paiN hang on to beat Virtus.pro and become the final team in the Major playoffs
It's been an incredible day of Counter-Strike here at the BLAST.tv Austin Major as we got all the heartbreak and the jubilation that a 2-2 bracket always brings.
After being treated to an incredible match between G2 and The MongolZ we got another corker in the final game of the day, paiN needed all the rounds in order to secure their win over Virtus.pro in the decider.
Let's take a look at all the action from the series.
paiN start strong on Mirage
paiN started well on Mirage by winning their T side pistol, and although VP instantly responded, paiN managed to stay in front with a successful low-buy that ended on B.
8-4 in favour of the Brazilians at the half, nqz was in phenomenal form, he picked up 10 kills to record a 1.68 rated T side and give his team a commanding lead.
VP attempted to fight back in the second half with a win in the pistol round, but just like the first half the early rounds were traded back and forth.
paiN remained a threat, eventually closing the map 13-8 as nqz topped the scoreboard on 20 kills.
Virtus.pro bounce back on Inferno
VP needed to respond in a big way on Inferno, and even though paiN managed a competitive five rounds on their CT side, an ace from FL4MUS helped VP secure those final few rounds for a 7-5 half.
He wasn't the only one of their stars fragging to give them that lead, though, fame also picked up a huge clutch to actually put them ahead for the first time in the map.
VP continued their strong form in the second half, they won six out of seven rounds to take the map 13-6. fame had an incredible map, he went 26-11 to record a perfect 2.0 rating and give VP a chance on map three.
paiN clinch Dust2 in the final round
With their playoff dreams on the line it was going to take a lot more than just frags to get either team into the arena, and snow was bringing all the required energy from the very first round.
paiN used all the energy to dominate their T half, they went into the second half with a 10-2 lead thanks to insane shots from their new men dav1deuS and dgt, who both ended the half on 13 kills.
VP refused to die so easily, though. FL1T kept them alive with a 1v1 in the second half pistol round.
Fighting back all the way to 12-11, VP almost pushed us to OT as they had a 2v2 on the final round, but paiN were just too strong and forced their way into the playoffs with some of the most emotional celebrations we've ever seen.
