Author: Nik Ranger

You can now play perfect replicas of CSGO maps in Minecraft CodreCounter-Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft fans have combined their favorite games, bringing incredibly accurate remakes of CSGO maps to the creative sandbox game. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular FPS games in the world and features incredibly unique and iconic maps that are well known to those who may not have even played the game. Some fans decided that it wasn’t enough for those maps to just be playable in CSGO, and have made some amazingly accurate remakes in Minecraft, including fan favorites like Dust2 and Nuke. Perhaps the most iconic Counter-Strike map, Dust2, was remade by CrafterKolyan. It looks very simple but is also incredibly accurate, with every detail being absolutely correct and even includes working weapons, grenades, and a bomb. Reddit user bebetheupdateman is the mastermind behind another incredible creation, an incredible replica of the recently reworked Vertigo. He shared his creation on October 15 and instantly impressed the community by highlighting some key features of the map. Not only are both bombsites nearly identical, the entire map is set out exactly the same and also includes all of the surrounding skyscrapers as well as the iconic yellow crane. Another creator remade Nuke, a map which has been in the game’s competitive map pool for years. Codre put in an incredible amount of work on the map, ensuring that nothing was missed and even the tiniest details were present and in high quality. It’s very easy to see how much effort was put in and it even features some amazing lighting to give it a real Counter-Strike feel. You can check out all of these maps on PlanetMinecraft, where content creators share their maps and allow fans to download them or provide further information on how they can be played.

Fans create AI that will help improve your CSGO play ValveA team of CSGO enthusiasts have created a new AI program that can track players in-game performance, then make suggestions about what areas of their play they need to improve. Counter Strike is one of those games that’s easy to learn, but incredibly hard to master for everyone from casual players all the way up to the professional level. But if you seem to be having trouble holding on to your rank, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why, which is why a group of CSGO fans made a program to do exactly that. A program to improve your CSGO play Reddit user SunTzuYAO posted the work that they and fellow CSGO enthusiast thecatontheflat have done on the AI program and explained how it can help players improve. “A service that uses AI to analyze your replays, identify your weaknesses and let you know what to work on,” SunTzu said. “It also gives you an idea on how you’re progressing in different areas of the game, so you can know if your practice is giving results.” SunTzuYAO’s program works by analyzing replays of players games, then comparing that to other players in the same rank, pros and so on. “The service will automatically fetch your Faceit games (Steam/MM + ESEA to come), parse the replays and then present you with a few different skills and how well you’re doing in them compared to the benchmark (players of your rank, pros, etc.),” they explained. It also tells players how they are progressing (or not progressing) in each skill as well, so players know what areas to better focus on. The system has currently launched in closed beta, but the creators say they hope to continue building and expanding the program going forward. Anyone interested can sign up for the closed beta of the system (currently called Leetify) right here. We’re not saying SunTzuYAO’s and catontheflat’s program is going to make you the next CS:GO superstar, but it might help you get better at not flash banging your own opponents.

Fan who unboxed CSGO knife at BLAST Paris Major 2023 admits it was faked BLASTA man who unboxed a CSGO knife live at the Blast Paris Major 2023 admits the opening was faked, trolling more than a million viewers and a sold out stadium. CSGO and skin cases are synonymous with each other. The pioneer of cases, CSGO’s esports scene and skin community is truly baked into one another. And no moment captures this perfectly than a case unboxing during a major. We aren’t sure who was the first to do it, but there has been clips of fans going it since 2019. It’s always a hyped moment, however it rarely results in a good skin, unless the fan has amazing luck. However, during the grand finals of CSGO’s last Major, a player decided to unbox a Chroma 3 case and somehow hit the jackpot with a knife. However, it seems it was too good to be true. In a downtime moment during the grand finals, the camera cut to a fan’s laptop with a case ready to be opened, a familiar sight in the Major so far. Only this time, he unboxed a knife, which sent the entire stadium wild. The clip went viral, with Blast’s twitter spreading the moment. However, immediately after the clip made its way around the internet, Ale, a CSGO dataminer pointed out that the unboxing is most likely faked. Pointing out that the fan’s unboxing was missing an added function. “[Valve] added the inspect items button in August 2022 which is missing here which proves the clip is a fake old recording” he said. Eventually after the Major, streamer OhnePixel would go on to talk to the fan to ask if the clip was fake or not, which was where it was revealed. Unfortunately, the fan confirmed it was all fake. “So, boys. It was all staged, it was all faked!” he said. “It was the greatest lie from the beginning, I’m not here to lie anymore, it was faked.” Naturally, Ohne and much of the community found the hilarity of it, which just added to CSGO’s very last Major.

FalleN reveals full Last Dance 2022 CSGO lineup Brazilian CSGO legend Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has officially announced the full roster for the Brazilian Counter-Strike project known as The Last Dance. After months of speculation FalleN, who had plans to form a squad following his time with Liquid, officially announced the team via Twitter on January 15. Fans of Brazilian Counter-Strike should recognize each name on the lineup, which brings together a crew of grizzled veterans to hopefully put on a show in 2022. “A project to make history” CONVOCAÇÃO LAST DANCE! Um projeto para marcar historia. Competir pesado e fazer muito mais do que só jogar. Apaixonar o país. Juntar lendas, novo treinador e sangue novo de outra escola do CS.Eu, @Boltz e @FURIA_VINI estamos sob contratos. Obrigado as orgs pela colaboração. pic.twitter.com/zFkc9RaDd9 — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) January 15, 2022 In addition to FalleN, the Last Dance lineup will include Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga, Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau, Vinicius ‘VINI’ Figueiredo, and Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass, the latter of whom was previously reported to be joining the team by Dexerto. “It will be an honor to be able to play with FalleN again,” fer said in the video on Twitter. “I started my career with him, to possibly finish my career with him will be so cool.” In addition to the star-studded lineup of players, FalleN has also recruited Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu to serve as coach, and Jorge ‘FERRER’ Granados as the team’s manager. FalleN added that the newly-minted team will be looking to compete in the NA scene, though he didn’t mention if they would be representing any existing major org, or starting off completely fresh. It remains to be seen when this squad will start playing matches as the 2022 professional CSGO circuit is set to kick off soon.

FalleN responds as MiBR come under fire for stacking FPL CS:GO match MiBRMiBR’s captain Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has issued an apology on Twitter, after annihilating another team in a one-sided FPL game with full lineup. The Brazilian squad queued up in a full five-man stack for a Faceit Pro League match on July 10 and were matched against five solo FPL players. Clearly, this was an unfair matchup, bringing together one of the best teams in the world and players who are not even professionals, but that didn’t stop them from ruthlessly dispatching of the the team. This might have been the scariest FPL lineup imaginable. It is easy to see why some controversy formed around this. The FPL players wanted to play a game against other FPL players, not a fully premade team, and definitely not against the likes of MiBR. For some of these players, it could be argued that there’s even money and a potential future in Counter-Strike on the line, as FPL offers both a cash prize and exposure to top placing players. One of the competitors, ‘tyfoon’, quickly tweeted at the team, calling out the Brazilians for playing as a five stack against five lower tiered players, rather than scrimming against other pros. To him, a loss means the end of his winning streak and a loss of points, which could result in him losing money due to a lower placement in the league. “Sorry mate, I understand you play it for different reasons, we only play it occasionally for fun,” replied FalleN. He attempted to defuse the situation and even offered to contact the Faceit admins to have the match canceled. Sorry mate, I understand you play it for different reasons, we only play it ocasionally for fun. It’s okay if you want to ask the admin to cancel the match. We were out of practices and just wanted to play a cool level game against good opponents. — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) July 10, 2019 In a follow-up response, he also stated that: “You can see this as an opportunity to test your game against a more organized opponent.” This seemed to resonate well with tyfoon, who was happy to be able to test his skills against one of the best in the world, but still thinks that a match between a pro team and a mix of amateur players should not happen again. It is unknown if tyfoon and the rest of the group will get their points back from this very one-sided match, but it seems both parties have worked out their issues.

FalleN leaves MIBR over “dissatisfaction” with TACO, fer, dead departures Stephanie Lindgren for DreamHack“We enter as a team, and as a team we will leave.” Those are the words of Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, who has announced his departure from MIBR’s CS:GO roster after the team kicked three of his teammates earlier on September 13. MIBR’s CS:GO roster is officially in shambles. The veteran Brazilian core could be no more. MIBR, their home of two years, finally pulled the trigger on kicking Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga, and coach Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia on September 13. “We are living in a moment where it is important for MIBR and MIBR fans to make changes, and we will be making some adjustments to the roster over the next several weeks,” the organization stated. Obrigado @fer, @TACOCS & @ricsini. pic.twitter.com/rl6YpXqNam — MADE IN BRAZIL. (@MIBR) September 13, 2020 However, they’re losing more than just those three. FalleN, the stalwart veteran of the Brazilian CS:GO scene, is also calling time at MIBR. The star AWPer has expressed his dissatisfaction with the team’s roster move, claiming that “we enter as a team, and as a team we will leave.” “At this moment, more than ever, I need to be faithful to my values and heart to close this chapter of this beautiful story and, with regard to the fans who never left us, I communicate my [dissatisfaction] with MIBR in front of the decision to completely overhaul the line-up I chose to play for,” he said in a Twitlonger. O jogo não acabou! // It is not gameover! (PT/EN) Read: https://t.co/BCie3Tufpi — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) September 14, 2020 The team has been under fire for their lackluster results, especially in 2020. MIBR had a sea change, moving to Europe to try and get more experience over there after the player break. However, the project backfired. They’ve finished dead-last in multiple Tier 2 events, losing to fringe squads like Copenhagen Flames and Gambit Youngsters. They also bombed out of ESL One Cologne in last place, with straight-sets losses to Heroic and FaZe Clan. The team was working through their problems to try and relive their major winning days, but it wasn’t enough. “Between ups and downs, mistakes and hits, the results achieved were not as desired by me, the current group or other players who have integrated our team during this period. “As a team we fight, we persist, we dedicate ourselves. At times there was little missing, and at other times there was much missing. Together we tried to win glories.” It’s not the end of the line for FalleN in CS:GO, however. He will be taking his learning from MIBR and applying them in his next team. Whether that’s with the same core or not remains to be seen. “I am convinced that everything I have learned during this time, everything I believe, has made me strong enough to accept the new challenges imposed by this moment, however difficult it may seem. In esports, as in life, there are no guarantees, only challenges, and only by giving ourselves to them we will find out how far we can get.” Não concordo com as mudanças do time,infelizmente desde que eu entrei aqui é troca de line o tempo inteiro. O que na minha visão não ajuda o desenvolvimento do time. Enfim, ainda não sei o que vai ser. Obrigado @ricsini @fer e @TACOCS o futuro a Deus pertence. — Vito Giuseppe (@kngvito) September 13, 2020 FalleN is not the only MIBR player to express his dissatisfaction with the roster shuffle. Vito ‘kNgV-’ Giuseppe also lashed out at his current organization after the announcement. “I do not agree with the changes in the team. Unfortunately since I joined, we have been changing line-ups all the time, which in my view does not help the development of the team,” he said on Twitter, according to a translation.

