Cloud9 come out guns-a-blazing on Map 1 (Ascent) and catch Team SoloMid totally flat-footed. They demolish them without any resistance and take it 13-1.
TSM comes back strong on Map 2 (Bind) and looks like their dominant selves. C9 gets a few rounds at the end to make it more respectable at 13-7, but TSM is back in the driver seat.
Now we will dive into a round-by-round analysis of Map 3 (Haven):
TSM - defenders side: hazed (Sage), Subroze (Brimstone), drone (Phoenix), reltuC (Cypher), WARDELL (Jett)
C9 - attackers side: shinobi (Sova), Relyks (Omen), vice (Cypher), TenZ (Jett), mitch (Sage)
Note: gameplay clip is shown before the written description
Round 1 Pistols (TSM 0 - 1 C9): TSM stack 3 in garage to start the round, while C9 take control of sewers looking to push into A. hazed uses Sage's Wall to stop the push and instantly C9 turn their attention to B. WARDELL gets 2 frags early, but C9 is still able to get the plant down and trade back. mitch uses Sage's Wall to slow down the rotation and retake from A. C9 end winning the remaining duels and keep 3 alive.
Round 2 Eco (TSM 0 - 2 C9): TenZ pulls out his infamous judge and takes out 2 in garage to start off the round. C9 trade kills on C site and takes control for the plant. TenZ with the 3k in this round.
Round 3 Rifles (TSM 0 - 3 C9): TSM goes back to a more default setup with 1 on C, 2 in garage, 2 in A, and leaving B open. After little to no action in the first minute, both teams slowly rotate towards B. mitch boosts himself onto the middleboxes in B, while TenZ simultaneously Updrafts with him to surprise the lone Cypher on site. mitch ends up with a 2k and C9 have control of B once again.
Round 4 Rifles (TSM 0 - 4 C9): WARDELL keeps the operator from last round and moves over to B, but both teams are patiently trying to gather information and not aggressively push. WARDELL gets one walking up B main, but then gets traded right away. C9 goes aggressive onto the boxes at B once again and get 2 more picks to make it a 4 on 2 with site control. vice gets a 2 for 1, but doesn't have enough time to seek out the others and defuse.
Round 5 Eco (TSM 0 - 5 C9): TenZ and vice open up with early kills. WARDELL gets one back with Jett's Bladestorm and damages another to half health at the entrance to B. C9 instantly backs away and rushes towards C. TSM still doesn't have weapons, so C9 easily takes the round with 3 surviving.
Round 6 Rifles (TSM 1 - 5 C9): TSM looks to stop the momentum and shift their defensive set up with 2 in garage, 1 on B, and 2 in A. C9 once again takes their time to let TSM move around and give them information. C9 tries to push through the smoke in garage, but hazed get 2 quick kills and traps the spike behind a Sage Wall after. Both teams go aggressive trying to regain control of garage and the spike, but TSM successfully trades and wins their first-round with WARDELL ending it with a comical operator play.
Quarter Intermission Analysis: C9 is being really patient and with timed team-based aggression, they are able to gain the advantages over TSM. Their attacks have been focused around the B site and have built up a 5-1 lead.
Round 7 Rifles (TSM 2 - 5 C9): TSM finally has their economy in a better position after that round win and pull out the double operators on A long and C long. Both WARDELL and Subroza pick up entry kills with the operator. drone goes aggressive from the start with Phoenix's Run it Back, he doesn't get a kill but pushes everyone back. C9 slows it down once again and is able to get a plant onto B, but now they have 5 members of TSM surrounding them for the retake. Both sides were fragging, but TSM comes out on top with a clutch 3k from WARDELL.
Round 8 Rifles (TSM 3 - 5 C9): TSM's double operator set up pays off once again with another opening frag by Subroza from garage. drone and WARDELL push up A long and short with C9 waiting to get aggressive. TSM holds their angles patiently and WARDELL gets two while retreating. TSM flawlessly takes another round and are starting to feel good.
