Astralis takes out Evil Geniuses in IEM Katowice 2021
Astralis has added its name to the list of tournament favorites at IEM Katowice 2021 after beating Evil Geniuses in a decisive 2-0 fashion.
In the second round of Group A’s upper bracket, Denmark’s Astralis toppled Evil Geniuses in a convincing sweep. The four-time major winners ran over their competition, winning both maps with relative ease.
Astralis was considered the favorite going into the match, but that wasn’t obvious at the start of the series. Evil Geniuses brought the fight to Astralis on Train and stayed even despite playing on the disadvantaged T side.
But in the second half, Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen stepped up for Astralis. The Danish entry fragger made his presence felt in every single round of the second half. Astralis looked to be in top form for the map, taking command en route to a 16-9 victory. They stole Evil Geniuses’ map pick of Train and ended the match on their home turf.
Dust 2 has become a strong map for Astralis over the past few months and against Evil Geniuses, they showed that. Astralis’ utility usage was incredible on the map. Evil Geniuses never made it near a bomb-site without losing a big chunk of their health. They dislodged Evil Geniuses’ attacks and ran away with the first half. Andreas “Xyp9x” Hojsleth was especially impressive, denying Evil Geniuses access to A-long round after round.
On the favored T side, Astralis only needed five rounds to secure the victory. Nicolai “device” Reedtz tried to speed up this process by getting four kills on the pistol round, clutching it for their team. Despite Evil Genius’ efforts, they closed out the map and series with another convincing 16-7 victory.
Astralis are on fire in IEM Katowice 2021. Yesterday, they convincingly defeated mousesports in the opening round of the tournament. Going into the event, Astralis was considered a serious contender for the title, but they’re looking ready to take it all. Astralis will play the winner of Team Spirit vs, Heroic for a spot in the semifinals, while Evil Geniuses will face off against the loser of that match with their tournament life on the line.
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