A survival by the favourite in the well-contested set.
Heroic, fresh off their emotional victory over Team Vitality last night, had to go against a red-hot ENCE Esports squad, which managed to sweep both Astralis and Team Spirit on consecutive days.
Finnish squad form did not stop impressing on Thursday, as Mirage was a one-sided affair. Heroic managed to climb back in the first half to at least get five rounds on the defence, but a huge clutch by “Snappi” in the pistol round put the nail in the coffin, as ENCE closed first map out, “16-5”.
Moving to Overpass, it looked like Heroic were back, as they led by five before switching to their defence, but ENCE Esports attack took the lead at “11-10”. Down but not out, Heroic stormed to get match points and then managed to hold on in the last round of regulation, forcing a decider after a “16-14”. Back and forth on Nuke, ENCE recovered despite falling behind early on their offence and then took a “10-8” lead after winning pistol. Back and forth, teams traded economic blows to each other but in the end Danes prevailed in the thirtieth round once again, winning both maps by the smallest of margins.
Now Heroic, all but guaranteed to finish first and get a first round BYE in playoffs, will clash against Astralis in a Danish derby, while ENCE Esports need a simple victory against Bad News Bears, who are yet to win a single map to advance to the Round of 12 for the second season in a row.
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