I'm on a concrete now, I can feel it all around A chronicle of people came in Under the pressure of the dead temptress I can see all the fumbling I see the storm give out A umbrella with another single cloud I can see the storm give out Where should I end all, all I've done? I want you to follow me I can't close my mouth Your promise can't stop me from falling down You are so much so much down You are so much so much down You are so much so much down You are so much so much down I can't see through my eyes Can't see through my eyes I can't see through my eyes I can feel it all around I'm gonna call people caving in I I Mr Heavy God, good sir, it's the lobby, how are you doing? I'm good, I'm good, how are you? I am fantastic dude, lovely day in Brazil, very warm room, how are you feeling? I'm feeling good you know, still I think I need to get a bit used to the time zone a bit We will see how it will go. What time you wake up? Around eight. Oh, that's pretty good actually. You're on like the prime sleep schedule right now. Okay, okay. First question. Everyone knows, Hunter, what actually happened? I've seen the images. What do you do to his feet, bro? I cannot share information. Okay. How's he doing though? Is he holding up all right? Has he been like speaking to you guys and stuff from the back home? Yeah, I mean, obviously he's like, We like we're a team. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Like if someone is injured or not, so He's always connected with us speaking. I mean, he also like wants to be with us it is big when we prepare and everything I mean, he's doing better slowly. He'll recover soon and Yeah, all right, that's good. Well till then you have a new guy in the team. You got tack from G2 Aries, I think is the Academy name How's he feeling? I was looking, I see how many games he's played online, not a huge number. And I'm sure you remember the feeling of going to the early couple of big lands. How has he been holding up? I think he's doing great. Obviously it's a different pressure, officials in practice. In practice he was doing good. I can see what the guy can provide to us and how he can help us. Of course it's a bit different since we don't have Hunter, he's IGL, and Takizan is not IGL, but he's a good guy and I think he's very skilled. And we will see how it will go in the server because it's a different experience. How have you guys decided? Who's going to call? Who's calling right now? Yeah, we'll see. Yeah, we're going to see. I knew this would be the answer, bro. I imagine it's going to be a bit of a committee kind of vibe. Or it's you. I don't know. You're a smart guy. You're a smart guy, bro. guy bro I feel like it's you thoughts you never know hi and I guess like final thing for me but for you would be like you have a couple of events leading up to the major I imagine it hurts a little right like the you kind of hunter here for this one but what's kind of the goal like getting in shape ahead of the major you guys are starting in what stage two I want to say yeah so what's kind of the goal in these last few tournaments on the run up to it I mean obviously that's It was hard to bid that we don't have Hunter because we've been putting a lot of work and we've also been attending to this Tier 2 lens like this. Yeah, we've been grinding a bit on the road and now we're coming here. I mean, it's a honour to be here in Rio as well. And we just want to play. We need to maximize what we can do with the situation that is given. Yeah, I mean, we're gonna do the best. It doesn't matter. We don't have expectations. I think we're just gonna play our best and give the best that we can and Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I know pressure no pressure on G2 right now Majors locked in standard at this event. I don't know man I'm kind of I'm kind of vibing right now with the G2 setup. Yo, good luck. Good luck. Have you got brother and Take care. That was heavy got from G2. We're gonna see who else we can find How are you doing, bro? This is kind of cool, right? From G2 Aries in the main squad as a stand-in. How are you feeling? I'm feeling, of course, on top of the world for now. We'll see how it goes in the games, but I'm of course very excited. It's an opportunity for a lifetime. I'm just excited to be in this tier one kitchen and see how things are done here. and until now it has been amazing. We'll see how it goes in the games. How are you finding the guys? It's a good bunch, man. It's a good team to kind of move into. They're funny guys in G2. Have they been making you welcome? I mean, indeed, they're really funny. We've been having a good atmosphere during practice times, like before the event. And I'm just excited to play with them. And we feel very comfortable with each other. So let's see what we can do. And last thing, and then I'll let you go. I was looking at how many LAN events you've played. It's not a crazy high number. I think you have like 15 LAN matches ever and a bunch of them are from years ago. You've only played nine in the last year. This is quite a step up. Ha ha ha ha. Is what would you say kind of the feeling is now? Is it like excitement? Is it a little bit of anxiety, nervousness? You know, like how are you going there? I mean, it's a bit of everything. Of course, excitement is a problem on the top. I mean, I'm here to just smile and play, like what will happen will happen. I'll just do my best to help the guys out and do my job in the games. And let's hope everything goes fine. Yeah. I like that. I think just, yeah, try and enjoy it. You know, that's probably the best thing you can do in this situation. All right, bro, well, good luck. And I hope you pull up and put up some good numbers, bro. Yeah, that's Tag. He's got Hunter on his jersey. That isn't Hunter. You don't watch CS if you think that's Hunter. Let's tag. Look who has just rocked up to the media, boys. We got none other than Navi. And I'm just going to ambush you with a quick interview. First things first, do you enjoy being in Brazil? Yes, actually. I'm enjoying a lot. It's very good nature here, and very kind of chill here. The green hills, when you're driving from the airport, you see those rolling hills. It's very unique, no place kind of looks and feels like it. Yes, it's true. And also I like the time zone. Time zone is very comfortable for me. How was your travel? Everything okay with the team? Actually for me and overall for our team it was a very tough travel. Really? Yes, the flight was not the best but it's fine. You rested? You're going to be okay tomorrow? We'll see, we'll see, I hope so, yes. Okay, cool. Good, good, good. And coming into this event, you know, you guys have got a pretty good track record of events in Brazil. You know, you've had your successes back in Rio. be seeing another, you know, could you be denying the Grand Slam, the ESL Grand Slam to be specific? We don't want to like look that forward. We first of all focusing on qualify for playoffs and after real step by step we'll try to show our best. Which I mean it does feel like you guys are kind of finding the form at the right time, right? Like everyone everything's flowing nicely. I'm not going to speak anything too crazy but it's looking good. Do you agree? Yes, the rule is looking good, the last two events were awesome for us and I hope we will keep showing good CS. Biskela, what is the law on Biskela? I think you've told me this once before, sorry just to show the jersey, can you give us a spin? Biskela, do you just want to be cool like those guys that put their name backwards or what? No, it's a thing that's from Gullis. It just started to call me Biscala. I think it just flows better in their language, I guess. And yeah, I embraced it. And I think it's nice to have like an alter ego. You've got your alter ego in Brazil. And you've got a good track record in Brazil. You boys, I mean, I just spoke to Bit and it seems like quietly confident is how I'd summarize it. But one game at a time, is that there's still a mindset coming to these kind of tournaments? Yeah, for sure. I think it's another rematch against B8, you can never know what they cook for this time. But just getting the opener game and going from there, I think that's the most important thing. Because you travel around the world and you just need to be ready. Absolutely, and ready you are, not infest the stage 3 of the Major, that's huge. I imagine that took up a lot of your focus for this season. Does it feel a sense of relief? Could that be something that could lead to being a bit too comfortable coming into an event like this when you know your goal for the season has been achieved? No, I don't think... Honestly, I don't think it changed too much. Just like a good thing for us that after the block of tournaments now, we can catch a small breather before like a longer boot camp for the Major. So I just think it's good for the sake of like all the tournaments and for the fact that, you know, we played a, you know, long Stockholm into Rotterdam. And from there, it was good for us that we didn't need to travel to all these smaller tournament. So yeah, it's a good thing for us as a team and overall to qualify for stage three. But that's pretty much it. We were still looking forward to making a deep run on the matry so it's nothing to make it to Thursday. And you could get an extra 100k if you stopped a certain team from winning the ESL Grand Slam. Just putting that out in the universe. That's all I'm saying. Yeah, that's for sure. Coming into this tournament, I was just asking Lexi, you know, stage three in the bag, that felt like your primary objective, you know throughout the season was to get the you know the say through the major but coming into this one you got a good track record in brazil you you quietly confident your boys are going to make a make it deep to the playoffs here no no never never actually with you it has to be realistic this is a very important part that but maybe from viewers position it's easy but uh you should never underestimate competitive scene nowadays it's very tough you can see like that Anyone can win anyone. Yes, we showed a pretty stable and consistent result, like two times finals, but it doesn't say anything. It was just showing that we were in a good shape at that moment, because it was online, EPL started, it was one game, three, four, we grind a lot, then we went to LAN to grind, and then we kind of got in a good shape. So far, it's important to have this thing that, for example, Bade has now. Yes, it's for them, I think third LAN in a row. So you think they could be hot, like hot-handed, you know, they feel that they're warm. In nowadays, this is so important because all teams can play good. You just need to know how to activate. And one of these tools how to activate is to grind a lot online. And they've had lots of those. And there was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about, which was, oh, a lot of people are giving a lot of praise to Mikaze, you know, and understandably. But if you were to put a couple of words, what is it that makes his game so good? Is it his read of the game? Is it his mechanics? How do we quantify what makes this player such an asset to Narvi? I think that all young players have something in common that they play a lot with, let's say, new vision, new wave, new generation. Like these kind of players are a little bit different. I think they learned more, they had more options to learn from the beginning, right? They had different paths from the beginning, like for example, like academy, paths not like just trying three, four, five teams and then get somewhere, right? And then you learn stuff and you put it together. Yeah, I think they're, first of all, they're different, all these young players, even like football, if you see like, they're succeeding. And another thing is, he's very confident and another thing is, he's never frustrated. Really? Like, he's very positive constantly. He's positive thinking is one of the main strengths for anyone in the sport, I think, can be. But imagine he always positive thinking. He never teels. He never like, thinking like, oh, like everything is lost. Especially for a young player, that's really what I would imagine rare. Yes, that's for sure his main strength. Thank you for the time, bro. Thank you, I appreciate that. I'm actually gonna go and... Sorry, your team have abandoned you. I'm so sorry. Oh, Na'Vi, they're nice guys. Nice guys. How are you getting on? You guys were just in Bucharest. That event feels like it only ended 24 hours ago, so how was that? Yeah, we lost for three in Bucharest. It wasn't expected, but I think we learned some things from our team and from ourselves that we can play it now and I think it really is a good opportunity for us just to win games and be in front of home crowds and yeah and I think that's a good vision in mind already you know. You're kind of already you really want to get there you're already envisioning it it's powerful stuff I mean dude it's cool I really like it when we get to have the Brazilian teams you know come play in Brazil I know for like a lot of you guys that's That's kind of the dream, you know, like to get to play on stage in front of your countrymen. Does it add a bit of pressure in a way? You know, like maybe good pressure, but, you know, you want to do right by them. And you guys have been playing good seasons, been trending in the right direction, got the major locked in. Like it's kind of a good time to be a legacy fan right now. Yeah, I think it's good. And I think about pressure. It's about a think of a perspective as individuals in the team. But as soon as we get closer to the game, like tomorrow, we can talk and have a bit of more closer vision from each other and what we expect from each other. And just focus on the game and play as we play every day and just keep focusing. As soon as we see we are where we want. But I think we have to blind a bit of ourselves in the game and play what we expect and be calm. I mean you're giving good calm energy right now. It's good. How are things been with all you just kind of walked past and Give you a little love tap there. How's how's it been with all and it is love. Yeah, I think Art is a very good guy now. He's a bit sick Yeah, but way, but I think it's okay. He's a nice guy. I think they should we have a good vibes I guess because of Bucharest we played a bit bad, we rushed some situations and I think now we can learn from that, because we talk with each other, then we can fix things and play a bit more in our way, you know? You guys were kind of right on the edge of going to playoffs there, right? It was 2-3, you fell out. Does it hurt a bit that the game that you lost there to be eliminated wasn't particularly It didn't feel like it was like the normal level from you guys, maybe your opponent Bait just caught fire or whatever. What do you think it was that led to you guys falling short? I think we got too much people sick. I think half of the team was sick. Has it been like a bad one for sickness at the minute? The communication is a bit low and we tried to push each other but it was hard. But I think now it's how better. It's how better now. I think Bucca Res wasn't everything we had. But I think now we can just do our best and focus on ourselves. I think that's the most important for now. And I think everything will come together as we play the game and focus on ourselves. Lovely. Hey, yeah. It's a very calm do-mar right now. I like to see it. Good luck, brother. And yeah, I hope you guys pull through. This is going to be good. I hope all the sickness goes as well. Let's get rid of that. All right, take care, bro. Oh, hey, Al. How are you doing, bro? Yeah. Are you feeling good? Health. I heard you were a little under the weather. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, but I think it was over. I still gave you a handshake, man. That's how much I like you. Even though you're ill, I'm still there. I wanted to ask, because obviously you've actually played here a couple of times now back in the Furia days. What's it like being back? It's good to be back bro. I have nothing to say. I think it's going to be awesome if you manage to play off, so it's going to be a very good time. Do you think the fact that like Majors already locked in does that alleviate a bit of pressure, the idea that like you're not playing for the whole season right now? You know it's not all getting called into question. You've got that You have a little bit of time now on the run up, one of them being here in Rio. Do you think that leaves you in a good mental place for this tournament? I don't think we changed that much. I think we have a lot of potential in the team and we want to fulfill that. It's going to be just giving our best to play off even in a tournament so I think we don't feel the pressure of the major. The last thing and then I'll let you get on because I know I know you ain't feeling I don't want to keep you but do you think like Because I know like Brazilian culture with how they kind of get behind their teams, you know It's like for fans and stuff your wins feel like their wins your losses feel like their losses Is it kind of a unique experience where like you really want to be in front of the crowd? But does it kind of at its own like unique pressure because I always think back to like the Rio major the Navi match like felt like and I think to a lot of people here felt like you guys had already won the tournament, you know And and then obviously that didn't happen like is it kind of a unique situation where it's like it's a dream But also it adds it adds a bit of a pressure to the situation No, definitely not. I think the crowd the crowd being passionate and we hearing other crowd Did not give us any pressure at the least like you're feeling no pressure now. We're just feeling confident. They're cheering on us I think that feeling It doesn't feel like pressure. It feels like they're motivating us. I think that's how you feel inside. That's a good framing. This is why I'm not a pro player. All right, dude. I love to hear it. And best of luck to you boys, genuinely. Yeah, I hope you pull through. And I hope your illness goes away, man. And you're feeling tip-top-shaped tomorrow. It's going to get better. That was our... This was legacy. We love them. Oh, thank you so much, dude. Hello, Makaria. Hello. Dude, coming into this one, I'm sure your season has been rather intense, you know, but you guys have managed to get a very good spot at the Major. That's got to be feeling good. Yeah, like I think we went five different countries to secure stage three. We work hard, but at the end we did it, so we're happy. Yeah, five different countries. What was the list? First Serbia for gaming house, then Sweden, Denmark for Blast, Netherlands again and then finally Romania. Damn, okay you've been busy. And now you're in Rio, yeah. How was the long flight as well? How was the travels? Is everyone cool? Everyone's here? Yes, it was long but I think it was good. I think we were on the road for 24 hours or something like this. You got in yesterday? Yes. So, food, media, rest and gaming tomorrow. Who's your opening game against? Hotto. Hotto, okay. Do you find it difficult when you go against a team you haven't played against before? I don't think so. I think we played them against them before. I think it's going to be a good game for us. I see the major stickers. People are doing their autographs. Are you submitting a new one? No, I think just hopefully Amir will do a new one. the others will do the same. Wait, is that magic? Have you finished your... Have you done your autograph? No, it's just a sticker. Yeah, maybe? Oh, maybe new magic sticker. There's a little behind the scenes for you. He wouldn't show us, he wouldn't. Yeah, it's a secret. It's a secret. It's under... It's in development. Okay, that's exciting. But you're keeping the same old one. You're not getting creative. Give it like a little... Everyone does a smiley. I try to do like 20 times, I can't find anything good, so I will just do the same. Sick as a sticker, man. It is cool to have your name in the game, though, right? Yes, it's the only thing that matters. It means a lot to the players. It's super cool to see. Mr. Heavy God. So, Flashy, coming into this one. I've been looking at the run of events. You guys have been chasing those last few VRS points, securing the spot, the major. That was the big goal. Mission accomplished. What's the goals now? What happens? Does it feel like a loss of direction? but the main goal achieved, what's the mindset coming into RIA? Yeah, it was a close call on the major. We definitely could have done a lot better and we have been working hard since to improve for this event and also for the next ones. Yeah, and how is that workflow for you? I mean, this is still quite a new jersey for you fitting into the team and finding your way in which to kind of leave your mark. How is that development going? It's going good. We are trying to find our ground and also trying to create a culture together including now Mario in the lineup who we really like so far and yeah I think we're promising and we'll just be better and better by the time goes by. Yeah okay so it is about time speaking of time I've known this guy for a long time I was about to call you an old timer that was crazy yeah you're still looking fresh-faced bright-eyed but she tailed how was Rotterdam how was Dracula? I mean obviously the Rotterdam event we didn't go too far unfortunately but we We showed good sign. Did you explore the city of Rotterdam? No, no. I mean, I already spent a lot of time in the Netherlands with Liquid anyway, so I've seen some nice places in the Netherlands, but yeah, no, and then Draculaan was a throwback to the past, just being in a room with a bunch of other gamers, just getting loud, hearing everybody cheer here and there, so it was fun, but unfortunately, with our current form that we've had in a long time, we haven't been able to make it too far into these events, but hopefully one of those days come where we can have a deeper. I mean, it's obviously not an easy fix. Otherwise, it would have been fixed by now. So is it just something that's kind of still out of grasp, out of reach? You can't put words to it? Yeah. I mean, I feel like even over the years, even last year, I think when you look at the team on paper, the teams look good. So I think a lot of it just comes down to internal things, just playing as team and being teammates. So we just need to improve upon those. Nice to see your boy doing his signature. Are you going to mix it up? I think you have just written NAF every time every year. Yeah, no, I'm just gonna have the same one. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, it's a special one because my mom drew. Did she really? That's okay. That's some fun intel. I like that. But it's my mom's right. So yeah, she's in the game. Yeah, that's beautiful. I'm going to go know your teammates. It's the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026 is day two of the group stage where I've got sponge to open up the show with me today. Looks a counter strike yesterday. What was your highlight coming up? The fact that there were no upsets. That was my highlight of the day. The fact that we went through an entire day one of an IEM without a single upset and I know that's not the most glamorous, but yeah, no upsets. That's really excited me as a counter strike enthusiast. Which means that Vitality take one step closer to these coveted gold bars. They could become the first team to go back to back to become the first two-time ESL Grand Slime Champion. Is it pretty likely right now? Yeah, who's going to stop them or are they going to stop themselves? I think that's probably the question, right? Because you look at the contenders, the field is in flux. Some people are saying it's a little bit weak or is a vitality who are very self aware of the fact that, hey, these streaks hung on forever. What are we talking 24 consecutive maps without a loss? Seventeen straight series. Last year, they knew that a loss was going to come, but it didn't come until the major against legacy, right? So that was a best one. That was a whole different story. Yes. I think these are theirs. Yeah, I think you might be right in that suspicion. I post that question to flames. You say okay this time last year you're on the precipice of doing a mob when you're on a streak What's the difference between this time last year and right now? And he actually said the he feels like feel the competition is actually weaker. So Yeah, that's tough isn't it if that's why it goes back to vitality, right? They're their own biggest enemy at the moment and so far They're their best friend friends that they're always focused. They're always locked in they're never getting in their way this team is setting the precedent for how professional counter shall be played just like a strahler's did all those years ago, right? That's why so many comparisons they're going to be taken on g2 to be opening up the day on the a stream We also have spirit versus falcons as our second game now spirit finally managing to bid farewell to the demons have not been able to take down that nico and monosidoro back at pgl So I'm very excited to see what goes on and I thought you're gonna say use flashes because that's what if I had a second most Impressed with thing yesterday was the utility usage and the fact that they look like a team I really liked what spirit we're getting up to yesterday I hope that this is them turning a corner because you've got Donk, right? This is the team that we're expecting to be running deep in tournaments and challenging a team like Vitality. Well, by the way, let's get the show started. It's time to kick off the Intel Extreme Masters Rear 2026. Rafa really making history, absolutely phenomenal. And Ace is the champion of the Intel Extreme after World Final. Storm still not quite done, and he is going to take this fight though. Three seconds left. All of us two rounds, I don't know if he's going to start it, but we're going to see. And this is a massive move this is, but he's not content with just the Nexus kill. He will drag them out. She's gonna get it. And it's all done. I'm trolling, Chris. Unbelievable room, with a four-star victory over Classic. And they did it again in the Grand Final. It's gonna be. Come on. Come on. You're gonna bring your damn tail, extreme masters. Come on. No, Chris. The Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026 is brought to you by ESL and partnership with Intel, Acer Predator Jax and DHL We've got Nertz in his G2 jersey and he's ready to be taken on by Taliyah I do want to ask about your game yesterday versus Gentlemates First map of Inferno, a little bit complicated Do you guys, what happened there? I think it was a little bit shaky and Nervs came in the game And I feel like we were not like, I feel like a lot of players didn't take initiative in the game, and this is what caused us the game. And in the second game, we just reset and we moved on. Overpass, as you said, completely different story, map 3. One of your best tea sides that we've ever seen you guys in G2 post up. What was the story then? Why were you able to kind of lock in? I think Overpass is a big kind of map that you can take space everywhere enough to decide about the mid-calls, and this is something that we did perfectly. We are heard from H1CV obviously without Hunter being here, the Sampires has taken up most of the call in duty, you're helping out as well, can you tell me about that balance and how it's been struck? I think it depends on the map but Sampires is basically our IGL, I'm helping a lot about mid calls most of the times but he's doing a really good job. Is that a lot of pressure to you considering you're pretty new into duty? I mean like every time when we're tournaments I was the guy that doesn't understand some people help me, but now I'm trying not to focus about myself I'm trying to help some players and talk about it, and I feel like we are doing fine job Final question vitality obviously nobody's favorite opponent surface. Let's be honest What goes through your head when you know you're taking them on you'll be surprised by vitality is one of the teams that have it feels like They're not doing something crazy. They're not playing like I think they're playing simple CS are playing the best CS are the best team in the history, but for me, they're one of the teams that I feel comfortable the most to play against. Very looking forward to seeing it go down there. Thank you so much for your time. Good luck. I've got egg stars ahead of our bouncy series versus due to yesterday versus recognized made sense that you are one pretty handedly in that one, but something we always notice about vitality is even when you're playing a team that's much below you in the rankings, the mentality still spirit when you're playing the Falcons, when you're playing the Maus. Is that something that you kind of work with the guys to make sure they're always treating every single game the same? I think we did in the past, but nowadays we know you can beat everyone. So even though we are the best team in the world, you have a bad day, you have a good day you can lose, so we have exactly the same prep, the same opponent, we try to find new things against any opponent, supposedly. I think the running joke of this event is who's going to come second to Vitality, Right, who do you look at as the biggest contender, the biggest threat to you at the moment out of all the teams? Ha, I don't know. I don't want to say ourself is too easy. Fragments can be dangerous with the situation, a bit less pressure, as they are good usually. I don't know about spirit, furiotto. Furiot can be good. Yeah, and of course Navi, because the teams are really good. Yes, either way, G2 today, Obviously, less than ideal situation with Hunter not being here. Does that affect your prep at all when you know that the guys are playing with the stand-in? Yeah, a little bit, because I think they can play a bit more relaxed. We watched the game yesterday, and we saw different crazy moves that much, but that's something, for example, if you got going out Palace on Mirage, it's not a player usually trying to do something like that. So yeah, we had to adapt but at the same time we can also think about our game not over thinking because yeah If you start to say okay, they can do whatever they want you don't play your game So I want to make sure today we expect our plan and what we want to thank you so much for your insight It's always excess. Good luck Fantastic first day of play for all of the higher seats We have zero upsets coming into this one It was chance highlight joining me now the casting desk because we've got g2 vitality to start off day two I'm excited for this one, the rise to start and of course expecting a bit of a caveat expecting a bit of spice to the G2 game plan X-Tas already highlighting that they're doing a little bit break of the norm With no hunter to call the shots. Yeah, that's right We just heard from nerds there's some past doing the calling and they've got tack from G2 areas The academy standing in who's just been plugged in the hunters positions But positions in the last month have been changing an awful lot for G2 almost a month of the day that nerds mouth swap happens so musical chairs as we do get the pistol round. It's going to be an A-play. U2 in the sky. Apex under the balcony. Messi debate for it. Apex got to hear this first headshot. It's heavy guard to pass in. Apex does very well traded out by Matis. Some pious finding Flamesee opens up the site and Matis has even put a cherry on top by removing Messi pushing through that jungle smoke. Zaiwu and Robs though. Not ones I'm willing to write out immediately. However, with a deep CT smoke blooming and Zywoo's searching over the top of the smoke, things are not looking too comfortable. Rops will go down on the reload here. Mattis just charges through the smoke deals with him and now it is just Zywoo might want to hold onto the Kevlar. Starting to back off. If you can find anything but Mattis the left he he sense that round right as that grabs the pistol Or G2 beautiful work and again it is very important to reinforce the less pressure Conversation obviously you're going up against the world number one. There's no doubt about that But the fact that they're willing to look at that. You saw that smoke just kind of bounce off the head there Little bit too late It's a good work just simple stuff executing inside and some really good shots there for Mattis He's someone who's had to change his positions on this map since the Nerds edition, but back into things with a forced buy. Heavy mid-fight. Yeah, very big. Look at this charge. There's going to be four players to receive them, though, and it is all good in the G2 hood. Double from Nerds. Some pious catches. Apex swinging out of connector. And yeah, second round. We sometimes talk about the difficulties you can encounter. Vitality is so proficient in the absence of a pistol, winning the second round force, but G2 handle it very comfortably. Yes, and very quick rounds to kick off the campaign. campaign and the fact this was the four so they get almost nothing done this I'm very disappointed for apex so to be an eco coming to next we are just on board with rops who's wandering over towards the B apartments while the bomb gets planted on a so G2 sitting pretty to get this three zero star on the T side of their map choice I think all the legacy building or record building that Vitality have been up to. We're talking 24 consecutive maps, 17 series. When you look at their maps, I'll start at the top. D2, they've won the last 13 consecutively, over past the last 13. Anubis, 9 straight, Inferno, 6 straight, Nuke, 6 straight, and then Mirage. This is their, quote unquote, weakest map. It's only the last three. So, G2 looking to try and capitalize on that as Robs. Okay, he gets something for his troubles. He'll be staying alive if he doesn't poke up his head and, yes, okay, keeps the 5-7, gets himself a kill, carries it through the next round of play, but all in all, the investment's going to this one will have to be extremely limited from Vitality. Give us an opportunity to talk a bit about the Lithuanian tack. Back with this cat. It is cat. Oh, yeah. With a K. Cat with a K. from Lithuania and tack with a T who has, you know, kind of shaken off those initial It's first map was a bit rough yesterday. Understandable, right? You're playing the big boy lands. The second map a bit more of what you'd expect. The third is the top performer. 10% rounds with another pass as well. So very impressive. And against against Gentlemates, right? So a bit on the line and that one is this eco mode and we'll just continue. Supply scrubs the first two, but, Supply is the key going against Gentlemates, the Spaniards. I'm sure Gentlemates as an org would have loved to have won that game to get to take on Vitality again. We know that as far as the French counter strikes in is concerned, it's a rivalry of some sort. A little bit of a kerfuffly, but all in all just two casualties. Nurtz and Matus go down, the eco round dealt with, and now we get into the gun. So let's see, Vitality. Listen to that. Yeah, and he was saying if people want to go listen to the HLTV.org interview conducted with him yesterday Some differences you're saying in the academy team He's normally the second voice in the squad, but you're saying with this complexion I'm not saying this is a pug, but this is a team when you when you have a stand-in You want him to feel comfortable because you you need him to contribute You know, he's not just there to fill out the numbers I you picked him from the academy for a reason So you want to allow him to make a couple of plays and he's making one early So once with this B-Flight and he gets it, Mezzie will be forced off the line. The head of the Util forces out the HE as well. So forcing the B-Player to dump his Util is rather a barren belt for Mezzie. They do have the AWP on Zywoo. Oh, that's a big mate on a matters of the top midboxers. Perfect timing. But realistically, that was just an opening move. All right, let's see if we can find the B-Pick. If not, we apply the pressure. As you mentioned, Util comes out and they were relatively just settled into a default. So, rejigging on both sides of the server, Rock Suite still in vent room, Apex towards the window, Flamzy starting close ramp and continues there. This will be some type of an A-split starting to come together. A good amount of utility for the finish right now for G2. TAC needs to clear out close ramp. Flamzy blocks. Oh, beautiful. Heavy God just catches the perfect time. It walks out of Palace but traded. Flamzy pays a heavy price. Oh! That is just dead. Over to what's tapped. Just deleted. That was a quick burst from Robs. Oh, and nerds. Coming out through the underpass, Apex staying proactive on the CT side. Flamesy still, managing to get value out of his low HP cowering on the back as Apex does peek on through. Attacked by Tevelling! It's clean. Okay, on the border. You just heard from Xtaz in the pregame interview discussing the fact that There's some crazy moves they saw when they were watching yesterday's game back like heavy God just walking out of palace. I think he did exactly that right the fact that flingy takes contact towards ramp heavy God just waltzes out finds the gap. It's a very important kill to make but this was that burst from Ross. Well done from the a defense and three to one the score as we back out with the guns. This one's more direct maybe more pace on this some pious boosted up towards a to see if you can catch a player crossing con. Bomb down a T spawn so cancel the pace. Suspicious of the smoke flamethrower. Crouch is around trying to find that angle onto the head of nerds but he's managing his angles well. Apex coming to burrow in again. have to be late through underpass the bomb gonna be picked up from Madison a moment and have you got again in palace knocking on the door he's at least acknowledged him but goes and gives him the fight you gotta be brave crazy apex though does catch him off guard climbs up the ladder and then so we're from CT, just pickin' the best double kill from him. Spray through the boards though. Nerds on Sandwich has got an opportunity to retrieve. That bomber make this two versus four into something more manageable. Tak needed to win that once. Zywooz managed to find his third. Reloquates from CT towards the jungle side for number three. Okay, Nerds in the clutch. Gets the first. Fact that he still has the AWP though. That's, if he could have gone back to an AK, I might have a little bit more faith in him getting this one down. Let's see Nerds. 1v3 with the AWP. first one to his name. I mean, with Zaheem, so low HP, it doesn't really matter. You let him play, right? You have to let him play, let him make the next move and then deal with him. Don't give him another kill. Oh, the timing! I love the Restraint and Messi there, right? Doesn't swing immediately, aware of the fake possibility, knowing that Zaheem has gone to investigate the reroute over towards B, waits to go, okay, well, if he is committing, I'll catch him. If not, we'll get in mid way through the fake. And because time was so low, the plant had to come through. But this is a crazy play from Apex, right? The fact that you know that there's a player in Palace and you've just come up the ladder in that regard is absolutely wild. Apex would be round winning maneuver, IMA Joe. And as I was the man to get the kills, but Apex do it. That stuns their progression on the site and forces them now to just an eco. A Diggle for Heavy God, everybody else with the Glox is vitality. Sure, you lose the pistol you lose the force it's pretty flat but you're back in it once the guns come out so regular scheduled programming at least for now just banging games all day on the a stream and again returning to the point of having none of the favorites lose and I understand there's some stand-in factors or that kicks in is on the way out over there in the falcons camp you heard from x-tas what that could do in terms of the mindset from a positive perspective. Obviously, there's the negative too, but spirit versus falcons, that's a banger for bringing up the fact that they have been able to get past them in at least the most recent outing that plague spirit for some time. I am going to lose my mind if they actually pull off this fake B plant A4-1 against Vitality. There's no, like you'd have to get a deagle headshot or two in order to sell this. Yeah, I, with a team like Vitality, unless the players are a little bit sleepy, you're You're going to be calming numbers and bombs very important, right? One of the keys is to make sure that the communication is as clear as possible, but the other being the detail of the console. Here they come. And Messi's not calling for backup. He might if another one happens. Heavy God's hit the deagle shot and flames he's starting to maneuver back. He's so aware. I still get the plant, though. Three, two, done. Oh, I like the... Oh, it's the same. Always the same. That won't fail like that. pretty good understanding of the situation either way. So some cheekyness coming out there, there's nerds. Did his best to try and give them a little $600 cash injection across the board, but the tactical timeout caught from sore. So they will not have an AWP available for some pious. That means it is going to be rifle heavy. Now in their first gun round, TAC had a spawn and he only wanted to use it. Right. So you're seeing that didn't necessarily come in with a hard and hard game plan that they had to follow being a bit more fluid in how they want to approach these rounds. But now with saw taking to the mic, I'm sure he's going to establish something a little bit more set is the bomb almost going down flames. He just denied that. And is that a go to strap? Then I think it could be a nerd's classic. Maybe I either way Here we go Back again going for this pressure on to messy early and it does inflict significant damage I like the confidence from him to look for these fights and make moves That's what you want from the player or Go on. He's got messy and ropes on notice. That's not bad at all. Is it? 45 points of health between the two of the B defenders right now. So on notice for this one is Mid control has been garnered and given. Vitality aren't fighting for this. It's Zybu in connector on his learn. Some Apex floating around window, just trying to puff up and cause some damage. That one could have been lethal. Tiny gap for Zybu hoping to finish off the job. Nice jiggle, B. He's bashing all the tests. An Apex trying to jumping A4 in here. Without Hunter, I wonder how proficient they are with the window boosts. They're the old master. Mezzie, taking some B space, this will inform them now, likely to be an A split. Yeah, informed by Zywoo, spotting that underpass player. CT smoked. Flash is going to be coming over the top. Flames E, looking the wrong way, gets sidelined by Heavy God. Mishot from Zywoo for the attempted trade. A little bit of damage onto Nertz, but it's still not going to be easy. short, there's no way back for Zywoo. That'll be the fourth round for G2, so very well done. Zywoo should be getting away with this now. It matters with the parving, and that'll be that. So, a little round there. It started with all that damage over to which B that made them skittish, but Mezzi still ended up with a push, which informed them, but all in all, can't argue with the result. Apex just there, saying let's fight for mid. So not allowing them to have all this room. If you're going to play Xtrem, he's going to play side focus. You're a little bit more worried about side executes, or side lear outs. If you're going to fight for this mid control, you're not going to give them all this space. But if G2 also fight for mid control, the round can be decided in this skirmish. So not an immediate shelf, not jumping out, running up, pushing through underpass. us. I'd allow G2 to establish the under window control close con then pop into action. Flamesy Apex and Robs ready to clamp down on middle. That's a flash for the majority. Nerd spotted and Robs eliminated. Apex goes back and fought it for tat, leaves us in a three on three. Oops, smoke though. That's ambitious. Masi, well positioned to receive onto Tak. It was a good reaction from Tak. I understand it looks silly with him coming through the grey screen, but the way that they fought mid just there, you would expect it to be four to five of the players pushing out into that space, so it surely goes down for free, but there's an educated gamble that doesn't pay off. Some pirates and heavy god now paired up towards A. They should be able to get in and get the bomb down. Kits on Zawoo and Flames. Straight to CT. Never mind, no sticks around jungle, even though the smoke's up. Fake, but Zyra's got the HE, he can scuttle across, and that smoke's not gonna last forever. I have to plant safe now. Oh dear, some piracy's gonna be able to shoot back, try and go for the plant, but on his head, HE not dead, 2 HP, still goes light though. If he got in that clutch with 20 seconds, the pressure on him to plant, Flash can get him across, base the shot, gets across, still needs to get that bomb down. Can't find it, he can't find it, it's a little wider than he hoped and now still with 7 seconds, isolates the jewel and has just enough time to plant. Heavy God doing everything for G2, just Mezzie to get passed up on the stairs. Heavy damage but Heavy God, overcomes! Big clutch, big damage, fifth round for G2. Okay, that run right there is gonna taste... Oh, okay! Well, I don't think we got the audio coming through that, but there was a bit of back and forth. I could hear it through my head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you think this is the moment where round falls apart, if some person get the bomb down, he can survive to a default. Have you got some small control? They can set something up between the two of them. But yeah, the timing was the most impressive part of all of that. Oh, fuck you! Oh, you're alive! Oh, okay. Well, uh, some pirates. Oh, no, we've missed that one. It's just a partial investment for vitality. This is six rounds now for G2, all but confirmed flashes over mid fight. Here it comes. Oh, they didn't clear notes. They just focused on me. Still, are you ready for another one? Probably not. And that's because Mattis is already beating them up to the punch at top mid I respect this from now it's big time they have everything to gain nothing to lose right this event hunter herds his foot I think when I say herds his foot it feels a little bit like condescending so he's stubbed his toe flew up like a balloon yeah how about we have a bit of that so they're here with a player from the Academy team they know that they're going up. It's a free swing of the king. It's your map choices. T side, you're setting the tempo, you win the pistol, you get the conversions. That's your foundation. That's your bedrock of rounds. And then on top of that, you've won yourself a clutch. You've forced them down to a partial bite. We've got three rounds left in the half. It's on vitality to turn this around and salvage a 6-6. Now, they knew last year, hey, we can't win forever. They were the ones saying, and we were all talking about, oh, look at this streak. It's crazy. How many maps they're win and that we're gonna lose eventually lost the legacy the best of one of the major and you know that was at the major the one we think that this is theirs to win so everyone's aware that it will happen at some point but is it now as this forced change in the dynamic for the vitality camp no window smoke they're hoping some pyres is given a 3d flash and swing some pyres pulls the trigger between the wickets caught out by robs straight into a vent boost after it as well so Just keep flowing well. Great flashbang work. Here's the boost. No Hunter, no problem. I'll get Nerts situated this time. Wow, Robs is anticipating that move. Knows it's something they need to do. Solid nade damage onto Nerts. Oh, they really want to harass Nerts. Nerts is up. Oh, walking through the smoke doesn't work out for Nerts. Vitality 5 alive. Heavy God on the rampside, hoping to make a difference. The bombs so disconnected from the two of them. Should be set for a 4th up the back of the X-Taz timeout. Solid positions here for Flamesy. Have you got again able to worm his way out and give himself a sandwich, but I don't think it's going to have the same potency as we've seen previous, so this one's a whole different set of affairs. Yeah, now that I know exactly where he is, everyone should just come and charge you in to deal with him, and there you have it. 6-4. Okay, looking for the same type of play going to the next, I said their second opening kill, excuse me that was their third, but still winning out the line share of them so far is G2. It looks messy, but that's what G2 are kind of hoping for, to be able to take advantage of rotations, playing through smokes. That's what's fast, the pace change. Look at Matt, he's parving very quick towards the connector, fine, might catch Apex up, go off guard completely. Panced. And heavy god, hoping that was enough of a distraction, makes a step though, don't know if that was audible, he's not too far away. Robson's in this joker position, we highlight a lot with team Zomber Rage, right, that's the short player, he's over towards Ebb, but with Apex dead. Oh, Matt is clean. He's have a map 147 right now from the mad dog. Rob's the Joker, but doesn't matter if so we've got to. Yeah, sure. You get the job on the one a dink on tomatoes as well. You just going to go be. That is taking Rob's work, incredible work from Mattis. How has he won that out with the low HP? I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. Come on over. We can plan the bomb. I'm thinking right now. The best thing for me is to be able to save, but the fact is they're all over the map. So that's not the case. That's that's a little tap there in the back of the dome gets his fourth and around in the seventh for G two. It's good. It's good. He's giving him a taste of his own medicine. It's really is. It's when you say good as well, you're not just talking from like an entertainment perspective. You're talking the strategy of Banta. Well, if he pulls apex into this and apex is not as focused as he needs to be on the actual game and calling job done. We're all having a good time watching this back and forth. The rally of words final round first half vitality. You need to sandwich this one. He's He's once again, he loves to take this spawn and apply pressure to Mezzi. This time hasn't taken any chip damage from the Util Barrage a little bit. I'll say a little bit. Single point from the Trapnel of his HE. This is where for an 8-4 you start asking yourself, is this where the 24 consecutive map streak comes to a close? Again, acknowledging it's always going to happen, but when you're watching it unfold, the greatness of a team like Vitality, I want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. If it comes to its close, sure. Great play from G2. If one of the clutches won the pistol, had some really nice moments. And taking it to Vitality, don't you worry about that. Back into another A-split. That is tacked through mid. That's rampant, surprise gunner on heavy gun and palace. 40 seconds. Oh, he hit that shot there, Zywoo, tanks him up, he backs away, doesn't go down to the neighbor, matters audible. Quick from Zywoo, flays him back, gets something onto stairs. Draws the attention of Apex. Flank from Robster's absolutely nothing. Lovely, impactful double kill from TAC. Academy player caught on the reload. It drops into site, bomb on the back of some pieced low HP though and Apex does need to get clear. They'll find He loves that sandwich, doesn't he? He really does. Snacks on it. Fast long range on to nerds. Oh, Khloé. 10 seconds. Very susceptible. We need to see that plant now. It's not going to be easy. Not going to be easy whatsoever. Zywu makes it so quad kill out of Zywu, but still a competitive half of the G2 have the lead. Is this where the streak ends? I don't know what to do! Darn! Darn! I cannot give you! You understand me! Me! An extra element to the playbook from G2, Nert has been engaging the tilt attempt, trying to get under Dan Maddasklaar's skin, counting of vitality. He wears his heart on his sleeve and typically he's the one that's showering at you trying to get under your skin. If anything, Apex started it, right? They tried that eco play with the bomb blast and then after that it really got started. But Mirage, a 7-5 first half T side G2 with a standing. That's all of it. It kind of encapsulated what's happening right here right now. But vitality, it's all about the streaks. They're keeping their clothes But there might be losing one right here right now 24 consecutive map wins the last time they lost the map was 58 days ago To the Mongols on Mirage. They won the series don't worry about that And on Mirage as well, so perhaps this is somewhat of a weakness It was the lowest on the the streak list as far as the maps that the vitality been converting G2 also just historically Often gonna be playing vitality in their head-to-head bringing it to Mirage in a couple of 13 11's like it's always been narrow of loss is fine. How do you manage to knit them in the bud, but also full rounds of regulation now with a standing perhaps a little like less pressure. You can see tack on your screens Not too much to say about his first half of play. No I look he showed some confidence looking for fights towards be with mezi He had an important double kill over towards connector a little bit later on in the piece But for him, he knows this is opportunity to put himself in the shop window right now. He's in the Academy team He's got the call-up to fill in for Hunter while injured and it'd be a good chance to show What you can get done in the server now? We had a decent showing yesterday, but this is a completely different affair going up against the world number one We are about to get things back underway apologies for delay. Xayah. We crashed We were just getting him sorted situated and ready and raring, but let's get second half started I tell you have opted in with a couple of smokes, sir That's the other game. Yeah. We haven't even started yet. A Molotov for Apex and a flash for Zaru. Flames he's been given the P250, curiously. Having one of these quieter maps that I've seen from in recent history. He's been tasked with throwing all of the Util. First smoke thrown out. That is still as mid vision. That's the way about underpass. and aware of that. Oh, he saw him. He's fired them. Apex burrows into the smoke. At least they have the info. Xywu peeks on in. Fake Goosh. Fake Goosh indeed. That's the fine Mattis onto Apex. Confirms and denies. Maybe he was going body shots because he heard the Goosh. Yeah, you're probably right. I think you're absolutely right, but Mattis is having a mirage to remember. Puts himself up onto 18. Robs can't win his duel. Some pyres takes his head off, and Xywu down as well. Wow, G2 not only picking themselves up 7-5 half, they're going to start this one off with a bang too. Damn, okay, that was rough, right? Apex was definitely aiming for body shots in that situation, so the fake goosh really matters is having a great map, 18 and 8. And now, Mezzie, the best you could hope for is to plant, but Nurt says no, that's denied and... I think that's the reason. This is the other factor, right? Notes has only been there for a month. So this is. Oh, okay. So we know they saw him. Yeah, this was just the awkward fight. I guess they're discussing how it all fell apart either way. Matters just being staunch on short. But vitality are a P250 for the likes of Robson Apex and Flames just going to operate on the block. So this is, unless an eco-victory happens, a 9-5 score line. So there's... I wouldn't say a long way back up the mountain, but if you win the gun round, they're back down to another partial. Could be looking at 11 rounds before Vitality get anything going on their T half. So if it's going to start, it needs to... pretty damn quick. We had a similar situation the first half. They lost the pistol. They lost the force. They took the eco when the guns came out They won the round. So this time they've got a different buying pattern T side without the plant As you have an operator the glil here drops the same that tells you how important the u2 is going to be to functioning X Taz obviously happy with what he is This is where your game planning the night before Everybody should have a very good idea what the first gun round is going to look like Wow, we've got friction in middle early. Confirms someone's dropped down. Nert's fully committing towards underpass. And already first blood is drawn. Sunpires just straight through the mid-window smoke. Rob's audible. Have you got high alerts? Catches eye. We're pushing out towards the Tetris boxes. Very, very loud. Is Rob's in court on the flashbang? Push! Nert's is farming him up. Quick double kill from Nurtz and this gun around has gone south. My Tanti in the dumps looking very vulnerable to conceding map 1 here. Flames his turn in what is an unwinnable situation so it's coming true and in the worst possible way. The fact that you've done no damage, you're not getting the bomb down, it's not a close round, you're not keeping the pressure on. G2 are running away with this one. This is dominant. Now you know me, Chad, I don't like to overreact, but should Vitality make Maraj their perma-ban and start playing Ancient? No, I think that, right, this is one of the factors where Maraj is a map that's played by almost all teams, and it's the one that is the most popular in the pug realms. Everybody's playing it. Everybody has a pretty good base-level understanding, as the clear for the owner, but still through smokes on strikes, what are you meant to do? This is looking very good for G2, who have had a lot of position changes, right? Obviously map's going out, no it's coming in, position changes happen there and TAC is plugging into Hunter's positions, but still you've only had a month of this roster, you've been playing smaller lands, it's all a bit of a mess, here we go, partial buy into A. Look at this Utah from Heavy got some destiny for damage, Heavy! Damage inflicted, Nert's on the smoke break, nearly goes down to the flame, Spam but it's all shaping up nicely. One back from Robs on the Tech 9. Flank from Mezzie. Successful. It's a rifle into his hands as well. Partners up with Apex but Blanc's gonna be denied. There's no chance for him to get the co-punched. Sampias brings him down. Two players from that CT side. Mattis creeping and crawling from the jungle. Hoping for an overextension from Mattis and he gets the info that he's off the bomb. some pious pushes forward love this restraint this measured restraint we're seeing from G2 yeah they're playing aggressive in the beginning it put themselves in the pole position and then plan together very nicely to close out these rounds with 45 seconds left Messi's gonna give this one a good go he's got the bomb rerouting now looking to try and finish over towards B they would I must have loved to plant it isn't a huge level of importance right now with max loss bonus going into the next might just be a small victory attack trying to cut him off at the past low on HP. This would feel good for tag. Does mezzy clear the whole site? Oh, it doesn't matter. Mezzy dead. Three, two, one. And there you have it. Attack. Well, it would be weird if he showed up at his lose. Yeah, unless it was at his teammates. So just to kind of give a bit of context to this because the game could be over in two rounds time. The whole reason we're talking about a streak like this, Counter Strike at the moment is measured by Vitality. Their 24 consecutive maps is the second longest map win streak of all time, only behind NIP. And if we're talking big events, theirs is 34. If we're talking overall, it's 87. No one's ever beating that. The 34 felt like it could have been doable. They just won Rotterdam without dropping a single map. So the idea of them coming in here and doing the same wasn't out of the realms of possibility we just saw them do it this is a team that's legacy building so can they pull themselves out of this apex already up through con might catch a timing yes he does opening kill finally head onto some pious but now it is immediately there for the trade no it's gonna sound crazy yeah you know we want drops out of the window smoke masked by the plume and these are the risks that they're talking about and now you've got the to be the benefit of all the rounds and now the push. Just keep it going. You kind of count for all of this of your vitality. No way. No, you cannot. And so I will cut looking down. Tag puts him down. Bombs going to get dropped in a second. Nice out flames. They're just booking them. So this is going to be one of those games in review where all 12, 12 to 5. Dan! I don't understand what are you doing! Look at me! Yes! It's not me. Yeah! Oh no, you know this is going to get so juicy, map 2 and 3. Yeah, exactly. This is the thing. Do you now just kind of wake up the beast and they come out and stomp you out going into map set? Look at him! 2 and 3 of this all. It's Inferno next. Dust 2 is the third and decide up. Oh, mate. I am so in. It's gonna be first loss in 58 days. 58 days? Map loss in 58 days. Yeah, okay. Geez. It's an unfamiliar feeling. Imminent for vitality. Zywoo's pushing up, but Nerth is already dropped down. Apex is gonna likely encounter him. They're gonna hook this first. Oh, two in con. Everyone's here. Zywoo! Nerth catches Apex on the reaction. Keep it spotless. Why not? A 13-5 is quite the statement of victory for G2 with a stand-in no less. Day 2 of Rio, you're taking on the world number one. And you're throwing them around the server, you're shouting across the room. Just wants to get past alongside Mezzi. I'm just flicking through quickly, so no one caught me on this, but I think this is their worst map loss since Blast Rivals 2025 against Furia. which was a 13 to 5 on an inferno so it's been a long time between drinks seeing a team like vitality no not seeing a team like vitality seeing vitality lose a map this badly is the series on the line or is this just to get the day started No hope, no chance, no way in hell. 13 to 5 G2. They end the consecutive map streak of Vitality here at IEM Rio. It's going to be a different team talk for a change of So that's how to win the head outside. to catch the fallback of Salsel and the smoke down will block Martin as off. That is a very good hold from Red Cannons and a massive change if you look what it's going to do to their money as well by the way. It's gonna be a massive boon for them. Marsnest goes down, they survive with all five players alive, three AKs to grab. That is the most important render in the second half for them for sure. Trab just to tag onto the storyline that we highlighted a few rounds ago. Pause now if you don't want to use spoilers for G2 versus Vitality. Because G2 have done it they won map one against Vitality 13-5 on Mirage. They actually managed to get it done. I mean, they looked really good on the map yesterday, but I didn't ever think in my wildest dreams they'd be able to go on and be the team that ended the Vitality streak. So they can now no longer obviously go flawless in Rio, at least as far as the maps are concerned, to then chase down that NIP streak. So I mean, obviously it is just a small blip on the radar, but it's a big storyline now that's been taken out of the works with that one when they're from G2. It's so funny isn't it, but who would have thought it would be G2 without Hunter? Who would have thought? Crazy. Look they haven't won the series but it was a 13-5 on map 1. Maybe Vitality were never prepared for the some pious in-game leader arc. Who knows? Well I mean yeah if they go on to beat Vitality then Cheers, Hunter. Thanks for coming. Enjoy the rest of your holiday until the end of the Cologne Major. No, I joke, of course. Either way, Red Cannards have an opportunity here to deal a decisive blow to Gentlemates' chances on Mirage. They can win this round ago 11-8, no money in the bank. Four Gentlemates would be 12-8. And a tough comeback required. It's going to be a big exacting to say Bonsai really could molly into what sandwich. Now, Drop gets toasted but he's able to get a kill. Revenge off the sandwich. He chokes one of them out. Cow is trapped in behind the or underneath the bulk And he should I say but he's still able to come away with two to leave the team in an even number situation They don't know about David S. I think they know is the A site player They don't know he's still triple and that's gonna be an unexpected one for Southall Really well done by David S. Incredible patience at that moment not to overpeak and you needed to help at any point You knew you could confirm it late round and our Martin is stuck on default both CTS right here as well I feel like that would have been the only way for him to actually win the round if he could have gotten both kills with one bullet, but