FalleN leaks two possible new CSGO rosters with Fer FACEITCounter-Strike: Global Offensive star Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo confirmed two lineups he’s theory-crafting along with fellow Brazillian native Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga after both parted ways with MiBR in September. FalleN had previously leaked an image that listed two complete 5-man groups; an all-Brazillian team with former MiBR / LG squadmate Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass and another collective featuring a majority of Godsent’s remaining roster. He said there are many possibilities he’s been considering for the next phase of his career and these two lineups are just some of the rosters that he was theory crafting with as he explores new teams. FalleN stepped down from MiBR back in September after a roster shuffle saw fer, Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo, and coach Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia dropped from the team. The team had struggled to put good results together in the past months, leading to a change. At the time, FalleN expressed his dissatisfaction with the move, but would also be using the time to figure out the next part of his career. “I’m not satisfied with the recent decision,” FalleN said. “Last weeks have been tough and challenging and that is why I’m asking to leave the active roster while I think on my next steps. “This time will be necessary to find my essence and return the peace I need to decide my path, while I accomplish my contractual obligations. The only thing I’m sure is this isn’t where the game ends for me.” Now it looks like FalleN is ramping up his return to competitive CS:GO with two lineups; one that would tout an all-Brazilian lineup that would coincide with his M.O. and another one that could see him injected into the European scene. He indicated that everything is still in the air, but the all Brazlilian team included himself, fer, boltz, Marcelo ‘chelo’ Cespedes, and Bruno ‘shz’ Martinelli with Alessandro ‘Apoka’ Marcucci as a coach. The other possibility on paper, so to say, has FalleN and fer along with Godsent’s Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk, Jesse ‘zehN’ Linjala, as well as Pavle ‘maden’ Bošković. Mad Lions coach Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu was linked to both possible teams. FalleN indicated that he’s very much in the planning phase for his next team, but he’s not short of ideas for a possible 5-man team to run.

FalleN joins Team Liquid CSGO squad to replace Twistzz ESL / Helena KristianssonTeam Liquid have finally announced Brazilian legend Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo is joining their CS:GO roster as the squad looks to rebuild after Russell ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken announced he was taking a step back. Weeks of speculation can now be put to bed. Former MIBR star and two-time Major winner FalleN is locked in to join Team Liquid as the North American organization looks to rebuild for 2021. After taking a step back from his duties at MIBR over a dispute following the removal of Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo and Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga in September 2020, FalleN is set to take to the server for the first time in almost six months under the Liquid banner. A man who needs no intro. Welcome to Liquid, @FalleNCS! pic.twitter.com/BBwhpcIwzC — Team Liquid CS (@TeamLiquidCS) January 9, 2021 FalleN’s move to Liquid has been teased since December 2020. Twistzz shocked fans after stepping down from the roster after the IEM Global Challenge, where he said he was looking to move to Europe. “I hope that I’m back next year in a new home. […] It was a mutual decision after looking over a couple of things, and I think it’s for the best for both sides,” he said, live on stream in the post-game interview after Liquid’s 0-3 loss to Astralis in the Grand Final. FalleN brings a different set of skills to Liquid. Known for his AWPing and in-game leading, it’s drastically different from Twistzz’ meticulous rifling. With Jacky ‘Stewie2k’ Yip currently handling the IGLing, FalleN might be able to take the load off his former MIBR teammate’s shoulders. He will also be able to pick up the AWP in Nick ‘nitr0’ Canella’s absence, helping free up the squad. Team Liquid’s first outing with fallen will be at the BLAST Premier Global Final on January 19 — the start of a busy three-month schedule.

FalleN explains regrets over cutting Stewie2K & tarik from MIBR CSGO roster João Ferreira/DexertoBrazilian CS:GO veteran Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has revealed that he was against removing Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip and Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik from MIBR in late 2018. FalleN was part of SK’s core that opted in early 2018 to go international after a disappointing start to the year that had seen them eliminated from the WESG Finals in the group stage. After missing out on players like Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev and Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, the team first landed on Stewie2K before bringing in his former Cloud9 teammate of tarik later in 2018 — by which point they had already signed for MIBR. With the two North Americans in tow, MIBR won a title at the ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 Grand Finals and made a handful of deep runs, even giving the all-powerful Astralis a run for their money. But as the year came to an end, the Brazilian core, filled with nostalgia, opted to reunite with Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo and João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos, leaving Stewie2K and tarik out in the cold. “I wish we did a little bit better together,” FalleN told Dexerto. “Personally, I wish we gave [the roster] a little bit more time. I actually wanted to give it a bit more time, but sometimes it’s not my wishes that happen. “But I respect them a lot for doing that move.” Stewie2K went on to play for Team Liquid, with whom he enjoyed the most successful period of his career. The North American outfit won a series of international tournaments in 2019 and the Intel Grand Slam Season 2 title before hitting a slump in 2020 and 2021 – in the latter year, he competed alongside FalleN again. Tarik signed for NRG, who sold their CS:GO squad to Evil Geniuses in September 2019. He spent almost 18 months with that team and helped it reach the top of HLTV’s world ranking before being benched in April 2021 and then released at the start of 2022. Despite being the initiators of the changes, MIBR ended up worse for wear. They have been unable to reach the same heights that their international team did, and have gone through multiple roster iterations. In 2021, their team, no longer featuring any of the celebrated Major-winning players, couldn’t qualify for PGL Major Stockholm.

SK Gaming’s FalleN Discusses Recent Struggles in Thoughtful Post – “I never lose” EPICENTERBrazilian CS:GO legend Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has commented on his, and his team’s, recent struggles as they look to put a poor start to 2017 behind them. As one of the most successful in-game leaders of all time, FalleN has captained his teams to two CS:GO Major titles and multiple other international tournament victories. SK Gaming closed out 2017 in dominant form, winning three of the last four tournaments that they attended after adding Ricardo ‘boltz’ Prass to the roster. However, 2018 has not gone to plan. Boltz had to sit out the ELEAGUE Boston Major in January but the Brazilians still managed to secure a top four finish with their former player, João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos. Things quickly deteriorated with a 5th – 8th at the StarSeries Season 4 followed by a 7th – 8th at IEM Katowice but they reached crisis point with a last place finish at the $1.5 million WESG finals, ane vent that they had specifically been concentrating on. Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo was then replaced by Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip but initial results have been no better. Now FalleN has decided to take a break from in-game leading and Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David has taken over that role for the time being. Taking to Twitter on May 11th, FalleN made it clear that he is treating this as a learning experience in a reflective post where he said that he believes he can “conquer the world” again. I never lose. Losing and winning doesn’t matter. What matter is the effort and the daily challenge of doing something you can’t. We conquered the world once and I believe we can do it again. Can I be wrong? Indeed. But I either win trophies or I learn. And we learn fast. Wait4us. — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) May 11, 2018 Doubting the 26 year old would be a brave thing to do – he almost single-handedly rebuilt the Brazilian Counter-Strike scene and then brought a team of players to North America with no money to chase a dream that eventually saw them become one of the most dominant rosters in history. Presumably he will be using his time away from in-game leading as an opportunity to concentrate more on the individual aspects of his game like his AWPing. SK Gaming’s next LAN event will be the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals in Dallas. Their first match will be against an NiP team that has looked resurgent since adding Dennis ‘dennis’ Edman.

FalleN ready to cement legacy at home Rio Major with new look Imperial Joao Ferreira for ESLIt’s hard to think about CS:GO without Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo at the top, but that’s the future fans are having to think about. The 31-year-old is winding down with Imperial over the next 18 months, but thoughts of a home Major in Rio has added a pep in his step as he finalizes his legacy. DreamHack Melbourne ended in an all-Brazilian final featuring Imperial and paiN Gaming. The two squads decimated the rest of the event and were the headline acts — especially after OG bombed out early to Chinese underdogs Wings Up Gaming. While they fell short of actually lifting the title in Rod Laver Arena, it was a great experience for Imperial, especially debutant Marcelo ‘chelo’ Cespedes. The 24-year-old, formerly of MIBR, posted the second-best rating for the tournament at 1.22, just behind his 31-year-old captain in FalleN who was making magic with the AWP down under with a 1.25 rating. This move did come at somewhat of a personal cost to FalleN, with long-time friend Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau moving into a more supportive role behind the scenes. But it’s one that’ll prime Imperial better for the Rio Major — arguably the most important event in the Brazilian’s career. From the early days at DreamHack Melbourne, it looks to have been a solid upgrade. “I think he’s slotted in pretty well,” FalleN told Dexerto. “I think he’s one of the best Brazilian players recently. He was doing well on MIBR and we needed a change for the second half of the season. “We moved fnx to a more supportive role — he’s going to be helping us as a coach in some tournaments, he’s also doing some other stuff for the org. We really appreciate what he has done for the team before. It was amazing to play with him again, it’s probably my fifth or sixth time playing with him because we have been through so many cycles. He’s a big friend of mine.” There’s some things chelo adds to Imperial, lifting the whole team. Watching him from the crowd in Melbourne, he was energetic and kept the hype high. He was riling up the Brazilian fans sitting in the front row, and he was out of his chair every time one of his teammates was on fire. That exuberance is a big positive. “I think he adds an extra spicy atmosphere because he’s always very loud, lifting the mood, always wanting to win and demonstrating that to the team all the time. That helps in a lot of moments. He’s also a great player. He knows what he’s doing, great aim, and he’s only going to get better. “Even when he wasn’t playing that great — the Nuke game [against Grayhound] wasn’t one of his best games — but he still was there mentally, energy-wise, and that’s important because if you want to be the best player you have to be there at all times even when things are tough.” In the server, he’s also got the experience of a new style of Counter-Strike fnx couldn’t quite replicate coming out of retirement. “fnx knows a lot about the game. Very talented. But the game evolved a lot lately and he hadn’t played [seriously] for many many years. You’ve got to be thinking about a lot of things during the round these days, like so many things that you didn’t have to think about in the past. “That change for fnx would take a lot of time if that ever happened because he’s just used to a different style of CS for so many years. He still has so many good qualities — the clutch ability, the communication on point, the teamplay, and the basics. He’s very very good. But those reads and those abilities to understand what’s going on because someone said something — all those small reads, Chelo can do that better because he’s been playing CS more and more recently.” FalleN’s legacy All this discussion about Imperial — and what could be — has to be framed in the legacy of FalleN. Now in his 30s, he’s kept it no secret his playing career is winding down; he puts his time left at around 18 months, to the end of 2023. Any Counter-Strike fan would have at least some memory of him — no matter how young or old. Whether it was peak Luminosity-SK Gaming core, or some of his recent ventures and this last dance. DreamHack Melbourne proved age is still no factor for him, his reflexes with the AWP still on point. What is changing though is priorities outside of Counter-Strike. More than a decade in the industry, pushing aside responsibilities, is catching up to him. Time on the road, especially during the last few years, has been draining. As that time winds down on his career, he wants to start appreciating the smaller things. “There’s two things that’s very important for me as I stop and the first one is being able to stay more at home. Since 2015 when I moved from Brazil to the US to compete, I have been on the road for seven years. We had gaming houses and we were playing more in North America so it felt like a second home. “But since [the global health crisis] there is no home. You are literally from hotel to hotel, bootcamp to bootcamp, and it’s draining. I have a wife, we have a dog, a house that I want to use. I want to be in the place I want to be. It’s important for me to stay with my family a little bit more.” Imperial themselves are making internal changes to try and stay in Brazil for the rest of the year — at least until the Major. This will allow the players proper rest and recovery time with family, but even for FalleN he has to compromise between his family and his wife. He calls it a “complicated triangle” of relationships between the two and Counter-Strike. “Counter-Strike was always the number one priority. If you want to play as a professional and get as far as I did — I’ve been doing that since 2009 — you have to put the game as your first priority. But no one can do it that long. It’s complicated but at some point the waves will turn.” What he does with his time after that is still up in the air, but it’ll still involve esports: “I want to do things for the community like I have done in the past. I have good knowledge of the game and I know how to explain things to get people to play better. “One of my goals is to continue Brazilian people to develop themselves and have more major winners in the future. I want to create something to continue that legacy.” FalleN has achieved almost everything one could ask of in Counter-Strike. That made pinpointing one thing about his legacy an impossible question, but the friendships he made along the way has made everything worth it — even above the results. “I’m just proud of everything I achieved. I had so many people to help me, so many great teammates, so many great supporters. “It’s 18 years playing this game. There’s no Gabriel, no FalleN, without Counter-Strike. This game is everything to me and I love it, possibly one of the things I love most in my life. It’s been a passion since I was 12 and I first played the game in a cyber cafe in Brazil.” Getting a home Major in Rio What FalleN hasn’t had the chance to do is play in front of a proper, big home crowd. That’s changing with November’s Rio Major. While initially penned for 2020, it was canceled due to the global health crisis. For the star Brazilian, that’s a blessing in disguise. “I think if the Major happened the first time there was a chance we wouldn’t be there. The team wasn’t great at that point. We were not playing that well and the challenge is on the same level right now, maybe harder, but we have the pieces to get there. I have to believe in that otherwise we have no chance fighting for it.” He’s lifted Major titles before and been at the top echelon of Counter-Strike. All of that would pale in comparison to hearing tens of thousands of Brazilians chanting his name, at the top of his lungs, as he relives his heyday in front of those passionate fans. FalleN knows what Brazilian crowds are like. He knows the world isn’t prepared and he wants to put on a show — especially if it could be one of his last. “I’ve gone through a lot of things in Counter-Strike. There isn’t anything I haven’t achieved — maybe a Grand Slam, that’s the only thing I haven’t won in CS:GO. I have accomplished so many things in my career and I’m quite happy with that. But the fact a Major is going to happen in my country? I want to be there and not only be there but also play in front of the crowd. “No one has experienced what it’s going to be like in Rio. I’m 100% sure of that. You can see that here [at DreamHack Melbourne] — you have 50 Brazilians in the crowd and you can hear the noise. Imagine a full stadium with 10,000 people. Those guys are insane. They love the show, they love to be there, they like to show they’re there. It’s going to be like nothing anyone has experienced, including myself. “I’ve played in Brazil before — ESL, BLAST — those tournaments are unforgettable. There was even one tournament we did there where the crowd was so close to the PCs, literally 3 foot away. It was like playing football at La Bombonera in Argentina — you can feel that it’s different. You’re listening to the game and the people screaming in front of you, and if they’re not cheering for you it’s going to be even harder. It’s going to be great and I would really like to experience that.” DreamHack Melbourne was a chance to warm up for the final sprint into Rio and get the blood flowing in front of a crowd again. The Brazilians always feed off that energy, and it was a goal for the team at the start of 2022. It’s rejuvenating them at the perfect time. But good vibes won’t be enough to make that playoffs run FalleN is dreaming of. The squad still needs some time to level up with chelo, but their ceiling is higher than most expect. “To reach [Rio], even though we don’t have much time left, we’ve got to be playing much better. It’s going to be hard so we have to use our time well and put in motion the things we know are good in the game. You have to know what you have to do, but you also have to do it, and I think this roster can do those things.”

