Astralis outclass fnatic; earn IEM Katowice semi

Following a 2-0 victory over fnatic, Astralis have secured a spot in the semi-finals of IEM Katowice, while fnatic will start the playoffs in the quarter-finals.

The two teams had already secured their playoff berths by defeating Natus Vincere and Vitality, respectively, with the upper-bracket final of group A deciding which team would start a step deeper in the playoffs. Across Overpass and Vertigo, Astralis was the better team on all four halves, taking a comfortable 2-0 victory.

Unable to convert a 3v2 post-plant on Overpass, fnatic found themselves on the back foot of their map pick from the start. Astralis fended off the force-buy attempt and then won six more rounds in a row, not even allowing the bomb to go down to secure an 8-0 lead. Then, a low-buy worked out for fnatic, giving them their first, before Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson and Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin combined for a crucial second, keeping the ball rolling.

fnatic eventually broke the Danes' economy and finished the half 10-5, with Brollan's 4:0 opening duels record playing a key part in keeping his side in the game. Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell and co. picked up the second half pistol and followup (10-7), but weren't up to task in the rifle rounds. Emil "⁠Magisk⁠" Reif led the way for Astralis as they won six out of the next eight rounds to claim Overpass, posting a 1.69 rating and 110.2 ADR for the map.

Magisk was the man of the map on Overpass

Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth's triple saw Astralis recover in the Terrorist pistol round on Vertigo, their map pick, which they followed up to earn a 4-0 lead. fnatic managed to find success on the buy rounds, locking down their opponents map control attempts, and taking a 6-5 round advantage. That is when a low-buy win from Astralis threw the Swedes off of their game, seeing them concede the half 9-6.

After the switch, Astralis earned another 4-0 start, getting into prime position to win the series (13-6). In the following rifle round, fnatic's mid control attempt was locked down despite their entry frag, with Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander and co. continuing their strong run to win the map easily, 16-8.

IEM Katowice 2020Best of 3 AstralisMatchpage 2 0 27th February 2020 fnatic 16Overpass 9 16Vertigo 8

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Emil 'Magisk' ReifMagisk	44 - 28	+16	102.3	1.53
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	37 - 25	+12	86.8	1.31
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	38 - 26	+12	85.6	1.25
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	37 - 27	+10	71.3	1.18
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	36 - 28	+8	75.2	1.14

fnatic	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Ludvig 'Brollan' BrolinBrollan	35 - 38	-3	86.7	1.07
Freddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonKRIMZ	32 - 37	-5	72.3	0.84
Maikil 'Golden' SelimGolden	26 - 39	-13	62.1	0.73
Jesper 'JW' WecksellJW	25 - 40	-15	64.4	0.72
Robin 'flusha' Rönnquistflusha	16 - 38	-22	47.6	0.46

fnatic #4 Robin 'flusha' RönnquistJesper 'JW' WecksellFreddy 'KRIMZ' JohanssonMaikil 'Golden' SelimLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin Age: 17 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.07 Maps played: 612 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.67 Vitality #7 Richard 'shox' PapillonCédric 'RpK' GuipouyDan 'apEX' MadesclaireAlex 'ALEX' McMeekinMathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut Natus Vincere #6 Egor 'flamie' VasilyevOleksandr 's1mple' KostylievDenis 'electroNic' SharipovKirill 'Boombl4' MikhailovIlya 'Perfecto' Zalutskiy Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossander Age: 24 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.01 Maps played: 1280 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.65 Emil 'Magisk' Reif Age: 21 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 1017 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.63 Freddy 'KRIMZ' Johansson Age: 25 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 1407 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.63 Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzEmil 'Magisk' Reif Jesper 'JW' Wecksell Age: 25 Team: fnatic Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 1636 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.68 Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth Age: 24 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 1614 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.61