Vitality outlasted G2 after losing their own map pick to kick off their PGL Cluj-Napoca campaign with a win. Coming in with hot hands after winning Krakow, Vitality has positioned itself as the team to beat, and while they were close to a defeat today, G2’s showing was far from sufficient to keep them at bay.
VETO
- G2 removed Nuke
- Vitality removed Ancient
- G2 picked Mirage
- Vitality picked Inferno
- Vitality removed Dust2
- G2 removed Overpass
- Anubis was left over
Map 1: Mirage; Pick: G2; Winner: Vitality
G2 hit the board by converting a force buy on their offense after a clean pistol win from Vitality. Having suffered an early blow, the Vitality defence recovered late into the half after G2 failed to put together streaks of rounds. Despite being on the better side, Vitality only managed 7 rounds, leaving G2 to walk away with 5 before switching sides. G2 cut the deficit by winning 3 rounds in a row to start the second half, only for them to lose 3 in a row as Vitality hit double digits. Despite a good showing by the defence, Vitality managed to walk away by the end of the second half with a clean 3-0. MalbsMd‘s solid work for G2 got overshadowed by Zywoo putting up 24 kills at a 1.85 IR.
Map 2: Inferno; Pick: Vitality; Winner: G2
3-0 start for Vitality on their offence put Vitality on the backfoot before G2 put together 6 in a row to take the lead. Vitality won two more rounds before G2 won the final round of the half to swap sides with a narrow lead of 7-5. Winning the pistol rounds enabled G2 to go 10-5 up before Vitality put their first on the board, before G2 won the following round. As Vitality struggled on their defence, G2 kept round after round, and step by step they pushed the game over the line to take us to the third map in a stunning twist of events.
Map 3: Anubis; Pick: Decider; Winner: Vitality
A clean ace from MATYS started the defence in style for G2 before Vitality took charge of the game in the following round, converting their force buy. Remaining dominant on their offence, Vitality did not let G2 put together streaks of rounds, but winning a few every now and then made the half very competitive. G2 levelled the scoreline by winning the pistol, but the Vitality defence stood too strong for G2. Having failed to convert rounds in a T-sided map, G2’s final map went sideways after two back-to-back solid performances, leading to Vitality closing the map effortlessly, winning 6 rounds while giving away only 3. FlameZ, with 20 kills, stood strong as Vitality’s strongest performer and pushed the game over the line.
G2’s keep getting close every time, but the X factor continues to elude them. Strong performances against the big teams make them a strong contender, but the lack of playoff appearances still calls their competency into question. Only time can tell if they will be able to iron out the wrinkles, but as of today, they start their PGL Cluj-Napoca campaign with a loss.