,

NaVi vs Astralis At ESL Pro League Season 17

It’s misery for the fans of Astralis and Natus Vincere as their teams have been relegated to the mid bracket of ESL Pro League Season 17. Instead of these two, it’s actually ENCE and Forze at the playoffs from group D. But before, NaVi and Astralis even think of making it to the playoffs, they have to get rid of the other. Find out how the series turned out of NaVi vs Astralis.

NaVi vs Astralis

Rosters

Natus Vincere

  • Oleksandr ‘s1mple‘ Kostyljev
  • Denis ‘electroNic‘ Sharipov
  • Ilya ‘Perfecto‘ Zalutskiy
  • Valerij ‘b1t‘ Vakhovsjkyj
  • Andrij ‘npl‘ Kukharsjkyj

Astralis

  • Andreas ‘Xyp9x‘ Højsleth
  • Lukas ‘gla1ve‘ Rossander
  • Benjamin ‘blameF‘ Bremer
  • Nicolai ‘dev1ce‘ Reedtz
  • Christian ‘Buzz‘ Andersen

Map Picks & Bans

  • Astralis removed Anubis
  • Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
  • Astralis picked Ancient
  • Natus Vincere picked Overpass
  • Astralis removed Mirage
  • Natus Vincere removed Nuke
  • Inferno was left over

The Series

Map 1 (Ancient)

Ancient was the first map of the group D NaVi vs Astralis series. Astralis started off their map pick just the way they wanted. It was blameF who was taking frag after from at the start of the first half. They won the first three rounds straight but NaVi responded right after with three rounds of their own. The first half kept going back and forth like this but eventually ended up in favor of Astralis as the scoreboard read 9-6. On attack, NaVi simply bounced back. They picked up eight rounds straight without even flinching for a second- much of the credit going to electroNic and Perfecto. NaVi soon wrapped up Ancient 16-11 in their favor despite being down two rounds in the first half.

Map 2 (Overpass)

It was now time to play on the map pick of Natus Vincere. Astralis started off their opponents’ map pick their way by winning the two pistol rounds. NaVi soon responded by picking up two rounds of their own, thus leveling the score. However, what followed later was total annihilation by Astralis. Astralis then went on to win… not one, not two, not even six but eleven rounds at one go. They made NaVi look disoriented and helpless throughout the first half. NaVi didn’t even get the plant down on four different rounds in the first half. The first half ended 13-2 in favor of Astralis. There was not a lot to witness in the second half. Astralis just needed three more rounds and they picked it up within four rounds. The map scores were leveled as Astralis won the second map 16-3.

Map 3 (Inferno)

It was now time for the deciding map- Inferno. Astralis yet again started off the map their way by not only winning the pistols but following it up with two more rounds. NaVi responded but only for a while as they won two rounds. Three more rounds were picked up Astralis as they looked to widen the gap. A shift in momentum then took place as NaVi tried their level best to reduce the gap in the first half. It ended 8-7 in favor of Astralis. The second half started with NaVi putting their game faces on as they won four straight rounds. While Astralis did try their level best to put a stop to the NaVi show, it was too little, too late. Thanks to s1mple and electroNic, they brawled their way into picking up the map 16-12.

Not all hopes are lost for Astralis, however. They have now been relegated to the last chance bracket. It’s a different story for Natus Vincere, however. They will be facing Rare Atom tonight for a chance at moving into the mid bracket final. It will surely be an interesting sight to watch as the two teams clash later on tonight.

 

/by
,

Vitality vs OG At ESL Pro League Season 17

It was Vitality vs OG at the Upper Bracket Semifinals of Group C at ESL Pro League Season 17. A loss for either team meant being relegated to the mid bracket from the upper bracket. So, which team was forced to take the harder route? Find out only at Gamopo!

Vitality vs OG

Rosters

Let’s take a look at the rosters of Team Vitality and OG.

