At IEM Katowice, Astralis became back-to-back Major champions in CS:GO, and claimed their third Major title overall.
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The victory continues a run of dominance that has now lasted more than 10 months, during which time the team has collected eleven trophies, including two Majors and collecting the $1 million bonus of the Intel Grand Slam.
During the IEM Katowice Major itself, Astralis lost just a single map – although won the best-of-three series in which it took place – and were flawless through a playoff run that saw them dismantle Ninjas in Pyjamas and MIBR before defeating surprise finalists ENCE for the title.
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For Dupreeh, the accomplishment was perhaps even more remarkable, as it came in the wake of a great personal loss. His father passed away just days before the tournament began.
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In the immediate aftermath of Astralis’ victory at IEM Katowice, Dupreeh was interviewed on stage, during which he revealed that it had been his father’s last wish that he compete at the Major.
In spite of suffering such a personal tragedy, during the event itself Dupreeh’s form remained exceptional, finishing as the fifth-highest ranked player of the tournament with a remarkable 1.24 rating.
With the Katowice win, Astralis tie Fnatic for the most Majors won, with this exact line-up replicating the back-to-back victories that Fnatic pulled off in 2015, while all except ‘Magisk’ also match Markus ‘Pronax’ Wallsten, Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell and Robin ‘Flusha’ Ronnquist with three Major titles total.
For many, the win cements this iteration of Astralis as the greatest team to ever compete in CS:GO, a title for which they had already been a strong contender. Considering the incredible form the team was in for their latest victory, the age of Astralis seems far from over.
