Credit: Carlton Beener ESL

FURIA secure Semi-final spot over G2

A three-map thriller goes the way of "arT" and his troops.

2022-06-03 | @BakSophus

It wasn't just any ordinary game when the two giants of FURIA and G2 locked horns in a thrilling Bo3-series at the IEM Dallas 2022 event. A spot in the Semi-finals was up for grabs for the winning team, whereas the loser would have to see themselves eliminated from the event. Very little separated the two teams on paper as they are neck and neck on the official HLTV rankings. FURIA were the slight favorites, ranking as the seventh-best team in the world, whereas G2 were ranked as the eight-best team in the world before the clash. It was a close affair from the start to start to finish, as all three maps were needed to find a victory between the two CS:GO giants. Ultimately, however, it was FURIA to have the slight edge on their opponents as they finished the Bo3-series with a masterclass in Mirage. The 2-1 victory against G2 means that they are through to the Semi-Finals of the IEM Dallas 2022 event.

As mentioned, the first map of the Bo3-series was to be played on the Italian soil of Inferno. Both FURIA and G2 are known to be a scary opponent to face on Inferno, however, with an ongoing win-streak of 9 on Inferno, it was clear to see why G2 opted for Inferno as their map pick, even against the Brazilians of FURIA. The aggressive FURIA roster managed to secure early control on Inferno. Not long after, however, the T-sided G2 roster let their presence be known as they answered back with rounds of their own. A close and intense first half of Inferno came to an end as the two rosters switched sides at the scoreline of 8-7. The second half brought more intense battles across the map, this time with FURIA on the offensive side. Despite the creative and aggressive nature of FURIA's t-sided strategies, the G2 defense proved too potent to penetrate. A great performance from the Kovač's in "NiKo" and "huNter-" helped G2 contain the Brazilians. At the scoreline of 16-13, it was G2 who were able to walk away from Inferno with a first-map victory and an advantage going into the remainder of the Bo3-series.

The second map of the Bo3-series was, of course, picked by FURIA and saw the two rosters climb the heights of Vertigo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vertigo came to be the pick of the Brazilians. Just as G2 on Inferno, FURIA have been scarily good on Vertigo as of late. They are currently sitting on a win-record of 82% in the past three months (11 maps). However, G2 are no slouches on Vertigo themselves, and it proved. Starting on the arguably stronger CT-side of Vertigo, it was G2 to take control of the map in the first half. A strong defense and a "NiKo" on fire proved to be difficult for the Brazilians to handle as they would have to see themselves behind at 11-4, going into the second half of Vertigo. The second half saw "arT" and his troops finally wake up as they won back a handful of rounds, attempting an impressive comeback against G2. The comeback dream stayed alive as FURIA managed to force overtime against G2. At the scoreline of 19-17, it was the Brazilians who claimed victory on Vertigo and secured themselves a third and final map in the Bo3-series against G2.

The third and deciding map of the Bo3-series was to be played on Mirage. Once again, Mirage is a map that both rosters are incredibly tried and tested on, and who favors the free-flowing playing style can be ascribed to both G2 and FURIA. After the comeback victory on Vertigo, it was the T-sided FURIA roster to come flying out of the gate on Mirage. With aggression and precision, the Brazilians mowed down the G2 defense and managed to secure a more than solid first half before switching sides at the scoreline of 11-4. The second half saw a FURIA roster just as dangerous as in the first half of Mirage. Without too much difficulty, the Brazilians closed out a phenomenal performance on Mirage at the scoreline of 16-5 and took home the victory against G2.

Highlight of the Bo3-series: