Copenhagen Flames eliminate Imperial in Antwerp
The last game of the day, an unlikely meeting between Imperial and Copenhagen Flames for a spot in the playoffs, has come to a close. Copenhagen Flames overcame the Brazilian veterans in a two-map affair, seeing them secure the final playoffs spot up for grabs at Imperial's expense.
The series kicked off on Imperial's pick of Inferno, although you could hardly be blamed for thinking that the Danes picked it themselves. The Flames got off to a strong start with a five-round run to start their CT-side before Imperial answered back with a round of their own. Despite their streak being broken, Copenhagen Flames kept up their dominance throughout the half, as Imperial would only claim one more round as Copenhagen Flames locked down the half 13-2. After securing the second pistol round, there was nothing Imperial could do as Copenhagen Flames finished things off 16-2, stealing away their map pick.
Imperial did a considerably better job at keeping rounds closer on the Flames' pick of Vertigo. Copenhagen Flames secured the first pistol round and the subsequent round, but Imperial responded by snatching the first gun round. This kicked off a streak of back-and-forth rounds, which led to a 4-3 scoreline for Copenhagen Flames. In the end, the Flames managed to break away from the Brazilians, going on a five-round tear before Imperial could stop the bleeding with three rounds of their own, narrowing Copenhagen Flames' lead to 9-6 at the half.
Imperial kept up the momentum they built up at the tail-end of the first half by securing the second pistol round and the subsequent round. A quad-kill from Nico "nicoodoz" Tamjidi in the first gun round of the half briefly halted Imperial's run and kicked off the streaky, back-and-forth bloodbath that would constitute the second half of this game. The two squads would alternate stringing rounds together, and while Imperial was able to propel themselves to match point, they didn't have it in them to close it out, as the Flames edged the game into overtime. The chaotic nature of the game continued in overtime, where the Danes eventually claimed victory with a 22-18 scoreline, locking in their spot in the playoffs.
Copenhagen FlamesImperial| Copenhagen Flames |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rasmus 'Zyphon' Nordfoss |
54 - 24 | +30 | 90.3 | 84.5% | 1.54 |
| Nico 'nicoodoz' Tamjidi |
49 - 35 | +14 | 86.1 | 67.2% | 1.24 |
| Jakob 'jabbi' Nygaard |
40 - 36 | +4 | 80.1 | 75.9% | 1.19 |
| Fredrik 'roeJ' Jørgensen |
36 - 34 | +2 | 78.3 | 79.3% | 1.12 |
| Rasmus 'HooXi' Nielsen |
30 - 35 | -5 | 64.2 | 69.0% | 0.90 |
| Imperial |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vinicius 'VINI' Figueiredo |
41 - 40 | +1 | 81.3 | 72.4% | 1.11 |
| Ricardo 'boltz' Prass |
36 - 38 | -2 | 72.1 | 74.1% | 0.99 |
| Fernando 'fer' Alvarenga |
39 - 47 | -8 | 80.7 | 53.4% | 0.90 |
| Gabriel 'FalleN' Toledo |
28 - 46 | -18 | 53.0 | 62.1% | 0.75 |
| Lincoln 'fnx' Lau |
20 - 40 | -20 | 36.8 | 50.0% | 0.57 |
With Copenhagen Flames' victory over Imperial, the bracket for the Champions Stage is now set in stone. The quarterfinal games will be:
FURIA vs 
Spirit Heroic vs 
NAVI
Copenhagen Flames vs 
ENCE FaZe vs 
NIP
The Champions Stage is now just two days away, with the first quarterfinal set to start Thursday at 10:30AM.
