What separates the best from the rest in sports? I'd argue that it is mainly the ability to persevere under pressure, to step up when things get rough, when skill is not enough.
Back after Masters Berlin, when TenZ went from MVP of the server straight into the worst of the server right as the pressure went to the max, I've noticed that he might have a long standing problem: he simply cannot win a LAN map that he has to win or go home.
The only time he ever did it was in July 2017, at Fragadelphia 11 where he won 2 such maps in a row for a reverse sweep. But that's a low tier event he played early in his career against low-tier competition, so not exactly high pressure. When it comes to top-tier LAN events, TenZ never won a map with his back against the wall.
So it's not all that surprising that as soon as KRÜ made it to 1-1 and Sentinels went into Split with no more maps to retreat to, TenZ went to the bottom of the board, worst of the server by quite a margin, dragging his team down with him, with only Dapr remaining on form till the end. Very similar to the last LAN, except last time he started right with a 0-9, while this time he started decently and then went completely quiet towards the end, only getting 2 kills in the last 12.
It's kind of amazing how strong this effect appears to be. Before this match, KRÜ never won a single map against a top tier team, having been 2-0-ed by Envy, Fnatic, G2 and twice by Liquid. To kick Sentinels out, they had to do something they were never able to do, twice.
Given that choking on LANs is what got TenZ benched in CSGO, all the denial I saw last time around was quite something to observe. Well, it seems like this time around TenZ is no longer part of it. Good for him.