Images: ESL
Only four teams remain in contention for the CS2 championship at the Esports World Cup.
Things are heating up in the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2024's Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) event as the semifinals slate has been determined. 
Natus Vincere (Na'Vi), 
Virtus.pro (VP), and 
MOUZ advanced to the Top 4 after they knocked out 
FaZe Clan, 
Team Vitality, and 
FURIA Esports, respectively, in the quarterfinals.
Here's how all the action on Day 3 of the EWC's CS2 tournament played out:
Virtus.pro 2-1 Team Vitality
If it wasn't for G2 Esports knocking out Team Spirit on the previous day, then VP's victory over Vitality would have been the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
The series started with an epic 42-round bloodbath in Mirage, where Vitality went blow-for-blow with VP and emerged battered, bruised, and victorious behind superstar Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut's heroics.
The first half of the map saw VP on the T side take the first three rounds, though Vitality would strike back and end the half up 7-5. VP once again had a strong start after the side switch and took a 10-8 lead by round 18. Vitality answered by winning the next three, then VP took the next two before Vitality claimed round 24 to force overtime.
The resulting overtime period took six periods before the winner could be decided. Vitality won all three rounds in the first overtime period, VP did the same in the second, then Vitality won two out of the three rounds in the next, only for VP to do the same in the fourth period. Vitality then edged out their opponents by going on a 4-2 run in the fifth and sixth overtime periods to claim the 22-20 victory in Mirage.
ZywOo led the way for Vitality with 37 kills and five assists on 31 deaths. Meanwhile, Dzhami “Jame” Ali had 33 kills and six assists on 26 deaths in the loss.
Game two at Inferno saw Vitality get in position to sweep the series as they led 7-5 on the T side by halftime. However, VP seemingly flipped the switch in the second half as they pulled off an incredible eight-straight round wins to claim the 13-7 victory in Mirage and force the series to a deciding game three.
Jame once again spearheaded VP's comeback with 19 kills and three assists on a map-best five deaths. Meanwhile, ZywOo put up a map-best 20 kills and one assist on 15 deaths despite Vitality's loss.
Vitality seemed shaken from their second half meltdown in Inferno, as VP absolutely dominated them in the decider at Dust2. VP started the first half on the T side and won the first five rounds before finishing the half up 8-4. They then won four-straight to start the second half to eventually secure the 2-1 series victory by claiming Dust2 with a 13-5 score.
David “n0rb3r7” Danielyan racked up a map-high 17 kills and three assists on nine deaths in the closeout game. Jame notably had the best rating of the map with 15 kills and five assists on a map-best seven deaths.
MOUZ 2-1 FURIA Esports
The second match of the day saw MOUZ take down FURIA in three games to claim the last semifinal spot of the tournament.
Game one at Nuke started with MOUZ on the CT side building a 7-5 lead after the first half. They then went on a 6-2 run after the side switch to claim victory in the first map with a 13-7 score.
MOUZ looked like they could secure the sweep in game two at Mirage, where they ended the first half with another 7-5 lead on the CT side. However, FURIA went on a furious 8-4 comeback run in the second half to claim Mirage up 13-11 and force the series to a decider.
Game three at Inferno saw MOUZ shut things down with a dominant 9-3 run in the first half as the CT side. FURIA won four rounds to show signs of life in the side switch, but MOUZ also won the four rounds they needed in order to secure the 2-1 series victory.
Jimi “Jimpphat" Salo led the way for MOUZ in all three maps, finishing with a total of 62 kills and 18 assists on 29 deaths.
Natus Vincere 2-0 FaZe Clan
The final and most-anticipated match of the day saw Na'Vi sweep FaZe, 2-0, out of the tournament behind another masterful performance from Valeriy “b1t” Vakhovskiy.
Game one at Mirage started with Na'Vi on the T side winning the first four rounds before FaZe struck back to claim five of the next six. However, Na'Vi were able to settle things down and rack up a five-round streak that included the last two rounds of the first half and the first four of the second. FaZe once again retaliated by winning the next five rounds, though Na'Vi could not be denied as they took rounds 22 and 23 to claim the 13-10 victory in Mirage.
B1t led the way for Na'Vi in Mirage with 19 kills and six assists on 16 deaths. Meanwhile, Finn “karrigan” Andersen had a valiant 23-kill, four-assist, 17-death performance in the loss for FaZe.
Na'Vi then secured the 2-0 series sweep in an overtime slugfest in game two at Nuke. FaZe on the T side started the map looking to mount a comeback by winning the first three rounds, though Na'Vi would respond by going on a 7-3 run to finish the half with a 2-round lead.
The second half started with Na'Vi taking the first three rounds to take a commanding 10-5 lead. However, FaZe roared their way back into the map by winning seven of the next eight rounds to be in prime position to tie up the series with a 12-11 lead. Unfortunately for them, Na'Vi won round 24 to force overtime then won four-straight in the extra period to claim the 16-12 victory in Nuke.
B1t once again topped the standings for Na'Vi with 27 kills – including 18 headshots – and three assists on 18 deaths.
With the day's results, Na'Vi, VP, and MOUZ have guaranteed themselves at least a Top 4 finish as well as $85,000 in winnings. Meanwhile, Vitality, FaZe, and FURIA bow out in 5th-8th place with $40,000 in consolation.
The semifinals will see VP take on G2 and Na'Vi face off against MOUZ for the two spots in the grand finals, where the $400,000 grand prize will be up for grabs.
