February 28, 2023 All News, CS:GO Michael

CSGO: Fnatic beats IHC, proceeds to deciding match in Malta

#Fnatic defeated #IHC in a three-map series, eliminating the Mongolians with victories on Inferno (16-9) and Nuke (16-5), after losing on Overpass (17-19), as they advance to the ESL Premier League Season 17 group A fourth-place match.

The match against the Mongolians was Fredrik #roeJ Jorgensen’s chance to shine for his team. The #Dane made an impression throughout the entire series, destroying IHC’s offensive tactics and dominating the server with a 1.33 rating and 89 ADR across the three maps.

Game opener

The game started on Inferno, IHC’s go-to veto decision, and it didn’t take the Mongolians long to fully utilize their pick of map. The Asian team was able to snowball their way to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a triple kill from Sodbayar #Techno Munkhbold in the pistol round. As a result of fnatic’s outstanding run, which included powerful and skillfully performed bombsite takes, fnatic jumped ahead 9-6 at the side swap.

At the start of the second half, fnatic maintained their winning streak. RoeJ and Nicodooz stayed firm, and their play increased fnatic’s advantage to six rounds, 12-6. IHC attempted to narrow the difference with a three-round winning streak of their own, but fnatic’s defensive line withstood the attack. The European team then concluded the match quickly, 16-9.

IHC had a 3-0 run to open Overpass, but fnatic reversed that by putting together four rounds of their own on the T-side. The situation quickly changed, though, as the Mongolian five some built a nearly impregnable wall on the CT-side, blocking fnatic’s strikes on the two bombsites and quickly advancing to an assured first-half victory, 8-4.

Tuvshintugs #Annihilation Nyamdorj’s performance helped IHC achieve the map point first, but fnatic wouldn’t go down without a fight, adding three hard-fought rounds to their total to send the match to OT. The Mongolians won two rounds with their attacking effort, narrowly escaping with a 19-17 victory in the decisive round.

IHC remained in control once Nuke started, and fnatic found it difficult to establish a presence in the match at first. Dion #FASHR Derksen’s 1v2 strike in the seventh round turned the tide of the match and allowed fnatic to collect some much-needed rounds and begin to pull away from the competition. The European team went on a fantastic seven-round spree, giving up just one round once they started going to lead 10-5 at half.

As soon as the game restarted, things for IHC got even worse. The economic freedom to continue moving forward all the way to the map and series point, was provided by fnatic’s spotless pistol round. Any possibility of a Mongolian comeback was soon put to rest when Nicodooz pulled a 1v2 out of his bag of tricks on the bombsite A to secure a 2-1 win.