Astralis ease past FURIA with offensive excellence

Astralis succeeded in their opening match of IEM Cologne as they brought FURIA to their knees after two maps where they showed what they are capable of on the offense.

Astralis kicked off the series with an exciting win on their map pick of Nuke. The Danes are once again looking comfortable on what used to be their "signature map", as they extend their Nuke winstreak to six with a 16-8 victory over the Brazilians. The Danes started with great success on the T side, the side that they have struggled with recently. 'gla1ve' and co. grabbed a 10-5 halftime lead after tactically and individually outplaying FURIA. From there on out it was smooth sailing as 'k0nfig' continued his great form, and Astralis sealed the deal at 16-8.

The former Complexity duo of 'blameF' and 'k0nfig' shined bright on the second map of Mirage. Astralis delivered an alright defensive half that netted them eight rounds, so once again it was their offense that saved them. The Danes found map point at 15-8, but still almost managed to let the win slip away as FURIA went on a hot streak. The experienced IGL, 'gla1ve', managed to secure the win with a great 1v2 clutch, and the Danes could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Highlight of the Bo3-series:

FURIA - Astralis 0-2 | IEM Cologne

8-16 (Nuke) | k0nfig - 1.52 Rating / 26-15 K-D / 97.9 ADR

13-16 (Mirage) | k0nfig - 1.57 Rating / 28-18 K-D / 95.2 ADR

MVP: Kristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke - 1.52 Rating / 54-33 K-D / 96.4 ADR