Three weeks remain in the EU Esports Championship Series Season 3 as Week 5 gave a few Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams a chance to pull away from their competitors to solidify a spot in the top four of the standings.
Fnatic started fast Tuesday with a whopping 6-0 lead over Team Dignitas to start Game 1. Dignitas quickly got back into the game earning round after round until the dust settled with a 9-6 Fnatic lead at the half. However, the second half was a nightmare for Dignitas as the Swedes of Fnatic crushed seven out of eight rounds to take Inferno 16-7. Dignitas looked to even the series against Fnatic in Game 2, but the dream was short lived due to a lackluster offensive side, as Fnatic took a 15-0 lead into the half. Although the second half looked promising as Dignitas won six straight until Robin "flusha" Ronnquist 26/14 KD (kills/deaths) and 124.5 ADR (average damage per round) stepped up in the final round won on Mirage 16-6, clinching the series 2-0.
Astralis continued the action Tuesday against Team EnVyUs in a lopsided series in favor of the Danes. Astralis took the lighter side of Inferno with a commanding 14-1 first-half lead on the defense. The thrashing didn't stop in the second half as Astralis quickly closed Game 1 16-1. EnVyUs started Game 2 by winning the pistol round before Astralis brought it to a tight battle, trading rounds until the Danish team took the helm for the 9-6 lead at the half. EnVyUs struggled to hold off the offense of Astralis for a tough 16-10 Game 2 loss, thanks to Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz's impressive 55/18 KD and a 233.7 ADR during the series sweep. Astralis continued its dominance Wednesday taking out Dignitas 2-0 in a highly contested and close Game 1 win on Nuke 16-14 and a flawless finish to Mirage 16-7 for a perfect 4-0 in Week 5, sending Dignitas to the bottom of the standings.
Thursday featured FaZe Clan picking up a convincing 2-0 series win over G2 Esports. FaZe had a strong showing in the first half on the offensive side on Nuke to take a massive 11-4 lead. The dominance continued for FaZe in the second half, only giving up one defensive round for the 16-5 win, thanks to Havard "rain" Nygaard's 29/9 KD and 129.6 ADR. Finn "karrigan" Andersen led a near-perfect offensive first half for FaZe in Game 2 on Overpass for a 12-3 lead at the half. However, G2 still had some fight left with an 11-round comeback before FaZe Clan shut the door 16-14. Earlier in the week, FaZe Clan took on EnVyUs and went up 11-4 at the half on Inferno, but a late comeback in the second half fell short of a Game 1 win for EnVyUs 16-14. FaZe then silenced EnVyUs on Train in a 16-3 Game 2 win to finish Week 5 with an undefeated 4-0 record.
GODSENT ended the week Thursday with a highly contested matchup with the other Swedish squad, Fnatic. Fnatic put together a solid first-half performance with a 10-5 lead in Game 1 on Inferno. GODSENT then had a solid start to the second half to cut the deficit, which eventually led to an 11-11 tie. However, Fnatic remained composed and kept applying offensive pressure to finally close with a 16-12 win. GODSENT performed much better during Game 2 on Mirage, controlling the first-half lead to hold off Fnatic 8-7. The second half was all GODSENT, who won six consecutive rounds over Fnatic to take the match to map point. While Fnatic never gave in and won the next five rounds to force overtime, it couldn't capitalize in the extra rounds for a 19-16 Game 2 loss. GODSENT tied Fnatic 1-1 in the series, but remains in ninth place in the EU standings.
Week 5 of ECS Season 3 comes to a close as Astralis sits at the top of the EU standings with FaZe Clan, Fnatic and G2 Esports rounding out the top four. Week 6 will kick off Tuesday, May 23 at 1:00 p.m. ET as Fnatic take on Astralis.