FalleN and k0nfig call for CS:GO devs to make changes to AUG meta Valve / DreamhackCS:GO pro players Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo and Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke have called for changes in the current AUG meta due to balancing issues. CS:GO has always been known for its simplicity, with very few major weapon balancing changes over the years for competitive players to worry about. The AK-47 and the M4 variants have been the go-to weapons of choice for rifle players, up until recently when players started using the AUG after the gun received an update making it cheaper to purchase. It quickly became a part of the competitive meta, causing quite a big play-style shift during pro matches. But, not everyone has been as happy to adapt to the weapon as others. OpTic Gaming pro k0nfig shared his thoughts on the current state of CS:GO, claiming that it was better before the weapons update: “CS was better without AUG. Just a solid fact.” Before Brazilian star, FalleN, responded by saying that the game was less tactical in the AUG ‘meta’, explaining: “Game is definitely much more aim-based than before. Can’t really say if it’s better or not, just different strengths for sure.” Game is definitely much more aimbased than it was before. Can’t really say if it’s better or not just different strengths for sure — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) June 16, 2019 They went on to break down some of the issues with the weapon’s current state and how to balance the weapon. k0nfig Detailed the crouch and spray mechanics players have been using to get an upper hand in a gunfight, adding, “I just don’t like the crouch and spray from AUG, they should change it to KREIG same fire rate and recoil but keep the AUG damage.” Fallen conceded that he had given up with thinking of new ways they could balance the AUG in the current meta, explaining how much more cautious they need to be when playing against the gun. “Fact is terrorists now have a hard time trying to strafe and find kills when opening areas because one error is fatal.” I ran out of ideas on how to balance it. Fact is terrorists now have a hard time trying to strafe and find kills when opening areas because one error is fatal — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) June 16, 2019 The OpTic Gaming star refused to give up hope however, even calling out the official CS:GO developers Twitter to see some potential changes in future. We need to keep thinking mr Gabriel. We might need to talk and ask mr @csgo_dev to come with ideas too — Kristian Wienecke (@k0nfigCS) June 16, 2019 They don’t seem to be only ones frustrated with the current meta, as when the gun was first being introduced to the meta in January 2019, FaZe Clan‘s star player, NiKo, also shared the same opinion. Although it would be unlikely to happen without testing, there has been no indication that the CS:GO developers have been looking at making changes to the AUG as of yet.

FalleN accuses Immortals COO of “lying” about payments after MIBR-Team Liquid move DreamHackShortly after the confirmation of Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo’s move to Team Liquid, leaving MIBR after two years, a disupte took place publicly between the Brazilian pro and Immortals COO, Tomi ‘lurppis’ Kovanen. [jwplayer f7GYaDHg] The spat came about after Team Liquid apologized to MIBR for failing to notify them of the announcement about FalleN’s move. The team wrote on Twitter, “In the excitement of the day we forgot to give @MIBR warning before announcing Fallen. We strive to be good partners off the server and should have checked ourselves.” Lurppis, a former player, caster, and analyst, now the COO at Immortals, MIBR’s parent company, responded, saying it was “common courtesy” for organizations to agree on a release time for announcements. The conversation took a turn when a fan raised an issue around MIBR’s signing of the old SK Gaming lineup, as luppis replied: “we continue pursuing options against SK because our German lawyers have advised us that SK illegally withheld ~$250k from the players, which we paid each at different times. However, we also paid them ~$100k each in extra salary above contract, but that never comes up” Read More: TACO officially released from MiBR contract – FalleN took issue with this statement, responding “That’s not true as you never paid me and made sure I sign out without receiving it,” FalleN said. “Signing an NDA with you doesn’t mean I will see you lying on social media and be quiet.” That’s not true as you never paid me and made sure I sign out without receiving it. Signing an NDA with you doesn’t mean I will see you lying on social media and be quiet. — Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) January 10, 2021 Kovanen responded to FalleN’s accusation, explaining that it was worked out as “part of the buyout” and reiterating that Immortals “paid you ~$100k extra out of the kindness of our hearts in good faith, outside of what we had contractually agreed to.” https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1348114318638817281 Clarifying his comment, lurppis continued: “Kindness of heart was a figure of speech, but we paid them the full salary even though they weren’t legally entitled to it because we wanted to show good faith and thought it would help long-term.” https://twitter.com/tomi/status/1348126415816822784 FalleN has not publicly responded to the Immortals COO since, so a resolution to this dispute does not appear to be forthcoming. For now, FalleN is joining up with his new North American teammates under the Team Liquid banner. The squad’s first competitive action together will be at the BLAST Premier Global Final on January 19.

FalleN sparks debate after discussion with Brazilian president about lowering taxes ESLBrazilian CS:GO pro player Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo has divided opinions after uploading a video of him talking to the country’s President Jair Bolsonaro to his Twitter account on Monday, July 30. FalleN is one of the most popular Brazillian CS:GO players in the world, and currently competes for MIBR, with whom he will be attending the StarLadder CS:GO Major in August. The 28-year-old has split opinion among his fans however, following his decision to speak with the country’s controversial president about tax issues in the country. In the tweet, FalleN states that he spoke to the president about the country’s current tax regulations, with the AWPer writing that Bolsonaro showed that he is working on fixing the issues that gamers and esports players face in the country, which can see them pay almost 30% tax in some instances. According to translations, the clip shows the pair introduce themselves, discussing the struggles the country faces in persuading people to invest, and the possibility of increasing it through the country’s tax reforms. Acreditem se quiser hoje o @jairbolsonaro me ligou para mostrar que está avançando no que se refere aos impostos na área gamer em geral. Já pensou a gente consegue a ajuda do presidente pra trazer o major pro Brasil? 😀 pic.twitter.com/8u2zstOLrz— Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) July 30, 2019 While FalleN appeared to enjoy his conversation with the president in the short clip that was released, his decision to converse with Bolsonaro has split his fanbase. Some were happy to see the esports pro recognized by the leader of the country, celebrating his discussion with the political leader and congratulating him. One Twitter user described the call as “sensational,” while others described it as a “huge step” for gaming in Brazil. Sensacional! Viva o novo BRASIL! — Tathiana Santos :point_right::point_right::flag-br: (@TathiSantosB17) July 30, 2019 mesmo eu sendo contra a grande partes das ideias e não simpatizando com o presidente , isso é um passo imenso pro cenário no Brasil pqp , você é monstro! — jean mota (@_maaaaath) July 30, 2019 Others expressed their anger with the 28-year-old’s decision to speak to the president, with many stating they were “disappointed” in him, while others claimed the would no longer follow FalleN and MIBR because of this conversation. Pô, cara. Quer dizer que não importa as barbaridades que esse cara diz e faz?! Se ele baixar os impostos dos games tá td certo?? Puxa, pensei que vc era melhor… :pensive::pensive: — Alô, Alice, aqui não é o país das maravilhas! (@Criancaquele) July 30, 2019 é, tava ótimo enquanto vc se mostrava imparcial ou pelo menos não falava de política direito. Mas agora demonstrou em quem vc realmente apoia, até mais campeão, bom não posso seguir quem quer minha morte, flws — Antônio Conselheiro (@Don_diegooo) July 30, 2019 que vergonha! Sinceramente, nao sei o que fazer em relação a vc fallenzao! admiro demais, mas tem horas que da nojo. — Rafael SilvaSalve (@rafael_msoares) July 30, 2019 FalleN himself has declined from commenting on the opinions of those on social media, instead focusing on the tax changes that the president intends to implement.

Fake s1mple & Shroud scam streams take over CSGO on Twitch again Valve/DexertoTroll streams have been taking over the CS:GO category on Twitch yet again, using Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek and Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev’s names to promote scam giveaways. [jwplayer 6XbfP9ah] Typically, the only times you’ll find Counter-Strike: Global Offensive dominating the Twitch viewership charts is when there’s a major tournament on the go, a former pro like Shroud makes a surprise return, or a celebrity like Neymar shows off their skills. However, there are times when the game gets some incredible viewing numbers when trolls decide to take over the section and capitalize on its popularity. These trolls claim to be someone like Shroud, s1mple, or NiKo while running fake giveaways that put the Steam accounts of CS:GO fans in danger of being hacked. These fake streams pop up every few months, and have been called out by pros like s1mple in the past, however, neither the pros or Twitch have been able to completely stamp them out yet. On October 25, with the ESL One New York CIS tournament attracting thousands of viewers, these trolls struck once again by using old VODs from both s1mple and Shroud, once again claiming that fans can win prizes by getting involved. In fact, at one point, the two channels were in the top three watch channels of the day – amassing 22,000 and 17,500 viewers respectively – and sitting just behind the main Russian stream for ESL One New York CIS. https://twitter.com/anomalyxd/status/1320339832338567168 The two channels that cropped up intially, s1mple6282 and ShroudWRBE, have since been deleted, but other channels named s1mple1021 and ShroudRXND have taken their place. At the time of writing, both channels have been running the same fake giveaways and graphics, as well as the same past VODs from both s1mple and Shroud, so it might hard to tell the difference to some viewers, but they’re not the real thing.

