Visit Shop

Astralis lay down the law at IEM Chicago 2018

Danish powerhouse Astralis were the no. 1 seed at IEM Chicago. Despite a slight setback at the hands of FaZe Clan in the Group Stage, they still managed to show why this was the case and why they are considered the best team in the world by taking a 3-0 clean sweep in the Grand Final against Team Liquid.

They arrived in Chicago on the back of a painful loss on home soil to Natus Vincere in Copenhagen, but Astralis proved once and for all that form is temporary, but class is permanent in the Windy City. They stomped their way to the Group A Upper Bracket finals against FaZe Clan, the same team they had ranked as their no. 1 rival in the seeding polls used to determine the tournament brackets. This valuation turned out to be quite accurate, as FaZe took a dominant 2-0 win that sent Astralis to the quarter finals.

In the playoffs, the stellar Danish roster rose up to the occasion, defeating ESL One New York 2018 champions mousesports 2-0 and downing IEM Katowice 2018 winners fnatic 2-1 to set up a Grand Final rematch against Team Liquid. Both teams had already faced each other in the ESL Pro League Season 7 Grand Final in Dallas and, even though Liquid had a strong start in the series taking a considerable lead in the first map, history repeated itself.

The 3-0 scoreline was an absolute statement by a team that by all measures can only be considered the very best in the world at the moment. This win will surely inspire them in their next quest.

The inaugural IEM Chicago champions now only need one victory in the next two events in the Intel Grand Slam calendar to claim the the $1,000,000 USD prize. First up is the ESL Pro League Season 8 finals on December 4-6 in Odense, Denmark, before they tackle the IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO major in February.

Results:

Group A

Group B

Playoffs

Highlights:

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with the latest CS:GO news, views and features! 

Linkedin-in Facebook-f Youtube Instagram Twitch

© 2024 ESL Gaming GmbH

Login at ESL & Partner

Chose the Account you want to login to play your favorite game

FaceIT

ESL Play

CS:GO Hub

Newsletter

Stay up to date

* indicates required


By clicking the "Subscribe" button, I consent to the processing of my personal data and tracking of my activity for marketing purposes, and I agree to receive marketing communications, including newsletters, raffles and surveys from ESL Gaming GmbH, in joint controllership with Dreamhack AB and ESL Gaming Online Inc., all around their products/services. I have read ESL Privacy Notice and I understand I can withdraw my consent at any time.

I understand Braze, a marketing platform, is being used. By clicking to subscribe, I acknowledge that my personal data will be transferred to Braze for processing. Learn more about Braze's privacy practices here.