Team Spirit are the winners of PGL Astana, beating Falcons with a perfect 3-0 scoreline with total domination across Dust2, Mirage, and Ancient.
Despite the Falcons starting strong, Spirit built up throughout the first map, after which they continued to dominate. Falcons’ failure to put up anything convincing gave Spirit the room to run away with the game in all three maps. Few signs of contest in the first map, followed by back-to-back weak performances, concluded the Falcons’ performance in the Grand Finals.
Absence of Vitality put Spirit in prime position to bag this trophy, which they have done dominantly, and having been criticised for not finding their footing, even the likes of Donk, they have won a premier trophy ahead of the Major. Not only does this relieve the pressure on their backs ahead of the big event, but Spirit will have the faith in their game rejuvenated off the back of this trophy.
Falcons, on the other hand, with a new skipper, showed signs of resilience across the event, only for the machine to fall in the Grand Finals. While they were not the favorites coming into the game, the likes of NiKo, preparing for the finals, were expected to give a better fight than what we saw in the final two maps.
Dust 2 saw Spirit somehow edging out a win with the Falcons going toe to toe with them, followed by Mirage, which saw Spirit truly come into their own, showing the Falcons that they were far from ready to play at the top level. Ancient, the final map, saw a Donk masterclass spearheading the Spirit offense, with Falcons failing to keep up. Quick work made of the Falcons in the final map closed a dominant Spirit win in the Grand Finals of PGL Astana.
Spirit has found its footing ahead of the Major, which places them as one of the favorites to win the event. Only time can tell if this performance can be carried over to the Major, but for now, they have their confidence brimming. As for the Falcons, the new IGL is expected to take time, but performance is hard to justify. Little time in hand if they want a serious shot at the upcoming Major, but performances like this make it look like this will be another one that will get away for NiKo.