it's really well played from those Brazilian players on the retake there, not to, I guess, one Chilean and one Brazilian, not to disjoin them, so it's not going to be a good one. gotten both kills with one bullet, but it's really well played from those Brazilian players on the retake there. Not to, I guess, one Chilean and one Brazilian. Not to disjoin themselves, they stick together, but it seemed like there was some attention to detail, not to completely line themselves up either, so they kind of recognized the threat of the AWP in the clutch. At least Martinez is able to get the bomb down, but Coway, I reckon, is the main hero there. Getting those two kills with what brought him back into an even numbers game for his team they finish off the job gentlemates decide to persist just stubbornly they will force by around 20 and again they're gonna go back in towards a oh now they're gonna go for a faster move Davi G's already launching himself out of ramp through that smoke now it's cow airs from triple but look how far Davi G's got up onto the A bomb site before they were ready for him that's crazy and they've got already got full CT control which is pretty wild ever could drop into Samaj if he wanted to look like he was preparing himself for it and they do have money if they want to commit to this retake but there's a chance they could decide to prioritize the later rounds of Mirage I think they're just hoping for a random spam kill and if they don't get it they're gonna fall back. Oh gentlemates again just persisting with this A bomb site probably banking on red tannins not expecting them to go back and towards at A site yet again and they're correct they're able to isolate powers there with some good you tell us you one more second sandwich the other one is the op we first up a city 10 seconds default kill default dead nice boys come be out guys smoke under I'm in ladder I'm on the ladder I'm on the ladder I'm on the ladder I'm not speaking this, okay ready? What middle? One top mid He didn't Buzze, he didn't do Buzze I'm pushing Buzze, I'm pushing Buzze I'm pushing, I'm pushing Upstair, upstair, one upstair Carry, carry, carry guys Flashing guys, Flashing Ram, Ram, Ram Dead, last foot middle I wash call Can I take under side, take the kids I jump, take full ramp, take the economy I'm pushing B guys already, okay? Pushing B already The bomb is on ramp, okay guys? Top mid safe call boys I'm only boxes I'm hiding on Tester's guys to bar SISPO. I will peek from Firebox, okay? I can't do anything. Ah, see guys, clean as fuck, I don't know how far I have to go. exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Basit rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match. Picking into account the full situation. Season 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck and have fun! We got tacky in the GT jersey for the time being. Um you had a really great interview yesterday with note from HLTV, so I want to just dive into a couple of things from that. You said your But I'm curious to the differences in what happens in this team when you finished a game yesterday You've only got 24 hours prepped for vitality your opponents today. What was the process yesterday? I mean first of all we had Some rest after the game. It was early game. So We got some rest and we moved our practice room and I mean it was a It's a default preparation as we did with the gentlemates, just our plan in the game, how will we execute that plan, and nothing special, just also focusing on my individual place, so I feel comfortable doing them versus Vitality. I know you mentioned the nerves creeping in, and that's totally understandable, entering tier one for the first time, but overpass from you yesterday, that looked great. Tell me about finding your form in that map. I mean we had a decent amount of practice and overpass before the tournament so I was going into the map pretty confident and I knew all the plays and strats that the boys are doing and it's important to know the details so we executed well. Anyway, there were some also individual plays that I took initiative with and played them well and I hope we can bring the same energy today so we did an overpass and part of the Mirage yesterday. Just a last couple of questions. First one is, has there been anything particularly surprising about playing your first two-on-tournament? I mean, of course, emotions are running through. It's not like playing at home with the academy team, but it's a hell of an experience being here. So it's just important I absorb everything and move on. And yeah. And final question, is there any players that you kind of mould yourself off of that particularly inspire you? Particularly, it's tough to say now on top of my head, but I mean, probably those who work hard, like, yeah, talent is one thing, but working hard is the most important, I think, in the game. And if you put enough hours, you can become great. Well, great to finally get to catch up with you, Ty. Good luck. Flamesy, I don't know whether you know, but today you are celebrating 1,028 days on Vitality. Yeah, you are. 1,028? It's not a round number. No, it's not a round number. It's a completely weird number. So I thought I would go back and read through your first interview that you did upon joining Vitality and see if the statements are still true about you. So I've got a statement from you talking about the T side joining Vitality. On two sides, I fit because Vitality need a guy that runs around, doesn't give a single fuck and sacrifices. Is that still true? Still true. Very true. I think I fit that background pretty well. I feel comfortable playing aggressively, still true. And giving my teammates the feeling that someone is sacrificing for them, especially with somebody on the team that can close 1v4, 1v3, 1v2, like Zywoo. Still true? Still true, but double with Mr. Ross. What's been your favourite Zywoo clutch moment? so many, but off the top of your head. I think the one against Paravision, the one if I was pretty cool, but if I go back in my memory lane, I think the spray transfer against Paravision was out of this world. I think it was so cool to watch and you know, you feel so excited, you get so pumped and that's how I felt back then. That's amazing. Let's talk about CT side. Let's go over to this this cue card. CT side on CT. I'm not too sure how it will go. Were you nervous? On CT? Yeah, but during the CT side vitality. This is 2023. So it was on HRTV just before you joined. Okay, I'll continue the quote. I'd like to say I fit the roles but at this level any player should know that he's going to sacrifice something. Do you feel like you had to sacrifice something particularly? At the beginning maybe I had to switch positions that I was not used to, and when Robin German maybe I switched again. But yeah, it's part of the game, it's part of being in one of the best teams in the world, especially back then when I joined after they won a major, that you have to take some hits in the position, but it's for the greater good and I also think it's an advantage if you have played four positions on a map that you kind of know how it feels from every angle, so I'm fine with sacrificing. The mission is trophies, not playing good CS, not killing a lot so. Yes, that makes sense. It's been a killing a lot though. Your statement on Zywoo, you get the chance to play with a guy that looks like one of the best teammates on the planet. Is he the best teammate on the planet? Yes, in this team there is four best teammates. I think I could talk a lot about them but it's not the time. But yeah, he's so good, he's so much, he's so good and he's so humble, he's so calm, he's so chill, he's not like demanding, not full of ego. These kind of things, it could have, the ISP go, it could be very annoying, very arrogant and stuff like that. And we take it because he's the best player in the world, but he's not that and I appreciate it. There is one of the rights to be completely arrogant for Dita, he's not that at all. To finish the quote, the best player in the world, stats wise, and he's just so good, man. He is just so good and he keeps getting better. How? Yeah, and actually it keeps getting better and in 2025 I thought it's like a pretty good performance for the year and now he's keeping the numbers up and improving. Obviously there is a little dunk on the side so it's a big of a change in the scene. But on the other hand back then it was simple so it's pretty balanced I would say. So what was 2023, Flamie? Think of where you are now. Sure can you be proud? Well, I probably don't expect anything that happens, I would never expect to have that many trophies in the span of two years, like two years and a half. It's insane to think that I even, you know, like two majors, one Grand Slam and so many big trophies with one roster or not. So I'd be proud of the 2026 Flamasy, but I'm still in the present, you know what I mean? I still can be more proud, so that's the mission right now. This has been so awesome. Thank you so much Flamasy. He's proud? I'm proud of you, obviously. He should be proud. Thank you so much. I pay him money to talk like that. Well, a streak broken. G2 taking the first of the series. Not what we expected coming into today. Thought Vitality were just going to do what they did in Rotterdam and keep on winning, keep building up that streak. But G2 with a stand-in no less. Academy player tag, standing in for Hunter in absence. Now we've got ourselves in Furner. Yeah, the dynamic shifts right now. Before it was exactly what you were saying. It was pretty glassy, pretty casual. Everyone's like, yeah, VyTal, you just keep winning. We're not going to expect him to lose a map to G2 with the stand-in. as you've mentioned but no that's exactly what's unfolded and it's not that they lost it's not that the streak has gone it's the way that they lost they got owned absolutely blown out right there 13 to 5 and then there's another streak so you can talk about the fact that 17 consecutive series that they could be defending no they have made it clear to the counter strike world that Rio is all about the grand slam getting the double done ASAP not keeping that pressure for Atlanta definitely not keeping that pressure for the major that's right around the corner and apex he just got yelled out taste of He's on medicine for that entire first map of play. I'm interested in the vitality response. Yes, the G2 have them on an off day Everybody has them, but this is vitality the team who are measuring everybody else in Counter-Strike by We go into inferno. This was a map yesterday. That's G2 lost to gentle mates 13 to 8 It was a bit of a slow start tack at a tough time He will be playing as the a rotating rifle. Well, he picked the rotating rifle in both sides But he's the third A player, essentially. Have you got still anchoring over towards Pitz and Pius with the AWP? We'll be assisting him in the majority of the rounds and then you've got your nerds, Mattis Combo over towards B. Just making sure everyone is ready and ready in a go. I think it's Apex who was just experiencing a little bit of a technical do-hickey right there. Which could very well exacerbate the stress. The team talk outside. No, I don't know if they would have just let Apex vent, But if it was me, I'm not mad in terms of that we lost. I'm mad that that guy just yelled at me for the whole game, and I want to stomp the hell out of them right now. So this is where I am a little bit worried for G2. Again, the pressure's not there for them, even if they get close to winning or to back and forth game. They're playing with a standard, right? But this is for the playoffs. I understand there's still a seeding game to come for, whether it's 70s or it's a quarters, but this is a big matchup right now, and if Vitality want to get there as quickly as possible, winning today's game integral to giving themselves as many opportunities to jump towards that second Grand Slam as quickly as possible. Like the Mirage was a surprise, but I would be even more so, doubly so, surprised to see a similar result here and up to. I think my expectations for Vitality, especially with, like you said, the motivation of wanting to put them down in the dirt, no, especially the one that was kind of a bantering back and forth and just shouting raising the roof. I think for Vitality, the expectation here from the community, from the casting desk and likely from the team itself is that this is going to go to three and we'll get to see that dust too. It's just a manner in which they get there. Yeah, I still think there's an energy shift though. Right. Again, it's a taste. It's a feeling you haven't had in about two months. You're not used to having people, first of all, yell back in general. You're not used to the feeling of losing, especially not in that fashion. And this is where you talk to the teams, the players are one of those off days, right? I think it's just not clicking. They happen. They happen more often than not for most squads with Vitality. That doesn't tend to go down that way. So there is, at least for me, a big atmosphere shift going into this one. I think it'll still be one of those situations where we have the rounds come to their conclusion and you and I might need to be quiet for the back and forth. Yes. But definitely an energy shift in terms of the level I'm expecting of intensity for vitality to bring. Me too. Apex back in the server looks like we're going to be getting this one underway shortly. And the individual performances of Mattis in particular, he had an incredible mirage, going to have to keep an eye on his individual form, see if he can match that into map 2. It started on the pistol, right? I think he had either three or four kills just from the pistol round and then some really important rifle moments, multi-kills, impactful frags in the mid-round. The crazy moments that was discussed by X has, when mentioning teams with stand-ins or roster flux situations, Falcons being one, the pressure alleviated for them, G2 being the other. I won't bring passion into that conversation, but you just saw crazy moves like jumping out of window smokes, maybe heavy god making a play out of Palace that he wouldn't normally make to capitalize on a rotation, but either way. They've rattled vitality. Apex just double checking. So Headset is back on in his arena. Fist bumps are coming through. And we all know what that means. OK, let's get this party started. I am Rio 2026. It's day two. Group A winner advances to the playoffs. Loser down to the lower bracket. I'll see you two for both sides going into this one, a couple of HEs for the CT side. Nurtz and Mattis, the B defenders equipped with those. Have you got a bit of smoke to block and a couple of flash from some pious. So both those nades will head over towards B. So they lob them into logs or broom. Reactive for now. Oh, the NAVES is significant damage, because now we're undeterred. Still finds one onto Nerds. Swing out of some pyres, tracking not there. Headshot onto Flamesee, keeps us level. Tax-pushing down mid. Oh, he is. Yeah, gonna try and lock the door. Apex wants to punish him here. Oh, clean headshot from the stand-in. I can reset now. This is a huge kill from Tacket Change. It's the whole dynamic of the round. Yeah, he's gonna have a lot to deal with here, Keeping back in and pays the ultimate price. Mezzie, managing to claw that back will once again turn the tide of battle. So I could have Molly on Mezzie now. They could just finish over to Woodsby. Right, he can smoke towards CT spawn. Molly could go backside or coffins if they just want to focus fire elsewhere. All this will be well placed. Yeah, it's going to force both of them to move. Sound cute. Son of a woof. Oh, onto a quick tap. Sumpias has cleaned house. Oh, clean from the Spaniard 3 on the USP. OK, that's all three pistols. So far, 4G2 and the smiles. That continues on the face of Nerts right there. Beautiful work. Wow. I think Tax Kill is the one that really threw the round into question for me. The fact that he overpicks steps back here shows that they didn't completely understand where everybody was. He was worried about somebody in second mid. Some really nice shooting from Sumpias. The man will take over the in-game leading duties while Hunter, I'm sure, he's at home right now the bomber unfortunately didn't go down again for vitality they will be forcing him on the T side this time nor the mp7 misses signature smg and he will unload catches apex didn't spot anything else but there is a smoke to obscure them so I set up to receive he's done very well finding two before he gets run down by flamesy and messy spray from heavy gods fam has forced away they still have that man advantage don't want to concede it throws a HE on his retreat still hasn't yet to reload so only nine bullets in the magazine just gonna go for the plant here rubs fake fake to draw out a relocation heavy god spans away lots of time a lot of time right now so this rounds it forced the full rotation of the B defense they could still head back towards B but if matters starts roadside now I think you can almost get there in time that late on this so I'll be able to get into being get the bomb down nerds charging over remember just this mp7 in his hand CT smoked off he likely has to concede this incendiary available if you wanted to disrupt the default plant spot throws it out and forces Robbs towards the fountain side so still safe flash and push yeah nerds gonna try and bring the fight heavy gods caught one through the smoke onto Robbs so it falls to flames he to come up clutch Matt is audible building little picture as to where these last two are coming from. Have you gotten Mattis in the close down? Mattis very quick on this. In unison, Flames is looking away! Mattis closes it down, a very threatening second round force from Vitality, but G2 prevailed. Okay, well, I'm going down this time, so at least there's some changes there. A bit more of a competitive start to this half. You've kept that pressure on that. This is where you could start digging yourself into a little bit of trouble. Here's the to Aliyu. Have you got getting that on some raps is very frustrating for Mr. Cool, but plenty does his best in that one be three. And this is what I was talking about in terms of digging yourself into potentially a deep hole. You know that the CTs are struggling financially. They win the round shore, but they have to drop guns and that's limited. So the buys are seeing two MP7s, three M4s. On the other side, I'd say Vitality, you could argue, have a better buy as far as the firepower is concerned, two AKs, two Galils and a tech nine. It's the youth that's their biggest issue. That's again just full aggression Same play will it be the same result apex backs away second half fucking damage He might just keep pushing that this is the type of game you're a map up you could frustrate them to hell Zywu takes a heavy leg so it's tack though Very very deep though you could worm through that into T stairs But you could have Zawoo, considering that possibility, Nerts and Tak, the walking wounded, Zawoo down just below half. They had brackets control, but now they're working on Banana, need to clear out logs, a broom, and force Mattis back who's towards the half wall. Now they're hiding their wounded, Nerts is completely relocated. jiggle smoke defense for Mattis I wonder if they just play for the save considering the finances you're talking about and and the HP yeah so doing a good job puffing up his chest is matters but he's playing towards CT side so let's say he gets smoked off Apex is throwing one so they have to play through these likes they have to go Mattis primed and ready takes one takes the head off of Messi as they continue to advance. He is just on his own. Surprised, however. Now you have a man advantage. I understand you're low. Oh, how about two man advantage? Nuts! Straight through the smoke. Quite a cop in these headshots. Through the smoke grenades and back to back rounds. First Robs. Now Flamesy. Two kits. And just this flash to get them in. How good is it, TAC? He's waiting for the call. Flash out. He picks on that new box. Rob's gonna take first contact sends one up to the stratosphere with a nice shot glil connects and fires down They lose it all Just an mp7 for tag It's tough to not go for that, isn't it when matters gets you to there on that be defense you have to give it a crack there I Think one of two things will happen Either apex will wait until they're in a comfy spot or he won at all, right? I'll focus on the actual game now. I mean, I tell you what it's when they win their first person of the series. Okay, that's what he's ready to say something. Madison's very well. Oh, this one's so good. Such a good read of the situation. Certain players, I don't know why I enjoy watching the Madison's one of them belching on comparisons. Another I feel they're just they they're team players. They're just their players players. Force my back for G2. They can still hold on to the finances. This is the CT smoke against them. Blocked? Apex. Whoa. Yeah. All right. Just to grab the smoke. Yeah, deny that so it can't be block. I guess that makes sense. Another still has another one and a HE. It's not damaged down there. Bombs still need to be picked up T stairs. So is that Rob's responsibility or is he just going to be left on the lurk? Looks like Flames will be scooping that up to join Apex Zywa, Mezzie and Banana. Remember just matters on B and last round he had an M4. This round he only has a 5-7. May as well respect the half life of of this. And Mattis, I think he knows he would love to stick around but having these upgrades into the next is better than being full eco. And we know we can stay with Sir to deal the addon in for, he's good for two. I still don't see the bomb as part of this pack, so just making sure they're not walking into a stacked vitality. I don't know if I feel that sometimes, but they can't see through the walls. Yeah. And flames. You will sort on over. You can re smoke CT. And that will be that so to two. With all the favorites winning their matches yesterday, we're definitely got a lot of top tier counter strike some treats for you're going to be able to get some treats for your Tuesday spirit versus Falcons coming up next year on the A stream later today. Fury versus Navi. Now Navi have. Kind of risen to power taken. That second rung spot away from Syria last year going into the major. I think fury were considered one of the biggest contenders for vitality, but they've had. A mixed bag of results. It feels like they're either treading water or you could even argue on a bit of a downward slide. And then third series that ended Aurora versus Mous. More quality counter strikes around it out. I mean, just all day. It's great. Yeah, it's going to be great. I understand that does mean the lower bracket looks a little messier. But look, we'll take the trade-offs. And the six teams can make it to the plus here at IEM Rio. Three per group. And by winning this match, you guarantee either a semi or a quarter final spot. seeding match. In this case it'll be against Spirit or Falcons for Vitality or G2. First tactical timeout, Saw gets on the microphone. The big boss they call him. A lot to say, nobody else speaking whatsoever. Where's Vitality? They're just starting to get things flowing as they hope to go forward. Dust2 is the third map of this series. They are 41 and 4 historically on Dust2. That's a crazy number. Yeah, this is the thing. I'm I'm looking at their numbers all the time because this is the team that is setting the bar so I'm just always flicking through these these figures. I also said Inferno they're on a bit of a run, weren't they? Just six straight. Oh just a cashier. But still early stages, two-tube, all tied up, four saves, no to just take the eco. So if the stack ends up in the right place, G2, it can fight for this round. But that means that my Tide needs to walk into a trap. So more of the same, three-man packing banana just to, for any responses, also flush them out sandbags, push them out of the mouth of the banana and set themselves up for what could be a very tidy BX, get Nade in. Big damage nerds brought down to 19. Ouch. I think the second one missed. Oh, the running headshot from the next USP. I think he's had enough of that. OK, cancel that and big rotation. Look at this tag. Some bias both leaving heavy God on his own. Mattis goes looking for answers and a little shoulder betraying Mattis further away from the warm as messy. If they had a flash or something, I might get a little bit more excited. I always wonder what it must feel like to be a player like Robs, because you're playing your own little mini game. Everyone else is doing the thing that's the objective, and your task is to make sure that I'm pushed, be really annoying, don't give them a gun, give us information if required, in your own little bubble. Yeah, 100%. It is kind of a solo mission often for Robs. The beauty of the role is that, you know, it's very easy to look like you're baiting. Yes, easy to look like you're not a part of the team and you're not helping and contributing. But if you can, it's the difference between, you know, a one game and a last game. It's such an influential role. I feel for Tak in this map, especially the CT side for him, because he's a responsive piece. Oh, they might be able to toss it for this, good U2 usage, forces U2 back on top of Banana. You're never the guy running in and taking the fire in your own terms, responding to the action and hoping you're at the right place at the right time. Oh, you know, Chief, really nice thinking from Apex, but Matt is still able to try and find one back. So, we've combined with the Apex damage to finish off Nertz, so they know only one of the B defenders left. Matt is as well very worse for West. 16 points of health as he relocates. I love the concept here. This is great. No contact walk in. Peek at your own peril. And that's round. It's nice because it's likely that Mattis will play like a smoke molly defense at that point. So the fact that they've just gone contact on him, he gets caught with his pants around his ankles and G2 has to save. So some pys, heavy guard and tack. Now get to play the minigame against Robs. As Mr. Call won a head for the search. And say Peaks want to call more bodies into this. I mean, we're looking at their finances. would be beneficial. And they give themselves the 2900 loss bonus into the next. So if they do save three, two can drop and they can have a right front or they can take the eco behind them have a threading around and then get a full gun into the following. There's lots of options but either way the hunt is on. Look at the restraint from Robs as well like he's not going ahead of the play. He's bought time, gets them info for them so we now arrive and taps the head of tax. Still found flames you though. And only two guns. Only two had the same. Whoa, they hit in by the shoulder of heavy God and some buyers profits. So they bring two rifles through and does that change the dynamic of the investment with the one one less? Yeah, I could you could have I understand you need the utility, but you could have justified another rifle round. You could have also gone for that echo behind the rifle option to but now this almost forces your hand into the partial investment behind F4s fall by into what'll be round number eight That's the kill that confirms the round right there Yeah Can't be too frustrated about that. Look at this aggression. Have you gone down behind the mid smoke? Okay? He picked responsible for tending to this one Starts to spam and heavy the pushes through for two third available. So we'll just hang it on by a threat out of it now Now, throw an aggression into the mix. What a perfect remedy, a bomb to your economy, woes. No worries, boys. I know our rifles are, uh, there's, there's few of them far between, but I'll get two. I'll even nearly have three. Zywoo down to seven HP. It's up to flames. It erupts really. Zywoo had that ace yesterday on Nuke where four of his five kills to close down that map were on 17 points of health. Good point, well made. It was three aces yesterday. One for Zywoo, one for Lucky, and one for Mollinois to close down that series. But here we go, there's a mid-clamp coming in. Tak and Mattis could swing at any moment. The site is relatively unfortified, so if they get in without a casualty, look at all the U2 a player like Rops has. There's three smokes. They could keep Moto Block the entire time. Tak and Mattis activate. Yeah. They might get the timing. Well, maybe not anymore. Have to plant safe, can't plant open. This time we're gonna consider this timing though. He drops into pit. Two push on in, catches, drops off guard, attack profits as well. Flames E! Couldn't catch it. Some fires pushes through and G2 make it work on the partial. Yeah, 10th round there, but very well done from G2 and it's heavy got. The man who gets the double. I'm not sure if you could even see apex when he got that sounds kill sound It's he apex starts to spam and immediately heavy god starts to return the favor which is it's crazy that he's Giving up that position right because he wasn't actually taking any bullets from the spam So very well done from heavy god. He had the big clutch On the T side of mirage and now on the CT side an impactful double To keep it just a one round game so G2 they're bringing it to vitality. Don't you doubt that? Triple Nades? Oh ho ho ho ho! Well Mattis' round is different now! Oh mate! Man HP after they land on the doorstep. Nertz was ahead of that though! Yeah, so there's early info that there's nothing crazy half wall which they might have been hoping and counting on. I think the other problem is, it's unconfirmed damage. You have no idea if those nades hit their target. Madison's some higher swap positions swiftly. Madison will go play over to ward A and likely just Tarkin. It'll be a double pit setup, hide inside. Somewhere where a nade won't be the difference makeup. Yeah, smart. Speaking of nades, one thrown back, flames he brought down. Oh, he gets away with that. Some pass is going to cop a heavy nape damage himself. God, there's a lot of HGs going on. Oh, being you two damaged for Vitality's favour, this one. The bullets will eventually be a part of this. Forty seconds for the finish. Vitality are setting their sights on the gambled side. I say gamble, just three. The majority of the defence here. Tucker's cheated over as that rotator as well. 20 seconds now. Has to be big. Have to go B. That's anti flash. We'll have an opportunity to hit the shot, but not before flame speeds into the punch. Sapphire is only the one needed to multi bomb. Yeah, it was loose. No, it's beautiful. Yeah. I'll skip my eyes on that. Just had enough time to get there and get it down. But have you got a matters will have to save some more of that? I think this is a tough map to be taking a lot of chances on. Here's the triple nades. Wow. For that position specifically. So that was what 91 damage from there. And then that one towards CT did about another 58. What? He was full-fledged. 53, Madden. 58, Madden. Okay, I'm going to check the Utah damage at the end of this. Terrible. Terrible. Oh, yeah. It went significantly up. Apex got an extra about 100, and Zywa with another 50. This is one of the things, right? Obviously, Apex is a very good player. This is one of the things right obviously apex is util damage or flash assists are high because he's either being given all that utility throw but he's also the one Setting the teammates up for those frags right flamsey He's had a great year so far and one of the keys that gets to play into that and one of the fact is that we don't really Get to see unless it's a breakdown right in terms of some analysis is just how good the flash work is Right, how much does this the flashes first of all facilitate the parthing? But then if you're an entry frag a lot flamesy and you can trust the flash every time You are so confident you are not afraid to go in first and swing. You're not Sacrificial you're being set up to succeed and I think that's one of the big factors why Shahar has been able to have a strong year Doesn't mean he's not extremely skilled It's you need the balance of both right where you there's a reason that the nature in the game and vitality they're using them better than anybody so five to three guns CNAWP coming to the hands of some pys. We saw this a lot from Flangester they operating with Mach 10s and he's doing it again. Three sets of head armor though so it will only be able to strip some pys and nerds. This is definitely an A-play right there's nothing in banana right now the the fact that Mac 10's in the mix, I think just hearing that the Mac 10's in the mix makes you feel as she took... What?! Oh ho ho ho ho! I mean more on confirmed damage, right? Like it's not an aid this time, but equally as unaware. Just so many rounds and poor Nerds and Madis have just been walking funny. Oh what I thought, I thought it was gonna be A, I guess not. We'll see, they have to force this AWP off the line, and that's what that flash from Apex is destined for. Hick, frag, cracks the scholar, Zywoo, peeking back in is greedy, he's profiting, no, Zumpire's shoving them down, vitality, escorted to spawn by the Spanish Sniper. Flamesy one bag, it's all on to Rob's walking out apartments and you don't have to really guess too hard if Rob's is alive where he might be. That's really well done from Zumpire, he's another member in this G2 jersey who's been under a lot of criticism right he's like oh we missed another shot yeah of course he did it's impious but right there locking down banana single-handedly and the confidence right he dodges the flashes peeks back in yeah that's very lucky to be alive isn't he and this is great right so confident just willing to put his life on the line Oh, it's a good shot, I thought it was SIG, boy! I was always gonna bring his ult out. Near-degression barrel spotted, some pyre still able to dip away. There was some heavy damage on the first spray. Again, banana is just getting rinsed. But the score is only a one-round difference, so G2, they're holding on. Maybe more than holding on, Mattis could drop a big nade in here. Finally, a bit of their own back. Both teams with only 1,900 loss going into the next, this impacts Vitality more than it does G2. Vitality lose this, G2 can take the lead. Reaggress. Ah, four smoke and an orb frag. They've made the maid. They're flowing right now. Bombsaw down T stairs. If they want to react quickly towards A, they can't, they have to pick up the C4. to grab that. Apex calling from the grave. Big round. Very big round. Mattis just took a glance at Long. Siwu peeking off onto Heavy God, just a little jiggle on the pit, not enough. Still finds Lethal. Mattis making his push through, knows he's going to stay active here. Flamesee, wow, catching a nice one onto some pyres on the library rotation. Still carrying it in the back of Sighted's He's done well, but not well enough, so I will quick on the trades. His orb comes out and Vitality find a 6th. I like that from Tak, right, immediately into the prefire on the other angle, seeing if he could get himself a double. So they avoid disaster there, Vitality, they're going to get themselves up to 6th. There is money for G2, just take a look at the bottom right-hand side of your screen. With the 1900 coming in, everybody's going to be able to buy, don't you worry about that. Nertz would have been the only one in question, and he's the man saving, so all good to go again. I've got two rounds left in the half after this one. But this is a competitive series. I think after we saw what happened on Mirage, just gives G2, they're more emboldened to take more risks, take more chances, play with more confidence. But it's not just like to some of the moves that they're making quite nice, good team play. And Apex again, haven't heard a peep out of him. I think I'm going to be drawn into that game again. Third tactical timeout in the first half. Yep. Yep. Cool, I guess. He was even like deliberately positioning himself far away from the box to be like harder to walk by. Oh, mate. And so he's got a T side AWP now. He's like the way St Pius is AWP. Look, do you figure how to do that too? I want one of those. And that actually matches the output as well. Triple kill from Zywoo. T side AWP on Inferno. Very few AWPs can apply their trade on that side as well as Zywoo. Now G2 managed seven CT side rounds against the gentlemates. It wasn't enough to get to get them across the line in the map by any stretch. They only managed one on the T side. Okay. So they could still level up the half 6-6 and they're in with a shot, right? They're so far three from three on pistols. But for G2 to have a chance to take this 2-0, I think they need to tie up the half. Oh, especially when you remember the potency of Vitality's CT side. You talk about their names, you wait till they get to the CT side. they've got some incredible combinations. Now it swings in, lovely damage inflicted, he's sticking around as well, this is the confidence you are hoping to see more of. I hope we get that from his perspective. Maybe it looked more impressive from Robson's I'm not sure. I think that was pure he got caught off guard there. I looked nuts. Yeah quick flick. Have you got pushing apps? They have to go be channeled into nerds trade available I Love this heavy goddess completely cut them off of the past if you come back. This is a really tough line and Everyone else has been able to rotate some pious with the alley you the flash. Oh more than a damage And the money wasn't great. The loss winners obviously went down one. So this final rounds there might be two AKs, maybe three if they want to forgo a little bit of utility. bit of utility. So, Nezzy, just slightly ahead of that smoke that they've lobbed forward there, gets caught by a nerd before the YouTube. Yeah, okay. Reasonable. Reasonable. Yeah. Okay. Mac 10, two tech nice, two way case. Can Vitality take the lead of the half or of G2? Put in a shift to tie things up. There's no fucking sign on it anymore. Oh, but don't laugh at about it. The smile on Zywick's face. There's two having a good time. I know Shahar was going to have some... You have some... You could dig, he says, right? Yeah, exactly. The funniest kid. He is. Fantastic. Okay. Apex is in a lot of trouble. Mattis will take him down with the eight cheeks and combine with Nerse's bullets. Apex had a tough go with opening zero and five after that one. Looks like it's going to be an apt test for Heavy God and TAC. Be one hell of a flashbang. Heavy God does get spotted out with the trajectories. There are those TAC activates and covers. A one magazine double headshot spray. Well done enough. Beautiful, yeah. Six-six on the half all tied up. Can't argue with that very competitive G2 looking to do one better than just a map win. This series is really available. I A2's opening game on the A stream so much good Counter Strike coming for you today. Four best of threes with all the big names and one of the big names at the top of the pyramid is Vitality, we're getting a bit rocked. First map was a stomp in favour of G2 and now we're heading into the second half of our second map with a 6-6 scoreline. Chad has his doubts about whether the G2 can put it together on the T side and understandably so given their performance versus the gentle mates netting them just one T side round yesterday. I don't know if they go four from four on pistols. Yes. So there is a big way in for G2. This is the 22nd series for Vitality this year. They've only lost one. That was to Falcons and that was with the stand-in. If their second loss all year is to another team with the stand-in, I think everyone knows what the new recipe is. The new meta. This is for the playoffs. There is a lot on the line right now, not just the records, not just the streaks. The Grand Slam, the wide Vitality are here, and it's going to be a five versus two on this B-bomb site. Sairway throws out a block smoke, Messi in partnership with a nice clean headshot onto Nerf to start. Sairway racks them up, and it's a two-man defense. Vitality have found their form, and they've found their first pistol. I shot down a shot out of that one, but, uh, well, hmm, not flawless after all, after all. How many more can some pyres get? Rops has made sure there's no way back. There you go, Zywa swings in, gets his third for the round, and... It is in the building. His cousin's not here. No, he's not with the way any name tack is and for him This would be a huge opportunity of G2 go through to the playoffs and he gets a chance to play on a stage Yeah, and he knows that that getting the play on the main roster is a chance to put yourself in the shop window the fact that you've taken a map one of Six maps the Vatadi have lost this year Yeah, TAC was in the server, so he's gonna be feeling damn good about that. Put that one on the resumé. How much farther can they push the issue? Apex did let out a roar with that one, knowing that this pistol round is gonna set them up, because the first half, it wasn't a walk in the park. Some tense moments. Nades view forward. Damn, lots of damage done, and they should just be able to farm this one up. Now, hold up a second. Flames he's actually got a lot of work to do very nice quick flick up onto the jump spot from heavy God I need Vegas got booked there Surprise course scavenging You won't get through this It's then quick sweater reload He's a jump and tackle punish it all right. Well, they do have to die. How much more damage can they get done? It's just Xywa and A right now. Rops has joined Mezi over towards B to support this, but nobody's home. Just kill Xywa with a Glock, and you get a bomb plant. That's all you have to do. Okay, sounds simple. Yeah. He's not going to give you the fight. In fact, he's going to peek out just as you're clearing site. Oh, no bomb was spotted there, and no binoculars completely clear, so it has to be A. I'm unlikely to see Xywa get sidelined here, and the head has been spotted even by this time for a second decent dink they're from tack but there you go eight to six two round gap but the guns come out now for G2 very communicative mr. Zai with today yeah I think he's that they didn't always smile and eat the toy oh they're having a great time he can't get down in the dumps when you get your first taste of defeat you know the rops isn't feeling great he's doing out yeah he's uh he's having a tough game his team side was not fun apex is four and eleven yeah the prime lurk apps versus heavy god whoa that's a lot of damage tack and masses is ringing it's just flamesy on beef and now apex is actually Johnson over the whole day they're playing hope they're ahead of that wanted to be to be they have a four strong mid defense, so they're hoping for one or two things. They just want to stall them out when they go for the bracket control and win the round in that skirmish, or they really think it's going to be some type of an A-play. So really, all the pressure is on Flames. So a break, easy for Flamesy, picks it up, lovely, double, third is asking too much. Into the site with a man disadvantage, and I say, oh man, look at Nertis' health as well. It's so easy to go down on these fans. So much useful for the retake too. Robson, Zyra with full belts. So that being cash right now, trying to set them up for this, but you want to wait for the seat to specter fade. Done. Now you have to talk about where are we modelling, who's flashing, let's go. Have you got smoked off here? And some pyres bringing the 5-4. Don't forget about Nerth's low health. Have you got, Nose is going to step up. He does in combination with Nerth's simultaneous multi-kills. No No one saw that coming. You can see a surprise look over the faces of G2. They strike perfectly. Okay, well, there's the firepower output working as intended. That is beautiful. How's Nurt's got two on the low HP? He's done very well there. Well, that's... I can leave a mark on Vitality's finances here. They will be able to buy against Shaw. So, I think he does more than you can ask for in this situation. He's on his own. He gets a double kill. Shaw, you can argue, okay, why isn't he dropping back? He could have played his luck, but that all happened in a split second. Second, Ners getting both confidence players, have he got takes down the CT side and just a one-round at game They can tie things up here and ruin the money of vitality Perfectly timed on the peak, Apex Core with his mates are out and flames he could be his next victim Flash connects, cover is there, tag peeks in and unison, nice from Ners with three quick kills And the round already over with, this force by has gone absolutely nowhere for vitality I think apex needs to know who's casting his games when he buys the mag 7 because every time he buys the mag 7 when you and I casting He gets nothing done. Yeah, but I have seen games where he buys it and he does get kills It's just when you and I are the ones on the mic I didn't know we had the power of a specific weapons specific weapon cast that is a new variation That's that nerds with two hugely impactful rounds back-to-back And he had a really really tough goal things in the first half think about how many rounds getting spammed through smoke through wood We're getting knaded getting solid out of position three and seven if I'm not mistaken or something like it would have been one and seven. Yeah, it was bleak So Zahua and rops will save And this one is essentially worth to show you didn't wipe the board But apex flamesy and messy. I'm not in a position to invest anything thing. Zawoo and Rob, sure they could get active. And here it is. Apex has absolutely no idea. He's just peering around a corner with utility's hands, completely blind. Nuts gets that one and just keeps delivering. The newest addition to the G2 jersey and he's delivering impacts for the team. So the boss man must be happy with that. But how How are they going to try and use Zawoo in this one? Again, this is direct call. Zawoo with his M4, he's going to have an opportunity for that. Playing on the fade. Playing on the fade. Zawoo dead with nothing! Empty handed, tax the one that's taken down, just robs here. And he's gone down to tack to lovely double entry from the stand in back in the lead G2 9 to 8 And what point do you start getting a little concern now? Yeah, I think with some of the reactions. I'm seeing from apex the fact that ropz is really having a tough goer things There's the next buy is is also going to be a little bit meek for vitality. It's not going to be perfect It's not going to be exactly everything that they need So, they're in a lot of trouble. This is playoffs on the line. Sure, they can drop down to the lower bracket. They can still make it. There's no doubt about that. But the conversation in the Counter-Strike world is, can anybody stop these guys? Well, there's G2 with a stand-in and the only other loss they've got all year was Falcons with a stand-in. Starting to connect some dots. And the stand-in steps up in this round. Only the first tactical timeout of X-Tags right now, but this is where... I don't want to say I have to dig deep. I'm just going to start digging. And you got your first pistol. You know, I thought that was a clear indicator of the dust tools as it was a certainty. What do I know? Three consecutive T-side rounds. Individuals taking their turn. Apex is 0 and 7 in terms of opening jewels. opening jewels. Yeah, hence his reactions. Yeah. And it's not only that late last year, well, I mean late last year, but in the rough patch for vitality in the second season, it felt like Apex was trying to force the issue on things a lot more. I haven't seen that today, right? But he's still getting caught out a lot in these opening exchanges. So have you seen the vitality scoreboard? Like run your eyes down the left side of your screen. You'll see some glaring contrast between flame seat, Zairu and the rest. Think of apex has 14 deaths and seven of them are opening. Yeah that not all worth the same right some will be on EECS some of the online advice, but There's no king play there's there's absolutely no kit So you find yourself in a post plan situation of this one and they're gonna have to say go where the business end your flash Flames in stay all this trick in the book and this was just a bit of a bait and switch forces out your utile Miner down edge, Romps has been boosted up, hoping that this duo at various elevations is going to work out for the mid shut down. They got Mezzi parked in pit. This setup, it's the longest rotation possible with this setup for B. So, if G2, just group, which they're starting to, it's a ward for Nanna, they're not being harassed at half wall, they're not being native at it, the utils not there, right? Vitality don't have everything they need to be as liberal as they would normally B. Okay, so some pirates is having a full three smoke fake dropped for him. I think he's going to be throwing full a smokes from that corner. Tall on this B defense. Just flames in apex. Heavy gods keeping their boots planted. I was trying to cheat away. He will get away. Nice from Apex, Apex stepping up, can't find the third Mattis, just about prevails. Good clear, good awareness from Robs, he was ready for the lurk. They're not looking like it's going to find it. Oh, it's just in time! They haven't got the time for the plants and Pyre's disconnected and they're HG from Zywoo, enough to win the round. Wow, vitality, that was a threat. That was a big threat. The whole squad, five players committing in towards the B bomb site and you still come out on top. Good job there from Apex who are just talking about his lack of contributions right there able to assist in that defence. Good awareness there from Zaywee right he's lining up the HE to throw it towards the default plant spot but here's that it's not being plant that beep right triangulating his position but he's so narrow on and denies the bomb going down because this still, he's lucky he was low as hell. Another Death Stam slam there from Mattis but they've still got the money. Not out of the woods It's just, yeah, our Vitality. Another one of those required to get on top of the Finances, force G2 down to a partial. Hebex talking a lot, micromanaging. G2 has done a good job avoiding the majority of Vitality's HE damage. Flames is in their blind spot, catches them off with one, make it two! Quick adjustment into attack, swing on the half wall. This Matt isn't heavy, got duo on. Starting to probe up mid. Zawoo down! Oh, easy pickings! Lops down! Zawoo down! A site to take! It's free! Nerds go get the bomb across, room to stretch their legs and set up the post plan. They do have a kit, sure, but this is going to be a very, very tough retake. Number disadvantage. Wait smoke. Oh, it's probably his own. I'd be a little bit deep. Have you got on this pixel? Mezzie, how aware are you? Just gonna walk his head straight into the line of fire. Mattis finds the final frag and G2 turned that round on its head. That's massive. Right now, the money is in the mud for Vitality. There's only two players who may be three players who could justify rifles. They are in so much trouble. This could be it. A lower bracket calling Vitality's name. Since when? Since when? Stand ins, the counter. Every roster in Counter Strike gonna start fielding subs in their head to head with Vitality. They've gone a hero M4 into this one and a mag 7, I'll attack 9 to P250. What is that? A flying mag 10 from some pious but at least the trade he pulls across that keeps Flamesy humble. It's just a 5-7. So it's not even that, sorry a P250 And a mag seven. Now it's coming in. Big one, into the screen number two from Apex as well, making that shotgun sing. Now it's just on the retreat, looking to partner up with Heavy God to try and find a way back in. These are the type of rounds Vitality went to dig themselves out of holes. So that isn't Heavy God. These two in the clutch, I don't mind it. I've seen these individuals plot some wild moments before, so why not now? Matt is keeping up the performance from Matt 1, 18 and 9, as he's going to tuck back in with an AK back of the site. Apex letting a cheat over there is acknowledgement from Apex to potentially head over towards A. drops is coming over as well was it still trying to piece this one together 40 seconds but it will be the be finish they do contact in apex's angle is designed to deal with this as he remains hidden apex just gonna be trying to ward them off and he's heard him, he's fired him, wishes he had his gun out now but master should go down up and over for heavy gov, flying in gets the frag and 45 HP peeking into apex has him low. This is scary. This is threatening. Have you got a little fake on the plant? Confirmed Xi was rotated through and now let's bought time for apex knife out to walk in and deny on the plant 10 to 10. They dig themselves out of trouble apex with high impact. You were talking about his opening deaths. Well, how about a 3k shut down with the mag seven? Okay, well, he's fixed the jinx, hasn't he? The mag seven is working in his hands. And that's an awful lot of cash right there off the back of this. So fourth, the mag seven denies the entry in towards B. And this was an M4 in the mix. This was a max evidence and pistol upgrade. So there you have it. Apex getting himself up to double digits now. It's going to be a shove from G2. It's tackled the armored glock. How am I tripping? It looks like it. Wow. Herba wins this round, wins the game. Okay, I better lock in then. Only chip damage. Returns to the favor, funny number for Flamesy. Looks like it's a call surround on the strat sheet. Fire's off an AWP shot, an order wall, and retreating. Thank you, Stas. Banana kick, Tuxmo. Tick, Tuxmo. That's a great name. 3.25 on long causes questions for this a defense. How bracket control. Very limited user for the finish hoping for an info player regressor walk into this. That was his nothing. as he's in two mines. You're thinking maybe it's another BXQ, they've run out awful lot of them, but it's actually gonna be on Robs. And Robs, he's at a tough game, only three kills to his name. If they wrap, Zywoo's AWP can contribute. Next peek from Zywoo on the long side, he's gonna find bomb on Mattis, heavy God as well, does he peek in? They're closing the gap now, tantalizingly close, they're gonna just dribble a smoke in front of Zywoo, still be able to get, Oh no! Oh no! Robbs stepping up and delivering! Doubling his kill total if you can get one more but unable to provide his Mattis in response. Bomb goes down. A man advantage for Vitality on this retake though. Couple of flashes in a molly to defend this and what a play right now is from Heavy God in library. Yeah it's really good. He's going to go overlooked. He's going to make things really difficult for your long approach. Default plant though. Sorry, we lingered. It's going to try and provide Utah but it's the Heavy God position that seems destined for success here. He's heard Zyber throwing those grenades should have him booked as they have messy and flames. He coming in from the shore side Apex from the apartments So I will a dead man. Have you got revealed this position? Oh, it's one from apex, but still matters is solid and 11 4g2 they are two away from sending vitality to the lower bracket here in Rio de Janeiro again It's all about the money right this late stage. It's been back and forth 1400 1400 1900 both teams just had these cobbled together buys That's what I'm saying that round there essentially the game I don't think Vitaly can pull another round out where Apex gets a multi-kill on this mag 7. It's Zywoo in with the best weapon right now being a Famous. I could make an argument that maybe it's the 5-7 in Flamesy's hands. A P250 for Mezzie. A light smattering of U2. Rops down with an MP9. Just two rounds now for G2. That's all it's going to take and getting fired up. Junkie! Solid damage from the early HG banana. A shotgun to get past. Jumping Mag 7, that's genuinely his plan, it doesn't work out. Now that brings it down, Flamesy, sure able to find one with the combination of the shrapnel of his HE. Wasn't far off was it, the spout from now, it's nearly connecting. I think you've got the util advantage, you've got the weapon advantage, you've got this banana control. You could just group up for a B finish, smoke CT, smoke coffins, get some noise in the site. Mezzie and Mezzie have nothing to block with. No flash to set themselves up. Rocks is gambling. He's coming over as well. He knows they won't be able to hack it on their own with the weapons they've got equipped. Taking their time. Flamesy, Flamesy, burns down heavy, tucked on the new box, but easy headshots, easy pickings, looking set to succeed, nothing going right for Vitality. Quad killing the feed from Nerds. So we win a one versus four, he'll give it a go. The French fair mass in his hands, and two, countering at the back of dark position. They don't have any idea he's here. He's able to get this far forward and surely go for something. Nothing! Nothing! Heavy God nails their headshot. One away from a series streak being broken. What was it, 17? 17, yeah, but it's not only that. going down the lower bracket in this group where you are going to have a spirit aura falcons, right? It's it's not going to get any easier from me going forward and the count that shot from there. It's just trying to go to the last time that they lost to zero. That's a good question. The last time that Vitality lost a series to zero was to Falcons at Blast Rivals. Right, right. That was back in November of last year. So to defend their honour, Vitality must convert with 4 pistols and a measly MP9. Rob's restraint with his smoker. You gotta charge it in. Have you got fancies as chances? Well, respect the block. The options are so limited for vitality in this round. on the uh... bracket control seized loudly here's that go flamesy good onto nerds and doesn't see anything else on the follow-up so they're on high alert on the A side of the map so much space recite centric he just walks around this long side they've still got some smokes to use 30 seconds. of an issue for TAC to get out of the gun here but everyone else should be looking good. So Vitality have been able to win another one of those, sure, just staying totter up on that side, that opening kill, G2 walking into the pistol stack on the side and okay, can they force us to overtime? Can Vitality pull this one out? Can they keep the streak alive? Can they keep play of hopes alive with this victory? Oh flamesy they want him close than he thinks yeah that's so too tough to broom they're on top of each other solid made connection that's on 59 is this flash yeah on flamesy's It's cool. It's four in banana screen throws it out flames. He has a lot of tips away Just around the corner in time only such a cat and mouse game has been honest versus the likes of apex and flamesy As he's cheated over to make this a three strong defense. I won the long side with the AWP Rob's not playing balcony not playing pit more sight-centric from him Saewoo's still on the line. That's a perfectly placed molotov. Denies Saewoo the angle he was hoping for. Incendiary in response buys time for the library rotation. 