Astralis to ECS final over SK

Astralis are through to the ECS Season 2 finals title decider after moving past SK Gaming on two maps (16-9 on Cache and 16-4 on Overpass).

The series began on SK's map pick, Cache, but the early stages would have suggested otherwise as Astralis got off to a flying start and stormed to a 10-1 lead. The Brazilians were struggling to break through the Astralis defence but won four rounds in a row before the break to keep their hopes alive.

Now playing on the CT side, SK won the pistol round with an A retake, with Epitacio "⁠TACO⁠" de Melo getting a trio of kills to his name. A third-round buy from Astralis failed to pay dividends, giving SK the chance to add two more rounds to their tally and bring the deficit to a minimum.

SK were now on an eight-round winning run, but Astralis were not going to a let a comeback happen. The Danish team's offence finally came to life and they secure six rounds straight to lock down the map 16-9.

Astralis will face OpTic in a repeat of the ELEAGUE final

Next up was Overpass, the same map where SK had been demolished by dignitas earlier in the tournament. Astralis got out to a 3-0 lead after taking the pistol round with an A execute thanks to two entry frags from Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen.

The first full gun round did go SK's way, but Astralis simply ran over the Brazilians' defense after that, cruising to an 11-1 lead. SK then called a tactical pause to discuss their strategy for the final rounds, a move that paid off as they secured three rounds in a row.

Astralis further added to their lead by winning the pistol round as CT, with Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz getting an ace with two knife kills during a retake. SK still tried to get back into the game, but to no avail as Astralis quickly sealed the deal to set up an exciting rematch against OpTic Gaming in the grand final.

ECS Season 2 FinalsBest of 3 AstralisMatchpage 2 0 11th December 2016 SK 16Cache 9 16Overpass 4

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	46 - 19	+27	97.6	1.69
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	37 - 26	+11	93.3	1.40
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	34 - 23	+11	84.9	1.32
Markus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeKjaerbye	34 - 26	+8	79.2	1.26
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	31 - 26	+5	74.4	1.19

SK	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Epitacio 'TACO' de MeloTACO	35 - 34	+1	72.2	0.93
Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera	26 - 36	-10	66.7	0.74
Ricardo 'fox' Pachecofox	23 - 36	-13	61.5	0.71
Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN	19 - 36	-17	64.5	0.61
Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer	17 - 40	-23	52.7	0.53

Epitacio 'TACO' de Melo Age: 21 Team: SK Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 334 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.65 Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussen Age: 23 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 916 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.65 Nicolai 'device' Reedtz Age: 21 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 822 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.63