Area51 qualify for ESWC Grand Final

Area51 has topped the North American ESWC qualifier with a 2-0 win over Dynamic (16-12 on de_train_se, 16-10 on de_dust2_se) to qualify for the Grand Finals event in Paris on November 1-4.

Action started with Dynamic winning the counter-terrorist pistol round on de_train_se to go up 2-0. Area51 wasted no time as they bought third round and went on a run of six straight rounds with strong offensive play.

The former CS:S topdogs wouldn't fall easily, as strong AWPing by Keven "AZK" Larivière helped propel Dynamic to a four round winning streak, tying the game at six after Spencer "hiko" Martin's lost one-on-one attempt.

The two early giants in North American CS:GO traded the next two rounds, but the final round was an easy outside rush for Area51 as they ended the opening half on a good note with Kory "semphis" Friesen closinadg an 8-7 half for his team.

Second half started with the guys wearing a TD.GameCom tag win the pistol round with a quick outside rush, allowing them to win the first three rounds to make it 10-8 in their favor.

Dynamic in action at PAX(Photo: ESEANews)

Area51 lost two more straight rounds making it a 8-12 deficit as Dynamic hit the inner site successfully two rounds in a row. The primarily former CS 1.6 side won the four next rounds, with Martin scoring four frags in a huge three-on-five on round 24 to even the game up at 12 a piece.

It looked like TD was going to take the next round with an inner hit, but Sean "sgares" Gares clutched a one-on-two to make it 13-12. Determined to win, Gares would do the same next round, enlarging his team's lead to 14-12.

Even an entry frag in inner wouldn't be enough next round with Gares going down, as the rest of Area51 picked up the slack to force gamepoint. First map would be decided on round 28, with Friesen picking up the final two kills as Area51 won their eighth straight round to win 16-12.

Following a short break action commenced on Dynamic's map of choice, de_dust2_se. They ran over Area51 in the pistol round and the following two rounds, but winners of de_train_se came back with three straight thanks to strong AWPing by Gares again.

Dynamic saved on round seven but won the next round. Area51's A split won them round eight, forcing TD on a save to make it 6-4. Dynamic's Eric "adreN" Hoag scored two big AWP kills to win the next round, but Martin's smart flank forced TD on a save.

Area51 (PineKone, sgares, semphis, DaZeD, hiko) at PAX (Photo: ESEANews)

After another save round, Area51 were up 8-5. Dynamic stepped up their game though, as they won round fourteen and Martin ran out of time in a one-on-one situation in the final round, closing the gap to 7-8.

TD had an early lead in the terrorist pistol round, but two P2000 headshots from Friesen won them the round. It looked as if TD was going to win a save two rounds later, but Gares showed up as the hero with another clutch, this time a one-on-three.

Perhaps feeling the pressure by now, Dynamic lost a three-on-two afterplant next on A as Area51 went up 12-7. Next round saw Gares pick up two early AWP picks as his team won yet another round and forced TD to save.

At 7-14 with the pressure increasing, Area51's Sam "DaZeD" Marine's quick headshot and Friesen's one-on-one clutch gave them gamepoint. Dynamic won the next round though, forcing A51 on a double save to narrow their lead to five at 10-15.

Only one more round would be necessary though, as Area51's Josh "PineKone" Springer's strong bombsite A defense and Gares' final AWP frag in Seattle this time won them the final and a spot in ESWC grand finals. ESWC 2012 North AmericaBest of 2 DynamicMatchpage 0 2 2nd September 2012 Area 51 12Train 16 10Dust2 16

Area51:

Sam "DaZeD" Marine
Spencer "hiko" Martin
Josh "PineKone" Springer
Kory "semphis" Friesen
Sean "sgares" Gares 

Area51 will be one of the eight teams that will be participating in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament at ESWC 2012 set to take place in Paris, France on November 1-4. A French qualifier has also been announced, but everything else is currently unknown.

ESWC North America 2012 final standings:

1. Area51 - paid trip to ESWC 2012
2. Dynamic
3-4. Hold Mouse One
3-4. Murder Inc. 

HLTV.org will of course be on-site in Paris to provide you with full coverage of the event, which has recently also added a female CS:GO event to its tournament list.