Vitality

  • Dan ‘apEX‘ Madesclaire
  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut
  • Audric ‘JACKZ‘ Jug
  • Emil ‘Magisk‘ Reif
  • Lotan ‘Spinx‘ Giladi

OG

  • Shahar ‘flameZ‘ Shushan
  • Adam ‘NEOFRAG‘ Zouhar
  • Maciej ‘F1KU‘ Miklas
  • Abdulkhalik ‘degster‘ Gasanov
  • Nikolaj ‘niko‘ Kristensen

Map Picks & Bans

  • OG removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • OG picked Anubis
  • Vitality picked Vertigo
  • OG removed Overpass
  • Vitality removed Mirage
  • Inferno was left

The Series

The Vitality vs OG series was a best of 3 with the maps being Anubis Vertigo and Inferno. Let’s see how it turned out.

Map 1 (Anubis)

Anubis started with OG on terrorist side as they looked towards making the most out of their map pick. But to their demise, it was Team Vitality that won the first few pistol rounds. While OG did manage to respond on the third round, Vitality kept making the right calls. Vitality won four rounds straight as they set up a massive gap against OG. The first half ended 10-5 in favor of Team Vitality. In the second half, it was now Team Vitality starting on the terrorist side. We weren’t able to witness much of the second half since Vitality thought it was in their best interest to finish off the map. They took just 6 rounds to finish the map 16-5. Advantage to Team Vitality!

Map 2 (Vertigo)

Vitality started their map pick of Vertigo on the terrorist side. While OG did lose the first pistol round, they made amends in the second. But it was just another case of Vitality domination as they kept picking up rounds with ease. The first half ended 9-6 in favor of Vitality. The second half saw Team Vitality starting it off strong. It was ZywOo being ZywOo as he kept picking up frags and clutching for his team. In the end, Team Vitality picked up the second map as well on a scoreline of 16-9.

With this series win, Team Vitality are now off to the playoffs. The two teams will be facing each other soon. That should be quite the exciting matchup! Wonder who will win- guess we will have to find out!

 

 

 

/by
,

G2 Vs Heroic At IEM Katowice 2023 Grand Final

As we draw the curtains on IEM Katowice 2023, we have finally crowned a new CS:GO Major champion. It was G2 vs Heroic at the Spodek Arena in the grand finals. Who are returning home with another championship under their belt? Find out!

G2 vs Heroic

G2 beat another title contender, Team Liquid to make it to the finals of Katowice 2023. On the other hand, Heroic annihilated NaVi to reach the finals this year. Last year, they missed out losing to FaZe Clan in the semifinals. The stage was now set for G2 vs Heroic!

Rosters

G2 Esports

  • Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen (IGL)
  • Justin “jks” Savage
  • Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov
  • Nikola “NiKo” Kovač
  • Nemanja “huNter” Kovač

Heroic

  • Casper “cadiaN” Møller (IGL)
  • Martin “stavn” Lund
  • René “TeSeS” Madsen
  • Rasmus “sjuush” Beck
  • Jakob “Jabbi” Nygaard

Map Picks & Bans

  1. G2 removed Overpass
  2. Heroic removed Anubis
  3. G2 picked Nuke
  4. Heroic picked Mirage
  5. G2 picked Inferno
  6. Heroic picked Ancient
  7. Vertigo was left

The Series

Map 1 (Nuke)

Nuke was the first map in the grand finals of G2 vs Heroic. The map started off well for G2. They picked up the first three rounds with relative ease. However, Heroic was quick to remind everyone why they’re in the finals. The first half ended 10-5 in favor of Heroic. G2 started off the second half quite well, again picking up the pistol. HuNter really turned heads in the second half with a 2.01 rating. Thanks to him and support from the rest of the G2 roster, Heroic could barely pick up a map or two on the T-side. G2 picked up the first map 16-12.

Map 2 (Mirage)

The G2 vs Heroic series continued with Heroic’s pick of Mirage. This time, Heroic started off the map well picking up the first three rounds. The first half ended in favor of Heroic yet again, with the score line being 9-6. G2 bounced back at the beginning of the second half. G2’s m0NESY showed up big time as they leveled the score 10-10. G2 turned the game around with some big plays from round 21. Heroic showed some resistance but it was too little, too late. G2 picked up the second map as well against Heroic 16-13.

