Virtus.pro Complete Perfect Playoff Run at Flashpoint Season 2  

Tough Teams Early On

Virtus.pro finished in group C’s second seed after losing to OG in the final. As such, they were placed into a much harder bracket. Their first match was against MAD Lions. Each team was able to comfortably take their own map picks. A 16-6 for MAD Lions on Overpass was followed by a 16-10 for VP on Inferno. Train was the decider map. VP’s CT side got off to a hot start by going up 8-1. Even so, MAD Lions were able to keep the game close enough to tie the game up on their own defense. Overtime was required to separate the teams. In the end, VP narrowly came out on top 19-17 to advance.

Things hardly got easier for VP as their next match was against BIG. This time, the teams traded maps while being held to single digits on their own picks. After a 16-9 for VP on Mirage and a 16-6 for BIG on Vertigo, it was time for Overpass. BIG got the first punch in with a T side pistol round win, bringing them to a 3-0 start. After that, it was all VP. The CIS squad held their opponents to just two more rounds in the entire half. Their rock-solid defense was anchored by Alexey “qikert” Golubev who managed 17 kills and 127.7 ADR on the CT side. From there, all VP had to do was stay even in the second half to take the 16-11 victory.

Facing Down Fnatic

Virtus.pro were now guaranteed a top three finish at minimum. The last team standing in the way of a grand final appearance was Fnatic. VP opted to try their Vertigo pick again. Unfortunately, things ended the same way as in their match against BIG. Fnatic was able to stay ahead on their CT side before swapping to the attack. Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin was a major part of their success, finishing the game 30-11 with 123.4 ADR. A dominant T side from Fnatic netted them a 16-10 map win.

VP needed a momentum shift quickly if they wanted to take down Fnatic on their Mirage pick. Mareks “YEKINDAR” Galinskis got just that in their CT pistol round.

Those two initial rounds proved crucial as Fnatic came back strong with their full buys. The Swedish squad ended the first half up 9-6 from the T side. They would also find the second pistol round, bringing their lead to 13-7. With their backs against the wall, Virtus.pro pulled off an insane streak, winning nine of 10 rounds in a row to end the game. A tight 16-14 victory kept VP in the match.

Train was the final map of the series. Fnatic should have had a good baseline to work with seeing as they won both pistol rounds. Instead, VP pulled off force buy rounds to immediately steal the economy in both halves. Aside from a three-round streak early in their CT side, Fnatic could never get anything going. They simply looked outclassed while VP took everything they wanted. Every VP player earned an HLTV rating of over 1.00 on their way to a dominant 16-5 finish.

Rematch for the Title

Now in the grand finals, Virtus.pro would face off against the only team to have beaten them at Flashpoint. OG were back from a full lower bracket run after losing their round one match to MiBR. OG won that rematch in three maps before sweeping Fnatic in the losers’ finals. This was their chance to complete a legendary run with a trophy.

For the third time in their four playoff matches, VP would lose the initial map of the series. OG’s Mirage was up first. The home team played better across the board in map one. A strong 9-6 T side led to a standard closeout from OG’s defense. All of their players had a better rating than all of VP’s players. Virtus.pro now had to prove that it was only the map holding them down.

That would seem to be the case on Train. VP started on the less favored T side but still got going quickly. OG had no response to VP’s coordinated executes. Overall, the CIS side got into a bomb site in 12 of the 15 rounds. Even when OG did find an advantage, it wouldn’t be kept for long.

Virtus.pro followed up with an even second half, bringing them to a 16-9 equalizer win. One final map would be played to crown the Flashpoint champions.

That map was Inferno. VP would once again start on the T side. When these teams met on the map in their group stage final, it was OG who took a decisive 16-9 victory. This time, VP had the answers. They started out on the T side yet again, but had a much different result. Instead of only managing five rounds in the first half, VP stepped up massively. Every player had a positive K-D ratio on their way to an 11 round first half. Meanwhile, Nathan “NBK-“ Schmitt was the only OG player who could say the same.

Come the second half, OG earned a bit more time with a second-round force buy. It would still end up being borrowed time as VP calmly found the four remaining rounds that they needed to end the game. With a 16-12 final score, Virtus.pro earned the Flashpoint Season 2 title.

Virtus.pro just earned one of the biggest cash prizes of 2020 in style. Their undefeated run through the playoffs could have hardly been any sweeter. They have also proven that this roster is good enough to hang with some of Europe’s top teams. Virtus.pro is definitely on the upswing at the end of this year. While they will not be seen at any more major tournaments in December, they will certainly be a squad to watch come 2021.

Virtus.pro have capped off an undefeated playoff run at Flashpoint with a 2-1 win over OG in the grand finals. OG won their first meeting in the group stage, but Virtus.pro had their number come rematch time. The CIS squad proved they were the best team at the tournament, taking home the Flashpoint trophy and $500,000 in prize money.