Maniac said that "Cloud9 with Boombl4 will be hard to handle", and they're already proving him right with a confident 2-1 victory over NAVI in their opening game.
A match that showed why Boombl4 was able to lead NAVI to great success in 2021, it also featured a strong debut for NAVI's new signing, w0nderful.
Pimp, Ruggah, and Maniac all said on the analyst desk before the game that the veto favoured Cloud9 as the three maps didn't rely upon the AWP.
Nevertheless, w0nderful was tied as the server's top-fragger as the new NAVI AWPer picked up 25 kills. On the side of Cloud9 it was former NAVI man electroNic who matched him. The Russian was the difference-maker as Cloud9 clawed their way back from 9-5 down.
At 9-8 it looked like the map would stay in NAVI's hands. Perfecto's quiet game went from bad to embarrassing as he fluffed his lines in this 1v1 against Aleksib.
Fortunately, his teammates bailed him out, and Cloud9 went on a four-round winning streak to secure map point. NAVI would secure one more round from that point, but Cloud9 secured the map 13-11.
NAVI bounced back on Ancient with a 13-9 win.
Once again w0nderful was the star. His 20 kills were the highest on the server. Bolstered by jL and Aleksib's 18 each, the trio proved too much for Cloud9 to handle.
Perfecto managed to recover some form after his slow map one. He was the best player on Cloud9 with a 17-15 statline. However, it was Boombl4 who had the starring moments for Cloud9, including this cheeky Zeus kill:
A close map, Cloud9 will be disappointed they couldn't close out the series considering their 8-4 T side.
Where better for our first decider match of Fall Final 2023 than Inferno?
The classic Counter-Strike decider map didn't disappoint, as Cloud9 closed out the series on the map.
electroNic returned to the top of the scoreboard. He and Perfecto both recorded 21 kills as they put the hurt to their former team. Perfecto had an especially good round as he secured the first ace of the tournament.
With an 8-4 CT side under their belts, Cloud9 were heavily favoured going into the second half, and they secured their first win under Boombl4 with a 13-9 scoreline.
BLAST ApS., Hauser Plads 1, 3., 1127 Copenhagen