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The LPL PRO CS:GO ANZ Invitational went off with a flash-bang last night, bringing in thousands of viewers across Twitch and SKY SPORT to watch the best CS:GO teams in ANZ face-off in the first episode of the tournament. Let’s take a look at how our three matches played out.
Game 1 ??' Grayhound vs. Tainted Minds
The first game of the ANZ CS:GO Invitational also served as Euan “Sterl1ng” Moore’s debut on Grayhound Gaming, as the Oceanic champs went up against Tainted Minds. Grayhound started quickly, picking up the first pistol round and clutching out the second, before perfect-rounding the next two – a strong start to the match and the tournament.
The domination continued, as Grayhound closed out the next four rounds before Tainted Minds finally took a map. They took two more, but the streak was stopped as d3xt3r somehow defused the bomb at B in the middle of smoke as Sico waved his knife around desperately trying to find him.
TM bounced back, taking the final three maps of the first half to head into the break 6-9 down. They took the second pistol round quickly and continued their comeback, taking the next 5 rounds to firmly put themselves in the lead. Grayhound snuck a map back to stay within reach, but the win got even closer for TM as they went to 15.
Grayhound made a desperation play and were rewarded with a single map, but Tainted Minds put the pedal to the metal and closed out the game to take down the Oceanic champions 16-11.
Game 2 ??' Legacy vs. Ground Zero
The second matchup of the night was Legacy Esports going up against the Wildcard Qualifiers Ground Zero, and it was GZ that started off strong, with deStiny claiming a 4k in the first pistol round on T side. The next four rounds also went Ground Zero’s way, before Legacy clawed one back to halt the momentum. With an AWP on BL1TZ, their economy was still rebuilding and they were definitely back in it.
An unlucky Molotov throw from PeetyG gave Legacy their second round and they went on a rampage, winning another eleven rounds straight to lead 13-5 after being 0-5 down. Soju scored a clutch 4k in round 16, successfully baiting out two members of Ground Zero from B before dispatching them both with clean headshots
Ground Zero on CT bounced back, quickly taking the next round to stem the bleeding but Legacy weren’t letting them start back up as they closed out to go 14-6 up. Sensing that it was do-or-die, GZ played some strong CT and took the next four maps to tighten the game, but it was Legacy who put them to the sword after they claimed the two maps they needed for victory.
Game 3 ??' Breakaway vs. Chiefs
The final match-up of the day was newcomers Breakaway Esports versus Oceanic mainstays Chiefs Esports Club. With j1rah standing in for Lacore as the latter played for Legacy earlier in the evening, all eyes were on the New Zealand team to see how they’d play with a new fifth man.
Chiefs took the first pistol round, but Breakaway took the next with just Noisia alive to tie it up. Again, Breakaway went on a quick run to claim five maps before Chiefs’ economy allowed them to go toe-to-toe with two AWPs and take their second round. Rounds quickly went between the teams, as Breakaway took three maps, then Chiefs responded, but Breakaway always took an extra map to lead 10-5 at side changeover.
It looked like Breakaway had this game in the bag, as they took the second pistol round and took two more maps to lead 13-5. The Chiefs, a fire lit under them, went on a five-map streak to close the gap before Breakaway halted them in their tracks, their lead reduced to only four rounds.
Three more maps went Chiefs’ way, with strong control around the bombsites – but it was Breakaway who clutched out round 28 to move to match point. That would be the last round that Breakaway would win, as the Chiefs took two maps to push it to overtime, then convincingly swept the New Zealanders 4-0 in overtime to prevent an upset.
Join us next Thursday LIVE on twitch.tv/letsplaylive and SKY SPORT 5 from 8pm NZDT as the LPL PRO CS:GO ANZ Invitational continues!
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