FACEIT to produce ‘B Site’ CSGO league with ECS reportedly shutting down FACEIT / ECSAccording to a report from Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis for DBLTAP, the Esports Championship Series for CS:GO will soon cease operations as FACEIT will instead be partnering with the upcoming, yet-to-be-officially-named B Site League. After eight illustrious seasons, the Esports Championship Series is shutting down. This news comes as reports come in revealing the producers of ECS, FACEIT, are partnering with a new, upcoming CSGO league, unofficially titled the “B Site” league. The development was first reported by Jarek ‘Dekay’ Lewis for DBLTAP, who says multiple sources confirmed that FACEIT had signed an agreement with B Site Inc to run production for the upcoming league, which would bring an end to their ECS endeavor. The partnership between the established production company and the new B Site organization mirrors the collaboration between ESL and DreamHack, who announced back in 2019 that they would work together to form the ESL Pro Tour for 2020. DeKay reports that numerous prominent CSGO teams have already committed to the B Site league, including Cloud 9, MIBR, Gen.G, Dignitas, and MAD Lions, and that eventually, the league will consist of twelve teams in total. DBLTAP initially reported that Astralis would be joining this league as well, but the team’s in-game leader Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander tweeted that nothing had yet been decided for the dominant Danish roster. This isnt true at all btw. The Astralis team hasnt decided anything yet about what league they will participate in. Could be ESL, could be B-site. NOTHING is decided for us. https://t.co/AQOW5NYcqn — Łukasz Rossander (@gla1ve_csgo) December 16, 2019 FACEIT ran eight seasons of ECS, with two regular seasons in both Europe and North America, and the best teams from each region meeting in the Finals at the end of the season. Astralis won the last finals, winning Season 8 with a victory over Team Liquid. They won three of the last four – winning four in total. The company also ran production for the FACEIT London major at the end of 2018 – their only major so far. Astralis won that event as well, winning the grand finals over Natus Vincere. The B Site league has the potential to run into scheduling conflicts, as its regular-season matches might overlap with ESL Pro Tour and ESL Pro League events. One of the league’s already committed teams, MIBR, competes in the BLAST Premier series as well. DeKay reported for Dexerto back in September that ESL Pro League had introduced very strict exclusivity rules for its 2020 Pro Tour. So far there has been no announcement or statement from FACEIT, ECS, nor any of their personalities regarding the ceasing of operations.

FACEIT permanently ban up-and-coming Danish CS:GO player for VAC offences FACEIT’s Milos Nedeljkovic, better known as ‘FACEIT Mikey’, has revealed that a young up-and-coming Danish CS:GO player br0 has been banned from the FACEIT Pro League permanently. The news comes just days after the shocking revelations about OpTic India’s Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat who was caught cheating on LAN at the $100,000 eXTREMESLAND 2018 event and proven to have used the same hacks at the ESL India Premiership Fall finals. Little is known about about br0 other than the fact that he is a younger player, but Mikey says that he has been found to own an old VAC banned account that was linked to his previous FACEIT account. “Danish player br0 has been permanently banned from FPL Circuit after we discovered a VAC account that belongs to him and is tied to his previous FACEIT account,” FACEIT’s Partnerships Manager explained. “Don’t touch cheats kids, sooner or later it will come to light.” Danish player br0 has been permanently banned from @FPLCircuit after we discovered a VAC account that belongs to him and is tied to his previous FACEIT account. Don’t touch cheats kids, sooner or later it will come to light. — Milos Nedeljkovic (@Faceit_Mikey) October 25, 2018 In a Reddit thread about the situation, one user claimed that br0 created his current account three years ago and that he would have been just 12 years old at the time. While we cannot currently verify that information, it raises a question of just how young he was when he received a his VAC ban. Read More: ESL India release final statement on OpTic forsaken cheating scandal, confirm ban length and next step for India Premiership – Being permanently banned from the FACEIT Pro League, and being found to own a VAC banned account, is sure to have a seriously negative effect on br0’s career prospects in Counter-Strike. We will keep you updated on this situation as it develops.

FACEIT London quarter-final matches revealed as Major reaches New Champions Stage The New Legends Stage at the FACEIT London Major has concluded and the top eight teams at the $1 million event have been decided. The final day of action in the New Legends Stage featured best-of-three matches between teams with a 2-2 record and saw HellRaisers triumph over Fnatic, FaZe take down G2 and MIBR survive a marathon game against NiP. Shortly after the conclusion of the MIBR vs NiP match, the draw for the quarter-final stage of the tournament was revealed: Matches will resume on September 20, beginning with BIG vs Natus Vincere followed by compLexity Gaming vs MIBR. Those first two matches will decide the shape of the top half of the bracket – the losing team will be eliminated and the winners will advance to the semi-finals. On the other side of the bracket, Team Liquid vs HellRaisers and Astralis vs FaZe Clan will be played on September 21. At first glance, the Astralis vs FaZe game should be the most exciting of match of the quarter-final stage. The semi-final matches are scheduled for September 22, while September 23 is reserved for the Grand Final which will be a best-of-three like all of the other playoff games. The matchups and schedule for the first round of matches in the FACEIT London Major’s New Champions Stage can be found below:

FACEIT London Major New Legends Stage round three matchups revealed as top teams face elimination The New Legends Stage of the FACEIT London CS:GO Major continues on September 14 and two teams will be going home. The second day of matches didn’t produce quite as many upsets as day one, but the action was still intense throughout. The round three matchups were drawn shortly after the action concluded on Thursday and all eyes were immediately drawn to the 0-2 pool where FaZe Clan and Mousesports have been drawn against each other. The loser of the match will be going home! The other two teams in the 0-2 pool are Cloud9, the defending Major champions, and Winstrike. The new Major format means that both of the teams that are eliminated with a 0-3 record will lose their spot in the New Challengers Stage for the next event. On the other side of the equation, compLexity Gaming, BIG, Astralis and Team Liquid have the chance to book themselves a spot in the playoffs with a 3-0 record. BIG will take on compLexity and Astralis will take on Team Liquid in a match that some believe could determine which team will be the tournament favorites moving forward. The eight other teams are in the 1-1 pool and the two most eye catching matches are NiP vs Natus Vincere and G2 vs MIBR. The day three action begins at 10am BST (5am EDT, 2am PDT, 7pm AEST) with Fnatic taking on Vega Squadron in the 1-1 pool. The full schedule can be found below. (red indicates elimination matches)

FACEIT London Major grand finalists decided after intense day of semi-finals Two European teams will face off in the grand final of the FACEIT London Major, as Natus Vincere and Astralis advanced after a day of incredible semi-final matches. The day of semis started with Made in Brazil taking on Na’Vi, with the former finally looking like the team they were predicted to be when the roster formed. Na’Vi remained favorites going into the match however, with their star player Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev having taken the crown of world’s best player from MiBR’s Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David, in many fans’ opinion. Na’Vi started the stronger of the two teams on map one, Overpass, and s1mple was indeed the star of the show. MiBR were not completely out of it though, and did manage to steal a few rounds back, often thanks to smart, and somewhat fortunate, individual plays. As has been the case with Na’Vi for some time now, as long as s1mple’s teammates contribute with the frags, they can beat anyone. Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov stepped up big time on Overpass, only 2 kills short of s1mple’s server-leading 26, as they took Overpass 16-10. Map two, Dust2, was much more one sided as MiBR simply looked out of ideas and Na’Vi didn’t put a foot wrong. Once again s1mple lead the way, as a dominant performance saw the Ukranian’s team take it 16-5, advancing to the grand final at the peak of their form. Astralis were the heavy favorites in their semi-final against Team Liquid, but to write off the North American’s would have been foolish. Even on Astralis’ map pick, Nuke, Liquid put up valiant effort, going toe-to-toe with Astralis on one of their most dominant maps. In the end, Astralis had too much, but the 16-8 scoreline was somewhat flattering for the Danes. After such an exhilarating first map, more of the same was expected on Liquid’s map pick Mirage, but Liquid simply didn’t provide the same performance. Losing the early pistol and throwing away some winnable rounds, it suddenly got out of hand for Liquid, who completely ran out of steam, finding themselves down 12-3 at the half. Things didn’t get much better in the second half either, as Astralis continued to look assured and comfortable, despite throwing away an easy pistol, they bounced back immediately to secure their grand final spot. Astralis will face Na’Vi in an all European showdown on Sunday September 23 at 6pm BST (1pm EST, 10am PT, 7pm CEST). Na’Vi are hoping to win their first ever CS:GO Major, while Astralis will aim to become only the second team to win multiple majors, with Fnatic’s (three major wins) the only other team to do so.

FACEIT London Major $1 million CS:GO tournament – Final Placements ShotByKieran / ESPAT MediaA finely poised battle in the grand final saw Astralis come out on top in the SSE Wembley Arena in London, beating Na’Vi to be crowned the FACEIT Major champions. Astralis and Na’Vi were undeniably deserving finalists, having taken their semi-final matches against Team Liquid and MiBR respectively in pretty comfortable fashion. Regarded as the best team in the world for the better part of a year now, Astralis were the favorites going into the final on September 23, but would have been foolish to underestimate Na’Vi’s firepower – especially star player Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev. s1mple had been on fire all tournament long, and should his teammates provide adequate support in the final, there was no ruling out a Na’Vi upset – but Astralis weren’t going to let it happen. More: Young CS:GO star ZywOo gives hilarious interview as he is too shy to speak at FACEIT London Major – A good start on map one, Nuke, saw Na’Vi edge out a 3-0 lead thanks to a somewhat fortunate pistol round win, but as soon as Astralis could compete with a full buy, they didn’t look back. They went on a destructive run, winning the next nine rounds straight, before closing out the half 11-4 in their favor. Astralis’ dominance on Nuke continued, as Na’Vi could steal only two rounds on the T side, failing 16-6 in map one. And things didn’t get much better for Na’Vi on map two, their pick on Overpass, but they did at least keep it close after the first half, only down three rounds. But Astralis were simply unstoppable – not even s1mple could stop them – as they put on a clinic in the next half, as they have done versus pretty much every team they have faced at the London Major. Not only did electronic and flamie not step up in the fragging department, but s1mple himself had an uncharacteristically quiet game. Astralis shut down any comeback attempts with ease, taking the grand final with a 2-0, finishing Overpass 16-9.

