Virtus.pro defeat SK Gaming to win DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017

Virtus.pro have defeated SK Gaming to win DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017. The Polish squad won two straight maps after being down 1-0 to secure the victory.

Virtus.pro vs SK Gaming

de_Cobblestone (5:10, 3:6) 8:16

Virtus.pro and SK Gaming squared off on Cobblestone to get the grand final under way, with the Polish crew starting on the Counter-Terrorist side. After a convincing pistol round victory, Virtus.pro fell to an impressive Brazilian anti-eco, led by Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo. SK Gaming abused the tattered Polish economy to make a run; and while Virtus.pro were able to secure a few rounds in between the constant Brazilian onslaught on the B bombsite, ultimately, SK Gaming finished the half with a convincing 10-5 lead.

SK Gaming’s outstanding play continued into the second half, as they took the Counter-Terrorist side pistol round, and looked poised to run away with the match. While Virtus.pro attempted to engage the plow that we all know and love, the Polish resurgence was limited to just three rounds in the second half before Filip “NEO” Kubski and the rest of Virtus.pro fell to SK Gaming, 16-8.

de_Train (9:6, 7:5) 16:11

Moving into the second map, Train, the pressure began to amount for Virtus.pro. SK Gaming have been nearly untouchable on Train throughout recent events, and after being down 1-0 in the grand final, the Polish powerhouse were facing severely stacked odds.

Virtus.pro once again started off on the Counter-Terrorist side, and secured a pistol round victory over SK Gaming. Unfortunately for the Polish crew, SK Gaming’s intrepid anti-eco play quickly turned the tides in the Brazilian's favour, as they set out to an early 3-1 lead over Virtus.pro. Fortunately for Virtus.pro, Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski took matters into his own hands to ensure the half did not slip away from the team, and led his team to a 9-6 first half lead over the Brazilians.

SK Gaming regained form in the second half, as they secured the pistol round over Virtus.pro, and the subsequent anti-ecos, to tie things up at 9-9. Virtus.pro, however, did not falter for long, as they won the first gun round, and put pressure on the Brazilians as their economy faced an untimely reset. Once again, by way of Snax, the Polish squad made quick work of SK Gaming to win the second map, 16-11.

de_Mirage (7:8, 9:5) 16:13

After two hard-fought battles, the DreamHack Masters Las Vegas grand finals had come to a standstill at 1-1, with the deciding match to be played on Mirage.

Jarosław "pashaBiceps" Jarząbkowski and company would once again take to the Counter-Terrorist side first, and went three for three for pistol round victories in the grand final over SK Gaming. Fortunately for Virtus.pro, SK Gaming’s anti-eco play was not as strong on Mirage as it had been on the previous two maps, which allowed Virtus.pro to secure a few more rounds early on in the match. While Virtus.pro got out to an early 6-2 lead, the outstanding play of Joao “felps” Vasconcellos helped rally the Brazilians to an exciting comeback, and an 8-7 advantage going into the second half.

SK Gaming’s momentum rolled on into the second half, as they won the pistol round, and strung together a 11-7 lead over Virtus.pro. The Polish, however, would not go down easily; they secured an important gun round amidst a four round deficit, and traded rounds to gain momentum and tie the match up at 12-12. It was here that the plow had fully been activated; after an insane 1v2 clutch by the legendary Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas, the Polish powerhouse ran away with the game to win the match 16-13 over SK Gaming, and claim the champions' title at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas 2017.

Image courtesy of Virtus.pro's Twitter

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