MAD Lions have advanced to the Group A finals and will rematch HAVU. (Photo courtesy HLTV)
Roaring Through
The first Flashpoint series of the day was a quick one. Map one was MAD Lions’ pick of Nuke. The pistol went in favor of c0ntact’s CT side, as did the full eco round. The Lions opted into full buying in round three, but their Ramp push was easily shut down. MAD Lions made good on their next chance by taking the A bombsite through Lobby. Their next Ramp to B play was successful, netting them their second round.
The score was tied at 5-5 after another long round which ended on the lower site. The Lions’ attack plan continued to emphasize slow play followed by one big coordinated hit. The last two rounds saw the pace speed up, but the result was the same: an explosive attack that left c0ntact no room to retake. The score at the half was 9-6 for MAD Lions.
Their lead would extend to six after winning their CT pistol and the two following rounds. C0ntact did some spending, so their round four buy wasn’t the most complete. The Lions shut down an A site crunch easily. Now with a real buy, c0ntact were looking to earn their first T round. It took a 4K clutch out of Georgi “SHiPZ” Grigorov on B for that to happen.
The next round was a full USP save from MAD Lions, bringing the score to 13-8. The next two rounds saw the bomb be planted on the Lower site, but MAD Lions pulled off retake both times to earn match point. C0ntact had one last breath of life before the Danish squad finished the map with a mediocre buy on the Outside defense. Map one went to the Lions 16-9.
C0ntact expected to fare better on their map pick of Dust2. A CT pistol round win alluded to that, but MAD Lions struck right back with a Mid to B force buy. Down 3-1, c0ntact’s next full buy came out to defend the A site. The following two rounds were traded, keeping the score difference at one. In a round where both economies were on the line, the Lions used another Mid to B split to extend their lead. From there, the Lions’ attacks always hit home. C0ntact couldn’t respond to the pressure across the entire map and struggled to get anything done on defense. The half ended 11-4 for MAD Lions.
C0ntact needed to get going if they wanted any chance at coming back. Those hopes were dashed after MAD Lions took the second pistol and the two ensuing rounds. When c0ntact had weapons, their T side looked alright. They used fast presence in Mid and Long to put three rounds on the board. However, the deficit was too massive. One strong Long defense put MAD Lions on match point and the following A site retake ended the map 16-7, completing the 2-0. They will face HAVU in the Flashpoint Group A Grand Finals.
