G2 bow out in predictably amusing fashion - ESL Pro League S23

To answer a question from a previous end of day review; no, G2 aren't sneakily good.

In a fashion so typical of G2 that we could have written this three days ago had we been braver, they fell from a 2-0 start to a 2-3 exit, losing to the 'it' team at the moment, FUT, despite smushing them on map one.

Mirage was barely a contest, with G2 running away with it 13-4; this is a map FUT were 13-3 on this year, albeit two of those losses were at this event, and G2 absolutely smashed them. This was as good an omen as one could have hoped for most teams, but when things are going so well for this team... it just means they're about to go so, so wrong.

FUT ground out wins on Dust 2 and Overpass - the latter coming from 8-4 down - to win 13-11 twice and claim a win that was oh so predictable from the moment G2 looked safe and comfortable.

We don't even know what to say or do with G2. You can't fix them. It's just something in the DNA. They'll just be Spurs-y 'til the end of time, and not the San Antonio ones either.

Every player played decently well - huNter-'s numbers aren't outstanding, but he's the IGL, while malbsMd had a terrific series, which is a positive given his inconsistent form, and it still didn't matter. Individually they were fine, as a team they didn't play badly, and certainly weren't horrific, but they just... are allergic to winning when it matters.

So infuriating, yet so, so funny.

Astralis ended the FURIA fightback with a brutal takedown on Inferno, with Staehr continuing his rich vein of form.

Staehr has been at worst quietly efficient and at best a livewire on this team of late, and he was absolutely electric on Inferno to drive Astralis to a big, big win - though it should be said FURIA have been under-par, and the fact that FalleN would miss the playoffs is likely a huge part of that.

Nuke was an absolute pasting for FURIA, with Astralis running riot, and Inferno was pretty one-sided too with a 9-3 half for Astralis. Sandwiched between that was a masterclass from molodoy, as ever, but he was muted on Nuke andleft on his own too much on Inferno as his team went missing.

Astralis have been a fun watch for the first time in a long time to start this year, and while we can caveat this run, they'll still be at a LAN playoffs with some of the best teams in the world, and that's something to be proud of. The new players have settled in, Staehr looks superb and HooXi has outcalled some top IGLs at times too.

This is a super fun team, even if their ceiling might be a slight bit limited by firepower.

3DMAX's reign of terror in Stage 2 came to something of an abrupt end, as NAVI were on the right end of two pummelings and the wrong end of just one.

All three maps were one-sided, all 13-5, but some stalwart defensive gameplay was enough to lock out 3DMAX and grant NAVI safe passage into playoffs. makazze was a hurricane on the CT side of Dust 2, popping up everywhere and leaving a trail of destruction, as the favourites picked up nine CT rounds, which is pretty rare on that map.

NAVI went flawless on the CT side of Ancient too, turning what was a game in the balance into a clean victory, and a flat ending for a 3DMAX team who had been wreaking havoc in the Swiss system. It's a shame it had to end, but the playoffs is a whole 'nother level, and NAVI are simply too clever to fall for your schemes.