en
IEM Cologne Quarterfinals Recap: Unstoppable Astralis!!
As we enter the LANXESS Arena to pay our respects in the Cathedral of Counter Strike, the 6 of the top teams in the world line up to give us a show of extraordinary, near legendary Counter Strike here at IEM Cologne 2023.
Image Source: ESL
Four teams lined up last night as we commenced with the Quarterfinals of IEM Cologne. Team Vitality had a close encounter with Cloud9. Meanwhile, Astralis could be on the rise to their Championship form, as they make easy work of Heroic.
Cloud9 vs Team Vitality:
There were little doubts in the minds of fans that Vitality would come out on top against a newly reshuffled Cloud9. Despite the return of Ax1le, Vitality still took the series 2-0, after an arduous 2 map series.
Cloud9 removed Nuke.
Vitality removed Ancient.
Cloud9 picked Mirage.
Vitality picked Inferno.
Cloud9 removed Vertigo.
Vitality removed Anubis.
Overpass was left over.
Map 1: Mirage
Starting off on Mirage, Vitality had a very strong start. ZywOo being ZywOo, managed to kick things off in style with a 3k on the pistol round. They won the first 5 rounds in a row. Cloud9 could do very little against this CT-side. They only managed to take away 5 rounds, as the first half ended 10-5.
Vitality again had a strong start, as they managed to take 4 rounds right off the bat in the second half. But Cloud9 fought back with a 5 round win streak of their own. But Vitality were too much for them, as the French outfit eventually got to Map Point, and closed out the map 16-11.
Map 2: Inferno
Inferno was much more competitive than the last map. Cloud9 had a decent start on their T-side, as they managed to take 4 rounds right off the bat in the first half. Vitality answered back with 5 rounds of their own. Both teams traded rounds back and forth, until finally, Cloud9 managed to come out on top at 8-7 in the half.
There was more trading of rounds in the second half. Vitality showed off a strong T-side to bring themselves up to 14. But Cloud9 answered back with a decent CT-side of their own, as they got onto Map Point. Vitality managed to clinch that last round, and push the map into Overtime.
Neither team was willing to give up, as they were still trading blows. But in the end, Vitality came out on top to take the map 19-17.
Team Vitality moved ahead to the Semi Finals of IEM Cologne, where they will face ENCE. While Cloud9’s run has been put to an end.
Heroic vs Astralis:
Astralis have been making a steady rise to the top. And their Danish Rivals were just another stepping stone to reclaim their long-lost glory. Astralis won the series 2-0 against Heroic.
Astralis removed Mirage.
Heroic removed Anubis.
Astralis picked Ancient.
Heroic picked Inferno.
Astralis removed Nuke.
Heroic removed Vertigo.
Overpass was left over.
Map 1: Ancient
Astralis kicked things off with a decent CT-side on Ancient. They managed to win 4 rounds right off the bat. But Heroic answered back with a few rounds of their own, managing to take the lead at 7-6. However, Buzz managed to step up for Astralis, as he showed off his cool nerves to pull off a 1v3 clutch in round 14 to equalize for Astralis. This was followed up by Dev1ce making a 1v2 clutch to end the half 8-7 in favor of Astralis.
The second half was a slaughterhouse for Heroic. Astralis pulled off a perfect T-side, not conceding a single round. The former Major Champions pulled off an 8 round win streak to win the map at a staggering 16-7.
Map 2: Inferno
Going to Inferno for a second time in the night, it was a strong start from Heroic. They showed off a decent T-side, and won 5 out of the first 6 rounds. Astralis did try to fight back, and managed to almost even out the score at 8-7 in favor of Heroic.
Astralis secured the pistol round in the second half with style. Staehr pulled off 4 kills in the round to kick off Astralis’ dominant T-side. Heroic could only hold back 3 rounds in the half, as Astralis rolled over them, taking the map 16-11.
Astralis are through to the Semi Finals, where they will go head-to-head against G2 Esports. They are the only team from the Play-in Stage to get into the Cathedral. Meanwhile, Heroic have been eliminated from IEM Cologne.
