Astralis are through to the semi-finals of the Game Show Global eSports after beating G2 2-1 (16-11 on de_train, 13-16 on de_overpass and 19-15 on de_cache).

The first map of Group B's winners' match was de_train, which began with Cédric "⁠RpK⁠" Guipouy picking up three kills to give G2 the pistol round. The former Titan team followed it up with the corresponding anti-ecos to build a 3-0 lead, but then Astralis rallied back and won five rounds in succession. However, the half ended in a 9-6 scoreline in favour of G2 as the French side tightened up their defense in the final rounds.

The second half started with Astralis taking four rounds in a row to overturn the deficit and reclaim the lead. G2 still tried to get back into the game, but the rounds they took were always quickly countered by the Danes, which means that they were held off of any economic development. With plenty of money to work with and a sizeable bank, Astralis kept piling on the pressure and eventually closed out the map 16-11.

Ex6TenZ put in big numbers on Overpass 

Map two was de_overpass, which started out in a similar fashion to the first, with G2 taking the pistol round and the following anti-eco rounds. After buying up, Astralis were able to bring the game to 3-3, but then G2's defense came to life as they won five of the next six rounds. Down 4-8, The Danes called a timeout in an attempt to slow down the tempo, but G2 remained in the driving seat and took a 10-5 halftime lead.

Now playing on the CT side, Astralis finally managed to win a pistol round in this series, but their winning streak was cut short by a third-round buy from G2, who overcome an early two-man disadvantage. The French team went on a fantastic run that saw them take the scoreline to 15-10, when Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth won a 1vs3 clutch to give Astralis a lifeline. The Danes went on to add the next two rounds to their tally, but G2 kept their composure and took the game 16-13.

Xyp9x's Tec9 clutch on Cache changed the game 

It all came down to de_cache, where Astralis' pistol round win was quickly countered by G2's Tec9 rush onto the B site. The French team went on to take a 4-2 lead but Astralis hit the brakes and drove the tempo of the map in new directions. An already open game opened still further, with the scoreline blooming to an 8-5 advantage for the Danes, but G2 won the final two rounds of the half to keep the deficit to one.

A triple kill from Edouard "⁠SmithZz⁠" Dubourdeaux during the pistol round as CT allowed G2 to equalise the game, with the French team following it up with three more rounds as Astralis struggled to get their economy back in shape. The former Titan team continued their fantastic run and got out to a 14-10 lead, when a clutch round win from Xyp9x kept Astralis' hopes alive.

The Danes picked up the next three rounds to restore parity at 14-14 and force a timeout from G2. The momentum had swung in Astralis' favour, but it was G2 who hit 15 rounds first. However, they were unable to follow it up, giving Astralis the chance to hit back and take the game to an overtime, in which they would claim a perfect 4-0 score.

Game Show Global eSports Cup 2016 FinalsBest of 3 G2Matchpage 1 2 5th February 2016 Astralis 11Train 16 16Overpass 13 15Cache 19

Broken tag

Broken tag

Cédric 'RpK' Guipouy Age: 26 Team: G2 Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 341 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.70 Edouard 'SmithZz' Dubourdeaux Age: 27 Team: G2 Rating 1.0: 1.00 Maps played: 842 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.67 Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth Age: 20 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 749 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.62