Astralis is back on top after winning the ELEAGUE CS:GO Premiere 2018 tournament, taking home the $500,000 prize.
They defeated Team Liquid in a Grand Final that only had brief moments of competitive action.
The Grand Final predictions were not even as Astralis entered the match as heavy favorites over the Team Liquid squad who has never beaten them.
Astralis proved their favored ranking early, winning the first 14 rounds as a helpless Liquid struggled to match the talent of the number one squad in the world.
The 14th round was a particularly impressive blowout, with dev1ce’s AWP picking off Liquid one by one as they barely fired back. The crowd was in disbelief as Astralis was rarely challenged.
nitr0 would lead Liquid out of embarrassment in the 15th round, leading his team in elims as they finally picked up a round victory to make the map score 14-1.
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It would not last, Astralis shutdown Liquid’s dual pistol strategy to go up 15-1. The map win would elude Astralis for a few rounds before closing out by a count of 16-5 to take the 1-0 lead.
Team Liquid used their relatively strong finish to take an early lead in Map 2, taking an 8-4 advantage to the 13th round. Astralis re-established their dominance to stop any upset hope, winning six straight rounds to take the lead at 9-8. The teams traded rounds before Astralis pulled away at the end to win the championship with a 16-12 final score and the 2-0 sweep.
Astralis and Liquid both qualified for the Playoffs by advancing out of Group A. Liquid reached the Grand Final by upsetting Group B first seed NaVi, while Astralis handled business against the overmatched mousesports.
The final placements for the ELEAGUE CS:GO Premiere 2018 tournament are below.
ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 Final Placements
Position | Team | Prize Money |
---|---|---|
1st | Astralis | $500,000 |
2nd | Team Liquid | $200,000 |
3rd-4th | Natus Vincere | $80,000 |
3rd-4th | mousesports | $80,000 |
5th-6th | Fnatic | $40,000 |
5th-6th | MIBR | $40,000 |
7th-8th | Cloud9 | $30,000 |
7th-8th | FaZe Clan | $30,000 |