The K23 and Cosmo Esports teams reached the finals of the CS:GO + laser tag tactical battles tournament of the Phygital Games. Sangal and Team Solid will compete for the third place. The deciding games will be held on 7 June at the Tennis Academy. The winning team will receive 1.75 million rubles.
In the playoffs, teams hold a digital stage up to 16 wins in CS:GO rounds, and then continue the match on the laser tag arena. All points scored are summed up.
Quarterfinals
K23 – Sangal — 36:17 (16:11 after the digital stage, 20:6 after laser tag)
The K23 team started the quarterfinal round against Sangal straightaway and quickly took the lead with a score of 8:2, as their opponent recklessly ran forward, while forgetting about the defence. Gradually, the game began to level out. Sangal drew conclusions about their tactics, and at the score of 10:10 they took the round, and finally the lead. But the next 6 rounds were won by the guys from K23, in which Daniil X5G7V Maryshev stood out, who shot 23 kills. Kirill Magnojez Rodnov brought 20 frags to the winning team.
At the physical stage, K23 also got off to a strong start by winning several rounds in a row, and Sangal could not figure out how to resist the opponent’s attacks and was defeated.
“It was very interesting and even fun, if not for the defeat. I don’t even know what happened to us at the beginning of the game. Our opponent showed a better game, communicated better, did everything better positionally. It was an interesting experience. We were satisfied with our first Phygital Games. I wish there were more competitions like this! The organisation was at the highest level — it’s like we came to the World Cup!” Danil danistzz Roslyakov summed up the results of the tournament for Sangal.
“We knew that we were stronger, and we won CS:GO by the strength of character. At first it was easy in the CS:GO, then it was difficult, and finally we picked up courage again. It was easy in laser tag — we trained well yesterday, we ran and were ready. At first, we were sceptical about this game, and when we came to the playground, it was just great. We will fight Avangar in the semi-finals!” Daniil X5G7V Maryshev said.
Team Solid – Cosmo Esports — 18:44 (14:16 after the digital stage, 4:28 after the laser tag)
Team Solid with its aggressive tactics knocked the opponent down and led 7:0, but Cosmo Esports was able to recover after such an unsuccessful start, adapted to the attacks and was able to turn the tide of the meeting. 28 kills were made by Amir eightz999 Abdulmejidov from Cosmo Esports, and the Brazilians had nolkz, who made 24 kills.
At the laser tag arena, Team Solid’s tactics have failed them again. The players of this team hurriedly ran out to the open part of the arena, where their rivals were already waiting for them. Cosmo Esports confidently won this part of the match — 28:4, and advanced to the semi-finals.
“The start of the match didn’t work out for us. The Brazilians had an aggressive style. We didn’t quite understand how to play. They hit pretty hard, they weren’t afraid of losing. We expected something different. The turning point was the eighth round — with the score 0:7, in which we were able to win and increase the economy. Starting from this round, we charged up and got into the game. We were partially well prepared for the laser tag, so it was difficult to understand what to expect from this stage,” Amir Abdulmejidov said.
“If we hadn’t lost the eighth round, the CS:GO match would have gone differently. And so… we got a good experience in laser tag. I’ve never even seen a laser tag before yesterday. In Brazil, I only saw paintball. We had no chance against such a team. It would be great to return to Kazan for the Games of the Future! This tournament turned out to be incredible. Everything was great!” Guilherme Pureza roz Silveira said.
Semifinals
K23 – Avangar — 36:22 (10:16 after the digital stage, 26:6 after the laser tag)
This match also demonstrated dizzying swings performed by both teams. The game started with a big advantage of K23, who led 9:2. The players of this team were more accurate in clutches and showed fantastic accuracy. But then the competitors from Avangar took up the task. They completely reversed the course of the meeting and literally read K23’s intentions a few steps ahead. In several rounds, Avangar destroyed five opponents, losing one player at the same time, and pretty quickly the score was already in their favour — 10:16. Kaisar ICY Faiznurov brought his team 26 kills, four less according to the results of the digital stage did his Avangar partner Sanzhar def1zer Talgat.
But 6 points of advantage over the physical stage did not help Avangar win the match. The teams seemed to switch places again, and the leadership passed to K23. In laser tag, the score was quickly equalised, and then K23 dominated both in attack and defence. In one of the rounds, it took the team less than 40 seconds to take the Avangar’s five players out of the game.
“We prepared very well, sorted out the map strategies and shot better than our opponents. There was no special mood for Avangar. We treat all teams the same. We just needed this victory,” Kirill Magnojez Rodnov from K23 said.
“The reason is laser tag. We played it very badly. We couldn’t score rounds during the attack, and it was very difficult in defence. K23 were trained more efficient than us, as they already had a match in the quarterfinals. And we had one training session yesterday, and that’s it. We had strategies, but it didn’t work out,” Daulet ‘BLVCKM4GIC’ Ondassynov explained Avangar’s failure.
Cosmo Esports – iNation — 38:20 (16:10 after the digital stage, 22:10 after the laser tag)
iNation did not lose a single map out of four in the group stage, showing that it can rebuild in a difficult situation, but the playoffs are attributed with completely different emotions and passions. Cosmo Esports players looked more focused and attentive and made fewer mistakes. They managed to take the 4:1 lead, and then won the ninth round, in which they were left alone against four opponents. Then iNation missed the advantage in the pistol fight, and at the end of the stage they could not give Cosmo Esports a hard time and approached the laser tag with a gap of six points.
The physical stage was again affected by the factor of game practice, which the teams who got into the quarterfinals receive. Cosmo Esports easily created a numerical advantage and took round after round, and when iNation added and scored 6 points in a row before changing sides, the Russian champions did not get nervous and brought the match to victory — 38:20.
“By the middle of the second match in laser tag, we were already exhausted, and our hands were tired. This has not happened before. The opponent was stronger than in the quarterfinals. It was very hard. As for the finals, we know K23 more or less. I think the odds are 50-50. It is as strong an opponent as iNation. We will not relax!” Nikolai HUckLer Rudov from Cosmo Esports shared his expectations from the finals.
“Our opponents were more prepared for laser tag, it was very difficult against them. But we enjoyed the match. I think we had chances too. We could have clung to the victory, but we did not succeed. These are my first Phygital Games, and I really liked them. I think this direction has a future. I hope that we will return to Kazan again!” Ivan choiv7 Zivkovic from iNation commented on the match results.
Broadcasts take place on streaming platforms in LIVE mode:
VK Play Live – https://vkplay.live/gof
VK Video – https://vk.cc/coqKpW
YouTube – https://vk.cc/corKJM
Twitch – https://vk.cc/cjxN60