StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 - Semi-finalists decided

Yesterday four teams managed to come out on top of their respective matchups, landing each of them a spot in the semi-finals of the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 LAN finals.

Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, G2 Esports and Team Dignitas have won their matchups to push on to the semi-finals of the event. This leaves FlipSid3 Tactics, Astralis, Team EnVyUs and Heroic on the top eight list of teams that participated at the event.

The first match saw Cloud9 roll over FlipSid3 Tactics. The series went to three maps, however the scores for the successful maps were rather underwhelming for the Americans' opponent. The first map was de_Overpass, where Cloud9 took the map 16:8 (11:4, 5:4), the second map, de_Train went in favour of the Ukrainians at 8:16 (4:11, 4:5) and finally the US representatives swooped the opponents off their feet in a 16:5 (10:5, 6:0) stomp on de_Mirage.

Next up was the much anticipated match between Ninjas in Pyjamas and Astralis. Much like the previous series, it went to three maps, where both teams had a very real chance of proceeding to the semi-finals, however it seemed that NiP were more focused than their Danish opponents. The Swedes gave up the first map, de_Cache with a rather underwhelming score of 6:16 (5:10, 1:6), followed by a strong comeback on de_Dust2 16:12 (4:11, 12:1) and finalised with a dominant finish on de_Overpass, where the team reminded viewers and opponents of their shear capabilities, closing the series 16:6 (12:3, 4:3).

Third on the agenda was the French showdown, between G2 Esports and Team EnVyUs. The only quarter-final Bo3 series to play out only two maps, both however, with very close scores. G2 started on de_Dust2, where the team was just about able to outperform their opponents with an incredibly close 16:14 (10:5, 6:9) score. An absolutely heart-breaking experience for the boys in blue may have had an impact on the second map of the series, where G2 were able to again persevere over their opponent, landing yet another close finish of 16:13 (8:7, 8:6) on de_Cobblestone, closing off the best-of-three.

Closing off the day was the Danish showdown between Team Dignitas and Heroic. Despite a stellar showing throughout the event, Heroic were sent packing after a strong Dignitas proved its supremacy. Another Bo3 series that stretched to all three maps. Dignitas first made sure to pick up de_Cobblestone 16:11 (6:9, 10:2), where the opponents put up a good show, but it was insufficient in stopping them. Next was de_Nuke, where the team was unable to best Heroic, as they gave up the map 12:16 (9:6, 3:10). Finally Team Dignitas focused in on their game and took a strong hold of de_Mirage, where the team was able to close the series 16:12 (9:6, 7:6) and move on to the semi-finals of the tournament.

The schedule for tomorrow's semi-finals will be as follows, times in CEST :

11:00 - Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Cloud9

14:30 - G2 Esports vs. Team Dignitas

18:00 - Grand Final

Headline image courtesy of StarLadder Flickr