All CS:GO Minors Ahead of FACEIT London Major to Take Place at Historic Rugby Stadium FACEIT has announced that the FACEIT Minors will take place in London’s Twickenham Stadium ahead of the FACEIT London Major in September. As the first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major to be held in the United Kingdom, the FACEIT London Major promises to one of the biggest esports events in 2018. On May 10th FACEIT announced even more exciting news – for the first time in history the entire Minor circuit will take place in the same place as the various regional qualifiers will be held in Twickenham stadium. Home to the England rugby team, Twickenham stadium is one of the most iconic in Europe and will offer 24-hour practice rooms, two separate stages to ensure no time is lost for setup, a gym and executive chef.” The Minors will run from July 7th – 22nd, beginning with the Americas Minor and ending with the Europe Minor. Open qualifiers for the Minors being on May 14th and run all the way through to June 17th with registration available here. Michele Attisani, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of FACEIT, explained that the reason behind holding all of the Minors in the same place is to “bring new life to them”. “By hosting each stage of the tournament at Twickenham Stadium we’re hoping to bring new life to the Minors. The Major should be a celebration of all things CS:GO, we want to bring teams together for the first time and make sure teams of all levels feel welcome and feel the Major experience.” Each Minor will feature a $50,000 prize pool but the real goal is to secure a top two finish and qualify for the $1 million FACEIT Major in the 10,000 seater SSE Arena in London from September 20th. The dates for each Minor can be found below along with the teams invited to the CID Closed Qualifier and the Asia Minor. Americas Minor – July 7-11 – CIS Minor – July 10-13 – Asia Minor – July 16-20 – Europe Minor – July 19-22 – FACEIT Minors Closed Qualifier CIS teams: HellRaisers – AVANGAR – FlipSid3 Tactics – Spirit – Pro100 – EPG – ForZe – Nemiga Gaming – FACEIT Asia Minor Invited teams include: Renegades – TyLoo –

FACEIT bans CSGO player for “abhorrent” Ukraine comments as toxicity complaints rise FACEIT/ValveFACEIT have banned a CS:GO player from their service after a clip of them mocking the growing conflict between Ukraine and Russia was posted online — and made clear they’re aware of criticisms regarding toxicity around the subject. Online multiplayer games have always been a hotbed for toxicity, especially in competitive games where things can get a little heated between both teammates and opponents. While you can report players, no matter what game it is, you sometimes feel like reports are being lost in the void and will be ignored. YouTuber MrTweeday took to Twitter to air his complaints after matchmaking with Russian players through FACEIT on CS:GO, and FACEIT were quick to respond and sort the issue. how many more of these encounters do I have to endure on faceit? get russians out of international queues already. EVERY SINGLE DAY THE SAME. pic.twitter.com/aTvPghlW8y — tweeday (@Mrtweeday) April 13, 2022 The Russian player was saying that “I hope all Ukrainians will die,” to which Tweeday was clearly angered by, and felt it went further than regular gaming trash talk. After the tweet started to pick up some engagement on social media, FACEIT responded to Tweeday to confirm that they had banned the player in question, and that they were aware of the “feedback” that Tweeday and others expressed about this kind of toxicity from players on the platform. “I’ve given the user a lengthy ban for his truly abhorrent comments made in your game,” they said. “These comments have no place on our platform, or anywhere else in the world. I’ve made the dev team aware of your feedback regarding the platform and hope the rest of your day is more enjoyable.” I’ve given the user a lengthy ban for his truly abhorrent comments made in your game. These comments have no place on our platform, or anywhere else in the world. I’ve made the dev team aware of your feedback regarding the platform and hope the rest of your day is more enjoyable. — FACEIT Community Support (@FACEITSupport) April 13, 2022 Given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, in which hundreds have already died and many more have had to evacuate, FACEIT are clearly looking to ensure that their service makes for a more hospitable environment. CS:GO is especially popular in Russia, as well as a number of European countries, and with the current geopolitical situation, tensions are inevitable to cross over. Don’t be surprised to see more bans of a similar nature going forward, especially for disturbing clips such as these.

FACEIT Admin Trolls Mythic CS:GO Players Following ESL Streaming Drama Mythic’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team were surprisingly disqualified from a recent online qualifier match for streaming and FACEIT admins couldn’t help making a joke out of it. The Mythic CS:GO roster is the closest thing to a “stream team” that Counter-Strike has and the players regularly stream their official matches for the enjoyment of their fans. Featuring a number of high profile names like Eric ‘adreN’ Hoag and James ‘hazed’ Cobb, Mythic is a team where players that have played at the highest level of the professional scene can take a more relaxed approach to playing after retiring from actively competing. Unfortunately, the players got themselves into a spot of bother on May 3rd when they were playing in the online qualifier for ESL One Cologne and streaming their gameplay on Twitch. ESL, who have an exclusivity deal with Facebook for streaming ESL One events, were clearly unimpressed with the fact that the Mythic players were taking away a good deal of their viewership and decided to forfeit them in their match against eUnited. The whole situation caused a great deal of outrage within the CS:GO community as people argued in favor of both Mythic and ESL. However, some people took a much more lighthearted approach to things, like the FACEIT admin that trolled the Mythic players just hours after the drama: While making a joke of a situation like this is often the best way of dealing with it, the issue with streaming rights between personal streams and event organizers is one that rears its head a few times every year. ESL’s own rulings seem to contradict themselves so it is virtually impossible for a player or team to know when they are working within the rules or in violation of them. It is also hard to escape from the feeling that they only took umbridge with Mythic because the players had more viewers than the official Facebook stream – a conscious decision made by most fans due to the better quality of Twitch streams.

f0rest reportedly leaving NiP to reunite with former CSGO teammates BLASTLegendary Ninjas in Pyjamas player Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg is reportedly set to leave the organization for the first time since the start of CS:GO. A report from 1pv.fr states that heading into the new year, f0rest will be reunited with former NiP teammates under a new banner, as he, Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg, Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund, and Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström are set to join Dignitas. It was originally reported by DBLTAP in November 2019 that Dignitas had acquired Norwegian player Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærl and were looking to round out their new roster with the members of the original NiP CS:GO squad, and it seems that plan is set to come to fruition. GeT_RiGhT, f0rest, Xizt and friberg – along with Robin ‘Fifflaren’ Johansson, who retired from professional play in 2014 – were part of the first iteration of NiP in CS:GO which dominated the game’s early years, famously putting together an 87-0 map win streak and remaining among the best teams in the world for several years. Over recent years, however, the remaining original members have gradually parted ways as the team looked for a path back to its former glory. Friberg departed in July 2017, Xizt in April 2018, and finally GeT_RiGhT in September 2019, leaving f0rest as the last original player on the team. Now it seems that era of NiP is finally coming to a complete end, with f0rest also leaving the organization, but it comes as the iconic core of the team itself is set to reform under Dignitas. Meanwhile, NiP coach Faruk ‘Pita’ Pita has also announced his departure. NiP will reportedly replace f0rest with Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson, a young Swedish talent currently playing for GamerLegion. In nawwk’s place, GamerLegion themselves will reportedly look to recruit William ‘draken’ Sundin, who is currently a free agent. If all the reported moves go through, the three teams would be as follows: Dignitas Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg – Christopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund – Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg – Richard ‘Xizt’ Landström – Håkon “hallzerk” Fjærl – Ninjas in Pyjamas Fredrik ‘REZ’ Sterner – Jonas ‘Lekr0’ Olofsson – Nicolas ‘Plopski’ Gonzalez Zamora – Simon ‘twist’ Eliasson – Tim ‘nawwk’ Jonasson – GameLegion Hampus ‘hampus’ Poser – Dennis ‘dennis’ Edman – Alfred ‘RuStY’ Karlsson – Fredrik ‘freddieb’ Buö – William ‘draken’ Sundin –

F0rest explains why he left Ninjas in Pyjamas CSGO BLASTPatrick “f0rest” Lindberg has departed from the Ninjas in Pyjamas CS:GO lineup, the last man to do so from their original roster. With his departure, he rejoins former NiP teammates on the new Dignitas squad. F0rest was the final remaining member of the original Ninjas in Pyjamas lineup, with many of the members of the roster joining up with Dignitas after bouncing around to several teams. “I hope you will join me for one more time to fight for the top,” f0rest said, addressing his fans. “I wish [my old teammates] the best, you are all great guys with a lot of drive and talent! I had an amazing time with you guys.” The Ninjas in Pyjamas lineup was one of the first to really cement themselves an era in the age of Valve majors, but they had some serious stumbling blocks after this which eventually caused the team to begin to look elsewhere. F0rest spent his entire CS:GO career with NiP, during which time he racked up 32,153 kills, a 1.19 K/D ratio, and 76.3 damage per round. The move to Dignitas signifies his first move since he entered the game in 2012, and ends the longest standing period of any player with one team in Counter-Strike history. For Dignitas, this move represents their most serious attempt at building a championship roster since they were purchased by the Philadelphia 76ers ownership group back in 2016. “As a fan of Counter-Strike for nearly two decades, I’ve always viewed GeT_RiGhT, Xizt, friberg, f0rest and Fifflaren as the epitome of professionalism and competitiveness,” Dignitas’ Heather “Sapphire” Gorozzo recounted. “From the U.S., to Brazil, to France to Australia, to Denmark among countless other places, I’ve witnessed first hand how adored and respected these players are across the globe,” she continued. “When the opportunity came to bring these legends into our organization, I knew it was the best move for DIG, the perfect opportunity for the players to reunite under management that is deeply passionate about their careers and a pivotal moment for the CS:GO community. “I see the same competitive and professional qualities in hallzerk that are in our legendary players, leaving me confident that we’re building a new dynasty.” Back in Counter-Strike 1.6, f0rest played for a multitude of teams throughout the 2000s, including Fnatic and SK Gaming. He spent the longest period with the Fnatic roster for about five years. Dignitas will have their work cut out for them over the next several months as they look to qualify for the upcoming ESL Major.

EXTREMUM bench CSGO roster after failing to qualify for PGL Major EXTREMIUMEU CSGO org EXTREMUM has benched every player on their roster after failing to qualify for the PGL Major. EXTREMUM fielded a CIS-based lineup before signing all of 100 Thieves’ former players in January 2021, after the NA org disbanded in October 2020. Now, just 10 months later, that squad of players will once again be without a team, as EXTREMUM announced on October 17 they were benching the entire team after failing to qualify for the PGL Major. EXTREMUM CS:GO ROSTER NEWS. pic.twitter.com/bHreHzsXaT — EXTREMUM #OURWAY (@extremumgg) October 17, 2021 “Losing to Evil Geniuses was obviously one of the worst case scenarios since the main goal of our organization and of our team was to qualify for the Major,” the team wrote on Twitter. “At this point EXTREMUM CS:GO roster is benched, it’s further fate is unknown.” Read More: CSGO AWPer smooya joins Fnatic on trial – The players being benched from the team are as follows: Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward – Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad – Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas – Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai – Hansel ‘BnTeT’ Ferdinand – EXTREMUM failed to qualify through the North American Regional Major Rankings, with a loss to Evil Geniuses in the fifth place match at Intel Extreme Masters NA Fall on October 9 eliminating them from any possible contention. This squad’s highest finish while together at EXTREMUM was third place at cs_summit 8 in May 2021. While they were unable to match the success they saw at 100 Thieves, they weren’t the furthest team off from Major contention based on NA season points, either. It remains to be seen where all of the now-former EXTREMUM players will end up, and if they’ll continue to stick together as a team.

Extremely rare CSGO knife could be the most expensive ever Dexerto / ValveCounter-Strike is widely known for its cosmetic trading, with some skins being sold for upwards of $100,000, but this Karambit Case Hardened knife could be worth an insane amount, with YouTuber ohnePixel suggesting as high as $800,000 could be possible. In 2016, a factory new, pattern 387 Case Hardened Karambit was traded for an estimated $100,000 in CS:GO cosmetics. Just five years later this now may be the most valuable item in Counter-Strike history, estimated to be sold for $800,000. Some skins in the past have traded for outrageous values, such as in July 2020, when an M4A4 Howl, which had rare iBUYPOWER stickers from Katowice 2014 reportedly sold for a world-record $100,000, and is now up on the market for $130,000. Notable skin collector ohnePixel, released a short video on YouTube on July 29, showcasing this rare knife. During the video, ohnePixel claimed that it could sell of upwards of $800,000. “If he would actually want to sell it, if he put it up for sale in China and stuff, I think this would nowadays be worth and I’m not even kidding, I talked to collector friends, it would sell for $800,000,” ohnePixel explained. Claiming that the skin would sell for $800,000 may be a little ambitious in the eyes of some people, but it’s certainly not impossible. Although we don’t know exactly how much the knife would sell for, It’s fair to say that it would sell for at least a couple hundred thousand, based on other cosmetic sales. What makes the knife so rare? A variable that makes your Counter-Strike cosmetics so rare is its float value, which is referred to as the condition of the skin. The float value is between 0 to 1, where 0 shows the least wear and 1 shows the most. To make things easier, float values are divided into five categories. 0 – 0.07 – Factory New – 0.07 – 0.15 – Minimal Wear – 0.15 – 0.38 – Field-Tested – 0.38 – 0.45 – Well-Worn – 0.45 – 1 – Battle-Scarred – In this case, this knife has a float value of 0.04, making it Factory New. Another factor that makes the Case Hardened skins so rare is the different patterns that you can get. The knife has pattern 387 almost completely covers the entire side of the knife blue, making it stand out more. The bluer, the more valuable.

