It was a close match between the Americans and the Europeans.
The second and final match of day two of Champions Istanbul’s Playoffs stage was between XSET and Fnatic. The top team from Group C and the runner-up for Group D played against each other to determine who will stay in the upper bracket, and who will drop down to the lower one.
The match started with Pearl – a map that is increasingly becoming the map where skill and tactics are tested for teams playing it. XSET started strong with a streak of 5-wins back-to-back before Fnatic was allowed a win for themselves. The XSET bias for the first half continues to the end, as the Americans eventually led by six points. The second half saw Fnatic trying their best to catch up to XSET, but by the end of round 21, XSET snatched the win with a 13-8 score.
Fracture is where the pedal met the metal for both teams. The lead for the first half was cut to only two points – with XSET trailing behind this time around. As the sides switched, XSET seemed to flip on their aggressor mode with almost back-to-back wins to secure victory. Fnatic tried their best to keep their lead, but the last shots by dephh and BcJ sealed the deal for XSET and the win with a score of 13-11.
The boys from America will now face their fellow countrymen OpTic Gaming in the upper Semi-finals, while Fnatic will be meeting fellow European Team Liquid in the Lower Brackets.
