The first semi-final at 3rd Intel Core Challenge by Inferno Online saw the number one seed fnatic take down eSrael in a close three map battle 2-1.

First map in play was fnatic's pick de_dust2 where they continued their strong form we saw in Copenhagen Games as they won a whopping eleven straight rounds as counter-terrorists before losing their first round to the eSrael team that looked very unorganized throughout the half.

The Danes' joy was short lived though, as fnatic recovered instantly and went onto win the half 14-1 thanks to great play all across the board and especially by Finn "karrigan" Andersen. Second half only lasted two rounds, as fnatic finished the map with a score of 16-1.

coloN & co fighting to stay alive in the tournament

Next up was eSrael's map de_tuscan which saw Timm "ArcadioN" Henriksen's team score the opening pistol round and the following three rounds with Christian "turkizh" Bindslev scoring multiple important frags. However, once fnatic got geared up, momentum shifted and they went on to win ten of the remaining eleven rounds, with Henriksen clutching a one-one versus Rasmus "Gux" Ståhl as their only round after the early lead.

Martin "trace" Heldt scored a couple of Desert Eagle frags to win eSrael their second pistol round of the map. Heldt played great throughout the half, and helped his team to a 14-12 lead. fnatic won a round to even it up a little, but a one-on-two win by Heldt who finished the half with a 20-6 score secured them the money advantage and a round later, a 16-13 map win.

fnatic advance to the grand final

Final map de_train started with fnatic winning the pistol round and the two consecutive ecos that followed. The entire half was very back and forth with both teams neck and neck the entire time. eSrael came out on top 8-7 at the end.

Second half started with fnatic scoring another pistol round to jump up 11-7. eSrael fought back very well, getting all the way to 11-14 with Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth missing an easy kill due to nerves. Last round saw Heldt try to rush the inner bomb site by himself but fnatic prevailed in the end, winning 16-11 and 2-1 overall. 3rd Generation Intel Core Challenge by IOBest of 0 fnaticMatchpage 2 1 12th May 2012 eSrael.dk 16Dust2 1 13Tuscan 16 16Train 12

fnatic	K - D	+/-	ADR	-

eSrael.dk	K - D	+/-	ADR	-

The second semi-final between SK Gaming and ESC Gaming will start ahead of schedule at around 19:00 . Grand final was originally scheduled for 22:30 but will likely be preponed as well if possible.