AGO defeat Space Soldiers to lift Play2Live Cryptomasters trophy

AGO have been crowned champions of Play2Live Cryptomasters in Minsk, Belarus, after defeating Space Soldiers 2-1 (16-10 on Cobblestone, 9-16 on Train, 16-13 on Inferno).

The title decider started on Space Soldiers' map pick, Cobblestone, but it was AGO who got off on the right foot in the series. The Polish side struggled a bit when the game reached the gun rounds, but then they set up a great defence, winning nine of the last ten rounds to take an 11-4 lead. 

Refusing to go down without a fight, Space Soldiers brought the deficit to a minimum after bagging the first six rounds of the second half. However, that would not be enough to stop AGO, who went on a five-round winning streak to lock off the map, 16-10.

Next up was Train, AGO's map pick, and it began with Damian "⁠Furlan⁠" Kislowski and co. winning their CT pistol. This time around, however, Space Soldiers would not let their opponents take control of proceedings, and lost only three rounds with guns to switch sides with a 9-6 lead.

AGO won the Minsk event after a hard-fought match

A triple-kill from Michał "⁠snatchie⁠" Rudzki in a near-flawless pistol round gave AGO some breathing room and paved the way for the Polish side to level up the score at 9-9. But as Space Soldiers picked up guns, the impetus of the game changed completely, with Engin "⁠MAJ3R⁠" Küpeli's men closing out the map without losing any more rounds. 

On the decider map, Inferno, AGO picked up yet another CT pistol, setting themselves up for a 3-0 lead. But the game turned into a one-way street once Space Soldiers had money to work with as the Turkish side cruised to a 10-5 lead after shutting down any chances of AGO building up an economy throughout the half.

AGO did not want to throw in the towel and came from the break with all guns blazing. The Poles constantly ran out the Space Soldiers defence and lost only one round before hitting 14 rounds. Space Soldiers still found a lifeline after stringing two rounds together, but it was in vain as Furlan won back-to-back clutches for his team to wrap things up, 16-13.

Play2Live CryptomastersBest of 3 Space SoldiersMatchpage 1 2 25th February 2018 AGO 10Cobblestone 16 16Train 9 13Inferno 16

Space Soldiers	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Buğra 'Calyx' ArkınCalyx	66 - 49	+17	88.5	1.30
Ahmet 'paz' Karahocapaz	59 - 47	+12	72.5	1.19
Ismailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşXANTARES	55 - 58	-3	84.1	1.14
Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliMAJ3R	52 - 52	0	73.9	1.06
Engin 'ngiN' KorngiN	33 - 54	-21	49.4	0.75

AGO	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Dominik 'GruBy' SwiderskiGruBy	60 - 56	+4	97.2	1.20
Damian 'Furlan' KislowskiFurlan	59 - 54	+5	86.5	1.18
Michał 'snatchie' Rudzkisnatchie	52 - 52	0	57.3	0.96
Mateusz 'TOAO' ZawistowskiTOAO	46 - 50	-4	64.4	0.88
Tomasz 'phr' Wójcikphr	43 - 53	-10	64.4	0.83

Play2Live Cryptomasters final standings:

1. AGO - $50,000
2. Space Soldiers - $30,000
3-4. BIG - $10,000
3-4. GODSENT - $10,000
5-8. Valiance
5-8. Sprout
5-8. Windigo
5-8. GoodJob

Valiance #59 Anel 'NENO' CekovićLuka 'emi' VukovićĐorđe 'DJOXiC' NiciforovićNemanja 'huNter-' KovačNestor 'LETN1' Tanić BIG #28 Fatih 'gob b' DayikJohannes 'tabseN' WodarzTizian 'tiziaN' FeldbuschJohannes 'nex' Maget Sprout #29 Paweł 'innocent' MocekKevin 'kRYSTAL' AmendTimo 'Spiidi' RichterDenis 'denis' Howell Windigo #36 Nikolay 'pNshr' PauninKamen 'bubble' KostadinovViktor 'v1c7oR' DyankovTeodor 'SPELLAN' NikolovGeorgi 'SHiPZ' Grigorov Engin 'MAJ3R' Küpeli Age: 27 Team: Space Soldiers Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 483 KPR: 0.65 DPR: 0.67 Michał 'snatchie' Rudzki Age: 20 Team: AGO Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 339 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.68 Damian 'Furlan' Kislowski Age: 23 Team: AGO Rating 1.0: 1.04 Maps played: 841 KPR: 0.71 DPR: 0.68 AGO #20 Damian 'Furlan' KislowskiDominik 'GruBy' SwiderskiMichał 'snatchie' RudzkiMateusz 'TOAO' ZawistowskiTomasz 'phr' Wójcik GoodJob #56 Anton 'boX' BurkoVadzim 'fnyekes' ZhuraulenkaNikita 'Coffee' AntsypirovichIgor 'lollipop21k' SolodkovNikolai 'SADZED' Lapko GODSENT #27 Simon 'twist' EliassonJoakim 'disco doplan' GidetunFredrik 'freddieb' BuöHampus 'hampus' PoserLudvig 'Brollan' Brolin Space Soldiers #15 Engin 'MAJ3R' KüpeliIsmailcan 'XANTARES' DörtkardeşBuğra 'Calyx' ArkınAhmet 'paz' KarahocaEngin 'ngiN' Kor