The review of StarSeries i-League CS:GO Season 8
Ihor MatusThe teams, which have disappointed
Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere have lost one more time and disappointed their fans. The team finished the participation in the tournament one of the first and placed 13th-16th in the competition, having earned a consolation prize in the sum of $5,000. Considering that some star players who are considered to be one of the best, play in the team, the last place at StarSeries is not the result, which NAVI fans expected to see. The recently-joined GuardiaN didn’t improve the state of the team. What is more, he worsened Natus Vincere’s results and one of the maps played at StarSeries became the worst one in his last 4 years of playing.
One big scandal was also related to NAVI. The referee of StarLadder who was staying behind the players of Natus Vincere told on his Telegram channel what was going on during the match, in which NAVI lost. He said that Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev who is responsible for morale in the team suppressed it by himself. According to the referee, s1mple was acting very toxically and abused the Slovakian sniper who probably was playing way worse due to this. Besides this, no one wanted to listen to the captain and B1ad3 asked to take a tactical pause and was persuading the players to listen to their in-game coordinator during it. Looking at the team’s results, we can’t doubt the reliability of the information. The team will have to change something radically to change NAVI’s results in a better way or they risk to play at tournaments with such a success. By the way, the referee was fired for leaking the confidential information and Natus Vincere say that they are not related to this and the decision was made by the director of StarLadder without their influence on this question. In any case, problems between the players, between s1mple and GuardiaN, namely, can be noticed without someone’s help and the community was doing that.
AVANGAR
AVANGAR is another CIS team, which has disappointed. The Kazakhs have recently shown that they can fight on the world level and they were expected to place at least 7th-8th at this championship. We, just like AVANGAR fans, were expecting the team to advance to the playoffs but as a result, the Kazakhs managed to beat only Heroic. They lost matches to G2 and FURIA and were eliminated from the tournament, having placed 9th-12th. They earned a money prize in the sum of $7,500 for their efforts.
mousesports
It was difficult to expect bad results from mousesports but we were sure that the Europeans would make it to the playoffs. As a result, the team stepped down to the lower bracket where lost a struggle to Fnatic in the second round. Considering that the Swedes became the grand-finalists, the loss in the battle with Fnatic is not something extraordinary. It is possible that mousesports will be lucky the next time but they have placed 9th-12th and earned $7,500 at this tournament.
Team Vitality
The French had entered the top five CS:GO rosters in the world by HLTV before the start of StarSeries. Due to this, they were expected a lot. The team played in the group stage well: Vitality defeated iG and North but lost matches to RNG and Fnatic. The French were defeated in the first match with FURIA Esports in the lower bracket of the playoffs and placed 7th-8th. The team earned a money reward in the sum of $12,500 for its efforts. Vitality will have to change its approach to the game radically to improve results because the team’s performance is becoming worse.
Generally, we evaluate Vitality’s success at the tournament as disappointing because shox who has recently joined the team made a positive influence on the French’s results. The team almost prevailed at DreamHack Masters Malmo 2019, having lost to Fnatic with a score 1-2 in the final. Now, they were not able to beat FURIA and placed 7th-8th at StarSeries. We expect to see them at the next LAN tournaments to find out how the team has decided to deal with its decline.
The teams, which have exceeded the expectations
G2 Esports
Two ex-players of CR4ZY, nexa and huNter, joined G2 at the end of September. Their debut was not successful at the first LAN championship, DreamHack Masters Malmo 2019, on the outcome of which the team held the 9th-12th place. That’s why it was difficult to understand how G2 Esports will play at StarSeries. The Europeans exceeded not the highest expectations, which were related to G2. They became the destroyers of the CIS teams in the group stage, having sent Natus Vincere to the lower bracket and beaten AVANGAR with a score 2-0. It was easy for G2 to beat NiP in the final of the upper bracket of the group stage and they advanced to the upper playoff bracket due to this.
G2 was way less lucky in the final stage. There, they initially lost a match to Fnatic and after that, they were not able to win a map in the battle with FURIA Esports. However, G2 placed 5th-6th and earned $15,000, having overcome many famous teams in the standings.
