Astralis have taken the victory at IEM Beijing, cruising through the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament without losing a single map. The Danish squad met the Australian side of 100 Thieves in the best-of-five Grand Final, defeating them over three maps. This is the fourth tournament win for Astralis this year.
100 Thieves secured their Grand Final spot after star rifler Justin “jks” Savage powered the team to a semi-final win over Team Vitality. The Beijing event was the roster’s first tournament under the 100 Thieves name. Astralis earned their Grand Final appearance with a suffocating semi-final victory over FaZe Clan. FaZe fell 0-2 to the Danish side, only putting up two rounds over the whole series.
The best-of-five Final kicked off on Vertigo, the map pick of 100 Thieves. The Aussie side took a quick 5-2 lead, though the game evened up as Astralis pushed back. The Danes held a one-round lead going into the second half. The map remained close as Astralis began their offensive half, neither team putting more than three rounds together. Vertigo ended in a tense back-and-forth as Astralis found the two rounds they needed to close out the map 16-14.
The series then went on to Astralis’s map choice of Nuke. Early three-round trades showed some promise for a competitive map, though the Danish side quickly raced to an 8-3 lead before 100 Thieves could manage another round. On a map that heavily favors the defense, Astralis ended their offensive side up 11-4. A second half pistol win meant the Danes were poised to end the map, and put themselves on match point for the series. 100 Thieves put up one T-side round before Astralis won 16-5.
Map three took the series to Train, chosen by 100 Thieves. A pistol round win for the Aussies was quickly silenced as Astralis's defense took control of the first half. The Danes reached an 8-1 lead before 100 Thieves could put up another round. Astralis continued on their tear, ending the half up 12-3. Once on the offense, the four-time Major-winning squad strung four rounds together to close out map three 16-3. This victory marks one of the most dominant tournament runs this year.
Along with the IEM Beijing championship title, Astralis take home the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize pool. They have also joined the race for the third season of the Intel Grand Slam, as this victory grants them a point towards the $1,000,000 prize. Astralis will next play at the ECS Season 8 LAN Finals in Arlington, Texas, later this month.