CS:GO action at IEM Winter is getting spicy as ZywOo and dev1ce are in amazing form and leading their teams to victory. Last night, two incredible best-of-three series were on show and the two AWPers gave a Counter-Strike recital. Before moving on to the semifinals, let’s relive those moments and get ready for the even spicier matchups which will be played this weekend.
Ninjas in Pyjamas took on shocking GODSENT who made it to the playoffs when no one expected, while Team Vitality had to go through Gambit Esports, one of the strongest teams here and actually the favourite of the tournament, before its start. Out of these four, only two would keep their hopes of winning the $100,000 prize money alive. VIT and NIP, around their experienced AWPers, proved to have a better commitment for the same.
Find the odds and schedule for the remaining IEM Winter matches, bet on them and watch them at Luckbox's CS:GO matches page.
GODSENT vs Ninjas in Pyjamas
While everyone expected this matchup to be heavily in favor of Ninjas in Pyjamas, GODSENT proved that their hype did not end before the playoffs. Although dev1ce led his team to victory in the end, GODSENT fought honorably.
On Nuke, NIP defeated GODSENT on their own pick 16-10 with hampus’s 27 kills and device’s 21 kills performance. However, just when everyone thought Ninjas in Pyjamas would end things on their map pick, Overpass, felps & b4rtiN duo stole the spotlights. After GODSENT’s 16-10 defeat, it was time for the decider.
Led by device’s amazing AWP plays this time, Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated GODSENT 16-8 on Ancient, moving on to the semifinals. NIP will face G2 Esports, favourite of the tournament as Gambit was eliminated by Team Vitality.
Team Vitality vs Gambit Esports
On this side of the quarterfinals, a much closer match was played between Team Vitality and Gambit Esports. However, this time, the teams played their own map very well and took it to the decider the way it should have been in the first match.
ZywOo accumulated 73 kills throughout the series, but his Dust II performance wasn’t too special. Team Vitality didn’t give Gambit any chance by finishing the map 16-5, led by misutaaa’s incredible performance. On Vertigo, Gambit Esports took the lead with interz’s 28 kills performance, and ZywOo getting 21 was not enough.
The decider went in favor of Team Vitality, yes, but it was an amazing game and if you have time, definitely watch it. ZywOo definitely showed how a superstar can determine the fate of his team, getting 36 kills alone and helping his team win Mirage in extra time 19-17. With this result, Team Vitality will face Virtus.pro in the semifinals. Team Vitality looks like they are the better team in that matchup, but VP did play very well during the group stage. Let’s see what will happen.
Schedule for the semifinals
The semifinals at IEM Winter will be played this weekend on 11 December, and the grand final is on 12 December. You can visit Luckbox's match pages below to find the odds and bet on the semifinals.
G2 Esports (1.58) vs Ninjas in Pyjamas (2.18) - December 11, 16.00 CET
Virtus.pro (2.16) vs Team Vitality (1.60) - December 11, 19.15 CET
