ESL One Cologne EU: Vitality & Heroic To Grand Finals

Heroic were able to set themselves on top of G2 Esports in an overtime-ridden match to get revenge for their Group Stage loss. Vitality had an easier time going up against the Ninjas in Pyjamas. Both winning teams are now heading to the Grand Finals of ESL One Cologne.

HEROIC 2-1 G2

There’s no way to unwrap this insane Best-of-Three without writing up at least 10 pages worth of analysis. We’ve seen everything today – rollover wins, clutches and narrow, last-round victories. The two teams really gave it their all. But as fired up as they both were, only one team could make it to the Grand Finals.

On Vertigo, Heroic started off with a solid CT half. They quickly jumped onto 14 points, but after a strong comeback from the G2 side, the teams went into overtime. There, they almost played enough rounds for a second map. At the end, though, Heroic were the ones who secured a 25-23 victory.

The lineup led by Casper “cadiaN” Møller wanted to close this match out as quickly as possible now. With a 9-6 lead on the T side of Nuke, they set themselves up perfectly. Unfortunately, the couldn’t withstand the pressure of G2. The Frenchmen outplayed them and outclassed them individually. Leading into yet another overtime, G2 Esports came out on top this time around.

The deciding map was Mirage. There, the Heroic players finally managed to pull on one string and kicked G2 out of the event for good. Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen in particular earned himself the respect of the Frenchmen with 21 Kills and a 1.55 rating.

VITALITY 2-0 NIP

After G2 had exited the event, Vitality were the ones tasked with carrying the French torch to the Grand Finals. Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut made sure that they did. On Dust2, he and Richard “shox” Papillon outclassed the Swedes for a 16-7 victory. Now, the Ninjas stood with their backs against the wall. Despite a much stronger showing on Overpass, Vitality eventually won the map on a 16-13 scoreline as well.

Business as usual for ZywOo. Following a stellar performance, he topped the scoreboard for Vitality once again. With a 108 ADR and 58 kills, he dominated throughout the entire match. Only Kévin “misutaaa” Rabier was unable to impress in this Semis match.

DO HEROIC STAND A CHANCE?

The Danes have performed well up until now. However, it stands to question whether this will be enough to surpass ZywOo. In René “TeSeS” Madsen, Heroic have found their own star player, but the young talent doesn’t have nearly the experience that the world’s best player boasts. The Grand Finals are definitely shaping up to be an intense and deserving ending to this amazing online tournament.