NA falls flat in Jönköping
After a draw that put both North American teams in the same group, it was looking like ESL Impact Season 2 Finals would be tough for CLG Red and EG Gold to get through. Despite that, a scenario where no NA representative would be playing in the last days of competition wasn't on the books, definitely.
The first games of the first day had all the favorites winning their respective matches. Nigma Galaxy, CLG Red, FURIA, and B4. Then, given the format, the winners would face each other and the losers likewise.
CLG Red started the competition with a clear 16-6 win over EG Gold. Then, it was time for them to face onne of their biggest nemesis, Nigma Calaxy. Unfortunately, CLG Red couldn't find an answer to Nigma's Overpass defense and fell 16-3.
Meanwhile, in the lower bracket after losing to CLG Red, EG Gold played against HSG, who had previously lost to Nigma 16-10. The newly-formed NA squad fell quickly with 16-6 and 16-1 scores against the Chinese, meaning they were out of ESL Impact Season 2 Finals. This meant CLG Red and HSG would face each other to see who would be the second team from Group A to get through to the semifinals.
That series started off pretty well for CLG Red as the team got an 11-4 CT-side lead at the half in HSG's pick of Dust2. The second half had the Chinese team one-up the legendary org, by putting together a 12-3 half and winning the map 16-14. Both teams looked strong and it was certain this would be a tight series. The second map went smoothly CLG Red, which ended 16-7. The Mirage decider started out rough for the NA squad, as they allowed HSG to get eight rounds on the T-side. The Chinese didn't make the same mistake and showed great strengths on the CT-side. The map finished 16-11 with CLG Red getting knocked out from ESL Impact Season 2 Finals.
CLG RedHSG fe| CLG Red |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vivienne 'BiBiAhn' Quach |
79 - 55 | +24 | 92.7 | 76.2% | 1.44 |
 Coline 'Kaoday' Le Floc'h |
59 - 54 | +5 | 83.5 | 82.5% | 1.27 |
 Marissa 'madss' Dasta |
58 - 53 | +5 | 69.3 | 75.0% | 1.04 |
| Kelsie 'uhKelsie' Click |
53 - 56 | -3 | 72.8 | 72.5% | 1.03 |
 Mounira 'GooseBreeder' Dobie |
35 - 57 | -22 | 65.7 | 72.5% | 0.87 |
| HSG fe |
K - D | +/- | ADR | KAST | Rating 2.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SinMan 'Hazel' Fong |
67 - 49 | +18 | 86.4 | 75.0% | 1.26 |
 Ramona 'gfi' Azween Binti Zaharuddin |
65 - 55 | +10 | 77.9 | 70.0% | 1.11 |
 Nian 'Hffo' Zhao |
48 - 57 | -9 | 69.3 | 75.0% | 0.95 |
| Aisya 'Argent' Sabrina |
49 - 62 | -13 | 69.1 | 67.5% | 0.92 |
| Xinni 'XiaoWu' Wu |
42 - 64 | -22 | 67.4 | 62.5% | 0.81 |
With no North American representatives, the bracket now has FURIA facing off against HSG, and a Russian derby will take place in the other semifinal as Nigma Galaxy will play against NOFEAR5.
