After two quick maps against NiP (Inferno 16-6, Mirage 16-7), Astralis moved on to the DreamHack Masters Las Vegas semi-finals.

NiP decided to throw a wrench in things from the get-go, vetoing Overpass instead of their usual Mirage ban and picking Inferno.

However, Astralis took off early on on the newly introduced map, controlling afterplant situations in the first pistol as well as the first gunround, which gave them a 6-0 lead on the CT side.

NiP winning the next round didn't come to much fruition, as their economy got reset once Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth aced them on the B bombsite thanks to a smart boost. The Swedes were unable to string rounds together for the remainder of their Terrorist side, which allowed Astralis to pick up a dominant 12-3 half.



Astralis continue their dominating run in Vegas

Despite falling short in the second pistol round, it didn't take Astralis very long to close the first map out comfortably at 16-6.

Mirage followed in similar fashion after Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's squad started the match with a 3-1 lead with the pistol round and second gunround in the bag. Barely leaving NiP any room to breathe, Astralis went up 7-1 before the two teams traded the next four rounds.

At that point, NiP's economy was in shambles while the Danish side finished the half off with ease and put up another 12-3 scoreline.

With the second pistol round going their way, the ELEAGUE Major champions pushed the match to 14-3 and picked up another confident victory at 16-7 despite NiP putting up a fight in the first gunrounds.

Key Moment: Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth's ace in the eighth round on Inferno, where he was boosted over the smoke towards CT spawn to pick off players attempting to get into the site, broke NiP's economy and set the tone for the remainder of map one.

PotM: While the entire Astralis played well, Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth also picked up the Player of the Match award due to being his team's best player on the CT side, where the Danes dominated, with a 31:11 score and 100.2 ADR.