35 seconds for G2 to try and find this finish. Heavy got to arrive through the apartment, Matt is forging a path of the long side. Smoke Moto and go... go Saewoo! Bites his time, ensures the kill. Matt is down, an opening kill for vitality, trying to ensure overtime. Looking good now. There's a side with the whole squad on the right place at the right time to take us to overtime Okay, that's impressive to bring that back without situation considering the type of buys again I understand this isn't a map for G2 not only that they have a stand-in, but we're living in the match right now But I tell you down a map they got blown out on Mirage and now we are all tied up going into OT So apex gets to breathe a sigh of relief So we're really just making sure we had that one dead to rights before pulling the trigger and even setting the team up with the flash in the short side so they can start stripping them limb from limb. But finding that energy, that attitude required, can they push us to dust too? You're going to start running out of ideas, G2. The fact that you were so close, you should have put him away. broken buys in back-to-back rounds and here you are. Reset. Nerds has been doing a good job. He's turned his game completely around. Lurk smoked run by Nerds in the front of B site. Robs in the apartments has got a deal with heavy god. They've had quite the standoff through our inferno Well, I hear Coffee and that's fine. I think he's trying to aim at flames. He's her fumbling around there in that front lurk smoke So I confirmed damage done Have you got on Robs perhaps? Yeah, this robs position Obviously, there is a apartment's gap apex is there to consider that oh And now Robs can play forward and say that's it. So that's going to liberate a rotation. Messi's on the way. Yeah, already. He gets the kill and just dips. They have to go. They come. Zywoo, supported by Flamesee, holding them at the door, forced away by the flashbangs. They will push through, re-emerging to his demise. Now Zywoo at the back of site. Flamesee trying to draw their attention. Just going for the plant. And I expect Zywoo here. Matt is going to try and chase him down. They're going to need a nose scope. They're going to need a Flamesee from the ruin side. catches Mattis with his M4A4 and now Nertz unable to get the clutch started. Messi, that kill through the smoke. It was like a fadeaway, like he started to kind of leave and had a stray bullet find the headshot. And the crazy part about it is as soon as that kill comes out, oh, okay, it's the lurker. We know it's not going to be here, right? So immediately pivoting over to Wards B, it's all the information they need. And then Zywoo, he could have tried to contribute there during that skirmish when Messi comes out says, now I'm going to play to deny this plant, secure the round, they're very well done. So we'll use his OT number one tactical timer. We'll see if he gets another. We're discussing this as a free swing of the king, right? You can play out of the box counter strike. I feel like that's what you're seeing out of nerds in banana, right? He feels like he has nothing to lose. That's why he's so confident in all of his decision-making. Happy to take some of those risks and they've been paying off, you bang on, he has turned his game around, I swear it was one and seven at a certain point, right? In fact, he is sitting at the top of the table alongside of Mattis, it's Zywin Flamesey for Vitality. He would have talked about how Flamesey is, well, his opening joules got six and zero. He's making up for apex. Yeah, yeah. Last round of regulation, he got that opening that kind of changed the tide of battle. the tempo, at least from the pressure. Okay, he's spotted on towards the barrel's position and re-swinged from Xayah, with this hit. Bicious! He still manages to best nerds! Tacked during the flashbang dance, vision restored but now fades to black, flames he finds it. It's Matisse getting active, heavy-god on the short side as well, trying to make a play. Mezzie, ready to receive it, it's off, fangirl catches, Matisse hugging the wall. Looking set to collect two consecutive rounds now on the CT side of overtime. This time it's apex is the jerker soon if heavy god finds robs He might not be ready for the player in back pit and I can understand why you would start making these moves if you vitality Robs has been having a tough go with things but not this time jumps up And all the wings He's returned himself double digits there is one more and they'll have the clean sweep at the first half of OT Flying AK headshot of course everyone's favorite I'm really kind of The Muse, the guy who is sticking around there. I thought, you know, when you get spotted by the boards, that's an insta-death, but he's stuck around. I think a part of it is due to kind of doing the same thing. Then, this isn't a blanket case, but there's a disrespect of certain protocols or responses. Oh, there's disrespect. Oh, my God! He's spotted them, but they're sprayed down by mantis. They tried to go for a pace change, and now it's actually some fires accelerating in towards the A site. robs on the other side of that smoke and he's flamesy the Joker hanging out in the apartment to go find the third double spray heavy-god traits he whipped into that third right insane alright well they're gonna have to give this retake a go bomb yet to go down sure but look at the amount of nades left over between these three to hold them at bay tackle punch it in safe plant made in the Molly for his troubles well he's softened up but Rob's he's gonna It doesn't clear this and it's roms. It's roms. Of course. He does. He's looking in the right direction at least Let's go down to nerds in that powerful angle. So G2 will find something before the swap of the sides Well, it's mainly been the pistols that have helped out G2 in the start of all these house besides The one we just witnessed right about how they got their first there So now that both teams get in the start fully fledged with the rifles will see how G2 fair It looks very clunky there doesn't it coming out of the smoke Hattus does a great job to find that double opening and help secure this round. I hope it looks like in place, the past left to respect that. Did you miss the first half? Oh, no it's half more blocks. Mezzy full flash gets it. I was going to say that there was so much nade damage done to the likes of, oh, all the timing, the timing. Tantalizing the time robs. Yeah, he is tech. Yes, he does. Nails it as well on the rotation. Surprise has to stay towards A now. But he also knows robs is in arch and so doesn't really want to try and clear him with an AWP. So, so much pressure onto heavy god who's just had his whereabouts revealed by throwing out that smoke grenade. Call that 15. You can understand what he was going for there. A little too deep though. They just managed to get through it. I cannot believe, considering the financial situation so late in the game, that Vitality have been able to bring this back. Yeah. Mag 7, 5-7. It's just a full pistol round. Full pistol round. Maybe there was maybe there was an MP9 in there. Yeah, I think one. You're thinking right. There's four pistols and an SMG. But all in all, it's having your economy broken that late and it was back and forth between both the teams. That's why when I think it I think it was 10-10 or 10-11 something like that, I'm saying, this is for the game. I thought the G2 would have enough. Again, I'm just basing this off of what's happening right now. I'm not taking into the context of all the standing or all these factors. I just thought, hey, they've done enough to defeat Vitality 2-0. But just one more now for the World Number 1s to push this to map number 3. And you'd prefer this type of match now? Assuming you win. Then you would in a playoff game or the seeding game is the perfect time to have a game like this. But this isn't the seeding game. This is one match too early. They can hear heavy god there calling out, get the open roto B. See they wanted a heavier row they wanted a bit more of a gamble stuck off the back of that but okay vitality you pulled yourself out of the sludge you get it done right here right now we have more rounds of play now it's gonna be trying to be disruptive early very disruptive Look at this, off of the flash trying to chase Mezzie down on the barrel's position, but Mezzie prevails Heavy nade damage inflicted 80 from the single $300 grenade Mattis picks up another one where that came from Oh, perfect. Ooh, from Apex, but not able to pull the trigger in time, Mattis just far too quick So that's a clawback An important one when you find yourself staring down that point Into the auth here Yeah, some pious We're calling the shots and he's been hitting them too. Oh He'll hit it again Nails it on to Rob flames. He finds him exposed on the pillar. You know heavy. God has to be here somewhere Yeah, it has to be the a anchor and tag forced to be the rotator It's it's such a high-pressure role for someone standing in and he's probably been told all this stuff, right? He's oh, yeah, and I wrote to hear do this do that was he'd love to just play with his intuition But they got to respect the elders in this one Looking for the eighth finish 27 seconds on the clock flames. He is going to come in through apartments as I work And messy to come up the short side now So I will has the Molly can use that pit at least that clears that so it's been used long Have you got to win this still? Force him out Yeah, yep, yep beautiful Molotov completely seals the deal and that should secure it Third map required, Dust2 gonna be seeing action between G2 and Vitality despite the opportunity for the 2-0 as you've discussed. We're getting to see the pedigree of Vitality here. Yeah, you blew them out on map number one short. You had them right where you wanted them here on map number two, but you're going to Dust2. Their home turf, unless matters, can clutch out the 1v3. The first is being found. I don't know who's got him booked here on the backstab. and a clean tap back at the skull we will need free vitality showing that they can in the face of adversity knuckle down and dig themselves out of trouble it looked like the lower bracket was calling their name G2 they'll consider that a bit of a fumble close but no cigar for the 2-0 it will be decided from the third and deciding map just to They've pushed up long and they're in the long side of toilets but they can't do anything about stopping gentlemates from actually getting on the bomb site here through bathrooms. And they know that Long is definitely exposed and Ren Tzu, that's a really good Molly coming through to block him off. Drop all that managed to get one but Mopos are running down with the tech nine of fresh respoke into a green bin as well. And that can as a kind of completely locked out of this. You know that Ren Tzu was toward Long earlier. not going to turn to position Rento. He needs to find impact from somewhere, but it's going to have to be, you know, very difficult shots to be hit. There's the shadow. He sees Fiji and gets off the angle at exactly the wrong time. HG could do some damage. They're all trying to fight into more of that Greenbin position, and it helps out Davideus to get to. Shea will find Alex, Martinez last alive. Where is that bomb defuse? Rento's got a kit. He needs to get on it ASAP. I think he's on it. He is on it, and Martinets will go down. They just about get away with it. Oh, only just. I was even a little bit nervy there what could have been had Martinets hit that shot. I'm not even sure if it was on the kit carrier. If it was, I think that wins them the round. Maybe we get to see it back in the replay here. Big retake coming through from Red Cannons. Just waited for that perfect opportunity to pass the Flurry of Fraggs. It was super uncomfortable for gentlemates. That's why they decided to try and fight forward in the dying stages of that retake or I guess post plan from their perspective doesn't work out for them which means a half-buy in this next round it was pretty rough there for rengo as well because as he's holding that angle he turns around to give his teammate an incendiary that's when the P comes through but more on that later because we ready go fast exit against the speed bombsite Mopos so for advanced already will find a kill in a big dink on Davideus as well oh HHP now might have to take a gamble Davideus rather than playing a normal default position anchoring that B bomb site. Again there's only a block on Alex but other threats in the round available. That was already up toward divider. Top is gonna have a little bit of a glance towards short and they're gonna see it's pretty much clear. I'm gonna shift over toward long. Ren2 will be the main man in task with this. He does have help coming through there with that information that short is clear. They're We're gonna give a lot of reinforcements onto this A-bomb site, it's an immediate rotation for all three. They're actually gonna push up. That drop seems to have an idea, but maybe not gonna realize how far forward they are. It shouldn't really be a massive problem with mostly pistols in play, and it's really well done there from Red Cannons doing exactly what they'd kind of set themselves up for, which wasn't to fight for the players when they were in long, or fight the players when they're in long but instead deal with them once they'd come through that choke point into the bomb site and it's just a bloodbath as they slaughter the gentlemaids players on entry and do get themselves up five once so the only blip on the radar for red cannons here on overpass so far was that hard anti-eco round they'd lost they've been really good since then as they start to tear ahead on the decider You know what the greatest teams in the world are the best at doing winning with their beer even see game by Vitality have found a way to take him G2 to map 3, would you believe it? Oh, it looked like G2 had that one in the bag I couldn't believe it, Trav, because it was on the T side of Inferno where they were giving vitality so many problems That was the half of the map, they won one out of nine rounds against Gentlemates yesterday This shows you in Counter-Strike Nothing is a guarantee Not even vitality the made untoward carries that she does a lot more damage than maybe he was ready for explodes right in front of his face there is a look towards short but they do have control of that position and unknown control opposes waiting on that close right angle as the death would have looked but we'll make some noise now here comes the push south was gonna give it look might be creeping in a little bit unexpectedly here there's plenty of counter utility coming through but he's ahead of that molotov and up onto the pillar already this is a lot of progress that maybe red can has a lot of wear of but they aren't going too aggressive they're waiting for it that smoke to fade and waiting to see if it exposes agentle makes player when comes a group up carries still head down on barrels and that is a bait set up that could work very nicely he eventually gets his one but he needs more and it's only the one my pause will get that trade 3v3 good name to break that smoker from the middle side. They're all rotations now coming in. Jop tries to make a move by jumping on the corner of default. The Rento's not been activated yet from CT. It allows the bomb plant to come through for gentlemates. They've actually done really well to navigate their way past that sticky situation. Now it's going to be pressure on Red Cannotia for the retake. They've been pretty damn good in these situations throughout the map so far and they will get the first I'm not sure how they've done that. I mean there are so many good setups there for red The cannons didn't overpeak as I was saying when those smokes were up around Pillar, little mates were very stalled behind those before they went for their site attack. Lots of good lines were being held by the CT side, but Coward's only getting one from his bait set up in toward the barrels, head down popped it up, could have been two if it was two, could have completely changed the round, he would have been alive to maybe deal with the monster player. to be. It feels like that was the power position that had to yield some big results for Red Canada. There's going to be any chance that you highlight. And I really like from Gentlemace that they don't start to panic in that situation where they kind of had to pause when they were in a pretty uncomfortable position, but they hold their nerve. They all kind of cross cover one another really nicely. Mop-Oz able to adjust their fadavides. I thought he would have been caught off for sure there from the chit-chit-chilean looking to make a spicy push in the early stage of the round, but not going to work out for him. blood drawn here by gentle mates as they look to string consecutive rounds together for the first time here on the third map. And a good number on T, even if it's four that could very well be enough. Boost on defaults, it's also four would be no more than they've gotten on average previously. Renju playing Pillay's got it a shot here, he's been whipping a lot in this map so far, that's another lad one or painful mix up for it but it means he's exposed to short as he falls back. Now drops in a very tough position. Does get one but he needs one more and it's not gonna happen. Alex will get to take him out and Shay is already on the retreat. Ah it's such a frustrating one for Red Cannons if they had Rento online. Look he's a rookie, he's playing his first ever S2 event from Red Cannons Academy. He debuted on HLTV this year but he's missing way too many critical shots at the moment. He seems to be a volatile Orpa who likes to live fast and die young and then sometimes find some like ridiculous returns and rounds where he makes something out of nothing But he's really struggling to just hit the shots that he needs to be nothing very stable about him so far with his Orping here on overpass and that certainly has made matters quite difficult for red Cannons He brings that X factor, which is I think what red Cannons felt like they lacked with history But he was a little bit more of that stable or to kind of hit the shots required So it's all about that trade off and it's where that lack of experience could really be difficult for him to overcome these hurdles and these frustrations. In the third map right there's no chance to reset after overpass and come back in the next series or the next map. It's right here right now. This is where he needs the experience on the team to just try and prop him up and get his head right. Indeed lots of experience around him from many other South American organization some permanently of course on the red cannons team some temporarily unloaned from imperial and pain with cow ears and shea I'll try and find a way to win around like this you'd think at this point otherwise until next we write with them at 5.4 5.7 close range long bottom archery properly but very close range always so possible to die in one click to that pistol. Double flank through con. Ren 2. We'll try and bait for Shea. Shea has been seen, but Southall goes down. So they have wrestled a man advantage. They now know there's at least one on the flank and the M4 that had been saved is in that position. It's a really awkwardly poised round here right now. Almost for both teams, this big double flank. I mean, gentlemates have got some control over towards Long with two players. It's tough for Mopos to join up with them though because the door here is closed. So you then have to give up the audio cue If you was going to try and connect the dots and join with his teammates time starts dwindle and general mates I've got to make some decisions rent is just going to try and avoid the jewel there that makes a lot of sense Like that's some really good decision-making there from rent to having to draw Mopos all the way out now He's got to set up here with the teammate Himself and Shay in position and that will enable the trade Place it matches set your starting point Basic rating measures your impact as you climb the soft elo reset narrows the gap between the highest elo players and the rest of level 10. Your starting point will be based on your recent ELO inactivity. We're introducing Facet Rating so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet Rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match, taking into account the full situation. Season 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck, and have fun! ff He's very good He's more good You can pick on me then Yeah it's right I'm in a T-Shirt Okay, you Be careful You flashed the bullet Nice flashed the bullet What? Well, he's B.B. Yeah. Nice. One dead. Matthew will go for him, just chill. Yeah. He'll be down there. Nice! Nice boys! Okay, okay, okay. I'm gonna flash short. Flash short. I got it done. How long? He wanted to go! I got a shot, I got a shot. Flashing shots! Flash. S.O.I. Delapsed! Nice boys! Nice! S.O.I. S.O.I. Nice boys! S.O.I. Let's keep going. Let's go. Pushing mid up. Nice, nice, nice! I don't have the smoke, he will be clouded I flash first, I go first Go Go, go, go That's a most likely mid-gown I flash Absolutely I flashed long I flashed one mid I flashed one I flashed one I have your middle boys He can't go short guys He can't be short I flashed smoke I'm low I can't be short I can't be short I cannot be short I lose as it I have it I smoke. I'm on HP. Stay side by the box. Stay behind the stream. I'm just gonna be short. I flash. Nice. Last close one. I watch smoke. Keep flashed. What is he doing? What is he doing? What is he doing? Nice guys. Let's get this one. He's here. Nice. Nice. We can go side by the front. I'm going behind him. Yeah Hey Future Pros, taking B side on Dust2 can be brutal. With this B door smoke however it might feel a bit easier. To throw the smoke get in line with this dot at the back of the stone pillar. Aim at the left tip of this ray of light. Then while holding mouse 1 and mouse 2 use your forward step jump throw bind to throw the smoke. will land in the doors and completely block off vision from anyone playing outside of the bebomb site. A warm welcome back. We're heading into the third and deciding map between Vitality and G2 and today you have got nothing but bangers on the A3. We've got all of the big names here and re-a-digit near a winning their opening game and now locking horns throughout those two groups We're starting off the day here myself and chatty be going to be bringing you this third and deciding map channel What did they miss if they just tuned in? Well vitality's Map streak being broken. Yeah, that's one thing the series streak still alive and Getting to the playoffs in two straight sets for both squads available, but inferno G2 had them right where they wanted them the tail end of that game down the stretch money broken multiple times and the Vitality bullshit came out. We saw a Mag7 round where Apex went huge. We saw a full, essentially, pistol round with 5-7s, P250s to keep them in it. Just there you have the knife round. One by G2. Looks like there will be an update to start on the CT side of this one. And you've got some real issues now G2. You could have put them away. You could have got it done in two, but now you go into what is there? What was that number? 41 and four. 4th. With this five man roster on vitality. They have 41 and four on dust. Well, speaking of 40s, 44 frags for Mattis across the first two maps of this series. If he can keep that up, I think there's a conversation that they can at least, you know, be competitive here on the strong map for like strong guest map for vitality. I think a key for me has been some pious with some confidence in some of these options, and they're not options that had to head to Tairu, but they are where he's player is trying to scale and it's been nice to see because some players has found himself under a little bit of criticism. But right now, in lieu of Hunter being here, he's doing the in-game leading. So let's get this one underway. There's been lots of chopping and changing in the G2 camp as of late. About a month ago, Nerd's Malm's swap happened with Liquid. And Nerd's, well, he's been looking pretty damn solid today. It's this Let's attack G2 Aries, Academy player. We'll see what he can bring. Third map yesterday. That was overpass. It was damn good. Yeah, Rob's has two quiet maps, so will you be able to keep him quiet for three? Which is crazy. It was the MVP of the last tournament. Yeah. I know it was a big grand final performance, but still. No, it's supposed to be disruptive here. Flash back into low. I try to threaten. We're back away with his life. Pistols, another thing that's been going to YouTube's way. Oh, that's a big head shot from Goosh, his nerds. Yeah, that's not a fake one this time. Malar Marash. So, smoking two flashes, they've been able to force them back from the middoors off of short. Rob still in upper tunnels. This is two-man setup being highlighted by the Obstin right now. You've got Taktakt in. Have you got back a plat? I suppose. Perfect timing on the click. Yeah, nice to just span to a short throw with the USP and get a free kill on Tzaiwu. So, man advantage 4G2, flash out mid and away we go. Put this really be the fourth pistol in the series for G2. Smoke CT, split this two-man setup. Eyes on Apex flash. Oh, tack tested. Have you got unable to click either, tack down and the B-side collapses. Very nice entry. He spots all three. Apex gets the info on the remaining CTs. Make it for this. Try to breach the site. Mezzy will be that first contact point and then you'll have the tunnels player activate. Robbs can react and it's actually already Apex some robs combining to deter the retake attempt. Okay, nice round. But even after that casualty, Zawa goes down for free, but they still convert the 4v5. So that's the second best of vitality in the series so far. And now it might just be an eco out of G2. I say that is the investment start to take shape. There's a scout in the mix. At least there was, things are being juggled around at the moment. But, yeah, Apex just lingers there on the mid to B. He's got the flash to set his players up for the split. Wasn't really the key point. That was the CT set up having to move. But as you're trying to bring the energy, there you go. There's a hay-future produce that is from this century. The last one, if you caught it before we go back in, a jump throw bind. Those are a thing of the past, everybody. Yes. So with all this position changing, the setup of Hunter was here, would be Mattis long. Hunter is the A rotating rifle. Sampias, obviously the AWPer, and then your B duo would be heavy god as you main the anchor and then Nerts as the rotating rifle for B. We'll see if that's what they go. We haven't seen them play this map so far in Rio. The two Molly Goose, Matt. Taks. Brought low, brought down by Zawoo's Galil. Taks Flames will finish with the scout started of Sampias, Taks and Sampias' whereabouts are noted. It's Nerts that's the unknown entity. It's alright, they're taking the bomb B. They dealt with heavy god and they've rerouter completely apex has the rotation and that should be round now it's just about what gets saved for G2 if anything you see them still looking for nerds making sure that nobody else resides on the side but now that's being completely cleared it is just to look for damage on the way out of the door so to zero start for vitality this is their best start to a map yet in the series. I think that their comeback and clawback of Inferno will be filled them with a lot of confidence. I think it's one of those keys with Vitaly throughout last year. Let's almost go back exactly a year. Think about Melbourne and the type of rounds that they would be winning in a tournament like that. This is what we had come to expect with with vitality, but it's just been so dominant recently that they haven't needed to dig that deep to pull out those type of rounds to get them the map victories. So to see it happen, it's not unusual. It's just unusual in the last stretch of dominance that's been on display. It's all like nobody's been able to touch these guys as everyone's in flux playing musical chairs, trying to find the secret source. So they have the saves from the force carried through as well as a Mac 10 in the mix. So still going to give themself a decent chance in this one G2. Let's see if they want to be a little bit more aggressive, right? If they want to try and force the issue, want to push into lower tunnels, maybe try a clamp down on upper B. Tackle in close doors. Plainty will be out long. Mattis, he's going to get early answers there by passing through the smoke and he's clearing blue bin. So he knows Flamesy peased out fight for tack incoming for a position he's done very well remove his removes robs removes an AK-47 and some pyre surveying the top of middle escorting nerds is 5-7 for an aggressive push of his own heavy god's B side though it's been oh a test for him and he's handled it well attack another one pushes forward he's taking ropes and Zywoo down, starting with just a Mach 10, leaves with a double kill and now Vitality left wanting. Attack for number three, caught by Apex through the smoke. That's at least the upgrade in the bomb. Well, Nerts is on the same flank again. They're actually gonna play back to Nerts. Oh, and he hears them coming. Spotted on a jump by Flamesee. Nessie, Nessie, four to five, seven, highly uncomfortable fight for Nerts. That's a man who plays a lot of Dust 2 deathmatch. Yes. Yeah, that's just habitual right there. I'm sure that jump spot is just for that spawn. Everyone knows what I'm talking about. We got 30 seconds. Wait, the bomb got across the long, so that's going to pull some power. So it gives Flamesey the chance to try and catch this timing on the flank. Apex has to let Flamesey go first. Yeah, but look at the time. It's a bad smoke. Oh, he's going to lose the bomb. He's going to lose the bomb. That's going to be the round. Unless... Quick one. Time's around and nails it. Okay, well done to TAC. Yeah, fair play. That's the most impactful round we've seen from him in the series. Multi-kill on the Mach 10. On a low buy, you bring the fight to vitality and Apex is unloading. Yeah, well, it's surprising that there hasn't been any RG by RG back. I thought Nurtz might kick it off with that again now after a round like this because it was pretty successful on map number one because Apex was goaded into it. And understandably so, you should have the confidence. Because, like, let's fucking refrag it this round. That's why we're fucking struggling right now. We make a call, we're not fucking together, guys. So let's fucking step up. Normally when he gives those type of the players are accountable and it doesn't feel like they're just being berated Apex when people at home see it. Yeah, okay. It might not sit very well with them, but the team usually responds very well They know who their captain is and they know how he expresses himself And I just think a lot of the time what he's pointing out is The facts the fact that they were even in that scenario They really shouldn't be happening not playing off of one another Maybe a little bit too much individual confidence with some of those jewels So that's part of their force by back. They are just allowing all the protocol utility of G2 as they do have basic map control. Rops it up a tunnels, cleans it down towards Xbox. This is looking likely to be one of these B splits again. Wow, he's held onto his smoke for the longest time. That's the first block smoke of the B duo. has a full bell as well. So it's even scarier to get through right now. They do need to shut this down though. Look at the rotation. It's still very centric towards a tack chipping towards CT spawn now. Tack has a HG to break this, but a little bit too early. Pushing through would be a death sentence. Oh no. Back's turned. Back's away. Flames advancing pressure applied to the heavy God Nurtz duo. Heavy God in the corner. Manthlova got backs turned, the trade is quick and swift from Flamesy. High impact on his galil, this round, tag on the cross, Robsker does get the one across and that should signify the third round for Vitality. So a quick response due to getting themselves on the board and then Vitality quickly put them back down. Save this, some pass could drop something into the next, have he got to be able to buy himself or some pass could upgrade into an AWP and maybe they can make some type who drops up and heavy good could operate with an MP7 or an MP9 on B. I think one of the details there and I might be off. I wasn't looking at the PJ, but I don't want everyone else saw. So maybe you could help me. I was looking only at the CSTV, but Sampias threw what I think was a second HE for the break. And I don't know, it definitely missed. It bounced all the way back. So it's hit something, but that could have been difference maker still with the split. Supplies normally very good for the utility. Especially when it's Flamesy that was the one going through the split. Then he found a double entry. We'll see it again in the replay. Here he comes through the window. Perfectly catches now. It's distracted. Two players not looking at you. Thank you very much. Counter strike players dream. Yeah. And he goes from that into a Mac 10. Is that because he's He's got a spawner. He's going B. They don't have an eco, I forget, right? They knew that they were safe, so they... They've been doing a lot of this with the Mk10 in the last couple of days on Flamzee. One control garnered. Madness will get that control. Supported by his team. Flamzee and Rops have had no issues getting lower tunnels accessed, so Mid-Doors won't line up. Should see them now mantel up and play for short space next The member that head armor on the other side is nerds So has the run and gun potential right can draw the crosshair The door smoke replenish that will allow nerds to traverse Over towards the A side if you'd like gonna hang around the middoors to try and keep them boxed in for now Another block smoke doors. That was an audible underhand. Considered going through the clear but called it off. Just the round change. At least from Apex's perspective, 35 seconds to find a finish. This is tense. expect for rops lined up. Fresh and mid. No squad around here. So it looks like it's going to be once again this mids be split. Have you got to hanging around the lurk smoke? Is he going to be exposed here? Strafing on in for space flames. You're not even considering car. Have you got down to the Mac 10? The parting from flames. You see that just completely negating the car position. Swing in for the big box makes life really difficult. They have you got a nerds to be a save as some pious. It's going to try his luck. Tac might want to swing into this for the fight. So who get himself something? We've seen them go mid to be in what? At least three rounds, at least three. The pistol round being one where they were down. So yeah, a lot of mid to be playing the early stages, doing some conditioning. Another save as the loss bonus continues to build. Next one to be a 2400 cash injection again surprise can drop tack can drop They can buy again, but I suspect we might get a store time out I'm curious I would like to this a sort of I'd like to know if After that one loss if someone said yeah, thanks. Let's just not yell back in this or He decided himself. Yeah, that's not worth the energy. I am curious. Because the rollo had a very different energy. Yes. It felt a bit more jovial. Yes. And now it's a whole lot more tense. So I was discussing his plans with his AWP. Maybe gonna get boosted up, try and hit someone on the cross. It is the Zywoo mini-game. He's very proficient. I like the fact that they gave themselves a 30 seconds there, G2, because they've decided to keep the Scout, but Simpire's still upgrades. So, Heavy Goat gets that, and that's funny, you can do that back flat. It's not the best, it's also not the worst. Two across, counting the numbers. The HE obscuring though may not have been relayed. Safe long take there as well from G2, they waited for a second time, they waited on the corner, allowed the smoke to plume, then went with a flash, so they had the basic map control on the CT side. But because you've lost to so many mid to Bs, you either want to play ahead to unravel the default, right, you want to be jar and get a pick or two so they can't execute that mid to B, all you need to start doing those gambles we see, right, where there's three players over that side of the map to try and contend. Apex is so lucky to be alive. Oh damn yeah, but I would find the lethality that Sumpiast could have with his AWP. Not far off on the smoke aggressive. Nearly caught Nerds completely through the smoke. Sumpiast dead means AWP down means, hey, let's turn this into an A split. Yeah right, you know it's not going to be any of that car AWP angle to be concerned about. Well maybe there is. Nerds has been able to pick that up and find himself on the side. So an educated guess could see you walking into the Nerds AWP. I still think it's the right call. Just look at the U2, left side of your screen. You can do all the smokes, the fly, they're in a really strong position for a tidy execute. Matt has long push. Yeah, he's going for it. Yeah, he's booked. Now Matt is going to turn immediately to worry about this A-take. There's the nerds. Oh, you weren't expecting that. He picks it up for some pyres, his corpse implies his trade very well. Have you got rotated off? Oh no. Wait, boys. At least got an M4. Okay, head to head. You have to win this duel, and he's done so. Catches Zywoo, head of the smoke on the peak, now that he's used to put to good use, still low exposed! They go down to one, Rops spying the smoke, looking for number two. Rops lives, the bomb can get planted at least. He's going down, Rops has got to play his life here, but he knows they can see over the top of the smoke, so he's got to play this really... Gavful! Nerds nails it! He's put that up to such good use. And one versus three for Mezzie that does seem... 24HP. ...ossible. Good luck. They'd have to really mess this one up. Flashbang likely or just using numbers as he down immediately. What an impact round from nerds that one is Yes, I've a couple of those now as me maybe not in this map, but in the series so far so a triple from him and Right there as soon as a breaks goes down his call is playing all we have to go right But and also if you're thinking about it from the perspective of an a execute if the long play is not there It makes sense But because there's the emergency Feeling of all we have to go you're a bit more rushed right if the flashes aren't really there It's it's not as connected as it should be and the extra response shows that exactly how the team's probably feeling and all can be dropped for Zai we can get it back out It's gonna be a glill again for rops and AKs for the rest lose another one of those money broken G2 can tie things up Zai we're using the longspawn oh He's too perfect ship so does some pious over the flames. He's gone very well to find the headshot by the confidence running up the guts of mid and putting apex in the dirt you have to retire long and you will attempt to attack here's this he knows his multiple bodies molly blue bin on the second flash goes swing in a messy force to extinguish just to preserve his life flanky trying to bail out mr. merriment head-to-head jump attack he doesn't have to commit to this fight forces them why some pious Yes, good for it. G2. Looking to make this just a one round game with this one mad advantage. Have you got Sight very vulnerable? He hasn't got any help anywhere nearby, and that's why Robs is starting to search. Flames is just starting at mid to be as well. God, they've got that word cut out for them if every god goes down, but he's in a power position. You'd expect him to be able to get one here. Flames is here for the trade. Or does he go first? No, Flames, he is going to go first. I think he should be saving this one, Zawoop. He really wanted to have a go. Look, if he was in the thick of things, and he's already in the side, the trade comes in. Might have a chance in that one. But right now, back enough towards Spawn and on screen, TAC is actually taking away a lot of space. space. Absolute worst case scenario right now is I would go down after time and loses everything. We'll have to take an eco into the next round and the 1900 coming through. I like this from tag. Oh, get spotted. That does kind of put a damper on it. They haven't all started just sprinting towards I was I think they're just going to allow him to keep this AWP. I think if he didn't get jump spotted there, he's just going to keep walking it here and could very well have killed him after time. So nice attempt, but not over cooking. Okay, so it is just the orb. You have about two and a half K on everybody else and a really nice round here from St Pius. I love the decision tree of you. So that's a great example of like all the thought process there along the first flash comes in. They hear the steps. Okay, let's have a second flash with Molly blue bin. Get a second flash to come through. Mezzi on the extinguish, you know, you're seeing the thought process of both these teams and they're keeping up the the aggression look at this wow so we know what's up it nearly catches the booster they actually did invest a little bit here right so obviously lost bonus very slim but I didn't want the or just to come in on its own so that there's no matter you took to work with there is a plan and that's nice but now there's an opening kill this becomes even more threatening. Two, that is an attack on the fate of this smoke, I was hoping to catch you on your retreat. It's Nerts on the orp... it's worked for him once. He's the only one on A. Yeah, it's Flames again trying to go through that smoke so they will offer flashes Nerts. off the shot, informs Vitality's T-side and a couple of missed opportunities now that sets up rocks, he'll counter-attack on the clear. Wow, considering what they came into this round with, the fact that the bomb is down with a man in advantage of this already is impressive. Another smoke on Apex as well. It's gonna force their post plan to make it a bit more awkward with the incendiary down. Resmoke sure, I think that secures the round, you have to save now. Hell Mary sprays. That was an opportunity to get to type the game right there. They're looking to inflict a little bit of damage, but the fact that you just want this essentially on an eco with a safe AWP is that we take another one with him. Very well done there, Vitality 5-3. Well you make it as costly as possible in victory right there, but they will be able to rebuy. Robs can drop an AWP for Zywoo. So we can drop the AK and give him the nades. This is the opener. Sees the smoke as well. I think I have a pretty good idea of what this is all about. Oh, okay, they're not actually running the Zywoo wall. So let's see if there's a set piece that have very good long spawns right now. Maybe they're just all in long. Baby, it might be. Zywoo gets to lurk. That's a nice shot. It's starting solo long with the AWP. They should be blind. Yeah, really difficult. So the long space is given up. Sampias will retreat, try and break the smoke and catch something. That's rapid, it's a piece of apex. Wow, and even the Buddhists going through, connecting onto Sampias. The apex smoke. Me like that. Both Mattis, hoping for that block smoke. Oh, caught by the spray regardless. Have you got to activate, Zywoo's ready to punish this. Have you got Zywoo head to head? You don't get these all the time. Apex was just looking at Zywoo's screen as well. He thinks twice about continuing the push so good restraint a win for messy versus tack and now zahua can activate the restraint heavy god has with his smokes on this B site I'm doing it again I wish I would if we get to see zahua take down heavy god or even get killed by heavy god what the reaction would be from some pious alongside of nurse they go okay well if zahua's it up a tunnel is it. It can't possibly be long, can it? Right. I always put his rops mask on. Yeah. Now look, it was definitely spawn based, but that's the nameplate counter strike and how it can play in. This is just a round that's been called by Vitality Virtua of Spawns, but how the choices can be made on the other side based off of that. Now they should be set to take this round. You can see that they've hedged for a B finish G2. So this will secure at least 50% of the rounds in the first half in favour of vitality. Just worry about how much Zyra is going to take away on this lurk. Something 1900 loss for G2 going into the next round of play. And running out of chances very quickly. So this is another one of those situations where your hope of vitality are kind. It's not looking that way with the dots on the radar starting to gravitate towards them. But Nerse is going to be the beacon. He's the canary in the coal mine. And the canary's got hands, gets to denies the hunt. He borrowed into that position long ago. And it seems to have done enough. Oh It's not really too soon. I actually think Some parts of TV all I actually think in that situation Someone's probably gone boys our money is actually not that good We can't lose everything here and they've got what but if we run back we need to get away from the bomb So they were in somewhat of a limbo period right there because sure they're gonna be able to buy but their finances It's not like they all sit in there with the extra 6k. We're talking just enough We are unlike G2 who are going to be able to juggle it out around us as well Think something a little bit more out of the box if the G2 as opposed to just the standout understand They tried that boost never punished for it But when you have a player like matters who's anchoring long he He actually has been able to get given an m4 because he just bought in with the Famous So they have been able to pieces together again a nice again a nice time out a good opportunity to really discuss the finances and the approach into this one. Flamesy balls on a Mac. And Zahou has the AWP, but he has the absolute worst spawn to go for a long pick or even mid in that regard, so he won't even try his luck. Starting four strong AG to too short, too long, AWP floating around middle. If there was a B-pop or B-play that was early, that would be catastrophic for the defence, but they are gambling. That's always around these mid-doors, always around the smugs looking to just be a real nuisance. Yeah, he's going to make us play. Flames he down, nerds. His forward position works out. What happened there? What happened there? Tech issue? I don't know. He started to push himself back from the desk immediately. Robs, two back, round still on. It's still on. Actually, a good amount of info coming off the back of this. Oh, we made a sound cue. Didn't want to do that. Heavy God. Ear pressed to the wall on the B ramp. Still concerned about the gap on B. It's Mezzie ready for the short rear-gress. He's going to dip on down. That's it. Could catch Mezzie here completely. Book him if he jumps up, catches his back, turns... Oh, no! Thank you! Fumbles the movement. Twenty seconds. Heavy God. Heavy God is in such a good position. I don't think they're going to clear this. It's Rob Stowe. All quick trade from Mezzie. He's got to try and play for the clutch. Can he get in the window in time? Mattis in some piers Molly Got smoke Molly you're right if you can block tunnels he's not going to He has them Playing for the one tap playing for the one tap nails your first spot for shoulder Pull it across the line five points of damage the difference They made it incredibly competitive considering they had minus one player. Yeah, that was tough, right? You could see from Zahra's perspective as soon as the short push came in something went wrong He pushed himself back from the test This was the opening there was nothing that could be done about that for the trade But the fact to get a claw back you think Zahra should be getting that so just floating off in a space there as I'm ad Wow, that's good restraint didn't I mean yeah, that's the spewing That's the kind of dip you know moment where you do let your emotions to get the better of you not at all composed to keep the game alive. Because the money again member vitality went for the hunt. They kept one player alive. They really struggling in the financial department there. And because of their winning ways, well, actually, just because of the streak around in this game, no team. We haven't had massive runs where a team is like had max loss bonus in play. So it's been a lot of this back and forth. So that is extremely frustrating if you're vitality. Right now we are in a tech time out everybody so the players are not able to communicate with one the players are not able to communicate with one another and we have to get this one back underway ASAP. There is a B stream game that could keep you busy for the interim red kids versus gentle mates that is reaching its conclusion shortly by the looks of things. I want to go on all three maps and that is an elimination game. Coming up after that you are going to have Liquid versus 3D Max, Passion UA and Hottie versus Legacy those are the four elimination games for today. After this one, we've got spirit Falcons and you've seen the camera shots, right? You've seen the Falcons players in the background that spirit players to after that fury and RV and then Aurora mouse to round out your Tuesday. But the top eight that I've just mentioned there, well, at least the eight who are playing in the upper bracket semi finals today, that could be a playoff bracket. Obviously we're missing foot. We're missing power vision. The Mongols aren't here the same as Astralis Those are names who definitely would spice things up But with the way that the VRS has chopped and changed recently off the back of Pigeon Bucharest. It's Changed the complexion of the VRS a little bit to say the least We'll see what it looks like after this one's concluded But foot find themselves third. I think it's not like six Navier Academy players in the top three of the VRS at the moment, which is pretty crazy, right you get yourself Four of foot and then you've got bit and mccownsie Obviously bits going way back to is a roll back. Yeah Who would you say what would you say is the? They other than this game, which one are you most looking forward to today on the last stream? This has been a fun Navi fury a fury for two reasons. I think that those two teams are my like plus paravision those are the three squads which I think, okay, they have chances against Vitality. We'll see what new Falcons looks like with Karrigan once we get there. Interesting that ParaVision's in that conversation. What convinced you there? Just think that they have a strong fundamental base and they're annoying to play against. So the problem is they need to continue to develop their game. I think what they brought into last year and now into the early stage of this one, I don't want to say it's stale, but teams are now getting more and more used to it to it because they're losing to it and power vision keep making deep runs and tournaments. So you're having to acclimatize yourself with that approach because you were used to it back when it was outside as VP. Right. But now it's kind of come back around. It's like fashion. Everything cyclical. It's just one of those styles as well where players can get another sounds ridiculous, but but bored because they will have some rounds that are really slow. They obviously throw in a bit more pace. They do. It's not it's not just a slow style. But, uh, yeah, we know how fidgety players can be. But all good in the hood. Apex is back in the server. See the buy started to take shape. 4G2 in a third and deciding map with such high stakes as well. I mean, you talked about it during Inferno, that that lower bracket will have the loser of spare falcons. Yeah, it's not going to be easy. Obviously for G2, you've got vitality on, let's say, an off day, at least in recent history. I'm not saying you're not playing good CS, you are. You're playing great. I'm loving the moves that have been going on with this team. But uh, you've taken advantage of that and understandably so. Curiously, if I tell you, I've gone for the force in this. Oh, it's not pretty. Yeah. Quite a collection of weapons between both sides. Look at this, upper push early, flashed in, nurse, wins out the fight, opener on to Robs. His woes continue. That's really naughty. You haven't done that all game. They go for a forced buy and he's actually just gone for an early push. Heavy damage onto Mr. God. Yeah, nice time to pull it in as well, coming off the back of that tech, so when everything's iced out, you kind of set the time. Get an early kill. If I turn to it, a disadvantage, or, well, a further disadvantage. So they've clear closed doors with the flash, some pyrester blocks short at about that 55 second mark. Last time they tried the AXE Q was rushed because of the maddest long push. This time, as he's holding for that. And we'll be going for his own late arrival. Have you got a nerds both playing for mid to B? There's a lot of that in the early stages of this half, Flash. by our spots. Just one. Ooh, three peek. Framsey puts him down. Nice find on the Galil. Follow-through. Here comes the follow-through. Matt's attention drawn. That kill has pulled them off. Tack steps up for a double onsite. Scout's not the perfect weapon for this, but Mezzie rounding the corner needs to win this. Jill cleanly does so on to Mattis. One down. Just Mezzie on the mom's side and no hope for him. Tack's had it around there. Quad kill from the standing and makes it just a one-round game. Okay, well, a very strong chance for G2 to tie things up at the half-time again. That, there'll be another Vitali buy, of course, but it'll be worse. It'll be worse than what you just saw. Which, well, I thought it was curious that they went for, right? They could have gone for a lie, and then it would have been... I'd say predominantly rifles if they had taken that path, but... Wanting to challenge? They have had quite a few of these lighted by... Oh, hoo! Some pious hunters I move back to back opening kills now for G2 on a CT finish. I'll have a real chance to tie things up, innit? Yeah. Some pious staying active as well. He's been in use since running up mid with the orb. He's been great. Oh! I was great. Ride it. You tested some pious and you pay the price. Have you got been spotted on the Jiggle Rocks rule retreat? Knows that there's going to be a grenade coming his way. Just don't have any territory right now and two of your biggest Playmakers and space takers are in the dirt as I went flamesy. They had huge performances on inferno They're just gonna have to sit by now and see if messy apex and rops can piece something together to two three split G2 got notes and have you got back over towards B Sound the complexion a matters looks down long support spotted on the jump there Well, uh, tickled twice. They're not giving you anything. Not that that was the only thing they gave you a little bit, a little glimpse. All right, wrap it up, boys, one by one. Some pious times that's a perfection on to apex. 3 laying is here in those short steps G2 to collect the dead even half wow the expectation of the Vitality clawed themselves out of trouble on Inferno was that this was Vitality's third map to win or is this going to be the safe dust 2 loss for Vite's LA? Let the you both know, let you both know Hold on hold on hold on So far, let the you both know Let the you both know Let the you both know Still completely up for debate in this Vitality G2 matchup, I said it would be their 6th but no it would be their 5th loss as a team on Dust2 if G2 can send them down to the lower bracket. 41 and 4 as it currently stands. So I will not stepping up in the same way he did on Inferno, in fact the entirety of G2 have managed to keep their form going, tack with a solid quad kill in that first half, but now they swap to the T side. And pistols have definitely been going the majority in the favour of G2, and they split them here. Oh, looking to start strong. So I will down to the B250, Apex hiding out on cart, he's going to be able to tap the first. Oh, quick on to the second as well. Close lines, Mattis. Beautiful shooting there from Apex. Round back on. Boosting. OK, this was all part of their plan. Taks not going to be ready for this. They do get a drop on him, but they don't get the shots. Now Nerds can pester in. Lovely finish onto Flames. He changes his elevation, finds a nice close. On that initial head shot, some passes. P250 finds a second, and Taks leaves with a double kill, too. OK, 4 to 2 in the pistol department in this series in favor of G2. They had the most dominant map of the series so far, and they could have put them away on Inferno if they do it on Dust2. Hey, it's a legit win, you can't argue with that. It looks like Vitality are going to force by again, and this hole can get very deep very quickly. So they need to spring ball back in with a force by win. Right here, right now. Guys, boys! Famous Rapex scout for Mezzi. Pistols for the rest. And Apex, yeah, he's making moves. That's very aggressive, very much Apex maneuver. Oh, Bomb! Bomb spotted some, personally lost it there as I was pushed, but still as I was going down, that's the clawback kill you were looking for. Yeah, that's his ninth opening Julie's been involved in. Up to that point, he was five and three, now five and four, so, sure, maybe not the most kills, but definitely impacting in terms of his opening frags, and can't forget that unfortunate disconnect in that first half as well where you have to think Zaheel in that position with players par-thin through short, like a gimmie. Yeah, so some real frustrations that Vitality will have had the half-time break to try and swat away, but you lose this one, you have to eco. And right now, the bomb around middle, Flamsey reinvestigating long-shore. Apex is playing Joker again. It's just Robson B. I still don't have a clear indication of the finish with 50 seconds left, Lindsey. Still pathing forward for space and sees nobody's home. Short that I'm interested in. Oh, wow. They misread the situation completely. Because Robs was solo on B, they've gone, okay, we need to help the weak point of the map, but you didn't even have all the info. Media trade from Mattis. They've made it a really poor assumption there, right? He has the infer, but it means that they still could have been lower. They could have been up, but they clearly are up short, right? So. All vitality. Force find doesn't work. So what? That's eight and nine. Yeah, it's going to have to be the eco into the next. This is very similar scenes to Mirage, I think they did that window jump out on their T side and then Robs ended up saving just a five, seven. And the HG almost exactly like this could have even been on inferno. But either way, look at the smile on the face there. solo. Boss man's having a good old time as a two round lead soon can become three. And this is serious now. Yep. Just right. If Zywoo was split second earlier, you feel like that's his kill that's bombed down long hot got himself a galil Yeah, you bet he misread the situation I'm assuming he made the call but Some light upgrades It's all Molly make sure they can't scamper to low that'll make things literally easier for nerds So he traverses the tunnels double nays heard long only one of them hitting the target, but none of them finding damage and so again He is forcing the issue along with these fights. I wouldn't be surprised if he's just a little extra ticked off. Oh yeah. It looked like at the moment he handled it well, but... Yeah. It's like in that F1 movie, you know, he's driving angry. They haven't won around since then. and it makes sense in the first half when we talk about the finances the pistol to 50-50 the force Maybe you could say 65-35 you know now the eco you really up against it Well missed opportunity from as you they've lost the site likely to lose this one here Matt This is lying in wait for the lower activation combined with heavy got up top mid and it's flawless Apex can't even put a blemish on the record, a flying Mach 10 finishes it off, five alive smiles creeping onto the face of G2, fall away from not only securing playoffs but sending vitality to the lowers. It is a wild thing that if obviously order of games matters here but the first team to lock themselves in the playoffs didn't think it would be G2. No. So they're not far away now. Also wasn't even on the tip of my tongue when you look at the names and you look at the slots. But when you think standing, you think no chance. Absolutely. I thought the caveat was massive, but apparently things are flowing pretty damn nicely. Some pirates calling this shot. Look at this call though. Look, there's nobody tunnels. They are likely just to do a snake walk up cat into an A eruption. I love it when we see this call. I've seen it from foot a lot. Grabeni likes to call it too. I think you just have so much freedom right now with the way that you can maneuver if you're GT. You're going to catch Apex off guard and he's just going to be spitting chips here. Yeah. Look how quick this is minute 20 eruption here. They come back. You know, there's nothing else on the map We won hell of a hey G nice shot from Zai would find himself in the opening department this time a kill Apex will activate only the one on the spray good from tack despite the flashbang finding the headshot necessary playing retake bomb will go down No kit That is a big 10 second diffuse condemned you gotta be making moves here another CT smoke it hasn't channeled them to sure they're still gonna play through CT spawn and some fires only has a mag 10 to work his magic Messi's gonna use that second smoke from Rob's to maneuver forward some pies though Cleared nice of merge from the smoke on messy Rob's hits his shots and vitality a team ace No kit no problem. That was class there the weather approach that is very very stressful situation the second smoke messy walks in our uncrouches to just expose his head. I mean that was stunning. Okay, well that was well this time he gets over and apex was ready for that. Mind you, I'm sad I'm thinking he's gonna get caught off guard by timing. He's playing an angle for them already parving out. So this is a kill that makes that retake. Very well done from Mezzie. Beautiful frag. And the whole team as you mentioned, piece it together to make it possible. But that was a bit of a bonus. Still two round gap to close down. G2 more than enough money to splash, surprise, we'll get boosted suicide. Oh, this looks like they want to go off the last of the molly. Mattis makes a step, robs locked in. Is he called upon? Quick head shot from Mr. Cool, a second rotation to the north. They know him as he is a big rotation. Two players started cheating over there. Thought it was full B commit out of position right now, But they'll get back in time. The bombs in turns back attack. Some pirates already with his eye to the scope, starting to throw a bit middle. At least a mid to B gives you a 3v2 in theory. That's the FAPX doesn't get anything on his smoke spams. Yeah, and he has a HE to break. Yeah, do you have double smoke? You do. You wouldn't invest it, though. I'd like one for the post plan. Okay, here comes that HE break. Oh no, first and incendiary. So, Heavy God's going to be completely isolated from the bunch. He's pushing forward though. Is this further than Robs is ready for? Yeah, I think so. Heavy damage onto the other two. Heavy God. Oh, quick adjustment. Those are what Robs is as well. Double from Heavy God and they can go through tunnels. They've managed to pull this right back. They've still got that supply of smoke as well for doors. to get that bomb down. He's going to win this fight fast. Apex disruptive force charges forward towards the bricks position and a nice elevated angle for straight. Spot. Have you got over the top? Have you got what a play, though to be able to pip that gap right there. That becomes extremely tense. Have you got what a play though to be able to pip that gap right there that becomes extremely tense fact that it is Tempered in terms of the party right you okay, they're out mid to be okay They come through to no He's just go get me a gap and I'll find us a multi So at least they are able to get into the site and keep it stressful for vitality You're not allowing them just start picking up speed with a couple of flawless rounds, but doesn't change the finances Some biases just hit a tag shot on rops crossing towards beat So if you're wondering where half his HP went, that's it, but it's going to be a Deagle, Galil, the Scout, and so another one of the Deagles as mentioned, it's just going to be heavy god down to a Glock. So still a chance to try and make something happen here. I have one of these quick short plays perhaps. Sampai is going to be clearing angles with that Scout. Confirms nothing close. This is the problem with going short and the way you have it right now, I don't want to call it a hopeless round for G2, but this is an extremely tough round. You have one smoke, maybe you have to try and utilize a run boost alongside of this smoke to make this happen. You're relying on Xayah missing. This is the smoke that plumes downwards as well, so it opens up the vulnerability for a drop, which can really be acknowledged by Apex. What a boost over the top. It's a little avant-garde. I don't like the idea. Thanks for what I heard the scout. And here's the truck, as you can find him comfortably. And just meat-grinded. G2 sausages on the menu. Alright, that was the eco. Now the guns come back out. Little bit touch and go. You got around 4K, so it's going to be lighter on the U2. Is that boss man calling them? Yeah, last one for G2. Now this one isn't to discuss... Wow, it is you need to work exactly what you till is available You can look at the spawns or at least we can they have some good ones for long matter Surprise heavy god if they wanted to try something a little bit more pacey they can Surprise is able to get out the AWP It will be rifles for the rest heavy gods come in with a galil focus on sure he gets all the you to over the firepower But there's a flawless round that helps the Vantality build, at least another buy or two. So last opportunity for Sword to call that, some pyres is looking like he is either just going to take the pick or get boosted in suicide, or at least he was. There we go. I'm just making no secret of this presence either. Just very loud, a little bit heard there. So I know that he's up close, pressed towards the doors. Are you kidding me? What did he see? That tiny flash of pixels he's enough to drag nerds on the jump cross. It's just how far he was across. Yeah. Wow. Okay. Well nerds, three HP remains after Zywa is struck. Ooh, tech spotted him. No Zywa's position. The boys eat smoke break and dips back for sure. Well they're happy for the mid to B. Yeah, Mezzie's gonna be in a crossfire with Apex so they have to break. Matt is spotted. Mezzie swings in. Unable to win the duel. But I don't know if he's able to trade. His position was known towards the window and nerds on that low HP from Zyra's orb. Oh my god! Oh my Apex! This goes running! Another misread from Matt Escalar. Robs onto the low HP nerds, a nice angle from Flamesy, but not enough, TAC has got the awareness to clear it. And Zawu hoping and praying he can hit this shot on the cross. Now Smoke reveals his whereabouts, Heavy got already securing the round. Just by being able to be pushed out of that window ensures it's not going his way. That's all we're hoping to say, but... Oh, maybe. That came very, very quickly. Give it a look now. Jump again, I dare you. He's holding onto the molotov as long as he can. Sibyl will have a look. Sampias active on the door line. I know. He's having a look. He's hoping they start leaving, but he's not getting what he wanted. Last second probe from Zywu and Sampias. His patience is rewarded. Three kills from Sampias on the sniper. Having a good map. He's having a very good map. He's having to pick up the reins here at being the in-game leader with Hunts up not in attendance and doing a very good job in the frag department on the third and decider of this one and it hasn't really affected his fragging out but that's what's extra impressive how one is gonna feel tough right we saw as I would get that tag and that just yeah okay well one round gap short just It feels like it's not the same on Vitality in terms of having their finger on the pulse and the reed of the situation all the time. That's what made them so dominant recently. They never were getting caught off guard, and that's where this game is, them having to dig deep again and having to pull out some of these more individual heroics. So late-long pot flashes lined up. Flames his ante. No. Ooh, Hasvision! Still can't find a authority! Matt is with two! So, he was trapped on car. There's no way he gets more than one here. have to do something crazy pops up to the USP he's got so many players look at him okay now he's dead no way you can pull the trigger again forced to caught on the bolt tax spans through for two a suit 11 rounds 11 locked yeah and money's not great over there vitality because they're winning ways right it's only 1900 into the next this is almost it i know we were here on inferno but we're here again on dust to the fact it's been a blowout in the favor of g2 and now two two maps that are back to back and they're damn close. I'm just gonna have to do his very best to hold on to this. Three CT rounds, all they have to boast. But again, it returns to that point I was just making. They're not ahead of the play. They were making a move. They had an idea of what the situation was. Apex was coming over, but they get caught off guard. Oh, now Rops has been noted. They know exactly where he's off to. There's no chance he can... They're diffusing now as he darts away. I'm surprised here's this and Robs won't spam the doors wide up. Oh, he's not far off. Robs tugs into the safety of the nook. Okay, I think you have to take a timeout if you exercise here. You have to take a timeout right now. I don't think there's any other option. So this is it. You come out long, great work from Mattis. Another one of these Maltes. And this is it. They're just behind the timeouts. Two rounds where the players are in the right places, but not perfect to be able to stunt them them before they're coming out the doors. So XTAS calls this, as mentioned, it was 1900 coming into this. It's 2400 going into the next. So your choice was take the eco behind the save dem four, give them 12, play for overtime. They don't want to play for overtime. They want to get this done in regulation. So two MP9s, one for Flamesy, one for Messi. And fours on the other three. Playoffs on the line. Forget about the streak. Forget about the consecutive maps. Forget about had all of that. Slipped off the head, not gonna find anything on the cross, it's some bias. I haven't used a single smoke on the CT side to block your Adol. Not a single smoke. They