Renegades
Renegades is one of the sensational teams at the championship. According to our predictions, the Australians had to hold the 7th-8th place in the best case but they exceeded our expectations (and not only our). They made a mess in Group A. Initially, they beat MIBR, then dealt with Fnatic, after which destroyed Team Vitality. It’s worth to notice that they lost only one map in the group stage, in the match with MIBR, namely. They defeated their opponents in battles with Fnatic and Vitality, having lost no map. Considering Vitality’s level and Fnatic’s performance at the tournament, RNG has deserved respect in the group stage.
Renegades were not able to show something against the players from Evil Geniuses in the playoffs and stepped down to the lower bracket. There, they achieved victory over MIBR but were not able to beat another Brazilian team, FURIA Esports. RNG placed 4th in the standings of StarSeries i-League Season 8 and earned a money reward in the sum of $25,000. If the Australians continue playing in such a way, they might secure a spot in the top 5 CS:GO teams by HLTV.
FURIA Esports
Just like Renegades, FURIA has suddenly managed to surprise the public and become the sensation of the tournament. The Brazilians have had good results not since the very beginning of the tournament. They were defeated in the match with NiP in the group stage and beat 5Power Gaming and AVANGAR in the lower bracket. It was enough for arT and his teammates to make it to the playoffs.
When FURIA advanced to the lower bracket and found out the name of their next opponent, everyone thought that the Brazilians would place 7th-8th. Despite this, FURIA started its match with Vitality very successfully and finished the first half of Mirage with a score of 14-1 in its favor. The team defeated the French with a score of 2-0 and advanced further. Another team from France, G2 Esports, fought them for a spot in the top 4. Defeating huNter and his opponents has become a pretty difficult objective for the Brazilian team but despite this, HEN1 with his allies achieved the objective and moved further through the lower bracket. The team Renegades was the last opponent, which the Brazilians managed to defeat. FURIA achieved victory over RNG without great efforts and made it to the final of the lower bracket where they were waited by Fnatic. The battle with Fnatic was one of the hottest ones at the past championship. FURIA had a sad loss. They were playing equally on the last map, Mirage, finished the first half with a score of 8-7 and the second one with a result 7-8. In overtime, they were not able to show something against the Swedes who have a rich experience of playing extra rounds. Fnatic won Mirage with a score of 19-15 and advanced to the grand final. FURIA Esports placed 3rd at StarSeries i-League Season 8 and earned a solid money prize in the sum of $40,000. Such a result was pretty unexpected for them.
The participants, which have performed, according to the expectations
Fnatic
The team came to the tournament as one of the favorites of the competition. This was because the Swedes prevailed at the previous LAN tournament, DreamHack Masters Malmo 2019 and earned $100,000. Flusha and Golden returned to the team on September 16. The last one, by the way, is in the team as a leased player from Cloud9. Their impact on the team’s results is very significant and as a result, Fnatic have already achieved victory at DreamHack Masters Malmo 2019 and placed second at StarSeries i-League Season 8.
The Swedes predictably beat Imperial e-Sports but lost a match to RNG in their group. They passed through mousesports, MIBR, and Vitality in the lower bracket, due to which made it to the upper playoff bracket. In the final stage, Fnatic managed to beat G2 Esports but were not able to overcome Evil Geniuses. Having stepped down to the lower bracket, they prevailed over FURIA Esports, making great efforts, and received a chance to win a rematch against EG. The try to realize their victory at StarSeries i-League Season 8 started with 9 won rounds on Dust 2 in a row, which, by the way, was picked by EG. After that, Evil Geniuses managed to win 5 rounds against the Swedes and finished the first half with a score of 10-5. Having won a series of five rounds, EG achieved victory on the first map with a score of 16-12. Fnatic’s things were way worse on Mirage. It was probably because the esportsmen could be tired after the long and exhausting semi-final with FURIA Esports, which consisted of three maps and one overtime. 9 won rounds were the maximum, which the Swedes realized on Mirage. It’s worth to notice that EG had an advantage in the form of the changed map veto in the grand final due to the right of the team, which made it to the final stage from the upper bracket.
Fnatic placed second at the tournament and earned a money prize in the sum of $80,000. It is also a very good result after the victory at DreamHack Masters Malmo 2019. Now, the Swedes hold the 4th place on the list of the best CS:GO rosters by HLTV and will be able to enter the top three after an update. It seems that Fnatic will sign Golden on a permanent basis if the results continue gladding fans of the tag.
