Congratulations to Astralis

The final of the ELeague CS:GO Major was a classic showdown between arguebly two of CSGO's greatest teams.

The clash between these two teams has always produced incredible spectacles, and of Counter-Strike’s biggest stage they delivered once more. It was a match that had everything, from massive plays to huge clutches, fantastic executes and force-buy wins on both sides.

Kicking things off on Nuke, it was Virtus.Pro who started strong, jumping out to an early lead on the T side and ultimately halting a come-back attempt from Astralis to finish the half with a 9-6 advantage from the historically weaker side.

Some incredible force buy wins and clutches brought the game neck and neck at 12-12 in the second half, but then yet another eco win for Virtus.Pro allowed them to snowball the game into a 16-12 win to take the lead in the series.

Overpass was an even more intense affair. With clutches all over the place, this time it was Astralis who led 9-6 after their T side. Once again though the game was tied up, almost every round coming down to the wire until at 14-14 it was Kjaerbye who won a crucial 1v1 against Snax to allow Astralis to take the game 16-14.

The title would be decided on Train, and it was the Polish side that once again started with an explosive T side. From 0-7 down, Astralis were able to claw their way back to a 9-6 finish in favour of Virtus.Pro.

Losing the pistol round again seemed to be the death knell for the Danes, as Virtus.Pro were able to extend their lead to 12-6 on the CT side. Unwilling to relinquish the title so easily though, Astralis began to force their way back into the game. They fought until they were trailing by just one round, Virtus.Pro retaining the lead at 13-12, when the Polish squad won yet another force buy to step a little further ahead, 14-12.

On the very brink of elimination, the scenario which in the past had been followed by the Danish choking, Astralis called on their new-found mental fortitude and went to work. Winning four consecutive rounds, Astralis took the map 16-14, the series 2-1, and the ELeague Major title.

The 10th Major is done, and it delivered some of the greatest games in CS:GO history. Astralis, at last, are Major champions.