Astralis send G2 to lower bracket in ESL One: Road to Rio

Astralis are through to the upper bracket final in the RMR tournament after putting up a solid all-round performance against G2.

The Danish team lived up to their No.1 ranking as they dispatched their French opponents in quick fashion to set up an upper bracket final clash with FaZe on Friday. Astralis, who extended their winning streak to six matches, four of which by a 2-0 scoreline, were in control for most of the series, even on Vertigo, where they made a comeback from 8-12 down to pick up a narrow victory that all but confirmed their place in the next stage.

G2's strategy relied on taking the series to three maps, and once their map pick went Astralis' way they knew the match was almost over. Overpass was a one-way street as the Danes ran all over their opponents, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz ending the map just one frag shy of a 30-bomb, showing glimpses of his best form just two days after the organisation signed another AWPer, Jakob "⁠JUGi⁠" Hansen, as their backup player.

The French side, who were coming off a surprise defeat to North in the last round of the group stage, made a slow start to the game on Vertigo, forcing Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković to call a tactical pause at 2-3 after his team had twice failed to string rounds together. Astralis were able to capitalise on those mistakes, strolling to a 6-2 lead, but then G2 gradually took the upper hand to go into the break down by just one, though it could have been a completely different story had nexa not pulled off a miraculous 1v3 clutch in the 14th round.

The French team carried that late momentum into the second half and built a solid lead after chaining five rounds together. But the rest of the half was controlled by Astralis, who dictated the pace of the game - immediately bouncing back after losing an anti-eco round that could have revitalized the Frenchmen - en route to a 16-13 victory.

François "⁠AMANEK⁠" Delaunay opened up the action on Overpass with a 1v2 clutch in the pistol round, setting G2 up for a 3-0 lead. Their joy would be short-lived, though, as the tone of the game changed once both teams had money in the bank. Any round that G2 won was immediately traded back by Astralis, who went into the break up 10-5, led by device and Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen, the latter of whom had endured a frustrating performance on Vertigo.

G2 looked down and out as the second half began, and Astralis were unwilling to take pity on their opponents. The French team could only muster three rounds before Astralis locked down the map, with device ending the game in style as he picked up the final two frags after putting his team on series point with an ace.