didn't smoke long doors out of the gates to have a block B with a smoke. They're straight right now on the U2 is crazy but because it's being quite pack heavy, I think you want to try and constrict them as much as you can here in the early stages. He's gonna be here in all of this close mid doors leaves a lot of pressure on rops over towards be the man who saved in the previous Exchange of smokes over towards short mid to be lands to Now rops blocks be tense they're hoping for reaction for the CTs Doesn't get what he was looking for apex shows restraint 48 for the finish. Mattis lining up the smoke, or actually no, he's going to be donating nades. So Apex blocks mid, Zyber blocks short simultaneously. They have to go through one of these. And now they're pivoting back towards B, which is the only man on the site. Oh, and Messi's going to be super low, like far away. Apex is trying to get across. How good was he to smoke? There's a gap over the top. There is. He's on his way. 20 seconds. There's he. Baited it nicely by Apex's spray, tack overlooked the deep corner. Still pressure on. Robs relays. Apex in the right place. Perfect head shot provided. Robs does well. Apex revealed. Still got a lot of work to do. Sumpire doesn't hit the shot. Nurtz does, though. And no time for him to win this one. Forced to run away. Flamesy wants the upgrade, so he's going to hunt him down and MP9 jumping around corner in a perfect head shot from Nerds. Okay, very important save there for Nerds. He can drop an AK right now if they want to keep the pressure on with the buys. Sympires can buy himself. Nerds can drop one. He can still get U2. Madison TAC can operate on something a little bit less. Still the ability to have a pretty strong buy, and that's a tense round for Vitality. This is a round where they hold onto all their smokes up the gates. There's no pace to that. It comes in very late. This time, Apex does get the read. He is in the right place. the game. It's not going to be a good case. Financial conversation just like inferno will continue down the stretch, but this time the teams aren't broken with their buys not yet anyway. Next round will be the real case to make. They really I Nice damage connects on to three members of G2 significant damage onto some fires now He's got the reeds right now if it is this mid to be finished, which is not a guarantee just yet Apex is cheated over here once more this time much earlier in the round and with less information Surprise up cat sure alongside of matters their flash forward they clear it out. Nobody's home Again, they're a straight on the U-Tilt, but they're sticking their guns right now in vitality, staying this 3B. Oh, Mezzie. He's gonna be that first contact point. He does very well. A 2K on the spray. And number three as well, Mezzie tracks the swing of Nerth, finally brought down by heavy god but what does it cost that rops one and done? Apex won the round. Just by gambling that third man. Heavy god. He's still checking for the potential Joker. Plans behind the box. Oh dear. Hold up. Yeah, hang on. Apex uncrouches. Hang on indeed. You're gonna throw the HE, you're gonna soften up Apex. You're uncrouching your own risk. Gills the headshot. Is this real? No way! He gets that close. Geez. God, what a beast. Oh mate. even considered the joke from the Joker and then found the kill. Look, he's got him. He's learned a lot of damage there. He's definitely stressed Apex the hell out. This was great from Mezzy Shaw. But that financial conversation now goes the other way. I think you played for overtime. All right, G2, they're stubborn as Vitality, heavy guard with the plant, and the kill is giving himself enough to get out an AK. The rest of them down to Tech 9 to deagle for TAC. Heavy goes looking over, having a conversation. Statue and spawn right now. I guess they were still just working out the details, remember G2 didn't have any other timeouts to take. Vitality aren't giving them one either. Yeah, Apex does seem to have finally found his finger on the pulse of the calling patterns. I think you could do it again, try and, oh, and he's doing it again too. Okay, I was going to say, if I'm G2, I think there's no way. There's absolutely no way. And if you are going to try A, Flamesee and Zywoo await. Completely disconnected from the 3 on B. Okay, they're making that look like a really limp fake to bait out U2. Flamesee still got Smoke, Molly, HE. Okay, the second wave, that buys the Util, that forces it out, and now they're gonna explode. But I think it's gonna be dropping into spawn, it's still a B-split. Okay, Uriah nerfs, breaks his legs, drops into CT, Mezzie, readys himself for battle. Apex's gamble looking to be rewarded, Mezzie needs something though. Technines running in, Robson, Mezzie engaged, lovely spray, three in the feed from Merriman. And 12 found first by Vitality. And 2400 into the final round of regulation for G2. I can't quite believe it's still looking like a vitality finish and Seriously, this is the closest it's been for vitality for some time the Just one more round away and again the buy is only gonna be the 2400 the bomb doesn't go down here They've gone mid to be again And it's no surprise that when you are using some pies to be you're in game leader You've got no timeouts left You've got a standard for the academy team that your strap book starts to look a little bit thin Yeah, I guess the world number one of course But the fact you have put them through their paces right here right now you've taken away the 24 consecutive maps I don't think you're taking away what is about to become 18 consecutive series This is to secure vitality in the playoff in pursuit of the gold bars did it in Melbourne Almost a year ago Looking to do it in Rio to become the first to ever do the double to get in their way. G2 was not one towards the top of that list. They put up a very strong show and it's going to be a B pop for the finish and apex is gambled here again. He doesn't have to do anything. May just hang it out. Checking his teammates here. They come. Molly missed. still nails the headshots and it comes rumbling down for G2. Vitality truly put through their paces G2 with a stand-in and golden opportunity to take him down heavy guard putting in a solid shift here goes down to the eagle of Saibu and Vitality prevail you can see that a genuine sigh of relief off an apex there didn't return the favor to Nuts raising the roof and raising his voice on Mirage and they fight tooth and nail back into the series. He went so close, they earned that one, didn't they? This series, oh there it is, they're getting well over. It was 13 now, 14 straight Dust2s for Vitality, 18 consecutive series wins and Apex finds his voice. That was an entertaining game from start to finish, seeing the world number one put through their paces. I mean, so many good plays from the individuals, tack as well, hanging out with the big boys. I'm interested in this interaction here. Okay, well, there it is. Okay, well, all in all, an entertaining way to kick off today. That is just the first best of three for the A-Street. We're locking teams in for the playoffs of AEM Rio today. Sure, there's seeding matches to come, but that was vitality. You can't say they were on their A-game, on their A game, but you can say that G2 brought the fire. They pushed them, they tested them, and a couple of nightmares for Apex in this one. Against all the odds Vitality finally managed to get it over managed to get it over the line. A bag should breathe in a sigh of relief. I can see it on your face. Can you just tell me the initial emotions coming off of what was probably one of the biggest tests this year for you? Yeah. Since BlastBounty. Now I think we didn't play good at all, let's be honest. We didn't show up individually. We did a lot of mistakes. We had so many good setup where usually we slapped around and there we just lost it. So yeah, and G2 played. They have a stand-in. They played with more balls than usual. They pay a bit more crazy, they took more duels, and yeah, we didn't show up on this regard, so it was pretty tough, not going to hide, but in the end we won, and that's what I will remember from that day. I know it's been an absolute marathon of a series, but I just have to ask about Inferno. Your money's in the bin. It's 12.10. What was your mentality to be able to push it 12 times and finally close it out? I took a Mk7 and Kilt2. I think that's the key. Yeah, I think we've always been behind today. On so many aspects, we were like, we lacked information, we were a bit surprised sometimes, etc. And yeah, that 12-10, we have like 1-2k money, but we still managed to win, and I don't know how we won this round, but yeah, that's the most important is that we won today. We have a lot to talk about, because that wasn't pretty, but I think that's the worst game we have for the last three months. So yeah, it has to happen, at some point it has to happen that you don't play your best, and the opponent plays good, so yeah, but we want to play better than that, that's for sure and mostly if we want to win here in Rio. By the way, playoffs is indeed secured and I brought you over here for good reason because you walked over and said hello my old friend, not a very old friend, it was almost this time last year that you claimed your first one. How does it feel looking at these that potentially could be yours at the end of the weekend? Yeah, maybe that's because of those, we are not playing great right now. I don't know. I just think that yeah it would be nice to get it 11 more months after Melbourne I think. Yeah, I think it was in May. I will enjoy it, not gonna lie it's the big goal of the team. the major. So we really want to close it as soon as possible because it's really important for us. And thanks God we didn't go to the lower right now because our authority would have been a different story. 100% Apex. Congratulations. We'll see you in the playoffs of course. CD match going down tomorrow. But that was just the first game of the day here. Plenty more Counter-Strike on the cards. Up next, despite that rumor mill churning, Falcons now just one win away from making it to playoffs. But they're going to have to get through this demon first it's donk on the side of spirit entering the server after this break. They're both invulnerable! Something special comes from this demon And that's it! You're an actress! Gotta get some! We are back! I've got Donk with me ahead of Spirits Game vs Falcons. First of all, Donk, can you tell us the lore behind your lion? No, it's secret. It depends how you perform on this tournament. I mean, you've been doing pretty well to start off with when we're looking at your game yesterday vs Liquid. How are you feeling coming off of that one? Because it looked pretty clean. Good. Like we had like we had an amazing ancient against Liquid and like some like tough Dust2 because like there was two pistols and like it's kind of annoying to play in series MR12 when you have like was two pistols because it's like zero or always and like But we had a pretty solid, I would say, and it was a calm game, we didn't have a stress, I think. It didn't seem that way in the server for sure. We know you have a good relationship with Magix behind us as well. Tell me how you feel he's progressing in his leadership journey. So I think the only thing that works in my gigs in terms of adrenaline is experience. Basically because if something happens on the server, it's always good structured. But we can only see us and it's a lot of details and always something can change, one thing and it can change the whole game and I think he is facing problems in terms of this. That is a huge task to be mastering for sure. Speaking of tasks ahead of you, Falcons, historically you struggled versus Niko and Minosir, you and Shiro as a duo but that all changed back at Starladder at the major, right? And you feel about going up against them now for the first time this year? Yeah, they were struggling but I think we all know why they were struggling and I think I hope we fixed it and now it will be better. I hope so. And it's not a edge to roster at all. It's Niko and Monosia, but it's different agile, different anchors, and like the Kyosuke. So it's like different playstyle, different structure. Thank you so much for your insight, as always. Good luck. Helix Stream Masters Rio 2026 is brought to you by ESL and partnership with Intel, Acer Predator, Chex, and DHL. Oh boy, this is a big one and you're gonna want to sit back and relax to watch a team spirit versus the Falcons at the Intellect Stream Masters all the way down here in Rio. That's not a photo of Kixon from this tournament. No. I don't think so. Why? I saw some other photos, or rather. Oh really? Not much to smile about, for him. Or is there? Who knows? Perhaps by the end of the event, he'll be able to smile. There's a chance, right? We know what's going on over here with the Falcons, but there's a chance that they've come out here and said, you know what, we're going to win this one. They kicked it. Did you see that Niko interview is saying like, well, we're not distracted by the news, but so ever? I don't know, guy, maybe Kixson is a little bit distracted at the moment. I don't know if he can speak for Kixson on that one. I'm not entirely sure that he can either, but now let me go ahead and introduce you here properly. Since you are joining us at TelexTree Masters, we do have Jacob Pimp, Winesh Sport in the middle. We've been working together for 11 years and you're still there. Is it 11? Yeah, I think so. I still don't know my name, Trace. Jacob Vinnikey to me. Anyway, so moving swiftly on, we've got Janko Panovich, former coaching fame. How are you guys doing today? You guys having a good time? Yeah, actually, pretty good time. Trace, how about you? Pretty good. A little bit of a vitality action there. They pulled it out. Jacob's lying. Yeah, it's important. It's just crazy, you know, vitality, even of what they're losing a map to G2. G2's with a stand-in, no IGL. going on, they're losing on both of these maps, but just what Talotty does, what they do best, find the way to win. You made them sweat, Hanjekum. Yeah, Trace did it. They got his job done at Dead of the Day, you know, that was a long one, you know, not really necessary, but... Thank you. Well, let's get down to the business that everybody is talking about or wants to talk about. Well, we're going to talk about. How about that? Doc vs. Kawasaki, or Kawasaki to sum. Let's talk about this, and right away from a heads-up perspective, what are we looking I mean we can set the scene right because there's a lot of history between Falconson and Team Spirit One being that obviously now Talcans are playing with essentially Astonishing Kixson At least knowing that they got changed for us. Yeah, they're laughing having a good time Another one would be the whole streak that was going on between Was it Nico and Monizzi who had beaten Shearer and and dunked 10 times in a row up until the the Budapest Major So you can attack them from a lot of different angles One thing for me though that is kind of surpassing all that you know where it doesn't matter if Kixson is going in and out It doesn't matter what kind of state Spirit is in right now is looking at Kyushu and looking at Donk and kind of putting them head-to-head Because a lot of people were saying and a lot of people were praising Kyushu for being the next Donk You know for being the next big guy coming out and being maybe a generational talent While Kyushu has been doing a decent job in Falklands and at times good maybe even delivering better than expected I don't think it's fair to put him in the same category as Donk And I think that's a conversation I want to have with you Yanko as well. Can we close that conversation? Can we say that Kyrie Sturkey with time could be a great Counter-Strike player, but he's he's no dog Yeah, I think we can say that listen. It's also unfair. That's like saying You know the first pick in the NBA in the last 20 years. No one was as good as LeBron James Well, I mean, yeah, it's a generational talent, right? Like you're not really telling me much with that like it can be very very good players They're never going to reach that level and I think that's also this comparison where yeah, everyone's gonna look Whereas compared to Donk, like that just what it's like has Kyosuke like shown us promise and show good things. Yes, mostly related to his mechanics, right incredibly crisp, really strong game, great movement, crosshair placement, all of that. Sometimes a little bit left wanting in terms of just making plays sort of that are not directly related to his mechanics. of those sneaky plays or creating space when he's alone on the side of the map, and a little bit of the performance aspect in big games, right, in playoffs, which is where Falcons as a unit have not been great in this roster. You know, and speaking of unit, that is exactly what Donk was making a testament to, like their different systems. And obviously, one system is propelling one player perhaps a little bit further than the other, Jacob, and by that I mean Donk. Eh, well yes and no. I think Donk would do that on pretty much any team. I don't I think it's fair to say that the system around Spirit is enabling Dunk. I think Dunk is enabling the system within Spirit. I think that's been the case for a long, long time. I'm not sure if I'll buy that argument, to be completely honest. Whereas Falcons, speaking of systems, is their system right now, you know, and is they trying desperately to figure out what system to play with? So I think that's a conversation that has different levels to it. It's ultimately been the sort of reason for the demise of this roster. You know, they just haven't been able to figure out the way to play mostly on T side, right, and to find consistency. They're like the best team in the world on T-Side in like September, October last year sort of and they just couldn't get over the hump in those big games, started switching things up, it went from bad to worse in that department and now they're about to make a change and for Spirit I mean I think Donk enables Donk more than anyone else and then the one thing that does happen is yeah he's being dropped AKs in these hero rounds and whatnot and but that's what you're going to do when you have such a great player and But I'm not sure about the support. We've seen this a lot from Spirit, like picking Anubis, picking Overpass, like really going for these maps that are a bit more technical and not a lot of teams really focus on. And I'm not sure that's a good thing really for them. They've had some downfalls on Overpass with Spirit at the very minimum. Jacob, just tell me real quickly who's going to win this. Oh, I don't know man. I think it's going to be a close series. I'm not too confident in the Inferno pick coming out for Falcons either. And I think that was a mistake there we go. We're getting the correct version right here. There was Mirage being picked on Falcons. It didn't make too much sense to me So that's that's something that's good obviously spirit on our long inferno in the mix So anubis mirage it gives me a slightly higher hope in in Falcons But I have to side with which bird knowing what's going on with in the fuck talking about tea sites for Falcons They want to start on those in both maps. So let's see what they have in store for us. Yeah, you better hope They showed up ready to play. Let's go ahead and jump right into it It's Falcons versus the spirit at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio What do you think, Chaddy B? It wouldn't be the first time a team going through roster changes at an event has had an uptick in performance. But I liked what I saw from Spirit yesterday a lot. And I also liked the post-game interview with Magix and Stiko, where Magix said to Stiko, I'm doing a lot more than I would be doing with Halle here. I think the added responsibility for Magix might allow him to start feeling himself was an in-game leader. He's not calling someone else's game, but his own. And I like the fact you got us a new bus pitch. I mean, I'm very excited for a new bus. Of course, you know, the new changes has put it right down the priority list. A lot of teams aren't playing and picking a new bus at the moment. I'll back that up. Both these teams have only played this map four times this year. Yeah. So you haven't seen an awful lot of it. I'm also interested to see if Magic has a new position. He was playing it. New spots yesterday. As we settle into this pistol round, you tilt on Kixxen Tessus and they're setting ECO up for some AMA in control. In goes the decoy to clear out baskets, the flash to help clear the wider angle and it draws to near Enzontics focus. Donk and Magix might try and fight now towards EBOX. Shiro is hearing all those water steps, Kixxen did make an audible. It's going be this Donk bait magics frag. Donk is spotted and draws the man, nails the head shot as well in combination with Shira onto Nico late so a real trap set by Team Spirit and it springs shut onto the foot of the Falcons. It's on its start. Yeah very nice shots. Great job from the B defense magics and Donk doing everything they have to to shut that down early and unlikely to see at least a juicy looking force by the found because they could definitely force by it's just gonna be without any rifles so drawn into magics dual breaders and center packing so very well done for spirit. It's just gonna be a deagle into this one for Kyosuke and rest of them are on the glock so we will see the follow through the buy into the next excuse me. So it looks like the CT setup is the same, right? It's not just your anchor. Magic has to do with B main. Sorry, Russia, I know we go from left to right, but I was just thinking about Boris. Yesterday on Dust2, he was playing as the A rotating rifler, and Taneer took long anchor. So they had the position change. And I asked him, it was at dinner in the hotel. I said, they're more position changes. Now, I won't tell you what he said. Because you promised. Yeah, I promised I would, but I did ask. He did. All he's doing is investigating is Mr. Birch. Shiro, a little crowd walking from Monocena, a very quick trade from Niko. That gets a little scary, they're ahead of the smoke. Xontix just about gets his boots planted and able to sweep the rest under the rug. Just delaying the inevitable, isn't he, Tessus? See if you can get any more value out of this economical. Where did Shiro's MP9 go? Let's go question. I think that's beautiful within that. Yeah, Mika was running in with it and through. All right. Well, relatively spotless short, you lose shiro, but he wants to bring out the orp anyway, so he's not too worried about that. He's going to be able to get his weapon of choice in the early stages of this one. Also the AK is equipped upon now kicks in in with a galil just to facilitate that you two and let's really settle into what the T side approach is going to look like for this. It's a interesting choice. It would be great, I think, in the lead into the major if they tried to make this home turf. The Dust 2 is very good, but if their Anubis also became one of their better maps, obviously can't pick it against everybody. A lot of teams are banning it within the first way, but to have it as a potential to keep these teams focusing on it would be a nice little boon to spirit, I'd say. I don't say, you know, I mean, I think Doc's good on every map, but I do think Anubis is one of the maps where he can really kind of impose his will. CT agressions, T side as well. I think that's a good one. Mid control gained for Pixel and Kiyosuke. Yeah, they weren't hoping I guess the final players into camera, but there's nobody home to cop that you till. To me. Yeah, really? Yeah. Getting the most out of the sound keys, isn't he? So no secret of the mid likely will be a B finish. Monocleon tests his outside of B main with the bomb. Donk and Teneir are both worried about a mid to B split. The Magics has just blocked both E-box and main. He might need to help in a second, boys. Yeah, Donk's on his way back. Teneir's not far away. H.E. does a little damage. Gappy with the Donk. Yeah, he's going to try and get onto the jail position as they push through the smoke. It's an easy try. Oh, it's not so easy. Monocleon gets accurate. Pits the shot necessary. Now the bomb can go down. We've got a f***ing three retakes. Shiro and Zontics arriving from CT. Well, Smoke's gonna fade. Shiro can post up with the AWP and then they're able to walk up knowing the scope is covering them here. Niko and Kyosuke are gonna double up towards that E-box position. No, you two three, decide. So who plays first? Tables Smoke faded now. It's a nicking contribute. No, kid. Oh, no, sorry. Zontics has one. Excuse me. They're giving him nothing. Absolutely nothing. Flash out May. S.S. Oh, with a white screen, still hits it and that's going to be around the kit, man. Irretrievable. Shirro. I think you're a dead man here, Shirro. I think he's accepting that. Oh, no, never mind. I think he understands the bomb radius better than I did. That's what I think. Well done, Shirro. He studied it. Okay, well, he retains the AWP short. When you pointed out the Zontis kit there, that's why it looks clunky that he's the one being flash forward. There was another one just towards Jail. This is weird not to see Don get a kill here. He uses the slight gap to get the elevation. Magix draws first blood, you're thinking at that moment that's where you get the most out of Don. He's able to mow them down, but no, Monizy stalls that out. Really nice kill there from Tessus, just to make sure nothing gets out of control. But it will be a buy back in thanks to that saved AWP. Everybody with the M4s. Skull Emory is 2-1. Kisuke already. This is really quick. The fact that there's no Jodonk Jiggle hasn't been blocked. He's just not aware. Shira's responsible for this though. You can see he's in between two minds. He needs to dunk acting. That's possible, surely. Yeah. No, they don't. Wow. A real rarity to see such an unprepared donk on the site. Triple, from honesty, that's mounting his presence in the serve up and he gets himself the AWP. That's all about the pace there. And I think it's a fun head-to-head kiss who can versus donk over towards e-box is going to be considering the relationship between those two. Fun to see them tussling, but I will have to be a save again this time. Two M fours. Bote loader Util and Zontik sent to near just with a smoke to his name. It's not fun if he's on ticks. He literally hasn't fired a bullet this round. He's clear. And actually neither is to near. He also hasn't had a chance to shoot, so. up to two good response from Falcons. And that's going to force a bomb site. Yeah, that's going to force you to be more, you know, proactive on your e-box. You've got to be getting answers there. Sure. I didn't feel great for the jump scare that Don Whit had the monosies triple entry. Happy with that. Kiss UK gets a, uh, that's a boy from Zonic. Really good entry here from on a seat. So this might be one of those moments if you're softfic you want to take the time out just to let the team have a chat but it doesn't look like that's going to unfold right now so these two save them fours is really all they're going to carry into this it's three USPs to compliment it if you need some are we gonna sort of the triple boost for them for okay okay it's one way to get value out of it it just feels very unlikely does that you're going to have the check you have it has to be dink dead and you're dealing with a very small window But at least I like the fact that they're trying to move right. It's not just uh, well, let's just hope we go Oh, Nico's teaser does with the x-ray I don't care about the round anymore. I just just the boost. Yeah, I just have to get to kill Well, to me. I suppose it's just called water clear. So there's info You might be thinking we've lost the b-side at this moment because it's awfully quiet But Nico will announce presence and pressure over towards a It's locked out a lurk smoke for just front baskets and they are pivoting right now to gamble The two rounds they've lost have been over towards me. Honestly just has a Very deep line with the or No one jiggling no one jump spotting Now 40 seconds is that enough to deter them and send them Also, are they going to send a probe out to A just to make sure they're not walking into a stack? Come back towards the B site. So it has to be Kixen. Yeah. 30 second mark, you hear the AM4 spamming away. That's just Sontix unloading his mag to Nier as well. The unknown entity is starting to back away back to V-Box. Here we go. Have to commit now. Here it comes. A couple of flashes towards the back of Plat. Taneer hits his first. Finds Kyosuke. Tessus onto Sontix. Just Taneer's M4 to worry about. Donk does go down after a tree vault. Shiros USP not so lucky Yeah, you can understand zonics reaction you've gone into the stack and you didn't send anybody else searching for information elsewhere You don't like that from the coaching perspective. Your team has gone into a bombsite blind I understand you win the rounds so no harm no foul But you hope that that calling or at least decision-making for the team doesn't crop up more Throughout this because you very well could have lost this Got to both saved guns you're fortunate to get away with it but we are back into the rifle rounds spirit fully equipped now shiro without the orp and Pacey again look at this Wow insta boost to near down set play off of the rip so unless you're gonna do something to try and dissuade this fast parthing it looks clear that fuckers have no issue wearing up water shows it's clear that they've been put in some work here Oh, and that's enough from Tessus. He spots at least one of the two pushing out. Donken magics have a go Not forcing the issue though back into sight Santic shows give restraint but will throw out his block smoke on a main given the absence of information That buys time for shiro and magics to rotate through They're gonna all in again. They have a lot more time at this juncture But congregating four players outside a now Tessus is the only man on the look again not going into the site to see if there's an option. They could be just walking into this three-man stack. Now, if the execute is perfect, I think they'll still shred it, but this would be tough. Oh, she really went down throwing his flashbang. Zontics doesn't peek. Ready? Catches. Perfect from Zontics. Hicks in and Kiyosuke go down. Now the Molotov is thrown. Clunky. Niko, parthing into the site. It's heavily stacked, heavily fortified. fortified the magics at the back of the bombsite She ever to swing off the contact and nails it Tessus is that unknown entities on six has been high alert waiting for this and so he's rewarded to Yeah, I think take a time out of I'm Sonic and just say boys in those last two rounds we've blindly committed into sites I Understand you have the opening kill in both of them, but still it's that could happen in the previous two. So that one is is, uh, leaving a lot to be desired, but all tied up 3-3, and a great restraint for him something's not to actually play off of that flash because it wouldn't have helped him the way that Shiro would have been hoping for. Yeah, what Shiro said. Yeah. Okay, a deal for Tess S, G'lil for Kixson, Malt for Monocene, AKs for the other two. You have to be a little bit more careful, don't you, if it's near our middle. can't find yourself so exposed as an exchange of HEs but one does more damage the other than the other is on to export down to about half HP find is committed yeah he's still close gets away in time I split you so don't quite have to go through beach I think he's trying to splash this time to retreat to near close a main to receive a zon'tix Parned up. I can't fountain again is on ticks. Yeah, I'm honestly is gonna be clearing in this time peek at your own peril Oh, he's very ready for either of the fights either of the engagements Smoke fades now on camera. I suppose it's gonna be that the queue to go I Smoked to a score kicks in and Kiyosuke in a flash as well denigrant staff. Sontex's position noted by Kiyosuke's death solid into the site fourth round for Falcons Sontex did his job right obviously from found focusing on that leak through camera It's to near who after Sontex goes down. You kind of want him swinging All right, you might want you want him to be a little more offensive there But hoping to catch them off but him and don't just go down without any fight whatsoever. So Falcons will grab their fourth. And this is a new bus. We are looking for the lion share arounds on the T side, but only just 7584 type of scoreline would be pretty comfortable if your Falcons going into the halftime switch. I don't have a save and with that in mind, it does mean that Spirit are only needing to get himself a handful of more rounds. So this is a big save, there's two drops available, Magix and Shiro can give 10 falls over. The only source of opening kills for Falcon so far has been Monosy. Not an opening, but a nice catch onto Zontics that really did start the dominoes to top up. Yeah, I don't think Teneir quite understood the situation there because Donk wasn't able to cover him with that Set of utile that was being lobbed in My magic sounds the MP9 selfless and the pace Yeah, he is charging straight in Teneir gets booked Red Guard kicks in the referee That was rapid, okay Well the flash into the double headshot Teneir is giving away another over here and he's having a tough go at things in the middle of the moment. Yeah, he is. Kixson's having a round. Over the top, you thought that was a favorable duel for Kiyosuke, but not to be the case, Donk. Wins it out, gets one. Jack. He's got a company on either side right now. Yeah, but this is the kind of fight that Shiro can pull off. He's got support now. Donk has arrived. Now, Smoke's supposed to buy him some space. Still concerned about the smoke push, understandably, after Kixson's impact, and Kixson gets another one. But the B site's called clear thanks to Tess S. So the bomb is gonna head back through canal They're not just gonna head into the bombsite blindly like we've seen throughout and Don can shiro or backing off kicks It could be on for the ace he could very well be on for the ace if he gets donkey's gotta be done off the leash Tessus hey, come on. Oh my god. That's just unacceptable. My parting gift. Yeah, let him have the ace against team spirit. No less How rude See if shiro can hold on to this money is gonna be a problem into the next They were lucky to save some and have that residual cash bit. That's good. That made it look so good. Do you see one from Tess S? Geez, that's straight on their face. Kixson's got one side and Tess is approaching from the other. That doesn't look good for Shiro, does it? So this is them losing it all and with 2400 injections. So that's going to be that. They are going to have to take an eco. Five rounds already for Falcons to the three and that's with the pistol and the conversion for Spirit. Timeout taken, stopic on the mic and just a good opportunity to take a breath and assess. Hey, Huff's not over yet, still very early stages and we're on the CT side of Anubis. So let's just get one or two more if we can boys. Here it is in the replay. A minute 42 and he is already completely shredding to the out of his life. I love that in-game leader set up for success. He gets the job done, great work. I think you're probably asking yourself if you're something how is my mid player just lost control of middle that quickly So six should be all but a certainty right now Couple of upgrades at Eagle for darker P250 for Zontics Tenors boarded with the Diggle as well and there's a light smattering of you sort of try and block some of these choke points sure. 4-1 Donk, over towards B on his own. You can see him here probing B main and the rest of the team congregating over towards A. I'm going to throw the smoke in that fashion because Nico is going to know the trajectory of that and he's going to say okay maybe they're playing heavy mid right because you're throwing that close to the camera rotation. can relay that it's not mid-heavy. Just a gamble on A. Just putting a lot of trust in the armadeagle of Donk. Just don't have any way to flood out of A main on the CT side. They didn't have a flash, so there will have to be bodies. Niko trying to get some answers, but isn't given anything. I'm starting to wear into this B-split. Oh, I was on dark. No molly on the pillar. Oh, there is now. Close B main. Too much to handle. Nice quick shot out of monosy. That was rapid. Alright, well, if you spear it, now just group up and look for an exit or two. See if you can get yourself a NK47 to salvage and take it to the next. Maybe keep a bit of pressure on the finances the right-hand side of your screen you can see at the moment 6.3 on Nico 5.3 on Tessus. That's the high end if you get a couple of kills that'll be great But it doesn't look like that's going to be happening so their cash is going to start to boom in a moment I wonder if this will be taking on vitality. Not only that, they locked themselves in for the playoffs, which is the mission. Get to play in front of the Brazilian crowd. We need Fiora to do the same. Now, whether that's against Navi later, or it's going to have to be a lower bracket running group beat, we'll find out later today. That's how they clean house Kicks and gets a couple more kills And there's that three round gap, but the rifles are re-equipped shiro and magics double-alping and I think this is one of the maps where Double-alp is quite nice for the CT side right there's already a lot of pressure on you in terms of the push pull of mid and connector Skirmishers having double alps in the mix means that you're able to hold on to that you to or at least funnel it in one direction Wow, fast and Molotov thrown out actually stops you from accessing EBOX. Big swing out of Zontics, Nico wins by a hair. Was there meant to be a flash? Some U2 there or something? One would assume. Well, you just run and dry, are you? That's very uncharacteristic as well. Yeah. Oh gosh, flash caught Siro. He nearly got caught off by the Kiyosuke push. What was the... I don't know. I mean, there must have been a flash, like, discussed. Oh, Warzontics really just has had enough of Niko knocking on that A main door. Maybe. That's an odd death right there for Zontics. And they've completely evacuated the A site, so... Very strong position, Falcans on this T side. Hang on, clawback's coming. Jiro on the right line, catches Kixon's progression. Audible return to the A site. So they're going to throw some of you to try and fake this? You hear the orb fire off? You're going to assume honestly he's not alone, aren't you? So Nico's going to try and sell this. He's got Donk, camera, Tani, and Shiroe. It's just this magic sword. So save. I'm not sure how you meant to get in. I know the bomb's not planted yet. to do gets this one. Now definitely safe. I'm kind of enjoying what we're watching from markets right now. They renew. This has got some polish on it. The cons look like they're flowing. Hello. Oh, he's going in. She wrote fancies as chances. The rare moment of shiro aggression. Yeah. Now he's lost his open to smoke. But I think one of theirs. Oh, so maybe they've lost him in the source, right? And they start backpedaling. Trying to find it but two for monosite to finico and that'll be the seventh round There's again it would just have to be another lighter by before spirit can bring out the guns to see if they can get themselves something in Round 12 What's your path for the course if you're in a new misty picking CT in that I'm sorry for new misty four, okay? He'd be picking it you know that this map in an absolute worst-case scenario is extremely difficult for the CT side right. Things are going very well for Falcons. Monty won't pick a main getting stuck in immediately this time. So what's the flash? Another look the flash this time does make it a more favorable endeavor. I'll go ahead of that. Niko has baskets control. There are other pieces in the right place if there was a commitment here they'll let Monossey search and search successful. She's all the double and she's made aggressive on the 5-7 as well, Kiyosuke's got a lot of work to do. He's going to get run out, he's going to get run out, put your nades away, get that gun out, because Tom's got his dig pushing in, combination with Shiro, Spirit have a 1v3. They got the bomb and they have no idea where Tessus is, but they can make some educated guesses. normally defaulting outside of B, right? Here he finds himself in middle. Tess, that's 55 seconds. Plenty of time to work through the clutch. Yeah, sure, the bomb is in a tough spot, but this is potentially favourable, right? Because it eliminates all of the angles. You know, it kind of helps you hone in on, oh, okay, what type of positions do I have to deal with while trying to be on this reconnaissance mission? Just looks away. Perfect timing on the Magics push. I thought he wasn't going to move, which I would have respected a lot because you let the other guys take the fight. If you are, then you have him sandwiched, but Magix finds a perfect timing. And they have been able to slip in that fourth. Can they grab the fifth before the halftime break? There's a well-structured ground, wasn't it? You can see these HEs just so good. Ouch. Right between three of them. And Taneer makes the most of it. Such profit. Considering a couple of the shaky moments, Taneer's had, that's a nice bit of output there. Don't relatively quiet. I'm sure that'll change once we get him on the T side. Oh, they're pushing. Oh, Tanea melting dead. Honestly, with overkill, but exposed and don't pushing through the E-box smoke finds the headshot necessary, puts us into an immediate four on four. So already the dynamic shifts. Shiro is posted on B main. Tessus, if he goes any further than this line in the sand drawn, Shiro would have been in a position to get that shot now, and not... Oh, no! Oh, the timing is agonizing! Shiro's all no longer in the pitch up Forced to dunk magics in Zontics who up all over the shot magics attempting to rotate over to fortify this beat of That's what I'll look what that kill is achieved and the bomb is gonna be walking into hey Something is so unprepared for this. He's got his back turn just walked in a dry with all those nades Okay, well Tessus is kill on shiro has made this round look so casual I'm sure he's doing. Obviously to near mid push didn't also help, but don't manage to make that a four on four quickly. And now tests parked hoping to catch Magix back exposed beautiful. Look at that eight four half. Two spirits, Matt pick make no mistake. Don't give it a go in the clutch brother ace clutch. Oh, he's Dude, there's a whole lot more of this. When you come around, my heart is swimming down Don't want my love to be in it, I just wanna feel whole again yeah, when you come around, my heart is bursting out I don't wanna be strangers in these days, cosmic life for seamless truth I swear I saw the light, I pushed the body, flying saucin' out of space Only you love can't bring me face to face with you I swear I saw your eyes I felt it coming You were full that I could taste Only you love can't bring me face to face with you I swear I saw the sun and you represented Bad thoughts are on the horizon So I call the doctor, said I need you real The doctor, you cheated, I think you might be real I swear to somebody, you're out of my soul But it blips, we're all colliders So I call the doctor, said I need you real The doctor, you cheated, I think you might be real 8-4 on the half, and a whole lot of openers coming out of monosy. He's 6-1 involved in 7, wins 6. An attempt at all crazy blood from Donk with the tail end of the half. We're on a new miss, it's Spirits pick, and we swapped Falcons over to the CT side. They've got an 8 under their belt, they've set them up pretty reasonable. It's going to have to be both pistols for Spirit, I think. He hit the ground running on this tee half. We've got a plant, two smokes, not a lot of two flashes. And there's three players, though, on this A side to deal with, Testes with a flash at the ready. Ooh, if you give any sort of indication. Kixen has full B main info. They have a good idea. Oh, he brings the fight ahead of the plate. He removes Zontik. That's crazy for monosy. Donkel, punish. The double swing. Niko down to Donk. No, Tessus is here, he threw a flash. That's right. Tessus might be able to use that smoke to his own advantage here. Oh, no. Yeah, dips away from the flame? No, no, he doesn't. Now, he's it wide on the right-hand side. Three versus three. A shot to near spot him. Nice shot from Kiyosuke, chips him from the camera, sidekicks and Spell Run. Damage inflicted from those USP's. Magics doesn't have the perfect weapons. He picked up a scavenged monocies dual barrettas, but at range it's not the fight. It's not the weapon. Still you got to deal with Dong, Tessus not playing a scared, they'll triple swing him. It's Kiyosuke the lead to the triple kill. Okay, well, honestly, just continuing to be the pointy end of the spear, isn't it? Those opening start lines, you just mentioned 6-1, now go 7-1 with that A main aggression. And well, no bomb going down means if there is a force coming through, it's going to be lacking rifles, that's for sure. That's so ambitious from, honestly, I have admiration for it. Good shot as well from Kiyosuke. Haven't said his name too much. Most impact we've seen from him here on the pistol. I thought that smoke might have given an opportunity like, hey, I'll just sell magics. Right. I think Donk had the bomb and try and rotate away. But I was on six looking at the coach. Obviously being the coach of the academy, he's had these names come through his teams once upon a time. He had an interview with Agile TV. I say, you know, he's familiar with the boys. I didn't know that. Tess is trying to play this jiggle smoke defense. How rarely I see that work these days. There's a so good at it. It's just it's it's tough. Like if you get caught on the way back in, yeah, you're safe. But if you're on the way out, leaving, yeah, you're in trouble. Because you're just in motion, perpetual. You're hoping to be able to catch that window. Honestly, again, he's just keeps moving. OK, I'm intrigued if he goes B. Good turn of the flash. How are you? Well, now only one from Kixon. Flank comes in, messy on the M4 spray, Bomb makes his way in but they've lost Donk, Shiro are good for the trade so a 2 on 2 established and... I think he had a smoke. Yeah, the bomb will go down. Monosy second guess in the swear game. Oh, he's won the duel versus Shiro. Takes the time to reload as Magix has got a come up clutch. Buttered? Yeah, Spidey emerging from the smoke wants to try and isolate these duels peeking back into Monosy seems like a death sentence, he's on his A game to date. Magix six frags but needs to make it eight. First is good. Niko, audible. Tech 9 going to be nimble. Looking perfect. Looking like a clutch for Magics. Can't hack it. Can't handle it. Niko's Falmas wins out, and Falcons find double digits early doors. Yeah, that's a 10 second defuse there. If he was able to delay it for just a little bit longer, it could have been a borouss. But the bomb going down with one player staying alive, there is the real opportunity now for Spirit to go for back-to-back force blasts. I like the way Magics played this, right? Not overexposing, not trying to see that those fights, drawing back, allowing them to force the fight against him, so very good attempt. And it is going to be the force. So, Donkey with an AK, Galil's four Magics and Shiro, Xontix, and Teneir working with a little bit less. You can shatter the money with this one. Look at this mid push. Look at this mid push. Yes. Magic's on high alert. Today it just turns around to its demise. Magic's only the one. Okay, it could be open. Zontics has got a sneaking suspicion with all that mid aggression. The fact Tessus is in the kill feed mid pushed. They know they can just seize all this map territory, so you will get the bomb in. Donk doesn't return the fire from Tessus' spam through the smoke. Kixson's still on B. Kixson can't break the lock. Oh, he's found Donk. Trained by the MP7 of Zontics. High alert. They know where Tessus was. Kixson's the unknown entity. And he's got this kit. They're going to give this a look. The fade. Tessus wins out. Tessus. Looking very solid. Starts in mid. Looking to end on A. Shiro in the clutch though. This is what he's good for. Oh, maybe not today. Maybe not today. Kixson's done the damage necessary and the maid from the grave makes it 11 That's likely just another four spy. They got the bomb done again. They get more loss bonus now So it might be more of the same here the fuse Coming through and all it felt good for spirit It was a great reaction right to the skirmish that happened in middle that the round was brought to them Here it is again Maybe over the shoulder canton here goes down magic. It's one the tray comes back in dogs found monosy Name plate counter strike flows in they get into the side. They get the bomb down But I think that test is kill on to zontics is the big difference maker. Yeah, I'm so miserable for shiro It's just it's also it shows you they had no idea where the retakes coming in from yeah The fact that they're not connected and not set up to be able to trade off of each other Regardless guns out one more time Only two more rounds for Falcons. This is looking like a bit of a drubbing if you're a spirit fan and solid counter strike across the board. Sure, monies. He's got 15 frags. He's at the top, but Kixson's had some really nice moments. Kiyosuke has had impact 3k on the pistol. Tess has had some important ones. Nico obviously with the clutch against Magix, right? They only got eight kills, but that winning out that round is still impact. Tess has seen his that, so he's baiting in, but Tess wins again in this head-to-head, his people ongoing, the flash layered with the incendiary has dunked back, finds himself a nice AK-47. Feeling like this one is done. Yeah. I understand it's 4v5, they're grouping up now for what will be an A-piece, they have smoke on Tenir, a molly on Magix. So having at least to be blocked. Oh, the Tessus blocker? I think he's given himself a gap. He's shunted it somewhere. No, still not. I mean, it's fragile on the edge of the smoke. He can spam it like he is. Didn't spot too much. They are committing it. I'm honestly, wow, wins out. Denies donk anything on the entry. The Horton from Magix on the trade back, but Niko, everybody here, just sends them back to spawn. This is dominant. All right, well done That's one more round this time no bomb plant man He's a lost bonus. It's where you want it to be Max on out, but that is the least competitive of the round so far in this second half of play Pistol there's two pleasure Falcons alive the following two there was only one and this one you've managed to keep all fire as all four alive Excuse me After the magics trade They're just gonna keep shoving so the new this pick not going But as they would have hoped, just one more round now and we can spill over quickly into Mirage, the map choice of Falcons. Plus his brave from Tessus to play ahead of it, he has to just sit and hope and count then no one's going to be going contact through a smoke. Pack heavy on the- oh! Just throwing incendiary for Nico. Oh, there's still another bait and switch, monocies there with him. Too easy for monocy! What is that? A quad kill spray to end the game? That's the Nubis finished swift! Oh, we had a long old series to kick off the day, but that one opened with a blower as well, 13-4 in favour of Falcons on their opponents' map choice, one map away from locking in a matchup against Vitality and the arena. Well, would you have it? Would you look at that? And would you have your cake and eat it too? That's exactly what Spirit looks to do Falcons as well. Well, I mean, overall in this series Jacob, I have to say, all eyes are tinted on the prospects of this game. Yeah, I did not anticipate that to be the outcome of this game. Dominant performance from Falcons, who for the vast majority of this game looked very solid. They say that a couple of misses, a couple of blunders, you know, but when you look overall in the scoreline, winning 13-4 on your opponent's map pig, you can't really say anything negative about that performance. He spoke a bit about Kyushu coming into the game, he had a strong showing, had some very impactful rounds, And overall, you know, Spirit looking is a Pismo on their own mapping right now. It's just classic, man. Isn't it, you know, Falcon's about to make a roster change and they're playing their best CS this year, right? With no pressure there. And then everyone just sort of going with the flow in some ways, right? You lose pistol, the anti-equal doesn't really matter. Still win eight rounds. And the two losses outside of the pistol in the second round were, you know, Spirit stacking in a 4v5 and winning that round. and then a half-buy win as well with another sort of good read, a good early stack and then converting the 3v3. So, yeah, just funny really. And pro-activity from the Falcon side too, we saw him on his get the AWP, they did a quick boost right there, sort of get a remedy for some of the problems that they were getting in the middle. There was a lot of aggression, a lot of in-your-face that Spirit were throwing their way, Jake. Yeah, I think Janko hit it pretty well, you know, saying that the go with the flow, you know, they seemed freed up to some degree. I think the way Monacy played, the way he was proactively pushing also with the rifle, We saw it in the middle, just going for information plays and being very aggressive. I don't know if it's the lack of pressure, if it's just a one-off here in one map against Team Spirit. I don't know how much of it is Spirit not playing well on Anubis either. I think it's too early still to conclude anything overall for the tournament. But so far Falcons in particular here in Anubis looking great and they seem freed up. Monizzi seemed freed up, Kyusuke seemed freed up, even though he made. I think Kyusuke a couple of blunders in his decision making as we kind of spoke about coming into the game as well. What he doesn't have in decision making, he definitely have a mechanical skill and made up for it in this game. Yeah, absolutely. And I think also this is why for Spirit you're like, you're trying to be like a really an anubis team, so you're going to pick it against you know Falcons and Metallity and maybe some of these tier 1 teams. They did the same against Parryvision at Rotterdam and they lost I think 13-3 or something along those lines. Like it hasn't necessarily panned out and you're thinking you have Donk on your team, Maybe focus more on some of the open maps like Dust2 was in the pool But I guess they were trying to go for a little bit more of a punish Against the likes of Falcons. I'm not really sure but some for me questionable You know direction that they're taking when it comes to their veto That begs the question would that have happened if Halley would have been behind them is that part of the preparation? That's something else, you know, I think so. I mean when he was with them Also, they started showing this tendency to play more anubis and I mean overpass I don't have as much of a problem with because it's more open right don't can Just wreck games, you know towards the a bomb site and on that side of the map But an uber says a bit of a different story. I mean, there's a reason why they beat to inferno, too Yeah, I mean you can look at the stats for what they are But you know for the side of tinier and zontics that there were some quiet elements over there That really didn't help spirit propel themselves off the ground I think I think that's the biggest takeaway for me every time I see spirit play at the moment And as we kind of already alluded to yesterday when we spoke about them, it's been a horrible 20-26 for them so far. This whole integration of Magic as an in-game leader, Sontek's coming back into the team, Teneir still not finding his footing, no consistency to be shown. I think it's about time that we start to have a conversation about whether or not this team spirit is actually going to work out. I know that we couldn't write them off early on with Magic's coming in, and we're supposed to give them a bit of time. And some people say that, yeah, give him a year's time before he's going to be in trouble as level, or maybe two years. But at the end of the day, when you have a decade, yeah, well, that's not as well at that point. Yeah, how about a whole decade? At the end of the day, when you have Donk, you're supposed to win stuff now. You're supposed to contend for now and shiro for that matter as well. So so I'm getting to a point now where if spirit doesn't turn this ship around, if they didn't show me more of this tournament and if they don't show me more significant, more cologne, then I'm already willing to say, OK, maybe you should look in different directions because you cannot waste any moment of the peak of Donk right now or shiro for that matter. True. And you know, Janko, we definitely heard him say something like year, two years time frame, that is a long time and basically unheard of in Counter-Shark. It's crazy, I think a season is enough to see whether there's something there or not. It can be bad enough after a season that you can pull the plug. But if you're happy as Hally, as the coach or the organization with the direction, it's going okay, then second half of the year you're starting to expect some results at the very least. And then after a full year, at that point we're not talking about Magics getting into it as an IGL, right? He's either him or he isn't. So we'll have to wait and see some of the other players maybe not working out. But I don't know, you know, we've seen Tenir and what he's capable of as an individual. I said multiple times, it's way easier to be the best player on Heroic than the third best player on Spirit, right? But even with that, you know, sometimes you're seeing the CT sides like here and the struggles and you're trying to figure out where it's coming from. Yeah, there's a ton of counter strike going on guys. We have just a lot right here in front of us within the spirit. In the Falcons game, however, on that B stream, we saw Liquid do what they do best. And what is that Jacob? That is losing. Losing. They do that quite often at the moment, even in the fashion day. And then overtime versus 3D Max, I think they're up 14-12 in that overtime, and then they end up losing 16-14. So, yeah, doing exactly what they're supposed to and what they're good at, I guess. How about a couple of rounds that we have from this game? Yeah, I would love to look at those. That doesn't have them. Liquid 3D Max, who cares about Liquid and 3D Max? You're right, it is a little bit like that. But you know, they're apparently still chiseling those together in the back. Alright. With an actual chisel. But here's the group A bracket. Jacob, as you can see, Liquid, after losing to Spirit yesterday, continue that run. Yeah, and that's part of the story that we probably haven't touched on so far for this game. It's pretty important for both Spirit and Falcons that lower bracket run could be difficult in some sense, winning this game against each other right now is going to, you know, prone them into the playoffs. A lot of stick right here. It's more important for spirit in a way, isn't it? Right? I mean Falcons with all the character news, you know Potentially allegedly happening right for spirit. Sure. You don't have your coach, but come on What what if spirit doesn't make the playoffs again? That's back-to-back big events where they don't make the playoffs and before that Last time they were in the playoffs. They lost 2-0 to Astralis at Pro League, right? So it's an absolutely business It's the worst season that Spirit has had ever since they had a dunk to the lineup, which is a rough way to go about it, especially given the outcome of that first map, which we can jump right back into just a little bit here. We do have around 7-8. Yeah, I think to showcase some of the things that Falcons were doing really well in this game, especially on the T side, we pointed those out and trying to see how they're going to work out. So in round 7, it's just a default. They're going to start working mid, using their utility well. They're not going to be blocked by the smoke. You see Kicks on pushing with a flash. They get this early control. Now the second layer sort of comes in to take deeper mid control, take a main control too. And even though this is a little bit easy to read for Spirit, they have three players there. The split is still really well executed. They wait for the smoke in camera. They pounce together. Niko does a great job here baiting and for the camera players to get activated and for them to execute the A-Split. Jacob, what do you think about that? Now that you're here awkwardly standing silent. I think in the next round we see a change of pace. Great call from Kicksand, right? Switch it up with the McTank, he's going to go eat some of that molly damage, push through, catches Taneer, right? Gets an entry kill, now they do a great job. again of freezing, right? KickSan is sort of shoulder-peeking, he finds Zontex too, now they're still waiting, Donk gets one back, and they rotate over towards that A bomb site, but KickSan, very aware of this play by MagX, just they just kept punishing it, they didn't rush things, you know, these kills are coming to them, very well played in the mid-round, in back-to-back rounds where they really seized the control of the game. And fundamentally what that's showing Trace is good Counter-Strike, and there's nothing new from Falcons, It's just been always an issue in it. No, it's not you know, it's it's new that they do it persistently over the course of a map They can do it in one round maybe two rounds, but doing it consistently over the course of about setting the bar low That's because the team is headed in the direction It is Jacob speaking of the series heading in the direction It is do Falcons close it out here on their own map pick a mirage. Mmm. Yeah, I think so I'm starting to lose faith in in some spirits to be completely honest again You can have a rule out donk, you know and he can definitely change the title the game by himself But in terms of who is the better looking quote-unquote team at the moment, I have more faith in Falcons surprisingly enough We'll take it at that at face value. Thank you very much gentlemen Mirage up on the cards Falcons versus spirit the Intel Extreme Masters RIA 2026 while we return The pounding heart of these 14 children are here to call you the king. Now the double-peak is getting your shoulder! They're coming for you! Unbelievable! They're coming for you! Something's going to show to the world that it's D-Golf and that it's D-Golf! The world happens! Gotta get it, sir! We are back! I'm here with Nico ahead of his second game here at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026 looking at yesterday It's kind of only one half where things looked even competitive in that game versus 3d max How much confidence did that instill in you and your run here in Rio? Yeah, I mean, it's always nice to have a good start at the event as you mentioned the The first half of inferno was a bit rough for us But really happy how we have bounced back on the on the T side and also ancient was flawless So, happy with the win yesterday. It will definitely help going into the face game. So, yeah, we'll see. It's been a while since you guys have faced Spare. I believe it's back at the start of Major, right? Where do you feel like Spare are in terms of form right now? I think it's hard to say. I think they are very eager for the results that have been struggling lately. I think the same goes for us. So I think we are both very eager to kind of improve and deliver. So for them, I don't know, now they don't have the head coach with them. They have a soft kick from Academy, so maybe it's playing a small part, maybe they'll change something that would maybe make them a bit more comfortable, maybe not. I don't know. I don't know how they feel. It's very hard to say, as I said. But looking forward to the match and yeah, last time Budapest didn't go our way, even though we have, you know, or at least me and Nila have a pretty good history going up against Spirit, so hopefully it continues today. Yeah, perfect. So I'll go into my next question I was going to ask about that, because I remember speaking to you about it and going, why is it sometimes that certain duo struggle against others? And you said, it's all in your head. How do you handle it then when finally they manage to take you down? Does it play on your mind at all? Well, I mean, it was just annoying that, like, we never got to play them on the major, like we have been beating them before even the finals. But then like when When you lose at the major, it can be the most important one, you know? But yeah, we don't really think too much about it. In a sense that we don't