9z rout Falcons 13-1 on Dust2 to win 2-1 at PGL Astana

9z beat Falcons 2-1 at PGL Astana, winning Mirage 13-8, losing Nuke 9-13 and closing the series with a 13-1 victory on Dust2. The South American team moved to one win away from the playoffs after an earlier win over PARIVISION. Falcons dropped to 1-1 in the Swiss stage and will face Monte on Monday.

On Mirage, 9z built an early lead and finished the map 13-8. Franco “dgt” Garcia and Luciano “luchov” Herrera delivered strong performances across the series, each finishing with 47 kills.

Falcons responded on Nuke. They led 8-4 at halftime and then won rounds after the switch to take the map 13-9. Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač provided key entries and traded kills that helped Falcons secure Nuke.

Dust2 decided the match. 9z controlled long stretches of the map, winning rounds on the CT side and in coordinated executes. Falcons did not score until their 11th round, managed only one round after the halftime reset and lost the second-half pistol. The map ended 13-1 in favor of 9z. Finn “karrigan” Andersen finished the series 17-43 with a 0.57 rating.

Individual series numbers show 9z with several positive performances. Franco “dgt” Garcia led the match with a 1.39 rating and a 47-27 K-D, while Luciano “luchov” Herrera posted a 1.28 rating with 47 kills. Ignacio “meyern” Meyer had 38 kills with a 1.06 rating, Maximiliano “max” Gonzalez had 35 kills and a 1.05 rating, and Matias “HUASOPEEK” Ibañez Hernandez finished with 35 kills and a 0.96 rating. For Falcons, Nikola “NiKo” Kovač recorded 40 kills and a 1.17 rating, and Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov had 36 kills with a 1.06 rating; Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin, René “TeSeS” Madsen and Finn “karrigan” Andersen posted lower ratings for the series.

With the win, 9z remain in contention for a playoff spot and need one more victory to secure qualification from the Swiss stage. Falcons return to action on Monday against Monte.