Map 3 (Inferno)

G2 had to seal the third map to pick up the series. They picked up the first round but Heroic was quick to respond. They won the next 6 rounds straight without sweating much. G2 did a good job of trying to make a comeback as the first half finished 8-7, slightly in favor of G2. The momentum continued as G2 won the first two rounds of the second half as well. But Heroic’s entire roster showed terrific co-ordination and team effort in the second half. Heroic picked up their first map win quite comfortably, 16-11 being the score line.

Map 4 (Ancient)

Ancient started the right way for G2. They started CT-side and won the first three rounds. Heroic started to resist from the next round but G2 fought back again. The first half ended 9-6 in favor of G2. With a 3-round advantage, they were now hoping to win the series and the grand final. G2 kept their eyes on the prize as they were dominant in the second half- only conceding a single round. Picking up their easiest map of the night, G2 beat Heroic and have now been crowned the champions of IEM Katowice 2023.

G2 fans across the globe must surely be ecstatic after their team’s win.

/by
,

IEM Katowice 2023 Group A Day 1 Action

IEM Katowice 2023 is running hot as we just got started with group A action today. With the matches already going on as we write this, let’s find out who were the victors on day one. Do check out our previous Katowice 2023 article to learn about this year’s event.

IEM Katowice 2023 Group A

Regarded by many as the group of death, group A is surely delivering us the action CS:GO fans are craving for. With the likes of G2, FaZe Clan, Team Liquid and NaVi in group A, the hype is justified. Group A consists of the following teams:

  • Team Liquid
  • IHC Esports
  • Cloud9
  • Natus Vincere
  • G2 Esports
  • BIG
  • Team Spirit
  • FaZe Clan

Now, let’s check out all the matches of group A of day 1.

Group A Day 1 Matches

G2 Esports vs BIG

Being directly qualified into the group stage, G2’s first opponent was BIG. The Blast Premier World Final 2022 was up against the Roobet Cup 2022 winners. Despite BIG getting the first map pick, it didn’t end well for them. G2 picked up both Anubis and Inferno with a 2-0 clean sweep.

Cloud9 vs Natus Vincere

Meanwhile, G2’s arch rival, NaVi was busy dealing with Cloud9. NaVi showed up on matchday with a clear game plan in mind. That was well reflected in the series between the two teams. On a day where s1mple had barely stepped up, it was the likes of electroNic and b1t that took matters into their own hands. In the end, NaVi walked away with a clean 2-0 win over Cloud9.

Team Spirit vs FaZe Clan

Team Spirit faced the mighty FaZe Clan in the upper bracket quarter finals. Captain Karrigan had an amazing field day leading his team to victory from the front. The team didn’t have to go to a third map and won their series 2-0. They won 16-5 on Ancient and 16-12 on Nuke. Team Spirit will face BIG at the lower bracket quarter finals.

Team Liquid vs IHC Esports

On the last series of day 1 of Katowice 2023 group A, Team Liquid was paired against IHC Esports. IHC showed up but their efforts fell short as Liquid picked up both maps 16-13 and 16-6. The two maps were Iferno and Overpass. IHC will be facing Cloud9 in the lower bracket quarter finals.

Who’s meeting at the upper bracket semifinals?

It’s getting hotter and hotter here at IEM Katowice 2023 group A. Team Liquid is set to face Natus Vincere and G2 will be facing FaZe today. Both matchups are well-balanced and there will be no love lost when the teams will be facing each other. All four of the teams have a terrific shot at winning this major but unfortunately, two will have to take the harder route at the end of the day.

/by
,

IEM Katowice 2023: All You Need To Know

Counter Strike fans, rejoice! Top tier Counter-Strike is back and we can’t get more excited than this. With less than a day left till we kick off IEM Katowice 2023, here’s everything you need to know about the Major!

