Four more teams battled it out for a chance to secure the final two semifinal spots in the ELeague Season 2 playoffs Thursday night. OpTic gaming and FaZe Clan ended up getting through, but it wasn't without drama and a stunning upset.
OpTic Gaming sweeps
The first best-of-three series showcased the only North American team to advance to the playoffs, OpTic Gaming, who were crowned champions at Northern Arena in Montreal last month. As a result, the Green Wall entered their matchup against the ELeague Group A winners, mousesports, with high expectations. That was brushed away instantly on the first map Train, however, as OpTic put together a commanding 12-3 first half lead. Óscar "mixwell" Cañellas played a big part, picking up two quad kills, including one in the final round of the half to effectively silence mousesports. While OpTic's opposition put together a slight rally to start the second half, winning four consecutive rounds, that momentum evaporated after four quick wins by the North American team to claim Map 1. Will "RUSH" Wierzba led the way with a dominant 22/9 KD and 110.6 ADR.
The second map of the series, Cache, was picked by mousesports, as they looked to even the series. However, mousesports struggled to get the first half started on defense as they fell behind 9-6. That deficit proved to be too much as OpTic continued their dominance into the second half, further extending their lead before mousesports could catch up. Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz closed it out with a surprise triple kill to secure the second map 16-11 and the series 2-0, earning OpTic a trip to the semifinals.
FaZe Clan upsets defending champs
The second best-of-three series of the day featured the defending ELeague Season 1 champions Virtus.Pro looking to defend their title against FaZe Clan. The Polish Plow came out early as Virtus.Pro took the first map, Nuke, in a 16-4 blowout. However, FaZe Clan was well-equipped for a bounce-back match as they selected Overpass for their second map. Down 8-7 in a highly-contested first half, FaZe came out strong, winning nine consecutive rounds after giving up two to start the second half, securing the second map with a 16-11 win.
Down to a winner-take-all final Map 3, the two teams had a tightly contested start on Cache before FaZe rallied to earn a 9-6 lead at the half. They would then win the opening round of the second half before seeing Virtus.Pro put together three round wins of their own to draw closer in the pivotal match. From there, each team seemed to trade momentum like a hot potato as the series creeped closer to a 14-14 tie. Needing to win two consecutive rounds to claim a berth in the semifinals, Havard "rain" Nygaard ended Round 30 with a swift double kill to scrape by, 16-14. FaZe Clan moved on to the semifinals to face off against OpTic Gaming.
The final four teams have now been determined for the ELeague Season 2 playoffs. The semifinals will showcase a best-of-three between Astralis and SK Gaming to start followed by FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming. The winners of those matches will then head to the Grand Final on Saturday. The action will resume Friday with the semifinals set to start at 5:00 p.m. ET on Twitch and will conclude live on TBS at 10:00 p.m. ET.