care that we have won so many times, but maybe we feel like we know how we should approach the game versus them. So we have to play a small part in today's game, but other than that, we are just in general confident going up against Spirit. I think maybe they've placed us just a little bit, so yeah, we'll see. Obviously there's a lot of conversations going on around Falcons, I'm not going to ask you about that directly, but I do want to ask about how you handle it as a team, right? You've been in situations before, rumors true or not, where you can't let it affect the team cohesion, the team camaraderie. How do you make sure all the chat doesn't affect you guys actually in-game? Well obviously there's not much we can do right now, that's what we have addressed kind of. Now it's just us, we want to make sure that we do as good as possible at this event, it plays in everyone's favor. And we have been struggling even before these rumors came out, so we really want to, we just want, we are just eager for a good result and we think we are a bit close, even though the results haven't shown it. We have had very close losses to Paris Vision in the last two events, so we just want to deliver this event. And, yeah, we feel good so far. Thank you so much for your honesty. It's always Niko. Good luck. Now I know I'm a boomer, but was that the definition of frame logging? What Monosy was doing there? Very attentive to his interview. Oh, well, at least Niko didn't interview with Freya before the game. Just ask it about that. Well, some of the details of what's going on at the moment. Honestly, he was locked in. He was listening to every word. Yeah, he got framed long time. Yeah, so shout out to Ilya the Kid one time, as that's Donk the King of the Jungle. Yeah, King of the Jungle. And now that's his nickname. Happed for Mirage, of course, a position on our second map of the series, where Falcons have not only thrashed the spirit boys on their pick, but now on home turf with an opportunity to sail into those playoffs. Yeah, I was just taking a look The last time Falcons played against Vitality was this year, it was bound to be when they had Nucleons as a stand-in, so they could be teaming that up again, and it's under, well, less than ordinary circumstances. You're playing with Nucleons, okay, well Kizuki could make it, these are issues. Then, you're playing this time around and, well, you've got the kicks in getting booted from the team replaced by Karagin scenario also floating about. Either way, it's focusing on the counter-strike on screen. the pistols on map number one, both team picking up on the CT side. Let's see if that continues now with Spirit on the defense of their opponents map choice. It's Maragi. Away we go. It is looking to be potentially a little bit fakie right now. He's got a full battle kicks in. Yeah, whether or not that was the intention, that's how this is functioning forward, Niko, with the smoke head. Oh, great shot. Another one. Oh, he's done very well. Don't couldn't find the lethality required. And now number three. Okay. Yeah, that's asking me too much. Shiro finds him. And they are finishing the after all after all of that. Magic's going to be calling for backup. Clean headshot onto Kiyosuke. Sontics arrived from the short side gets nothing done. A long range clock headshot found by Tessus. Absolutely stunning. A solo! Dolo! Defense of the B bomb site! Shiro's got Tessus dead to right, he's gonna tap him out. Oh, maybe not. Never mind. Okay, Tessus is up short, two to find. Oh, Benjapos here should he need that USB for this kind of range, and he's managed to scavenge away one. Finds cover. Magic's partners up with Shiro up close. And deleted. Great work there from Boris. Yeah, seriously. It's not just the kills, the fact that he didn't get pulled by the fake. He stayed over towards the van position the entire time. He's the man who said, listen boys, that's not gonna be the B finish. I know it inevitably became that, but look, how can you not love this? He's delaying his stand live. There's three players who were tasked with just killing this one man. The bomb goes down, you win the round. Don't let that a roar. I don't quite believe that the boys pulled that off without him. Yeah, fair play. But right now this man on the screen, let's see. Looks like the best player in the server. And he's playing like it. Wow, that's one hell of a HE. An armored T's, shredded, ripped, two pieces, just the ones of the D. You still managed to get some value. These sides feel pretty good for magics. Yeah, it's good to get tested early as well if they try something there within one of the first few rifle rounds and he also passes the test that will have to change the calling for kicks in and go highlighting the pace change right I think it was round six then into round seven so a little bit of calling that good pace changes coming into the mixes. picks and will be found and that'll be the 2-0 start the spirit, but this is how an uber started it is Didn't stop them from a very quick first map And it ends up being juggled right now. It looks like tinea and magix the side anchors will be operating with those That's going to give the m4s in the hands of donks on ticks and shiro, which is the mid trio Don't the connector players on tick short And shiro as the all pup around window connector a lot of these fights but free mid-control given Falcons have just completely sprung into action and taken this without anybody noting their presence so far Mineral damage from the Donk H.E., flash to enable Tessus to try and sweep through that angle before Kixson. Sontex is behind the bricks though and he's starting his sweep. gets in undetected. Lots of options now. Songtix will be heard, that's going to help them piece together the picture. Are they going to try and boost up? They are. Kixen gets spotted. Songtix does take heavy damage from that. AAG reveals two short side. Once you finish 44. Connected 8. It is close-up ramp. It's really action on Shiro. Just enough vision for Zontics to choose from. His magic's excused me. Zontics is ready on the rotation. Yeah, swap enough guns with a low HP to neap. A lot on your plate, mate. Oh, wow. Niko well drilled on the angle clear. Still Shiro still in ticket position. Monosy finds him. Needs some taps. Hoes, taps from Niko. He's done very well in combination with Monosy. What a turn around. Oh, the individuals are hitting hard. Yeah, that is a little bit disconnected there from spirit, right? Obviously, he's on things a low HP and don't just swings. I understand he's trying to capitalize as the skirmish is going down the side there. But hey, those are things go first, don't trade. Maybe it's a multi. It's not the end of the world, but clunky look again. Really liked what we saw from spirit yesterday, but this is a whole different level of opponent right now. Liquid is playing over on that B stream Up against 3D Max. Loser of that eliminated as we're straight with an A execute, and... Essentially, nobody's home. Nobody side-side. Nobody ticket. Oh, smoke break, Sonic spotted out. Kiyosuke relays that information to the squad, and... What's that? Very deep molly. Deep molly? He buys it enough time for the mother one. Oh, and replace it. Replace it. Peaking in, Donk loses his head. Flashes, they want to keep fighting. In the fight they shout, Kiyosuke finds to near now the smoke on top, so well polished, so well drilled. Yeah, but this is a bit with what Yanko was talking about in terms of pace change, right? So they've just done a default where it's a bit more of a thinking man's game, and they've bludgeoned to death, Kixen comes through, the fight keeps coming, it's just matching to the Famous, and it's on to the M4, last man standing. Wow. There's going to be two, two, and money in the mud, so Falcons continuing to show proficiency on this T-Side. Yeah, T-Side on Anubis was convincing, and in the absence of a pistol, will be very quickly rectified. Well, here we go, it's on Dixie. Definitely not one of this way. He's got a kit and now you might lose it all. Monosik goes down. He'll double up, but Niko from top mid will make sure there are really no threats into the next and didn't quite get to the Monosik AWP in time. But if he wants, he can drop one for his boy. So all good in the hood for Falcons. I think don't buy one in this round because you know they're gonna be on Niko. Just bring the all-pattern to the next and that looks like it's good in the case, But really constricted them because, yeah, nobody's side-side, they've gone, okay, well, they have to be playing for mid. Let's just force this fight into CT spawn, completely restrict the movements, and they're just going to A execute again. Some tough maps so far for Donk. I know that he's started to turn his fate around a little bit late on a nervous, but that's one starting 0-3. Okay, 5-7's lethal. How about this range he has vision? Oh, no, he doesn't. What a flash from Monosit. Flooding into the site, long range, Mach 10 even connecting. So do they want to get that AWP investment into the next, or just stick with the rifles It seems to be working well so far default map control into a execute into a execute. That's the last three And that's the school and about to read three to two magics gonna be found over here towards it is for Niko very diligent jump clip spots About us feet and he feasts so Niko five and two Guns to come up back out. Yes, so Kixon is the one who just take the Mac 10 off of test So they're just going to trade out the guns here. We'll see how that has an impact in the calling Magic's talking directly to zontics. Yeah, so the short player Now I connected as the bead you are just working out how they're going to play off of each other He's on the boosts up in the van. You can swing our shop big swing One frag, quick trade to near back. They're in B, Niko's giving us team on out here. Straight out, yeah the short players got a lot of work. Oh he controls the spray, pulls magics out of the round. No pay. Some Shiro. Niko got to play his life here. He's got the territory, doesn't want to lose it. Bombs lost in the apartments, it's a two on three. Jumping on my head. Niko, they overlooked the possibility, dunked down to Niko. Clutch available, monocy goes down to Shiro. That's a high impact rifle round to near and Shiro. Both finding a double kill necessary to give Spirit a nice stretch as a legs. Donk just wants to keep getting involved in the fights, mate. He's 0-5 right now, but just keeps putting his body on the line. So, the mess mopped up. It's a key jewel right there, but yeah. Jumps out the window, the great trade from Snip. And that'll be that, so... I don't think we'll see them with such pace again. It might seem a little bit more of a default spread here. Or maybe not. Tessus has the AWP? Right. And the monocie's up cat? Yeah, it's all backwards. Suntick spotted on a forward position and run down. Monocie makes that rifle work. Donk finds his first kill of Mirage. So a quick shut down, peeking back in and losing his head. Kisuke wins in the head to head. Miss smoke on window. It's all a bomb. Bomb spotted going up cart. Tessus. I think he was expecting that to be smoked or something. Yeah, Windows went missed. Magics is fast on this flank, faster than they're probably ready for. Nico gonna be audible in Palace or not? Ooh, I think he'd stop cutting noise just in time. Still there, Magics has the drop on them, 2CT, trying to draw attention. Long range burst to the NT9, gonna contribute but now really uncomfortable for Magics. Nico's behind him. No smoke, no kit, no chance for Boris. He's hanging around deep. Has a rough idea where both of them are, but this round will not be his. Falcons. We're grabbing another one. Takes down kicks and sure, but it's all about saving this AK 47. So back into the winning ways, three to four. And the winning one then immediately losing one. That's weird. Yeah, just you don't want to keep losing rounds, right? But at least then you would have the lost bonus built in a point where you can feel a little bit more threatening. It's good that Don gets his opening kill. That's winning an awful lot more of that and Magic's saving the AK has donated to Don immediately. So you need him to get going. He plays the star position. He is a star. He is a superstar. So you need Donk especially on the CT side of Mirage. And now they're going, this is, it's so rapid back into an A execute again. Shira is going to be able to lend a hand. Magic throws out the smoke in the middle of the site, hoping Taneer gets overlooked, but you really want to keep your eyes on Donk where that rifle is going. It's just a couple of pistols currently. Smoke blown open, Magic has cover. Yasuke clears out Taneer on the close box. Damn, yeah, just like that. the Yankees discussing, hey, when there's a roster change of Bruin for Falcons, they're playing some of their best counter-strike, and it's just so direct. This is really nice calling. They're not giving spirit an opportunity to play into the game with how to direct these rounds. I'm sure you could go in and just get flat lined to get multi-coded, you get stuck at the choke point, but that's not what's happening. Fast B splits, A executes, is the third A execute. And they've constantly found themselves successful, off to retain the AK, but this is a very fast half. Yeah, he's actually rapid. We've been in the server for 12 minutes. Yeah, okay. Eight rounds played, 12 minutes. That is speedy. Talking of speed, Tess is going into and buying into a deliberate Mac 10 They do these best flames the impression right now, right, but this is so nice red Yeah, and then to be able to set each other up It's really very good poison to pressure those folks are always the most difficult to work with when you are up against the lower Byes here we go Sophie Coach of the Academy team is taking over responsibilities with the main team while Hallie is out with that I don't want to say illness, but health issue that the team has given him time to recover from, he won't be back until after Astana. So, they will be with Salfik up until then, and Magix has taken on more responsibility in his own admission interview yesterday with Stiko, and you really need to have to start turning around now. So, good time to take this time out. time out. Shiro in with the AWP. Magic sister's gonna carry through in with the MP9 and Donk retains that AK but again Donk's still very quiet. 1 and 6, it can change within a round. But it hasn't changed just yet. Finally back into a default. Second time we've seen it run this on the T half. Otherwise it's been very direct calling. Tessus lurking Alice, Niko over towards the B apartments and the other three, the map control pack, spring to life in middle. Making no secret. The top mid control, the span, the nades. Sotis plays this position an awful lot, right? So that's how the fountain's going to know. Always looking for the glimpse towards the bench. Niko making some steps and trying to bait out some MUTIL towards B. It's one of the things, even on the extremities you're reacting to what's going on around the map. play a bit of pressure to force out nades, make it easier for the finishes. So after showing themself in middle, now they return to what will be another A execute. Teneer playing retake from ticket. Donk will be able to chip in from connector. And the smoke's already in the sky. This is looking good again for Falcons. Teneer's got it well cut out for him, has the support. Donk on the staircase. Smoked for now, so really just access granted. He can parve in, another smoke break, and now a safe plant. All back. Oh, bang, from Teneir. He's got his line-ups drilled. Tessus, we forced to get that one down in a different alternative angle. Niko on the approach from the flank, though. Yasuke can synchronize nice from Magik's proactive swing on the MP9. Teneir, another one. Looking good for spirits. OK, round four found in a convincing fashion. Very cheeky from Teneir. Right, smoke spading at that moment, too. gets a very important kill that the round just spills open. Niko needs to make a play. MP9 appears in his face. So still can win out the half, but there's going to be buys that you need to get through Zonic taking the time out. It's like a change of flow because up until this point, the more direct calling has been working I know some of them have been against lower buys I just settle into what your practice which is those defaults honestly can't spring out the all this is great that just a spurt of bullets in a way kicks and goes They're really good contributions from T'Nil. T'Niko onto a deagle. Make-o's for the rest. Monocy with the AWP. Util is the limiting factor right now. Opening smokes, window and top cap. Monocy's going to take the AWP to pick a ram. Rattles off a shot, so allow Spirit to understand that's in the play immediately. Clean-o, just the opening. Sonfix from the short side keeps us level. It's a big kill, man. and Tessus. Oh, what? Everyone's dead because just hits the Deagle headshot onto the jump spot of magics and now he's got the B site under pressure. Oh Shear I booked by Tessus. There's Bit of a signature one from him. All right Wow, that's around that actually you would want to say that's the kind of round you'd expect occasionally to happen with Falcons when you've got so many amers exactly hits their shot And this one, stylish. Alright Nika, we see ya. The Blaze, on fire right now, the Falcons. Spassak. Okay, how many rounds can it beat? Remember, winner of this takes on Vitality, but not only that, it books himself a spot in the playoff, loses it down to, or the loser, Bracket. I'm trying. Yeah. Well, different way of operating with the jump down magics. You're at a minute and 10 on the clock and the CT side has a Molotov and a HG. That's all they got to continue to try and block or constrict the movements of Falcons forced them where they want them. That's not going to be the case. Falcons on the other side, still. This is one of the latest, you know, spread Falcon T side rounds. It's rare to see them so spread out at this stage in the round. Starting to group up now. Test coming on ticks his way. Shiro has got that third body over onto the B site and they're going to have the AWP able to surely find an opening. Never mind. Actually, Tanira's found tests. It's lurking in Palace. Magics gets cleared out by Nika. One back. Kiyosuke finds Donk caught on the rotation. He's falling apart. Donk is having a rough game, but Kiyosuke is not. I'm going to just go away now. That's the plan, especially now you know that Shirou's there. And Zontis has to be around short somewhere, so add another one to the tally. Even when they're looking good, it just falls apart so quickly. Beautiful little double there from Kiyosuke. Really having a poor read of the situation. What's nice is that it wasn't just Tessus, you know, trying to lurk the ace on his own. There was Kiyosuke to kind of be informed by Tessus from the sound cues, from the death in this case. And he profits magnificently, opens up the ace site completely. Another eight, four, half a brew in it. Yes, going that way. I should be able to return the AWP towards be in Zontics. He's walked into the den, but he might be a right as well. So at least two guns kept for the final round of this first half. Okay, Lily's going for a palace peak. There you go, Rush. Free bit of information for you right there, mate. I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Rough death for donko. Yeah, he's just. Normally every shots in this time. Nothing's connecting. He's been given the rifle, so he's been dropped an a K earlier in the piece of a save right now. We didn't have enough money to buy the four. He's been dropped the M four. Again, he's instrumental second orb. T side. Trying to catch magics on the jump peak. It's a zontics this time. Helps out monosie a lot though, they might not expect this. Yeah, I guess you're right. The orb fires off a shot. You hope the jungle overplay over extends or balcony. Not giving it. Oh, tell a lie, you'll never believe who it is as well. The rifle on dunk down as the opening. Immediately, Monacee, hand off the mouse, like to say, so I'm not sure if he's helping them move into the next stage of this, but Donk goes 2-10 on the half, 0-3 in openings, and there might be another 8-4. Falcons just need to put this one in now. Still, this is such a power position for an AWPer. Monacee's going to be our disadvantage, peek it in, Shiro, profits. They're so paranoid about the connector position as well smoke break reveals nothing sure it doesn't profit off of that swing quick headshot Niko looking precise dialed in magic's getting cheeky in the smoke push comes up from behind catches Kixon trade available though Kiyosuke is found in Niko wanted to near and this is looking locked in for the A4 so on things has a go doesn't well to break the smoke onto Kiyosuke Niko's holding Niko converts Falcons they're making a strong case for a 2 and 0 they want those playoffs, it's good vibe tried for Falcons and quite the opposite for spirit. Trying to lose myself on the night shift, how I side, yeah Baby, can you feel it kinda dry, yeah? I'm ready to move for the night, yeah Trying to lose myself on the night shift, how I side, yeah Taking off control, can you feel it? How body's moving closer, is it real? Try and love myself on the night shift, out of sight, yeah Can you take me, feel me, come and try, yeah I'm ready to move on the night shift Try and love myself on the night shift, out of sight, yeah It's hard not to go I'm stuck in my head Taking over control, can't feel it Our bodies moving closer, is it real? Trying to lose myself on the night shift Out of sight, yeah Baby, can't you feel it coming, try it I'm ready to move for the night, yeah Try and lose myself on the night shift How I side, yeah Taking off the control, can you feel it? I want it moving closer, is it real? Try and lose myself on the night shift How I side, yeah two of the IEM Rio championship. It could be important though, Yankee is standing on the desk there, that this is the worst season that Spirit have had since adding Donk, and Donk is having a miserable day of the office right now. He's currently too intense. That was the CT side. He gets to play connector. That's the best spot on the entire map. I'm trying to flick through his stats. See, the last time he ended with, score this poorly, well, let's wait till the conclusion, shall we? A execute on the way. Interesting smoke deployed, gives them that fronted bloom. Honesty's your barrettas, primed and ready, just the two, though. Magix responds in kind with a Shiro PT-50 on top and actually threw the smoke. Beautiful. Magix with impact. You can't win both pistols and then still get blown out, can you? Surely this is going to have to be the start of something. They had opportunities to get the party started. Oh, don't give it to Tessus for free. Oh, they chased him down, but Magix will still grab another frag. What's that seven kills of a both pistols for magics for us the butcher with impact? Oh Listen to that it's so cool to see other players, you know Entering into their captains the arc He's still a very young man I know he's been on our screen for a long time, but I think he initially joined spirit back when he was 16 Yeah, so he's all of 23 now I think something along those lines and again it will be important for his development as an in-game leader Without Halley here, more responsibility being taken. Not just leaving it up to the one man to design everything. You have to call your gang. Well, they call themselves into a B-split. Magic's already up short. Teneric accelerating. Tessus, wow, actually gets something going. Kiyosuke does too. No, no, no. They can't let this one go. You know there's two here. Oh, and a body shot softened up by Monacy. Tessus gets himself a second on this armored desert eagle. Oh, gets him for on the short player. He knows what's up, Shiro as well. They know exactly where the last two players are, and Tessus has hit a third! Plus for Shiro, oh, not to be today! Tessus with a quad kill in defense of his sight. Okay, well, I guess it can be both pissers and just domination because now you have 1,400 loss bonus. You go into the next round of play, probably going to force, but you're talking tech minds or deagles with not an awful lot around it. So, Tess S, a remarkable job. It's not the weapon for the job though, is it? But the fact that he stalls them out, slows them down and gets to isolate all of these jewels. A masterclass from the Dane. And... And I'd like to ask for your opinion here, just looking at how Magix is processing that. You make the call. Everyone commits to it. It doesn't work. How easy is it to just turn inwards and start kind of beating yourself up? It's the call's fault. It was my fault. I think the thing is, the first show from Tess S is abuse, right? So you're you're hoping for a trade and that's the truth. I don't think you think the call is the problem You go, okay, test is gonna a wicked shot, but there should have been some trades I think it's the fact that I think kiss it gets the burst MP9. Yes. Yeah, that that was the pursuit of the trade You're right. Okay Well for spies. Yeah, okay. Don't get the right. So people always have a lot to say about this but every time that the rifle has been available and it's only been one or a few it's been given a don't he's not buying these himself it's not too late to come online I but I'm just scrolling through there's some games here where he's had seven kills that's the least I can find so I'm gonna keep looking but it could be out of a record six against a mouse back in 2024 and he's already managed to isolate the first catch. He's here on the walk up, transfers into a second onto Magics. Niko will finish off the job, sweeps two under the rug, and it's all up to that Deglazante. It's found and run down by Kixson. Okay, so now you take it, Niko. Falcons get 11, 11-5 scoreline. You bring out the guns, and if you lose that, you lose the game. Right. Just with the pattern of rounds and the way you've lost them and the fact that you've lost the game, you've lost Right. Just with the pattern of rounds and the way you've lost them and the fact you didn't give yourself a buffer on the CT sides, it's already gotten away from you. So I'm going to use this eco to keep scrolling. You're going for a lower number, lower than four. Yeah, there's another four. There's one against G2. Okay. He's on three. Yes. So he could tie it up. Could be the equalizer here. Well, maybe not on the Glock actually. can hear the occasional shout coming from the tournament floor as well there is liquid versus 3d max mentioned that a couple of times this is a group a lower bracket loser match so one of the two will be going home at the conclusion I won't do the spoiler you guys can go and check it out yourself and then after that they're going to be having bait versus passion UA. That's Senzu who is not with the team. Long story, but essentially when the VRS invite went out, it was regional for passion UA. For North America, they had three players to represent at least the region by VRS rules. Since the roster change is getting rid of Grim, they no longer have that. So to comply, they need Fang to stand in. We'll be bringing Navi versus Furia up next on the A stream. should be a banger. Clean. Keep it spotless. So they've achieved it. Just don't cowering in the palace, and it doesn't look like the MP9 wants a bit of that. Could reload. Think you will? Guys, don't cast to come to you. You know, you're good. They really want to kill him. I heard top mid. I heard top mid as well. Well, it's crazy. We can speak Russian. Yeah, dude. You know, all these years. This isn't the barn burner of a match I was expecting. No, it's, um. Very, very one very one-sided day. Okay, I think four is the lowest amount of kills in a map Donka's gotten since being in this spirit main team. Okay. I'm not gonna bother going to Academy. No, but there's still a... I'm staying with the main team. That works. Alleyoop! Man, bugs. It's too simple! Oh man. The well oiled Falcons machine just pumping at the moment this is them on the cusp of a change looking great looking great as is just the way with counter strike it's such a recurring theme isn't it though there's so many times that we've seen this happen in history it falcons being one of them getting rid of Dexter was MVP of the event they won yeah right pgeol bukera yeah pgeol bukera's last year right Look at this continued push from Kixen. Thanks here in the U2, you got to keep going now. If anything, you know you've got one. See ya mate. Second kill in the round, Kixen. Beautiful. The ball on Magix is back as well, so they'll still be on high alert elsewhere. Nice. High flash. It allows Niko to start searching. Nice shots. good for it, but Niko, he's just having absolutely none of it. Now the bomb spotted on the staircase, Shiro mantling up, trying to clear around Niko. He's got a player underneath though, kicks him down to Donk, important fourth frag found, and now a chance in the two on two. That's a skin denied. Fake, oh, couldn't find the headshot required. Brought down, and Shiro in the clutch. Now he's looking both on with 10 seconds though, he's got to get that plant. He's got to focus on the plant. He's not even near the bomb. Okay, monosy secures it. Falcon's 12, Spirit 5. If I can do it in this form tomorrow, it's a good thing Vitality had that wake-up call against GT because they're going to need it. And again, I'm sure they have a score to settle off of that bounty loss when Nucleon's was in the server. That's a very nimble work from Kixon. Ramp, Palace, he's everywhere. Here is what is likely the final round of this series. Sounds like a non-starter, but not if you're a Falcons fan. Two MP7s, a Mach 10, two Galils, a couple of smokes. Well, I don't think that's where that was intended. On the short side, Kiyosuke opened up a threat. Wow, they are going short side, I'm honestly going to try and find a deeper line, Niko does well, catches in combination and finds the follow up. Donk down, sideline 4 and 16. Tessus nails his head shot. He hears the encroaching to near. He can hear that Mach 10. Falcons, the playoffs calling their name. Shiro puts a couple down in the grave. Tessus and Kiyosuke brought down by the galil. He's got the bomb and he's got to get across the sideline of Monosizor. Good flash could catch him, but no, doesn't do what it's supposed to. Ooh, but a missed shot. Monosizor, that's not the follow up. Nuts. And now Shiro in the clutch. he's gonna pull it between his eyes from Captain Kixson, Falcons in the playoffs. Casualty the office here, they stroll in and they get the job done. 13-4-13-5. Black's spirit didn't come to play today. Falcons have locked themselves in for a seeding match against Vitality in Group A but they will play in the arena come the weekend and they're playing this type of counter strike. Who cares that the Ross is gonna change after? We're focusing the right here the right now this draws them up to the contender conversation once more we always know the pieces in this team what they're capable of it's getting them all singing from the same hymn sheet and today that was a beautiful sounding choir Alex yeah that was stunning I mean really once again puts them in that conversation as you said I think that's something to keep an eye on for Team Spirit the same actually I mean don't with a tying his record for lowest pride performance in that routine spirit of main team. We're going to try to fry it down the sidelines for a post-game interview. Falcons looking incredibly sharp and of course cementing themselves as spots in the playoffs. Tezos, first of all congratulations doing that against one of if not the best referee in the world. That's no small feat, right? No, definitely not. I think we're quite lucky he had a somewhat of a bad day and kind of capitalised really good on that. And our G-dice today was really amazing. Alex just said it I believe that was the lowest amount of frags that dogs ever got in the official game one of the lowest ratings as well That you submitted to him. So it's a nice cherry on top for you as well as playoffs Yeah, I guess so it doesn't really focus on him too much, but yeah It means we did something really well at least these past couple of days This is like one of the most fluid free-flowing versions of Falcons that we've seen this year, right? Any particular reason for that? No, I don't know Right now we're just kind of feeling it in the moment and doing what we want and kind of playing a little bit more loose And we have done in the past and for now it's working really well for us hang off massively tassels. Congratulations. We'll see you in the playoffs Yeah, well, how's it that the storyline that you want to see if you like watching the Falcons Yanko does so what is it? Yanko have it figured out trade. Okay, go on right You don't even have to do it for real, but right before the major just leak that you're gonna replace a player if you're Falcons. Right, because every time it happens they're playing their best CS. Casters talked about it last year in Bucharest, they've been a dexter who was on the way out against the MVP. They beat Monos CMG 2 in the final and now with Kixson on his way out allegedly. They are already in the playoffs, they just stomped Team Spirit in two maps. And who knows, maybe they can even challenge Vitality tomorrow. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I think there's a big difference between what happened in the Cluj-Champoong-Ras with Dexter. They also did lose the first two games, were 0-1-2, all of a sudden turned it around. Let's be honest, you know, fuck into the group stage, we've seen this level before. This is not new. I know the fun story is the kicks in, you know, and playing loose Counter-Strike, but I want to see it in the playoff. I want to see that loose Counter-Strike, you know, and that relief of pressure, you know, being played out in a potential semi-final, Maybe against Vitality as well in that game, but I'm not I'm not buying into it just yet Because I've seen Falcons play some beautiful counter-strike in group stage before but I haven't seen it in the playoff That's my issue. Well, Vitality? Yeah, we'll see. It just feels different when you watch them play. You can just tell like there's no pressure there They're just rolling with whatever the call is whatever a player is feeling like doing They're just running with it and even rounds with their on the back foot a little bit There was a round where Niko gets two kills with the Deagle, the round where Kyosuke brings it back with a couple of kills lurking on the A-bomb side. Like everything just seems to be going their way. They lost both pistols in this game and they won 13-5, I mean, that's as dominant as it gets really in a way and what does that say about Team Spirit? Really, you know, we're here yet again, now they're going back into the lower bracket, sure, they're still the main favorite to make it over there but, I mean, to lose in such a dominant fashion. like it's not going to instill any confidence in the players. It's fun, you hold it up against what's happened so far in the season as well, you know, adding to the fact that Donk seemingly had his worst performance ever in a spirit jersey as well. There's just a lot of, you know, alarming signals coming out of Team Spirit right now. And while they may be the favorite in the lower bracket, I wouldn't say that they're heavy favorites, I think, G2 with the way they've been playing as of late and with a roster change, and maybe coming in with renewed energy could do the dirty stuff to Spirit. I'm afraid of Spirit right now, you know, I'm not really happy with what I'm seeing. Yeah, it's an unfortunate reality for Spirit fans, Liquid fans, Gentlemates fans. Those guys are definitely already on their way home. At least we have a matchup in front of us with the hometown heroes in it. We're looking at Furia on one side and then when we go to jump back into the server itself for Furia, I don't know. It's a Brazilian matchup. It's one of those they have to hold on to in the palm of their hand. They're gonna look to do just that. So we'll see this one on the other side of the break here with Furia and Navi. Placent matches set your starting point. Facet rating measures your impact as you climb. The soft ELO reset narrows the gap between the highest ELO players and the rest of level 10. Your starting point will be based on your recent ELO inactivity. We're introducing Facet rating so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match. Picking into account the full situation. Season 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck, and have fun! I'm going to the airport to meet fans, all the fans who support Fure, I really like it. Thank you for your support, what can I say? Let's go to the match which you're about to play against Navi. I want to talk about it because it's always a very close match. It happened at the beginning of the year but also they denied you that major run in Budapest. Always a three-mapper, always very close. Can you give us a little bit of an insight, why is that, why it's so difficult to play against them? Obviously they're a good team but it's always kind of like back and forth. You know when you play against Na'Vi, every time it's a hard game because they know how we're playing and we know how they're playing. And you just need to choose to write a mind game and it's on the just like that, you know? When you're talking about these mind games, this is kind of like coming down to experience when you have Vik and Dara and you have fallen on the team. Are they responsible for these kind of like game plans against these teams? Probably yes, but sometimes we can change something, maybe they can show something and we can change the game. You know, it's just working step by step, you know, and they can do something, they can choose something. It's always mind games, always. Again, it's a very hard game. Speaking about mind and preparation, I want to talk about you specifically a little bit. You've been really stellar in group stages all the time, but it's been a talking point recently, where whenever you hit the playoffs it's kind of like a down spiral. Have you been focusing on this lately, like trying to bring up that performance from the group stages? Because I just want to hear your honest opinion, obviously. It's all coming down to preparation, an individual may be slump or a form, but how do you feel about it? You know, I'm changing game now, because before when I joined, I thinking just like I need to play more individual for myself, but not for team. But now, when we have break to weeks, I'm just starting thinking like this, maybe I need to play not for myself, just maybe for my team, and I'm just improving, how can I help my team? And it's only just like that. If you're not helping to team, I think you don't have chance to win trophies. But if you're just thinking about only your team, how we can win another team, it's better. are some beautiful words for everyone who is playing Counter-Strike team game is obviously more important than individual one. I wish you good luck in this and back to the desk, Janko, Pimp and Stunna. Take it away. The Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026 is brought to you by ESL in partnership with Intel, Acer Predator Jax And DHL So let's get it going with two teams that you are ultra familiar with that is the side of fury of you Navi But we're not quite there just yet but we need to fill in some of our predictions for the remainder of these brackets. Gentlemen, as this tournament takes shape, we've already got two of our teams situated. So perhaps we can ride this lightning just a little bit here. Yeah, no big surprise, to be completely honest. When you think of it, my mentality made me, I think the surprise was the fashion it happened into it. You know, my mentality is struggling a little bit. They said they're gonna see it too, and I think it was surprising as well to see Falcons beat the spirit the way they did, but they broke the spot into it right now, which means there's only one more team who can make it from that. Yeah, we were talking about it just now, that Spirit should be favored in that lower bracket, but G2 and our team that has a stand-in, attacked instead of Hunter, their IGL is missing, they almost beat Vitality today. So when you look at how they played today and how Spirit did, like you're thinking G2 has a chance, Red Knits won their game, so did 3D Max, so I don't think Red Knits can necessarily make it, but 3D Max, if he gets on the roll, could potentially ruin someone else's day. Yeah, that's what I wanted to say, 3D Max has the potential to wake up a little bit later. I don't want to say as a sleeper pick or some sort of dark horse pick, right, Jacob? But there's a chance for 3D Max. I think so. I think 3D Max are eyeing an opportunity right now. You know, them not cutting it off for the Major is also giving a bit more, I guess, importance to this tournament. They have to build up their ranking. They have to build up themselves again in order to be in the precision for the next Major and hopefully to qualify for that. So, yeah, I think 3D Max is in contention, but regardless of that, you know, When was the last time we saw Donk have two terrible series in a row? I think he'll figure out how to get it done in the lower bracket, and for me it's going to be fair. And it will have to be a long day, right? Two games tomorrow for these teams in the lower bracket, but you're going to have to go with Spirit just for Donk? Just have to. So let's flip it over to B. Yeah, and we'll have in these two games that are following on the A-Stream, we'll get two names for that group, B between Furia, Navi, Aurora and Maus. Personally, I'm leaning with Furia and Aurora. Miles has just been pretty disappointing lately, and Aurora has been one of the more consistent teams this season. And I know Navi has been probably the second best team in the world right now, but these series do get kind of close between the two teams. I really believe there's some extra motivation in there, obviously for Furia and their players, especially the Brazilians, and it is Uri who's been struggling to regain his form from last year in 2026 so far. So if he can have an uptick in performance, I think it's enough for Furia to win today. Yeah, I'd be willing to start with you on that one. I will say I think Navi have been the better team so far in 2026 and I think in a match up right here, it can't go either way. But the extra motivation for Furia and the fact that it's very important for them, obviously, to perform on home soil, I'm willing to go with you on that one. However, Aurora vs. Maus, that's where I would make a case for Maus to be completely honest. I do agree with you. Still a believer. Still a believer in Maus's group stage, I know one of them was a disaster and 0-26 hasn't been pretty but I still see Maus as a team that even in a group stage game like this should be able to take down Aurora. Aurora that as of late has been playing better, sure, but I don't see them as a team on the same level as Maus when they're not missing it. I think there's no doubt that Navi, even if they lose today to Fury, I think will still be able to make it through in the lower bracket. They just found their renewed confidence with some of these tournaments lately, you know, making it final. Last obviously winning ESL Pro League and lifting the trophy there. It was huge for them and yeah, they just seem like a different team lately. You want to fight me on Aurora mouse? Absolutely. Yeah. Ready? Fight. Okay, you have to decide, Trace, because we're split. Yeah, I mean that is how the Trambert thing works. And really I'm starting towards Aurora to be completely honest. And And that's just because of the consistent matter. I knew it was trying to play. I was trying to ask him, right? Well, I wasn't a mistake. I mean, two is more than one. It's a sensible man right there. That's what they all say about Trace Tana Saranth. That's what most people have tried to say. I put it right. We definitely did not say mouse. We definitely said Aurora. And that's just because, Jacob, I'm sorry about that. But in all fairness, I think Aurora gets enough reps that they should just be able to stay consistent, whereas mouse hasn't even come close to the word consistent for me. Yeah, I agree. But I don't think mouse is that bad. I think they have had a rough time and I think they need desperately to do well here as well to farm some confidence for Cologne and Make us believe they can be a decent team again So I'd be disappointed if they don't beat a world to be honest, but yeah, I've been disappointed in myself so far So why not you'll be disappointed no matter what happens Jacob? I think I'm hard to disappoint. Yeah No Well, that's that's okay. Yeah, there's something right there. Yeah, let's strap it into right matches only It's driving it right into Furia and Navi. It's a big game. It's a very big game, not only for the reasons that Janko mentioned, you know, Furia, home turf, they want to make the playoff, but these are the two teams that I consider to be in the fight for being the second best team in the world. These are the two teams that I'd expect if anyone, at the moment, should be able to take down Vitality, if anyone can bring a fight against Vitality, especially with the way they played against T2, then I'm looking at Furia and Navi to be the first contender. So I think this matchup in itself is important for both teams. They obviously want to make the playoff, but also in terms of figuring out who's actually the second best, third best team in the world as of right now. Sort of separating that patch, Yankee, where's your headline on this one? A similar map pulled like last time, Nuke is in the pool this time instead of Inferno Navi gets rid of it in the second phase, but yeah, we talked about how for Dust2 Navi has actually become more proficient on its mirage, was where Fury turned their fortune around in Krakow, Last time these two teams faced off against each other, being able to take down Navi on that map. So we'll see if his history plays more of a role here today or recently. To me the biggest mismatch on the server is Yuri vs Bith in essence. I think that's one way it really favours heavily towards the side of Navi. So I'm curious to see if Yuri can come back to form, because that's going to be neat. Yeah, well let's just watch this game. Let's just start with this first map. Let's go ahead and get it going. Navi, be pure now. Big day ahead of these teams, playoffs on the line, Furia versus Navi, and that's dead on, right? Trying to figure out where these teams place, who is kind of that second best team runner who could challenge the likes of Vitality and do we get to see Furia in front of the home crowd in Brazil? It feels like that's bound to happen with the performance we got out of Furia yesterday. Everyone changes day-to-day in Counter-Strike. That's the fun of this sport, but Furia looked solid against Passion U.A. way, and Navi, despite a 13-0 in their series, did slip up on that bad pick, although we know that's all too common for this team. Mirage, Navi's choice today, coming in quick on this T side, but Fiori have no one in the site. Well, Fiori up first and the first to get toppled. If you kind of are trying to watch them spill in, but for now, Navi have this A site, it's going to come down to a retake for Fiori. Well, can Fulham really get through this window? No, he's still on the line. So even with the attempted cover from your Kindar, this is deep control for Narvi. Like that whole round kind of hinging on taking back this jungle space, and you've just been re-smoked here. It's all got denied. You're stuck in this choke point with no way left to go. If you're fury, you need Molotov to offer something up. Given a chance, but nothing connects. Narvi, this is a very powerful position to be, and they've got post plans across the field. Man advantage. Should be no way back into this for Furia to done deal. Navi opened things up with a pistol round. Oh, exits. Well, fun money, maybe. Could be seeing a chance to drop something over. But only 2800 on the end. Cacerato not able to. Navi come through with a very important pistol. On a, you know, we know Navi, we know what to expect, right? They like a long series. I I feel like this map of the series has three maps written and we're going to find out if Navi can actually take their map pick today. Often a rarity, Furious Mirage was rock solid yesterday. Even with the absence of Molodoy until that final round, he won them two important low econ rounds at the tail end of the game, but otherwise he was having some unfortunate moments, some frustrating moments. Now with everything on the line with playoffs in the crosshairs of both these squads. It's a little play for. I'm gonna flash pop for your kinder. Using the D. Go like a five seven. Wonderful was there to play anti and stop that from getting too weird. And so for now a bit of a stalemate, but honestly I don't think Navier are incredibly happy with that. Now they're losing space out towards the apartments, and so slowly but surely Furia building a better picture of where this one's ending up. They've got a three-man A-stack right now. Backstab even on the carts for Fallen. I mean, Amos dead here, right? Yeah, you can't mess this up, can you? Fallen grabs the gun, out of Palace, come Narvi, and they're storming in, but they're taking a lot of damage there and clear below the middle with Yuri recovers. This round is gone for Narvi, nothing to celebrate there, an absolute smash. Fallen double kill, and Furia armed, and ever dangerous. And honestly, the worst round to lose in any game is the second round. That's going to put Narvi out of commission. Fallen bring a lot of energy in these couple of games. Even yesterday, in his passion, things quietened down by the time of Mirage, but that first map, he was bringing a lot of hype. Ouch. I mean, you want to bring in that type of an energy to this match in particular, right? Because the passion one felt like a bit of a foregone conclusion was the vibe that you got. They kind of just accepted the fact that they'd already won the series in map two. But they know this one's more of a fight and there's even more on the line. with those playoffs, folding on whoever wins this series, Uri aggression was meant to reel this round in wonderfuls picked up a second on the scout Navi you may be doubting their ability to answer back on this four-spy right now they're in a good position rotates are a long way away for Fiora, Cacerato only point of leverage out here towards the spawn he does have a teammate moving in to join him wonderful in this tricky scout that's been causing the problems all round long was posted. Now it's Ema's turn, helped out by Alexi. And so all right, we might have some force by wars to start this one off. Yikindar, looking down at a 1v3. You want to go for it, but it's so tempting to save just to give yourself a chance at the rebuy to keep this back and forth, this tip for Tat going. Yikindar playing for the long game instead, looking to save. It's understandable, no kits, no position, three out of a live Navi players so your kinder walks away. Oh, no, he doesn't. Bit with a one dig. And you can to try to extract maximum value costs himself the gun. Now, Furia, I mean, they're going to be forcing but a little less than what they would have liked. Love this check for wonderful. I mean, Mardoy, maybe looking like the smoke was bloomed in his face in that one second. No, wonderful one for the peak We see a lot of top-upers do that move it requires blocking the window smoke a lot of the time and then jumping on the lip Oh By accident I'm enjoying the blocking Molotovs update, seeing a lot of rushes where the mollies just get knocked out. If you throw your Molotov late, if you're not preemptively dropping it before a play, say a B-apps rush comes in on Mirage and you just lob it in there, play it, can knock it, can fall behind all five of the rushing tees. It does punish you if you're not on the ball with your utility. Happy accidents. I mean last time Navi were in this position it was Furia to kind of set the tone with that flash plate. This time though there's been no type of an early skirmish instead Furia sat back in their bomb sights it's three over towards B and that is where Navi are heading. So a different look this time the anti-force but far better results. Molodoy can't get enough done. The Kindar left is the sole survivor over to Wards B and while he failed to save last time, this time he looks to make it a far cleaner break. I think he'll learn his lesson and going for exits. Let's see if Imer allows it. Wonderful getting so much value from the scout early in the game, picking Molodoy, training Yuri and now in this round getting two more. very nicely done. It's Navi who win the pistol, lose to force and now control the economy. 3-1 in Furia on a full eco with nothing to show. You talk about obviously playoffs on the line and fury are absolutely gunning for that more than any other team except maybe vitality. Yeah. But I also like the conversation of finding out Who is number 2? Who is number 3? You know, where are these teams formed right now? When you consider that Narvi had this recent uptick, some great results, but Furia themselves have proven better in the Grand Finals against Vitality. Looking back to Chengdu, all the way to Krakow. Narvi of course only one swing at the Kings and a 0-3. But none of that matters if they can take this win today, go for a shoot in towards a semi. You know, you can imagine even the fact that you maybe got a sense of a bit of vulnerability out of Vitality in that series earlier today, that that's enticed a couple of these squads to try and really bring their A-game here. And it's something I said yesterday and that, okay, it's safe for Navi right now, like they want, they're going for Vitality. You're probably in a sense, in a sense you're hoping to not play them, but if you have to, you'd rather do it in a semi-final, you'd rather do it in a quarter-final. Chance for you to prep on less maps, catch them off guard. I mean, it's what Nobby showed us against Furia at the tail end of last year in Budapest. Two head-to-head to go. very clean anti-eco here and Alexi keeps it so 4-1 here for Navi wait in a long time if you're here it feels like to get to play a gun round in this one versus Navi but that's what happens when you have this kind of weird back and forth the force by wars in the first three rounds and still you don't have an open round number six so all of the limited we're on a very aggressive passing down here through middle already up short way ahead of anyone on fury a fuller than no idea just a side swipe there in the B site nearly open for business. You're kind of moving in, but what's he supposed to do? Just getting overran. Lot of players on his screen, and this one is over in seconds. Your gun round that you've been waiting for ends in the blink of an eye. That's such a disrespectful call here for Nadia. I love the way it pans out. They cycle flashes in connector. We saw Kcerato's POV full, double blind. Couldn't break, couldn't spam through the smoke, because that's a danger of going for something like that. just getting spammed through the con smoke. And it's not just damage. It's the little holes you're going to get. You're going to get info. See, Navi running up shorts. He is double blind. Meanwhile, you can dump the mags through window and fall in the lone on B. So I don't think it could have gone better for Navi. Also just love the timing of that pace change. Right. Because we're talking about how fury of kind of been waiting to bring the guns out. You're thinking you're going to get dealt a pretty standard round, maybe even a chance to kind of get a feel for the game a little bit and no it's it's over in seconds they play their paciest round of the map yet so just a great time to bring that in for Navi and maybe a great time for this tack timeout rapidly this one is getting away from Furia blade is happy with a timeout as well not having to call his getting used against him and Navi get a chance to catch their breath. Sure, momentum broken to a degree, but 5-1 lead and Nami can take stock right now. Everything going their way. No casualties, still no AWP, no need. That's some of these rounds we're seeing. That's not much better for Furia. They don't want a full buy because if you consider the fact that we're seven rounds into the game and Molotov is not had an AWP yet, there's a team that do everything they can to get him the big green. If Furia were to buy, which is just a fire but you could drop two guns over you could get five rifles it's fine that's just another round waiting for that AWP this eco allows them to buy for next with all so that's definitely playing into the conversation here for Furia in not buying around these rifles and to be fair we saw Furia win these rounds yesterday so anything's possible Oh, he's fearless. Right back to middle, but silent. Oh, Bits getting sandwiched here. Ready for the short fight. At least gets out with one. Oh, breakable smokes, but Alexi's got his head on a swivel. Cover-in as well from Ema. Helps out. Like a long, long man fighting them out towards the short side. And Moldedoy arrives down here in the connector. And it's all this downtime because he's walked all the way through a and a chance at this backstab mother. Do I hidden? Should know he's here smoke. Let's try to push him into a car seat That's the bomb loose Backstab connects. That's only one of the two players that made it through this a site case Serato No idea where they've gone to Bomb now retrieved in a far less scary spot for Navi, they've got a post plan out towards CT if they want it And a 2v1 to play around. Oh, did they see him? Acting like they didn't. He got that spot. I mean, there's a good habit that they've just cleared deep CT. You're kind of running out of places Kcerato could be, and that flash gives it up. That's a very hard round to win for Kcerato, clutch as he is. It's like he's pieced it together now. Flash out spawnside. Hopefully he can bait a peek on the tap. He's handed it, but it's double layered They go together Mikazi with the trade and Navi just keep racking them up not side by side nice elevation there Mikazi in the back. So case Arato aiming high for that close player can't transfer RV just taking every box right now even in that little moment of awkwardness when Alexi gets caught in the smoke push Ima is so quick to trade it out and from that trade it feels like Navi's round already Okay, we've been waiting for orbs and so fury bring them in double trouble fallen on that bebop side followed by close ramp Looking for some vengeance here fury a Fallen's insta dead at the car sees running out, but he needs no support double kill for mccasey round locked in They were still in their default I mean, the chance just to sweeten the deal and going for the hunt at the close here. You waited all game to get to play with an AWP. You bring out two of them. You think that that's going to be a solution to the problems. Now, V handed a free round. Entries a plenty out of McCarthy and chaos over the wards mid. So tilting starts the game here for Furia, right? that could have gone wrong has gone wrong from the little details to getting punished on your saves to the delay of the orbs and that is audacious for Fallon making the van jump but he had the molly down he didn't take the car he beat it but if he takes their first spawn you cannot make your van jump in time and so audacious move for mccasey wins the round for Navi 7-1 up on this T side of that pic. And yeah, they're gonna walk smokes. If you don't have the rounds left anymore to kind of put off and wait to bring the orbs out, take any of those partial buys to facilitate, they've got to go all in. They don't count starting a spiral. is a good over here on Ram Makazi still delivers that key trade it's Yuri is the second man up close went unaccounted for and leaves the advantage of Furia for now but he's on a bit of a timer Alexi still here ready to pressure him while this is going on Ema's been working that mid control Alexi loses his fight so now we're gonna look towards Ema hoping he's got a bit of runway here It makes it out through Palace and Ema still searching goes down Bullsy peek out of your kinder you already he's low on health as he takes that fight Easy epitome if you want it want to done right do it yourself You know doesn't want to leave that to a late round and let bit get comfortable just tries to close it It's a really messy round for fury. I know they have the stack in the right place, but Moledoy repositioning, leaving, only just getting back in time to assist Yuri, at least gets one out of his position. A nice double up for you, Kinda the close. Yuri, hang on. First AWP as well, you got wonderful donning his now, he's been down to play on the rifles since the early game. Let's see how that changes things for Navi, they've been quite free to go for these pacey arounds. rounds this window for the hitting D so it doesn't matter all in because he leads charge full blind a little bit awkward there you kind of still picks it up more where that came from though is it's just this apartment's bash you've lost a good chunk of the pace here if you're na'vi in the rotate start to arrive full and just keeping pressure on these players in the apartments starts to come unraveled here for Navi and it's only wonderful left. Backstab in the case of Rato and Dorsher on that B-play. That was feeling like you're in your pug. Everyone's in apartments, no one's moving out. Ema runs through the smoke. I guess expecting his teammate to swing with him, but I think they have Nades out and Navi at Dillie Dallying. If it just wides off balcony, they're gonna trade. I think it was falling. And then suddenly Navi are in a very winnable position and the bomb isn't even committed. They can pull back, but it just goes back to worse. And now they get stuck in apartments. So, Fury are winning important rounds down the stretch to stay in the CT side. Five will be fine. Yeah, it's a perfect time for the time out as well, for blade side of things, right? Recognizing that the grasp that they've had on this game can get away from them in these final couple of rounds, right? You give up a four-round streak. You can kind of forget about the six in a row that you were able to string together. suddenly the game's right back on. It's not like no, they've done anything silly in this T side, right? They've just patterned calling and they're going for fast rounds and to be fair, they've gone away with some crazy fast rounds. So you can't blame them for wanting to push the boat out. But yeah, this is probably blades slowing them down. Looking to play a more standard round than a set call. It's those kind of rounds where you wonder if the window smoke is missed on purpose. When they go for a hit like that but Let's see what Navi do. Post-Tag. Yur kinder pushing under for Furia. Oh, Yuri's making an aggro move from the get-go in this one. Playing through that ram smoke. Yur kinder are also aggressive out here in mid. He went with his fight. Being a man down, Yuri decides to come back, so they kind of lost the info over here towards A and middle. He cleared it somewhat, but it's taking it back, so... So, there was a deep flash, might have given it away. Right now, it's a lot of attention on this mid control. Marvin, such a strong position. This is around where Molodoy might have to bail Furia out. Been waiting for the AWP, not really had a chance to use it. Now is that time. Right from the smoke, Yuri. Well handled. Now you look towards Cacerato, he's got Yuri back here in the connector, ready and willing to lend a helping hand. Navi decides they want nothing to do with mid, but this is a real last second decision. Moving back around to link up with Mikazi in the apartments. Gonna leave them with very little time to get in to B. As you tell, here's the hit, fallen on the line, it's just brushed aside, are they ready for Kcerato? teammate on the way over, very little time left, Molotov gonna make a mad dash in, but the cover's down, wonderful! shuts him down on that push and so the kind of desperate grasp to go and deny that bomb now leaves Yuri in the clutch makes it out through the market they don't know about this yet Yuri closing in might have a kill right in front of him cast around the corner it's back turned and iced out someone calmed bench as well he saw the head of it I think it was a wonderful and he turned back And that's when he gets peeked from Edward awkward What an important trade for bits over the top of the window in case you're answering by a few more seconds? We'll take one more kill with him that round is done off the clock But this frag for bit saves it for Navi six seconds as that bomb gets planted I don't think Molotov could have denied it with that Molotov down Navi what an incredible T side they put on here And they could sweeten the deal. I don't have a whole lot to go up against either, but a good flash play just to net you that advantage. And around like this, where you really are working with less, they've already used all their blocking utility, you know, getting results on the back of your flashes, really matters. It's found you a 5v4. And they've even aggressed on the back of that kill, out towards ramp. It's kind of piecing together what's gone down over at 8, Yuri's going to take matters into his own hands and just confirm that there's no one here. Now on a deep line, freeze up a player to start moving around the map. Oh no! Oh no! That's awkward. It doesn't burn up. Ema's fine. How'd he go for the B hits? At what point does Ema activate? 