About IEM Katowice 2023

Organized by ESL, the first Intel Grand Slam Major is set to kick off tomorrow and ends on 12th February. The venue for the playoffs is the Spodek Arena of Katowice. A prizepool of $1 million USD is up for grabs for the participating teams. 24 teams will be meeting each other on the maps to be crowned the winner of IEM Katowice 2023.

Participating Teams

Directly Qualified Teams

  • FaZe Clan
  • Team Vitality
  • Outsiders
  • Heroic
  • Team Liquid
  • Natus Vincere
  • G2 Esports
  • MOUZ

Play-In Teams

  • Ninjas In Pyjamas
  • Team Spirit
  • Cloud9
  • Complexity Gaming
  • FURIA Esports
  • MIBR
  • IHC Esports
  • Grayhound Gaming
  • OG
  • ENCE
  • BIG
  • Sprout
  • PaiN Gaming
  • Evil Geniuses
  • Fnatic
  • Permitta Esports

Format

Play-In

The play-in set will begin first with FURIA Esports facing Permitta Esports tomorrow. 8 of the 16 play-in teams will move on to the group stage. Play-ins will take place on February 1st-3rd. All of the opening matches will be a best-of-1. The following matches will follow a best-of-3 format.

Group Stage

February 4th-7th will witness the group stage matches. There will be two groups- A & B with 8 teams each. All matches will follow a best-of-3 format. The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs:

  • Group stage winners directly advance to the semifinals
  • Group stage runners-up advance to the quarterfinals as the High Seeds
  • Finally, group stage second runners-up teams advance to the quarterfinals as the Low Seeds

Playoffs

The playoffs will be taking place on the last 3 days, February 10th-12th. Following a single elimination bracket, the quarter and semifinals will be a best-of-3. Meanwhile, the grand finals will be a best-of-five series between the finalists.

All of the matches will be livestreamed on the ESL CSGO Twitch channel. Let’s see who gets crowned the king of Katowice 2023!

/by
,

NaVi vs NIP at Blast Premier Spring Groups 2023

We are back with CS:GO action and it’s getting hot at Blast Premier Spring Groups 2023. Day 3 of the tournament saw one of the most exciting matches which was NaVi vs NIP. How did the action turn out and more importantly, who won? Find out only at Gamopo!

NaVi vs NIP

Rosters

Natus Vincere

  • Denis “electroNic”  Sharipov (IGL)
  • Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev
  • Ilya “Perfecto” Zalutskiy
  • Valerii “b1t” Vakhovskyi
  • Andrii “npl” Kukharskyi

Ninjas In Pyjamas

  • Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen (IGL)
  • Fredrik “REZ” Sterner
  • Hampus “hampus” Poser
  • Ludvig “Brollan” Brolin
  • Danyyl “headtr1ck” Valitov

Map Picks & Bans

  1. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Nuke
  2. Natus Vincere removed Vertigo
  3. Ninjas in Pyjamas picked Inferno
  4. Natus Vincere picked Mirage
  5. Ninjas in Pyjamas removed Ancient
  6. Natus Vincere removed Anubis
  7. Overpass left

The Series

Map 1 (Inferno)

NaVi started off well on Inferno winning the pistol rounds. However, NIP was quick to respond picking up the next three rounds. Till the end of the first half, things kept going back and forth. However, advantage NIP as they were up 7-8 on their own map pick. But NaVi did well to recollect themselves from the start of the second half. Five straight round wins saw them picking up frags after frags. They continued to remain untouched as they picked up their map pick 16-9.

Map 2 (Mirage)

Map 2 between NaVi vs NIP was where the real action took place. NaVi started off well picking up the first round but NIP was quick to respond. NIP’s latest recruit, headtr1ck was annihilating everyone from the start of the map. The first half ended 7-8 in favor of NIP on NaVi’s map pick. NIP continued to bulldoze over their rivals from the beginning of the second half. But NaVi did a great job at coming back later tying the score line 15-15 and heading into overtime. In overtime, NIP looked determined to pick up the map. They won the first three overtime rounds and while NaVi showed some resistance, it was too little too late! NIP picked up their fourth overtime round and won 17-19 on Mirage.

