They once again showcased their recent struggles in closing things out on the server, but Fnatic were able to live up to their billing as the favourites in most pre-game Esports betting markets and overcome their fellow Swedish org Dignitas in the Flashpoint 2 Group A Lower Bracket Final.
The Orange and Black have booked their place in the Grand Final against MAD Lions, the side that dumped them into the Loser’s Bracket in the first place, and are now just one result away from making it to the playoffs in their first ever venture in the world of Flashpoint 2 Group A.
Dust II
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Fnatic had lost six out of their last seven match ups coming into the game against Dignitas, including two in just three days against MAD Lions, so their favourite odds of roughly 1.00 to 4.00 against their rival Swedes might have tempted a couple raised eyebrows and outside wagers.
A lot of emphasis was put on Dignitas doing well in their map pick of Dust II. With Inferno coming in and Train coming in as the decider, it was a map selection that looked pretty favourable for the Orange and Black of Fnatic and put all the pressure on DIG making the most of their pick.
In reality, things really couldn’t have gone much worse for Dignitas on their map pick.
Despite the fact that Dust II is Fnatic’s third worst map played over the past three months with a win percentage of just 40%, the Swedes came out blazing. There was a real sense of them having a point to prove following their dismal run, and they rushed out to a staggering 13-2 lead at the half.
There was a real sense of bullying going on in the server on Dust II, with Fnatic really only dropping rounds because they were getting ahead of themselves and playing with just a little bit too much arrogance. Dignitas, for their part, just looked too passive for the most part, routinely trying to take Long control in the same strategy over and over again.
Brollan, Golden and even Flusha managed to find over twenty kills in just 22 rounds of play as Fnatic ran out 16-6 winners to take map one for the second series in a row.
Inferno
With such a romp behind them on the deserts of Dust II, Fnatic began their map pick of Inferno in a similar sort of fashion by flying out of the blocks and racing to a 10-5 lead at the half from starting on the T side.
From there however the same frailty on Dust II of playing a little bit too disrespectfully began to couple with that infamous Fnatic fragility when it comes to closing out the wins began to rear its head and Dignitas pulled themselves back into the game more and more. In Flashpoint 2 Group A, special shoutouts to Heap who showed a lot of steeliness in some of the map’s most clutch situations as Dignitas ran up their first half win by 5-9.
Things became as tense as possible for Fnatic, as they were forced to clutch out the last round possible but eventually crowning themselves as 16-14 winners on their map pick.
With the map going the distance, it’s unsurprising to see all but one member of the Fnatic side hitting 20 frags over the course of the game. Three of the players, Golden, Brollan and JW managed to add an ADR of over 80 to proceedings, and all three of these players managed to push their rating in the server above 1.20, representing a job very much well done.
In Flashpoint 2 Group A, fnatic’s 199 kills and 44 assists over the course of the two maps against Dignitas’ 144 and 23 should go a long way in confirming that the Black and Orange were certainly the much better side on the server on the day. It was a match they needed to win, knowing that losing would send them tumbling out in a ridiculously embarrassing turn of events, but just how crucial a win it could be for one of CS:GO’s most underperforming rosters over the past three months remains to be seen.
Fnatic play MAD Lions for the sixth time this year on Saturday 20th November, knowing that it could very well be six losses out of six should they fall to the Danes in the Grand Final.
