We promised you a Super Thursday, and a Super Thursday was eventually delivered. Virtus.pro have pushed Titan down to the lower bracket of Fragbite Masters powered by Com Hem after en epic best of three battle, which ended with an overtime after a major comeback from the Polish team in the deciding map. Before that, though, there were two best of one games played in the upper bracket.
LGB eSports vs. Fnatic
The match to kick off the day was the battle between the Swedish rivals LGB eSports and Fnatic. The map was Dust2, and Fnatic really put on a show. As Terrorists, Markus "pronax" Wallsten's team bulldozer'd their way towards half time, only dropping two rounds before switching over to the CT side. Then, LGB eSports started winning rounds, but the massive gap was too much for them to fill, and Fnatic went through in the lower bracket.
The second game of the night was the one between the CIS-based HellRaisers and the French side of Clan-Mystik. The match was played out on Inferno, where the latter really had a tough start as Counter-Terrorists. After nine rounds played, HellRaisers were up with eight rounds to one. This was the moment where points started going towards the Frenchmen, who in the end of the half had six pins on the board. They also won the utterly important pistol round, but only to lose the following anti-eco. That was basically the deciding moment as HellRaisers went on to win the match with twice as many rounds as their opponents, who are now eliminated from the tournament.
Last, but — mark my words — not least, was the extremely anticipated game between Titan and Virtus.pro. The teams hadn't faced off since the group stage of EMS One Katowice, where the Polish side won both the match, the group and the event while French-Belgian team were eliminated in the group stage. The first map was Cache, a map that has not been played that much in this tournament. Titan showed us they were comfortable playing on it, as they picked up ten rounds before half time followed by six straight points as CT, giving them a 16-5 win and a 1-0 lead in the best of three.
Dust2 was the next map in line, where the Terrorist side once again got ten rounds against five in half time. This time, though, Virtus.pro were the ones with the lead, and after a won CT pistol round it all looked like an easy win for Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas' team — but something happened. Titan began to crawl back into the match, much thanks to Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux's amazing performance with the AWP, eventually lowering their opponent's lead to only one round. Though, Virtus.pro managed to handle the situation and forced the best of three meeting into a third and final map.
Inferno was the decider, where things couldn't have began worse for the EMS One Katowice Champions. Virtus.pro were completely locked out of the bombsites as the attacking side, and Titan picked up a massive amount of rounds ending up with a 13-2 lead before half time. Virtus.pro then slowly started to crawl back, but were far from a successful comeback — until their veteran TaZ stepped it up. Alone in a one-versus-three situation, where Titan had planted the bomb, he managed to get all three kills and just barely defuse the bomb. After this, his team seemed to pick up rounds with way more confidence, forcing the clash to overtime.
Just like the previous halves, the CT side dominated the overtime as well. Virtus.pro, starting off as defenders, snatched three straight points before the switch. This meant Titan, who just twenty minutes before had a 13-2 lead, were fighting for another overtime to stay in the game. Virtus.pro didn't allow them to do that, though, as they picked up the first round as Terrorists to mark their win.
LGB eSports vs. Fnatic
The match to kick off the day was the battle between the Swedish rivals LGB eSports and Fnatic. The map was Dust2, and Fnatic really put on a show. As Terrorists, Markus "pronax" Wallsten's team bulldozer'd their way towards half time, only dropping two rounds before switching over to the CT side. Then, LGB eSports started winning rounds, but the massive gap was too much for them to fill, and Fnatic went through in the lower bracket.
HellRaisers vs. Clan-MystikLGB eSports vs.
LGB: dennis, olofm, krimz, cype, twist
fnatic: pronax, jw, schneider, Devilwalk, JW
The second game of the night was the one between the CIS-based HellRaisers and the French side of Clan-Mystik. The match was played out on Inferno, where the latter really had a tough start as Counter-Terrorists. After nine rounds played, HellRaisers were up with eight rounds to one. This was the moment where points started going towards the Frenchmen, who in the end of the half had six pins on the board. They also won the utterly important pistol round, but only to lose the following anti-eco. That was basically the deciding moment as HellRaisers went on to win the match with twice as many rounds as their opponents, who are now eliminated from the tournament.
Titan vs. Virtus.proHellRaisers vs.
Clan-Mystik — 16-8 (9-6)
HR: AdreN, ANGE1, Dosia, markeloff, kucher
CM: HaRts, kennyS, kioShiMa, GMX, Sf
Last, but — mark my words — not least, was the extremely anticipated game between Titan and Virtus.pro. The teams hadn't faced off since the group stage of EMS One Katowice, where the Polish side won both the match, the group and the event while French-Belgian team were eliminated in the group stage. The first map was Cache, a map that has not been played that much in this tournament. Titan showed us they were comfortable playing on it, as they picked up ten rounds before half time followed by six straight points as CT, giving them a 16-5 win and a 1-0 lead in the best of three.
Dust2 was the next map in line, where the Terrorist side once again got ten rounds against five in half time. This time, though, Virtus.pro were the ones with the lead, and after a won CT pistol round it all looked like an easy win for Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas' team — but something happened. Titan began to crawl back into the match, much thanks to Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux's amazing performance with the AWP, eventually lowering their opponent's lead to only one round. Though, Virtus.pro managed to handle the situation and forced the best of three meeting into a third and final map.
Inferno was the decider, where things couldn't have began worse for the EMS One Katowice Champions. Virtus.pro were completely locked out of the bombsites as the attacking side, and Titan picked up a massive amount of rounds ending up with a 13-2 lead before half time. Virtus.pro then slowly started to crawl back, but were far from a successful comeback — until their veteran TaZ stepped it up. Alone in a one-versus-three situation, where Titan had planted the bomb, he managed to get all three kills and just barely defuse the bomb. After this, his team seemed to pick up rounds with way more confidence, forcing the clash to overtime.
Just like the previous halves, the CT side dominated the overtime as well. Virtus.pro, starting off as defenders, snatched three straight points before the switch. This meant Titan, who just twenty minutes before had a 13-2 lead, were fighting for another overtime to stay in the game. Virtus.pro didn't allow them to do that, though, as they picked up the first round as Terrorists to mark their win.
The results above mean that LGB eSports and Clan-Mystik have been eliminated from Fragbite Masters, while Fnatic and HellRaisers as well as Titan will fight on in the lower bracket. Virtus.pro have, thanks to their win, secured themselves a spot in the upper bracket final where they will face either LDLC.com or dignitas. The match deciding the Polish team's UB-final opponents will be played tomorrow, so keep your eyes open!Virtus.pro — 1-2
Titan: Ex6TenZ, ScreaM, shox, SmithZz, NBK
Virtus: TaZ, neo, pasha, byali, Snax
Cache: 16-5 (10-5)
Dust2: 12-16 (5-10)
Inferno: 15-19 (13-2)
