CLG Red and Dignitas fe to face off in Intel Challenge 2019 Grand Final

After defeating their European opposition in the semifinals, Dignitas fe and CLG Red have advanced to the Grand Finals.

GooseBreeder was an integral part of CLG Red's victory over Assassins

The second day of competition has come to an end at the Intel Challenge Katowice 2019 and both North American teams have overcome their European opposition to secure a spot in the grand finals. CLG Red and Dignitas fe will be facing off tomorrow to determine who will take home the first-place prize of $25,000.

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The first series of the day saw CLG Red face off against Assassins, a European team that also features former CLG Red member Klaudia "klaudia" Beczkiewicz. CLG Red's map pick of Overpass went the distance, as after CLG Red claimed ten rounds on their CT side, Assassins answered back with ten CT rounds of their own, forcing the first map into overtime. There, CLG Red were only able to claim a single round, with Assassins closing the map out 19-16.

On Assassins' map pick of Mirage, they looked ready to close to close the series 2-0 after claiming nine rounds on their T side, including a six round streak that left CLG Red seemingly unable to answer back. However, the North Americans were able to find their rhythm on their T side as they did not allow Assassins to pick up more than a handful of rounds in the second half. Mounira "GooseBreeder" Dobie was instrumental in tying the series as she put up a massive 1.43 rating to help close out map two 16-13.

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Moving onto Train, CLG Red were once again placed on the backfoot as although they were able to win the round two anti-eco, and the next two rounds, Assassins were able to nearly shut out CLG Red by claiming nine CT rounds in a row. After this, like the previous matches in the series, CLG Red were able return the favor by having an ironclad CT defense that allowed them to claim nearly eleven rounds in a row, only allowing the European team two rounds on their T side.

Although their T sides were shaky, CLG Red's series win demonstrated the strength of their CT side over their European opponents, thus paving a way to the Grand Final.

Best of three maps Intel Challenge Katowice 2019 Assassins 1 - 2 CLG Red de_overpass 19 - 16 de_overpass de_mirage 13 - 16 de_mirage de_train 12 - 16 de_train

The other semifinals series of the day, which pitted 2018 champions Dignitas fe against the 4-time championship core of Besiktas, also went the distance as both teams were keen to add another title. On Overpass it was a battle of CT sides as Besiktas claimed eleven rounds on their CT side to put the map within striking distance. However, Dignitas fe were not ready to concede the map as they claimed a whopping twelve CT rounds, including a monster seven round streak to pull Overpass from Besiktas' hands.

Mirage played out in a far more orthodox style as both teams took turns taking rounds off each other with the game going the full distance as neither team seemed able to have a definitive run of rounds. Eventually, the map ended when Besiktas claimed five CT rounds in a row to take the series to a third map.

On Inferno it was the complete opposite of Mirage as Dignitas fe completely rolled over Bestiktas by closing out the map 16-1, thus securing the series as well. While not a single player on Besiktas were able to get into the double digits kill-wise, all five of the Dignitas fe players did. Additionally, Kiara "milk" Makua claimed a 2.00 rating and 115.4 ADR during the map, helping to further solidify Dignitas fe's spot in the grand finals.

Best of three maps Intel Challenge Katowice 2019 Besiktas 1 - 2 Dignitas fe de_overpass 12 - 16 de_overpass de_mirage 16 - 13 de_mirage de_inferno 1 - 16 de_inferno

With an all-North American stage set for Dignitas fe will be taking on domestic rivals CLG Red at 6:00 AM EST tomorrow.