Fansided

IEM Katowice 2017: Astralis claim second title in two months

By Brittany Frederick

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 29: Markus Kjaerbye of Astralis reacts during the ELEAGUE: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship finals at Fox Theater on January 29, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 29: Markus Kjaerbye of Astralis reacts during the ELEAGUE: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship finals at Fox Theater on January 29, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Astralis defeated FaZe Clan in the IEM Katowice 2017 Grand Final, giving the Danish Counter-Strike team their second championship since January.

Astralis have another gaming trophy to add to their growing collection. The Danish squad were named champions of IEM Katowice 2017 on Sunday, officially cementing their status as the best team to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in the world.

The IEM Katowice Grand Final pitted Astralis against a revamped FaZe Clan, who had been firing on all cylinders since adding former Mousesports star NiKo to their roster. But while FaZe took the opening map 16-9 that was all they’d get from Astralis.

The next three maps were competitive but ultimately went the way of the Danes. They won 16-12 on Overpass, 16-12 on Nuke and 16-13 on Inferno to capture the IEM Katowice title by a score of 3-1.

Winning in Poland means that Astralis have captured two of three championship titles since late January. They won the ELEAGUE Major 2017 over Virtus.pro on Jan. 29 and were semifinalists at DreamHack Masters Las Vegas on Feb. 19.

Sunday’s result nets the team $144,000 of a $250,000 prize pool. Astralis’s xyp9x was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player before the Grand Final.

Despite the loss, FaZe Clan can’t be too upset with themselves. The addition of NiKo made them as close as the tournament had to a dominating force up until the last day. They went from not even getting out of the Group Stage at DreamHack Masters to being runners-up at Katowice.

Will they be the next team to watch out for? It’s too soon to tell. FaZe certainly showed a new level to their game, but one tournament does not a contender make. OpTic Gaming won the second season of ELEAGUE over Astralis and have looked dismal since. Hopefully, FaZe will be able to back up this performance with equally strong showings in future events.

That’s certainly what Astralis have done. After battling VP tooth and nail to win the ELEAGUE Major and get the choking monkey off their back, they’ve become a CSGO team that can cleave through tournaments. Their wins may not always be blowouts but the Danish squad has found their way to persevere and now they have a second Grand Final victory to show for it.

If you missed any of the IEM Katowice 2017 Grand Final you can watch the full first three maps by using the videos below:

Next: Read our review of the Nintendo Switch

IEM Katowice 2017 certainly did not disappoint. Whether it was NiKo lighting a fire under his new teammates at FaZe Clan or the surprise run by Heroic to the semifinals, there were plenty of great matchups in this tournament. But now CSGO fans have to ask can anyone stop Astralis?