- Date: February 16 - February 19, 2024
- Tournament: ESL Impact Open Qualifier #2
- Livestream: Catch all the action at Astralis Watch
Aurora "aurora" Lyngdal & Co. qualified for the world's most prestigious women's tournament, ESL Impact, after an impressive run in the second open qualifier.
Huge performance by the whole squad who gave their all from the beginning till the end in both qualifiers - Aurora "aurora" Lyngdal
Nothing To Enjoy
First, they beat pastaenjoyers in the last qualifier, and now they dominated dogenjoyers in the second qualifier. Former Astralis player Marie "maliTy" Kragelund Holm was on the enemy side, which made the fixture extra exciting.
A fired up Astralis roster won the initial match 2-0 without a hitch, where all players had great games, most notably was Isabella "Ismo" Ferslev and Anja "anja" Soelberg, who both reached 18 frags on the second map, Overpass.
Result: 2-0 vs dogenjoyers (13-1 on Nuke and 13-6 on Overpass)
Highlights
No Slowing Down
The following day, ZaWekoy was the next in line for the Danes to face. A marvelous performance from Josefine "josefine" Jensen helped claim a 13-7 win on Ancient by earning a 25-13 K/D.
Vertigo was up next and Ismo, once again, had a brilliant match, reaching an incredible K/D of 29-13, which secured a 13-4 victory. A swift 2-0 victory sent the Danes further into the qualifier and now had to face a familiar opponent, 5bites.
Result: 2-0 vs ZaWekoy (13-7 on Ancient and 13-4 on Vertigo)
Highlights
A Familiar Opponent
During the first qualifier, 5bites were slain 2-1 by the Danish shooters. History repeated itself as another 2-1 victory was secured. With Ismo topping the charts on Anubis, the map was won 13-7.
5bites responded by winning Ancient 8-13. It all came down to an unbelievably close map of Overpass, where a significant team performance from the Danes was crucial to winning the map 13-11.
Result: 2-1 vs 5bites (13-7 on Anubis, 8-13 on Ancient and 13-11 on Overpass)
Highlights
First Try
In the semi-final of the second open qualifier, Spirit fe awaited. They got off to a great start on Anubis and continued their momentum, meaning the opponents took the lead 0-1.
Mirage, a map that the Danish Women's squad had only played once in 2024, was up next. Surprisingly, it came down to the wire as the map ended 11-13 in favor of Spirit, despite a fantastic effort, especially from josefine.
Result: 0-2 vs Spirit fe (6-13 on Anubis and 11-13 on Mirage)
Highlights
One Last Shot
The final game of the open qualifier was between the semi-final losers, Astralis Women and FORZE Ladies. Thanks to a well-playing Alina "k175un4" Lemtyugova, FORZE won their map pick, Overpass 13-9.
On Anubis, the Danes won the first six rounds in a row on the CT-side and eventually ended the half 4-8. FORZE never bounced back as the Danish T-side was remarkable. Ismo prevailed on the second map, reaching a 1.61 rating and 22 frags.
For only the third time this year, the Danes had to play Nuke, as it was the deciding map. Even though they've only played it twice before this matchup, both went in the favor of aurora and her troops.
FORZE started the T-side by taking an early lead with two consecutive rounds. That wasn't for long because of the amazing resilience shown by the Danes, who nearly had a perfect CT side, earning a 9-3 lead at half-time. FORZE did respond as CTs, but with Marie "marie" Toft in front, she helped secure a 13-7 victory and, ultimately, a 2-1 win.
Result: 2-1 vs FORZE Ladies (9-13 on Overpass, 13-7 on Anubis and 13-7 on Nuke)
Highlights
Interview
The captain had this to say after qualifying for ESL Impact Season 5:
- The fact that we qualified for ESL Impact is fantastic! Huge performance by the whole squad who gave their all from the beginning till the end in both qualifiers.
In addition to that, she also mentioned her expectations for the tournament.
- I'm expecting to get a lot of experience and grow even stronger as a team and it would be awesome to travel to Dallas"
What's Next?
- The Women's team will face Fatal Utility and AUC Tigers Talent in POWER Ligaen on Wednesday, February 21.
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