
But Zontics wants to take a line into sight, will not be able to deny this bomb plant.
Not with K. Serato on the other side of triple like that.
As he goes over top of Ticket with a teammate next to him,
Magic's trying to get the Berettas into the action.
Ooh, here comes Donk.
One tap on Fallen.
Stairs player spotted.
Sontix kills K. Serato. Now the numbers evened out. Donk has got another.
He can escape.
2v2 with 15 seconds on the bomb.
Magic's gonna tap it. Try to fluster this post plant. Furia hiding for the time being.
He could still stick this. And they get the kills.
But he got off the bomb in the middle of all that.
I didn't have a kid either.
Nope. Had to be the 10 second defuse when he got on at 12.
The pure wet dude.
Donk's on two sets.
A full 180 perfect headshot to finish off a kinder after headshotting him originally.
But it doesn't matter.
They don't win the rounds.
That would have been a massive amount of leverage to get back into this game.
Now they rely on converting the force up, which, well, we know they could do that.
See?
That's insane.
It's even, like, adjusted for him getting up on top of the box.
smoke on the ramp to interrupt the execute spirit firing off that m4 that
Give a dog all he needs. It's Teneir with the MP9 instead.
Force by victory, force spirit. That's what they've queued up.
And Kcerado quad killed a man in low health on all four.
But he hits the ground and spirit stacking that site with firepower, forced by their way back in.
Amen. They don't win the pistol, but now they're right back into the game.
That'll actually feel pretty good if you're spirit.
You know, you're very excited to play the CT side, and Fallen is a chatterbox right now, he's got a lot to say.
Quick A-exact to get that one out of the way is a regret.
Path by, or sorry, force down response here into a B-pop.
Not stopping.
The wall is charged.
And we'll see about that tension again.
Feria, let them back in, back on overpass, as ET side come back on Mirage, it's a lot easier.
What do you think?
Some weird energy in the air right now, I don't know what's happening.
It's like neither team willing to celebrate.
Probably both a little bit disappointed in like their overall form right now, coming up against each other.
the hardest competition for both of them so far.
I think if you're fury after the two stomps that you've had in your last two matches,
you're just kind of like feeling yourself again.
Yeah.
Full confidence thinking like, yeah, we are back.
And then you kind of get hit by a dose of reality by making some mistakes in your own side,
not being able to dispatch of a spirit that is also not in full form.
Yeah, and it kind of feels like 40% of the time we've seen what we saw in the last couple days, and the rest of the time, it's a little bit weaker.
Magics definitely far up right here.
Glock's meant to make magics money.
Looking to stop that bomb plant.
Ooh, but they'll get punched in.
A little bit of extra cash here for Furious efforts as K. Serrano tries to dodge all of these bullets.
Holy hell.
I hit my every single bullet but it didn't do much damage.
Everybody laughing after that one.
Eventually goes down. Two round lead.
All that fury I'll hold on to from here on out.
Forced to wait before getting back into the AKs because of that forced by victory.
I'm really looking for you, Kinder, to show off to finish this game off, honestly.
Feels like everything's come together in this last map for him.
I don't want to see any more bad sprays.
Got a light pallet smoke, this one trade can make a world of difference.
But even just shooing him back a bit allows you kinder to have some liberties.
They'll go in for a peek, won't see Magix.
Oh, he had to turn from that.
Xenir goes down.
Ah, through Smoke Fallen collects a second.
Magix Peppering Connector.
Rob's one back at least.
You've got Molledoy low, Fallen low.
Xontix low.
There are Liabilities still remaining in this round, but Fury have put the bomb in.
Yeah, they're on the way back in right now.
Trying to hope Shiro can get it going.
Well, I got one flash.
I mean, for the post plant that they see right now, it's close to impossible.
They haven't dealt with that one lurk in mid. They don't even know where he is.
And they'll allow Aferia to grab 10 rounds.
Fallen, just grabbing the bull by the horns in this round with his 2K.
From 3 and 11, he gets that double down through the smoke as well for the second frag.
It's a tough ask of him in the form he's had on Mirage, and yet delivers for double digits.
Fury of 10, Spirit 7.
