Spirit’s remarkable run at the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 will continue into the semi-finals after an unexpected victory over FURIA. The Russians were unaffected by the strain of playing in front of the Antwerps Sportpaleis, defeating the Brazilians 16-12 on Vertigo before sealing the upset 16-8 on Ancient.
The team led by Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov will continue its adventure at the Major, but it will not be easy. Spirit will play tournament favorites FaZe in the semi-finals on Saturday, following the international squad’s quarter-final victory against NIP. Meanwhile, FURIA’s stay in Belgium has ended. The Brazilians’ campaign featured numerous memorable moments, most notably victories over BIG and G2 on their way to their second straight Major playoff appearance.
FURIA Pick: Vertigo
Spirit entered FURIA’s selection of Vertigo with fire in their belly, launching a fast-paced offense that surprised the Brazilians as Abdul “degster” Gasanov excelled in front of the fans. The Russians, however, couldn’t keep beasting Andrei “arT” Piovezan’s side at their own game for long and rapidly ran out of steam after leading 7-3. Rafael “saffee” Costa and André “drop” Abreu began to make an impact on the CT side, propelling FURIA to a five-round winning run and an 8-7 halftime lead.
Despite grabbing the second pistol round, the Brazilian team was unable to considerably increase their lead, losing the next round to a Spirit force buy. Team Spirit would only lose three more rounds after that, as Pavel “s1ren” Ogloblin played a career-defining CT side to lead his team to a 16-12 triumph.
Spirit Pick: Ancient
With three frags, degster opened up the pistol round on Ancient, giving his team an early edge on the T side. After saving in the second round, FURIA went on defense with rifles, and for a while, their CT side seemed strong, allowing the Brazilians to take a 6-4 lead. Unfortunately for them, Boris “magixx” Vorobiev refused to allow the Brazilians run away with the half, propelling Spirit to an 8-7 lead at the break. After the break, FURIA’s fortunes remained unchanged, and arT’s squad was unable to build an offensive worthy of a comeback, winning only one round on their route to an 8-16 defeat.
Read more: FaZe defeated NIP to go through to PGL Major Semi-Finals!
