Astralis, E

Two de_cache games closed out matches for four teams in Group B of IEM Katowice, with Astralis taking down Tempo Storm 16-12 and E-frag.net winning in double overtime against EnVyUs, 22-19.

The following two games had admittedly less at stake then the face-off between Virtus.pro and FaZe, as Envy and E-frag.net were both out of the tournament.

However, the game between Tempo Storm and Astralis had quite a bit going for it as the winner would top the Group and therefore move straight into the semifinals while avoiding playing the quarter-finals entirely. 

karrigan helped his team secure top seed in Group B

Despite a dominant 13-2 CT-sided half on de_cache shepherded by Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, Astralis suddenly found themselves facing against the indomitable will of a Brazilian resurgence as João "⁠felps⁠" Vasconcellos and his teammates began to steadily pick up rounds on the second half.

With the score at 14-12 for the Danes, Peter "⁠dupreeh⁠" Rasmussen helped his team win the match point with a crucial two kills in a midround moment. The following round saw Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz and Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth work together to secure five kills and give the Danish team the map at 16-12.

IEM Katowice 2016Best of 1 AstralisMatchpage 16 12 3rd March 2016 Tempo Storm 16Cache 12

Astralis	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
Finn 'karrigan' Andersenkarrigan	25 - 17	+8	91.8	1.27
Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussendupreeh	17 - 18	-1	73.0	1.15
Andreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethXyp9x	21 - 19	+2	79.2	1.11
René 'cajunb' Borgcajunb	20 - 17	+3	81.6	1.05
Nicolai 'device' Reedtzdevice	14 - 20	-6	51.6	0.77

Tempo Storm	K - D	+/-	ADR	Rating 2.0
João 'felps' Vasconcellosfelps	24 - 19	+5	90.1	1.34
Ricardo 'boltz' Prassboltz	17 - 18	-1	79.4	1.08
Lucas 'LUCAS1' TelesLUCAS1	18 - 21	-3	79.3	0.97
Henrique 'HEN1' TelesHEN1	17 - 19	-2	60.0	0.92
Gustavo 'SHOOWTiME' GonçalvesSHOOWTiME	14 - 20	-6	51.8	0.74

The second match had very little on the line as both E-frag.net and Envy were out of the tournament and was merely played for the $1,000 bonus that is awarded to each victory in the group stage.

The first half was the Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt show as the current member of nV leading the team was a big part in his squad's 10-5 CT defense against the Bulgarian side.

v1c7oR had a phenomenal game against nV 

Viktor "⁠v1c7oR⁠" Dyankov helped get the ball rolling for E-frag.net with a pistolround ace and despite EnVyUs winning a crucial early second-half round to reset the Bulgarian team's economy and then powering ahead to a 15-8 scoreline, E-frag somehow brought the score to an overtime result.

In overtime, the two teams traded blows with both favouring their CT-sides and the match progressed towards 18-18, double overtime. In the second overtime, v1c7oR and Nikolay "⁠pNshr⁠" Paunin put in crucial plays to help give the Bulgarian team their first victory of the tournament, and complete Envy' humiliation.

IEM Katowice 2016Best of 1 EnvyMatchpage 19 22 3rd March 2016 E-frag.net 19Cache 22

Broken tag

Broken tag

Group B standings:

#	Team	W	L	Diff	Points
1.	Astralis	5	0	+41	15
2.	Tempo Storm	3	2	+12	9
3.	Virtus.pro	3	2	-5	9
4.	FaZe	2	3	-4	6
5.	E-frag.net	1	4	-29	3
6.	EnVyUs	1	4	-15	3

As a result, Astralis have advanced directly into the IEM Katowice semifinals while Tempo Storm and Virtus.pro will be playing quarter-final matches come tomorrow.

stich writes for HLTV.org and can be found on Twitter

Nathan 'NBK-' Schmitt Age: 21 Team: Envy Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 875 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.65 E-frag.net #18 Kamen 'bubble' KostadinovEmiliyan 'spyleadeR' DimitrovNikolay 'nkl' KrastevViktor 'v1c7oR' DyankovSimeon 'dream3r' Ganev Virtus.pro #7 Wiktor 'TaZ' WojtasFilip 'NEO' KubskiJarosław 'pashaBiceps' JarząbkowskiJanusz 'Snax' PogorzelskiPaweł 'byali' Bieliński João 'felps' Vasconcellos Age: 19 Team: Tempo Storm Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 64 KPR: 0.78 DPR: 0.70 FaZe #10 Ricardo 'fox' PachecoMikail 'Maikelele' BillPhilip 'aizy' AistrupHåvard 'rain' NygaardJoakim 'jkaem' Myrbostad Peter 'dupreeh' Rasmussen Age: 22 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.11 Maps played: 717 KPR: 0.76 DPR: 0.65 Nicolai 'device' Reedtz Age: 20 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.16 Maps played: 626 KPR: 0.79 DPR: 0.64 Finn 'karrigan' Andersen Age: 25 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 0.98 Maps played: 680 KPR: 0.68 DPR: 0.69 Astralis #4 Finn 'karrigan' AndersenRené 'cajunb' BorgAndreas 'Xyp9x' HøjslethPeter 'dupreeh' RasmussenNicolai 'device' Reedtz Viktor 'v1c7oR' Dyankov Age: 21 Team: E-frag.net Rating 1.0: 1.10 Maps played: 405 KPR: 0.75 DPR: 0.65 Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth Age: 20 Team: Astralis Rating 1.0: 1.03 Maps played: 778 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.62 Tempo Storm #24 Henrique 'HEN1' TelesLucas 'LUCAS1' TelesRicardo 'boltz' PrassJoão 'felps' VasconcellosGustavo 'SHOOWTiME' Gonçalves Nikolay 'pNshr' Paunin Age: 24 Team: E-frag.net Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 82 KPR: 0.64 DPR: 0.65 Envy #2 Fabien 'kioShiMa' FieyKenny 'kennyS' SchrubNathan 'NBK-' SchmittDan 'apEX' MadesclaireVincent 'Happy' Schopenhauer