It's okay.
Those are the Gentles.
Yeah.
He's going to retire soon.
There won't be a problem next year.
You won't have to put up with this nonsense for much longer, guys.
Oh, I love this.
But we really haven't seen him tilting like we've seen sometimes.
Right? Yeah, well...
Maybe a little tilt could go a long way.
I need to see the fire and spirit's belly at the moment.
At least they've got the guns for the job.
Back into the fight for middle. Donk will pick it up.
Gets his revenge one round later.
See you later, Fallen.
It's now a 4v5 demanded of Furia, or spirit, start to chip back away at that lead.
This will be the second time Furia win, only one round.
Puts that money in question.
K-sur-Auto, huge dunk, and if you think of the two ways dunk has died back to back rounds,
smoke spam from Fallen, a deep-aid out of K-Syrano.
But still, Fury, I need to figure out exactly what's going to get them to win this round.
There are, there is a player to a supplant donk, they have a ramp guy.
Taneer's had kind of some awkward appearances here, but this'll work out beautifully.
He just faces the smoke, shows it for another bomb dropped.
Tenir takes control of the situation on his own, no support needed, and no answer left for Furia.
Take a look out top middle, you've got K. Serato still solo up in the apartments, but that one is shut down by Tenir and Tenir alone.
It's kind of crazy how tense this game is coming into the final rounds of the third map.
I'm trying to stay composed.
Unreal. How far that nade goes.
It's near there to shut it all down on his own.
Trying to step up in the shadow of Donk, who is clearly the top performer for Spirit at the moment.
He's brought back his score line quite a bit.
But not the kind of score that's still just gonna end this game alone.
So, a welcomed moment by Teneir, and we'll see who's next up for spirit as they try to
close this two-round gap now.
Early pressure out of K Serato.
We saw him go passive last round and not really get a chance to find any activity on this
site as he lost his teammates on A with bomb.
Looks like they're just trying to draw some retake utility right now.
I'm swimming, swinging back in the other direction.
It's a really good spread of the map here for Furia.
It's here, don't intend to come back in for map control.
They're happy to let it get to the side exacting dawn to take this peek off the side of the
stairs and...
Good clear.
Oh, yeah, that's a nice move.
Good die, though.
Magix gets by this now.
This really comes down to if he pushes through and he does, but there's no kill here for
a kinder.
A magickin you kinder fighting a V while everybody else is fixating in on the A site.
Oh they're starting to consider mid for a moment.
Mass routine here gets dropped with nothing.
There was a certain silence behind that execute out of Uriel that they did indeed commit to
it and Donk hasn't been able to find that lineup although Uri's down low and anticipation
of the bench push.
Him and Shirou another one comes out.
Donk's starting to tear heads off as he's found himself a triple.
Okay, Serato 1v4 from the depths of this bomb site.
They're making their moves up already.
Magic's killed from the back of it.
Top stairs held, and Shiro is there to help.
It is him and Donk, with all five frags on A.
That's just disgusting, out of Donk. That third kill.
You see him for one frame, and you're dead.
All the pressure was building towards him.
Uh, to near the site, but Donk was the other guy on A.
And this is just no chance at all. No chance at all.
And when that engagement happened and it was Yukinder and Magix, I think it favors Magix once Yukinder leaves.
As he had gotten the kill, it's kind of a different round, but then it's...
Okay, there's a guy coming under past late, 100%.
That's B. Last time this guy crushed.
They'll try to charge it past the van as Magix goes quietly into the smoke.
He takes a flash.
Zontics with two kills, Glock will find it, but as they get clumped up on Magix, it just
opens the door for Shiro to blow them away.
Anade is all he needed.
Glock in with damage.
Him and Shiro with pistols out.
Force survive, Spirit is this game now tied at 10.
And again, no celebrations whatsoever.
They've crushed this anti-eco.
Make this one feel a little bit more real.
It's a measly 2T round half so far for Furia.
Some ideas from Sid.
Things are getting serious now. Coaches are standing.
Yep.
Both teams remain three rounds from playoffs.
He wants to get in front of that Astana crowd.
He just puts that smoke at his feet.
He's getting a little wild outside of the site.
