Virtus.pro defeated Astralis at ESL Pro League S5

Astralis became Virtus.pro G2A’s third opponent ESL Pro League S5. The Danes played the match with a forced substitution as dev1ce, who had health problems, was temporarily replaced by zonic, the team’s coach.

First map stats (Inferno):

The match began on Inferno. The Poles started on defense with a victory in the pistol round. VP.G2A won a series of rounds, defending the bomb sites from the opponent’s attacks (6-0). Astralis entered the A site, where Kjaerbye helped protect the bomb in a 3v3 situation (6-1). The Poles won the next round, damaging the opponent’s economy, but made mistakes while overextending aggressively, losing round nine (7-2).

TaZ made a triple kill in round 10 while boxed in on the A bomb site (8-2). Virtus.pro’s confident play brought the score to 13-2 by the end of the map half. VP.G2A won the second pistol round as well, but the Danes were able to snatch the initiative during an eco. Astralis tried to come back in the game, but were only able to win back five points (15-8). The Poles won an eco by rushing the hallway and boiler: 16-8.

Second map stats (Nuke):

Virtus.pro started the second map on offense. The Danes prevailed in the pistol round, but VP.G2A snatched the initiative immediately and took the next two rounds (3-1). Astralis prevented a B bomb plant and then evened the score (3-3). After three unsuccessful rounds, Virtus.pro split-pushed to the upper bomb site and won a 2v2 situation (5-6).

The Danes repelled four consecutive attacks and led 5-10 by the end of the half-time. In the pistol round, Astralis entered the upper bomb site, but could not defend the bomb (6-10). VP.G2A minimized the score gap (9-10), but then did not manage to repel an attack on the B site (9-11).

Three rounds later, pashaBiceps won in a 1v1 against Kjaerbye, defusing the bomb in smoke (11:13). The Danes won the next two rounds, but Virtus.pro repelled all of the opponent’s remaining attacks and took the map into overtime: 15-15.

The Poles started the overtime on defense. Astralis attempted non-standard play, preferring individual player actions to teamwork. VP.G2A stopped all of the opponent’s assaults and switched to offense with a 18-15 lead. A quick attack by VP.G2A resulted in a 2v3 with a dropped bomb, but byali and Snax won the clutch: 19-15.

Sweden-based Ninjas in Pyjamas will be Virtus.pro G2A’s next opponent. The match will be played March 14 at 21:20 CET.