Astralis defeats Team Liquid in the semi-final of ESL One

Astralis beat Team Liquid 2-1 in the semi-finals of ESL One New York 2019. In a duel at eye level, the Danes secured their second consecutive victory against the Americans after the StarLadder Major. Both teams claim to be the best Counter-Strike team in the world.

At first, both Team Liquid and Astralis could win their map selection. On Vertigo Astralis won 16:9 before they had to admit defeat on Team Liquid’s choice Dust2 with 9:16 as well. A sign of the Americans’ mental strength as Astralis finished Vertigo ten rounds in a row earlier.

Despite a 5-1 start for Team Liquid on the decisive map overpass, neither team was able to distance themselves for a long time. Only with the victory in the pistol round in the second half did Astrali make up important ground. The Danes could carry this lead afterwards with a 16:13 to the series victory.

In the final, Astralis will face Evil Geniuses, who won the second semi-final against G2 Esports 2:0 (16:8; 16:7).

In the StarLadder Major, the team was still running under the banner of NRG. Astralis recently lost 2-0 to Evil Geniuses in the final of the group stage.