CS:GO – Astralis’ victory concludes Road to Rio

In the finals of the ESL One: Road to Rio EU Astralis started the Grand Finals with a map advantage. Coupled with two quick wins over an outclassed G2 the Danes secured the vicotry in dominant fashion.

The road to the Rio Major in November has finished it’s first stage as Astralis took down G2 to secure the European Division for themselves. The Danes not only take home $33 000 but also 1600 important qualifying points. Runner-Up G2 will have to content themselves with $21 500 and 1500 points.

All the results and standings can also be found in our megathread.

Astralis on top once more

As Astralis were undefeated throughout the Upper Bracket, they went into the finals with a one map advantage. But the Danes did not even require any help as they demolished G2 thoroughly, only conceding eight rounds over the course of maps Nuke and Vertigo.

Standing unchallenged on top of the European scene once more, Astralis have shown time and again that they are THE team to beat in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Struggling favorites

In stark contrast to the Danish powerhouse other established names faltered in their region as CS:GO returned to online league in the wake of the pandemic. Especially Natus Vincere ran into problems early on. In CIS the superstars led by Oleksander “s1mple” Kostyliev they failed to make it out of the groupstage, leaving underdogs Team Spirit to take the CIS Division over Winstrike Team.

North America also showcased upsets as neither Team Liquid nor Evil Geniuses reached the finals. EG even dropped out in groups as underdogs Gen.G, Cloud 9 and FURIA ran rampant. In the end it was Gen.G taking the championship over FURIA, while Cloud 9 upset Team Liquid and secured the bronze medal.

With the first of three Regional Major Ranking events concluded it is only Astralis that once more stands on top of the world rankings. Although many teams suffered disappointing losses their hopes to reach the Major are still alive as there will be two more chances to collect those precious qualifying points.

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