“External attack” against CSGO players behind heavy delays in NAVI vs Heroic ESL Pro League match Helena Kristiansson/ESL Gaming via ESPATAn ESL Pro League Season 16 match between NAVI and Heroic finished well past midnight following tech problems that left players in desperation mode. What was supposed to be a straightforward round-of-12 match between NAVI and Heroic turned into an almost six-hour marathon following tech problems during the third map of the series, Overpass. The issues began in the first round and saw several of NAVI’s players experience connection problems for a large portion of the first half. In one instance, Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev is seen putting his hand to his face in desperation after lagging in a 1on2 situation. It took ESL two hours to fix the problems, with NAVI going on to beat Heroic 16-7 on the final map to set up a quarter-final match with G2 Esports on September 30. On Twitter, Ulrich Schulze, ESL’s SVP of Game Ecosystems, explained that the tech issues were caused by “a targeted external attack against individual players.” “We have taken several measures to mitigate this for upcoming matches, and have also relayed our findings to Valve,” he said. It is believed that the perpetrator of the attack used a tool that floods players with Steam friends requests, causing them to experience connection issues. This method was recently brought to light by YouTuber Sparkles, who interviewed a hacker who allegedly crashes professional games for money through such attacks. Veteran tournament referee Michal Slowinski said on Twitter that this method is “unique” as it works like a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack but through Steam. ESL Pro League Season 16, which is taking place in Malta, will continue later today with the first two quarter-final matches, pitting MOUZ against Team Liquid, and Cloud9 against FaZe.

Explained: FaZe’s situation at BLAST Premier Spring Groups as k0nfig is ruled out Stephanie Lindgren/BLASTDexerto spoke with multiple sources about the situation involving FaZe Clan’s CS:GO team and their attempt to use Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke at BLAST Premier Spring Groups, to explain everything that happened. FaZe were in a race against time to find an emergency substitute for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups after being informed that they would be unable to compete with k0nfig on the basis that he was already registered on Heroic’s roster for the tournament. Their first match is against Complexity on Friday, January 20. The decision, which came after protests from other BLAST Premier teams, caught FaZe’s players by surprise. k0nfig took part in media day on January 18 and was ready to practice with the team and play at the event. Sources told Dexerto that BLAST informed FaZe’s team over a week ago that k0nfig would be added to the team’s accreditation list and given access to their practice room. The Danish player, who is currently a free agent, would be allowed to play in the tournament instead of Håvard ‘rain’ Nygaard if necessary. On January 18, FaZe announced that the Norwegian player would have to sit out the event to be present for the birth of his child. FaZe were confident that they would be able to field k0nfig in the tournament. But everything suggests that the tournament organizer gave FaZe the green light without checking whether k0nfig was already registered by another team. In an initial communication to all 12 partner teams on December 18, BLAST gave a January 3 deadline to submit their rosters for the BLAST Premier Spring Groups without specifying an hour, Dexerto has learned. Heroic had no intention of registering k0nfig as a player for the event, but their submission of Niels Christian ‘NaToSaphiX’ Sillassen as a substitute on the evening of January 3 was rejected by BLAST, who claimed it was done past the deadline, sources said. Another source noted, however, that all teams were notified again on January 3 about the roster lock and sent a form to fill out if they wished to make any changes. The message stated that there was a deadline of 4PM CET. Because Heroic tried to change their lineup past this deadline, it remained the same from the previous event, the BLAST Premier World Final, where k0nfig stood in for Martin ‘stavn’ Lund. According to FaZe star Robin ‘ropz’ Kool, k0nfig “had no idea” he was on Heroic’s roster for the tournament and is not supposed to be on it. On his stream, Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer said that he didn’t know he was registered as a substitute for FaZe. He cannot attend the event as he will be traveling for his birthday. The 2022 version of the BLAST Premier rulebook states that teams can be granted an emergency substitute after the submission of the roster “due to issues such as illness, injury, and travel disruption”. BLAST reserves the right to accept or deny any such requests on a case-by-case basis. The rulebook stresses that “replacements cannot be a participant who is active on another pro roster which is participating in the tournament.” FaZe have since announced that they will be playing with Patrick ‘es3tag’ Hansen as a stand-in at the event. The Danish player has been on NIP’s bench since the end of December and is not registered on the team’s roster for this event. BLAST responds to controversy BLAST has issued a statement to address what it described as “the confusion” surrounding FaZe’s registration of k0nfig as an emergency replacement. The tournament organizer said that “at the beginning of the year”, FaZe submitted a request to play with k0nfig and that such request “was denied as the player was registered on another team’s roster for the event.” This directly contradicts the players’ account of the episode. BLAST does not explain why the team claimed it was told that it could play with k0nfig several days ago (Dexerto sources said the team was told over a week ago) or why the Danish player was allowed to take part in media day on January 18. It was only late that day, after a number of BLAST partner teams raised the issue, that the tournament organizer convened to make a ruling on this matter, which was announced this morning. “After looking into the incident internally, we identified miscommunication and a lack of clarity from BLAST on the roster lock timings and k0nfig’s eligibility to play in Spring Groups,” BLAST stated. “This of course is not how we typically operate and we will be looking into strengthening processes and communication with teams, specifically around roster locks.” BLAST also commented on the conflict of interest concerns surrounding FaZe’s use of a player who is contracted to another team that is also attending the event, NIP. Should the two teams face each other in the gauntlet stage, es3tag will not be able to play, forcing FaZe to find an alternative. Substitute coach Edward ‘Eddie’ Han could play for the team, as could rain or Robert ‘RobbaN’ Dahlström if either is back by then.

Exclusive interview: GeT RiGhT announces Twitch switch from CSGO DexertoChristopher ‘GeT_RiGhT’ Alesund has announced his departure from professional Counter-Strike, as he moves to Twitch streaming full-time. [jwplayer f7GYaDHg] 2021 has just got started and Sweden are already stealing the show. Just days after PGL announced the Stockholm Major, GeT_RiGhT has decided to call time on his legendary competitive career. During an exclusive interview with Dexerto, the 30-year-old discusses the career highs and lows, his battle with Crohn’s disease and what the future holds for the Swedish titan. GeT_RiGhT interview GeT_RiGhT & f0rest: End of an era The Swede has a CS legacy like no other, but an integral part of those wins and losses was his partnership with countryman Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg. The two share a long list of tournament wins together, including the coveted Major. The two Counter-Strike behemoths have played together for over a decade, and it’s clear that the end of this partnership is one of the most emotional aspects of GeT_RiGhT’s retirement. “It’s been a rollercoaster, but at the same time, it’s been a beautiful ride.” Alesund goes on to describe their partnership as “the biggest highlight” of his career. CSGO & Crohn’s: A battle worth fighting It may shock a lot of people, but GeT RiGhT describes living with the disease as being “one of the best things that ever happened” to him, as well as one of the worst ones. He describes his lifelong battle with the stomach pain that accompanies the illness, but goes on to explain that he’s thankful, as the official diagnosis brought with it a sense of both physical and mental relief. In terms of playing CS, however, he describes it as “horrible.” The associated pain, alongside weight and blood loss meant that focusing on the game became a trial all in its own. After asking himself whether it was worth risking his health, his response shows a mixed bag of emotions. “Yes and no really,” he admitted, as the pro player life and its fandom are always worth it, but the two day bedridden recovery period certainly has left a scar. GeT_RiGhT: Twitch streaming & beyond It’s important to note that the Swedish legend will not be leaving CS. He sees the game as home, explaining: “I grew up in the scene and I’ll do anything it takes to help it grow.” While he admits he can’t go into exact details about his future plans, he sees Twitch and content creation as a “competition on another level,” as he explores a plethora of games such as League of Legends and Warzone with more creative freedom. GeT_RiGhT explored his excitement for Valorant, but clarified that he’s “not going to become a professional Valorant player.” With that said, he does believe that the game “has huge potential to overtake CS:GO” at some point in down the line. Throughout this entire interview, you get a sense that the Valorant pro (sorry Chris, we had to) is in the best place he’s ever been. We’ll be excited to see where his streaming career takes him, whether it’s Riot’s Future Earth or otherwise. So keep an eye out, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon!

Exclusive: Ex-Cloud9 CSGO coach valens used spectator bug in official games StarladderRetired CS:GO coach Soham ‘valens’ Chowdhury encountered the spectator bug in official matches during his time in charge of Cloud9, Dexerto has learned. Videos recorded by Dexerto show valens using the spectator bug in three online maps several years ago. The first two instances occurred during an EPICENTER closed qualifier series against Team Liquid in October 2017. On Inferno, valens is seen rotating the camera from a fixed position on the B bombsite during the first three rounds of the game, with his camera placed at an angle that allowed him to observe all entrances to the site as his team were playing on the T side. On Mirage, valens is seen roaming around the A site from a spectator position — a never-seen-before, more powerful version of the bug that allowed the user to freely roam around the map. He went into this state two times during the map — once before the game went live (the restart reset the camera back to normal), the second three rounds into the first half, after reconnecting to the server during a pause, and for one round only. The existence of other versions of the bug had already been hinted at by Michal Slowinski, the veteran tournament referee that played a central role in uncovering the bug scandal in 2020. “I think there might be two more different instances that we are looking into right now,” he said on the ‘HLTV Confirmed’ show in September 2020. “It’s actually even more of an advantage so let’s hope it’s not too bad.” In March 2018, valens was again in a bugged fixed position in the first round of Cloud9’s 16-8 victory on Train against OpTic Gaming in ESL Pro League Season 7 North America. In this case, valens’ camera was positioned just outside of OpTic’s T spawn. Contacted by Dexerto, valens explained that he came across the bug “several times without knowing what it was.” He stressed that “no information was shared” with the team and that he recalls “being annoyed” by the fact that he wasn’t able to spectate his players as normal. “I thought it was just another glitch and one time it wouldn’t go away, so I contacted the TO mid-game,” he added. “The other times, I would just try to restart the game as soon as possible since I needed to spectate my players, and it fixed it. “It was quite possible I was just waiting for it to reset since most weird glitches in-game kind of just went away after pressing some keys, like the weird height bug where your model can see over things until you crouch or press jump. “I definitely don’t know how it came to be and I didn’t seek it out in any way. I hope the lack of a pattern in getting to that game state is self-explanatory of my intent.” An ongoing investigation Valens was not among the 37 CS:GO coaches suspended in September 2020 by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the historical use of the bug for competitive advantage. In recent months, the CS:GO community has been left to wonder about the lack of progress in the investigation, which goes as far back as 2016. In its most recent update, on August 27, 2021, ESIC stated it was still reviewing its sanctions matrix, as well as a second, unannounced batch of cases following the outcomes of the appeals launched by some of the coaches caught in the first wave. It is unclear if valens is part of this new batch of cases. “After responding to some appeal activity originating from the first batch of sanctions, ESIC has held meaningful discussions with Valve about the application of ESIC’s sanction mechanics for the Spectator Bug to offending coaches’ participation at Valve sponsored events,” ESIC told Dexerto. “ESIC is presently concluding these ongoing discussions and still intends to issue its findings thereafter.” Sergey ‘lmbt’ Bezhanov and Anton ‘ToH1o’ Georgiev had their bans lifted by ESIC after providing conclusive proof of innocence, while Faruk ‘pita’ Pita saw his initial 10-month ban reduced by four months following an appeal hearing. The inquiry into the abuse of the spectator bug in the CS:GO scene is one of three investigations that are still ongoing, according to ESIC’s official website. The commission is also investigating match-fixing claims in ESEA Premier North America and suspicious “corrupt activity” involving CIS team Akuma during the controversial Regional Major Ranking (RMR) tournament run by Epic League in the Spring of 2021. Who is valens? A former Counter-Strike professional who represented teams like LunatiK, Denial, and Complexity during the early days of CS:GO, valens took up coaching in January 2016 when he was hired by TSM to guide their recently-built North American squad, featuring players like Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta and Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta. He went on to join Cloud9 as head coach in February 2017, notably overseeing the team’s victory at ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018 — one of the greatest feats in North American Counter-Strike. In September 2019, he transitioned to a Head of Data Science position within the organization — reprising a role he had fulfilled earlier that year during Ronald ‘Rambo’ Kim’s brief tenure as head coach. In November 2019, he was appointed by Evil Geniuses to the same role, which he still holds today. He also resumed playing, competing in minor North American tournaments and qualifiers for teams like Savage and ex-Recon 5 in the following two years. On ‘The ddk Podcast’ at the end of 2019, valens explained that he is involved in multiple esports within EG — with Counter-Strike, League of Legends and Dota 2 being his main areas of focus — and that he has a hand in making practice as efficient as possible for the teams and in talent scouting. The history of the bug The CS:GO community at large became aware of the spectator bug on August 31, 2020, when ESL revealed that Heroic’s Nicolai ’HUNDEN’ Petersen, MIBR’s Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia, and Hard Legion’s Aleksandr ‘zoneR’ Bogatiryev had been suspended for periods ranging from six months to two years for exploiting the glitch. It was later revealed that the original bug — which allowed coaches to pick a spot on a map and remain locked in that position, giving them the opportunity to inform players of opponents’ tendencies and money situation — had been in the game for years and had been exploited by many coaches in official tournaments. On September 4, ESIC formally launched its investigation, banning 37 coaches — including the three that had been suspended by ESL — later that month. The final batch of findings was due to be released that October, but “unforeseen complexities” made it impossible for the esports watchdog to complete the investigation on time. Over a year has passed since then, and we’re still nowhere closer to a conclusion. Contacted by Dexerto, Valve gave the following comment regarding the bans for use of the spectator bug: “Our method for determining bans hasn’t changed from the original one we posted, and we don’t have any plans to update it.”

