This article is part of our CS:GO series.
Day 2 of the DreamHack Austin 2016 CS:GO tournament has come and gone and some have proclaimed that this may have been one of the best days in terms of sheer entertainment. With semifinal berths on the line in both groups, some handled the pressure well, while others stumbled.
In the first elimination match of the day, and subsequently, the match that will be talked about throughout this iteration of the game, Counter-Logic Gaming took on a feisty Splyce Gaming squad that was looking to rebound.
While Splyce's chances at advancing went down in flames, it certainly wasn't without some drama. In Game 1 on Train playing Terrorists, Splyce started out blazing hot with a quad-kill in the pistol round by Ryan "freakazoid" Abadir. They were in control for the entire match, leading 15-12 with just one round needed to secure their first win at DreamHack. However, pandemonium erupted when Jaryd "summit1g" Lazar defeated Jacob "Fugly" Medina in a 1-vs-1 battle, leaving just the ticking bomb in play. Knowing he had plenty of time to defuse the bomb, summit1 turned to celebrate with the rest of Splyce and disaster struck. At the very moment summit1g turned to celebrate, he walked straight into the Molotov he had just thrown on the planted bomb. With only 40 HP left, the Molotov killed him and CLG won in what most experts say is the most improbable round in CS:GO history. Riding a wave of optimism CLG came out like gangbusters, as they took total control of the first half winning 11 of the 15 rounds. Splyce would show a little fight, but CLG was just too much and went on to win 16-10. Josh "jdm64" Marzano was a force leading all players with 60 kills and a K/D of +30.
As a result, Splyce would become the first team eliminated from the tournament, while CLG would claim the first spot in Sunday's semifinals.
In the Group B elimination match against NRG, Selfless eliminated the favored team in another thrilling 2-1 match. Selfless fared well in the early stages of Game 1 on Overpass, going up 6-1 on the Counter-Terrorist side. NRG would win a couple of low-buy rounds, erasing a seven round lead and sending the game to overtime, but Selfess was able to prevail 19-16. In Game 2 on Train, Nikola "LEGIJA" Ninic's triple headshot helped NRG race out to a 3-0 lead. However, after the switch, it was all NRG and Peter "ptr" Gurney with his 31 kills picking up the 16-10 win.
NRG came out strong on Cache, but Selfless recovered and took control. The two teams traded rounds until Mitch "m1tch" Semago and Michael "MainLine" Jaber took over the match pulling off doubles, clutches and eventually a MainLine quad-kill. Selfless would take the map 16-8 and the match.
With that, NRG would become the second team eliminated and Selfless will go on to face Team Liquid for a chance to reach the semifinals.
Cloud9 is in the semifinals after claiming victory over CLG in a close 2-1 match that featured one overtime and many back-and-forth trading of rounds. This game featured two teams fighting for North American supremacy. After watching this drag out battle go to overtime, analysts believed that whoever won the first map would gain the momentum and secure the match. They were right. Cloud9 took Cache 19-16 on the back of Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert and his 30/20 K/D. Cloud9 would drop Game 2 12-16 on Mirage after being up 9-0. But Cloud9 would not be denied, taking a 16-11 win on Dust II. Cloud9 will face Tempo Storm in the semifinals.
In the last match of the night, Team Liquid and Selfless played a very anti-climactic match with Team Liquid hosing down Selfless 2-0. Liquid dominated from the outset, taking control on Dust II, winning 16-3. Nick "nitr0" Cannella was great, posting a K/D of 23/8 in the first game. Game 2 wouldn't end up being a contest as Liquid dominated 16-10. Liquid will take on Luminosity in the first semifinal on Sunday.
