This article is part of our CS:GO Recap series.
G2 Esports had Week 2 of the European Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Esports Championship Series off, which left a bit more room for movement in the upper echelons of the standings. Both Astralis and FaZe Clan capitalized. Here's a closer look at how everything shook out.
The week opened up with FaZe taking on Virtus.pro, and the epic downfall of the former Polish juggernauts continued. FaZe jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first half on Train before taking a big 13-2 lead into the half. Virtus.pro managed to win the second-half pistol round but not much else. This allowed FaZe to easily take the map 16-4.
The second game, on Inferno, was a bit closer to begin with, even if the end result ended up being the same. FaZe started with a 3-0 lead, but Virtus.pro quickly battled back to 6-4 edge and carried a 9-6 lead into the half. All that momentum was lost in the second half, however, as FaZe put on a show with a 10-1 second-half showing to lock up the sweep with a 16-10 win.
FaZe wasn't done dominating just yet, as it was one of just two teams to play two sets in this shortened week, next taking on the slumping Ninjas in Pyjamas. The teams started off on Nuke with NiP taking the first three rounds and threatening to throw off FaZe's strong run. FaZe came back with five straight to take a bit of a lead before NiP came back again to take a 9-6 lead into the half. The second half saw a bit of a back-and-forth, with FaZe ultimately coming out on top with a close 16-13 win. The second game was on Inferno, and it is hardly even worth mentioning. FaZe, led by Nikola "NiKo" Kovač's impressive 26/6 KD (kills/deaths), utterly dominated NiP in a 16-1 win.
Astralis also managed to pick up some strong wins over GODSENT to push to the top of the standings. Starting off on Overpass, GODSENT actually came out the gate with a 3-0 lead before Astralis got into an incredible groove to finish the half with a 10-5 lead. GODSENT simply ran out of gas in the second half, which allowed Astralis to take the six rounds needed to lock up the 16-5 win.
The teams moved over to Mirage for Game 2, and Astralis started off even stronger. The Danes blitzed their way to a dominant 12-3 performance going into the break. GODSENT showed some signs of life in the second half by winning the first five rounds to close the gap a bit, but Astralis recovered and closed out the map with a 16-9 win.
Astralis' two wins put it in the top spot, while FaZe Clan's 4-0 week put it firmly in second place. Despite not having played this week, G2 Esports and mousesports still hold onto their spots and round out the top four. Week 3 will kick off Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET with mousesports taking on GODSENT, followed by Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Dignitas at 3 p.m. ET.