Back to it with guns for Furia.
Bomber mains in spawn.
You kindar quick to make that mid-cross happen.
Him and Kasurado now tied at 17 kills apiece.
Made for Kasurado to have to stomach.
He's on half health at a minute 30.
The Magix looks like he's made it part of the plan to try to get DP apps control again.
Supported by Shirozopp.
Kasurado's got the disadvantage in this fight.
I missed the flash. Man.
I don't even know. It might have got him killed, but it's case Rado already took the nade damage.
That might have been a perfect move if not for that flash hitting the ceiling.
It brings Molledoy over.
Shiro passive ready for this peek.
He's starting to get paranoid about someone holding back for him. Push through the smoke on his ontics.
Shiro misses a chance at one, then Molledoy's got that off cover.
And Azontics and Shiro both down as Magix is gonna have to scramble back in,
finds a player on the exit of the apartments, didn't know the case Serato that already hit the ground.
And there's Molledoy's off to collect a second kill, getting the better of his counterpart up inside the apartment.
Wow.
Molledoy's triple will put Furia back in the lead.
That was such a good approach and the thing that could have made the difference is that one flash.
If they had secured B-Apps and got that kill on K-Cirado, it might have been had to have been a whole different attack.
And instead, they escorted Molledoy out into this peak so effectively,
the first Rifler showing dropped the guard of Shiro. He went in for the repeat, and Molledoy was right there in his vision to make him regret it.
Some glaringly obvious misutility throughout this series, small mistakes with big impact.
Because that was a 50 health case or auto that would have been either staring at the
wall or blind as a bat.
Can't hear us over at the stand there, okay.
Flash goes wider.
I'm sure it can hold that.
They're readying for some kind of B-pop.
Oh, and the window angle is perfect for Magix.
5B3 Spirit to try to tie the game again.
Furia eating flashes on the approach, and Magix almost.
Pulls another one off this moment.
K. Serato's got the answer back, but it costs him a lot of health.
Him and his teammates are all here. The only thing there is is this B-fight.
All seven remaining players in position for this duel,
And it's gonna be Yuri to try to draw this back 22 HP versus two bombs in his possession
He grabs that off and it's got 45 seconds to maybe pull this off and an op in this position
Is he even going to attempt it? I mean
At this moment obviously we see that he could have run all the way back to a and right now spirit intent on just playing this together
together. But is there a world where it even comes forward? Or if they're just thinking
about making sure they have this up next round. Maldoy's got 50 bucks. I think that's
priority number one. Very B-centric game plan here for Furia to try to close this game,
spirits sometimes have the answers.
And this one remains as wide open as ever.
Another quiet close to the round.
We go to round 23 to decide who will lock in overtime.
They just can't string these terrorist rounds together.
And it's gonna leave them with shortcomings in this one.
Technine for Yuri, Galils on Fallen and K-Cerato.
So they boost Molledoy to try to start it with an opening pick on Window.
Draw out some Util, but there's no actual peak nor challenge behind that flash from Spirit.
They really want to end this towards B. We see the bomb up here again. They're still respecting the map with the mid control, and it's not the CTs that are really pressing back into it.
Zontics, we'll start to walk forward. Is it really going to extend into this? Oh, that's a free frag. It's only patience that wins that for Molo-Doy.
It's gonna soften up the B site.
And Furia have been getting map mid control every round, Zontik's walking right into
that dry.
Smokes come down in mid just to maintain it for Furia, but there's no actual evolution
from that opening pick, right?
No forward stance.
And if they just let this all distil into no more moves for the CT side, then there's
a lot of trouble over on B again for Magix.
Other smoke dropped, Shiro?
Will this open or not?
No, they don't even have a plan to support him.
Magix on the other end though, players coming his way, he gets a second.
That's Molo-Doy low, and then cleaned up, Tenir finds the scamp, dogs down, Max turned!
The perfect wrap around from the 4v5.
It's a huge hold for Magix on the catwalk!
They could not trade him out in time, and somehow, Donk had...
I don't even know how he got to that position so quickly.
The money has vanished now for Furia.
No rounds in succession.
