Renegades are one victory away from MLG Columbus after defeating dignitas 16-9 in the first round of Group D.

The last group of the tournament began with a very interesting clash between dignitas, one of the hottest teams of the moment, and Renegades, who are attending their first event with Karlo "⁠USTILO⁠" Pivac. Many believed that the Danes would come out on top, but the grim reality was that they were on the back foot for most of the game.

Renegades got off to a good start in the match and won the pistol round and the first anti-eco round to start off the game with a 2-0 lead. A third-round buy from dignitas almost paid off as they managed to enter the B site and plant the bomb in a 3vs3 situation, but Renegades executed the retake really well, leaving the Danes' economy in poor shape. The pressure from the Australian team continued and they eventually got out to a 5-0 lead thanks to some great work from Aaron "⁠AZR⁠" Ward and Yaman "⁠yam⁠" Ergenekon in middle.



Renegades were far too hot to handle

With no money in the bank, dignitas went for a no-nonsense mid push with nothing but Tec9s, and it allowed them to finally get a round on the board. The Danish team took a string of rounds that let them equalise the game at 6-6, but they were unable to take the lead as they were carelessly picked off by a two-man stack in banana. Renegades held onto the stolen momentum until the end of the first half and brought the scoreline to 9-6 in their favor.

The second half began with dignitas taking the pistol round courtesy of Mathias "⁠MSL⁠" Lauridsen's four kills, only to waste the chance to level up the game as they were caught off-guard by Renegades' aggressive force buy. The intensity of Renegades' attacking play simply stunned the Danes, who were helpless to prevent their opponents from picking up a comfortable 16-9 victory that puts them one step away from the major.