This article is part of our CS:GO Recap series.
Day 4 of DreamHack Masters saw North, Virtus.pro, Astralis and SK Gaming advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here's how all of Saturday's action played out.
North and Gambit squared off in the first quarterfinal matchup on Day 4, concluding with a thrilling double-overtime finish. Both teams went back and forth in the first few rounds on Nuke, but it was North who came out on top 11-4 to end the first half. Despite a bit of a momentum run from Gambit, North would eventually slam the door, registering a 16-11 Map 1 win.
North appeared to have the series win in the bag, quickly jumping out to a 10-5 lead at the break to start Map 2. They eventually built their lead all the way to 15-6 before the CIS team responded with fury, winning nine straight rounds to push Map 2 into overtime. Even play from both sides saw Map 2 extended into a second overtime. It was here that North would flip the tides of the series, winning a clutch 1 vs. 3 to propel the team to a series-clinching 22-20 win.
Virtus.pro and mousesports were the next teams in line to capture their semifinal spot. mousesports got off to a solid start on Train winning the first few rounds to establish their economy early. Down 6-2, Virtus.pro came back after winning a half buy round to take the lead at the half 8-7. mousesports looked to get an early edge on Virtus.pro in the second half but were only able to win one round as the Polis Plow took Map 1 16-8.
Map 2 saw both teams in a highly contested battle throughout the first nine rounds before mouz finally took the lead 5-4. Virtus.pro managed to string together a couple of rounds in the first half, but it was mouz who took the 9-6 lead into the second half. However, Virtus.pro slowly crept back into the contest, exchanging critical rounds with its opposition. With overtime just on the horizon, Virtus.pro's Filip "NEO" Kubski last-minute heroics helped propel the Polish squad to a nail-biting 16-14 Map 2 win to clinch the series.
The third match of the day featured Astralis taking on Ninjas in Pyjamas, with the defending ELeague Major Champions earning yet another statement win. Astralis sailed past NiP for a 12-3 lead at the half to kickstart Map 1. Although NiP started off well in the second half, the first half lead proved to be insurmountable as the the Danes claimed a 16-8 Map 1 win.
Astralis never really cooled off from their blistering performance during Map 1, once again earning a 12-3 lead to end the first half of Map 2. Similar to the previous map, NiP made a bit of a rally during the second half, but Astralis managed to regain their stranglehold, eventually closing out the series win with 16-7 scoreline.
Natus Vincere and SK Gaming rounded out Day 4 with a thrilling triple-overtime to start the series. Map 1 certainly didn't look like it would be exciting, as Natus Vincere quickly jumped out to a 8-1 lead on Mirage. SK Gaming would pull the game a bit closer, eventually ending the first half down 10-5. The Brazilians would get their wits together, however, winning the first five rounds of the second half. Each team would then continue to trade rounds and momentum before SK would eventually reach map point. However, Natus Vincere would force Map 1 into overtime with just their pistols. The first two overtimes could not determine a winner as both teams fought back even when the odds were stacked against one another. However, SK managed to win two rounds in both halves in the third overtime to squeeze out a series lead.
Next up was a Map 2 match on Train, arguably SK Gaming's best map. Despite winning the opening pistol round, Natus Vincere was left staring at a nearly insurmountable 13-2 deficit to end the first half. The CIS team did manage to put together a small rally in the second half, however a quad kill from from Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo during a B push stifled any momentum Natus Vincere may have built, helping seal the deal on a 16-7 series-clinching win.