They've been totally fine to give up mid control and still find ways to win this.
And now it gets really stressful for Furia.
All this work and effort to get to this point.
to be totally broke in round 24.
That is all Donk and all Magix.
You'll sit outside of this A-Side Fioria, it's an all-in with what they have.
They're going to try to earn overtime off of this one.
Pistols and Mac 10s for the majority.
Tanir gives space up, flashes find him, the chase is on to take over Ticket and he is all
the way back in his spawn.
But blind and then Magix takes damage.
found one on the other side of the site you've got two wounded players here for
furia the bomb plant desperate to get it down behind that triple stack and the
spams come through but the bomb's gone down barely standing and now Yuri
cleaned up the most health left on anybody here will be molodoy for furia
but they have been corralled they have been cornered and soon to be culled if
spirit have anything to say about it xonthic's concerned about sandwich can
now full fixate in on the ticket push and Taneer's got the other side rolling forward team spirit
It's been 12 months in the making, but they will indeed beat Furia again for the first time since the
previous PGL Astana and muted celebrations and writing so don'ts not looking too happy about what he
had to do to get them through and I was asked the question you know when will how could you make
the Vitality Era end. I've got a theory. Send them this game and let them watch it and they
will become convinced they never need to practice again and that will bring about their downfall
because that was sloppy from both teams. I mean, the last map, Spirit could have 2-0ed it on
Furia's pick. This map, Furia throw another lead. Complacency will probably be what ends
is the vitality area, because I mean,
if they did actually tune in for this one,
they're going to feel great about what they're putting out.
I think Navi would feel great if they watched this one.
And I've never seen the game like this before.
Look how disappointed both teams are.
Yeah, no one's really even celebrating the fact
that they made the playoffs.
It seems like I think there was maybe a light smile
on somebody's face there at best first period.
I couldn't even point to who.
I mean, that was just tough to watch, honestly.
I mean, both teams having obviously good stuff going
on the CT sides, both teams offensively just
looked very disjointed.
This didn't seem really that composed.
And even some of the CT wins, the majority of the rounds
came from, obviously, for both squads.
Even those look kind of messy.
It's a kind of crazy hero.
It's like this from Uri, getting aggressive in ramp,
or other things like that.
I will say, you can't have looked better on form
this map than the previous.
That was Jonah, the posits, I guess you could pull out of it.
Kaseirato also still pretty met, in my opinion.
But all in all, it was just so weird to see them be able to put
themselves in, and again, in a position where
they should be able to dominate and then somehow let it slip.
I don't know.
And it happened a lot.
I mean, look, put it this way.
If you're at home watching the game, I mean, you've got value for money out of it.
You got all of the rounds.
You got it back and forth.
In the worst kind of way, though.
You had some highlight reel plays from Molotoy, from Donk, you know,
Case Arato, some great moments.
But the problem was no one could string moments together enough to look like a...
Is this the one I'm thinking of?
This round, it itself was ridiculous what happened over here.
You got Xontics finished off the round with a Glock.
Like, it was just ludicrous stuff that was happening.
I just realized, why does Xontics have a Glock on CT side?
He actually dropped his USP at one point to pick up a Glock.
Okay, that's a weird aside, but a few of the rounds here
were just a little stringy.
I mean, they were very stringy.
A lot of the fights kind of felt a little bit like
people just didn't know what was gonna happen next in it.
I'm glad that the last couple rounds,
Spirit did shape up.
I mean, to their credit, they did win.
I think that Taneer's anchor on this very last round
was really nice.
He was really slick to get away from all of the utility.
He had presence to keep you spawned there.
He also had a really big double kill push on A ramp one round.
That was a pretty key round one for them as well down the stretch.
There was definitely some moments for him.
His overall numbers aren't going to look that great,
but I feel like he did have some key impact, as you noted.
Obviously, talk was talk, I mean, again, another day.
I will say Shiro looked better in this one as well at times,
when they needed him to be in the second half
to get back into the game after a cold start.
The eye test on Shiro was okay.
The ADR test is whack.
Yeah.
What the?
This is the only guy we're talking about for now, right?
Get that scoreboard off, get it up the screen.
We were trying to get it away.
