Astralis left IEM Winter 2021

Astralis left IEM Winter 2021, losing to Liquid in the semi-finals of the lower bracket. At the same time, Virtus.pro turned out to be stronger than Gambit, having won a 2: 0 victory over their colleagues from the region.

Astralis - Liquid

The match for relegation from the championship started on the Nuke map, which, as usual, became the choice of the Danish team. However, Liquid players literally trampled Astralis' attempts to attack, ending the first half with a heartbreaking 14: 1 rout. After this, the Danish team did not manage to come to their senses, while Liquid continued to push, quickly gaining the necessary rounds to win - 16: 1.

The bands then moved to Mirage, which became the choice of the North American band. Initially, everything was going well for Astralis, as the team showed confident defense, gaining a minimal advantage over the side switching. However, in the second half Liquid showed too strong defense, practically not allowing the opponent to reach the point. As a result, the North American team inflicted a most offensive defeat on Astralis with a score of 16:10, and at the same time knocked them out of the championship.

Gambit - Virtus.pro

The derby of the two CIS teams began on the Dust 2 map, which was chosen by Virtus.pro. At the same time, the "bears" showed a very confident attack, gaining an advantage in the form of three rounds. It seemed that after a successful start in defense, VP would quickly resolve all issues. However, Gambit turned out to be against such a scenario, having made a nice comeback in the end to shift the fate of the card to overtime. Here Virtus.pro players showed themselves in all their glory, having managed to become the leaders of the series - 19:15.

Then the teams got to Vertigo, on which Virtus.pro continued to dominate, having received a two-fold lead in rounds after the first half. However, in defense, Gambit joined the game, which gradually began to catch up with the opponent. However, the small series that Virtus.pro players took away prejudged the fate of the next comeback, allowing the "bears" to close the meeting with a clean sheet - 16:14.

IEM Winter 2021 takes place from December 2 to December 12 in Stockholm. Sixteen teams from around the world are competing for a $ 250,000 prize pool. In addition to the cash reward, teams will be giving away ESL Pro Tour Points that will help qualify for IEM Katowice 2022.

Interim results of IEM Winter 2021

• 1st place: TBD.
• 2nd place: TBD.
• 3-4th place: TBD.
• 5th-6th place: TBD.
• 7th-8th place: TBD.
• 9th-12th place: TBD.
• 13-16th place: ENCE - $ 4,000.
• 13th-16th place: Heroic - $ 4,000.
• 13th-16th place: TYLOO - $ 4,000.
• 13th-16th place: MOUZ - $ 4,000.