Map 3 (Overpass)

Overpass was the remaining map that both teams tried to ignore. Right off the bat, NaVi looked determined to wrap up the series in their favor. Picking up from Mirage, s1mple was reminding everyone why he was the best picking up one frag after the other. But it was not just s1mple, the entire roster looked well coordinated and flawless in terms of strategies executed. The first half ended 11-4 in favor Natus Vincere. Second half saw NIP’s efforts go in vain as NaVi continued to dominate. The map ended 16-8 in favor of electroNic’s team.

 

With NaVi vs NIP over at the Blast Premier Groups 2023, Natus Vincere walks away with a win. While it was not a walk at the park for NaVi, NIP was far behind in terms of quality of strategies executed. Talking about the IGLs, electroNic surely put in a shift but the same couldn’t be said about Aleksib. S1mple continued to be himself even though he was slow in the first half of Inferno. Well, that’s what you expect from the number one CS:GO player in the world. All aside, if there’s any positive that can be taken away from the series, it’s the two young guns- headtr1ck and npl. Both have thoroughly impressed the audience with their energetic performance. We hope to see more of that in the future!

NaVi will be facing G2 next at the Group C upper-bracket final. The two teams faced each other not too long ago in the quarter finals of ESL Pro League Season 16. G2 came out on top beating their arch-rivals 2-1 but later conceded to the champions, Team Vitality in the semi finals.

 

 

/by
,

HLTV Award Show 2022 Recap

CS:GO’s biggest names all gathered under one roof last night for the HLTV Award Show 2022. At the ceremony, the home of competitive Counter-Strike recognized and rewarded the biggest performers of the year. Let’s take a look at all the awards up for grabs and who went home with them!

HLTV Award Show 2022

Before we find out who won, let’s take a look at the list of awards and their nominees:

Panel awards presented by 1xBet:

  • Opener of the year (⁠NiKo⁠, stavn, YEKINDAR)
  • Closer of the year (Ax1Le, KSCERATO, ropz)
  • Anchor of the year (NAF, Perfecto, sjuush)
  • AWP of the year (sh1ro, s1mple, ZywOo⁠)
  • IGL of the year (⁠cadiaN⁠, karrigan, Jame)
  • Coach of the year (B1ad3⁠, RobbaN⁠, sAw)
  • Best five of the year

HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet:

  • Highlight of the year (m0NESY vs. MIBR, ropz vs. G2, broky⁠ vs. Astralis)
  • Rookie of the year (m0NESY, Patsi, w0nderful)
  • Women’s team of the year (Nigma Galaxy, FURIA fe, CLG Red)
  • Team of the year (FaZe, G2, Natus Vincere)
  • Women’s player of the year (ANa, Olga, vilga)
  • Player of the year

It’s safe to say that the awards have intense competition. Along with the HLTV Awards, the panel awards were presented by a star-studded committee comprising of professional players, on-air talent as well as HLTV writers.

The Award Winners

Panel Award Winners

Opener of the year: Recognizing the best entry fragger of the year, the opener of the year had to be decided between NiKo⁠, stavn and YEKINDAR. NiKo came out on top winning the first award of the night with YEKINDAR and stavn taking the second and third spot.

Closer of the year: This award recognizes a clutch player who consistently shows up on late rounds. There was little surprise that Ax1Le took this award over KSCERATO and ropz. C9’s Rifler had constantly displayed his confidence and nerves on multiple occasions throughout the year. But he was equally humble as he read out a cute little speech thanking his well-wishers after receiving the award.

Anchor of the year: Perfecto came out on top over NAF and sjuush to win the title of Anchor of the year. The NaVi representative surely showed everyone a thing or two about holding sites firmly last year.

AWP of the year: Look, let’s just cut to the chase! If we’re talking about AWPers, the first name that should come to one’s mind is s1mple. S1mple continues to dominate the scene and pick up headshots after headshots. Sh1ro and ZywOo tried but it’s just the s1mple show yet again!

