By winning the semi-final match on Saturday, Virtus.pro secured access to the grand finals of the IEM Katowice championship. Previously, in the quarterfinals, in a tense fight on three maps, they knocked Astralis out of the competition, and then they only needed two maps to send Liquid home. In both matches, a significant role was played by the coordinated actions of Jami “Jame” Ali and Mareksa "YEKINDAR" Galinxis.
On the Dust2 map, Liquid were able to be active at the beginning, winning the pistol rounds, but then they lost more and more. As a result, the map remained with the team from the CIS with a score of 16: 9. The second map was Mirage, and on it the American team resisted more intensely, but after switching sides, the advantage finally passed to Virtus.pro. As a result, the map ended with a score of 16:12 in their favor.
On Sunday, Virtus.pro expects to perform just as successfully in the grand final. There they will have to fight with another team from the CIS – Gambit advanced to the final stage, knocking out Natus Vincere and Spirit from the tournament. For Virtus.pro, the most important recent success was the victory at Flashpoint 2, while Gambit won cs_summit 7 in January. Now both teams have a chance to win one of the most significant titles of 2021.