Exclusive: Evil Geniuses CSGO player found to have made discriminatory tweets Helena Kristiansson/ESLDexerto has reviewed a series of historic tweets of a discriminatory nature from Evil Geniuses CS:GO player Jadan ‘HexT’ Postma. The tweets, sent between February 2015 and June 2018, included multiple uses of the ‘N’ word and derogatory terminology to describe homosexuality. The existence of these historic offensive tweets was first hinted at by veteran analyst and content creator Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields earlier on Sunday. One of the offensive tweets was even made toward Ulrich Schulze, Senior Vice President of Game Ecosystems at ESL FACEIT Group. Evil Geniuses are one of the 15 organizations partnered with ESL through the Louvre Agreement, a revenue share program that also sees members receive permanent spots in ESL Pro League and other ESL Pro Tour CS:GO competitions. Most of the tweets have been deleted but not all. HexT, who is 21, was a minor when he made those tweets, in some cases as young as 13 years old. Some of the tweets could be dismissed as the work of an immature young man, but they will still come as an embarrassment to Evil Geniuses, an organization that has strived to combat racism and bring positivity and inclusion to esports and gaming. In June 2020, Evil Geniuses didn’t think twice about parting ways with Fighting game player Christopher ‘NYChrisG’ Gonzalez over racist comments he had made three years earlier on Facebook. NYChrisG, who won EVO 2016’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, was 26 years old when he made those comments. “After investigation, it was evident that Chris’ statements, though made in 2017, continue to have real, harmful impact in our community,” Evil Geniuses wrote at the time. One month later, Evil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson told The Washington Post that the organization wanted “the culture of a player” to reflect that of the company. She added that Evil Geniuses were reviewing every player and member of staff to “ensure our actions live up to our words.” Who is HexT? HexT burst onto North America’s tier-two scene in 2019 as part of RBG eSports, playing his first season in the ESEA Premier league in August 2020. In June 2022, his Carpe Diem team was picked up by Evil Geniuses as part of the Blueprint project, becoming known as “EG Black”. Three months later, he was promoted to the main team as part of an overhaul of the squad. HexT is currently in Europe with Evil Geniuses’ team, who crashed out of IEM Katowice in 21st-24th place following losses to fnatic and Sprout in the Play-In stage. Later this month, the team will attend ESL Pro League Season 17, in Malta. Dexerto has reached out to Evil Geniuses for comment.

Exclusive: electroNic could take up IGL role as NAVI monitor buster João Ferreira/DexertoDenis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov has emerged as a strong candidate to take the reins of NAVI’s CS:GO team as they prepare for life without Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov, Dexerto has confirmed. NAVI COO Alexey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov has told Dexerto that the team is seriously considering the possibility of electroNic taking over as in-game leader in the wake of Boombl4’s removal from the starting lineup on May 28. This would free up a heavy-fragging role in NAVI, with electroNic having established himself as a second star next to Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev since joining the team from FlipSid3 Tactics in November 2017. Virtus.pro star Mareks ‘YEKINDAR’ Gaļinskis, who was relegated to the bench after PGL Major Antwerp, has been strongly linked with NAVI, but xaoc moved on May 30 to dismiss such rumors. “I deny that we are in talks for YEKINDAR,” the NAVI COO wrote on Twitter. Instead, xaoc told Dexerto, NAVI are keeping a close eye on the situation of YEKINDAR’s teammate Timur ‘buster’ Tulepov, who was also benched after the Major. But any potential move for the Kazakhstani player is contingent on him being released from his contract with Virtus.pro as NAVI are unwilling to conduct business with the Russian organization. It is unclear at this point if Virtus.pro are open to the possibility of letting buster leave for free. In a May 23 Instagram post, the player expressed his desire to begin “a new chapter” in his career. “I want a change, something new,” he wrote. “I’m energized to work.” In a statement to Dexerto, Virtus.pro rejected the possibility of releasing buster from his contract. “All of our CS:GO players have long-term contracts. None of them can leave unless a proper fee is paid”. Russian players’ situation NAVI are open to offers for Boombl4, who has been on the organization’s books since May 2019. He took up the in-game leader role months later following Danylo ‘Zeus’ Teslenko’s retirement and led the team to multiple international titles, including the PGL Major Stockholm trophy in 2021. Prior to his removal from the team, Boombl4 had come under criticism for social media posts made by his wife in which she appeared to show support for the war. In their statement, NAVI cited “high reputational risks for the club” as the reason to remove Boombl4, stressing that the decision was not related to the captain’s in-game performances. The news of electroNic being in the pipeline to replace Boombl4 as in-game leader will certainly appease NAVI’s fans, who had become increasingly worried about the four-time HLTV Top 20 player’s uncertain situation amid the war. NAVI are slated to compete at the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which will take place between June 15-19 in Lisbon.

Ex-Sentinels Valorant IGL reportedly returning to CSGO Tina Jo/Riot GamesFormer Sentinels and XSET Valorant IGL Rory ‘dephh’ Jackson is reportedly joining M80’s CS:GO project as its head coach. M80 is reportedly making moves in the North American CS:GO market as the organization is looking to field a team in the esport. One of the people involved in the project might be familiar to Valorant fans as Dust2.us has reported that dephh, who was last seen as the IGL for Sentinels, has been tapped as M80’s head coach. dephh and the people behind the new esports organization have a history together, as the founder of M80 and its Vice President of Esports, Donald ‘SyykoNT’ Muir, crossed over with the player from his time with XSET. SyykoNT coached dephh while he was on XSET and Sentinels and the two are seemingly going to be working together again, now in CS:GO. The British player has been absent from the public eye since his exit from Sentinels. His last tweet was confirming he had left the team back in May. Former Sentinels and XSET player to return to CS:GO Before switching over to Valorant, dephh was a CS:GO pro known for his time on Complexity Gaming. With Complexity, dephh made three CS:GO Majors and had his best finish at the 2018 FACEIT Major in London. The British player retired from CS:GO in 2019 and started his career in Valorant soon after. With XSET, dephh managed to earn multiple top-five finishes in domestic competition and qualified for VCT Masters Copenhagen and Valorant Champions 2022. He joined Sentinels for the 2023 season, but did not see the same success as the squad bombed out of VCT LOCK//IN and went 2-5 to start the VCT Americas split before he parted ways with the team. dephh has been an IGL in both CS:GO and Valorant but has yet to put down his mouse and keyboard for a coaching gig up to this point in his career. M80 has yet to officially announce its CS:GO roster.

Ex-OpTic & EG CSGO coach ImAPet set to join 100 Thieves StarLadderIt appears that 100 Thieves have found a new coach for their CS:GO team by reportedly signing Chet ‘ImAPet’ Singh weeks after the NA mind departed Evil Geniuses. First reported by DBLTAP’s Jarek ‘Dekay’ Lewis, ImAPet will replace Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunović, who abruptly left the 100T org on April 28. The Serbian coach and 100T had mutually parted ways, paving a road for the Top 10 CSGO team to add a major piece for their roster. ImAPet has been the silent commander behind Evil Geniuses, the core of which formerly played under the NRG banner. Now he’ll be tasked with leading a 100T team that’s already proven to be among the heavy-hitters in the scene, with much to the credit of their previous coach. With a roster consisting of Australians Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward (27), Justin ‘jks’ Savage (24), Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas (22), Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai (24), and lone Norwegian Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad (26), ImAPet will be among the youngest on the team. But the 23-year-old commands a veteran presence with how much he’s accomplished in his short four-year career behind the scenes on a CSGO team. Read more: How B1ad3 created Major miracles in CSGO – From the time he took over as the head coach of Counter Logic Gaming and the brief time he was on OpTic Gaming, ImAPet’s teams have almost consistently been in the discussion of formidable competitive factions. But it wasn’t until he was paired with NA superstars Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte and later ‘Tarik’ Celik on NRG, where the coach was really able to turn theory into meaningful results. After completing the roster of what is now Evil Geniuses, ImAPet’s tamed resolve led the team to a two-week stint as the top-ranked team in the world, beating out the likes of a resurgent Fnatic, Astralis, and even NA powerhouse rivals Team Liquid. Some of the first signs of the coach’s prowess came to light in 2018 after NRG took the top spot at Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII Shanghai, in a time when they had yet to acquire crucial weapons like Tarik and Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz. That would only be a precursor to his success as a head coach that includes first-place finishes with EG at ESL One New York 2019 and StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 8. With a new era of CSGO stars quickly taking hold of the competitive landscape, ImAPet is in a unique position to have a great blend of emerging talent and established veterans to elevate 100 Thieves even further.