We're trying to grass-wet straws here,
but really it was just, look at the heat map.
He's just all over the place.
Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
You even saw it during the game.
You literally turned to the team and it's like,
me again?
Yeah.
Me again.
story. Yeah, it's crazy, dude. So like, help this kid out, man,
for real. I also just feel like it's a man, it's a watching
spirit. I thought that there were going to be more moments of
them taking nice map control, crunching up bombsite together.
But then a couple of times that they did that, we saw what
zonics come out of palace, use all of his bullets to a Yuri
that was under balcony, and then Yuri just pistols them there.
I don't know. There are a lot of like, weirdly long fight like
The time to kill in this game was weirdly long for some of these players.
Yeah, I think on average, other than a couple of players who did play very well that we've
already kind of highlighted, there was just some really weird mechanical misses that you
just wouldn't expect to see in a match that's supposed to be two teams vying for top five
in the world and trying to be title contenders.
You would just expect the way the duels broke out to be a little bit more crisp and it just
wasn't.
It was very labored in some of the rounds.
can check the mood in the spirit camp after they made the playoffs. Banks is with Zontics right now.
I certainly will try Richard. I do have Zontics with me here and Zontics,
for you guys you've got a bit of revenge against Fury but it certainly wasn't easy especially
even having to come back into map fight and fight your way through. I want to first touch on the
overpass just the fact that you're able to push it to overtime but then when you hit the overtime
things start to fall apart for you guys. What difference did you feel or did you notice?
Well, there was no difference on overtime to compare with our city side and their T-side
because it was as a whole just a bad communication and a team play from us on our city side and
then we just managed to come back on T-side.
But they just played good T-side and we played actually just bad on the city side.
And then there's just a few rounds and they managed to win and we didn't.
That's pretty much it.
Is it the same kind of thing of how Mirage started as well? Were you noticing the same problems if you're mentioning communication and not playing up to your normal level?
I think it was a bit unique because they pushed us from different areas of the map, like Fiverrance and Roses, just very hard to play.
But I think there's probably a hole somewhere in our macro game that people are just able to do it.
to do it. I'm not sure. We have to watch the demo. Then we just managed to come back as
well. It was not like on this side. We switched to CT side while having four rounds and then
we just managed to win more rounds and then that's pretty much it.
That's how it goes in Counter-Strike, but I want to talk a bit about just the improvements
that you see in the development you see in Spirit. Obviously, you made second place at
Rio, now you come into this, making playoffs, already going 3-0. Are you noticing that the
team is developing in the right way in a positive way?
Yeah, you can say that because we had very bad results on Rotterdam qualification
and Pro League. I would say the team functions a lot
different to what we had with Halle, but
we are still gaining shape, I would say. We are not playing the best counter-cycling,
it's obvious and I think we can play a lot better.
Can you explain to me how it's different without Halle being here and just like
What you're feeling in that, is it also to do with maybe Magic's IGL side of things?
I would say it's less structure-ized, it's more of a let's communicate, let's make decisions,
let's accept decisions and whatever it is. I would say it's more of a Falcons way to play.
So we played a lot like Maus, Navi, and now it's more like Falcons and Vitality. Vitality is,
I would say a lot like the most mixed team, you know, it's its most dependent team on
decisions and individual skill. And we are kind of leading to that site right now than we did
with Halle before. So just a little bit different countryside on a macro perspective.
And this is something you're testing out for when Halle comes back, you might still keep it or
When Halle comes back, does it just go back to the way it was?
I'm not sure, it's just very hard to...
You know, Halle was the architecture of how we play the Counter-Strike
and now we have another coach and it's just hard to play the same way
because the guy who was managing all this stuff is not here.
So we just have to play the way we can play
and the way we can play right now is this way.
I don't know whether it's going to be applied later on or not.
Okay, thank you very much for the insight.
There's one thing just fine. I'm gonna look at is with you personally. I know you're you're always pushing you always want to do better in yourself
Obviously, we don't have prime zone takes back right now, but how far away do you feel you are on that and getting into that level?
