mousesports proceed to Malmö quarter-case battle

MOUZ have advanced to the quarter-finals of DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019 following a 2-1 lower bracket final victory over Grayhound.

The lower bracket final of group B kicked off on Dust2, where Özgür "⁠woxic⁠" Eker ensured a strong start for his team with a Glock quad kill. A follow-up pistol buy from Grayhound fell through, allowing the Europeans to further add to their lead. Round after round, the Australian defence struggled to come up with solutions to the T onslaught, leading to an 8-0 lead for their opposition. Rounds 9 and 12 were the only two that Grayhound saw success in over the course of the initial half, the latter courtesy of an outstanding triple kill from Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong.

An impressive pistol round performance from woxic saw three members of Grayhound fall to his P2000 as he closed the lid on the first map of the series. The Australians were unable to pose a threat in the two upcoming rounds, leading to a swift 16-2 conclusion on map one for MOUZ.

woxic's individual showing on Dust2 facilitated its fast conclusion

The European squad continued their successful campaign, this time on the CT side of Inferno. Yet another quad kill from woxic in the opening round created space for the team to accrue a further three, immediately assuming a solid lead. Simon "⁠Sico⁠" Williams bucked back on the opposition, securing his squad their first round with an AK-47 triple kill, and after a round exchange, Grayhound took control of proceedings and equalised the score at 5-5. MOUZ closed in on the offensive to keep things competitive, but the boys from down under had the last laugh of the first half as they picked up a narrow 8-7 lead.

Having swapped onto the CT side, Grayhound found success after Sico was able to smoke-defuse in a 1v1 situation against woxic, who once more scored three kills in a pistol round. On this occasion, the momentum was not squandered, as dexter and his squad convincingly closed out rounds irrespective of the opponents' equipment, stopping just two short of a third map. At this point, Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool kick-started MOUZ' comeback efforts, and with the help of a Krieg triple kill the team built up momentum for another three rounds. The overthrow was not to be, however, as two conversions, the latter featuring an AWP 3k from Sico pushed the series into map three at 16-11.

Sico's 1.79 rating on Inferno kept Grayhound in the series

The final map, Mirage, saw MOUZ pick up yet another first-round victory, kicking off their offense on a positive note. The European quintet surpassed a force buy from Grayhound, and proceeded to grind out rounds in convincing fashion, stopped at five by Liam "⁠malta⁠" Schembri, who ensured a digit for his squad with an M4A4 triple kill. The halt was temporary, though, as MOUZ recreated another string of five consecutive rounds, landing double digits as a result. Only one additional round fell into the Australian camp before conclusion at 13-2 to MOUZ.

With a colossal weight on their shoulders, Grayhound sought to claw their way back into the map. dexter's triple kill on the T side pistol ensured a solid start, and the squad followed up with a conversion in the follower, but disaster struck in round 18, as the team crumbled to a force buy from MOUZ that saw ropz post a Desert Eagle triple kill. The Aussies seemingly reeled the momentum back in, only to drop it against an underequipped MOUZ, allowing the opposition map point as a result. Facing financial struggles of their own, Grayhound were unable to hold on for longer, conceding Mirage 5-16.

DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019Best of 3

Grayhound

Matchpage 1 2 3rd October 2019

MOUZ 2Dust2 16 16Inferno 11 5Mirage 16

Grayhound	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Simon 'Sico' WilliamsSico	46 - 42	+4	73.1	1.06
Joshua 'INS' PotterINS	43 - 49	-6	70.7	0.94
Christopher 'dexter' Nongdexter	40 - 49	-9	65.7	0.84
Liam 'malta' Schembrimalta	32 - 51	-19	66.5	0.74
Ollie 'DickStacy' TierneyDickStacy	27 - 48	-21	62.6	0.73

MOUZ	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Özgür 'woxic' Ekerwoxic	67 - 34	+33	101.1	1.63
David 'frozen' Čerňanskýfrozen	57 - 30	+27	85.9	1.45
Robin 'ropz' Koolropz	41 - 41	0	68.2	1.04
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	38 - 44	-6	68.9	1.03
Chris 'chrisJ' de JongchrisJ	36 - 40	-4	55.7	0.90