Cloud9 Triumphs over Astralis to Win Brazy Party
Cloud9 emerged victorious in the Brazy Party grand final after defeating Astralis in a three-map series. The Russian-majority roster took home a $133,000 prize after conceding the first map, Overpass, 5-16, but responding with a 16-7 win on Vertigo and a 16-12 victory on Inferno.
Cloud9's win at Brazy Party marks their second online tournament victory of the year. The team will look to use their first-place showing as a way of building some much-needed confidence and stability, particularly after missing out on a spot at the upcoming BLAST.tv Paris Major.
Astralis, on the other hand, will undoubtedly be disappointed that they couldn't go all the way in the online competition, but they will still leave with their heads held high. Brazy Party was Alexander "Altekz" Givskov's debut tournament with the squad, and the Danes will be feeling confident that their most recent roster move was the right choice after securing a grand final finish right off the bat with their new recruit.
The Grand Finals:
Astralis and Cloud9 started their game on Overpass, which was Astralis' pick and where they had a strong win rate in recent months. The Danish team quickly took a 5-0 lead on the T-side, but Cloud9 managed to win round six with a triple kill from HObbit. Despite this, Astralis maintained their dominance and ended the first half with a five-round lead. After the side swap, Astralis won the second pistol round and continued to play well, even managing to win a 3vs5 in the 20th round. They ultimately won the map 16-5 in a commanding fashion.
Cloud9 didn't skip a beat once Vertigo rolled around, pulling out all the stops as they built up a 4-1 lead on the T-side. The Danes managed to recover as the half played out, but Cloud9 were able to hop back in the driver's seat just as Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov began to wake up from his slumber. The Russo-Kazakh lineup won five of the final six rounds of the half to head into their CT-side with a 9-6 cushion.
Cloud9 pulled off daylight robbery at the start of Inferno, clinching victory in round three despite sh1ro being on just $0 and the squad fielding a mishmash buy of pistols. Cloud9 made full use of their unexpected steal, chaining together a further five rounds to lead with a comfortable 6-2 advantage midway through the opening half. Astralis managed to add three rounds to their tally on the T-side, but Cloud9 stabilized and picked up six rounds on the trot to get onto map and series point. Astralis did chime in with three of their own, but Cloud9 refused to allow an overtime affair, picking up the sole round they needed to close out Inferno, 16-12, and win Brazy Party in the process.
What’s Next?
Cloud9's next outing will be at IEM Dallas, where they will aim to pick up back-to-back trophies in Texas after previously doing so at the tournament's 2022 edition. Meanwhile, Astralis will be looking to build on their performance at Brazy Party, with Altekz's addition to the roster likely to provide a significant boost in the coming months.