In the veto, Astralis removed Anubis, paiN banned Ancient, Astralis picked Inferno, paiN chose Dust2, Astralis removed Mirage, and then finally, paiN banned Train.
On Inferno, paiN struck first by winning the pistol round, but their momentum was short-lived as Astralis quickly found their footing. The Danes continued to dominate the first half, heading into the break with a 9-3 lead. paiN managed to secure four rounds in the second half, but Astralis remained in control, closing out the map 13-7.
Dust2 began with Astralis surging to a 3-0 lead before paiN finally put up resistance. The first half remained tightly contested, ending in a dead-even tie. However, Astralis shifted into high gear after the break, suffocating paiN’s defence and conceding just three rounds before sealing a 13-9 victory to take the series.
Since returning from inactivity at the start of 2025, Nicolai “device” Reedtz has delivered an impressive performance, maintaining a 1.17 average rating across 11 maps. He played a key role in Astralis’ victories over FlyQuest and paiN, emerging as the team’s highest-rated player in the tournament so far.
The Danish squad are now set to face Team Spirit in the IEM Katowice Group Stage Opening Round on February 2.
What did the teams say?
Casper "cadiaN" Møller expressed his satisfaction with the result in a post-match interview, saying, “Today was much more similar to the way we play in practice. It’s all the small things about not exaggerating your moves and waiting for a flash or a teammate”.
“A year ago, I wouldn’t celebrate qualifying for Katowice, but that’s where we’re at the moment,” he continued.
He also addressed device’s return to form, saying, “We had a few rough tournaments at the start, but you can see that he is such a gifted player in terms of knowledge, in terms of microing movements, and he has top-tier mechanics too. It’s also good for the people that say I can’t activate him.”
Meanwhile, Rodrigo "biguzera" Bittencourt expressed his frustration with the team’s performance. “We’ve been saying that this hasn’t been our tournament for the whole week,” he stated.
“I showed a lot of low level and low mentality, I don’t know why, maybe I just need to refresh. We’re not disappointed in the result, but in the level of the game we showed,” he admitted.
While grinding the ranks and playing with randos can be fun, nothing comes close to the fun and enjoyment you can experience when playing with friends or pre-mades. Private matches allow you to create customizable game settings and limit the people who join your lobbies. Today, I’m going to teach you how to create private matches in CS2. Whether it be for the memes or for sweating and trying hard in scrims, here’s how to set up a private game.
Playing on the same maps in CS2 all the time can get boring very quickly. You go on the same maps provided by Valve, and you already know every little corner there and every strategy other players use to win. This is why the community tried to make the universe more fun and attractive. The Steam Workshop gives you more options to explore with your friends. Maps can let you relax and take a break from the competitive scene, explore, or just help you train to prepare you for more challenges. If you have never done this before, perhaps you don’t know what CS2 workshop maps to choose. This article will present ten cool options to banish boredom and give you top experiences with the game.
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