Round 9 Rifles (TSM 3 - 6 C9): C9's economy has been hit and TenZ pulls out the judge. Early aggression gives C9 control of garage. WARDELL gets the opening kill at C long, but C9 continue their aggression onto C site. This gives TenZ the opportunity to push garage and wrap around. C9 pincers TSM from long, short, and link. TenZ goes aggressive and the pressure is enough to give C9 control of C site with TSM still rotating 2 defenders from A site. Let's just call this round jumping judge as C9 stop TSM's run.
Round 10 Rifles (TSM 3 - 7 C9): C9 goes back to their patient attacking style. They slowly move a few players up A short, A long, and B main, while not fully committing. They wait until 30 seconds are left in the round when they attack A from several angles including A link. This timely team-based aggression proves to be fruitful once again as they take out two and plant onto A site. TSM uses the Sage Resurrection, but with no early kills, they decide to save their weapon instead of looking to retake.
Round 11 Rifles (TSM 4 - 7 C9): After an early pick at A short by mitch, C9 turns around and goes towards C. C9 splits up and decides to push multiple entries at the same time. 3 members of TSM get 3 kills almost simultaneously as C9 push individually. hazed finishes the round off with a 3k and take that round flawlessly.
Round 12 Rifles (TSM 5 - 7 C9): TenZ tries of a cheeky Jett Updraft from A garden, but WARDELL was ready and pops him with the operator. drone once again pushes up A long and waits for C9 to push from A lobby. This time they peak him and he gets a 3k before going down, but this leaves TSM with a 4v1 to close out the half. After a slow start 0-5, TSM comes back and end the half with a respectable score of 5-7.
Half Time Intermission Analysis: When TSM gets control of their economy and are able to pull out the operator(s), then the 3-headed monster of WARDELL, Subroza, and drone can pop off. When C9 is patient and execute swiftly as a team, TSM is usually too slow to react and gives up too much. C9 takes a small lead 7-5 going into the second half of Map 3.
Side Switch: TSM - attackers, C9 - defenders
Round 13 Pistols (TSM 6 - 7 C9): C9 starts off with 2 in C, 1 in garage, 1 in B, and only 1 in A. shinobi backs out of A as he awaits his team rotating over, but there is nothing to slow down TSM, so they walk right into A without a fight. C9 position themselves for the retake and TenZ gets the first pick onto WARDELL. hazed uses Sage's Wall to slow down any entry into A, but C9 time their aggression and explode onto the site, leaving a 4v1 for Subroza. The spike is ticking and even though C9 is hidden behind smokes, Subroza hears the pings on the spike and spams the defuser before taking out one more; no time is left on the clock.
Round 14 Eco (TSM 7 - 7 C9): C9 did not expect much from an eco round, but TenZ was cheeky once again with a shorty. He gets two close-range kills at A short, but the rest of the team isn't able to capitalize. TSM easily take the round and tie it at 7-7.
Round 15 Rifles (TSM 7 - 8 C9): TenZ goes all in with the operator, while everyone else is able to full buy rifles. drone goes aggressive with a flash at A long and hits his shot against TenZ. drone continues his rampage as he trades 2 more with shinobi, leaving it 3v2 in favour of C9. TSM did not commit the spike to A, so they backtrack and move towards C, where Subroza has already made it into the back of site. mitch swings and miraculously survives and kills Subroza before clutching the round with a 3k.
Round 16 Rifles (TSM 7 - 9 C9): C9's economy is hurting, so they are on a very light, half buy. TSM spams utility to take control of courtyard and push up into B. They wall off one side of B main and use smokes to cover the rest. The smokes allow shinobi to go aggressive and push towards the spike. shinobi peaks right as the spike is planted and takes out hazed as well as a piece of the wall. TenZ sneaks behind the half wall and starts the defuse. Subroza uses Brimstone's Orbital Strike to get TenZ off the spike, but he still gets half. Several utilities including smokes, molotovs, and slow orbs are used right at the entrance of B main. It is a hectic, blind fight as C9 is on the bomb, while TSM is outside trying to stop the defuse.
