Vitality have earned their 3rd win of the Swiss bracket by completing a reverse sweep against reigning Major champions Falcons. After losing the opening map, apEX’s squad came up with back-to-back dominant maps to book their spot in Spodek for the playoffs of the ESL Pro League Season 24.
VETO
- Falcons removed Cache
- Vitality removed Ancient
- Falcons picked Anubis
- Vitality picked Dust2
- Falcons removed Inferno
- Vitality removed Nuke
- Mirage was left over
Map 1: Anubis; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons
Starting the map with a fast B rush, Falcons earned an easy 3-0 lead as Vitality fumbled their 2nd round force. Trying to play with the same pace, a B rush in the 4th round saw Vitality take back momentum with a perfect hold. They got back to their winning ways, remaining dominant for the better part of the first half, losing a few rounds in the process, and closed the first half with a narrow 7-5 lead. Losing the pistol to a B execute, Falcons gave away their lead as Vitality levelled the scoreline. Winning 2 more, the Falcons hit back with a successful retake on the A site that saw them get back on the scoreboard. Winning their first round on the defence, m0NESY’s AWP finally found the momentum that helped them remain flawless for the rest of the half that closed on Anubis with a 13-9 scoreline. m0NESY’s 22 kills, with supreme rifle work in the first half and a flashy AWP performance in the second, concluded a fine Falcons show.
Map 2: Dust2; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
Following a tough defeat, Vitality came out swinging on their own map pick as Dust 2 saw them get off to a 6-0 start before some m0NESY Deaglee magic pulled a round back for Falcons. Despite their first-round loss, Vitality remained just as dominant on their offence, with the half closing 9-3 in their favor. Having struggled to get going, Falcons lost the pistol, making their misery worse as their offence yielded no more than a single round that closed the map with a 13-4 dominant victory for Vitality. With ZyWoo struggling, flameZ picked up the slack with 23 kills and 2.10 IR.
Map 3: Mirage; Pick: Decider; Winner: Vitality
Quick A-setup to start Mirage; Falcon’s first round came with a pistol conversion, only to lose the momentum to an eco retake from Vitality. m0NESY got 2 unbelievable kills in the mid with a Glock pulled in an unbelievable round for his team, but that was about it before Vitality continued their streak. Making it all the way to the end, Kyosuke’s besting of ZyWoo in the connector opened the site, leading to the final round going the way of Falcons as the half closed 8-4. Successfully retaking A-site with a Kyosuke 3K, Falcons started closing the deficit. Vitality’s semi-buy got them another round, after which both teams started trading before they hit series point. With little effort, they pushed the game over the line as Falcons failed to secure anything more than 8, leading to a 13-8 scoreline.
Vitality have joined MOUZ in the playoffs of the ESL Pro League off the back of a performance that speaks volumes, especially in light of their recent results. Dominantly beating Falcons, the squad looks to challenge for their throne as the best team in the world, and there is no better place to start than in Spodek.