40 seconds. Can't wait forever. And Molotov is short sight. During this util go over he knows what's coming. moving. Spotted in the window. He still wins his fight. This B site really is to withstand it. It can't not be. They're all wounded. They're all hurting, but they broke through. They get a bomb plant now. And these rotates are slow. Fury are going to take a little while to get into position. They're still paranoid about Eba and all this downtime, right? Spotted scaling out into the window. And that was meant to be a free kill for Alexi still picked up after the fact Yuri's got no business winning this one Images play to evade it wastes so much time in this round And this is looking to seal the deal on a very dominant first half out of the Navi squad Wonderful wowed us early on with those scouts shots, but as it's gone on everyone's stepping up right now for Navi They are gunning for this playoff spot map one their pick and it's looking good a rough start here for hometown heroes in Furia. They are on the back foot in a big way to open up this very important series. Winner of this, guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. And right now, Na'Vi, they have showcased a tremendous form in these opening games at this event and this one is no different. Wonderful start, it's strong and then around in, Ema and Mikazi really started to find it a great deal of impact. It was a real death ball of the first half as well. By Navi's standards, there were some very pacey rounds in there. Certainly not something Furia really expected. It's not what Navi see every day. So Bravado on this T side, can Furia bring the same? Yeah, gonna need this pistol round if you want any chance at the comeback. Oh, bye. So you're probably hating what bits just done there. I just whittled away. You're kinder, 1v5 low health on the first guy facing him. It doesn't matter one bit. Oh, he was having a great day in the office. 60 and seven right now. Getting every single shot. We saw that final round of T side of the window winning a ridiculous kill to a game. So. I'll be looking to make this one a wash. We'll see what the anti eco concerns us with as Fira did win a force, but then went on to lose six straight rounds. I mean, you know, we've heard of Pavlov's dogs, but have you heard of showing his goat because that's what he was kind of been in these games, right? Couple of maps where he's just absolutely destroyed the opposition. It 10 on inferno zero and 10 on inferno. Well, go tell the bag. Simply done for the three in middle. Na'vi one gun round away from solidifying their map pick in this series dust to is up next is Furia's choice. We end on Nuke if Furia can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But I think they're in flip flops. Yeah, I do that. There's a couple of kind of red flags right now for Furia. One is just Molotoway never getting going in this map. It seems some frustration from him in their opening series. And here, you know, I think it's also like to know these credit that did a great job of keeping the all below impact throughout the entire first half. They kept it in low quantity as well. The damage, the punish, and even when Fury tried to bring it all out. He only had it like four times. I think less. And the first time he had it was around where Fulvin also has it on B and Moloadoy gets left in a 1B5 in 20 seconds because they just get B rushed. Not really a good job of completely avoiding him. I don't think he got a fair fight on the all half. So, I didn't really want to pick on Molotoy in that sense. That's what I think, you know, just like even with the kind of type of AWPer he is, the way that he likes to play the fights that he looks for, this is not one of the games that's going to bring that out of him. Three and eleven. All right, bit of a duel out here towards mid. Good one. Full McCarthy. And spotted Alexi's not giving you this for free good reposition under the window in case Arato doesn't land a bullet Yeah, I mean even if he did like that the rounds still pretty Pretty screwed isn't it for fury of the kind of pack the bulk of the players around towards me That's what your pack rifle is where they were meant to try and secure that for all day old I lost the bomb like cause he's just peeking on a wide connector angle body shutting them down like RV just can't miss a beat here Info for Yuri, but even he doesn't want to waste this rifle They're just begging hill peak, but yeah, go get the AKs up top middle and not VT take 12 rounds Furia failure to launch on Mirage Some games you can sense the comeback before it happens while I can sense this one is over Clash here really don't have a lot to work with here maybe already thinking about us too. Oh my car's eat nearly as a chance to get a kill there and the Spam from wonderful shoes through this be hit one man survives up through short and not for long this was no contest playoffs on the line at fury are hoping to play in front of our home crowd well they're gonna have to dig deep because this has been insanely one-sided really from the word go there was some promise with the win in the four spine round two but other than that this is been a map entirely defined by Navi any course for concern that that inferno game against bait gave you for Navi is swiftly out of the window as they find a dominant opening map in this series against Furia of all teams on home soil 13 to 3 and on their map pick as well. It's not every day you see Na'Vi start a series off that strong. Let's see if they can keep it going with Dust2 up next. Yeah, Na'Vi, Furia, or as we like to say, just Na'Vi in the server right now because Furia a little pure far between in rounds right there, Jacob. I don't know what's going on today and not what I expected. Nor was it in the Falcons vs Spirit game and for Furia to fall this flat on Mirage. Sure, the series isn't over yet, but that's not what I anticipated. I expected two teams who were kind of similar in their level, kind of similar in what I could expect from them. And you know, in some of those individuals, and I didn't get anything out of this one, Janko. It was not only playing some beautiful Counter-Strike, some good Counter-Strike, and as Trace kind of alerted to, the only team on this server. I don't know, I feel like Furia are struggling more than I maybe would initially, I guess, of this. Yeah, I mean Navi after winning that early force by war Just play with a lot of pace. Maybe that's what surprised Fury up to some extent. I mean in the first gun round after all those force buys early on They just did a fast B split were fallen was surprised that they could come up cat even and just dies instantly And the round is pretty much over then and there right and it was a snowball from Navi from start to finish Which sets us up. I mean if you think that second map is even more talking about just yet I beg to differ but I do have to wonder about that absence I do have to wonder where it is and I'm kind of looking at you Jacob for a response Yeah, I think it's a symptom of a furia having had a rough season so far Obviously the way they ended 2025 was was not great Then they came into 2026 and we thought okay They're gonna continue, you know the one game against Navi at the major is not gonna define what we think of furia You're still the second best team in the world But let's be honest there it hasn't been a great season and there's been more games like this You know more maps where it's just been absent and some things you can explain with yeah Yuri is not playing as well as he did and maybe Molotov is not having the same amount of impact Etc etc, but it just feels like the the entirety of the team is it's just down a level or two and what exactly that is Shanko and whether you want to test that to individuals not showing up or the way people are now preparing for furia or the lack of innovation I'm not sure if it's a sum of all the parts but it's not looking great for you so far here. Yeah, it's a combination of things. I mean, you talk about a map or Mulder has three kills. 1980, yeah. Yeah, right, especially on the CT side, he's fallen off this year and he's the primary operand. We know how explosive of a player he can be, right? Like, that's one of the factors. Yuri's level, we talked about that as an anchor, obviously really important because you're not always going to be right with your setups. Like, on a map like Mirage, you're not going to want to fight for mid sometimes and more of your resources are going to be there and Yuri is going to be on his own and of course he's not supposed to win the round right then and there but give me something right give me a kill and buy me some time or you know stay alive and buy me time and we haven't seen that as much this year and you know Navi on the other side we talked about it they're just a different team now after a couple of tournaments winning one getting into the final of the other right playing with a lot more confidence this is another one of those maps and it happens most to Mirageber, Ima just had a great great performance. Let's talk about Ima. Where is he in the server? Where is he today? Well great on this map you know where it was the same case yesterday he's played four maps so fine in the tournament and he's either the top fragger either the highest rated player on the server or he's the lowest rated player on the server. Yesterday he had a fantastic first map as well then he had a terrible second map on Inferno I think it was where he finally got a kill I think 17 rounds into the game or something like that and then he had a decent showing on the third map. Today he's firing on all cylinders as Janko said. Mirage is his playground. The T side of Emma on Mirage has always been one of the strongholds. So it's not that I'm surprised. It's just that we don't see it often, you know, that a player has that, I guess, capability and ability to be either the most inferential player on the server or the player that is the most absent. And it's a small sample size. There's just been four maps at this tournament, but there's also a bit of pressure relying on Emma right now. I think he needs to play well in the foreseeable future if the conversations surrounding frozen potentially joining Navi etc. Sarah has to die down there's no rumors this is just your wish list like you just want frozen on Navi to some degree but but you'd agree with me right if Emma is not performing then he would be the first one to potentially be let go if you want to bring it I like for the other theory crafts were like you bring him in for a Lexi and then Emma becomes the IGL but yeah I don't think Navi with the way they've been playing are even considering changes of any kind whatsoever but I think it's It's also when you look at games like this, it's what's so frustrating about this season almost, right? Because it's like, what's going on with these teams? Like, teams like Furia, right? You just go completely missing in a game, but I think it's important, and we heard it from Niko in his interview, too. It's just like, MR12, man. I'm not sure that we're still like fully used to it, right? Because sometimes stumps just happen. You lose the 4-spire, right? You're 4-1-5-1 down, you lose the 2nd pistol. Like, it's very easy to get stomped. get out of hand fairly quickly and also you can get back into them real quick right like in case Furia won the second pistol and converted all of a sudden it's 9-6 right like if they get a quick reset we get a close game so I hope that at least from the players side and team side of things you know they're not as emotional right like you just understand hey games like this happen yes we were off to a slow start we didn't really show up but that's just when that happens this is how it can go in MR12 and that's why you have a big opportunity to turn it around on your own map, coming up next. Yeah, which is where I was going to go with this, because if you think about Dust2, if Fury of Pig does give Navi the CT-sided start, does that spell more troubles, more woes out of the beginning, out of the gate? I think to me that's the map that's going to be interesting and I expect it to be close and I've been wrong with the prediction so far. Today I expected Spirit and Falcons to be a close game. I expected this one to be close as well. You said to yourself, I think Navi have leveled up on Dust2, so they're definitely a match for Furia when it comes to that. And I think that the most important player for Furia on the Dust2 side has always been Molotov. The way he's been dominating with AWP, the way he's been taking initiative, the way on the CT side that he's willing to fight in middle Austin with AWP as well, lock down rotations and make it tough for the T-side to gain map control without using a lot of utility. So I think there's a lot of positives to be said about Furia and Molotov, but if he's absent, then I think it's fragile as well to some degree. degree. So yeah, I've said it before and I'll happily say it again. I haven't been impressed with 3-0 so far in 20-26 and with the way they played on the first map right here, I'm not too sure I'm going to be impressed either. And you need to be proactive on the CT side against Navi, right? Like you need to take calculated risks, whether you're going to try to fight for mid at some point, try to retake short, you know, whatever you leave open, they're going to be good with their reactions, they're going to be able to figure out where the gap is. So you constantly have to play those small mind games where you know either you're disguising what you're trying to do or you're sort of leaving something open on purpose so you can get back to it and and uh re-aggress right and get some openings on that side. If you just play sort of default vanilla setups against Navi I don't think you're going to have a fun time. Running into that MR12 idea you know if you're fury you just shut up here to this tournament and obviously there's a lot of tension you want to try to get your way through to the playoffs, you want to be in the arena in front of the crowd. That definitely plays into the MR12 factor. These games go fast. These things play to a tremendous point real quick and when you get snowballed like that on map 1, you have to go ahead and wipe it away from map 2 and dust 2. Jacob, what do you do? I mean, we've seen it happen to Navi yesterday. They won the first map against Bay 13-0 and he thinks himself okay, this game is over and then they go into the second map, their own map pick by the way and they lose was it 13-4? They end up making a game out of it. So Navi has been a victim of that before as well. So I think Furia can still be somewhat comfortable that if they come in on Dust2 and they play better, if they play well, it's up to themself at the end of the day, then we can still have a game. So, yeah, the simple answer to your question traces, play better than we saw on Mirage, you know? And then again, I think all players, and then you will probably attest to that as well, you still feel like it's in your own hands. It's not that it's Navi's playing at a level right now where you would attest them to be Vitality, whereas if Vitality is playing well, we're not gonna win regardless of how we do, whereas if you're Furia and you play well, there's still a good chance that you're beating Navi. not the unbeatable or at a level that can't be reached at the moment. Unfortunately for Furia, Navi probably learned their lesson yesterday, not to get ahead of themselves after a dominant first map win. But yeah, I mean, talking about Rio and Brazilians playing in front of the home crowd, I mean, we all remember the Major and Furia and their deep run at the tournament. I mean, you're in case Rato were a part of that roster. So they've dealt with those expectations and how to deal with it, right? And at some point you just have to find a way to get it done. You just have to do a little bit better. We saw a lot of frustrations from Yikindar too, right? Like this year in some games, I've seen him fall back into that mode where he's constantly seeking a play. Like he's really, really forcing some of those opening fires. Was like old Yikindar? Yeah, exactly. And it becomes a bit of a liability because then they're in a lot of 4v5 situations. And those are hard to crawl back into. So they need to find some balance with his aggression and sort of a player he is, but then also being balanced and not being predictable. Jacob, real quickly, the odds of us needing that third decider, that nuke. I'd say 40%. I have Nali as the favorite still on Dust2. I think they're gonna two over this one, but I wouldn't rule it out. And I think Furia can definitely put up a great fight right here, but given what I've seen in 2026 so far, given what I've seen from Molozor and Yuri, you can never that matter as well. I'm afraid that Furia right now is not in a state of mind or at a place where I'd expect them to be, Navi, playing as well as they are. Kill on the same way. They've been played by a lot of slow starts, Fiora, in the season. I mean, if you go back to Krakow, it was a lot of three mappers, right, and eventually making it all the way into the grand final. So I think they'll bounce back on Dust 2, and hopefully we see that this either as well. Yeah, and maybe we will need that. That is Nuke. Should we need it right now, though? We need to go to a quick break, so we can come back with Dust 2 and get this one right back on our way. You're watching Intel Extreme Masters Rio de Janeiro 2026. We'll go right back after this. Placent matches set your starting point. Facet rating measures your impact as you climb. The soft elo reset narrows the gap between the highest elo players and the rest of level 10. Your starting point will be based on your recent elo inactivity. We're introducing Facet Rating, so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet Rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match, taking into account the full situation. Season 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck and have fun! What's he looking at? Inspired by our French comrades. I've decided to shuffle things up. We are swapping rules against pastoral fear. Wait, does that mean... Yeah, it does. It's stopping time! Alex, the machine! Tell me, how is the shuffle? Even though it seems like they're doing a delay today. Er, you're too... You must have confidence in the Shuffle. You ordered all of this! Now hold on a second! You have no authorization! You have no job! All you have to do is burn your hands! You have no choice! And if things get tough, we shall do it again! What the hell is going on here?! Take back your hands! Merci beaucoup! I got a chance to talk to Mikaze from Navi and obviously you were joining this team that was kind of called a no-star team but from Academy this will happen like nine months ago recently you've been Becoming that star. Do you feel it kind of yourself or these people are talking about it? I mean I don't feel it fully myself. So maybe yes. I mean I should probably ask this your teammates But how did you grow in these nine months in Na'Vi 4 now? It's been a pretty tough battle obviously coming into pure tier one, but I think you're developing from tournament to tournament. Yeah, when I joined from Na'Vi Junior, I would say like first four or five months it was hard, because it was like fully different system, whole wide playing in Na'Vi Junior, and it took time to get used to play it, and I would say it was hard, but at least I'm enjoying, so it's good. It's so obvious that you're enjoying this. I mean, recently getting an MVP at EPL, Rotterdam, second place. Does this help your confidence? Because some players actually don't really care that much about it, so I want to hear your opinion. What does this do to your performance? To be honest, if you ask me right now about MVP, I don't care. Maybe like the first two days I would care, but right now not that much. And maybe it helps a little bit confidence for sure, because we play Final of Vitality and it was not that easy match for them. Like we made some maps to struggle versus them and it was good and let's see now One personal question now Obviously you're coming from the Navi junior and you were promoted as the only guy the rest of the guys went to FUT And as we were arriving here to I am real ditches won a tournament their first tournament right? I wanted to ask you are you still in touch with them? Are you are you happy for them? Are you in touch or maybe is that is that right rivalry then you're just kind of like there Are there your enemies now? No, no, they're always my brothers, like, to be honest I'm always speaking to them like every day. We are like getting touch, want to message, because Krabin is like my best friend from Koso and we are always talking, but all those players also, also like Kuz, we have good relationship and I mean, they're playing good and they deserve that, they want that tournament, I'm happy for them. You want to play against them at one point? As soon as possible? Of course. Makes sense obviously, good luck with the tournament obviously and sometime down there in the future against their FUT as well. the runner-up, the second best team right now, the guys that could look to challenge vitality. And Navi said, have you not been watching? Have you not seen the last two events, right? Back to back grand finals, taking a trophy as well, sure. No track record against team vitality, but that can be excused for the meantime. Maybe we'll have to wait for the playoffs, Harry. Maybe we'll have to wait for a rematch. Navi, a match away from Gar- a map away from guaranteeing a playoff spot here against Furia. And this would really legitimize the series if they could do it in two. Oh, it really would. And I mean, Nabi would in their own map pick happens once in a blue moon. So let's see if they can nail this chance at a two at O. Dust 2, CT side starts, Fury get to call the shots. Fury didn't have any success in those pistol rounds on map 1. You would love to change that now. Just get a bit of pep in your step. spotted over here at the car and it's Kcerato out through short trying to be the answer on this A here. He's dealt with Eema. That's a lot of pressure on these guys in at the site. Mikazi head on a swivel but these sites been lost and even though bit arrives with these dual burratas it's a 2v4, a rough round, a rough retake ahead of Navi if they even give it a look in and they're head in for the hills. So all right, Furia on the board early, that holds a little bit of promise at least. Because the thing that stood out about Mirage was just how uncompetitive that map was, right? Na'Vi looked really, really good. Didn't really have any issues, nothing you could nitpick and try and pull apart about their performance there. Meanwhile, fury it didn't really show up it felt like oh so would have had to have some conversations ahead of dust to these kills matter more for not being they do for fury and because he could drop an m4 it's gonna buy Famis armor instead I'd like to see a wonderful scout but he's not gonna be available so deal instead And sure, Fury won their first pistol of the series, but let's hope they can convert it for their sake. It's not the most threatening buy, but two Famic's makes it interesting here for Narvi. down to whether they're in the right position. Both B side. Bits and Mikazi fighting together. Oh my god, Bits gotta get away. You have Kevlar. Leave me, me. Well, congrats to Wonderful for winning the Famous Giveaway. He's been throwing that over. Still, in the right place right now, R-Navi. Oh, they're going to be... They're going to be smoked, lobbed in. Oh, they're going up, Kat. Oh, dear. They're going into the stack. Oh, dear. This could go very wrong, couldn't it? players here. One of the two rifles as well. Molly forces the fight, makes them happen, but right now they're all coming up in favor of Narvi, it's Wonderful's double. Molodoy does what he can in response. Good tap at range on the Glock, he's made this one possible. Got a 2v2 that they've got to break through right now, they're doing it! Molodoy secures a third! And at this point I mean so much bloodshed out towards the short side, Mikazi feels like he may as We'll give this to go. It's a 1v2 fighting chance. It's a lengthy reposition out towards long MP7 not the gun for the job you can Denise a tuck in play of his teammate Because they no kids on the clock and then a jump caught by Molotov's good little four kills from Molotov in a 2v4 And that's what keeps fury alive up against a very threatening stack with all their eggs in the right basket, and they get scrambled. 2v5 in fact with 4 for Molotoy. Absolute saviour of fury, finally getting to play the game and even getting an AWP for his troubles. You saw what happens when Molotoy kind of gets off to a rough start on map 1. How's it going to be when he's red hot from the word go? All comes out very early into this T side. A stark difference from what happened on Mirage. We were saying it felt like he barely ever got to don the gun. Very flashes. It's one thing we saw yesterday from Fury that was just unstoppable. Yuri's utility was mind-blowing. While I passion spent the whole game white screen. screen. So make control taken, weapons removed, any hope of Narvi dwindling. Lexi here's a drop getting inquisitive. How are you two out? Guns on in time and so Lexi nothing done on the P250 push. Bomb gets out of there as it was juggled onto Yuri and this one's nice and safe. It's a pistol and the conversion for Furia. the gun is not happening. Furia, lock it out. 3-0 start. Fantastic beginning for Furia considering they started both those halves in the hole back on Mirage. Arby's first full gun round with an AWP for Wanda4 as well. No waiting required. Yeah, I got a long spawn right now. It feels like you might try and use it. Playing an anti-rush over the wards long with wonderful offering support. That's what they've at least got this space. No early clashes in this round. Well, cool. Because these rounds over. Spooksman, give it and it takes it away, so Keisarato is just going to tuck himself in. Try and maintain the 5v4. Helping hand might get him out of this corner if he wants. Into the scope of Molotoy. shot the kingdom finds the entry on long and so wonderful at a commission to be five furious bomb out long still being a little bit cautious here but no reason to be no one in the site now if you're really leaning back to save so furious recovering well at the beginning of this game pistol converted to be five one First gun round tucked in No desperate need to hunt but Yuri will get curious to roll out into woods be just to try and remove these guns caught in the crossfire Navi will get out with both of these rifles still it's not much of a parting gift there is a world where you could try and piece together a buy again here and now with four guns in play. I feel like, yeah, I'll find a way for the AWP. That's just a bit of a partial around that save. Still a chance to remain competitive early. But a welcome return to the server for Furia. Just missed it there, but Molodoy even hit the tag to really sweeten the deal in this round. Wonderful Scout is out. I'm always watching when Wonderful's got the Scout. Guess where I was here very, very quickly. Having an eyes on middle, so it's something you've got to be considering, but you haven't really worried about these fast short walks just yet. Could get caught here. Oh wow. Don't go the way of beer. How long is short space and so if you feel like they want to do something with it, but they've taken a lot of damage here on the scale. Oh, no. Get with it. Chance just to think that is a little bit prettier for Na'Vi there. There's a lot of damage out towards mid and then falls on back. Na'Vi are in a fantastic position here to win this round. they're like a weaponry, Ima very strong in this spot. Running into the big guns, Arfuria. Oh, nearly the line up there. I really need Ima to connect on one of these full blind. Yuri able to find it. Deals with the ratman. That was one of the big guns brushed aside. Jump shot attempt for Wonderful comes up short. We take already on all of Navi here to scrap out towards the sport and thriving in the chaos our furia Wonderful scout can't connect that he gets sandwiched so still flawless And all that earlier damage doesn't come to matter almost reductive, but just miss shots here for Navi That's what it comes down to if Ema has anything more in that position Feel like Navi are in with a really good chance of winning that round. He's just missed on three low bursts and then they have enough time to molly him. Unfortunate scenes here for Narvi, but Furia are more than happy with these errors. Five zero star Narvi now sounding the alarm. Last two times that these teams have played on dust has been dominant wins for Furia. Oh, tag on the cross. Wonderful when fishing, but core nothing. This is already a great start to the round. kind of given the illusion that you're out on long you've got good space there and this earlier tag forcing a reaction out of Navi goes one for one out in the tunnels. It's a really good way to use your low player and just trade him for a full health player. Navi get out all the better in a sense. That was also the bomb spotted crossing into those long doors. See Navi, my tunnels control taken with the bomb spotted going awards long. I don't really have a lot of questions as to where Furia were positioning themselves in this round. Still holding on a mid. You got two players here, right? In the lower from earlier, Mikazi from that push up into the upper tunnels and still roaming around on Catwalk, willing to help him. Oh, they might catch players turning the wrong way. As one, Yuri finds the gap, makes it a double, and now in big trouble, Navi thought they had them right where they wanted them, but slip in the net. Yuri gets behind enemy lines, nowhere left to run for the captain, Alexi cut down, Furia saved themselves in that one. That's a beautiful call there for Fallen to walk back middle, a ballsy, late round decision, maybe even Yikinder called it to be honest. leading up Catwalk or leading up Long while his team go Catwalk and they just find the gap in RV. Seed of smoke on the Long Cross, everybody looks towards it. Shot in the back as Mikazi just misses the timing by seconds in lower. And Molodoy, that's third round in a row. He's gonna really make things easier when your B player is permanently wounded and this clash at Long is just what fury your ones rabid fights and simply done seven zero to different game now this a grudge no more. Furia stomping Navey into the dirt. Hot hands have mattered in this one, right? It just kind of... As I get in And that early momentum has been such a huge nudge, the idea that, you know, Molledoy had like a three kill first half back on Mirage, never really got going. Just thwarted early on and couldn't recover. Seeing games like that from Ema here in Rio as well. Right now it's Furia riding with all the momentum behind them. Navi left looking at forances. They're more of an aggressive stance out here towards long. They've given up less of the map. Off the rip, kind of taking priority away from these midfights and instead looking elsewhere. It's Alexi on this island towards long, desperately needed to get one of them as they come through the choke point. And even at the reactions here, the re-aggress into the upper tunnels, you lose a player but you gain something, you get info here, you better guide it and where to place this stack. You still need the kills, wonderful, and the cars you provide won. With a kill on the B player pushed all the way through the tunnels, the wonderful orb spotted over the water. It's a clear picture for Furia where the empty side of the map is. So he's just lurking with the AWP at some of these rounds, and he puts a smoke behind him, then moves through it. So Navi don't think he's out middle. That almost paid off. He slinks back behind the smoke, because his team already have B. Bits allowed to cross, but he won't be allowed entry into this site. Yuri has the cover from Khaar, a 2v3 that Navi looked to attempt with no kit, and Yuri is ready. It looks to pre-fire. Good tag, but Yuri gets the frag, and two low players. Doesn't matter, because WandaPool's got an AWP, and he's walking away. Furia, excellent mid-round again. The master of these moments. Amoledoy just, where you least expect him right now, keeps catching players off guard. Because he knife out after he kills the lurker, he thinks that's enough, he doesn't know. And Furia, yet to drop around on this two-side, a zero beginning. Na'Vi getting out-positioned. I mean, reassuring as well, right? Well, you've kind of been looking at Na'Vi with Mb in the squad that's a map up. Very reassuring to see Fury bounce back like this after a failure to launch at the top of the series. Back in the swing of things now. And a chance at a flawless half would be one hell of a return to form. Oh, Navi got a 13-0 yesterday. Well, they get thrown back in their face. Still waiting for that change of tune here for Navi yet to appear as close rounds. I'm thinking of a sword now. It's an AWP with a half-bite. And Furia just looked to brutalize on this V-side, walking ahead of the smoke, when damage done, they don't finish the job. If that kill comes into WONDERFUL, it feels like it's round done. That was three players spying on the catwalk there by Kei Serato. Oh, wait. He's asking for a flash. He knows what's on the other side. Teed up with a flashbang. Fallen goes right through. Well hold down the mid-cross. It's falling or it's nothing. He's trying to cut this part that towards short, but he'll get cut down Molodoy now moves in to join him It's that kill from Yuri that might change where this one's ending up back forth and back again The luck orp is back in middle still one more man inside of be to worry about a missed shot from Molodoy It leaves it just on Yuri that steps heard by the in at the car and so now V are all here This should be an unwinnable clutch Yuri dead as he rounds the corner and now V strike when you least expect it there to hero open that one saved for it by Wonderful collection of pistols. That's where they break the eight round streak I think fear him But maybe worried that there was a stack in that beep on side because they spotted wonderful view up They tagged it they didn't get a kill and the new player was close And so they cancel the call but if they just keep going in there, there's very little resistance There's no one on the bomb site. There's no one on the close left. They have a lot of room. They're down Close margin And still RV get it done But it's a sign of the times that fury are getting that cheeky to just walk four players in to be save that for later I mean that last round was a bit of a departure from the norm, Cowork's been a real struggle for Na'Vi throughout this map, they've lost it again here, had a couple of rounds where they've had to stack in the right place, they've had a lot of defenders over to towards A and haven't been able to stop Furia when they go for this site take. Alexi has been a part of that problem over the wards long. He's locked in a fight. He doesn't know he's having it with the Akinda. Sending. Oh! That's the collateral for Wonderful! And that'll change the tune of this round. One shot, 5v3. And with Alexey winning his fight over and long, it's hard, you're hard pressed to see a way in which Furia can save themselves here. Yuri trying to provide some leeway. Gabb found out towards B but Mikazi there to punish and as Molodoy moves in, okay, he gets that one. Let's get weird. How much further could he really take this? Tech 9 and an AWP, low time as well, forces the fight and Emo does give it to him, but the AWP not ready to fire off in time. starting a streak very late in the half. The kill for Mikazi there can't be overstated how important it is. If Uri can find a second frag and then with the Molly down a window providing a path for Molly to come out of the orb, that's a 2v5 cooking just by virtue of having to be bombsite. It feels even like, you know, even if Uri doesn't get the kill, even if he just gets across, that's a big problem. Went back for the fight, didn't realize Mikazi was close. 802 though, this is scraps we're talking about for Navi, the last four and a half is their goal. Lovely, double for wonderful skewered on shorts. Do we have an all battle? Wonderful jump set Forever scared of this B site star here for furio with a couple rounds left They go quick up cats It's a bit of a reaction because they hear bit taking you know like deep long doors They had a lot of flashes there to help him out as well That flash was for a and it caught wonderful I think This is now a February off the ground for Navi. Oh, it's just got worse. Oh No, oh Molotov shrinking himself down Unable to get away to the corner because he's been found in the downtime there That's how towards be and that is the site opened up bits giving chase through the fire through the flames And now I'm in a backline your kindar's got his number And T'Navi were clutching at straws hoping they could find their way to four rounds. Spurier have just denied it there. Chaos, man. Pure chaos. Spurier get the entries, they still run out through cat smoke into two players, and thank goodness the bomb doesn't get stuck, gives them a way out there. Another round where Mikazi's aggress gets caught, but it's hard to blame him with How quick his team get massacred in the middle. Spotted. And dealt with. Small doors map now. It looks like Fury just want that B bomb site. In fact, there's the only option left. Navi take back long control It needs to be very careful as they come through this smoke It's the timing on this bits dead surely just gonna get the smoke off Just gonna crouch down, but there's no stopping the tide of fury. They're already through that utile Yeah, that's how he dead as he tries to just scramble in and look for anything well on your way to double digits now Now you get a bomb down, 4v2, and Na'Vi so far away. This is one hell of a resurgence out of Furia. And a fall down for Na'Vi. It's fine good damage, but this B site is so tricky, even in even odds. Let alone a 2v4 like this, AWP primed and ready to go on the window and 10 rounds secured for Furia. They get a bit of revenge by the time dust two rolls around and they're looking to make this a three mark series after all to be a part of the game. With playoffs in Rio on the line, fury refused to go down without a fight 13 three against them on Mirage. Furious send the message right back to Navi and it is received 10 to first half dominant tea side Moledoy moments and your kinder surprise. It's not V who are already thinking about Fury returned to form much welcome in this playoff deciding match Yeah, I mean they were on easy street here on map to Win the pistol find the conversions proceed to go on an eight round streak That's a left themselves with very little to do in this second half. I'll shout through these middoors. Mikazi doesn't go and take the space. Instead this one building to be an A finish. They lose a man out towards Long and his cat control is not coming for free either. able to wrestle that kill back at least still fallen gets here in time and it's a clean tap for a second in the round the captain oh no in the hit it's your kinder offered up on a silver platter backstab is a little bit weird wonderful takes one more with him now it's a lexie tries his hand at the full commit they're closing in and it gets denied don't even get the reward at the end of that one fallen puts on a clinic with four sick round for fallen to I think it starts a long onto bit as well. It's walking out through doors, goes on to find four frags, denying the plant Alexi optimistic as Na'Vi were looking for anything there and what was they 2v4. Nice! Boa, brother, carayno, boba, boa! Should just lock in this map now. Both pistols for Furia. A bomb-plantless force. A hope and a dream for Na'Vi. All right wonderful I had to win that fight if you want to have any hope that's managed to live up to his half of the bargain and now that little gets passed off to mccasey defense is pretty split here and now via getting in position to make moves making them quickly out towards short more than we can't hold them on the cross who fall into a tree short will be safe as he deals with wonderful lay out through the long doors is just this round's already too far gone surely See hit something crazy. It does feel done and there's two M4s at long So now if you're gonna get really well armed moving forward, it's a huge recovery needed, but Bear minimum is that force by wind putting furia on the ropes Trying to save as much as they can Windforce by check. There's still a ways to go, I think before you get blade smiling, but uh... He knows it has to start somewhere. I'm a little bit scared we're going to make an appearance. Oh, that's a tag through the smoke. Now I need to follow it up. The chance at a bit more will get finished off. Can't connect twice on the car seat You can that no through the smoke it's being considered any further is a dead sentence I'll step for bit so no reason to move I like a bit makes one step and it just walks all the way away so we can just permanently stuck in this corner can't move anywhere can't help his team and too fearful to reaggress into what is now empty are we about to hit be get blocked is that enough to stop them though. Tempted to go through, but Lexi, calling them back. This could be weird, fallen. Spots that rotate. They're still looking down here on long. Two are deciding against it, timing missed. Lexi securing the site means that bomb just move straight in. And so, Narvi are fine. Well played by Alexi, because the only way they can go wrong, I think Narvi would have been fine just hitting B anyway, but the smoke is scary. And the only way it can go wrong is if it's a B stack, right? Maybe all three players are tucked in on B right there, and Narvi go into the stack, they lose a round, devastating. But Alexi, right before Narvi hit that site, realizes he just needs to walk out and get the info, get some numbers. Maybe he spots a player or two and that info is worth a death Spotting two players means hey guys a four and one be just hit the side. It's fine But he realizes nobody's home and so now we can rotate out another clean enough around five guns stay alive for now Baby steps in the right direction. Still yet to see a full gun round. Oh, that's a really nice shot out of Fallon. Got a gun there for K Serato. This is a pretty tricky round in front of an RV now. Just going for the full long group. While this has gone on, the fury cleared out both upper and lower tunnels. Fallon still ripping heads off. That's two kills and a tag put down range from the captain. the scouting . Now finds its way into Mollado his hands. He's feeling inspired after that fallen double seems like it. Finish is the kill on bit finishes what fallen started. Oh, a navi. This one rapidly feeling like it's getting away from them. Alexi card stand tall. It's double kill for a fallen scout. Molodoy puts it to use as well with two of his own and Furia just lock him at point like that simple Sickening way to get there, but maybe Navi already knew it was inevitable Oh, I just so much confidence to hang around the middle till Navi eventually block him. Catlong split, but double setup after you've fallen. This is a guarantee one kill position and then you're killed. You're never ready for him. Can fall and find more value. will do still looking to check the corner but no trade is the orpice holding the line. Yikinda he's got the bomb here I think this one is about as good as done unless Mikazi can bail them out. Yeah it's a nice kill but he's got a long road to run if he wants to help out in this push out on the long side. Mikazi a wonderful split up and wonderful just decides to concede go all the way back. Again I was actually getting chased and that's the bomb toppled away from Navi out in middle. Makazi's even fired off of the long side so they know where he is. The right hand's on the wall for this one. Makazi big clutch needed but very little time to work with. A fury relieving nothing a chance. Why give him the fights? Why give him the opportunity to claw this one back. And this one is over. Furia lock it in, doing two Navi. What they did to them at the start of this series. Hell of a turnaround on Dust2. The playoffs still in the conversation. This one now goes the distance. We're heading to Nuke as the decider. Nuke, absolutely necessary. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Navi jumping into the server and jump out nearly as quick as they they got in there. They're kind of a run back of the similar score line we got in the map prior, but obviously in the opposite direction, which does set us up nicely for a V01 at the end of the saw, no matter what. Guys, right out of the gate, let's start with you, Pemp. What did you see? Well, I saw Feria, who played much, much better, and I saw Naby, who is kind of, I guess, doing the same tendency as they've been doing lately, where they can't seem to strike two maps together in a row. If you look at the results of the past two months, most of the games are always heading to three maps. Most of the games I guess more often than not, the games are them winning their obsessions map, losing their own and then going into the third map and doing a good job. So in that regard, I guess I'm not really surprised by them, but I don't know about you, Janko. We haven't had a close map today. It seems like every single map has to be a washout one side or another. And for that, I can't find any explanation. Yeah, we had in the first series that we didn't do, but for us, absolutely. And I think this is, you know, Fury are finally showing up to the match, right? We saw Donk had the worst map of his career against Falcons on Mirage, then Mulder had the worst map of his, also on Mirage in the first map of this series. So him and the rest of Fury woke up, arrived, were able to get a good start and really never look back on this too. Yeah, because really in that first map it was a question I was wondering, okay, is Mollet away gonna wake up? Is he gonna play the game with us today and it appears as though he did get that message you did get the memo very much did had a great showing you know had a lot of impact in in the first half did it with different types of guns let's put it that way as well so good to see him bounce back it's not often that we see more though I have two bad maps in a row but it has been the story so far 26 that he hasn't been I guess as good as we saw in 2025 he's not a bad player per se it's not that he's in a crisis either but he hasn't really been doing too well compared to where you'd like him to be and where he should be winning Furia, because he has been the extractor for this lineup for a long, long time, and you can clearly see the correlation between him playing well and Furia obviously winning him. Yeah, but then you also combo that with Fallen on the CT side, what is the little procure here for the side of Furia. It was good work done, and it was a good domination of work as well for a response to what your first map in the series was. Yeah, absolutely. Good from them to bounce back right after what was a tough start and on their own map pick. So we'll see what that means going into the third map. These series are always a little bit weird when you have two stomps and that you go into the third map and both teams are thinking, all right, which way is this one gonna go? Like who's going to get off to that strong start now? And if it doesn't go your way, you know, just having to figure out something, be able to make the adjustments necessary to still get back into the game just because your 5-0 down doesn't mean the game has to be over right then and there. No, and I don't think it does. I think we can even illustrate some of that right about now, Janko. Yeah, absolutely. So, for Furia, they didn't really have to do much themselves on their T side early on, right? In the first gun round there was that fallen spam kill through the smoke, or mid, right? And a couple of punishes against the rest of the nine players. So, into the second gun round we go to go into throw some early utility on Long, Ima, this is enough for him to fall back because if you look at the radar, you will see that the opening from Navi was 2A, 2B and wonderful with the AWP sticking on mid, right, and they don't want to fight for Long in this sort of a scenario. So as soon as they see some utility, they want to fall back, they're hoping to maybe get it for free and off of the back of that, they're going to react into B tunnels, try to catch Kcerato, they do, but not before he finds a kill, right. So you see them continue to be proactive, Ema is going to find one more kill. So now in a 3v4 scenario, they're trying to play it safe on the side of Na'Vi. They're not pushing their advantage anymore, they have a player in upper B, Ema fell back from short, two more players towards the A bomb site and here you can see a kinder about to throw some utility, just the cross smoke while his teammates try to flank around. So a nice little call in the 3v4 to still draw the attention of the opponents, bait them out. Yuri caught great timing, Makase didn't see him on this lure, so he's going to be able to get two kills. Moldoi gets the kill on Makase, you see he doesn't expect an extra player there, and Moldoi even gets the final one. So this was some very cool work from Furia in the mid-round, also showcases how they were able to get a lot of these openings and make life easier for themselves on the T side. Also, one of those rounds that Blade is always going to point out in the Navi camp, that is a bit atypical. Seems like the communication was off, the fact that you have two players on Catwalk who's unaware that there can be a player possessing it towards Short right here. Maybe because the player in Lower Dark, you know, said that he would be covering Short at that point, and there was a timing window, but... That's also part of the story here, that Furia played exceptionally well, sure, but Navi just, you know, nowhere to be found on the server either. As I said, that's been kind of a tendency for them. As of late, they do well, they win most of their games, But they do have certain maps or certain half where they just doesn't get anything done whatsoever. And it's something we ask played about during the Blast Tournament as well. And you couldn't really explain it. So it's just something that I guess it happens, you know, it's hard to find an explanation for it. But definitely something that needs to work. Let's focus a little bit more in depth here on the Navi side. Let's do that by talking about Ema. Where was he at in Map 2? Well, he's continuing the Tournament. He's played five maps in the Tournament so far. And he's been top fragging in two maps. And he's been bottom fragging in three maps. So it's either very good for him or not so great. This time around, and does too, didn't get too much done. You know, again, I don't think he's the reason why they lost. I think Nami as a team just didn't show up and he was part of that product. But it is kind of interesting that he's now had five maps in a rowways constantly altering between being the bottom fragger or the top fragger. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, there was some unfortunate rounds for him towards the end of the first half, right, where a kinder just pams him straight through the smoke. Sometimes those games happen. And it's hard to play when you're playing from behind and losing a lot, not just because of the score line, Captain Obvious, yes, I know, but at that point your opponents are playing with a lot more confidence and the playbook is wide open, everything is available to them. They can go for some high-risk moves at that point in time because they have such a big buffer in terms of rounds and also in terms of the economy. So it's way more difficult for you to get reads on them, right? And to be able to sort of predict what they're going to try and do and remain in that rotator position That's where it gets tough. You don't have You weren't able to stop them anywhere So you have no way of conditioning them and sort of getting an inkling on what it is that they want to do Also the player type that he is, you know, he is a momentum player You know, and it's hard to kind of define exactly what makes a player a momentum player Not you breeze a great example back in time in Australia Once you get off to a good start once you're getting a bit of confidence yourself You perform better and some players are more potent to that and I think Emma is a great example of that once he's off to a great start Once he's feeling momentum under server. He's doing well But also a player that sometimes is struggling a bit to fight from behind and play from behind Which definitely was the case he endorsed as well And would it be fair to sort of put the assessment that you kinder can also be a moment the player because we see the high-risk high-reward Sort of scenarios he puts himself in and if he doesn't pull those off well, then yeah That's definitely a detriment to the team but in this one, you know a 4k we'll take that Yeah, we highlighted him as well and this is a very nice round from him, you know, Naby wins two in a row, maybe they could get to 8-4, win second pistol, make it interesting. But here, you know, he stepped up, nice little play, sneaky around the smoke and then just he continues to be a nuisance in that mid-side of the map. This is the killer, your reference. Not much to say here, if you're Ima right, but he just continued for Yeah, Kindar really punishing, you know the aggression from Bit here trying to get back towards that B bomb site right and in the end fallen is going to steal his ace not to very Captain-ish From him, but you know just to illustrate that we really did see a 180 from the individuals That's where you get where you can now, you know, you're 30 seconds into the round He's already through the smoke down towards mid-dose almost in CT spawn 27 seconds into the ground and you know he plays that kind of style of Counter-Strike and when you're up 8-2 you can allow yourself to take a bit more risk and that's where some of that momentum is kind of coming from. And I think on Nuke it's really important these two players that we pointed out because now for a long time it's been Mirage and Nuke. You know in 2024 it's been a lot of Mirage and Nuke and JL was a big part of that being the lobby player. Now Ima playing that instead of him, we don't see the same output and obviously with Jekinder outside, him and Makaze head to head, that's going to be a big part of this decider. Yeah, thinking about Nuke, I have a hard time believing that Jekinder will be able to be bad agress. I mean, it's just not designed that way, right, Jacob? It's just to find the same amount of impact, but CT side, Jekinder and Yacht, you can definitely be aggressive if you want to and he has a bit of a habit of doing so, so I think there's definitely a place he can do. I'm curious as well to Nuke, you know, Navi had the opportunity of allowing Inferno to be in the mix. That could have been the third map Furia chose between Nuke and Nubis, I believe it is. So they wanted to be Nuke and the reason I find that interesting is that we saw Navi pick Inferno yesterday as their map pick against Bate. Today they're the ones removing it in the second phase. So if anything, it speaks volumes to the strength of the map pool right now, where they can allow themselves to base on the opposition, base on the opponent to Sanna, I guess divert the map pool in a direction. So if I'm Blade of Na'Vi, I almost would have wanted to play Nuke right here and I'm curious to see what that game plan is and what they see against Furia that should be working out so well. Yeah, I think so. And I think when we look at Nuke and now that we've gotten both teams to have their sleeper map out of the way, Janko, who do you have to win? I don't know, man. Let's just go with a team that played well the last, right? So let's just go with Furia. They just had a good map, but not a good map from them. Why not? Yeah, well, might as well. And I guess we'll stick that. If you're watching this at home, you're going to go ahead and use that hashtag IEM, that's short for the Intellect Tree Masters, which is what you're watching. We're in Rio de Janeiro. You're being 2026. We're ready to get this one back on our way, but not before we go to a break, so we'll go anywhere. We'll be right back. Placent matches set your starting point. Facing rating measures your impact as you climb. The soft ELO reset narrows the gap between the highest ELO players and the rest of level 10. Your starting point will be based on your recent ELO inactivity. We're introducing Facet Rating, so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet Rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match. Taking into account the full situation. Season 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck and have fun! Come on! Erky Dog will be the second shot! That's my evil! Something's going so good, I love this deal! And that's what I do when it happens! Katowice! We are back! It's my favorite one. Good fire. It was easy. It didn't look easy, but I don't know. I don't know, we played on the one. Every one, so... I think it was Firefight. Yeah, I was live here. I looked in the top right. He was behind me. I'm looking in the top right, as you see. One, two, three, four. 47. Good. That's... Good, that's very good. This is actually new to me. I remember. Gross. Sucker. I'm through with you. Thanks for the sound. It's a long hair way. This is for the light. No, I thought I'm gonna die, but I just killed him. Oh, I remember this. It's me. Is this the knives? Yes. Sit. No. You're not even looking. Yeah, it was funny. After this round I had a lot of money. You had a lot of money? To be honest, I remember I had not a lot of bullets in my... I remember, if I remember correctly, I switched to USB and they didn't have a lot of bullets and that was... and praying that I will not... I saw it like, two days ago. I actually don't remember this habit. Nice shots. That was good. The first one I've probably given you. Yeah, it's kinda good, but... Visual kills forever. Yeah, nice and special here. He's doing every day. He's doing every day, every map. In control. I could do a case here, but Alex is tall. Alex helped, taking the round. Nice, good job. Look what he's done. He did very good. He crashed, went plus, and it's very good. Thank you very much. You should look at the flight. I think it's me again I thought it was going to be physical I didn't see the clutch, because I knew that I think it was slow and easy It was not hard I didn't see the jump again I didn't see the kills, I didn't see the clutch I thought it was going to be an important moment I didn't see it, it's nice And this has been a series dominated by momentum and momentum alone, right? Two dominant maps picked up, as Na'Vi starting us off with a very, very strong look in on their pick of Mirage, Furia able to bounce back just as hard, just as fast by the time Dust2 rolled around. Playoffs are on the line here, Furia want to be in front of that home crowd, Na'Vi stand between them and that goal. We're on Nuke as the decider. A day of ups and downs to Daniels posting their worst performances of all time. It was Donk and Molodoy today, both with 0.3 rated maps, literally career worse. So Molodoy definitely stepped it up back on Dust2 and dragged Furia over the line. I just want both teams to perform now here on Nuke and give It's going to give us a close affair. It's going to get tactical. It's going to get exciting and it's going to get hot here on this third map of the series playoffs await. Furia on home soil, Narvi off the back of back to back Grand Finals with more to prove and more to do. Can they do it in the group stage? Let's find out. It's been these T-side starts. 93 first half in RV and then a 10-2 for Furia. So then Sneaky over here towards the rampside with Alexey just throwing in a bit of Util in towards A, but there's a double ramp setup and those Dolbarettas on Caster Argus won't be here seriously at least it's not meant to. Ema comes through with a blinding double. Fuller might take up position and get that trade. It's still an advantage for Navi as they drop in Ramside. They're moving in towards this B site. Molodoid is the only guy down here. Road burn and he gets cornered trapped in it because he makes it a coffin. Oh, scared of the swing out of the door, but it's going to get that plant just a little bit delayed and not delayed enough to bait Furia back into this round. This is safe to say a winnable with a smoke in the way. Alexi caught on rampside, but Navi plenty of positions to pick and plenty of smokes to hide inside. Yuri desperately looking for this kill. Navi don't need these fights. Navi don't need these fights, but they're giving them away. Fall on low health. 