Round 17 Eco (TSM 7 - 10 C9): TSM is on an Eco round and looks to rush down C. A Sage Wall stops them, but they use their own Sage Wall to boost above and get a pick. The remaining 4 players are rushing at TenZ, who has an operator, but timely ultimates from shinobi (Sova) and TenZ (Jett) are able to wipe TSM and secure the round for C9. They are rolling!
Round 18 Rifles (TSM 8 - 10 C9): WARDELL gets his favourite operator and wins the 1v1 duel with TenZ at Mid doors. This allows TSM to take control of courtyard once again and plant at B. This time, C9 is not close and the site is cleared out by drone's Run it Back. TSM back off and defend from Mid again, while C9 retakes from inside B. C9 uses their own Sage Wall to start the defuse, but an Orbital Strike stops it at half. C9 must get off the spike and this allows TSM to take more ground and finish off the round with the remaining kills.
Quarter Intermission Analysis: Early on, TSM seemed to have control on the attackers side, but a few mental mistakes by TSM opened the door for C9 and they capitalized; stringing together 3 rounds in a row to take a 10-7 lead after being tied. TSM has not been able to get into a rhythm in the second half.
Round 19 Rifles (TSM 8 - 11 C9): TSM tries to get cheeky by faking their mid to B + Sage Wall plant, so they send drone by himself on a flank towards C long. mitch does not take the bait and is waiting on the other side of the smoke. drone had the spike, so now C9 has control of it at C long. TenZ is patiently waiting on top of the boxes with a judge in garage and picks off one who is looking to support the push into C. TenZ rotates to C long and get 2 more with the judge for the 3k. Everyone is now at C long and just blasting each other. Relyks and vice rotate over and finish it off for C9.
Round 20 Rifles (TSM 8 - 12 C9): TSM gets the opening pick onto shinobi at B to open up the site once again. C9 is quick to rotate from C and A as Relyks gets 1 at C long and TenZ gets a double with his judge, going through his own Cloudburst at the entrance to B from A link. The remaining members of TSM are cornered and weakened, they get smoked out and sprayed down to push C9 to series point.
Round 21 Rifles (TSM 9 - 12 C9): TenZ is back on the judge and waiting for someone to push A short. vice is providing him with all the information he needs as Cypher. TenZ pops out and gets the first pick onto drone. TSM fake the B site plant again, but C9 use the Omen ultimate to gather information that they are still sitting at A long. The clock is ticking and finally, TSM decides to pull the trigger and go. TenZ is taken out immediately and WARDELL starts hitting his operator shots with a 3k to live another day.
Round 22 Rifles (TSM 10 - 12 C9): Neither team goes aggressive at the start of this round, except for mitch pushing up C long towards cubby, but no one is close by. mitch pushes up to C lobby before retreating as TSM is rotating over. mitch uses a slow orb and wall to divert TSM towards Mid courtyard. C9 feels comfortable holding B from off-site. They see utility being used onto B and with only 30 seconds left, they aggressively rotate onto B site themselves. Everything is being thrown at the entrance to B from both sides. It is a 3v3, when drone uses Run it Back and TSM uses this information to get the final picks to win another round.
Round 23 Eco (TSM 10 - 13 C9): TenZ pulls out the infamous judge as C9's economy has been hit after multiple rounds by TSM. TSM senses the save from C9, so they play slow to try to utilize their weaponry, but C9 plays super safe and does not give them anything. TSM gets spotted coming up A short by vice's Cypher camera and calls for rotates and utility. Omen's smoke comes in to cut off vision into A and stalls TSM, while C9 is running over with 15 seconds left on the clock. TSM wants to wait out the smoke before pushing in to plant, but TenZ does not let them as he bursts in a quick double and then a third. The chaos gives C9 the opening and the others back up TenZ and take out TSM.
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