This article is part of our CS:GO Recap series.
The fourth week of the EU Esports Championship Series Season 3 kicked off as teams scrambled to find their respective spot in the top four of the standings with four weeks remaining.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team EnVyUs started the action on Tuesday with EnVyUs putting the smack down on the Swedes in Game 1 on Nuke. EnVyUs came out of the gates hungry for rounds, earning a quick 8-1 lead to start the first half; however NiP came back to make the deficit manageable, down just 9-6. EnVyUs controlled the bombsites in the second half, as well as the lead, to take down NiP 16-9. The series didn't go far as both teams battled it out on Nuke once more, this time going in the Swedes favor. NiP had a better start in the first half with a 6-1 lead before EnVyUs rallied back to steal the first half lead 8-7. Both sides jousted during a highly contested second half as EnVyUs came close to tying the game late, but NiP held off for a 16-13 Game 2 win to even the series 1-1.
Tuesday also saw GODSENT clash with Virtus.pro on Train with the Poles putting together a massive 11-4 lead in the first half of Game 1. GODSENT had a solid start to the second half winning five consecutive rounds, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop VP, who marched to a 16-11 Game 1 win. GODSENT performed much better in Game 2, but it didn't look that way early on as the Swedish team trailed in the first half 10-5. Seven straight rounds to open the second half swung the momentum in its favor, ultimately propelling GODSENT to a 16-13 win, tying the series at 1-1.
Virtus.pro continued its hectic week Wednesday against Fnatic in a close, yet ultimately disappointing series. Both teams had a tight start in the first half of Inferno until Virtus.pro started to slip away with the lead in the first half. However, Fnatic came back to steal the first half 8-7 and went on to dominate early in the second half. That didn't stop Virtus.pro, which continued the yo-yo game by taking it into mappoint. Although Fnatic were on the brink of a Game 1 loss, the Swedes rallied back to force overtime. Fnatic carried the momentum into overtime to dominate four straight rounds and take Game 1 19-15. Game 2 saw Virtus.pro control a majority of the first half until Fnatic crawled back to settle the half down 8-7. However, Fnatic crushed the Virtus.pro offense winning nine out of ten rounds for the 16-9 win and the 2-0 sweep.
G2 clashed with mousesports and Team Dignitas, starting with a tight series against mouz on Wednesday. The series began on Cobblestone where G2 took the first half on defense up 10-5 despite a 3-0 start for mousesports. G2 controlled the rotations against its opposition, maintaining its second half lead en route to a 16-11 Game 1 win. Game 2 shifted to Train where mouz had another 3-0 start until G2 held off on the defense, eventually securing a 9-6 lead. However, it was all mousesports in a dominate second half, winning 10 rounds for the 16-13 win to tie the series 1-1.
Team Dignitas and G2 went head-to-head Thursday in a short and simple series for G2. The series started on Train where the Dignitas defense couldn't hold off the aggressive offense of G2 resulting in an 11-4 deficit at the half. G2 controlled the second half on defense even though six rounds were given up for a 16-10 win. The series then headed over to Cache where Dignitas had a 3-0 lead before G2 rained on its parade to take the first half 10-5. Unfortunately for Dignitas, G2 thrashed the defense to take Game 2 16-6 and the series sweep 2-0.
Now that Week 4 is in the books, G2 Esports takes the number one spot with mousesports sharing 18 points as Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas to follow suit in third and fourth. Week 5 action will kick off May 16 1 p.m. ET as Fnatic take on Team Dignitas followed by Astralis and EnVyUs at 3 p.m. ET.
