ESL One Cologne 2019: Team Vitality made it to the grand final
Ihor MatusThe match was hosted on such maps as Dust 2, Inferno, and Overpass. Vitality picked the first of them and showed that it is their strongest map. There, they won 11 rounds in the first half and then, having moved to the defense side, lost only 4 rounds and achieved victory with a score 16-8. There was a very interesting, tough and intense game on Ferno. Astralis was leading with a score 15-10 but the French didn’t give up and won 5 rounds in a row and brought the game to overtime. The teams didn’t stop on one series of extra rounds and only during the second series, Inferno was over with a score 22-19 in the favor of the Danes and the teams continued fighting on Overpass. Vitality practiced this map in official matches way more frequently than Astralis and the last ones played it only once at this tournament against one of the outsiders of the event, BIG. Due to this, Vitality crushed their opponents and won 8 rounds playing for the attack side, after which finished the started with a score 16-9. They lost only 2 rounds playing for the counter-terrorists and this performance by Vitality pleased all fans of the French team.
Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut became the best player of the match with a score 75-52 (23), having finished the match with a rate 1.36. The French esportsman has proved one more time that he is called one of the best individual performers in the world at the moment for a reason.
It’s worth to notice RqK separately who won key clutches, which were changing the way of the battle in the opposite way and giving the French an advantage.
Astralis left the tournament, having placed 3rd-4th. They earned a monetary reward in the sum of $22,000 for their efforts. NBK- with his teammates guaranteed themselves a minimal prize in the sum of $50,000 and the next opponent will become known on the outcome of the match Team Liquid vs Natus Vincere.
Matches history: ESL One Cologne 2019
ESL One Cologne 2019 has been hosted since July 2 and will be over on July 7. 16 teams are dividing the overall prize pool in the sum of $300,000.