Day 2 of the ELeague Major playoffs at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta kicked off on Saturday with the final quarterfinal matchup resulting in SK Gaming slamming the door on FaZe Clan 2-1. Astralis followed by earning a Grand Final appearance over Fnatic. Virtus.pro then continued their dominance, shutting out SK Gaming 2-0.
In the final quarterfinal match, FaZe Clan came out swinging on Mirage, putting together an impressive 12-3 stomping at the half. SK Gaming managed to scrap four rounds in the second half but was stopped short of a win 16-7. After a tough Map 1 loss, SK Gaming flipped the script, punishing FaZe Clan with a 12-3 first half lead of their own. FaZe Clan did nothing to come back, losing the next four rounds to send the series into a pivotal Game 3.
With the series tied 1-1, FaZe Clan had one more chance to grab the series from SK on the deciding map, Overpass. However, an impressive performance from SK's Fernando "fer" Alvarenga shut the door on FaZe's semifinal dreams, as SK Gaming would earn a convincing 16-5 win.
The first semifinal matchup of the day saw the Danes of Astralis face Fnatic for a spot in the Grand Final. Astralis took the early lead during Game 1, but Fnatic managed to work their way back, only trailing at the half 9-6. The Danes started the second half with a pistol round win, but Fnatic answered back winning three consecutive rounds to close the gap. Astralis managed to string three rounds out to extend the lead and eventually send Map 1 to match point up 15-10. Despite being down five rounds, the Swedes rallied back to send Map 1 into overtime. Astralis remained poised in overtime, only allowing one round to Fnatic's map-pick before claiming a 19-16 victory.
Seemingly energized by their Game 1 win, Astralis got out to a quick four round lead in Game 2, finishing the first half up 12-3. Giving up just two round wins in the second half, Astralis took the series 2-0 with a 16-5 Nuke win to become the first grand finalists for the ELeague Major.
The last semifinal of the day came down to the undefeated Virtus.pro taking on SK Gaming, who won an earlier quarterfinal match against FaZe Clan. SK Gaming looked to take Game 1 with their map pick Train, however, Virtus.pro challenged them from start to finish. Right out of the gate, Virtus.pro captain Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas led the Polish Plow with a stunning first-half finish over SK 10-5. Each team traded rounds in the second half until SK's Epitacio "TACO" de Melo won a 1 vs. 1 over Wojtas to send the first map into overtime. Virtus.pro picked up the first round but SK came out on top, taking the lead 17-16 and going into the second half of overtime. Virtus.pro then won three straight to steal the first map away from SK 19-17.
Virtus.pro felt confident going into the second map of the series with their pick, Cobblestone, posting a notable record on the map coming into the match. However, SK had Vitus.pro stumped, earning a 9-6 lead to end the first half. Virtus.pro wouldn't be deterred, riding a massive comeback en route to a 14-10 lead. While SK would come back to within one round to tie the series yet again, they would fall just short, giving VP the 16-14 victory and a spot in the Grand Final.
The Grand Finals will kick off on Sunday morning at 10:00 A.M. Eastern, featuring Astralis and Virtus.pro battling for the $1 million dollar prize live on TBS.