Astralis move past FaZe

After crushing FaZe 16-7 on Cobblestone, Astralis are the second team to get a 2-0 score at IEM Sydney's Swiss stage.

Although Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač began Cobblestone with a triple-kill at the B bombsite, Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth managed to clutch an 1v4 to guarantee the T-side pistol round for his team. After securing the following two rounds, Astralis went on to assure a 5-0 lead.

FaZe then won three in a row before Astralis almost pulled off a semi-buy. In the 10th round, Xyp9x nearly won an 1v3 with low hp, but Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen didn't let him and secured a 5-5 tie.

Astralis secure the 2-0 spot at IEM Sydney

With a fast A execution, the Danes assured one more round in their favor before FaZe tied the map once again. However, after winning three rounds in a row, it was Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz's team who won the first half with a 9-6 scoreline.

The second half started with a triple and a double-kill by Xyp9x and device, respectively. With successful anti-eco plays and gun rounds, Astralis kept increasing their lead. The Danish squad then continued their Counter-Terrorist trial in the following rounds and, although NiKo pulled off an 1v3 in the penultimate round, Astralis easily finished the map 16-7.

IEM Sydney 2017Best of 1 FaZeMatchpage 7 16 3rd May 2017 Astralis 7Cobblestone 16

FaZe	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Nikola 'NiKo' KovačNiKo	20 - 20	0	83.5	1.06
Aleksi 'allu' Jalliallu	11 - 20	-9	67.1	0.71
Fabien 'kioShiMa' FieykioShiMa	11 - 19	-8	53.8	0.70
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	10 - 19	-9	58.6	0.53
Håvard 'rain' Nygaardrain	8 - 21	-13	56.3	0.46

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	28 - 9	+19	111.8	1.92
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	18 - 12	+6	85.9	1.36
Lukas 'gla1ve' Rossandergla1ve	18 - 11	+7	97.6	1.35
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	19 - 14	+5	79.3	1.26
Markus 'Kjaerbye' KjærbyeKjaerbye	16 - 14	+2	76.8	1.24

Here's how the IEM Sydney Swiss stage looks after Day 1's last match: 

2-0	1-1	0-2
SK	OpTic	ViCi
Astralis	North	Renegades
	Chiefs
	FaZe

ViCi #118 Zhuo 'advent' LiangWeiJie 'zhokiNg' ZhongZhiHong 'aumaN' LiuWingHei 'Freeman' CheungLinXiao 'JeXeN' Wang Astralis #1 Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenLukas 'gla1ve' RossanderNicolai 'device' ReedtzMarkus 'Kjaerbye' Kjærbye North #5 René 'cajunb' BorgMathias 'MSL' LauridsenPhilip 'aizy' AistrupEmil 'Magisk' ReifKristian 'k0nfig' Wienecke Nicolai 'device' Reedtz Age: 21 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 898 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.63 Renegades #23 Justin 'jks' SavageAaron 'AZR' WardKarlo 'USTILO' PivacNoah 'Nifty' FrancisNemanja 'nexa' Isaković Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth Age: 21 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 1052 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.62 SK #4 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFernando 'fer' AlvarengaMarcelo 'coldzera' DavidEpitacio 'TACO' de MeloJoão 'felps' Vasconcellos OpTic #13 William 'RUSH' WierzbaOscar 'mixwell' CañellasKeith 'NAF' MarkovicTarik 'tarik' CelikJason 'jasonR' Ruchelski Finn 'karrigan' Andersen Age: 27 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 950 KPR: 0.66 DPR: 0.68 FaZe #2 Nikola 'NiKo' KovačFinn 'karrigan' AndersenAleksi 'allu' JalliFabien 'kioShiMa' FieyHåvard 'rain' Nygaard Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač Age: 20 Team: FaZe Rating 1.0: 1.17 Maps played: 563 KPR: 0.82 DPR: 0.69 Chiefs #78 Tyler 'tucks' ReillyPeter 'pecks' NguyenAlistair 'aliStair' JohnstonJoshua 'INS' PotterLiam 'malta' Schembri