INTZ beat Sharks in Americas Minor playoffs

INTZ are one win away from the StarLadder Major after beating Sharks 2-0 in the first upper bracket round of the Americas Minor.

INTZ got off to a blazing fast start on Mirage, their own map pick, taking a 4-0 lead without too much effort. Sharks' response attempts were swiftly traded back by INTZ, who relied on the fragging prowess of star player Vito "⁠kNgV-⁠" Giuseppe to overturn a 2v5 situation in the eighth round. Things were starting to look ominous for Sharks, but they picked themselves up towards the end of the half and brought the deficit to a solitary round.

Sharks showed once again the pistol round issues that had plagued them on the first day of the tournament, with INTZ riding that momentum to a 12-7 lead. Sharks then ran riot and cut the gap to just two rounds after enjoying a period of dominance, but a comeback was not on the cards. kNgV- came to his team's rescue once again with a quad-kill, with the finishing blow coming shortly afterward in a 1v2 Lucas "⁠DeStiNy⁠" Bullo clutch.

A quad-kill by Marcelo "⁠chelo⁠" Cespedes in the first pistol round of Nuke set INTZ up for another flying start. They gave Sharks' players very little room to work with and cruised to an 8-2 lead before the Terrorists rallied back to make it a competitive 5-10 half.

INTZ came out the livelier of the two sides yet again and further added to their lead after taking the pistol round and the following anti-eco. Sharks then tightened up their defense and went on a massive run, restoring parity at 12-12. INTZ were unimpressed, though, and brought that streak to an end in an eco round following three kills from Alexandre "⁠xand⁠" Zizi.

That one round ended up turning the tide back in INTZ's favour. The Terrorists kept the pace high for the remainder of the half and fended off a late comeback attempt from Sharks, with chelo securing the map for his team with a massive 1v4 clutch.