forZe edge out AVANGAR; NiP tie MIBR at BLAST Pro Series Moscow

forZe took the victory over AVANGAR 16-14 on Dust2 while NIP and MIBR split points after a 15-15 game on Train in Moscow.

Following forZe's 4-0 start on the CT side of Dust2, AVANGAR mustered a round with their trademark A site execute despite Bogdan "⁠xsepower⁠" Chernikov picking off two Terrorists on the approach. forZe bounced straight back with xsepower picking up entries in the two following rounds, making the score 6-1.

AVANGAR got back into the half and narrowed the deficit down to 7-6 at one point, but were unable to take the lead as Evgeny "⁠FL1T⁠" Lebedev stepped up on the A defense with a triple, closing the half 9-6.

After the switch, AVANGAR held strong to pick up the first four rounds as CT and take the lead on Dust2. From that point onward, the game became an exciting back-and-forth. The score was tied at 13-13 and AVANGAR were looking to edge towards victory as they had a 5v2 advantage, but Almaz "⁠almazer⁠" Asadullin and xsepower turned it around and pushed their team over the finish line, 16-14.

Starting 3-0 on the CT side of Train is usually a sign of a dominant half to come, but MIBR weren't able to establish themselves on the defense. It was all about NIP since they broke into B on a mixed buy in round four, with Jonas "⁠Lekr0⁠" Olofsson once again topping the scoreboard for the Swedes.

The score was 8-3 before MIBR started finding success with the double AWP of Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo and Vito "⁠kNgV-⁠" Giuseppe, but even with things going their way in the late stages, they still trailed 9-6 going onto the offensive side of Train. No one ran away with the game quickly, as MIBR converted the 3-0 after a much-needed pistol round win, while NIP replied with a three-round streak of their own.

The Brazilian side managed to win the key rounds that gave them the edge in terms of economy and helped the comeback of FalleN and co. on the T side. It was 13-13 when NIP finally afforded a buy again, but their poor B defense was taken advantage of by the Brazilian side, giving them the lead. MIBR followed that up to reach 15-13, but Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund and Nicolas "⁠Plopski⁠" Gonzalez Zamora came alive in the last rounds to ensure their team a tie, 15-15.