5star eliminates Astralis at FISSURE Playground 3 in stunning CS2 upset

A Mongolian Counter-Strike 2 team just sent one of the most storied organizations in esports history packing. 5star eSports defeated Astralis 2-1 in the lower-bracket semifinal at FISSURE Playground 3, ending the Danish squad’s run at the $1 million LAN tournament in Suzhou, China. How the match unfolded The best-of-three series between 5star and Astralis played out across Inferno, Ancient, and Cache. Astralis, featuring a roster of jabbi, Staehr, phzy, HooXi, and ryu, came into the match with uneven form. Their group stage included a narrow win over G2 Esports. 5star’s five-man roster of neuz, rate, clouden, ariucle, and hoolig4n showed the composure of a team that believed it belonged. The 2-1 scoreline suggests a competitive series, but the Mongolian squad controlled the tempo when it mattered most, closing out the deciding map on Cache to seal the elimination. This wasn’t even 5star’s most notable win of the tournament. Before dispatching Astralis, they had already taken down The MongolZ 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Context for the upset FISSURE Playground 3 is the third installment in the FPG series, and this edition carries a total prize pool of $1 million. Of that, $450,000 is ...