IGL of the year: Three excellent leaders in the form of Cadian, Jame and Karrigan were the contenders for the IGL of the year. But leading a team to four international titles isn’t a matter of joke. And thus, Karrigan deservedly walks away with this one.

Coach of the year: The coaches of ENCE, FaZe and Natus Vincere were up for being crowned the coach of the year. NaVi’s coach, B1ad3 proudly walked away with the bragging rights.

Best five of the year: Now, this award was surely different from the rest. A team consisting of five outstanding players from the entire pool of top-flight players that made waves last year. This is how the team turned out:

  • Anchor: Perfecto
  • AWPer: S1mple
  • Closer: AX1LE
  • IGL: Karrigan
  • Opener: NiKo

Not a bad roster at all being crowned as the all-stars of HLTV Award Show 2022. Any organization wanna pick them up?

In other news: MOUZ has announced their Valorant roster for 2023!

HLTV Award Winners

Highlight of the year: No denying that there were several moments of competitive CS:GO this year that made us speechless. But m0NESY’s clutch against MIBR at BLAST Premier Spring Groups 2022 surely tops them all. Do check it out if you haven’t seen the HLTV 2022 highlight of the year:

 

Rookie of the year: m0NESY was up yet again for the Rookie of the year along with Patsi and w0nderful. The three prodigies surely turned heads and impressed us all. But it was moNESY yet again picking up another award at the show.

Women’s team of the year: It was Nigma Galaxy that dominated the women’s CS:GO circuit in 2022 picking up three titles in the process. The girls easily walked away with the women’s team of the year at the HLTV Award Show 2022.

Team of the year: For this award, the nominations were G2, FaZe Clan and Natus Vincere. FaZe absolutely dominated the entire first half of the year winning Katowice, ESLPL Season 15, Antwerp and Cologne.

Woman’s player of the year: With a phenomenal 1.39 rating, Nigma’s Ana picked up the title of woman’s player of the year. Ana led her team to securing titles throughout the year and her performance was crucial in determining the outcomes of the matches.

Player of the year: Well, this was the award many fans were waiting for. The player of the year was awarded to the one and only s1mple yet again. The Ukrainian had another year full of titles and awards. With a 1.26 rating and 2 MVPs under his belt, little argument can be made here. S1mple even opened up about wanting to take a break last year. He shared a heartfelt speech at the end:

Well, that’s it for our recap of the HLTV Award Show 2022. Let’s see which of these stars continue to dazzle in 2023. See you next time!

 

 

/by
,

IEM Rio Major 2022 Quarterfinals Predictions

We have finally stepped into the Champions Stage of IEM Rio Major 2022. With only 8 teams remaining, the quarterfinals will commence from tomorrow. Let’s check out the top 8 teams and present our predictions of the IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals!

IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals

Top 8 Teams

Here are the top 8 teams of IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals:

  • Cloud9
  • MOUZ
  • Fnatic
  • Outsiders
  • Heroic
  • Team Spirit
  • Natus Vincere
  • FURIA Esports

IEM Rio 2022 Quarterfinals Predictions

As we can already see, there are an abundance of big names among the top teams this season. It’s gonna be tough to pick up the victors in all of the matchups but here we go with our IEM Rio quarterfinals predictions:

Fnatic vs Outsiders

We have Fnatic vs Outsiders as the first series of the quarterfinals. And this should be a good one! Both the teams have had a similar form throughout this tournament so far. However, Outsiders picked up a two-map win over Fnatic last week. Fnatic would definitely want to take revenge for their earlier loss but it’ll be tough. It seems like Outsiders will be picking up another win over Fnatic but it might be a close one.

Cloud9 vs MOUZ

The second match of day 1 of the quarterfinals see Cloud9 facing MOUZ. The two teams had very different starts to the tournament. MOUZ were table toppers during the Challengers Stage picking up consecutive wins against Outsiders, Evil Geniuses and Fnatic. However, they couldn’t replicate the dominance in the Legends Stage losing against BIG and Outsiders. On the other hand, Cloud9 started off sloppy losing against Fnatic and Grayhound in their two opening matches. Over time, they regained their form and now look to dominate MOUZ.

