Astralis’ IEM Katowice hopes in jeopardy as CPH Flames win CCT Central Europe Series 4

Astralis may find themselves sitting out IEM Katowice 2023 after suffering a defeat by Copenhagen Flames in the final of CCT Central Europe Series 4. It was a tight series that could have gone either way, particularly on the maps that the Flames won, but ultimately wins on Inferno (16-14) and Nuke (16-14) either side of a loss on Dust2 (6-16) were enough to secure Flames the victory.

Astralis‘ failure to win this event has likely knocked them out of contention to qualify for the IEM Katowice 2023 Play-In. They were in a tight battle with Evil Geniuses and paiN for the final ESL world ranking spots, and were at the disadvantage of suffering more from rank decay than either of those two; the Danes’ Roobet Cup and IEM Cologne finishes will drop out of consideration by the time Katowice spots are locked in.

Considering the fact that Evil Geniuses and paiN will secure a sizeable number of points from the ESEA Autumn 2022 Cash Cup 7 North America as both have already locked in at least top-four finishes, they are likely to be ahead of Astralis in the ESL world rankings when Katowice spots are finalised.

Astralis had a smooth journey to the final of this tournament, besting the likes of ECSTATIC, 1WIN and Apeks, only dropping a single map in the process. As is to be expected, Benjamin “⁠blameF⁠” Bremer and Nicolai “⁠device⁠” Reedtz were the main carry forces driving the Danes onwards, with the former the highest-rated player in the competition.

Their counterparts, Copenhagen Flames, had an even more dominant run en route to their meeting with Astralis, sweeping ESTOWNIA, ECLOT and HAVU in the bracket with the final result being particularly impressive considering the 11-2 series record HAVU sported prior to the match.

The Flames side spread the fragging around throughout their run with Thomas “⁠birdfromsky⁠” Due-Frederiksen, Rasmus “⁠raalz⁠” Steensborg, and Thomas “⁠TMB⁠” Bundsbæk topping the scoreboards for a series each, while Iulian “⁠regali⁠” Harjău was their most consistent performer.

This competition was more successful for Astralis after they were knocked out of device‘s return tournament in 5th-8th by HEET, having only managed to best Tricked before that. The AWPer was in good form throughout this event, finishing with a 1.26 rating over 10 maps, but he was ultimately outshone by blameF, who sported a 1.38 rating.

As for Copenhagen Flames this event caps off an outstanding end to the year that has seen them win CCT South Europe Series 1, CCT Central Europe Series 3, and the European Development Championship 6. In November and December combined they had a 14-1 series record, with their only loss coming to ECLOT, and in that run they have beaten the likes of HAVU, Falcons, SINNERS, K23, and now Astralis.

The top finishers in CCT Central Europe Series 4 were as follows:

1. Copenhagen Flames – $22,000
2. Astralis – $10,000
3-4. Apeks – $5,000
3-4. HAVU – $5,000
5-8. 1WIN – $2,000
5-8. ECLOT – $2,000
5-8. BIG – $2,000
5-8. GamerLegion – $2,000