Astralis is in the Grand Final of PGL Astana after coming back from a map loss to open the series. Freshly minted IGL HooXi has proven his worth once again, having led the team to their first Grand Final in years. This speaks to the brilliance of the team that went unnoticed under previous leadership.
VETO
- Aurora removed Ancient
- Astralis removed Anubis
- Aurora picked Mirage
- Astralis picked Nuke
- Astralis removed Dust2
- Aurora removed Inferno
- Train was left over
Map 1: Mirage; Pick: Aurora; Winner: Aurora
Going into an early lead, Aurora managed to keep the Danish defence on the back foot. With what has always been a strong map for Aurora, Mirage CT woes continued for dev1ce and co. in light of MAJ3R calling a fantastic offence for the Turks. Despite being on the back foot, Astralis managed to scavenge 5 rounds before switching sides. The second half saw the momentum switch back and forth between the two sides, with neither being able to find consistency, which led to the team winning at half time, winning the map by the skin of their teeth with a 13-11 scoreline.
Map 2: Nuke; Pick: Astralis; Winner: Astralis
Aurora, despite starting strong on defense in Nuke, allowed Astralis to take back control of the game. The Danes posted a solid T side despite managing 5 rounds by the end, giving them a fighting chance on the CT side. Swapping halves with a 7-5 scoreline, Astralis managed to post a perfect CT side, reading Aurora every step of the way, leading to the Turks failing to win a single round. Of the 9 rounds on offense, Aurora only managed to plant the bomb once, showcasing a dominant defense planned by HooXi. Stavn with 21 kills shone for Astralis by far as the best player on the server.
Map 3: Train; Pick: Decider; Winner: Astralis
A dominant CT side started from the Danes, saw Astralis go 4-0 up before Aurora could see a round on the board. Despite Astralis remaining largely dominant in the offence, Aurora managed to somehow win 3 rounds, giving them the slightest chance at a comeback. Switching sides, Astralis’ pistol win closed the door for the Aurora comeback as the scoreline kept looking more and more dominating with every passing kill. Playing a perfect T side, Astralis won the map with a 13-3 scoreline, brushing aside Aurora from PGL Astana.
A shocking result given the fact that Aurora was threatening the big names under the previous organization, while Astralis had little time to practice under HooXi’s leadership. Having a proper IGL has given dev1ce the freedom to be the star AWPer that he is, and his impact was undeniably too much for the Turks to handle today.