Astralis keep their Major hopes alive by the skin of their teeth
It was never going to be easy for Astralis when they announced device would be absent from the RMR for the Perfect World Shanghai Major, but either way, few would have predicted them to go into day two with a 0-2 record after facing teams like 9 Pandas and Sashi.
Regardless, they began day two with a 0-2 record after a 13-9 defeat to 9 Pandas and a 13-11 defeat to Sashi, and that set them up for an elimination class versus Ukrainian team B8.
Astralis cling on after comeback win
B8 had also endured a disappointing day one with a demolition at the hands of Spirit and a follow up loss to Aurora, so there was hopes they could turn their fortunes around to live up to their form prior to the RMR.
They started off well, pipping Astralis to Mirage thanks to a 13-11 scoreline. Former NAVI man npl starred, his 27-17 performance made him by far the highest performing player on his team and outclassed Staehr's 24-15 performance.
Astralis answered back with a comeback win, B8 foound themselves 11-4 up after the first 15 rounds of Nuke. cadiaN was key in that comeback, he had some big rounds alongside Staehr and jabbi as Astralis won every remaining round to take the map 13-11.
The final map began in dominant fashion for Astralis, they held a 10-2 lead after their CT half on Ancient. B8 attempted to mount a comeback, registering seven CT rounds of their own, but the experience of Astralis proved to be too strong as they kept their Major hopes alive for another day.
They will now face Eternal Fire in their 1-2 game, with both teams looking to avoid a disappointing end to their RMR campaigns.