I'm not sure to be honest. Well, I'm trying but right now I have a lot of problems with
with
Kind of communicating with teammates on on the server is just hard for me to find my place and I would say I'm
I'm more of a supportive player right now than it was before, so I have less situations
that allow me to kill, and I'm trying to play what people want to play around me.
But I don't know whether it's going to be working like that later on.
Thank you for the audience insight.
Good luck going through the playoffs.
We'll see you in a few days' time.
Richard, let's get back to you and digest all of that.
Yeah, thanks a lot for that, James.
After the series he had, I'm amazed he didn't miss the microphone, but Zontics won't care
about that he is through in the playoffs? A few of those answers were really puzzling for me.
I agree. I think sometimes you can say too much. Yeah, the fact that their style is changing that
drastically in his head from when Sotfix there versus Holley's there as if there's no foundation
to what Holley put into place that they could run without him actually being physically behind him is
Yeah, it's kind of wild to me. I think I felt like most coaches when they are not present they send
Sheets of ideas and I know that Holly is taking care of his health. I'm not trying to dismiss that because
Everyone's entitled some time off. Yeah, it's very important, but actually in this schedule you would still have some kind of
Basically, I mean structure to it or objectives and around and so but the the craziest thing
I think even on top of that is how they actually look pretty decent
I mean, this was a messy map. Don't get me wrong. That map was really messy, but still, like the real performance was actually something to look forward to and also even just for
3-0ing this group over a fury team that we saw as powering them know this will get us to win the locker. Yeah. So I'm almost thinking like if they play looser, which we're now seeing, is it better for them?
And is this just is this the style they should pivot to in general? I mean, if I take the optimist approach, it would be like maybe somewhere you're just going to find the balance, maybe loosening up and trying new things and
giving players freedom kind of gives you an idea of like what's possible and
having an X factor and having something that you can go to if things aren't
working with the overall structure. But then the other side I mean this
thinks man how do you just memory hole whatever you learn from your coach is
because he's been gone for a little bit like is it really that bad like I
understand matches is a newer IGL and he's not used to calling that much I
can understand it from that standpoint but it's like you don't just forget
everything this guy taught you like if he's doing the architect as Zontick said
it's not like the whole structure falls down it's because he's not present like
If he has to be hawking over you all the time to follow the system that he's put in place,
that's really a problem.
That's overreliance when I coach at that point.
That's a play with you.
Yeah.
I mean, look, I get that coach's brain.
Different teams are different, right?
Some teams have coaches that really do a lot of the GMing and the game planning and actually
the tactical approach while others are maybe supportive in other ways, right?
But if you're that reliant on a coach to your tactics, that's a problem.
It's okay if you need him for a timeout, for an adjustment, for some type of, you know,
maybe let's change up the game plan in some sort of way between games or something like
that.
completely lose everything. It's especially crazy given the Reddit
narrative is he might be the problem actually and that's what's holding
spirit back and you hear it there from Zontics that they're kind of struggling
without him it really just goes to show you the insight from on the ground can
be very different from the periphery. Anyway, which spirit all the best? I
hope they can course correct and do better when we get into the arena. They'll
have the benefit of the fans being on their side probably give them a lift.
Zontics will probably be feeling a bit better after a day or two of break and recuperation.
With that said, why don't we take a look at the Swiss bracket and this is what's been
going on over the course of the day.
So a bit of an attritional slog there, but we had some absolute bangers earlier today.
We had of course the mouse, the 9Z game that we covered and for me personally, I'm just
It might shock some people. I think 90 with the best looking team. I've seen at the store. It's not even close, bro
Like you would think that's a wild take to make this because of the team list that we have here
I mean you got six teams ranked in the top 10 in this tournament
90 not being one of them by the way that they look the most impressive and they had the hardest journey
They went through several of those top 10 teams. In fact, all the teams they played were in the top 10
You look at the the game against the foul or if you think it's paravision then falcons and mouse works obviously today
Yeah, the eye tests look good. They beat good teams and they just look sharper as far as being on the same page
And just how they work the maps really I don't want to get ahead of myself
It they looked hungry to man and remind me reminded me when fallen brought his boys and said like we're ready
We're ready to be number one if they want laws. We don't care. We're coming if they catch right upon the quarter files
I think they could make a swing a father-in-law. Yeah, really. I'm fully behind him as well now
That's that's that's the team I want to do. Well, I'll say this as well
Paribasian and the other team that you know
I like to watch haven't shown their best here in Astana and probably would get a big pop as well from the fans
Aurora, you know dominated them today. I thought it really really well always good to see Aurora
Playing as well as they can and we asked questions about Falcons apparently read it like why you talking about Falcons?