1v2 in no time, looks for the kill and they don't bite, so Na'Vi a bit of a worry in a moment, but they will secure their pistol. Jump scare. It wasn't really a celebration, it was just a yell. A good sign though, Ima, you love that he started strong, right? right? Feels like whenever he kind of lights up those first few rounds, he just goes on a tear for the rest of the game. And so we're convincing double, really the double kill that won you the round if you're not the... fly back. Oh, it's the hack. Uh-oh. What do you think you realize now? This really isn't where you want to be. It goes down fighting. That was four Furia players on round for a second. His sight was wide open, but the hole's now been plugged. He's made it in towards the back of the sight, playing around this hot smoke. Worried about the the scale, Mikazi, will this position go unclear? Shot from olidoy. Hit the tag second time around, but I think this one's over. Timing event. Barrel in the way. Alexi spots it. And so there's the chance. Alright, there's an RV 2 and 0. Good as done. At least four spies have been scary all day long. Some very close rounds and some even converted ones for both teams. Can never be safe with these bomb plants. Even your kinder on notice low health. I'm wondering, I don't know. He's backing up. What do we think? He's good. Six damage. It's not the best save you've ever had. Interesting. Puria put a bit of money in here. Fulans dropped in M4 into play. Yeah, I mean, a anchor by MP9 play uproof play back side. That's kind of fallen. We think it's like boost outside with the M4 something like that. Again gimmick get it involved. Oh, tries his hand at the secret cross. No one on silo to spot that. So case or other does have a powerful position if they try and play for the yard. And he's He's also in a position to save if they just didn't A-pop or a quick ramp hit. And you know, Fallen can buy whatever, he can always make it work, so I like this investment. Furia, one of those teams who always try to not exactly reinvent the wheel, but try to figure out new ways to maximize output with the economy. you know those early furia buys where they would buy and be nines on the first gun round always been cheeky with those kind of things all the way just getting pushed off the line here around Navi to go back to an A-hits high setup hotroof and rafter and as caseurato gets curious he will be able to support this A-site it's mccasey's lurktiming that might have to come in clutch here for Navi. I feel like with enough time he should have K-Sorato's number. It's just the hits already on its way. K-Sorato will get to play it forward. Molotoy left as the sole survivor. Scout finds its way into the heavens again and can't connect on it. Navi, 3-0, conversions found in the presence of that gun. Might have come as a bit of a surprise. They still get through. They go into a full-man stack with the really quick ramp rotation to heaven and they close it out with Mikazi not even part of the hits there so really well done by Navi when you consider there's a rifle in play and there's some armored pistols as well clinical here's the gun round though and yeah Fallen's even got a phallus with nade so it's got pretty well here for fury at capitalizing on damage here even against downfence first Gunround catches him off guard finds the gap It's already a problem to solve for Furia, they surely heard him drop. Yeah, it's one of these things where it's it's fine to kind of ignore it for now Just acknowledge that there is a guy roaming around down towards Lola, but I Have to have something to show for it here and now with the odd smokes in and a chance to cross You're very worried about this plane of the lowest site need to try and stem the bleeding a little by corralling them out in the yard Now you're in big trouble because no one's even playing for amperation Molotov is all pink and Navi have gone down behind these smokes So with the vent cut off Navi have so much control on the map right now You might just be out of this one already. Oh, well, they're in your gender. I'm giving it a good puns though Is it you tell to lock down these angles so open sight lines available in this ramp hold? One shot from olidoy's, all that's come through here and bomb now planted, fury is still teetering around on the edge of this bombsite, do they just ride it off? It feels like they have to. Shouldn't go for this, there's no position, no smoke, not if you have ample players in the site. They're all here, they're grouped for it. This is really risky retaking, it might just end disastrously. Lexi double up close. Wonderful cleans the flank and now they know that it's too late to save. Lexi hops around the corner and makes it so. Warped for wonderful, secured and fourth round taken. Furia not making up their mind quick enough about going for that B retake. And would have just loved someone in the side, but they were so obsessed with stopping the cross in the first place. Three players fighting the yard smokes. By the time you came to go back to ramp, it was too late. Navi had caught some lovely rounds on his T side, across Mirage, and now Nuke. And this just hasn't been a series of comebacks either, you know. It's been very, very one-sided maps. Whoever's kind of found success in the early stages has gone on to steamroll Are we gonna get more of that now with Navi in pole position? Well we con round ahead of Furia and their hemorrhaging players So not gonna come here even though these forces have always felt fairly threatening. This doesn't feel like one of them Didn't see more, do I? Oh no Olig out and Mikazi well handled Five against two and just pistols here Simply done five alive naffy for control right now fury are getting bludgeoned You've been throwing a kind of litany of problems here to open this one up Yards become a real issue as the game's gone on. Hima kind of set a weird precedent as well to open things up with that instant ventrop in the first gum round. You don't really know what to expect here at an RV. So Fury, I don't really like how blind some of these rounds have felt. They come in with a bit more aggression here on the CT side. They've gone. They're all the way under the silo. You can now playing right at the front of the pack. Malaga is really trying to sell for you. Kind of not having this position, needing the smoke, spamming with orb. But as him in case we're all so far off, you can just got so much info. Navi threw a second wall. Because he is going to lurk outside here, but the rest of Navi in. So you're kind of going to get impatient. No, he just hard commits to this position and Macaulay has got to clear it. I feel like it'll be unlikely. Yeah, lazy check. You're kind of 5v4, Furia, ready. And you're telling your side players right now just ready yourselves, right? You've spotted it was just the Macaulay lurk on its own outside. And so batting down the hatches into this top site. doesn't have to be a lot of movement here for furia they've shut down the yard they've got fallen just playing for info over towards ramp in a very safe position and so no reason to move no reason to go looking for these fights there's really no options for navi saving in a 5v4 or 5v3 I mean it's It's only enough in the game that I haven't exactly got a wealth of money, but a couple of buys left in them. Obviously, you just don't like their odds. If you're happy with that one, more than happy. They get to keep all their guns. So nice setup for your kinder, and it goes a long way with two players full baiting for his position by a long margin. This is the earliest in the first half. A CT gun round has come through. So let's see if you can actually offer up some resistance here. And they're not just, you know, ripe for reset. They get five alive. They get you as well. So if you can still read by no matter what happens here, even ashes, the level of security that you've not been used to having in the series so far, Well, literally starts down towards lower with this AWP So nice change Then drop fake I like that third smoke. Let's across the garage and also, stops info if you break one of the two. It's going to find Hazelato in main. Good shots for bit. Double headshot and Navi with full control. although he still could win the round in lower bomb is coming in And it's almost all of Navi here with him But he doesn't believe Starting to shuffle away. The outside's been so quiet for so long while the toy comes back right place right time shot lands You've seen that all pin and lower does that scare you a bit still offering results trying to carve a path a backup option here Four Navi three kills deep on the round. He'll knock out a fourth as well This one has been assigned sealed and delivered by bit single-handedly. How the hell does he win that 5v4 and as well? It's had to be bit with his clinical headshots Fodoy dead man walking not getting that gun out of there It is all bit baby four kills in a huge gun round Navi saved for it and it pays off off. The initial double already felt fantastic, you know, you do just get a bit of that fear creeping when the orb fires off at lower, the rest of the map is a little bit tenuous and Bitz having to do it all while he's like 10 health from those earlier fights. Yeah, if he doesn't climb heaven there, Narvi looking like they might just have to go out single door and Molodoy was ready for it after his first pick in secret. So that could have been a, you know, Molodoy moment. Instead, Bik gives them a path back into that top site and even has great cover to clear CT event. So, A-man brain, position pays off. Look at that. Just have Lexi even call the money, perfectly. You know what they're up against? Fury with another rifle round. Swing and a miss for Molodoy and an attempt at the door fight. Daring them to go down the vent. Smoke's getting deployed again outside. I know if you've done a really nice job just with these smoke walls of kind of constantly keeping the pressure on in yard Right using it as a bit of a red herring in some of these rounds Maybe it's you know, so Decisive in the cross. They've given fury or a lot of reason to worry about it McCarthy will creep past with these smokes Rest of RV looking rampside bit Nice to leave the charge in it's double setup here for fury a first man dead in your kinder brushed aside backstab No way spotted and mollied off Yuri doesn't get to play Sick for a lexie not taking the fight. Just looking to lock the door Give Mikazi time could across secrets instead come back into main to take this a site and that is a lovely kill Relieves a lot of pressure. Now we go back up heaven with three players and the bomb It's a very hard spot to lose from now. Now. They're calling rings around furia We are playing in the dark round after round. Maccazzi offering a kill back has given Furia a chance, but do they want to take it out of position, no kit, no smoke? There's just too many reasons to write this one off. Money's in a really bad spot for Furia. They're hemorrhaging rounds. They need all the guns they can get, and they still have that Molotoway AWP intact. So just going to concede this one. and one lead. Said that this just hasn't been a series of comebacks. Had the earliest CT rifle round found of the entire series so far in round six, but that's not done much to bolster this defensive half. I mean Na'Vi, they're not over-complicating this. They throw in largely, you know, just these yard smokes in, but a variety of different cools around them means, if you feel like they're flying blinded, the one round they were able to get was where they came through with a bit more aggression in the yard. I would have figured out earlier whether or not it was, you know, a ruse or the full commit. That was your Kindar vs. Mikazi out there. Nice, nice, let's go, guys. I've no reason to punch with a fast ground either. These have just been perfect. Now Fury are the ones getting desperate. Pushing into Lobby, they try to do it together, but they're getting siphoned off one by one. This is an isorato through the smoke. It's a bit of a symptom of what we're just saying, you know. You're flying blind in these rounds. These outside smokes are causing a great deal of paranoia to try and figure out what Lobby are doing, but it just falls all out on its face. Mikazi there to trade out in the yard. It's only Molodoi. He's dead as soon as Ema rounds the corner. Ema's feeling it right now as well. Him and bit just monstrous aim in the series. Ema first and third map merchant. Yeah, just don't talk about that second. To be fair, no one was saving them. Coming alive in the nighttime at 10 and 3. And that round just to live it on a platter and you don't blame fury for trying to do something different But not we just called the perfect I don't think they were even necessarily already for that But as soon as they see the first player through heart everyone cancels they hold their smokes wonderful scopes ramp I'll be just wait for more reactions and fury and take their own grave. I Mean you also just think like it feels that online it feels so obvious in a sense, right? You see that first guy getting aggressive and you go Oh, they're finally tired of kind of giving us the room and the respect just kind of coming to us weak lobby crunch as well No utility smoke push on two fronts And that's after Yuri walks through the huts alone. So Yuri had it coming to them eight one lead and this was meant to be kind of a Chance of triumph for for theory of the idea that they could just breeze into that arena a you know get the nice easy route to play in front of the home crowd obviously it's not a do or die matchup playoffs are on the line loser though is to battle on through that lower bracket hey after when two more BO3s rather than just here and now and one of them likely against Aurora or mouse well in fact will be if you're gonna make it all the way. So no safety here for Furia. Still a couple rounds in the half to maybe redeem yourself. Molodoy and your kinder outside as Navi get cheeky walking through smokes. Do get punished. Falling at ramp. Hiding out in plain sight. Oh no. It still holds his own for one but 2v4 Or a Moldoi, does he want to over-commit here? I just let them down into B. Yeah, it's a rare position for Furia, right? Being in an advantage such as this, so I think you do everything you can to hold onto it, four on two. They do give up the side. They will allow Narvi to move in, even a chance of the bomb plant. Moldoi's disrupted it. Still, they've lost your kinder. Little skirmish here over towards the rampside. Leaves wonderful in the clutch. And now as he looks out through the single door, now a route opens to maybe pull a rabbit out of the hat. This was not supposed to be around the wonderful could win. Plum will go down at upper hits arrive and scrambled on through. It's Yuri just chasing him down on the back of the bomb plant doesn't want to give wonderful room to get comfortable in that clutch. Right. Cool. But it's a very scary call to have to make. Right. One miss shot. Wonderful goes wide on that can go very, very wrong. And you've offered up three 1v1s to a hot hand Navi. But Furia with a must-win round that was a 5v3 record outside with no trades allowed by onto Navi. Don't think Furia gonna get given rounds that easily again though right? It's the first time Navi have gotten that cheeky in this entire game. And oh Oh no, is it the Rush? The Alexi MP7 comes out with the first spawn. Oh it feels like Alexi, front of the pack. Flash to get him on his way, won't find the opening, hoping the chaos can provide something here. Now the... Break through this hold! One man left up in the heavens and fallen is dealt with! Just a sheet of kills from Mikazi, three of them on the entry. And he got caught off guard look at the wrong way. He's flicking back into furia players coming through smokes They've even got past him right over the top. Wonderful. What's the knife Molotoy? What's what's he doing? He didn't go over goes back under and let's him leave So he's gonna walk through this smoke there Hey, Molotoy should still be dead. Oh dear because he's got him boxed in right behind the disorder committee you something. Oh, yeah. Try to be cheeky with it. You don't let me hold on to this. It's the big ticket. I am even multiple chances to remove it. Molotov. He gets down with the or the soul survivor of that round. They can laugh it off. It's a nine two game, but you don't want way, there would have been an op in this round. There's the cope for you, but. Hey, this. He wasn't the scope. Six cents. No, man, because he knows he's going to be getting a word from You fought for this time to put it to use and he will Oh, it's a good flash that is a really nice flash sequence All right now V in dire straits They've spotted Mollinoi playing on the ladder still cut down a fury and will find a third that all getting out Wielded and put to work Stealing away three on the half. It's not a lot right? This has been a very dominant series across every single map Can fury at buck that trend or is this where Navi lock in the playoffs? come on and continue to play off. They want to push them to the lower bracket and they are four rounds away from locking in that one spot themselves. Fury. It's a long road to 13-3, 13-4, maybe more in store if they don't wake up here and now T sides have been the bread and the butter so let's see if Furia can give us a punt Yeah, wouldn't be the first time Navi have made themselves one of the public enemies out here in Brazil But hey just for all time's sake, let's see if they can do it again Rounds away from guaranteeing a playoff spot aggressive look in the pistol out of Navi coming through with two players aggressive on the rampside even making a move out towards hot to crunch on to the lobby not panned out in the first stages but wonderful lens a helping hand Duel Barrett is picked up and bought forward it will get dropped out towards the rampside so Furia have regained some control now you've just got to trying to help rain alexi b this killer hunting them down period make the right move ramp a dirty they're gonna go up having leaves in a strong post plan but lexie could play a spoiler behind the site and look to deny this bomb ever going down. He's moved into Lobby. Silent Drop will go a long way right now just to buy those extra few seconds. Fury clearing out positions on top. Kinder makes it in. Park should be allowed, Alexi. Clutch begins. Heaven Post plan to contend with. This will not be easy for Alexi. Jumps was so annoying as well. well. Hangs around in heart. Here's those jumps and moves in the moment they stop. There's a drop on your kinder. Doesn't make it any easier. Big pistol round from your kinder, man. That's a huge hat trick for him. Final one to shut down Alexi's clutch attempt. And so Furia, this is where you'd have to have your second win. It's been a T side dominated series. You've just got this pistol round to try and split the difference and close up this game and some really sharp shots into lobby from wonderful, but never fully cleared the door. And that push from Mikazi I think is a bit over the top because he steps as well and still commits with a flank. Furia, we're yet to move. Couple of SMGs here for Furia and what will be a broadly round, Navi decided to buy in. Kinda makes it all the way. Just a little warning shot on Alexi. Looking towards the ramp room. No push yet. For now Fury you're just biding their time waiting to see if they can kind of piece together what Navi are doing with this four-spy boosted famas on ramp is quite the commitment it might just work out here special bits trying to sell for him keep flash one of that five seven would have gone a long way wonderful dead after the first should be out of position right double ventrop but not the guns for the job here quick down the vent at least there wasn't cover on that bomb so certainly a reason to be antsy but they get it plugged in all the same escaping is very difficult you can't stop secret you have to go events they gotta try because he has position but he needs a kill nothing wrong with that give it a little look in right just while they had everyone in position but no kill off it up that's a furious stick the landing up against this force maybe you can there doesn't want to overcommit here with the one AK but that is also the one FAMAS of Navi the bomb provides a bit of covering noise as he runs in to clear this final player, but Mikazi holds strong. So AK lost. Now he gets one more eco as this game close up. Already the most competitive map in the series. Well, even though this round's meant to feel a little easier, you can't get ahead of yourselves. Know that that Famous made it out, know they saved on another as well. Still cause for concern and losing your Kindar early on the Secret Cross doesn't do much to further your confidence. At least got room over on the rampside. Syrian Moledoy working this half of the map. They forced a bit away and so have created a bit of a safe haven for Furia, at least securing them this space. It gives you options. It's very methodical, he needs to be in a 4v5. Can't get lazy now. Oh, annoying block smoke on ramp and two players here. It's a hearty crossfire. Alexey, though, he's just desperate for the information. He'll get it for free. He doesn't overstep. Alright, tries to cross out of there. Ends up fed to Foulin. There'll be a gap on this, and it's a pretty significant gap at that. Still, Maccazzi. Not able to fire through Molly there to cover the bomb plant, and... Fury yet. Despite of going a man down to open this one up, able to break on through it all the same. Side of relief here. I mean, this puts a lot of weight down on this first gum round, right? Because if you're not V, you've got to acknowledge just how close to taking this series they are. There is still a relatively easy path to close on Nuke available if you're able to find success straight away. If not though, this game is going to close up fast and it's been a T-side dominated series across the board. So if you're going to be believing that they can still course correct this, it's not too late in the day. It feels destined to get close. There's three rounds between you right now at the end of this one, but if you win that next rifle, that number is reduced down to one. Wonderful straight on the AWP as well. We still have Kalilz and an MP7 for Furia, which, while a bonus round is nice, at this At this point, you just kind of wish you had full AKs. Blade was very hands off in that first half, only relying on the Furia timeouts for when he would chime in. And with good reason, right now, he had everything under control. He's got to casher them now to fall back on, on the harder side. At least with how this matchup has gone. So anticipating that there would have been a bit more resistance left in Furia. a lot left in the tank. This is the first time he's going to weigh in heading into this rifle round for Navi. Planned for the worst, hope for the best. But certainly not out of the woods yet here in this playoff qualifying match. Both teams by Orbs. Well, all throughout that first half we saw this yard control, the smokes with it be a constant pressure point. When Navi were on their T side, they're looking to try and kind of disrupt what Fury are able to do here straight away with a cross into secret. Going to jump up, you can actually do this if the bottom player hits the jump at the right time. Getting very tall here. It's a cheeky boost. Takes me back. It's a strong position for Makazi as well. You can't volley it. Wonderful. Catching your kinder on that smoke break. Makazi ahead of the molly fighting forward onto forward. He's stuck in this corner. He's got nowhere to go, but they don't have an HE to flush him out. Yuri trying to bounce his round back. 3 on 5 ensuing. Alexi denies any further advantage in case Rato timing opens up that A-side. The bomb can't come in. I'm glad I attempt another wall bang. The only thing that could get awkward here is the 1v1s across the map, right? Bits have made noise and that's going to stop this. Molly goes in, bomb can't cross. Nate there to follow. Just to slow the roll of Moldedoy. Bits doesn't hang around either. that huge pickup there for Kaseirato securing a route for this bomb to move in, Mikazi denies time so low Kaseirato there's no winner this one just misses that bomb plot and it's very very thin margins on that round but calculated out of Navi. Oh I thought that walking away was going to be the mistake there right but he knew it was an AWP he knew he could just be gone in a flash and so walking away is what locks in the round able to come in later. Excellent cross, contain. Navi never go back to take the A site. They let Kcerato have it. Only to punish as the bomb makes it in. The whole goal of the round is to get rid of the bomb there. Very nice late round moment for Navi. I Spent all money close to breaking point for fury. This is the defining round of This second half it's off to a great start for Navi wonderfuls nailed an opener on the orb It's still here hanging around to fight this all without its risks is Fury it do set their eyes on the ramp control. They've lost your kinder out in the yard Are they ready for bit still active on the rampside? This was a three on five until moments ago. Wonderful at least keeps now V in the driver's seat Holding for a smoke push Walk it on through is K. Serato This is a nail bite of a round a lot of movement all across the map is now the inferior of traded places Where did Furia try and go? They are flying blind, but there's the spot. Mollardoy's confirmed it. Both players seen. Both players spotted. Oh no! Leaves it to a gunfight. Finally connects and Furia are able to turn that one around. 3v5. They lose the first two fights. They go on to keep the dream of turning it around on Nuke very much alive. Oh, he had so much control and so much info and still Furia with all the risk in the world walking smokes and walking hell. Navi knew exactly where they were but even despite missed shots from Molodoy just given so many chances to get away with it. Do you see frustration there for Wonderful? He knows that that round would to want them the series, the broken furious money. And not only that, he had two sick kills. He opens the round with the initial five before he gets that important, not even equalizer, he gets that important trade in the three on three to maintain the advantage. And he anticipated that the case Serato walked through the smoke. He knew what was coming. There's a lot of reasons for him to feel kind of robbed at the end of that one there. It's kept the series going. It's kept the hopes of Furia alive. Down with three round difference and money broken for Navi. Speed vehicle there gets him down the vent. Not without risk. And certainly with info, Navi looking hyper aware. It can turn off angle easily done. Now they just flood out ramp as well. There's nobody home. open position with bit dead they know they've got the room so that is round not gonna get many easier than that probably one of those moments where you kind of starts around by saying guys I I know exactly what to do. And his solo move sets Furia up for a simple round win. Anteco dealt with eight on the ball for Furia. Wouldn't be surprised if we get another timeout coming up for Navi. They've got to cash in them to pull back on, and this game is really tightening up. Wasn't Ema 10 and 2 at one point? He was playing insane, yeah, a massive slowdown. Not even a slowdown, he's come to a halt. He had to get a kill, since that point. We said it was a series without comebacks, while Furia are trying to buck that trend indeed. Call the timeout correctly played, taking a breather. I mean, here's the thing like with the thought of getting to be back in the stage in Rio on their minds. Hope can build very, very quickly for Furia. I don't think they were ever without it, even with the three measly rounds they were able to get in that first half. But now they feel like they are in the driver's seat. They're on a big streak right now on this T side they've been able to stop Na'Vi short of streaking anything together even in rounds that look like it was getting away from them they're pulling through and so we had that timeout played with the chance to speak to the rest of Na'Vi ahead of their next swing to stop this Furia comeback This was a 9 3 half. Life comes at you quick. Volodoy, maybe even quicker. Wonderful. Can't get out of here for free. Good jiggle. Bates a shot out. In that downtime, your kingdom crosses. And numbers not known here for Narvi. They have no idea what's going on outside. Those smokes never stopped All they know fury could be fully down secret right now But not V can't afford to do anything about it. You can't even backs up Because you know really strong position to stop this mainsplit and it does look like fury are teeing up an APOP they can get Tram if they want Time to sound the alarm Oh, that's an important double from Ima. Bomber his feet as he stops the A side rush. Oh, no. I'm sure he's ready for the backstop. Can't close on Kcerato, it takes Ima to do it. Had a bout of silence after his strong start. But now, I'm having to play the hero again. He's cut down by Ikindar. Bit left in this one all alone, gets the spot. The Yukinda are still floating around, man. There's very little time left. It's got both players bearing down upon him, but nestled in at the back of the bomb site. Bits go to back his aim. 15 seconds. Furia have nowhere left to turn. They've got to bring the fight to him. Bitt delivers the first. Can't follow up. A tense round, and that's what these last couple have been. But Furia are picking them all up. It's a one-round game now. It's all your kinder. It felt like it was the master bait from your kinder. He gets stuck outside He misses that timing completely his team get massacred on that topside by Ema Even case or other barely ready for that main smoke push that you kinder saw and he comes in tells his team to wait sits in the fade and comes up with two and the clutch to boot Absolute saving grace from your kinder deep in the game And that would have been a head of hands moment if he didn't win it, but instead fury are on nipping at Navi's heels. You're even just hearing it in the team comms. You know, it's no longer that laser focus. They're getting loud They're getting animated. They can feel the old vision. They've wound up in a Set of kills come through to open this one up for now. They are very unlikely round So the pressure is right back on no time to celebrate for fury. Yeah, it's a three on four Now they've been able to dig themselves out of these holes many a time in this second half But just how many times can you do that? Macaasie's grabbed the M4 Well, no Forward and you know that whenever Fallon does get his hands on this AWP. He likes to give you something that something to look at Drops it back. He knows their low economy. He knows they're playing pistols. So just gonna group and play the pack with rifles now Fury it can go down secret Yuri still hanging around outside They flash him into main all Na'Vi waiting in this topside. It's been a game decided on a we've seen very few b-hits Yuri's faking this one out right now keeping Na'Vi attuned to this position And he might even find more value the bot me while shifting its way into that lower site and Yuri is just killing everyone from a 3v5 on an anti-eco around that never should have gotten close and Furia might just save themselves. Bit has a tricky decision. Do I want to save the orb or go for it with no kit? This is a wild manoeuvre bit looking to go for this round very little time because he doesn't have that kit to work with so got to be light on his feet here gets past the player in vent but he's allowed the entire way. Going to go hunting for the man in the site itself. Back turn to the rafters. Gone on in time, Bit. Down to this. Through caution of the wind as he embarked on this clutch and cut down and just shy of it. Furia keep winning these all important clutch moments. And they've done so all the way to level the playing field, 10 apiece. Disadvantage after disadvantage. That's the second 3v5 in the half here for Furia. And that's what's, you know, it's gonna be, gonna be talked about. Now, if you've had many an opportunity, it's felt like to, to deal the killing blow from that wonderful all-proud over-the-warts ramp. That was the, the first of the five on threes. Even here in these low economy rounds, in the ones where Bitt says, fine, I'll do it myself, he's on a heater, he's feeling good. And while they still had to lead to play with, Those are the types of risks you can take, but now it's a tie game, 10-all. Oh, Blade holding his timeouts for the second half seems to have been the right call, but they've yet to convert into round here for Na'Vi. It's come down to these clutches from Furia, pulling them out. Last second saves. Furia smokes, blocked outside. There might be a bit of a problem. It might be info for Na'Vi on the cross. Something they haven't really had. This information, how many players have made it down? Mikazi, he's started really strong but he's gotten a bit quiet on this CT side. Good cover from Wonderful. Mikazi running away and this A-side just ruptured. Furia running down. Wonderful's job's not done though, providing cover from Heaven. Mikazi, he didn't get that spot, still gets the kill. And he bought a bunch of unlikely ones but this one is too far gone and Na'Vi claps down upon that A hit. full chaos. Full confusion. But if there's one thing I think Navi have had really really strong in these couple games we've seen them as great comms, great cohesion together. So coming back up the vent, choosing to brawl, everybody in the site pushing through the util. Navi stabilize much needed round after this streak of four in a row for Furia. Here's the one I think really important detail that we talk about how And the Furia kept winning these tense clutches, right? The rounds that could have just cost you the entire series, you just barely scrape and buy, but it was impressive they were winning them. That has left them in a very vulnerable position. You had two rounds back to back with one player surviving. And Money was not in a good spot for Furia. And so they've got a weak buy here to try and reignite the streak. It's an all in, out towards the top site, and this time they get chewed up. to see fury feel like they have no other option after a meticulous and methodical T side back to back quick top hits feeling like they had to with tech nines and that might be all it takes to get Navi into the playoffs two chances to knock out fury and push them into the lower bracket and fury have nothing to play with not a single primary weapon. You're just gonna be telling yourselves now, it doesn't get easier than this, you know, you've done the run-up, you've done the tricky bit, now you've just got to finish the job. In what is on paper, the easiest round you've had in a very long time. Again, they block the smoke and again, Fury, can't cross clean. These aren't exactly the guns to be fighting behind the gap either. They might not have a choice. Ema waits for them to come down the vent. Oh, dear. Back turned, re-smoke, and they go down, but they follow him as well. Pretty good timing on this. Ema caught out in the open. There's the backstab. Advantage for Furia, but rotations already arriving. Wonderful. Ambit play in tandem. Mishop from the wonderful open. In the blink of an eye, he's the last man remaining. These tech nines hit hard. Furia. Still in with a chance. Need to save and don't want to give the orp over. That's the bigger problem if you give Molotov his weapon of choice He can't get it any other way So wonderful has to avoid that It seems like he has that is a shocking round to win off tech 9s though Furia just live and die by the chaos in these last three rounds of T side. I Don't even know where that second kill came from from the tech 9 right they trade on to Ema But there was another kill towards events Did Navi try and shift down without realizing Ema had also made a without realizing that fury had also made it Flying blind in that round a furious survive you called it the easiest chance. Well, how about the harder one now? You think as well, it's one of the things you gotta love about a kind of grizzled veteran like Fallen. It would have been so easy there to risk it all on some type of top here. They'd already tried a bunch of those rounds, something special required and it's the fast play out in the yard, the vent sneak as well. There's a lot of risks taking it around like that, but just belief in the call and all shaping up it's kept them in this now a chance at overtime will miss you tell him at the top site but it's rampant step real object of the desire here for furia they won't ever commit this time it's been a couple of chances to back off this time they'll take it opted to hang around one too many wonderful backed up and looking to to repush this. Both spotted. You have got a reaction out of Na'Vi. You've got them more than paranoid about ramp. They have the supplement lower. There's no choice in them. A ramp's been dark for so long. It's two players put down in that lower site, and this is Wild Fury, and now moved back. Oh, wow, is he with a crazy flick. doesn't get punished by the close-round player either. Dacia's pushed from him. So even though it might have ended Fury's mind to try and get tricky with this to go back into the lobby, this one does end in at lower. And two players here for Navi, very little time left. The kills have got to come through cleanly and quickly. And it just left the side. Now there's no one here. Bit doesn't even get a kill from that position. And with 15 seconds, Fury have put the bomb down put themselves in a position to take overtime. All four down the vent. Kcerato in the clutch. That's what Furia wants. Yeah, good chunk of time to get comfortable as well in these post plans. That's a crossfire is now set up. This is a tricky task in front of Navi. They do want to stop this one from going to extra time. Alexi leads the charge. Wonderful. Out through the single door, but time is quickly getting away from you here. Kcerato, you said he's the guy you want in these clutches. will able to play it late out from the rampside. Furia drags this one into overtime. Of course, it's fallen in case Arato all five between the two grizzled veterans of Brazilian Counter-Strike looking to keep this series alive. We had back-to-back stops in those first two maps, and here on you we go the distance into extra time. Unreal, the Furia win. Some of these late rounds, this was 12-10, and Fury had tech knives, not only did they survive, that one seemed even harder with 20 seconds on the clock. And Fury had just refused to give up. Every right to, but now they lead. Oh, Vent has just been the danger zone in this game. Just kind of the no man's land of the map. No one's truly been able to hold on to the game, Seranto! That's twice for Alexi, he's just tried to follow them down the vent with full info. Get him out, Fallen is hitting hard. Three kills in round 24 and just a blind out B. And even as Ima found a resurgence, a couple of other players went quiet for Nar-V. They're coming for this. Not today, McCarthy. Is that the playtimeout? There's kind of no illusion about how tricky a position Navi you're in. T sides have been troublesome for both of these squads. But right now, you know, we said coming into this third map It's been a series of momentum. Furia have all of it. You know, they they've been the team to claw this one back in Overtime. They're the guys who managed to secure nine rounds on the T side They're the ones still getting a play on this T side the better half I think the goal for for Navi is just you can't let them go flawless You can't let the strong T side streaks keep up here into the overtime You need that that one illustrious CT side round Because if you don't get it Even though you prefer these tea halves going back onto it and knowing that you've got to match that energy You've got to answer with three of your own while full it has all this room to call from the front which Is where he could just be an absolute menace to deal with he's not afraid to risk the game on some crazy moves potential very rough position ahead of Navi and from bad to worse they've just got a man down on the back of that timeout. The kill has just been the blunt object as always outside back to back opening kills in the yard and onto mccasey no less who is Navi's top performer in this game. It can not done, a bit might make it so nice position, rarely checked, swings out and finds that equalizing frag, re-smokes outside. Patience with Molodoy, and Alexi all the same. That's a fairly important kill from Wandaful, but equally so for Molodoy as the Orps now get involved. Scooped up for a Heaven re-swing and with main dead, next point of contact is through the Heavens or up the vent. of them accounted for both of them being watched there's no road left to run here for Navi they're locked out of the top site. Navi don't want to save but if you're giving them nothing clock ticking quick Fallen burns out and they can't even find that kill the cover is perfect Moledoy hits his and wonderful just needs out all for later that one illustrious round will have to come in the third as furia look for their own flawless half and if you're furia now you're licking your lips man the idea that you could go flawless the idea even you know seeing them go for that two on three that late it just reeks of desperation the idea that they're fast running out of time to course correct you know you have them feeling the pressure that round really did confirm it what an impressive display of resilience for Furia when we've seen just how stompy these games have been and this just felt like another one of the same 9-3. Navi haven't even used the timeout, they've got full control, they've got Makazi popping off, Ima with a really strong first half and then Furia dig deep and they dig deep again and again multiple 3v5s winning on tech nines at 12-10 against them and now looking to clean up in overtime. Navi clinging on A zero around half will not suffice. Alright, at least it's not a transfer but it doesn't get much better than that. It's a three for one trade and a nice kushy 4v2 rolled out in front of Furia. two kills away from a flawless T side in overtime. Oops. I mean, fallen 18 and 18 numbers don't always add up on every player here. But Fallon's had some unreal impact. You can do that as well. One back for beer. Got to try this shot from olidoy. Need another to come through and it won't. They get trapped in at the door. floorless T side leveled against Na'Vi at streak of five in a row for Furia as they try and beeline for those playoffs. 12 out of the last 15. I mean you know this was and this is at a time where there have been some you know doubts cast on Furia that they have had some rougher performances at Now V have kind of moved into that second spot. What I'm calling a set-around, trying to pull something out to close this game. This was always the fear, right? You give them that flawless T-side, they got the wind in their sails, and now they have room to maneuver. They can take risks, your kinder knows that better than most, plays it in a very outlandish position up on top of the garage. This is not a spot he would have played if they didn't secure all the T-side rounds. Now you've got breathing room. Flash the team up. Oh, second one from Navi catches him. And did they see him? It doesn't look like it. No prioritization on this position. You're kidding. It's a second chance to strike from above. Miss shots, and he drops off. Navi just can't flush him out. Oh, I'm going to catch him. That nade hits. Alexi's found, but it's still the advantage for Navi. Up along. Nuri's wrestled it back. And Navi has split up here. Two players out in the yard. One guy back in the lobby. You're going to start making some concessions You look to group, you can't hold on to all this space, you don't have the manpower. So Bomb goes back towards the lobby. Fury is still lean into a heavier setup down on Lower. It's Molotoway alone responsible both for the yard and that top site. for playoffs. Young man with a big job. 20 seconds. Navi sneak under his scope. They are in the site. Wonderful. With his own or not trained or missed. The heaven molly burns. Navi get the info and they get the plant. Odoy awaits his teammates, kits, but no smoke. Furia must win all three of these fights. Trapping Navi in now. But wonderful halts the line. Double orb. It's the student and the master side by side. It's just a lot of time has ticked off this bomb. And an expensive investment doesn't feel worth the risk for Furia. Go rounds to play with. They can afford to give one over. Navi make the right read, the right move into that topside and they avoid the stack down lower. Perfect move To keep them in the conversation, Molotov dies to the bomb, not the end of the world. One orb kept for Edith's team. Around that felt like it could have been one outside, to be perfectly honest. I think that was Furious's intention, right? Win it off of the yard fight. Yikinder on top, orb there as well. Three players fighting yard, missed shots for Yikinder and he gets chased down by Bit. That gives Navi the room to excel in the mid-round those quiet 3v3's When they put their brain to the test, Navi make the right move We have a timeout, but I think this you know I'm hoping this is why it's telling that the kind of flawless half is such a problem because sure Furia 4 go that one But as you said that they have the room to maneuver and they're still going to have that same breathing room in this round You can still take a risk here That's what you've got to contend with, right? Just the mind of Fallen trying to figure out ways to just steal this one off here. The passive yard round, Fallen throws HE on top of the AC unit, so someone's going to go back to break Smoke's late. Furia, play for that topside instead. Double up again. They are fine with conceding yard. It is the opposite of the previous round. Fallen takes his oblover. See many a highlight from him down here. It's just kind of a loud fury that... stack all their eggs in one basket, essentially. You can play a heavy yard presence ready to deny a spillover. And what that means is if Navi do anything to do with the yard, you've got them right where they want them. Because he will never get given this kill. He has to go seek it He's out here running this interference over towards secret Arrest of Navi wait back in the lobby waiting for bit to move in at main Molotoy Catches him and even survives that crossing into the back of the site Alexi with an important trade, but very very quickly. This is started to slip through Navi's fingers 2 on 4, wonderful. It's a blinder. Alexi with a follow-up. This was a 2v5 and they're turning it around. Alexi B and wonderful. Combine. Rotate up the vent. Fallen makes it in. But this one felt like a golden opportunity for Fury to move into those playoffs. Fallen will have to provide nails that first on the AWP. Now left-looking, can Alexi hang? Can Alexi really do this? It's on a knife's edge. Yuri closes in, time working against him, got to move quickly, and he's done it. Deepthru's in, Furia get it done, they claw this one back, it goes the distance. In a dominant series, Furia show resilience and they lock in a playoff appearance in front of the home crowd. Furia to the FAMASI Arena here, Rio de Janeiro fallen 34 years old, still putting on chart, topping performances and leading his team to victory. It's the Brazilians who showed up massively in this map here for Furia to finish it. 9-3 down, they show resilience, they pull it all the way back and they take down Narvi on a hot streak as well after back-to-back grand finals to make it to the playoffs. It's a rough loss for Narvi but more chances down in that lower bracket for Furia, Elation, Relief and Resilience shown once again. Can't wait to see this team in the playoffs. Yeah, I mean for these guys it's always kind of the big goal, you know. There's two big achievements I think when you look at the Brazilian CS players in particular, they don't want to win majors obviously but the other thing is they want to try and play in front of their home crowd, they want to try and play in front of the countrymen and that is now locked in for this Furia squad and what's not to love about it. You've got full and the professor, the grandfather of Brazilian counter strike. You got Kcerato and Yuri, the fangs of Furio. We're seeing now in the arena and after toppling Narvi, kind of the other guys chasing their tail. That is a huge step in the right direction. Can't wait to see Furio in the playoffs. Molodoy got his first chance in an Astana arena in his first event with Furio. Well now he's going to see what the Brazilian crowd looks like in Rio. I'm here with Molder, obviously huge game. This was probably game of the tournament so far. What are you feeling? This was extreme back and forth. Come back on the third map as well. It's a very hard game. I thought it would be for game. It's a very hard game against the time. They play very well, but we are come back and decide for a play-over. They're playing very well and we are back. You exactly said that before the game as well. It will be just a really huge task for you to overcome Na'Vi, but I have in mind a specific moment, and that was actually on the CT side of N'Gwen, they were trying to knife you, remember that? Yeah, I know, because he is not sure, peeking me and I know maybe someone can't do anything. I think actually that was one of the turning point where you grabbed the momentum completely of the game, because you get to save the AWP, and then the next round you actually get an opening frag, right as well? Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe. It's alright, bro. Can you talk us a little bit about that blowout map as well that you lost? Obviously this is probably a weakness that you have to address coming into the arena. Obviously you will still have to fight, depending on the quarterfinal and semi-final. But is this some key takeaway point that you have to focus on? I don't know, for me. In this game when they pick Mirage, but I don't know what happened. But for me, we just play bad maybe. not enjoying this game and maybe it's a bad start, I don't know what to say, but we want peace and maybe we'll lose outrown needle a little bit and we just lose anti-force and it's very hard game when you're losing every time anti-force. It makes sense. I think that was one of your worst stats maps as well coming into this. But I'll come back in Dust2 and we won the game. That's perfect, and you have to come back as well again in the game tomorrow. Excited for that obviously we don't know the opponent yet, but you're fighting for that semi-final spot You maybe want to actually play one extra game in the quarter-final as well just in front of the arena But for me maybe better to play in semi-finals, but when we start semi-finals every time losing in stock But maybe just now maybe change something. I don't know. We'll see. Well, thank you for this and over to you. That's not a pain in the ankle Man, Pienco, if there's anything you guys want to add to it, now might be the time. A lot of the way, seemingly, a little short and full of words there. Obviously, they got that cedar, that birth match ahead of them in place still, but good run to run so far. Honestly, they should be super, super happy. There was a massive comeback on Nuke. I thought it was done and dusted, I think, for themself. I thought it was done and dusted after that first half. Maybe the Molotov saving the AWP winning the last round of the half was part of that comeback, surely. That was the first time I saw 20-25 Furia come alive in 20-26. The way they won a lot of those T-Round Janko crutches, close scenarios, you know, down a man, still finds a way, falling, calling, well, that's kind of what was attributing them and what they did so so well in 20-25. When they were actually the best team in the world, it wasn't like they were dominating their opponents. They were just winning the close rounds, winning the clutches and they did that against Navi on Nuke right here and got a confidence boost of a win there, Zed. So, some of that magic, you know, come alive here on Nuke looked over really after that first half. Now he was absolutely dominant by round by round, he chipped away and then even it seemed like never recovered it. At the very end, they were 12-10 up, had two match points, but Furia able to grind it back up and then in overtime, you know, opening kill after opening kill, the kinder coming alive a little bit outside on that area of the map and just so much pressure on Furia to win this game. There's so much pressure on the players in Brazil, Brazilian organization, to make it in the arena. It's not even about winning the event, it's just being there for the fans. Like everyone wants to see you play live. That's why people bought the tickets. So being able to come back in such a fashion and get it done, it cannot be understood how big of a feat it is in the three Brazilians where the three has rated players for Furia or Nuke as well. for sure that brings me to just the conversation rk serato his contributions i think uh... it goes without saying the numbers of back that up what do you got now he missed the consistent uh... it's impossible not to sound like a broken record when you uh... you talk about case rather i think he's been fantastic for a long long time he's always been great in inferior and in this iteration of the line as well he's doing that's working even when they're not playing well even in this period where they've been struggling that's the one guy you can always count on so obviously he's a big win condition when they're winning but even more so he's also the biggest conditions against up of wife for sometimes remain competitive in games, they're not playing well. And this is a map that Blade is going to be absolutely pissed about, right? Like, I mean, having such a huge lead and so many rounds with advantages being thrown away, I mean, I don't even mind the knife attempt as much. I don't think he played like a huge deal. I know he got a kill with it the next round, but there's still plenty of opportunities for Navi to close out the game. And you know, you're in such a good run. And this is exactly the sort of a loss that we saw many times last year, where they seem in control but just find ways to lose games that seem to be all but one. I think the body language of the Navij players were telling quite a story. They were deflated, obviously sad, disappointed, weren't talking to each other that much, and LXB was just staring into the screen. That's one of those games where you feel like you won it already, you did all the groundwork, you got yourself into a winning position, and then as Janku said, you found different ways throughout the entirety of that game and second half of losing. Now you have to play two games tomorrow. If you want to qualify for the playoffs, that's all, just one or two rounds, you already got the job done. You would have been through, instead you have to play twice just to qualify for the arena. We've got another game coming your way, that's not all for the games here at the Intellect Tree Masters today. We're looking at a little bit of Maus and Aurora. Now, there will be several question marks, hopefully we can answer some of those on the backside of this break. But for what it stands, both these teams trying to get those feet started here in this year. We'll be right back after this. We are here with me ahead of the game and I wanted to ask you with the mouse specifically. This is a team that you're kind of comfortable against especially this year. I think you've played recently in Krakow and that was 2-0 fairly easy, is this something that we can expect that to do as well? I'm not sure, I don't know. Yeah, this year I think we had a pretty good match against them, but last year it was very more difficult. So hopefully we can show good construct today, but the map is different, the Pikmirage this time, not Inferno. So it's Inferno, Dust2 and Nuke, the last one. So we're going to say yeah. Yeah, I mean I wasn't aware of the veto before the interview, so this is nice league for me is that I can work with but look at the maps are you happy with this recently obviously you've been plagued with information about like St. Harrison it's hand this is something that that affected maybe a play time of your team because I know playing practicing 10-12 hours a day is maybe sometimes impossible so how does this affect so overall like last month's we did like five six country in a row like five tournament in a row you know and it was kind difficult for him and for everyone here. We try to raise the maximum possible after the tournament we did in Dragola and then we came here. I think we're okay and we're gonna go like question though. About the track line by the way. Do you want me to... I will ask now what happened there? I mean obviously it was a tournament where you kind of... why were you going or what was happening there? So this is a simple mathematical before Amsterdam. We we were top seven in Europe not so stage two This was not a confirm it and then we have to take a decision in 24 hours to do Dracula No, not before Amsterdam, you know Rotterdam, right? Rotterdam, pardon, I say Amsterdam. So We took the decision if we fail Rotterdam, we have another chance, you know to do Dracula But after Rotterdam and we did a pretty well It was I think guaranteed but not 100% so we had to play for sure Dracula if we win or we lose too much is too fun so we say to ourselves like just go just go and play but yeah it was the last tournament like fun we did four in the war so it was the five yes losing against like maybe Ali and Sam and the MAT was not good for us, but I think the team was really tired and there was a lot of things and we also knew that before the match we are stage 3 guaranteed, so the objective on the mount was the stage 3, so it's happened and they play well and it's Counter-Strike nowadays, you know, everyone can beat everyone and you have to play 100% and it's a good listen for my boys. It's Counter-Strike after all and you have to show some Counter-Strike right now the gas mouse that's your main focus point so let's see how that one goes over to you. The matchup at our doorstep features Maus and Aurora, Maus having beat Legacy yesterday, Aurora beating Houttu and for us, well I guess we're gonna have to sit back and see how this one goes with Maus going into Aurora. Both these teams, statue-wise, let's take Maus on this side and Aurora on this side. Tell me about Maus, what do you expect? Well, it's a good question. I think they've been struggling lately. It hasn't been looking great for Maus for quite some time. Used to be the most consistent team almost in the world outside of I-Tell-G, always making the playoff but never exceeding expectations. Now they're not even living up to expectations when you're close to it. The last couple of tournaments have been disastrous, one of them not even making out of the group stage and I'm winning a single game. So I think Maus coming into this tournament would allow to prove to us and to themself. If they are to be taken seriously as a contender for Cologne and the Major, they need to do better at this tournament. I don't think there's anything they can do to make me consider them a contender for Colombo. It's more about now sort of living up to their ballot as professionals in a sense, right? And then keep going, keep posting good results because they have good players, they're a good team. It's acceptable to go out in last place, you know, of a tournament like Blast, Rotterdam, even the loss to foothood. I'm not saying they're bad, but you know, You know, Maus should be beating them in the playoffs of VSL Pro League, so now you're sort of, I don't see a universe in which after the Major they still have the same roster. If you ask me, they should have made changes by now, right, already during the season to change something. It simply isn't working with these players. I'm not saying it's anyone's single players, 14 particular, just these five guys together are not going to win. Like you need to accept that and you need to make changes. Yeah, and at some point, you know, it comes becomes harder to call that rather than to just watch it how it all unfolds We could talk about maps, but what do you think about his points right there? I agree. I very much agree I think mouse is also do fortune's question is will it be now or will it be after cologne? I think we're nearing enough that that line now maybe kicks and you know is free in the market now that you didn't get Care again, so curious to see how that's gonna unfold as well I agree I think mouse is not a team that didn't want anticipate going into cologne and winning it But at least you'd expect them to be in contention for the playoff as they have been for the last majority of the past 16 months ever since they got together, basically. In contention for the playoff, I can deal with that, but this map is pretty surprising to me. I was thinking Maus was going to go with the overpass pick and then we would get Inferno as the decider, but it was Maus themselves who obviously did not pick overpass, went for Mirage over it and then between Inferno and Nuke, Nuke they went with Nuke which they have not won yet this year so maybe that's something they worked on it's also not the greatest map for Aurora so probably just wanting to perhaps punish them and maybe throw a curveball in the video itself. And speaking of Aurora they also seem pretty jaded we saw right here with Major obviously Dracula and I think there was good reasoning behind what he said you know they knew that the objective was secured making stage three of the Major etc etc but Aurora is also a team that made that mistake last season when they finally broke through when they established themselves then they kept on playing tournament after tournament after tournament and they kind of fizzled out a little bit I'm afraid they may have flirted with doing the same thing right here leading up to Cologne leading up to this tournament so they better show me right now that that's something I shouldn't worry about because we saw it last time around it didn't turn out well well gentlemen thank you so much for your thoughts let's go ahead and jump right into it with our commentators Dust2, Mirage and Nuke on the cards here from Maus and Aurora. Yeah, and again, it's all to play for. Maus taking on Aurora for these quads in kind of weirdly role-reversed situations, right? Two teams that have had their issues in playoffs for Maus. It was consistency, always finding deep runs, but struggling to lift those trophies. Much the same for Aurora, however, we've seen them start to kind of break through little these playoff woes. For mouse it's actually been a regression and so in a weird spot the dawn of this major that's right around the corner. Yeah I mean this is two teams historically were very strong in groups so let's see what they can do now. The playoffs on the line, exertion, starting off and not wavering after his first kill looking to fight out lower Soulfly coming through that smoke and the flash does push Mal's back but with a 5v4 they can settle into their positions. He is completely open and it's going to get easier as Zershin gets picked up, spinks alone. He has been the bright light for Mal's in a sea of tough times And he will continue. Nice tap to Woksek. This A-bomb site is not super safe. And with a hell of a shot for Toshi, that bomb even tumbles away from Aurora. Jimmy's got a big old flank here. pushing through the long doors now in behind enemy lines a clean tap really does just seal the fate of this one no winning it for magi it doesn't have the bomb and pincid between these mouse players he can try all he wants there's no winning this mouse walk away with a pistol not too much competition yet for either of these squads coming through day one. Hot 2, 2-0'd by Aurora. Legacy did get a map off of Maus, but coming in strong and then fading away in map 2 and 3 of the series. Trying to bring in a good energy here, Maus, after a very clean pistol. He's got six scouts on full eco, they've walked out B, Jimmy doesn't know, they've walked through the smoke, oh dearie me, can Maja do anything with this? He doesn't know yet, but he's got one hell of a timing. He could walk all the way in, maybe he thinks they're still back sights to be honest, he's going to hit Jimmy, drop exactly there. And Magikraps the free kill, that is Orc of the Jimpat, Bomb has to run it in. Magstab is very very quick for exertion, it's heard Soulfly on this rotate, plays it forward, looks for the guys pressuring this bomb site and that bomb can't get across right now, it's Magikraps doing all he can. Oh my god, what's just happened, the Corks have done it! How the hell did the Glocks do it? He died. I thought the round was done. He did a lot of damage. The timing and the deagle both out being magic did a good job getting a double, but then it's just Glocks getting pincid. You think it's over? I mean that Tunnelsflank could have just dealt with the Glock on behind. He knew it was a Glock. He'd already fired off, but he goes in and gets Glock in the back. Well, Vibe's dead now. I'll feel around like that. like for Aurora, there's no, there's no, for anyone, there's no better round to win than your fully coats. Because like even if the magic gets to celebrate on his like individual prowess and all and so that's a hearty tear down of mouths the moment they win that round. Oh it's just that even after he dies I still think mouse should be winning that bird. Fair play to Aurora. Venomous Glocks. Aurora sure into a stack but well armed and with sight control that Molly might even block exertion back as well. So, mouse call it off and any success from that pistol round swiftly forgotten about here. This is a roar I control in the early game. I'm shook. It's interesting because this is a head to head we don't get very often, right? Got it in Krakow, it was a 2-0 for Aurora of all teams. But prior to that, the last time was the Austin Major. So some unfamiliarity perhaps for these squads. And an interesting veto to boot with males floating their weakest map at the moment, Which you know maybe something they've worked on but also not picking their strongest map It's a series that Have expectation of three So was he miles one of those teams that Will kind of force the play dust to when a new bus got re-added for train train was their best map at the time and a new bus was a insta-band prior to it leaving the pool So, force to play Dust. And they've had a couple of nice matches on it, right? We remember them taking down Falcons in a crazy, disadvantageous match back at the start of the year. But otherwise they've had some trouble. And this is Aurora's bread and butter, so it's going to be a hard CT side after around loss like that and Aurora are making sure it hurts nice clean anti-eco one more of those down the hatch and now miles get guns Yeah, I think as well, you know, uh, I think this just felt nice for Aurora is sort of the the string of nice events that they've had, right? The last season of EPL where they're able to make it into the final, they're able to win some games in the playoffs, then they do the same and right. I'm sure they don't go as far, but they still get a victory logged in the quarters. Two of the Mongols, they're kryptonite for the longest time in those playoffs. Two teams that had troubles and Mongols got over them quicker. And it's just, you know, I think, and this is something that Maus have fell in equal part, but for different reasons. It's very important to teams, eventually, to start to feel like you are progressing, you know, that you haven't hit a bit of a wall. And for the longest time, it was just looking for any type of playoff win was a... Would have been a huge move in the right direction for Aurora. Now they've had two events back to back where they've done that. They've secured victories in those high pressure moments. So you start to, you know, believe again. It's a Form-Wise Aurora, certainly coming into this looking better. That was about a rough couple of weeks. A long day at the Long Day Factory. Alright, head of this smoke, little flash and a pop, get some round the corner, and even though all eyes are on for mouths, they're all blind. down to their skull this smoke so still a chance here for miles to punish on the cross I think in a run boost looking like that's what they want to do all right and a little cheeky with it all right let's go don't mess this up oh he didn't like the light yeah I didn't even know if he hit his head I think he thought he would I don't