Marcos Gaming book CS GO Pro League 2023 finals spot

The first semifinal of the CS GO Pro League 2023 saw L.O.T Gaming take on Marcos Gaming (MG) as both teams were looking to carry their strong Group Stage form into the Playoffs to secure the Grand Finals spot.

The opening map was L.O.T Gaming's pick of Overpass and starting on the T side a R2B2 triple saw LOT take the opening pistol. With Mcg1LLzZz having server issues, LOT started with a 4-1 lead against a four man Marcos. LOT ran away with half, winning out the half at 8-2 but eight was all LOT could manage as cara and DEFAULTER pulled things back for Marcos to keep it close at 7-8 at the half.

LOT picked up the second pistol but Marcos answered back with the force and were quick to tie up the game at 9-9. The teams kept trading rounds before and a WD triple saw LOT take at 12-10 lead. Marcos tied the game at 12-12 but LOT not only put up a stellar defensive hold but clinical retakes from the CTs saw them pick up the map 16-12.

Marcos' pick of Mirage was next up with LOT starting on the CT side. R2B2's multi-kills carried on from Overpass, as he kicked off Mirage with another double. Marcos's force in round three saw a double DEFAULTER deagle opener to put the Ts on board. LOT bounced back converting a 3v4 before a lengthy tech pause saw LOT continue with 4 players. Marcos pulled two back immediately before craZe got a quad kill on an A hold to help LOT secure 5. It was all Marcos after that though as with four members, LOT couldn't hold on to either site, which saw Marcos take a 10-5 lead at the half.

Marcos picked up the second pistol and went 14-5 up before a R2B2 and WD double saw LOT steal a much needed T round. After that it was a clean CT side against the four opponents, as expected, which saw Marcos close out the map at 16-6.

Marcos Gaming started the series decider, Ancient on the T side against four players once again and it was a 3-0 start before LOT Gaming got ManuM as a replacement for TSUKIHAHA to make it a 5v5. LOT Gaming got their first CT round in round 5. A ZEROCOOL 1v1 clutch on the A site saw Marcos win out the half in the tenth round. A R2B2 triple shut down on the B site saw LOT put up their third and LOT managed to salvage the half at 6-9.

LOT picked up the second pistol but a DEFAULTER double in an upgraded pistols round saw LOT reply back in the second round of the half. DEFAULTER came in with multi-kills on both sites and a 1v2 from the man at the helm of Marcos Gaming saw them go 13-7 up. It was DEFAULTER again, this time with a triple in mid, two of which were molly kills, that saw Marcos secure map, match and series point. LOT pulled it back to all 30 rounds with seven in a row but Marcos Gaming hung on to close the map at 16-14. It was Marcos Gaming's pair of ZEROCOOL and DEFAULTER who stepped up when they needed them most to get them across the line.

While Marcos will take the win, LOT will be feeling hard done after battling with four players on Mirage and a stand-in on Ancient and still managed to take the match all the way. Marcos will now await the winner of the Gods Reign vs FIREDUP Gaming semifinal to get to know their Grand Finals' opponent.