Astralis, MOUZ stay alive in Sweden

Closing out the fourth round in Sweden.

The first stage is almost at the very end, as PGL Major Stockholm 2021 has gone through the three and half rounds with only two games being left to play to decide two more squads to be eliminated from the Swedish event.

A great start by Astralis on their favourite Nuke allowed them to jump to a “8-1” score out of the gate, but paiN Gaming managed to reduce the deficit to three rounds at halftime. Up by only one after losing the second pistol round, Astralis took that personally and locked down the sites on defence, shutting out the Brazilian team’s offence for a “16-8” victory. Moving to Ancient, it looked like paiN Gaming will be able to force the third map, as they not only led “10-5” after their half on the offence, but got seven match points at “15-8” on the defence. The Danes, however, showcased the willpower which was their signature mark during the golden reign, as they not only forced the overtime, but won the map, “19-16”, the series, “2-0” and stayed alive at the Scandinavian event. Up “11-1”,

MOUZ looked to snatch the Mirage pick away from Renegades, but then the Australian side started to mount the comeback. Getting to “8-13” was the last time Renegades allowed the German organization to have any control of the game, as they won all but one of the remaining rounds in the regulation, unexpectedly winning the map, “16-14”. The Aussies did not stop there, as they led by one at the break on Inferno, but a nearly stellar defence by MOUZ allowed Renegades to win only two rounds on the offence before tapping out at “10-16”. Back and forth on Vertigo, MOUZ never lost consecutive rounds to Renegades, which was more than enough for a “16-6” finish to a “2-1” series victory to improve to “2-2” in Stockholm.

With only three matches left to finalize the first round of PGL Major Stockholm 2021, Round 5 is going to feature a lot of high octane drama and highlights.