Astralis and Liquid won dramatic three-map games on Saturday to advance to the Grand Final of IEM Chicago 2018 to fight for a $100,000 first-place grand prize.
Astralis faced fnatic in the first semifinal, and won the opening map on Dust2 16-14 after nearly blowing a 12-3 lead at halftime.
fnatic recovered to win Mirage 16-12, sending the match to a decisive battle on Inferno. fnatic appeared on their way to the Grand Final, but were unable to hold onto an 11-4 halftime lead. Astralis battled back to force overtime, and then won four of the first six rounds in overtime to seal the victory 19-17.
"We have been working so hard being mental strength never giving up and today was such a hard game," Astralis' Danny Sorensen tweeted after the match. "@FNATIC played so well and I have so much respect for them."
FaZe beat Astralis earlier in the tournament, and it looked like a rematch was in the offing when Faze rolled to a 16-7 win on Inferno to open their semifinal against Liquid. But Liquid rallied in a big way, dominating Mirage 16-1 and then taking Cache 16-4.
"We played some great CS today," Liquid's Epitacio "Taco" De Melo tweeted afterward. "Tomorrow, we are going to make North America proud again."
Sunday's Grand Final will be a best-of-five, with the winner taking home $100,000 of the prize pool.