A heated series of winners’ matchups determined the semifinalists of VCT Masters Europe. Today, we saw the decider matches take place in order to see who will be joining FunPlus Phoenix and Team Heretics in the playoffs. The decider matches took place between Acend versus Ninjas in Pyjamas and DfuseTeam versus Guild Esports.

Acend vs Ninjas In Pyjamas

The first matchup saw the former Raise Your Edge Gaming roster, Acend, take on Kevin “akukhoS” Droolans’ NIP.

Bind

Opening things up on Bind, map pick of the underdogs, Acend, we saw a close half unfold. Starting out on defense, NIP got a 3 point lead following a loss on the pistol after a classic 3k from Mehmet “cNed” Yağız İpek. It was at that moment that Acend woke up to get five rounds in a row to get ahead. A 3k from Egor “chiwawa” Stepanyuk on Cypher revived NIP to get away with the last three rounds of the half to tie it all up at 6:6.

On defense, Acend displayed a masterclass performance. Once more picking up the pistol, Acend would get all the way to 12 rounds while NIP was still stuck on 6. One final push from chiwawa and Charles “CREA” Beauvois would see NIP pick up three rounds before the underdogs closed things out following a successful defuse. Acend took their map pick forcefully at 13:9.

Icebox

It was time for NIP’s map pick, Icebox. Starting out on defense, Kevin “akukhoS” Droolans’ side were extremely caught off guard initially. Acend went on a rampage on attack to get seven rounds in a row, utilizing their duelists, cNed on Jett and Vladyslav “kiles” Shvets on Reyna to full effect. Finally, the duo of chiwawa and CREA guaranteed NIP one point on round eight to kick it off. This was followed with one more rounds subsequently. Acend retaliated with another round before NIP managed to get two more of their own up on the board to make it 8:4 for Acend.

Starting out on defense, Acend continued their aggressive playstyle even on the other side of the battlefield. Santeri “BONECOLD” Sassi led the defensive stance as Acend put together five straight rounds up on the board to take away Icebox from NIP at a crushing 13:4.

The huge upset sees Acend make it to the semifinals to face Team Heretics while NIP are eliminated from VCT Masters Europe.

DfuseTeam vs Guild Esports

The final match before the playoffs of VCT Masters Europe saw DfuseTeam fight it out with Guild Esports as the matchup went all the way to the decider map.

Split

The first map up was Split, pick of Guild. Dfuse got to work quickly to establish dominance as their defensive side was stellar throughout the half. Back-to-back 3ks from Radolphe “rodeN” Bianco saw the first two rounds go to Dfuse. Guild retaliated with one round of their own. Dfuse threw it into fifth gear by getting seven rounds in a row to run away with a 9:1 lead. Guild didn’t give up however, as the final two rounds of the half went their way on the back of great plays by Leo “Leo” Jannesson, making it 9:3 in the end.

The second half saw a renewed Guild, as they were determined to make a dream comeback. The half saw magnificent retakes as well as great display of firepower as Guild was rolling, bringing it all the way back to 11:10 for Dfuse. Unfortunately for them, Dfuse clawed back two rounds with a team ace on the final round to close it out at 13:11, denying Guild the comeback on their own map pick.

Ascent

Ascent was up next as DfuseTeam was looking to close the series out on their own map pick. Guild however came up big. The first half saw Dfuse pick up the first two rounds before Guild traded that with three of their own. Another three rounds for Dfuse was traded with four by Guild, amounting to a 7:5 half in favor of Guild as Yacine “Yacine” Laghmari was picking up the pace for his side on Raze.

Guild continued their streak on the pistol on defense, successfully getting a defuse in time. The subsequent round saw Malkolm “bonkar” Rench come alive with a 3k to slowly boost his side to run away with the lead. A 4k from Dylan “hoppY” Aube finally put up a point on attack for DfuseTeam. This would be the last round, however, as Guild put together four rounds in a row to take Ascent 13:6 and force the decider map.

Haven

All squared up at 1-1 in maps, Haven was left over as the decider map. The final map of the series came out to be an extremely tight game, with neither side wanting to let go of the victory. Haven saw a showdown between Leo of guild on Breach versus rodeN on Sova as top fraggers for their sides. The teams kept trading blows the whole half as it culminated in an even 6:6 scoreline. We were in for a real treat.

The second half saw Dfuse run away with a major lead. After Guild managed to get hold of the two initial rounds on the defensive side, Dfuse strapped on their aimlock goggles to string together five rounds to make it 11:8 in their favor. Guild were under pressure, but that is when Leo started to shine for his side to turn the tide of battle. A lackluster performance from Bonkar was saved by the rest of his teammates’ as Guild were doing outstanding plays, including an ace by Leo to put up Guild 12:11. The final round saw a confused Dfuse beaten as Yacine closed it all out with a 2k, showing that this Guild roster can turn things around if not careful.

Guild has beaten Dfuse 13:11 on Haven and will face FunPlus Phoenix in the semifinal of VCT Masters Europe. DfuseTeam are eliminated from the event.

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