5Power Gaming
Almost no one expected good results from the Chinese team. 5power didn’t disappoint us and played two fast matches with Evil Geniuses and FURIA and placed 13th-16th. They earned $5,000 and the first map Inferno, which was played against FURIA, has become the fastest match at the tournament, which lasted only 17 rounds and was over with a score of 16-1 in the favor of FURIA.
Invictus Gaming
Another representative of the Asian CS:GO scene played just as expected. Invictus lost matches with Team Vitality and mousesports. In the case with Vitality, they played the fastest match at the tournament (16-3 and 16-3) but they brought one of the longest matches in the battle with mousesports in the group stage and at the championship, in general (16-14 and 16-14). Despite a nice try to pass through mousesports, the Chinese lost and were very first to be eliminated from the competition, having placed 13th-16th and earned a money prize in the sum of $5,000.
Imperial e-Sports
Imperial is the team from Brazil, which has performed the least successful. MIBR and FURIA advanced to the playoffs but the roster was not able even to get to the 9th-12th place in the standings. They lost a match to Fnatic but showed good opposition there and were defeated in the Brazilian derby, despite a desperate try, with a score of 0-2. Just like NAVI, Invictus Gaming, and 5Power, Imperial held the 13th-16th in the standings and earned $5,000.
Heroic
Heroic’s path was not as long as we had expected but their result can’t be called very disappointing. The team lost a match to AVANGAR and prevailed over Natus Vincere in the lower bracket, having continued its participation in StarSeries on one match. They had a chance to beat the Americans in a clash with EG, which is reflected by the won overtime on the first map and a good struggle on the other two. However, EG has become the team, which stopped the Danes’ performance at the competition. Heroic placed 9th-12th and earned a money prize in the sum of $7,500. If they had faced another opponent but not the champion of the tournament, we would have probably seen the team in the playoffs.
North
After valde moved to inactive and his place was taken by cajunb and the team placed 3rd-4th at ECS Season 8 Europe Week 4, it became clear that it was not worth to expect good results at StarSeries i-League Season 8 from North. As a result, the Danes played in accordance with our expectations and even worse. We thought that North might make it to the playoffs but the team decided to stop on the 9th-12th place in the standings. The team defeated mousesports in the upper bracket and lost to Vitality and stepped down to the lower bracket. There, the roster was not able to beat MIBR and North and finished their participation in the championship. The Danes earned a money prize in the sum of $7,500 for the 9th-12th place.
Ninjas in Pyjamas
NiP beat FURIA Esports and Evil Geniuses but lost to G2 Esports in the group stage. NiP faced EG again in the final of the lower bracket but lost this time.
In the playoffs, Ninjas in Pyjamas started from the lower bracket and finished their way at the tournament in the first match against MIBR.
NiP have become one of the few teams, which have fully met our expectations. We said in our preview that the Swedes were unlikely to advance to the playoffs but they would finish their performance, having placed 5th-8th. And it happened so - Ninjas in Pyjamas placed 7th-8th in the standings and earned $12,500.
MIBR
MIBR played pretty well and there is no disappointment or surprise from their performance. The Brazilians have been playing not on the top level for a pretty long time, so no one expected them to advance to the grand final. FalleN and his teammates lost a match to Renegades in the group stage and moved to the lower bracket. There, the Brazilian team defeated Imperial and North but was not able to beat Fnatic.
MIBR beat Ninjas in Pyjamas in the playoff stage, after which faced Renegades again and lost. The Australians have become the main sticking point for MIBR and Fallen with his teammates placed 5th-6th in the standings and earned a money reward in the sum of $15,000.
Evil Geniuses
The Americans came to the championship as the main favorite and when Ethan with his teammates lost a match to Ninjas in Pyjamas, it was very surprising. Except for this incident, EG didn’t lose a match. Initially, they beat 5Power and after the loss in the battle with NiP, achieved victory over Heroic, FURIA, and NiP in the lower bracket of the group stage. They stopped on three matches with Renegades and two with Fnatic in the playoffs. In the final stage, the Americans lost only one map in the final of the upper bracket. They won dry in all other matches.
Evil Geniuses earned the trophy cup and the main money prize in the sum of $250,000 for placing first. It’s worth to notice that the Americans have a series of three victories. Previously, they won ECS Season 8 NA Week 3 and ESL Pro League Season 10 Americas.