Grayhound and TYLOO top Asia Minor groups

Grayhound topped the Asia Minor's Group A with a victory over AVANT, 16-12 on Overpass and 16-0 on Nuke, while TYLOO were first in Group B after beating Alpha Red, 8-16 on Overpass, 16-8 on Mirage, and 16-9 on Train.

Grayhound took the lead on Overpass as Erdenetsogt "⁠erkaSt⁠" Gantulga gunned down three with his glock, but AVANT tied it up the following round. Grayhound regained the lead with a successful pistol buy and an A plant, which they followed up with an anti-eco with for a 3-1 lead. Grayhound then started to run away on the attack, going up 6-1 before AVANT could retaliate. A double AWP setup by Jireh "⁠J1rah⁠" Youakim and Euan "⁠sterling⁠" Moore bore fruit, as AVANT turned it around and went on to win the half, albeit just barely, 8-7.

Grayhound tied it back up after winning the second pistol round, and followed it up to regain the lead, but a successful A hit by AVANT with guns made it 9-9. It looked like Mike "⁠ap0c⁠" Aliferis and company would perhaps be able to put up a fight on the attack, but it was the Grayhound show on the CT side, as after losing three rounds in a row they went on to win seven of the last eight to take the first map, 16-12.

Grayhound once again started in the lead, this time on the defending side on Nuke. After the pistol and the anti-eco, Grayhound kept their defenses strong as AVANT hit a wall round after round. AVANT were unable to find an opening as Grayhound stampeded their way to halftime without giving up a single round. Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong’s men then played fast on the upper site in the second pistol round, gaining the man advantage and planting the bomb in a 4vs2 to close the match and series out, topping Group A.

A triple by WingHei "⁠Freeman⁠" Cheung on the CT-side pistol round kicked off Overpass as TYLOO took the early lead. Despite not being able to win the second round, Alpha Red made a lot of damage on the forcebuy before going on to win in the third round following a 4vs2 plant. With the score tied, Alpha Red were able to plant on A and win the 2vs2 to take the lead. A successful 2vs4 retake by Hansel "⁠BnTeT⁠" Ferdinand and YuLun "⁠Summer⁠" Cai on B evened it back out, 3-3. Another huge retake by Summer getting three kills kept it close, making it 4-5, but Alpha Red didn’t let their foot off the gas winning four in a row to make it 9-4 before giving up the last two.

TYLOO won the second pistol round, but were unable to convert against the forcebuy as Peeratch "⁠Olivia⁠" Ingkudanonda put a wrench into the Chinese team’s plans with a MAG-7 in bathroom that stopped an A push. The Thai team then went on to put forth a dominant display on the CT side, giving up but a single round to close Overpass out 16-8 and take the lead in the series

TYLOO took the lead on the attacking side of Mirage, going up 3-0 before Alpha Red could tally one of their own following an A defense. A four-kill round by BnTeT kept the Chinese team in the lead, who were always a step ahead of Alpha Red. Despite a rough start, the Thai side was able to settle in and win the last three rounds of the half to keep it within one, 7-8, before switching to the attack.

With HaoWen "⁠somebody⁠" Xu at the helm, TYLOO were able to increase their lead to 12-7 after winning the second pistol round and two more following it. Alpha Red were able to get on the board following two entries by Kitisak "⁠SeveN89⁠" Kititharakun, but that would be it as TYLOO regained their composure and put on a dominant display on the defense, hitting match point and winning a 3vs4 retake on B to take it to the decider, Train.

Doubles by Summer and Freeman put TYLOO in the lead on the CT side of Train. It wasn’t until the sixth round that Alpha Red were able to get on the board, but TYLOO took the reins back and cleanly wiped the Thai team out the following round to keep a hefty six round lead. Alpha Red then replied with a successful play on the inner site, which they were able to follow up thanks to a four-kill round by SeveN89. Having maimed TYLOO’s economy, Alpha Red were able to bring the half to a close 6-9 before the witch.

Four kills by Freeman got TYLOO on double digits after the first round of the second half. With 12-6 on the board, Alpha Red were able to win a crucial 4vs4 retake on the B site to stop TYLOO from running away with the map. The Chinese team then got to 13, but Alpha Red were quick to reply, stopping an A push to keep it within four, 9-13. Doubles by Summer and somebody got TYLOO one round away from match point as they broke Alpha Red’s economy. Without giving the Thai team a chance, TYLOO hit match point and closed the map and match out the following round to qualify for the Asia Minor playoffs.