Cloud9 edge past Outsiders to secure quarter-finals

The scene was set when Outsiders took upon Cloud9 in the ESL Pro League Season 17 Group A upper bracket final. The winner advances to the quarter-finals in playoffs, losing team goes to playoffs round 2.

Starting the series best was Cloud9 after they dominated Outsiders on the T side of Vertigo. With great calls from their IGL Vladislav "nafany" Gorshkov and Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov playing lights-out, Outsiders found it hard to keep their defense in line against Cloud9. A 10-5 half in favor of Cloud9 was enough for them to secure map one on the CT side. Needing only six rounds on the favored side was a walk in the park for a well-played Cloud9 team who in their recent game took down the world's best in G2.

Moving on to Mirage, Outsiders returned to their normal standards and played their own cs. Winning the first three rounds were Outsiders as Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev stood tall against two players of cloud9 in the pistol round. Despite a great start from Outsiders, Cloud9 fought their way back to a great T side. Winning the last ten out of 12 possible Cloud9 saw themselves being in front 10-5 going into halftime. The second half started with rounds going back and forth, but Outsiders made the comeback towards the end after some stunning clutches and retakes on the A site. Outsiders won map two 16-14.

To decide the series, Ancient was left open as the decider. The last map of the series started off as a close encounter between the two Russian rosters. However, Switching over to the T side Cloud9 dominated Outsiders winning nine rounds in a row to secure quarter-finals. Cloud9 won Ancient 16-8 and the series 2-1.

Outsiders - Cloud9 1-2 | ESL Pro League Season 17

Vertigo: Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov - 1.94 rating / 29-8 K-D / 113.6 ADR

Mirage: Pyotr "fame" Bolyshev - 1.54 rating / 30-17 K-D / 106.6 ADR

Ancient: Abai "HObbit" Hasenov - 1.54 rating / 24-16 K-D / 113.7 ADR