M80 rides record-breaking momentum past Fnatic to secure playoffs
After a marathon map one on Anubis that needed eight overtimes and a bathroom break before it ended, M80 closed out the series with a win on Inferno to send Fnatic down to the middle bracket, and lock in a spot in the ESL Pro League Season 20 playoffs for themselves.
M80 and Fnatic's meeting on Anubis was a historic one which broke the record for the longest CS2 map on LAN ever recorded. The two teams needed to play 71 rounds before a winner emerged, with M80 finally crossing the finish line thanks to 58 kill performances from both Ethan "reck" Serrano and Fritz "slaxz-" Dietrich. The map is also potentially the longest ever CS2 map played by pro players, with it appearing to be the longest ever recorded on HLTV.
Following what was essentially a full best-of-three's worth of rounds in just a single map, the series turned to Fnatic's choice of Inferno. Once on their CT-side, Fnatic built a lead up to 11-5 before M80 started to string multiple rounds together thanks to Michael "Swisher" Schmid and Mason "Lake" Sanderson. M80 reduced the deficit all the way to 12-11, and a devious lurk from Lake through Church guaranteed more overtime. That T-side run from M80 carried into OT, with Lake delivering two more clutches to secure the M80 win.
With this victory, M80 secures a playoff spot at ESL Pro League for the first time in the organization's history. They will play Imperial Esports for playoff seeding.