After defeating #FURIA 2-1 (6-16 Inferno, 19-17 Ancient, 16-5 Nuke) in the semi-final of the #IEMRioMajor, #Heroic has advanced to the grand final where they will face #Outsiders for the championship.
The squad recovered from a blowout on their own map pick to win the series despite a home audience that was yelling its support for FURIA. It is a historic moment for Casper “cadiaN” Mller in particular, who attended the first-ever CS:GO Major and is now leading a young Danish team to a grand final in his seventh Major appearance.
It also confirms Heroic’s roster change from the off-season when they added Jakob #jabbi Nygaard to replace Ismail #refrezh Ali in the hopes of ending their title drought.
The Match Recap
Heroic got off to a strong start on their choice of Inferno, winning the pistol round and converting against FURIA’s subsequent force-buy and eco to go up 3-0. Kaike #KSCERATO scored three times. The double AWPs of Andrei #arT Piovezan and Rafael #saffee Piovezan when both sides had guns in hand prevented the Danish squad from continuing their run. Costa assisted FURIA in getting a foothold in the defense.
Additional multi-kills from the pair penalized Heroic for poor trading, allowing the Brazilian team to go on a seven-round winning streak. The streak of FURIA was finally broken by cadiaN, who sniped down three, and his team was able to add two more rounds to their total in the first half to give themselves a chance, 6-9, going into the side swap.
Heroic’s defense ultimately fell short in the second half; their lack of initiative and arT’s unrelenting aggressiveness left cadiaN’s soldiers with little opportunity for movement, and FURIA swiftly closed the gap at the finish of the map. Heroic eventually appeared to be on track to win their first CT round at match point when they were up 5vs3, but even that round did not go their way as KSCERATO came through with a triple kill to let FURIA finish the map, 16-6.
Similar to the first round of Ancient, Heroic won the pistol round and the anti-eco for a 2-0 lead until FURIA once more found the winning formula and won five of the following six rounds to take the lead. This time, though, the Brazilian team’s lead was short-lived, and Heroic took over the map thanks in large part to outstanding play from Rasmus #sjuush Beck. Beck stepped up with information plays and late-round multi-kills to help his team lead 10-5 at the half.
KSCERATO’s Run
When Heroic started their own offensive attempt, they didn’t let up; more impact from sjuush and an anti-eco ace from Martin #stavn Lund let the Danes sail to a commanding 15-5 lead. FURIA, despite having their backs against the wall, refused to give in and keep the map instead of starting to steadily reduce the deficit. KSCERATO, a 23-year-old Brazilian rifler, was a crucial part of that effort. His defense of the A bombsite completely destroyed Heroic’s T-side, and he generated an 18-1 K-D and six rounds with multiple kills to propel his team’s fight into overtime.
Heroic was able to record one T side round before pulling off a flawless CT side to finally close off their opponent’s map pick, 19-17, despite the enormous comeback attempt being in vain.
KSCERATO continued to do extraordinary feats on Nuke, but they were insufficient to keep FURIA visible on the map. The Brazilian team continued to struggle, with opening duels frequently going against them as Heroic put on a masterclass on the T side. The contrast between the first map and the last two was significant and clearly seen on the server. The Danish team dominated the first half because to excellent utility utilization, trading, and playmaking, with FURIA only just managing to recover some rounds at the conclusion of the half to keep themselves in the game (4-11).
The second half started off in a manner reminiscent of the first, with Heroic maintaining their early dominance to quickly advance to match point. A 1vs4 clutch and an ace from stavn assisted in the outcome. This time, however, cadiaN’s guys weren’t going to make the same mistake twice, and they spent little time in securing the map, 16-5, to secure their place in the championship game and eliminate FURIA from the competition.
