SK to Major final over VP

SK are through to the grand final at ESL One Cologne after picking up a 2-1 victory against Virtus.pro (17-19 on Cobblestone, 16-5 on Nuke, and 16-12 on Mirage).

The first semi-final at ESL One Cologne brought together Virtus.pro and SK. The series kicked off on Cobblestone which was picked by the Brazilian team and Virtus.pro started the map on the CT-side.

Fernando "⁠fer⁠" Alvarenga kicked off the pistol round with two entry kills and his quad kill gifted the Brazilians the first round of the series. After giving up the second and third rounds, Virtus.pro secured the fourth one and followed it up with two more, tying the game at 3-3.

TaZ made the difference on Cobblestone

A quad kill by Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas on the Drop area gave his team the lead and the veteran picked up the ace in the subsequent round (5-3). SK grabbed their fourth and fifth rounds thanks to Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo's two opening kills followed by Lincoln "⁠fnx⁠" Lau's entries (6-5). The lockdown B-site defense of Virtus.pro ensured the half victory for the Poles as they led 9-6 at halftime.

SK repeated their pistol round success as they picked up their seventh round and went on to grab the anti-ecos (9-9). Gabriel "⁠FalleN⁠" Toledo closed out the weapon round with two AWP kills but Virtus.pro replied two rounds later as they trailed 10-11. Jarosław "⁠pashaBiceps⁠" Jarząbkowski's two entry kills tied the game at 11-11 and the Polish team took the lead afterwards, making it 12-11.

SK came back from a 14-11 deficit to acquire a match point but Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski's 1vs2 clutch tied the game at 15-15, commencing overtime. Virtus.pro secured two of the three rounds available on their T-side in overtime as the only one they lost was because of Marcelo "⁠coldzera⁠" David's ace (17-16).

Double opening kill by fer tied the game at 17-17 but Virtus.pro attained a match point after stopping SK despite a 3vs5 disadvantage. NEO's 1vs1 clutch over coldzera gave the 19-17 first map victory to the Poles going into their own map pick Nuke.

coldzera had a rough start on Cobble but recovered afterwards 

Virtus.pro who started on the T-side had a 2vs1 post-plant advantage but pashaBiceps couldn't kill the defuser coldzera who wasn't even looking at him and SK secured the crucial pistol round. Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski's opening kill in the first weapon round didn't matter as SK extended their lead to 4-0.

TaZ's triple kill after the tactical timeout gave Virtus.pro their first round but SK reset the Polish team's economy in the subsequent round (6-1). Virtus.pro were behind 3-12 when the first half ended.

pashaBiceps's triple kill in the second half pistol round gave the Poles the chance to come back but SK shut them down in the third round, extending their lead to 13-5. SK closed out the map 16-5 as the teams proceeded to the third map Mirage.

byali disappeared on Mirage 

FalleN's 1vs1 clutch in the pistol round on the T-side started things off on the last map of the series and SK brought it to 3-0 following their anti-eco wins. The dynamic Middle defense by Virtus.pro awarded them the first weapon round and then they took the lead, making it 4-3.

After Virtus.pro clinched a 7-3 lead, SK woke up when the half was coming to an end and took three of the last five rounds, trailing 6-9 at halftime.

SK unsurprisingly won the pistol round again, allowing themselves to collect the anti-ecos and equal the score at 9-9. The first gun round also went the way of SK and the Brazilians earned their 12th round thanks to the pillars on the A-site, fer and fnx. FalleN & company struggled near the end but ultimately won the map 16-12, securing the series 2-1 and advancing to the grand final in Cologne.

ESL One Cologne 2016Best of 3 Virtus.proMatchpage 1 2 9th July 2016 SK 19Cobblestone 17 5Nuke 16 12Mirage 16

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Marcelo 'coldzera' David Age: 21 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 1.20 Maps played: 303 KPR: 0.81 DPR: 0.62 Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo Age: 21 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 0.97 Maps played: 212 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.66 Wiktor 'TaZ' Wojtas Age: 30 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1016 KPR: 0.70 DPR: 0.67 Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga Age: 24 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 1.13 Maps played: 351 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.68 Virtus.pro #7 Wiktor 'TaZ' WojtasFilip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiJanusz 'Snax' PogorzelskiPaweł 'byali' Bieliński Filip 'NEO' Kubski Age: 29 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 1017 KPR: 0.69 DPR: 0.66 SK #1 Lincoln 'fnx' LauGabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de Melo Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo Age: 25 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 349 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.60 Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski Age: 23 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 831 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 Jarosław 'pashaBiceps' Jarząbkowski Age: 28 Team: Virtus.pro Rating 1.0: 1.06 Maps played: 967 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.69 Lincoln 'fnx' Lau Age: 26 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 218 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.66