know that seems like a bit of a Kofuffle Unlucky He falls in and walks six a dead man walking. I don't think he actually hit his head I think he just doubted the play. I think it would have been fine Maybe I'm crazy Rumbus might have been their only way instead It's actually that one flash the mouse around they don't even swing with but it stops Aurora It makes them throw a bad smoke. That was their last bit of utility Round comes crumbling Oxy usually very sharp on these cross shots. See more of that later Long here on a delay, that's exactly what Tor she wanted all posted at least gets the trade even tries to go looking for a little bit more but eventually is to concede this long control. Yeah, I put waxing in the pits. Careful. Oh, that forces Spinks out, but a missed shot from Woxig means he can evade capture. Still have this late lurk. Well, Cardi just waiting in the wings. Over the ward's short. such a position that he could be used to help with the sight here if it's required and it feels like it will be Santar as the magic it shoot up and so suddenly you're left hoping that what kind of you can be a difference maker It's considered by now as they've got eyes on catwalk I know it's been a bit of a gap out here towards me and so with that dink landing Just an awkward position bomb dropped at the cross no util Well, there is a smoke on Wakadia, but he's not in a position to help. Yeah, if the smoke wasn't down, they could play it, but it's just blocking him out. And as it fades, he walks away. So I think that's done for Aurora. Even though two kills were right available for Wakadia, and he'll still die before all is said and done. So a shame on that few seconds timing difference. Right now, that was a found the counter. It's this long flash. Aurora tried to cross because they can't make it past car. Magi even heard the pin click of that flashbang. It was not thrown from far away. He just stared into the sun. No one has been anti-flashed, even when they had three players there. Everyone eyes on the smoke and it's an annoying lesson to learn right now from Aurora. multiple rounds at the long position. Well, on the back of having long control, two rounds in a row, but never being able to make it past the car, they'll change their mind and look somewhere else. I hope the Woxig was going to get given a B-fight, a chance for that opening pick, and they were prepared to risk it all if he did. Again, another cancel on the play here for Aurora. This is all on purpose, because they're very quickly rotating around the map. But, they look like they're already just go for that B-pop through the smoke. Late long. Oh, Flash is a good toss, he's still able to get one off. Lends a bit of help to Brolin, and it's a potent set up over along. They fall for the bait and switch. Go right into Brolin's hands. And so for Xantarism Woxic, 2v5, very unlikely round. They don't have any control to speak of either. And they've even lost all of the upper tunnels. Not even something they're aware of. Do you imagine as safe well Oh That's the sign that is the site open Jimmy's missed that timing as well walks it crossing in but Doesn't believe Yeah, I mean, how could you know right there in your spawn? to win. That's why B is completely empty. Could have got a plan, but I sort of had him boxed in rather guarantee the orb. And it will be an eco round with just that AWP and maybe some pistols here on the T side. Now's building in very well. I think that's very good at like, you know, not getting ruffled when they lose that awful glock round. Also, just think like the nature of how you've won this early game has been really nice You kind of got to be feeling good about it. You shut down their two long takes when they get the space That's easier said than done Didn't fall down to their B star and any of the trickery in the mid-round You feel like you've removed a lot from the kind of early playbook of the Aurora T side I feel like you don't want to fight Woxic in this round, careful. You know it's all that Aurora have, this is T-Side Orb, so Torsion Easter, well now he definitely will be careful, low health, off the cross. No reason to give Woxic an entry here, he's already taken three shots. I was allowed them up Catwalk with that smoke because they want nothing to do with it. Well I think I'll be taking the big gun over here towards B. But the bomb along with Maga are waiting out on the catwalk so hoping that just seeing an orb over towards the tunnels keeps a lot of attention on that B site. 20 seconds left, eventually Aurora have to get a move on. Oh dear. Okay these cat plays have to die, exertion will be there. Oh my god. No. Toshi's also low from the earlier tag. Thankfully, Brolin's here to lay it all to rest. Well, it's getting scared of another eco in here from Aurora. Two players out mid, two players up cat, all over the shop and the crazy deal up short. At least Brolin is able to pin this round down here. I'll stay in car four rounds in a row T side calling a timeouts And there's a plenty of money here I said the thing that's starting to feel really awkward is like the only space you've been able to get Reliably in this map thus far is that long control and whenever you've had it you've struggled to even survive the crossing. I haven't really seen any type of a threat on the back of a mid to B. The Tunnels picks have been attempted by Woxic but it's been matched by Maus just playing super passive on that half of the map. You know, never giving him the chance to fight. So a justified timeout here is this streak of rounds for mouse continues to build boost up for Toshi as he looks to be involved early on this AWP. Ooh, careful! Smoke fade and Spinks punished. Quite the hefty nade onto Woxic. It's essentially gets snuck under the smoke, they won't be ready for that position, they're not hanging around in the middle. Looks like they just want to go for this cat-exec and torsion, getting aggressive alongside Brolin, nails what? Brolin committing, fighting for his life. One Molly left for this default position and Brolin is out of there. But the orb sing and so it will. Brolin tapping again, he just can't be stopped. Captain puts them in his backpack sixth round locked in for miles back-to-back three case from Brolin Just an absolute delight isn't it I mean that it's back-to-back multi kill rounds Roland doing a hell of a service and shutting down these cap plays And now if you're a rora you're wondering what's actually worked in this game game. Sure, you want that crazy block round, but then them ensuing rounds were off the back of mouths having no economy yet to win a full rifle round in this entire map. 10 rounds deep. It's clear the mouths are also just paranoid that eventually they're going to get another one of these long hits. They've started a couple of times here with multiple players over the wards long just to try and fight for this space. This time they've even got that time they've even got that boost throwing in. And once you get rolling up there it just frees up a second man to go and help him in the site itself. Might just be another one of these cat walkouts for Aurora. The one thing that gives you a bit of intrigue is You've got Wakardia out here in mid keeping that under under wraps Could try a hand at the CT drop there is no one there to stop it so you would have mid You're gonna try and close in on Torsche exertions got the cover So she will fall but then in comes Brolin from that long position and another multi kill for the captain To seal the deal on seven 4 is squad. Barlow is having a great day with the transfer as well. Search in great position. Pushing up behind those smokes knowing Aurora are looking in the wrong direction and full punish on every part of the map now. Haven't really seen the proper B assault or mid to B out of Aurora on this T side. They are just running into brick walls cartoonish on this T side. Softlight is a good longspawn, I always wonder if he just takes it. Sights against it, it's two under the tunnels. And an attempt to go and work a bit of this mid control out of Aurora. Now I was just letting the game come to them right now. Because they've just had no problem stopping the egg sacks. They don't really feel a great deal of pressure to be involved. I think honestly, if you're a Rorik, you're wanting fights way earlier than you're getting them. Yeah, you're like, stop giving us cats because we can't hit this site. And that was the case in the early stages too. They were being given long, but they couldn't survive the crossing. Maus are doing a fantastic job of just playing like bombsite defense. Spinks baiting for exertion here in middle. This is the weakest A set up all game. Mows are gambling B right now. They think Aurora will fall back into the mid to B. Still yet to be certain. Using their util to block on this A site. Brolin coming back. They're full gambling that no one is long and right now this is the right call for Mows. This might just pay off. Torsche with the catch on the first man in Brolin again with the transfer and it's only soul flight not for long Torsche brushes him aside Brolin is the carry. He's a star player He has stopped every single one of these a-hits. He's had two triple kills two double kills and a side of fries It's Torsche and Brolin largely on this part of the map and yeah, even then between the two of them 23 kills, they've had all the action all the time. Horses also not missing. Reliable. And Aurora, the alternative of that round was dropped into the mid to B, into the triple stack. So there is no way out of this. Maus again go triple B because why not? They have full faith in this two-man setup and surely the B hits coming. You know what? You're onto something. Spinks and Jimmy high low defeat down Torres one and eleven. His half is over It's also just nice right playing that type of position. You're kind of anticipating that this game Surely is to come back towards this B site eventually in round 12 would be the time to do it If you're ever going to explore this option, but they know the money isn't there for Aurora If you remember Woxxix tried his hand at that peak in through the tunnel so many times hoping to just catch someone Aggressive well now they know the money isn't there for the AWP that they take that that double peek into the tunnel It's very frustrating to deal with. And they only bring it out here because they know what they're up against and that they can't get punished from it. So it's left Aurora on the back foot in a big way in this round. 3v5 clutching at straws for four on the T side. It's into a mid to B. Xertran might just come through this smoke off. Spinks contact as well. Could just shoot little holes in it. And some of them might land in Aurora's legs. Double kill for Spinks. And that is it. shut out on this half Aurora were laughing after a Glock eco win but nothing more to celebrate as has now stormed the board. Mince me out of Aurora on a Dust 2, 9, 3 at the end of their CT campaign and it's been helped out massively. A strong performance out of Torsche and Brolin over towards the A site and Spinks sneaking up the board in his few moments of action over towards B. Always a force to be reckoned with. Aurora won a very unlikely Glock round but that was really the only thing worth smiling about and that was a long, long time ago. Yeah, not a single gun round in the entire half won by Aurora. That speaks volumes. Sentara is absent. Riccardia not far off. These are the two star players from Aurora going silent in a playoff qualification game. An upsetless day one, but there will be tears tonight. Exertion sending it up short. this players to trade here. It spanks, pulls back and lets Makati come to him. The flash through the smoke dodged entirely and Maus already set themselves up for a storming T side. Wait a second. Don't get ahead of yourselves here. This is the round that lets you make it real easy, Maus. They've given away the advantage back into a 2v2 soul fly looking for heads. Zantares only has two kills in this map thus far. So often the focal point of Aurora, well dead here, it's left to soulfly having a dig deep in the clutch. Jimmy has cover on the bomb from long, not peeking right away. The view's being held, he can't see it. Oh dear, that is a rough Ole Miss dead. The full stick, the full 10 seconds, daylight robbery. And Aurora, they've got their lifeline. Those are the little tricks, the little fun and games that you've got to learn to get any edge. Sulfy positions himself just out of the line aside of Jimmy, looks at the ground, and no headshot available. All right, guys, they're laughing it off. Aurora back in with a chance. That felt like a shoe-in. that is sick. But you that is a gut punch. The idea that you've actually lost now a couple of embarrassing rounds if your mouse short, they're winning. But dust two has been a real struggle for this team since they had to, you know, look to play it again. And four and nine on it. Not been a pretty picture for mouse on this map. And it is the T sides where the struggles lie you could have had a very easy time if you converted on that pistol and you really had all the reason to do so and now you have to earn the win the good thing is this buy is really nice for miles two galils a k couple of its utility and they're storming have a bit of a second chance for themselves to try and make this a quick day on Dust2. Xersion needs an entry here, someone does. Sparons, we'll get one on that mid-lurk. That doesn't do much to further the cause of this A-hit. That's got to come from Xersion. Front of the pack on the AK He gets his opener Bombs gone back And Spinks catches the reposition on Soulfly B sites just been open for business So cheeky gets the first kill of this T side out middle just sits there and waits until Soulfly makes a mistake Also, I love the read from exertion the real other the way he realized Santaris was there is because of how passive Aurora were playing. They were spotted on ramp. No one took a fight after they got spotted. Magus Jiggly, he's not committing. It's a little suspect for exertion. He realizes there's a Joker in the pack, Zantara is rather hiding out on Goose. Fantastic clear. So some good moments here from Malz and the warrior that the pistol brought us. Well they were in the force by this time. Safe and sound, 10 rounds. Now I've got a nod of approval from Cycro and he knows that it's put them on a very good track all over again. out called in for Aurora. I say I'm going to figure out a win with a four spy their own. Do you want this AK and M4 to work with? of death of death of Two rifles, four ball behind it. The map pick on the line. It doesn't feel like the kind of game that Aurora are gonna start fully echoing at 11-4. He is very weak. player. Mal's a feyly cat here. Confirmed by Zantara's and in fact denied, but they go back to SoulFlight. Spengz has just been smoked off though in the tunnels. He was meant to try and test the waters for this B landing. Thankfully the mid to B's already in and Jimmy will provide the moe down in towards the spawn finds a good chunk of damage. Jimmy getting sandwiched here from CT and the middoors can't survive past magic. It's sphinx there to back him up, hoping to keep this one safe and sound. I do enjoy watching sphinx. He is actually one of the most entertaining players to watch, even though it can be, you know, times a little bit laboured. When he knows he has that gap and he has that timing, so much fun watching him exploit it. it. A couple of really good maps. I love watching that Inferno CT side. Hiding him out in the back of B. Right now he's just constantly harassing this back line from Aurora. They can't sleep easily. They're hardly getting chased down in middle. He's at least gone away Get lost She's been bottled by exertion I think my mouse though even in moments like this five on three, they're not gonna jump the gun I don't know if that applies to B, but again, it's a weakened buy-in. What did I say? Aurora just continually forcing at this point in the game. They're feeling like they have to win a round and it's just not coming. Going the entirety of this map without a gun round win would be horrendous. But it seems like that's the world we're in, 12 to 4. I mean, when neither of kind of your focal point rifles show up, you were always going to be in for a bad time, right? Santar is Amokadir of both struggled here on Dust2. That's the fact that you're getting this kind of x-factor performance out of Brolin for the side of Maus who was just an absolute Monster throughout that first half Spinks has really started coming into his own as well as the game went on Yeah, I was on just calling a great game that they're hitting really hard as well much harder than that of Aurora But Harry, we've had two players with career worst maps today, Molladoy and Donk. This could be Zantara's. If he just dies here and doesn't get another kill, definitely down there. There's no way. You can't have three career worsts in one day. it won't be that bad because he had impact on pistol that they won, but it's not looking good. Well, Torsche starts us off with a 5v4. He is empty. They've really hung so far to drive this whole half, like he's not had one inch of support. All right. Good pickup for Woxic. Been one of the few players that have really offered anything Zantara is dead and a potential career worse lumin over him 4 and 16 in a failure to launch for Aurora absolutely huge for Maus as well a map that they've had really nothing but struggles on throughout this year looking to go their way in the path to the playoffs The Mirage up next, you're certainly getting nervous for Aurora. And this one's just a formality. Woxic, there's no win in this. Maus destroy Aurora on Dust2. It starts with Brolin and Torsi, and then by the end everyone on Maus is firing on all cylinders. A rare win on Dust2 to start them off. Mirage up next, Maus are gunning for that last playoff spot. Today I'm Here is Ticron from Maus and I have a couple of questions about the team itself. I want to say what would you say is the biggest weakness or focus point that Maus is currently struggling with in recent months? You know, on the pursuit to try and beat a team like Vitalty, we're really looking at the details and we get quite in deep to it. I think one of the takeaways we have from recent times is maybe we over-analyzed a bit too much. and maybe also from a coaching perspective, I think it pushed the guys a little bit too much in this regard. And it takes away from playing on instinct, takes away from having good ways with thinking in the moment. And you lose a little bit of perspective because you have so much on your mind, it takes a lot of capacity away. So that's the part right now. This is really interesting. Do you think that this was like kind of like a structure, two structured team, and now you're kind of leaning away from that in order to kind of like unchain the players to be free in the moment? Is this what I'm hearing right from you, or something along those lines? You are analyzing too much as well. It's not that deep, you know. We have some time off now. I also took a week off and focused more on the quality of what we do. Your deep runs with this team always kind of leave a bitter taste, because obviously last time you lifted the trophy, it was in 2025, I believe, Cluchna Polka, right? And ever since then, 11 semis still failed to convert that into silverware. I wanted to ask, why do you think this is from your perspective? Obviously, you're against Vitality, which they have their own era. But again, like 11 times at some of those tournaments, they weren't even there, right? Yeah, let's start with Vitality. Because I think for any team to win in that era, it's difficult, right? So just comparing those two teams, we're also a much younger team. If you look at the average age, and I think for them, there are definitely at their peak, many of the players right now. It could be like that for a while. don't think the peak is there yet for any of our guys, right? So, that's one of the big things. We also think it's disappointing that there's been no silverware, even though there's so many deep runs. And we try and remind ourselves that the work to get to that spot, it doesn't come from nothing, right? There's still a lot of work put in and we're constantly looking to take a step forward, of course. In what regards, do you think this is like more psychological or tactical or maybe individual? Like, players are not stepping up in those important moments, like if you would have to pinpoint it to one or two things what would you think that is? Yeah it is multifaceted. There is more things for sure to it. One of the bigger things is the roles naturally don't play out that well for us. Right. Yeah and I would say between Jim and Loson they're both a bit passive by nature also as players and we're trying to develop Loson and have been for a while to be more of a playmaker, take more charge on the server, also for Ludwig for example the in-game leading position quite new to him. I I think it's extremely good on the technical side, creating strategies and being creative. But it's a different piece when you're on that stage game and there's a lot of pressure on you and you're up against A-picks or up against Kerrigan, right? Then we're asking the young guys to come and deliver, so that experience and the roles will take a bit more time. Sikron, this was extensive. A lot of good insights. Thank you for this and back to you. Placent matches set your starting point, Facet Rating measures your impact as you climb. The soft elo reset narrows the gap between the highest elo players and the rest of level tech. Your starting point will be based on your recent elo inactivity. We're introducing Facet Rating so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet Rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match, taking into account the full situation. 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck and have fun. I Spend in the fucking bonkers I'm all you can shift motion boy Okay, but aim right a bit and keep going a bit down your I mean to the ceiling He's on the right of me, he's on the right of me. Okay, okay, okay, so we have to go right? Go left, go left. Right, okay, see me, see me, shh. Come down, come down, come down, come down. Come back, come back, come back, come back. He's left side left now, okay, he's left side. Inbound, inbound, inbound, inbound. More, more, more, more, more, more. Okay, stop. GVF, you found the bomb. What are you doing here, Ian? We're going to go right now, then we're going to cross the left, right now. Just push left, just push left, don't move the house. Press left, don't move the house. You have to stop over there. Let's go! Aim down! Aim down! Match down! Elota down! Right! Get the- Bro, it killed me bro! Bro, it's not easy Adam! What's going on? Get Adam. I don't know. What is the sensitivity to kill him? When Jim is here... When Jim is here to write this... Go hit him too! I cannot hear anything! I got a bomb! Can I get a bomb? I got a bomb! This is the bomb, isn't it? No! No! Is it 10 on the left? It's 10. He's not going to the bomb, he's going to the bomb! He's not going to the bomb! Where's the bomb? There you go! Go, go, go! He stopped the piercing! No, shoot, shoot, shoot! He's going to... No, no, no! No, no, no! What's this guy, man? Who is this? Stop! Go, go, go! I don't know what this guy is, bro! It's no liquid, you don't have to hear it! Nice, take a check, take a check. I don't know AK! Oh no, you're not. He's close to me. Left side, left side, left side. Left side, no, no, no, no. Left side, left side. With your aim. With your buster. Go back. Go back, he's close here. A bit closer, a bit better. A bit better. I'm not going to do anything. You're on your own. Let's go, let's go. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Up, up, up. Okay, wait, wait. Left, left, left, left. He's really close, eh? No. Let's go! Let's go! I have fucking gloves. Okay, okay. Come back, come back, come back. Okay. Come on, come on. I think they've run out of speed bro! How many HP? Bro, I get it you're not fucking DGF man! I have no sound! We don't need HP, we don't know. He's planting! Press us, press us! Press us, press us! Let's come back. Get bit up. Get bit upset, get bit upset, get bit upset. I'm gonna hit one. 180, 180. Bo, I don't know! Bo, I don't know! You're a big laugh. You're a fool behind him. And you just heard Bando be hitting. Ha ha ha ha! Take a bomb, man. Wait, look at that. Oh, that was a little quick, huh? Or do I buy something funny? I don't know how much money you have for it. Buy a... Buy a... Why am I at Scouting? I'm at Scouting. No! No, it's at it. Buy it. Buy it, yeah. Yeah. Fucking salty crazy. Oh, we call side to side. Call straight, call straight. Am I to the big? Usually, call for my side. Nice, nice, nice. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Nice. Am I a bit low? Nice. Let's keep going. Am I low? You call for my side? Have you come from the left? Okay, okay, okay. Move left, move left. No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. Bro, he's not. He's insane. He's insane. He's insane. Hold on, hold on. We're not going to communicate. He's not. He's not. He's not. He's looking, I saw him looking. Today, stop him with the call. Bro! That's what he's talking about. He is insane. What is this math, man? Next, I'd like to refer to the article 4c. The APL catering menu from Saturday 4th of October, which reads as follows. German sauerkraut, British with boiled potatoes, or Turkish dinner kebab with crispy caramelized Dump slices served with a delicious garlic and cocktail sauce. Fresh vegetables wrapped in a crisp handmade broom. Gentlemen of the jury, would you be surprised if I told you Mr. Bertil opted for the British... Racism! You'll see! ...Chills, Auntie. Let me flush you out first, then you headshot. British boiled potatoes with minus seasoning over our sacred kebab. What? Finally, I present Article 5A, The Racist Manifesto, published on Mr. Bertil's Twitter account. Fisher's Playground 2 team lineup has aged really well. Sure, no vitality, spirit or mouse, but I'm keen to see the Mongols back in action. Fury are looking like an early call for a major dark horse. Faze showing a bit of life since the Jacob edition and of course Falcons unrealized potential. Gentlemen of the jury, in a tweet about exciting teams not only did this man not even mention Aurora, he mentioned Faze and Mouse. Please, please, please. Races. I know what I've done is wrong. Not mentioning Aurora after I mentioned Miles. It's an oversight. After all, given your talent, your potential, your absolute gift for shitting the bed, I'm gonna call you Turkish Miles. Yelte, you are the team of the bird ship, you stand thanks to mass notification, 170 DMs and 70 long quotes. Take him away! You're oralists! You're absolutely oralists! You're a joint! You're Turkish now! You're payup champion! Bring in the next racist. Now you got some explaining to do. Well, in the battle between Maus and Turkish Maus, it's Maus coming out ahead. They're in map up right now, they just ran away with Dust 2, unlikely, but they did it. We all saw it. Now we're on Mirage, it's Maus' pick in this series, winner advancing into those playoffs as a guarantee going on to face Furia to decide whether it's Semis or Quarters. Yeah, nothing less or less than losing every gun round in the previous map. So Aurora, the bar is low. Can they step up here on Malz's map pick? It was a devastating loss over on Dust2. And now we get a Malz home turf. Sure, not their 100% win rate overpass, but certainly no complaints. Mirage has been solid for this team, and they're looking solid today. That's for sure. Brolin and Torschey lights out on that first map. And Spinks was there as well. No complaints for Malz. We're getting into the pistol now. T-Side starts. Oh, we didn't really get to see from the tail end of Dust. I think it was just a nice feeling for Maus. Seeing a feeling like anyone really could step up when it mattered. Let's see if that can... keep being the case as we head on to Mirage. It's a T-Side start for Maus. And a chance to set the tone on the back of a B hit. Magic is waiting. It does have a need for this. Nice angle. Three players here as well. Here comes the hit. Flashes go in, but it's the Wokadia Dolboretta's able to claim first blood. Bit of help now from Magic and Zantares as well. Rotate starts to arrive, but Brolin's cut down the guys in the site. Oh careful both spotted though big man on campus Brolin putting two down and think as well Bola's looking to finish the job. He's low health new mag and course. He swings out for a third. This one is done Felt like Aurora had the perfect setup and the perfect counter and now walks it has lost track of his opponents Shopper I think he really thinks Brolin's bench. He has no clue where Brolin's gotten off to you can't believe this Brolin his final trick he disappears he's gonna be playing with ghosts this isn't a final why is Brolin disappeared he's lost him I can't believe boxing's driving himself insane he's behind you sick around from Brolin bailed mouths out once again many such cases if you caught dust that is a 2v4 out of mouths in a pre-planned situation I was just thinking up how to talk about how nice that said it was from a ruler right having the Good reposition indeed. You know so many times you see a B-Stack and just three players on our back side, mid side, front side, whatever. That was well thought out by Aurora. They had a good setup. They had with Cardi under with a Julli's Matcha. Spotting on an off angle and an H-Heing. They got a lot of damage from that as well. It felt like a perfect storm for Aurora, but Brolin activates. And now a full- oh, Poland! Is that a new trick? Oh, you can see Molly's stairs anyway, so it's fine, and no one's here. Spinks cut him down in the middle, soft light, smoke pushed him to the side, and that is mouths converting in this round. getting there squeaky clean to five alive at the end of it sure you're gonna have to do the remnants of this four-spider worry about but now seem equipped for the job And it sounds like Berlin wants more of the same. Another serving. Now it's season middle with a couple of smokes. I feel for Soul Finders game, he was solo B, dust 2, whole game, and now, once again, away on another execute from Maus. And everybody get out with his one, still burns alive after the fact. Now, will at least stop this spillover into A, even though the site was open and a hell of a deep to follow it up, Spinks dead out in top mid. Hold on a second, Aurora might be onto something here. I'm only having that advantage, but just the idea that because Mao's got blocked in at the ramp They weren't able to follow through with that a here They're a little slower to the punch the bombs not down you got time to embark upon this retake an attack from Woxic Only sweetens the deal to be honest, and he hands over Zantara's the AK trying to set up his fallen star from that previous map. Cardi even goes on to find a double so. Well contained there from Aurora. As you said, now is not being able to scale. So we're going to go ahead and go ahead and go ahead and go ahead and go ahead and go As you said, Mao's not being able to scale after that messy start from soul flight, bought enough time for his team to get in position. Early round here gives Aurora the AWP. Now Woxic gets to don his straight away, no open sight for the Mauer Squad. Fawzi passing for Woxic, what we're being locked out of mid by the molly, but still has this sightline into lower. You know as his teammates watching the top mid control Santar is getting curious It's an old school set up over towards mid Santar is watching lower Rest of the gang holding on a top middle and now trying to Take more space on the back of this Flash play in the top mid Brolin is a dead man They had a proper line up for that and everything. Nice move from Aurora. He's looming. Jimmy might fall over here at ramp, but here's the rest of the hit for Maus. There's one guy here, it's Maja, all alone. Back of the site, they nearly line up for him. It's a good clear out of exertion. Round still very much on as Maus will have a bomb plant in the 3 on 4. These are the kind of rounds that Maus pull out of nowhere, but they've lost another man and it's been left to exertion. one versus three ace clutch required and they're just toying with him right now waiting for this flank to sneak in. Was he spotted? Not enough. He's gonna find a headshot and keep this game alive from Aurora up to a second now. Big closer here from Zantares on that top mid flash push to shutting down the clutch in the post-plot mouths get a bit of money, but not enough to buy back in. Just already a bit more to look forward to here. Santar is matching his kill count from the first map. I mean, nearly the same for Wiccardia. Hold in some promise the idea that you could get those two reactivated. showing a bit of resilience, that's what would be required. CT sides have always been stronger for Aurora, T sides where the wheels often come off and the leading has been questioned and we've even seen the players kind of doubt each other in their own moves at times. But a flow state Aurora CT side is always a lot of fun. a lot of fun. Block 6 or Santaris with AK. It can be hard to stop when they pick up some speed. getting past this this be hold isn't gonna be super easy either you still got utl for both matchup and wakadia they try and take the pace out of this there's only 35 seconds left so the push coming in now there's that Molly you're gonna split the push in half and makes it real easy for match up out of the van convincing shut down well-held and Aurora move into the lead all right Everyone's having a moment here. Magic triple kill, locked down. Talked about the other two. Waiting for Waxxxorp to get a fair fight. But no one letting them in right now on a three rounds in a row. Cleanest one yet. Good sign of things to come. I was keeping a standard going back to this A-Execute, looking to punish Shelflight. One kill would go a long way here, but he's not even going to get that. They take space back after spawn control. Spinks late on this lurk as well, he's going to cause a lot of problems. That's a crazy break for Woxic. He is in the open and Mal's a push them out, but Saver's not guaranteed with Spinks in this position. He's not even going to activate. He doesn't need to. Playing to deny. And deny he shall. I don't know how far Spinks takes this. He has a habit of pulling them towards him. That'll be it for now. This is the position Solfly played in his previous team prior to joining Aurora as the A-Anchor on Mirage, but it doesn't feel like he's been given a lot of support yet in this CT side. This time walks, it comes over with the AWP. So another player to assist on an A-hit. I mean, they were typing their positions in Facebook chat, you know, I play B, Antares I play mid, Soulfly, I play alone. Feels like he's always been in these solo holds, man. And that last one, unable to get a kill, just left the A site wide open. So finally giving him a bit more support here in this one. Two extra players over towards this A site of the map. First kill comes in over towards mid. That's Wakati removed. Flash plays for Soulfly, he's got a right pass, Jimmy. He's so blind. They were both blind. No true anti-flash there. Caught out as well, Tantara couldn't find that angle. I'm sure you could reblock ramp, but this is a five on two, but Maus are just slowly squeezing. Putting that bomb back up in palace. Two players to swing our balcony. It's impossible for Woxic to survive in this position. They will trade it. So, as time ticks down, mouths get closer. Nice connection, but there is that swing. Guaranteed round here for mouths as Madras left in the bee apartments. And mouths have gone back to this A site and it has treated them very nicely in these last couple of rounds. He just turned off the anti-flash and luckily no one got punished. is a very tough game right now for Aurora to solve on the CT side. It's one of the difficulties of having your in-game leader play B in a game like this, which obviously is extremely common as you in-game leader is typically the least mechanically skilled player, but Magic doesn't really know what's going on. He doesn't have a great read of the game right now. the coaches can have to step up here for Aurora because I just not really seen the majority of these rounds. They left to save but left to hold the apps jump spot while miles just run constant a executes and lurks pinks out under interesting change on the horizon for Aurora? They seem to believe the answer lies in a double orb. I'll miss shop for wikaria gives it a run out in the apartments comes up shy of the opening. You don't know who's all just fired if you mouse know that wikati is often the other guy over the wards be so do you call the double-orp investment again they've got a good foothold over middle they're set up back in the T spawn it could just be a rinse and repeat of this a split I mean even then it's not really been a split per se and a lot of these rounds you just kind of been winning fights separately on a and mid Nice pop. So she's still making middle, seems scary with two smokes as well from top middle. Dwarf walks into his position, so flying an unorthodox one but he still gets cleared. I think they saw him, Jimmy gets down the ladder in time. Logsid just has to go beast mode and he has to do it solo. Jimmy hitting hard in this round. So one guy who didn't really need to play back on dust in his positions. I've just heard this all burn in the molly as well. I almost feel like you do want to chase this. You want to try and remove it. You've done damage on Wakadia, feeling some pressure as this is the big ticket item but Wakadia doesn't want to give it up. Can they get out with the AWP for now? Brolin is going for it. You won't be ready for him here. Oh, there you go, a barrel. Taken out of the round. Brolin with the hunt. That is a punishing one. And it feels like more of what we saw on Dust2, which is, you know, early game Aurora get involved, win an eco. get some you know they want to go around they got miles on each again but now miles are massing a massive streak and these rounds aren't exactly getting close do Aurora have anything to show here on the CT side again another gamble on B you're even kind of seeing the signs of the pressure are you you compare it a bit to the dust to that we just saw and Aurora put in a kind of surprising amount of money here hoping to get something done with a stack again soul fly alone on the A side of the map and well mouse that's music to their ears they even love this a bombsite yeah he's had no help and another gamble by nature a risk but it's just a roar I kind of feel it eventually they've got to come be you can't actually just go away every round can they watch them. Mom has been left back in spawn, so everyone's going to tighten up a little bit here because they know they've already won the round. There's no reason to give it away. Some damage done, but Aurora just don't have any position to contest. Mom can go down that's the way it looks. I don't know if you've ever seen a man who's playing very safe here to ensure that. Even just refusing to give them a case extension pulls all the way back. Nice to see. Methodical Mous. With a six round T side. And I did. I like the Brolin light hasn't over complicated things in this, you know, I think it would have been easy to like imagine is fully expecting him at some point to I think I'm at some point to kind of vary this up a little bit. But for the most part, if you're Brolin, if you're Mouse, you're feeling like they can't stop the A-egg-Zek. And so, till they can, you know, why bother exploring anywhere else? I want to see Aurora actually can test for middle early round because Mouse would never put numbers there. It feels like it's either Sphinx or it's Xersion. Yeah, just kind of on the solo. Top or bottom and just faking out and causing a lot of chaos there. And Aurora, their one really good round, came off the back of Xantara's McCarty and Woxic, full taking middle, flashing top mid, clearing it, going back to the B site. So I'd like to see Aurora contest for middle again, because Maus have, for the most part, not been putting numbers there. And once again, look at this, five players. I wouldn't mind like a creep through the lower tunnels, or to go fight for that mid. Yeah, okay, they've taken the mid control. Mid take. to mouse here so do they escalate the pace might be tempting smoke comes down and they double made balcony they're going in through the utile well exertion call on the ladder start for walk stick finishes the job on that palace here Berlin and torchi will get a kill back a piece no it's the backstab from wakadia that really should safeguard this they'll be aware. Good angle for Makaria, already wide and bomb loose. Lovely stuff from Aurora, they go back to mid control, they take it fully off of mouse, nobody home, frees up, very quick rotation, Soulfly has support on that A site. Aurora trade out well. Some mechanical errors for mouse, exertion getting stuck on the ladder and not being able to drop in, but also there's a lot going on on a util flashes landing. Either way, well capitalized on by Aurora in this site here. So where do we go from there? Oh yeah, you know, finally finding the solution is actually now just kind of poised you more questions okay we finally stopped one of their eight hits but now what do mouths do make a far heavier into mid or it's often just been one guy lurking here it's the entire team this time around or a never really in a position to contest for middle in this one they've just got to hang around on the far reaches of A and B of this boost, the last thing anyone is ready for is this kind of angle. Oh, you really smoked it. That's a shame. Could have been... 5G4 in from ours. My god, he had low health, very aggressive play on his own in B apartments. But it is going to free up his whole team to play the other side of the map. Imagine just containing window, so this boost can only go so far. And mouse once again, old reliable A execute. The flank activates. And this push is just confirming your suspicions. They are going back to the A here. Bomb dropped over on the rampside and this is just a non-starter of a round for mouse. The change has been Aurora are doing something, they are taking space back, they are contesting an area of the map. It was middle in the prior and now a risky but high-value B-Apps purse that set Aurora up on the stack and shut the backdoor for Mao. So well done here from Aurora to recover the half and they could even find an even split. pretty much still in this game and series deciding map is nuke a map that has plagued both these teams this year so far miles yet to win it in 2026. I'm really curious what becomes of just this relentless onslaught over at A. It doesn't almost feel too obvious. You know, you can't go there anymore. Do you look elsewhere? What's it going to be for Maus? Bodies in towards the apartments. I haven't left looking out towards middle, but Aurora, they've been making moves in And these last few CT rounds, this time it's punished. Cardi and Xantara is dead first. It's a disaster for Aurora. And now Miles just sit back and let the round breathe. 5v3 with all this time on the clock. And while a gamble would be lovely for Aurora, you also don't want to just give the whole map away let a lurk this is a team that love a lurk that someone in the back line spinks get through B so they're gonna stay active Aurora clearing middle that's something but it leaves them out of the bomb site so fly get a big flank it looks like and now it's announced their execute Woxic coming through knows heroic play has to be made if you are to win a round like this Woxic, hell of a way to get the full rolling, 5v5 and Woxic still looking for more, all the way to the triple box finally bought down, Brolin with a bomb plant and Maus stealing with a chance, that's just it, but I'm gonna get past Spinks, are they aware of this gap. Brolin has eyes on actually goes hunting goes searching and soul fly left is the lone hope for Aurora. Crossfire set up here. Brolin and Spinks hold on and Maus will go on to win out this first half edging ever closer to guaranteeing a spot in those playoffs but we're getting more fight out of Aurora. Can they shock a turn all around on Mirage? You have to understand how things are up here. Oh, I'm doing that job, who's that girl who I like to be? Oh, I'm doing that job, who's that girl who I like to be? winner takes themselves into the playoffs, quarters, or maybe even semis, either way a match v. Furia decides and right now Maus are the front runners after a ludicrous display on Dust2 and a solid T side on Mirage. Save to say Aurora are giving us more here on this second map of the series but they're still going to dig deep. This is Maus looking very comfortable on their go-to map. And now you're left feeling like you have the kind of easier half ahead of you. You've been some T-side struggles for Aurora. You've touched on them in that first half. Oh, success in the pistol would really put a nice bow on things. They've got this early four on three. Oh, well, why not make it a little better, Jimmy? It's only walks a console fly they had to go back to get the bomb so an awkward grouping in the 2v4 the round starts anew Torsche no need to commit you see when they're going Info is power here as miles of two players towards be oh Jimmy Jimmy's been clean in this pistol clean the coal All right, Jimmy, I'll give him a chance Three super clean taps and that puts mouths on the fast track to the finish line They got a pistol under the belt. They got Jimmy landing one taps Furore just bite the bullet early on. There's no forcing, there's no taking a risk now. They're gonna get the guns out fast as possible. I do like the eco here. There's been a lot of force-pies in this game, but this isn't too far gone yet. I mean, you know, on Dust2 they never had the privilege of a second half. They had to just force till the game ended. So try to make sure they at least get a chance to play the T side on Mirage. the less much as another block around masterclass yeah it's not much as many of them to fall back on but to me is not leaving me I'll say that much he's hiding Spinks is too quiet He comes back as well Master Deagle As they put it down Get a nice little eco ace Bit of a pallet cleanser No, ruin Jimmy's earned it, he won them the pistol Let him have fun 9-5 All business for miles right now 4 rounds away from the playoffs Four rounds, that's easy. That's not many rounds. What could go wrong? Well, they're running a bit of a bonus here. Oops. I have a feeling Aurora want to go B. Do you think the fake works? Oh, that's a deep smoke that gives loads of time. Look at the double nades! Oh, they're perfect! Brutal, Jimmy! Blinds them up, knocks them down. This B site is a fortress! That's just... To still commit with the call, when you're smoking the molly from that deep? I mean, Mouse had no one on B. They were double short right there. And look at how much time they have to come back and get a double nade in. I guess Aurora don't want to cancel the call because there are four or five players in apartments, but Mouse laughing at the guns they're picking up right now to or she accidentally took a gillil. That's where this game's out for miles What bloody believe who's ended up with a gillil Jimmy P. Why did it done Jimmy like that? That is a saying they ain't coming be again. Okay. Let me play the a-cat. I don't know the first half was a size simulator How's this top performers be stay away Cyclo and keeping his plays cool. Yeah, you saw you know, they're having a good time They're having a lot of laughs, but so I can just use in this Aurora time out Well, to make sure everyone stays focused, I don't know, I mean, while they're in quite the hole. This is, I'm going to call it, I'm going to call it what it is, Harry. This is a tilt buy. This is a tilt buy from Aurora. They've bought three glills. They have two smokes. fast in the middle exertion takes it is stride out with a flash and with support from Spinks every step of the way this round is quickly forgotten about mid with two smokes. Yeah, you had three kills since getting onto the T side. I don't think you're feeling great right now if you're Aurora. On the right side they got another buy. This time they have three smokes. Spoil for choice. Now's are just built different right now. It's a crazy jump out mid. Zantares with a 5v4. Oh, it isn't this. Well, watch out. There's three players out a something building here for Aurora. Toshi looking in the right spot. They're going to move past exertion. And this one is over. Mauser out of there. And Zantares is even hunting. Oh No way This hunt doesn't have you know like massive consequences any time soon You would really be believing in a lengthy comeback But it's to do much to the mouse economy these guys are loaded Like that that's nice. He knows they're coming for him. So get the all-pattern there You got a lot of room to work with you got a lot of money you can be frivolous here But Aurora do hunt everyone down This ends up you know go in the distance that can come to matter but for now still find money Now let's get everything they can need rifles on everyone or for Toshi Five round game. A mouse still wall-fitting, let's see. Hey mouse, I don't think you love the fashion in which you lose that. Like, four players still alive for Aurora means, even though they go for the hunt, it's not one of those like unjustifiable ones. They actually do have money banked up now. So a potential room here for Aurora back into the map Just not much room for mistakes here You hear it in these kind of like set piece almost out of spawn calls from a drop until now Now, four over towards the B apartments, but a noise made by Matcha on this lurk. Greshan comes in from the mouse camper, they will deal with him on his solo venture over at A. It feels like now is the only time to follow through with the B here, so in they go into the crossfire, Jimmy stands and delivers hell of a double kill to thin the herd. I know who Torsche was waiting for and let's give them rise to a 2v2. Can't control default plant. Walksake, a lot to do here. Santaris coming back to watch the cross. Both players of Maus, same position. Yet to be known, but Aurora are cocking on. Santaris, miss shot and messy spray on both players. Exertion flushes them out of the round. That is another one for Maus and that is playoff point locked in here on Mirage. It is their map and they are taking it right back out of Aurora's hands. A couple of consolation rounds down the stretch but Maus want nothing to do with it. Really good CT side from Jim Pat here. Really great game really on Mirage but that big pistol round and he's dealt with every bee hitting multi kills. Kind of akin to Dusto as well, like these mouse CT harps have just been a test of like your bomb site crossfires, you know, it's not really coming down to like the early duels in these rounds. You're just getting dealt some eggs eggs. There it was a test of the bee sight hold, two players in it, four running out and but they're set up properly. Jimmy just allowed to get away with murder. You know, really giving shades of what we got to open this series, thinking back to some of those Brolin Torschey, you know, two man holds over towards a... Not getting a lot of mid-rounding out of these Aurora T sides. 524 might give them that room. Woxic picking Spinks. Bomber still back up top mid and Soulfly's got to stop this. Two players and they find him with ease. Bit of damage is all he has to show for it. These little mowers like re-aggressive moves are a bit really nice and they've had a couple over the wards around for that one there clearing out Palace. Job's not done with Woxic. a bit of wiggle room there, a key trade to find a three on three. What a great position for exertion to just sneak into before the smoke disappears. It's scary because you can be cleared. I don't think anyone's checking this. Definitely not the orb. Bombs also over on Cat with Zantares and Magik. So Woxic's got to back up. Even making noises he retreats because they didn't know about exertion. He now moves into an even more potent position. Good stuff out of Woxig. It's Jimmy that's been the constant threat. These B-sides belong to him, but couldn't nail Madge. You left looking at Brolin. Try to close this in the one on three. You'll play it forward, but Cover is there and Aurora live to fight one more round at least. Hang around for Woxig. That is shot onto exertion. No business winning that fight. exertion makes a really nice reposition. And Woxig just so fast on the orb. Even Jimmy kind of jumping the gun there, saw her head. Didn't want to take his time with that kill knowing that player probably crouched back soon. And so it's an awkward round to lose mainly because of the consequences. Mal's money drying up. And so annoyingly, Mal's have squandered their best opportunity to close this with ease. I think I actually really respect the eco here. I think a lot of teams would buy around like this that we have like a hero gun It forces you to be a little bit innovative We've been saying like mouths of largely just been able to sit back into their bomb sites and play kind of reactive over there The initials day I wonder if you get something here where they are a bit more involved It's something like a boost like down towards under. Yeah Boosted beam and you push B apps of going for triple Bs there a little gimmick to try and steal that opening kill Okay Oh, you've been given a hell of a second chance of life there, Brolin. Oh, Molly blocked. I get out of it. And I'm very fortunate to start to the round for now. Yes, lucky to be alive. Couple of near misses. Oh, in all this downtime, whoa! Arora shooting blanks right now. They had multiple chances. Finally, someone gets the job done and that's the gun gone. Spinks is off it up to Zantares. We'll get picked up by exertion. What is going on? This is a round, isn't it? The bomb's going anyway, so it's fine. but I feel like this round should already be over. Can it be? Oxy looking to make it so. Just glad we're on the Woxicam. He's nailed that one shot. There we go. Yeah. It walks and takes us. On Malie restored. Claudia, getting him gone. And so, wha, a fresh of breath air, as they say. Tightening up now. And even though they take that, Aiko, it's not like the buy here is gonna be tremendous. You know, Sphinx bought the hero gun, he's strapped for cash, might end up being a partial. Ooh, a double Eek. But this is the Furia by Harry, in an unorthodox moment. The full MP9-57 bash. Might have to be ready to deal with a bit of swarm of Mao's players. Yeah, get crazy with it. Two into the lower tunnels, crunch in the apartments. I don't see it. Magic here. He's very vulnerable to this. He's also the guy that was meant to go back and get the bomb. So, not a death you feel super good about here if you're Aurora. He won't play TV. They just want to use the advantage. And so, 5v4 go back to spawn, rotate safely. Exertion still under. He should be ready for this. Huge kill for Lucario. Santorres doubling back still gets his frag. spam and a three on three where miles have a shot at making the playoffs. Brolin catches Antares low on health and they're trying to get it done with SMGs. Does Brolin have it in him? 1v2 staring him dead in the face. Spam connects and that's the plan denied. Brolin's been given one hell of a reason to give this one a go. left is the last remaining piece for Aurora. This was not meant to be the strugglesome round. Every step of the way, Brolin's look looked at four Aurora's plans and there he is rounding it out. The captain closes in style and with that clutch, Maus secure themselves a spot in the playoffs. Yeah, but Maus after all here in Brazil, making it into the arena and they will play Furio to see how deep they can go as well semi-finals or quarters. It's a game for the seed mouths reaching for the stars. Nice to see them dispatch of Aurora so cleanly. I don't think it was Aurora's best day in the office but now certainly showed up and Brolin on your screens had a monstrous game across both maps popped off Torsche great dust as well and lots of like out of the mouse camp today solid tea sides and also Brolin individually just putting on a master. the game. It's a very rare win on dust two and you do you do just love those games where Brolin is in good form at it. It's such a treat to watch closes it with a clutch. It feels perfect feels poetic because it was him on dust two that it really did flex on Aurora for Aurora. This isn't the end of the line. They'll move on down to that lower bracket still in with a chance, but they got to keep But Aurora recently making moves in the right direction. This was not the series they expected We've actually got Brolin standing by let's hear from him after a fantastic game Yes, yes, we're here with Brolin and clean as a leading by example Winning the clutch to finish the series, but also having a lot of impact I saw some screaming you on the dust too as well like those tabs with a K I mean pretty impressive stuff from you. What do you think about this best of three? I don't know. I feel really felt it today. I think we played really good. I think we kept the mental and city side of Dust2 and we're really prepared for this game and we know that they're going to pick it. We also had really much for confidence on the city side. It was good. Your coach actually shared with me that you're not trying to over-analyze, over-think some of the stuff. Does this affect you as an IGL as well, where you get maybe a little bit of a freer hand in terms of what you're calling, how you're approaching things or is this strictly just purely practice what he was talking about? I mean, I think it's just a lot of details. We are maybe not playing the right decisions and I think we're repeating a lot of mistakes, especially in Dust2. We try to over-align it if I say so, especially when we played in Rotten Down. We basically lost a lot of Dust2s. We tried to do it too much maybe, but it was a lot of repeating mistakes and a lot of details in the game, but we need to play D-Map more because we haven't played before. I mean of course we have played before from some time now, but we basically had this promo-band before, so yeah it's a pretty different, not a different map, but you can work in default on T-Side, it's a different thing. And now compared to Lassie I would say. So yeah it's been tough, but we are going there, it's fine. Obviously I should have started the interview with this, but congrats on making the playoffs but here you're still fighting for the semifinal ticket and it will be against Furia and I noticed that you have kind of like this weird mechanic with Furia you're always playing them in these matches when you're already advancing it happened in Chengdu it happened in Blast London as well and where you're like both through but it's kind of like a loser goes to the quarter-final so what does change in ahead of Brolan when you're playing these kind of the games is it low pressure because you're essentially not playing an elimination game or how does this affect you? Of course, it's getting a lot of pressure than usual of course, you're already in play also. Yeah, of course it's going to be a really important game still to advance to the team for us instantly and I mean it's always fun to play them as well. We played them last time in return 24, just of course in the stage and in groups as well but yeah I'm looking forward for it and of course it's going to be a good game you know so yeah, it's good. It makes complete sense and obviously good luck in that game for tomorrow, but now Harry and Hugo take it You thought day one was good out here in Rio, how about day two? You're already loving what we've had bought to the table Hugo. I'm talking a vitality guaranteed a playoff spot They're chasing the Grand Slam and they'll be they'll be playing again tomorrow to see if they can work in a semi Yes, they did that G2 series was no joke. No, not all Falcons also going to be there as well locked in for the playoffs playing the seeding match Tomorrow they managed to make quick workers spirit in a match We've seen them win many a time shall we say but a no pressure Falcons and suddenly anything's possible there in the playoffs I think the big news Harry is Furia. Come on They made it back to another playoff appearance in Rio de Janeiro had a great game today as well. And I dropped it at the end of the series, but to see Mordeaux at his first event with Furia make it to an Astana playoff in his home country. It's nice to see us go full circle and see Furia back in Brazil. Yeah, they'll be playing against Maus, right? That's the group B head to head for semis or quarters. Maus pretty handedly dispatching of Aurora. They didn't really break a sweat in that series. And we've all been wondering a little, what's been up with Maus? They used to be, and this was something that the desk we're talking about earlier on, the idea that they were kind of the most consistent or at least alongside Vitality, right? Cuz they were always making these playoff runs. They were always a kind of safe bed to secure a spot in the playoffs. And that was something that was ripped away from them across these last couple of events. So good to see a mouse return to form. And they'll be facing Fury to see who goes to court as who goes to semi. Yeah, some lower bracket scares those G2 and Spirit down there as well, Aurora and Navi. Two teams that you would typically share for playoffs, Navi, a bit of a disappointment I think not being able to close that nuke today, but down in the lower bracket anything's possible. All I'm saying is it's been a pretty good day, right? Having the fact that we have Furia here, hometown heroes, Vitality chasing that grand slam, and then a couple of welcome surprises alongside them, I'm liking the way Rio is shaping it. Absolutely. I think I've got to be looking out for that Falcons vitality game because while vitality lost their map streak today They've still got their series streak and with Falcons having no pressure I think maybe that could be an interesting matchup. So tune in tomorrow rear de Janeiro rages on The Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2026 is brought to you by ESL and partnership with Intel Acer Predator Checks And DHL really making history absolutely from the modern world. And Ace is the champion of the Intel X-ray master. What a fight. Still not quite done. He is going to take this fight for a three second flip. Last two rounds. I think he's going to start it with a three a C. And this is a massive move this time. He's got content with just the Nexus kill. He's going to get them. She's going to get him. And it's all done. I'm strong, Chris! Unbelievable road with a 4-0 victory over classes! And they did it again in the last battle! It's BOW! Giving up for your game, Jill! Extreme Masters World Cup! One, Josh can get him a boss. Hates the shot, gets the cross. Stays to get that bolt down. Try and get some of the time that you hope to now steal the seven seconds. Isolates the jewel and has just enough time to walk. Heavy Gov doing everything for G2. Just messy to get past the mother step. Heavy Gov! Overcomes! Oh, my leg! Oh, look at that! Crazy. Tessus, wow. You know there's two here. Oh, and body shots softened up by monosy. Oh, gets him from the short flank. He knows what's up, Shiro as well. They know exactly where the last two players are and Tessus has hit a third. Clutch for Shiro. Ah, not to be today! This is now, I feel like you're walking around for Navi. Oh, it's just got worse because he's got him boxed in, hoping that this orb can maybe give you something. Oh, yeah! The knife's edge! Yuri pulls it in! Time working against him! Time search! Yuri calls it in, time working against him, got a move quickly and he's done it! D2 is out, fury to get it done, they claw this one back, it goes the distance! Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? Who's right there? I'm out of your tag, I can't believe Brolin's here to let it all to rest. I'm getting scared of another E.K. in here for the Laura. Oh, the view's being held, he can't see it. Oh, there, that is a rough old mist and the full stick, the full 10 seconds. They like rubber. Crossfire set up here, Brolin and Spinks. Hold on, and Maus will go on. I'm not watching this. I'm still here! Spam connects! And that's the plan tonight! And there he is, rounding it out. The captain closes in style. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2. Placent matches set your starting point. Facet rating measures your impact as you climb. The soft ELO reset narrows the gap between the highest ELO players and the rest of level 10. Your starting point will be based on your recent ELO inactivity. We're introducing Facet rating so you can see exactly how much you stack up against others at your level. Facet rating measures how much your actions have increased your team's chances of winning the match. Taking into account the full situation. 8 launches April 22nd. Good luck, and have fun!