The teams returned to the stage after Day 1 of the New Legends Stage, with some looking to set the record straight while some fighting to get the early chance of making it to the Champions Stage.
Renegades vs Avangar
Vertigo was served to the viewers for the very first matchup that featured two teams with a 0-1 record. Avangar came in hot winning the first five rounds, starting on the Terrorist side. But, Renegades won eight of the remaining rounds in the half to gain a marginal lead going into the swap.
AVANGAR slowly plucked away at Renegades’ offence but the North American organisation won two rounds on the trot to bring it back to within around at 13-14. AVANGAR though, persevered with two successful retakes to close the map 16-13 and even out their record.
Natus Vincere vs DreamEaters
A CIS derby that no one thought they would have on their plate in the 0-1 bracket at the Legends Stage. DreamEaters have had an encouraging Major so far while Natus Vincere have started their campaign unable to hold down a lead against G2.
It looked like Natus Vincere were in for another tough time as DreamEaters racked up 6 rounds on the Terrorist side on Overpass. But, the CIS giants showed just why they are one of the favourites at the Major, conceding just 1 round on their own T side, closing Overpass 16-7. DreamEaters are now one Best-of-3 loss away from going 0-3 in the Legends Stage and having to go through the CIS Minor once again.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs CR4ZY
One of the spicier matchups in the 0-1 bracket, Ninjas in Pyjamas vs CR4ZY produced an individual masterclass from young Lithuanian star EspiranTo. With the match poised at 12-10 in favour of CR4ZY on Train, EspiranTo was up against it in a 1v3 retake situation with just a deagle in his hand.
It just so happened that the Deagle was enough, with the Lithuanian producing a highlight-worthy of the stage, having to turn 180 twice during the fast-paced 1v3. Nevertheless, NiP were unable to recover from the lost 1vx situation and CR4ZY closed out the map 16-10.
Besides EspiranTo’s audacious clutch, the matchup produced another storyline in the fact that f0rest continues to underperform at the Starladder Berlin CSGO Major, having a total negative K-D difference of 22 over the two maps played.
North vs mousesports
mousesports’ loss to FAZE Clan was one of the surprises of Day 1. While they started out strong, winning 10 rounds on the T side of Inferno, mousesports struggled against the North offence and with their inability to close out maps.
Despite leading 14-6, mousesports saw their lead reduced by North, with the Danish stack bringing it back to 13-15 before the German organisation finally shutting North down to even their record at the Berlin Major.
Liquid vs NRG
The latest iteration of the NA derby, Liquid went into the map against NRG as the slight favorites. And EliGE showed signs of just why he is being considered in discussions for the best player at the moment. But, the 22-year-old was unable to carry his team as NRG shut down Liquid on Dust 2 to go 2-0, pushing Liquid into the 1-1 bracket.
FAZE Clan vs Vitality
It was a straight forward route from Vitality in the first half of Dust 2, with the French stack winning 13 rounds on the CT side. FAZE Clan attempted to mount a comeback but Vitality proved too strong, closing out the map 16-7.
ENCE vs mibr
A matchup that was, on paper, heavily favoured towards ENCE, primarily because mibr were using zews as their fifth player at the Major. While the Brazilians did beat NiP in the opener, ENCE showed the difference between having an active player and a coach as the fifth.
mibr struggled to cope with the firepower of ENCE, who won 9 rounds on the T side of Inferno before running away with the map with a scoreline of 16-8.
Astralis vs G2
The way G2 started on their T side on Nuke, it rang ominous bells, especially for Astralis. But, the Danes showed that two can play at the game, dominating their own T side as well.
The highlight of the game was G2 using the SMG buys on their T side to great effect while the map and the day ended on a humorous note. G2 managed to kill every Astralis player on their retake but went to the wrong bombsite, ultimately gifting the Danes what was a deserved win with a scoreline of 16-7.
With Day 2 now complete, we have a clearer picture of who will be fighting for survival on Day 3 and who will look to book their place in the Champions Stage of the Starladder Berlin CSGO Major 2019.
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