DreamHack Masters Malmö came to a close yesterday, with hometown heroes Fnatic taking home the gold. At their debut LAN event, the Swedish roster brings home the lion's share of the $250,000 prize pool, a point towards the next Intel Grand Slam, and a spot at IEM Katowice in February of next year.
Fnatic’s Malmö run began slowly, as they suffered an opening loss to ENCE. The double-elimination group stage format gave them another chance, as they pulled through for their first win over TyLoo. Moving forward, Fnatic faced off against G2. The Swedes crushed the new French-Serbian lineup 2-0, keeping their heads above water as they moved towards the play-offs. Standing in their way was FURIA, who had been on a lower-bracket run of their own. A 66-round slugfest on Overpass kicked off the series, with Fnatic finally taking the first map victory. Map two was no contest, as the Swedes swept FURIA to secure themselves a quarter-final appearance.
Once in the play-offs, Fnatic stood in a Swedish showdown against Ninjas in Pyjamas. The three-map brawl saw Fnatic take down their domestic rivals, and move on to meet Berlin Major champions Astralis in the semis. With Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses dropping out early, many expected Astralis to be the ones lifting the trophy. This didn't stop Fnatic, as they took down the Danes 16-9 on Overpass. They looked poised to close out the series on Nuke, though Astralis rallied back to take the map into overtime. After 48 rounds, Fnatic secured the sweep over the Danish side with a 25-23 victory.
DreamHack set the Grand Final atmosphere with an opening ceremony sure to give any CS:GO fan goosebumps. The French side of Vitality brought the heat to Dust2, the first map of the series. The back-and-forth affair eventually saw Fnatic take a 14-12 lead, looking ready to steal Vitality’s map choice. With the help of young talent Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, Vitality came back for a 16-14 win. Map two brought the series to Inferno, a Grand Final staple. Despite facing a 9-15 deficit on their offensive side, Vitality raced back into the game and took it to overtime. The unfazed Fnatic finally closed out the map 19-16, sending the series to a deciding third map.
Once on Mirage, Vitality led 9-6 after the first half. A second-half pistol win allowed them to take an 11-6 lead over their Swedish opponents. Now on the back foot, Fnatic raced forward to match Vitality’s score. Their defense didn’t stop there, as they continued to roll over the French side to reach series point at 15-11. Vitality put in their best effort to take the map to overtime, but Fnatic’s young star Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin put an end to the series with three stunning kills in the last round. With a final scoreline of 16-13, Fnatic won DreamHack Masters Malmö.
With this victory, Fnatic take home $100,000 and a point towards the next Intel Grand Slam. They are also awarded an invite to IEM Katowice, which is slated to take place in February of 2020.