In the IEM Katowice Group B upper bracket final, which determined who would proceed directly to the semifinals and who would begin their playoff run in the previous round, #Heroic took revenge on #Vitality for losing to them at the BLAST Premier Spring Groups.
Game recap
The European combo chose Inferno over Nuke in the veto, which they picked and won when the two teams faced off at BLAST Premier Spring Groups. Danny #zonic Sorensen’s team established an early 5-2 lead after winning a second-round forcebuy on the offensive, suggesting that perhaps their risk would pay off. However, they were rapidly destroyed by a Heroic team that dominated on the CT side and won seven of the last eight rounds to lead 9-6 at the halfway point.
Similar to the first half, the second began with the CTs winning the pistol round and the Ts responding in the forcebuy. Despite brilliant performance from two top players of Vitality, Mathieu #ZywOo Herbaut and Lotan #Spinx Giladi, the rest of the team’s disorganization could not be made up for.
After winning comfortably 16-7 on Inferno, Heroic entered their Overpass pick with a lot of confidence. They continued to crush their opponents, who disappeared and gave the impression that they already had their eyes on the playoffs and that the current seeding match was just a formality. The Danes won the first three rounds on the offensive, conceded one to Vitality’s first round of full buy, and then continued to dominate their opponents to a halftime score of 12-3.
After three victories over Astralis, Evil Geniuses, and Fnatic, Vitality’s first actual stress test on the map did not get any better in the second half. Heroic almost won the match as the defenders crushed Vitality’s B site attack in the second pistol round. Although the Danes lost the following forcebuy, they won the next round to maintain their lead of ten rounds. After two rounds, Casper #cadiaN Moller and his team finished the map in commanding fashion, winning 16-4.
Postgame interview
After a game, a clearly pleased Rene #TeSeS Madsen jokingly discussed his team’s convincing victory over Vitality. “We were hoping for the Inferno choice and when we saw it, we said, ok, we have a fair shot”. He told Bleh and Freya #Freya Spiers in the Hall of Heroes.
Heroic will resume play on February 11th, for the IEM Katowice semifinals, while Vitality will begin their playoff run in the quarter-finals on February 10th. The group round of the event will be followed by a two-day break before the playoffs, which will take place at the legendary Spodek Arena.
