MIBR, fnatic advance to group A lower bracket final over North, mousesports

MIBR and fnatic secure playoffs participation in Belek after emerging victorious 2-0 in their series against North and MOUZ, respectively.

North and MIBR kicked off group A's lower bracket semi-finals on Mirage, where a USP-S quad kill from Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo stunned the offense, and set his team up for an immediate two-round lead. Markus "⁠Kjaerbye⁠" Kjærbye led North to their first T-side successes, as a fruitful opening on the B site in round 3 led to a save from MIBR, as well as an additional four afterward, marking the development of a lead.

Another multi-frag from FalleN on the AWP cut the Danes' consecutive conversions, and served as a pivotal change in dynamics, as North secured but an additional round to MIBR's six, leading to a 9-6 half for the Brazilian defence.

René "⁠cajunb⁠" Borg shone through for North in the second pistol round, where he was able to land a USP-S triple kill, two frags of which were in a clutch situation. Despite the outstanding showing, North struggled to maintain control in the following rounds, allowing the Brazilian offensive two stretches of uncontested success, themselves only sporadically showing up. This development meant map point for MIBR, who went on to close 16-9 after a closing AK-47 quad kill for Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga.

North kicked off Overpass with a confident pistol victory, and despite an immediate pistol buy upset that saw Lucas "⁠LUCAS1⁠" Teles land a triple kill, managed to keep their foot on the gas, excelling to a 4-1 early lead. Retaliation from MIBR was swift and remorseless, as the Brazilian squad went on to equalise the score, with Vito "⁠kNgV-⁠" Giuseppe posting an AWP triple kill to square affairs off. A back-and-forth ensued between the teams in concluding rounds, putting the initial half of Overpass to bed at an even 8-7 in slight favour of North.

MIBR landed the latter pistol round thanks to a Glock triple kill from Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo, and proceeded to confidently close rounds despite losing against North's first full buy where cajunb posted a M4A4 quad kill. Having equalised, the Brazilian squad persisted in the following six rounds, which ensured map and series point for FalleN and company.

Unfazed by the consecutive fallthroughs, the Danes maintained composure till the very last round, where a 3v5 post-plant situation saw North falter, conceding the map 14-16 and series as a result.

MOUZ kicked off the second lower bracket semi-final with a team ace that gave the international squad the spring needed to advance to an immediate 5-0 lead on Train. Having sustained an early battering, fnatic finally found footing off the back of a solid retake effort from Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell, who ensured the second round of the half for the team. Consistency from Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist and Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin on the defence meant mounting success for the Swedes, as nine consecutive victories fell their way, while MOUZ had the last laugh in round 15 at 6-9.

Another pistol round victory for MOUZ, featuring an ace for Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool, saw a less fruitful follow-up on the CT side, as but an additional on round was accrued off the back of early momentum. Instead, fnatic were able to consistently breach and secure bomb plants, concluding their back-to-back victories just two rounds short of a map victory. Employing resilience and experience in the concluding rounds allowed MOUZ another shot at the map, as the international mix was able to outlast fnatic despite the Swedes' subsequently accrued map point, forcing overtime on Train.

MOUZ were unable to keep up their defensive performance outside of regulation, conceding a 1-2 initial half to fnatic as a result. The Swedes exploited their opponents' shortcomings on the offense, closing out Train with a 19-17 scoreline.

Inferno was next on the agenda, where fnatic kicked off on the offensive, securing an immediate 3-0 advantage thanks to a productive pistol round. Rifles in hand, MOUZ assumed control of affairs as of their first full buy, a round that witnessed Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen land a M4A1-S triple kill. The captain inspired his squadron towards success, as the European mix managed to produce a lead by mid-half. Maikil "⁠Golden⁠" Selim and company struggled on the offense, nevertheless, an additional four rounds were secured, softening the Swedes' deficit to a 7-8 close.

ropz demonstrated his pistol prowess once more, this time landing a P250 triple kill in the opening round of the team's T half. A brawl ensued in the following rounds, ended by Golden who placed his team back on track after securing an AK-47 triple kill. The Swedes proceeded to maintain a lead largely thanks to outstanding individual plays from Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson, flusha and JW, all of which led to map point at a three-round discrepancy for fnatic. Contrary to Train, MOUZ were unable to go the distance, falling 12-16 to conclude the series.