Astralis edge past Entropiq at ESL Pro League
The Danes had to deal with a well-playing Forester to clinch the victory.
It was hard work for Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander and his men, as Entropiq and especially Igor "Forester" Bezotecheskiy were in fine form this afternoon in the opening round of the playoffs at ESL Pro League Season 15.
The match kicked off on Nuke, where Astralis rolled on a strong CT-side to sway the match in their favor. Igor 'Forester' Bezotecheskiy was a constant nuisance dropping 30 kills during the map, but in the end, it was not enough. The Danes had to rely on an excellent clutch from Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander to seal the deal.
Vertigo was next up. This time it was Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer’s turn to fight in vain. The Dane went 36-21 in K-D on the map and was the only Astralis player with a positive K-D score. It was enough to push the map into overtime, but here Entropiq found momentum again and equalized the score.
After two tightly contested maps, everything pointed towards a spectacular ending on Overpass. In the first half Astralis once again won their CT-side continuing the trend in the match with CT dominance. The question was if the 10-5 lead was enough?
The second half quickly developed to be another thriller ending. Entropiq hauled in the lead and set themselves up for victory with a stellar defense. But just as the Russian roster took the lead 14-13 Astralis answered back. The Danes finally found the right solutions in multiple rounds and won the match with a 16-14 win on Overpass.
Astralis advance to the Quarter-Finals with the win, where they will face their old nemesis FURIA. The match will be played on Friday, while Entropiq is out of the competition.
Astralis – Entropiq 2-1 | ESL Pro League Season 15 (Playoffs)
16-14 (Nuke) | 
Forester – 1.49 Rating / 30-18 K-D / 105.0 ADR
15-19 (Vertigo) | Forester – 1.53 Rating / 33-20 K-D / 108.4 ADR
16-9 (Overpass) | 
blameF – 1.65 Rating / 30-16 K-D / 104.9 ADR
MVP: Benjamin 'blameF' Bremer – 1.30 Rating / 81-59 K-D / 87.3 ADR
