Cover Image Courtesy: Intel Extreme Masters | Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Intel Extreme Masters



The grand finale of IEM Beijing 2019 came to an end with Astralis winning the best-of-five series in a straight-set against 100Thieves. The Danes once again were on top of their game as they dismissed the Australian line-up in blazing speed, giving away just eight rounds in the last two maps.



With this Astralis book themselves a spot at IEM Katowice 2020 along with a cash prize of $125,000, going undefeated in the entire tournament to lift the trophy in Beijing.







The Danes Stand Tall





Vertigo Astralis - 16 100Thieves - 14 Nuke Astralis - 16 100Thieves - 5 Train Astralis - 16 100Thieves - 3



With the way, things started the competition between the two teams looked quite even. The first bout between the two teams took place on Vertigo, a surprise pick by 100Thieves and a map that Astralis hadn’t played on yet in the tournament despite having a good grasp around it.



The Danes barely managed a one-round lead going into halftime, and continued to steal rounds every now and then to take the victory, it wasn’t a convincing victory for Astralis but enough to secure them the lead.



The series continued on with the second match taking place on Nuke, which had been the go-to map for Astralis throughout the tournament, while also being the one on which they were dominating pretty hard.



This is where the Danes jumped the gun, going from zero-to-hundred in a matter of seconds. They did not let 100Thieves get the start they wanted despite them playing CT-sided in the first half. Astralis managed to take a huge lead and then followed it up with their feared CT-sided gameplay, to go ‘2-0’ up in the five-game series.







The final brawl was fought on Train, 100Thieves now under tremendous pressure was in a desperate situation to win their second map pick, but Astralis had no intention of losing even a single map.



They held the sites with such tenacity and fervour that 100Thieves could not manage even a single plant playing T-sided in the first half, giving Astralis a twelve round lead which they soon turned into a decisive victory for themselves, securing the series ‘3-0’ to become the champions of IEM Beijing 2019.







With this, the Danes go undefeated to lift the trophy and celebrate as they secure themselves a spot in IEM Katowice 2020 as well.

A huge contribution of this victory for Astralis goes to Gla1ve, who not only guided the team to victory this time but lead from the front as well. Showcasing his prowess as an individual player, something for which he was criticized a lot in the past.



He has surely proved his worth as a skilled individual player by winning the MVP award, the first of his career, securing an overall rating of a whopping 1.48 across the six maps.



