FURIA defeat Astralis with 2-0 victory
The Brazilians of FURIA were too much for the Danes to handle
IEM Katowice is already well underway as we near the end of day one. With Group A having already played their opening matches it was time for the teams within Group B to prove themselves. A clash between the all-Brazilian FURIA and the all-Danish Astralis would send either one of the teams off to a great start to IEM Katowice. Whilst the former Astralis duo in “Magisk” and “dupreeh” managed to win with Vitality earlier today, the actual Astralis roster struggled. The Danes would have to see themselves bested by an impressive FURIA roster in just two maps.
The first map was the choice of Astralis and saw the Bo3-series start on Overpass. Despite having picked the map it was Astralis to start the slowest on Overpass. A CT-sided FURIA seemed to have the answers for the Astralis offense and secured a three-round lead at 9-6 going into the second half. Whilst it was a closer affair in the second half of Overpass the great performances from “blameF” and “k0nfig” weren’t enough to get the Danes over the line. At 16-12 it was FURIA to claim Overpass and set themselves up for a potential 2-0 victory in their opening match at IEM Katowice.
The second map of the series was to be played on Mirage and was, of course, picked by FURIA. Whilst Astralis have played Mirage 11 times in the past three months, it is still worth considering the many years of the map being an instant ban for the Danes. The first half didn’t turn out great for “gla1ve” and his troops either. Despite “k0nfig” yet again doing absolutely everything in his ability to keep Astralis in the game it was a, this time T-sided, FURIA roster to secure another 9-6 lead at halftime. The second half started with a seemingly more confident Astralis roster. This, however, was only until FURIA shifted into gear once again. At the scoreline of 16-11, FURIA closed out Mirage and secured their first victory at IEM Katowice, sending a beaten-down Astralis to the lower bracket.
Highlight of the BO3-series
FURIA – Astralis (2-0) | IEM Katowice 2022
16-12 (Overpass) | 
saffee – 1.29 Rating / 24-17 K-D / 81.5 ADR
16-11 (Mirage) | arT - 1.75 Rating / 26-16 K-D / 111.7 ADR
MVP: Kaike "KSCERATO" Cerato - 1.43 Rating / 45-28 K-D / 85.7 ADR