Cloud9 should be the easy favorites to win the series here. We know how good they are on maps like Overpass and Mirage where they have far better winrates than MOUZ. MOUZ always tries to ignore Dust2, so if C9 picks that up then it will be game over then and there. So, we’re siding with Cloud9 as the clear favorite here.

Heroic vs Team Spirit

Heroic vs Team Spirit could go either way. Both the teams have displayed some amazing Counter-Strike in this tournament. Heroic’s wins over Fnatic, Outsiders, and Team Liquid have impressed the crowd quite a bit despite being annihilated by C9. Team Spirit did pick up a well-deserved win against Liquid but losses against FURIA and Outsiders were uncalled for.

This matchup will boil down to the map picks and bans. If Heroic gets both Nuke and Overpass in their favor, they should be picking up this series. This series should be an amazing matchup!

Natus Vincere vs FURIA Esports

FURIA, overall, have had a better performance at IEM Rio thus far. They won all of their Legends Stage matches against ENCE, Team Spirit and BIG. Including those three, FURA have won six consecutive matches. With all of that in mind, Natus Vincere is surely in trouble. They started off the tournament on the wrong foot losing against Cloud9 and Team Liquid. With current form in consideration, we don’t see NaVi making it out alive. FURIA just might get the best of them this time around especially with yuurih in such great form.

So, what do you make of our IEM Rio quarterfinals predictions? May the odds be in your favor!

/by
,

Team Vitality Are Your EPL Season 16 Champions

It all began in August when 24 teams gathered at ESL Pro League Season 16. The stakes couldn’t get higher with not only $200k on the line but also direct qualification for BLAST World Final 2022 as well as IEM Katowice 2023. After weeks of relentless hard work and a determination to pick up the title, Team Vitality are the unbeaten champions of ESL Season 16.

Roster

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen

Emil “Magisk” Reif

Lotan “Spinx” Giladi

Team Vitality’s Road To Becoming Champions

Group Stage

Team Vitality started off in Group A along with the likes of Fnatic, Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, NIP and Endpoint. Fair to say that were already paired up with some tough teams but they passed the group stage with flying colors. Vitality easily picked up wins on all five of their group stage encounters conceding a map each to only Natus Vincere and Fnatic. Thanks to their top spot in Group A, they directly qualified for the quarterfinals.

Playoffs

In the quarterfinals, Vitality faced The Outsiders who beat FURIA 2-1 to make it there. The Outsiders showed some resistance by forcing the second map into overtime but Vitality seemed to be too strong. Vitality won the series 2-0 and went on to the semifinals against G2. Team Vitality absolutely bulldozed over G2 on Mirage and picked up Inferno in overtime to make it to the finals. It was now only Team Liquid in between Team Vitality and a shot at becoming champions.

The Finals

This is how the best of 5 series went down in the grand finals between Team Liquid and Team Vitality.

Map Picks & Bans
  • Liquid removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • Liquid picked Inferno
  • Vitality picked Dust2
  • Liquid picked Mirage
  • Vitality picked Overpass
  • Vertigo was left over
Map 1 (Inferno)

Inferno was the first playground selected by Team Liquid. Liquid started off their map pick just the way they envisioned it by winning the first five rounds straight. The boys from NA dominated the first map finishing the first half ahead by 10-5. The second half started in their favor as well as they won the two pistol rounds. At this point, Team Vitality could do very little to turn the match around. And so, the first map was won 16-7 by Team Liquid.

Map 2 (Dust2)

It was time for Team Vitality to respond on the classic Dust2. But Liquid picked up the pistols on Dust2 as well. But Team Vitality responded well as they won five rounds straight to overtake their opponents. Some back and forth was witnessed but the first half ended in the favor of Team Vitality. From the start of the second half, Vitality seemed to be invincible. They only lost one round to pick up the map quick winning 16-7 on Dust2.

