Vitality survives HuNter-less G2 to edge out a close win to qualify for the playoffs of IEM Rio. Winning their own map pick, G2’s failure to push the match over the line in back-to-back maps led to Vitality securing an important win with a 2-1 scoreline.
VETO
- G2 removed Nuke
- Vitality removed Ancient
- G2 picked Mirage
- Vitality picked Inferno
- G2 removed Anubis
- Vitality removed Overpass
- Dust2 was left over
Map 1: Mirage; Pick: G2; Winner: G2
3-0 start for G2 gave them the start they needed before Vitality levelled the scoreline. With G2 looking well prepared and winning most of their individual duels, G2 edged out a narrow lead before switching sides. Bringing their A game on the defense, G2 remained flawless, stunning the Vitality offense, which failed to penetrate it for 6 rounds in a row, leading to an effortless close with a 13-5 scoreline. Young gun MATYS stood out with 19 kills and impeccable impact, especially on the defense, which earned G2 an early lead in the series.
Map 2: Inferno; Pick: Vitality; Winner: Vitality
G2 had a solid start on the first map, but got countered when Vitality walked away with 6 rounds on their offense, as G2 struggled to edge out a lead on the favoured side of Inferno. Despite hitting a series point on their offense, G2 managed to push the game to overtime. With regulation failing to find a winner, Vitality cruised past G2, losing only a single round to push the game to the final map of the series with a 16-13 win. The man himself ZyWoo stood out as the best player with 28 kills to his name to give Vitality some hope.
Map 3: Dust2 ; Pick: Decider; Winner: Vitality
Vitality started the map with a pistol round win, G2 managed to close in on the defense, leading to a levelled scoreline before switching sides. As Vitality struggled to move, G2 on the offense managed to outclass them early in the second half, securing 11 rounds before Vitality started racking up rounds. Forcing G2’s hand into targeting the B site in the final rounds of the game, Vitality locked the game down, and from the edge of defeat, they turned the game around to avoid overtime, securing a 13-11 win.
Playing without an IGL, G2 Esports managed to push Vitality to their edge, and had it been any other team, one would have assumed G2 would have come out on top with relative ease. Only time can tell how far this team will go with a stand-in, but the valiant effort today was enough to raise eyebrows.