Copenhagen Flames win CCT Central Europe Series 4

Copenhagen Flames have won CCT Central Europe Series 4 after defeating Astralis in the grand final, ending the season with five notable titles on their names.

Copenhagen Flames caps off the year with a brilliant victory over Astralis in the all-Danish grand final of CCT Central Europe Series 4. With this title, they have now won five titles since October, including CCT South Europe Series 1, CCT Central Europe Series 3, CCT South Europe Series 1, and the European Development Championship 6. 

Copenhagen Flames had a strong playoff run leading up to their grand final matchup with Astralis, dominating the bracket without dropping a single map. The team swept ESTOWNIA and Dynamo Eclot in knockout matches before annihilating HAVU Gaming in the semifinals.

Copenhagen Flames vs Astralis – Recap

Copenhagen Flames started the series on the back foot as Astralis had a 10-5 advantage in the first half of Inferno. However, the underdogs found their way to triumph with an outstanding second half, led by Johannes “b0RUP” Borup. The 23-year-old rifler outperformed every other squad member with 26 kills and a 1.24 rating, making him a consistent performance and threat across the whole map.

The second of the series, Dust2 opened in a similar fashion to the first map with Astralis embarking on yet another lengthy spree en route to a 9-6 lead. With Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz continuing to wreak havoc on Copenhagen, they were almost always at a disadvantage and failed to claw their way back into the game.

The Danes didn’t waste any time in forcing a trip to Nuke and tying the series, shutting down their opponents once more on the B site to pick up the seven rounds they needed to finish things off. With a rating of 1.56 and a total of 21 kills, Astralis’ star rifler helped his side win 16-6 and equalize the series 1-1. 

Astralis rallied against the opponent again in the pivotal map Nuke, riding the wave of momentum to a commanding 9:6 lead before the break. However, Copenhagen ignited its afterburners at the most vital moment and pulled off a spectacular comeback triumph when all hope appeared to be lost. Copenhagen held their ground and dealt the decisive blow to seal the map 16-14, and the series 2-1, despite dev1ce’s best efforts.

With this victory, the team moves up three spots in the world rankings, from position 40 to position 37, capping a successful CS:GO season. Astralis, on the other hand, missed out on a spot in the prestigious Polish tournament IEM Katowice 2023 as a result of this loss.

Header: João Ferreira/PGL