Map 3 (Mirage)

It was Team Liquid’s second map which seemed have been Vitality’s. Team Vitality picked up both the pistols and wreaked havoc in the first half on Mirage. They won 11 out of the 15 rounds in the first half and left little room to breath for Team Liquid. Disaster struck when Team Vitality was least expecting it. Liquid recollected themselves in the second half and kept picking up rounds, including some sweet site retakes. They managed to get on level with Vitality and force the map into an overtime. In overtime, both the teams were going back and forth. Thanks to the relentlessness of the two teams, we witnessed not one, not two, neither three but six excruciating overtimes. In the end, Team Liquid won on Mirage with a staggering 25-21 scoreline.

Map 4 (Overpass)

Vitality’s pick of Overpass started off the best possible way for them. They were dominant from the get go winning the first six rounds. But Team Liquid imitated the same and leveled the scores 6-6. The first half ended barely in favor of Team Liquid at 8-7. In the second half, the map kept going back and fourth with both teams picking up consecutive rounds. With the score settling at 15-15, it was time for yet again another overtime. Team Vitality couldn’t let this overtime slip as well and they did not. The overtime ended 19-17 in favor of Vitality and we were down for the final map which was Vertigo.

Map 5 (Vertigo)

Vertigo was the final map and the decider for who gets crowned the champion. Team Vitality put their game faces on and made the best start on any map of the finals. They won 8 straight rounds without flinching even a bit. Team Liquid managed to pick up a few rounds in the first half but still it finished 10-5 in favor of Vitality. Vitality made sure to win the pistol rounds in the second half as well. Liquid showed effort to make a comeback but it was too little, too late. Vitality picked up three rounds straight and won the map 16-11. And with that, they are now the undisputable champions of ESL Pro League Season 16.

 

There’s very few that can say that Team Vitality doesn’t deserving becoming the champions of ESL Pro League Season 16. But the show’s not over yet for the Road To Rio starts soon!

/by
,

ESL Pro League Season 16 Quarterfinals Day 1

We are over and done with the Round of 12 of ESL Pro League Season 16. From 29th September, the quarterfinals are to commence. Let’s find out who made it to the ESL quarterfinals and also get some predictions rolling!

Quarterfinals Teams

  • Cloud9
  • FaZe Clan
  • MOUZ
  • Team Liquid
  • G2 Esports
  • Natus Vincere
  • Team Vitality
  • Outsiders

ESL Quarterfinals Day 1 Predictions

Cloud9 vs FaZe Clan

The OG Counter-Strike fans will never forget the ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 final between C9 and FaZe. It might not be as grand this time around but is a game to watch out for nonetheless. Cloud9 is in a pretty hot form if we take out the last series against Team Liquid on the last day of Group D. They have won the rest of their four group matches. FaZe Clan didn’t start as impressively, however. They lost only to G2 in the group stage but picked up a scrappy win over Complexity in the Round of 12.

The two teams have met each other four times this season. Cloud9 picked up the last win and the first three were won by FaZe. The last meeting was in July and to be fair, FaZe’s form dipped quite a bit after that. On the other hand, Cloud9 seemed to get better as they kept playing during the group stage. With that being said, it’s really tough to pick a winner here but we’re going for a 2-1 win for Cloud9.

Interested in betting on Counter-Strike matches? Check out some of the best CSGO betting sites!

MOUZ vs Team Liquid

Team Liquid have barely made it to the playoffs at ESL Pro League Season 16. However, an impressive victory over Fnatic in the Round of 12 has given the team some much needed momentum. Topping Group C, MOUZ have definitely impressed the crowd as they look to make it through the quarterfinals of ESL.

This series could really go either way. Team Liquid looks to have recovered from their form during the group stage. Despite MOUZ having a better form in the tournament, Liquid’s experience might prove to be the victor. Our guts say that it will turn out to be a 2-1 win in favor of Team Liquid.

/by