They're in the tournament dummy
Um, the, the, they, I, they struggled against Monday again today.
We, we still don't know when the Karagin buff is going to kick in.
My worry is if you don't have a honeymoon period here, like, do you ever get one?
Uh, this would be the best time to find it.
I mean, you would hope so, but I mean, I don't know if I, the wins versus K
27 was extremely convincing.
The loss to 9z, I almost actually am propping up 9z over anything else there.
And, yeah, the Monty win was scrappy, but they got it done at the end.
I just feel like, with Kerrigan, the strategies and the way he wants to build out around,
that's going to get better in a tournament or two.
I didn't think that, I thought this was going to be a very rough draft version of how it was going to play out.
I almost feel like the next tournament, the CAC event, they're going to play is more actually going to be in the honeymoon for me.
I just think that it just takes time for Kerrigan to put those things together.
We say goodbye K 27 and a special mention to Fisher College
We shout out the biggest underdog of all underdogs, but as the deftone said it's back to school
Indeed back to University after that one. I mean obviously cool to see a college team make it to a tier one event is a pretty really sorry
Didn't really show too much competition here. I think through their first like three maps
They were not putting up hardly any rounds from what I heard, but you know at least some experience gained
I guess for some of those guys also hardly didn't have their full five. I'm sure
Um, but yeah, I would go the Alice Cooper route schools out forever.
That's good.
Well, I love that.
Right.
Okay.
I didn't even know you listened to music.
All right.
Well, we'd see what's coming up tomorrow on the B3.
Remember to PG element to stream.
She pick which games you want to watch.
Pirate versus G2 for tournament life.
That is crazy.
That's going to be a heartbreaker because both those teams should have been
playoff teams and one of them's not going to be.
Yeah, it's gonna wreck up predicts. I'll tell you that for blood plus eating good right now at the hotel, bro
He's like I'm through. Yep. All right. I'll have that. Yeah, I'm the versus the mountains as well
Monty's gonna body them. Yeah, I'm see is gonna body back the hunt. Okay. All right
He's called it and heroic versus magic heroic should be yeah
Most moon pops off that's yeah, well, it's got a watcher for that quad boost if that comes up
Oh, yeah. Yeah. If you didn't see that, y'all need to go watch it. It was actually insane. But they did
Quad boost on overpass. Yeah, yeah, yeah, not as effective as Olaf Booth, but still was pretty pretty nasty. I was I was worried
I thought we might just
Anyway, this is what we're gonna have on the main screen coming up for you tomorrow as well
And these are the ones that we'll be talking about on the desk over the course of the day
Furia in a roundabout way. I think this is a reward. I think they should be okay against gentle mate. You hope so
That one in the middle though. Oh, baby. I'm
Really Aurora mouse games a spicy one. Yeah, I mean all all spicy games. Yes
Just focusing again Mongols Falcons the Falcons
We've seen kind of limping through the tournament can't beat the Mongols that I saw today
I don't think but you never know with the Mongols. They are a little bit of an inconsistent
We'll have something common. They both have very limited practice. So yeah, that's
true. One by choice. Yeah. I thought just the worst in the game. Yeah, exactly. I think
Mongols actually play the exact style that Falcons want to play, though. I mean, that
kind of chaotic action and a lot of fights in just different places. I think Falcons
eat that up. A little word for Mongols there. So any final thoughts about what you saw a
day before we close out the broadcast? Vitality is one of four majors in a row.
I would say it's ice cold actually, what's the name of the game?
Listen, it can't say like that, stadium, different ballpark.
So anyway, we hope you have enjoyed watching all of the content today and joining us on
the panel.
We're going to be back tomorrow with more action here from PGL Astana.
We'll see you then.