Lukas ”gla1ve” Rossander is excited to build upon the recent success of Astralis, and to do so in what he cites as a legendary venue, he said in a press release.

"MGM Grand is a very special venue, and with thousands of spectators inside the Arena you can’t help to smile a bit," he wrote. "So many legends have performed in this arena, and being able to play here is just a blast."

The team secured their semi-final position after defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-0, winning on Inferno and Mirage decisively. The match, which took place in the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, was one where gla1ve and his Astralis teammates never felt like they were losing.

"We came well prepared and we knew what to expect. Everybody performed, and when we do that, we know, we’re tough to beat," he said. "When winning the first map, we basically just needed to stick to the gameplan, and it worked well for us. We have the utmost respect for NiP, and needless to say, we’re extremely happy to win this one."

The semifinals on Sunday sees Astralis face Virtus.Pro, as a rematch of the most recent ELEAGUE Major unfolds in Las Vegas. Gla1ve himself is not worried too much about the rematch, citing an advantage in the psychological game. "I think that mentally, we probably have the upper hand after that victory, but VP is such a good team, and we will have to perform to our best to get into the final," he said. "You just need to take a look at the Major final a couple of weeks ago, then you know what kind of game to expect.



"No matter what, we will enjoy this one. When you reach the semis, there’s only top-teams left and everything can happen."

Gabriel Zoltan-Johan is a News Editor at theScore esports and the head analyst for the University of Toronto League of Legends team. His (public) musings can be found on his Twitter.