The Russian team clinched a 2-1 victory after an impressive late turnaround on the deciding map.
Virtus.pro secured the final spot in the quarter-final stage of the ESL Pro League Season 19 playoffs with a 2-1 win over TheMongolz. The Russian squad had to rally from a map down and overcome a significant deficit on the deciding map in this exciting series, highlighting the experience gap between the two teams.
Leading 11-2 on Ancient after taking VP's map pick and faltering on Mirage, TheMongolz collapsed after losing to a force-buy and struggled to regain their footing. Nonetheless, the heartbreaking defeat shouldn't overshadow the Mongolian team's superb performance, as they outshined their opponents for long stretches of the series.
Virtus.pro appeared unusually disorganized and ineffective on the offense on Overpass, managing only three rounds in a messy half of Counter-Strike. The final round encapsulated their struggles, with Munkhbold "Senzu" Azbayar securing an ace, bringing his total frags to an impressive 16.
Jame stepped up for Virtus.pro on the CT side and led their comeback. The Russian squad steadily reduced the deficit and prevented TheMongolz from chaining rounds together, only to stumble at the final hurdle after falling for a sensational fake executed by Sodbayar "Techno" Munkhbold on the A site.
The action then moved to Mirage, where Virtus.pro bounced back from an early setback and surged to a 9-3 lead, propelled by a stellar performance from Petr "fame" Bolyshev, who boasted a 2.22 rating and a 151 ADR by halftime. Despite TheMongolz's attempts to rally after a successful force-buy, Virtus.pro quickly shut down their comeback bid.
Virtus.pro drew first blood on Ancient, but their momentum quickly dissipated. TheMongolz responded with an eco-round win and built a commanding 11-2 lead that appeared insurmountable.
Then came the turnaround. Virtus.pro fought back in a crucial force-buy round, embarking on a remarkable 11-0 run, winning every clutch scenario and leaving their opponents stunned.
"I'm pleased that we didn't lose hope when we were trailing 11-2, and we managed to secure the win," David "n0rb3r7" Danielyan commented after the match. "We stayed hyped, communicated effectively on TeamSpeak, and made the comeback happen round by round."