Ex-NAVI captain Boombl4 claims he has been “blackmailed” amid drug use accusations João Ferreira/DexertoFormer NAVI captain Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov has been accused of drug use by his wife, Lika ‘LiQueen’ Mikhailova. He has responded on social media, stating he has been blackmailed with “various photos/videos.” The accusations were made by LiQueen on her Telegram channel, where a video was posted showing Boombl4 snorting a powdery white substance. LiQueen accused Boombl4 of being a “complete drug addict” and of cheating on her “more than once”. Both LiQueen and Boombl4 have confirmed that they are getting a divorce just five months into their marriage. Boombl4 proposed to LiQueen on the PGL Major Stockholm stage following NAVI’s victory in the grand final of the tournament against G2 Esports. On April 21, LiQueen announced that she was seeking a divorce from Boombl4, only to reveal a few days later that they had reconciled. The pair’s marriage has drawn increased attention in the CS:GO scene, especially since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On social media, LiQueen has posted several messages that appear to show support for the war, which saw Boombl4 come under heavy criticism as he plays for a Ukrainian organization. On May 28, NAVI announced that Boombl4 had been removed from the team, citing “high reputational risks for the club”. It is unclear whether NAVI were referring to the accusations that have been levied against the player, who has been on the organization’s books since May 2019. Boombl4 responds to the accusations In a video posted on Telegram, Boombl4 apologized to his followers “for everything that has been posted on the Internet”. “I was ashamed of all this, but, unfortunately, I could not control it,” he said, adding that he will likely post a more detailed message about this matter. In a subsequent Twitter post, the Russian player revealed that he has been “blackmailed with various photos/videos and also a huge amount of fake information.” He also vowed to file libel suits “soon”. today I got divorced from my wife and was blackmailed with various photos/videos and also a huge amount of fake information. Soon I will be filing libel suits. Many thanks to everyone for the support and understanding at a difficult time for me. — Кирилл (@Boombl4CS) June 8, 2022 Dexerto revealed on May 31 that NAVI are considering handing the in-game leader role over to Denis ‘electroNic’ Sharipov. The team will be attending the upcoming BLAST Premier Spring Finals in Lisbon with Ukrainian player Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev as a stand-in.

ex-MIBR’s Dead & taco reportedly creating new Brazilian CSGO squad ESL / StarLadderBrazilian CS:GO veterans Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia and Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo are reportedly creating a new team after their time on MiBR, according to DBLTAP’s Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis. The former Made in Brazil coach is said to be a manager for the team, helping lead two promising Brazilian talents in Eduardo ‘dumau’ Wolkmer and Bruno ‘latto’ Rebelatto. TACO’s former MiBR teammate João ‘felps’ Vasconcellos will also be joining the starting roster. Dumua and latto are signed under YeaH Gaming and RED Canids, respectively, and have shown great promise throughout their short careers so far. According to The Clutch, YeaH’s Rodrigo ‘RCF’ Coponero has also been linked to the new team, making the requisite five-man roster complete if the project comes together. Sources told DBLTAP that dead and his group have been in contact with multiple CS:GO organizations to discuss terms to possibly sign them. Top-tier Brazilian esports is having a sort of a shakeup in its current state. MiBR have essentially cleared their team of household names with Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo and Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga now inactive. As for challengers, FURIA Esports, they managed to capitalize off of FalleN’s MiBR when it was in its decline. This has propelled players Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan, Kaike ‘KSCERATO’ Cerato, and Yuri ‘yuurih’ Gomes into the limelight within the last year. The power rankings for the South American region of CS:GO have been up in there air, and dead’s proposed lineup has enough veteran leadership and emerging talent to theoretically make it a worthy competitor. There will be hurdles, however, dead was one of the coaches found to use a spectator exploit during his time with SK Gaming / MiBR, according to ESIC’s report on the case. He was given a six-and-a-half month ban for his actions. This bars him from coaching or playing for a team during the span, though it’ll be interesting to see if that will be relevant when the team comes together. Dead started his 6.5 month ban on August 31, making him eligible to return to the coaching position in mid-March 2021.

Ex-GODSENT CSGO roster picked up by FunPlus Phoenix Twitter: FunPlus PhoenixThe former GODSENT CS:GO roster has been picked up by FPX, alongside their coach Jonatan ‘Devilwalk’ Lundberg. FPX re-enter CSGO after Heroic acquired their old roster – Legendary Counter-Strike player ‘Devilwalk’ will coach – Fifth player still to be announced – GODSENT were once a household name for CS:GO fans, but their merge with Red Reserve spelt disaster for the former CS:GO titans. Dropping a roster that had once been insanely dominant in the field, a whole host of talented players (alongside coach Devilwalk) were left orgless. This is no longer the case, however, as the once iconic roster has been signed by Chinese esports giants, FunPlus PhoeniX, and are back in business. Assemble🔥 Proud to be Phoenix. Presenting our new CS:GO roster —🇸🇪 Jonatan “”Devilwalk”” Lundberg (Coach) 🇲🇪 Pavle “”maden”” Boskovic 🇩🇰 Asger “”farlig”” Jensen 🇫🇮 Jesse “”zehN”” Linjala 🇸🇰 Martin “”STYKO”” StykStay tuned for the last piece of the puzzle LET’S ROCK IT#FPX #FPXCSGO pic.twitter.com/Bh3mlqKMF3 — FPX (@FPX_Esports) January 25, 2021 What next for FPX? Martin ‘STYKO’ Styk has always been one of CS:GO’s most notable faces, so this move certainly relights some of the hype around the young Slovak’s return with his teammates. The roster are yet to announce their fifth player, so all eyes are on STYKO and co. to see who they’ll welcome into the fold.

Ex-Evil Geniuses coach slams Stewie2K: “Not a good leader” Stefan Petrescu/PGLIn an interview with 1pv on their show ‘Le Club’, former Evil Geniuses assistant coach Paolo ‘EVY’ Berbudeau talked about his time with the North American organization and the struggles he and Damien ‘maLeK’ Marcel had with management and IGL Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip. In a translated transcript of part of the interview, EVY recounted some of his bad experiences with Stewie2K when it came to practice and attitude towards the coaching staff. “[Stewie2k] wouldn’t say hello to maLeK when we walked into the room, starting on Day 5/6,” EVY said. “When Damien spoke, he was turned back to his pc, he wasn’t listening to him. Sometimes, Stewie would listen to Damien [maLeK ]and then turn around and not respond. One of the worst things I’ve seen is denying tactical breaks. Damien calling tactical breaks and Stewie saying no.” In one part of the interview, EVY called into question the Major winner’s leadership skills and criticised his communication skills in-game. EVY tells us the story behind Evil Geniuses failure: “”In the end, it was maLeK or Stewie””. A lot of interesting anecdotes and insides about the last 6 months in EG.https://t.co/sqIjbrxqtN — neL (@neLendirekt) June 15, 2022 “Stewie has put in some nice clutch shots for us, etc. But he has a 0.55 rating against top 5 teams with EG, his level is questionable, he doesn’t challenge himself as a player anymore and he’s not a good leader,” the ex-Evil Geniuses coach said. According to HLTV, the former Team Liquid player has a 0.67 rating against top five teams in the past six months across 10 maps played. His average rating in that time period has been 0.92. Stewie2K or maLeK According to EVY, the North American organization pushed hard for the young IGL despite the reservations of maLeK, who had been given “carte blanche” to operate the roster as he saw fit. Later on in the year, after growing frustrated that promises of change were not being fulfilled by the management, maLeK stepped down from the team, with the organization allegedly keen to move on from him. “A lot of things were wrong and [maLeK] lost it, and simply said ‘stop, you are doing s***, do what I asked you to do, this is not normal, etc.’ He had been right for six months, and when he stood up and demanded that we stop bulls**tting him, it was over,” EVY said. EVY then recounted how he woke up on May 10 to a message from a friend expressing support. When he opened Twitter, he found out that he had been let go from Evil Geniuses. “The basic idea going forward was to part with Stewie, 1000% percent,” EVY said. “In the end, it was maLeK or Stewie. We could have kept Stewie as a player, although he could have challenged the authority.” Stewie2K joined Evil Geniuses on January 18, reuniting with his former Cloud9 Major-winning teammates William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba and Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta. The team has no top finishes at any LAN tournaments and bowed out of the Americas RMR in eighth place, failing to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp. At the time of publishing, maLeK remains inactive with Evil Geniuses, who are yet to name a replacement. On June 14, the North American organization announced that Head of Data Science Soham ‘valens’ Chowdhury now oversees all three of EG’s rosters with the title of Director of Athletics. EVY’s comments raise further questions about Stewie2K’s ability as an in-game leader. On the french show “La Pause”, hosted by Sebastien ‘KRL’ Perez, Vitality captain Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire stated his belief that Stewie2K “is not made to be a captain”.

Ex-CSGO coach zews recovering after suffering heart attack StarLadderWilton ‘zews’ Prado, a former CS:GO coach who won two Majors in 2016, has revealed that he had to be rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. On Twitter, the Brazilian said that he had had to undergo two angioplasty procedures and that exams had shown that there was an obstruction of “90 percent” in a coronary artery. Had a heart attack yesterday and was promptly rushed to the hospital. 90% of an artery was obstructed but have had catheter andvtwo angioplastys done. Hopefully everything will be ok pic.twitter.com/LzxWo1A2sj — Wilton Prado ‘zews’ (@zews) April 25, 2022 zews added that he is on the road to making a full recovery. “Hopefully, everything will be OK,” he wrote. He has since received an outpouring of support from the CS:GO community, with many players, coaches and on-air talent members sending him their best wishes. Shit.. so sorry to hear Wilton. Hope for a speedy recovery! 🙏🏼 — Danny Sørensen (@zonic) April 26, 2022 An influential coach A former player who competed in CS 1.6, CS:Source and CS:GO, zews turned to coaching in 2015 with Games Academy. That team relocated to North America thanks to the Golden Chance, a project led by Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo that was created with the aim of providing opportunities for talented Brazilian players. Later that year, zews earned his big break as he was picked up by Luminosity, the best Brazilian team at the time, led by FalleN. The team won a number of international titles in 2016, including the MLG Columbus and ESL One Cologne Majors, becoming the second team in CS:GO history to win back-to-back Majors after Fnatic, who had achieved that feat in 2015. After a brief playing stint with Immortals in late 2016, zews returned to coaching, taking over Team Liquid, MIBR and Evil Geniuses in the years that followed. In an October 2021 interview with Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields, zews revealed that he was turning away from coaching to focus on content creation. “If I don’t believe my happiness is there anymore, that’s not where I’m going to be,” he said. “I do believe in my project and that I can use my skillset to do good here [in Brazil].”

Ex-100 Thieves CSGO roster joins new org with BnTeT BLASTFour of the former 100 Thieves roster, their coach Kassad, and former Gen.G player BnTeT have joined EXTREMUM. Ex-100T core join Extremum – BnTeT joins from Gen.G – Kassad joins from Cloud9’s Colossus – 100 Thieves exited CS:GO in late 2020, as much of the North American scene petered out, and LAN events were canceled. This left their talented roster, still full of potential, without an org. Justin ‘jks’ Savage joined compLexity, but the future for the rest of the ANZ lineup was unclear. On January 24, Extremum revealed their new lineup, which also included Indonesian player Hansel ‘BnTeT’ Ferdinand, formerly of Gen.G and TyLoo, long regarded as one of the best Asian players. We are ready to show you another way – #OURWAY pic.twitter.com/te0VtZnKVd — EXTREMUM #OURWAY (@extremumgg) January 24, 2021 Where will EXTREMUM play? Kassad also rejoins his old teammates as coach. He had coached the core of this roster on both Renegades and 100 Thieves, before leaving for a stint with Cloud9. Extremum will now work towards qualifying for the PGL Stockholm major, as well as competing in tournaments in Europe. HLTV reports they will travel to North America to compete in specific RMR (Regional Major Ranking) tournaments to earn their Major spot.

Evil Geniuses sign new CSGO coach following daps departure João Ferreira/DexertoDamien ‘maLeK’ Marcel will be Evil Geniuses’ new CSGO coach in 2022, after Damian ‘daps’ Steele announced he was leaving the team. On December 24, daps announced he was stepping away, after not being able to make the changes to the roster he wanted to. In addition, the org announced maLeK would be the next coach, confirming previous reports. Evil Geniuses CSGO “dysfunctional” roster https://twitter.com/daps/status/1474395023936561158?s=20 In a Pastebin explaining why he was leaving, daps explained he was unable to make his preferred adjustments to the lineup. “We reached the off season and EG removes 3 players,” daps wrote. “I proposed a roster with NAF as the center piece, but that fell through for various reasons and I also inform EG at the same time that I do not want to coach anymore after my experience over the last half of the year.” It has been a massive fall for EG, who were one of the top CSGO teams in the world during 2020. During 2021, the Evil Geniuses CSGO side was unable to make any noteworthy finishes at any of the events they competed in. “The reality is that it was pretty much impossible to play well in this team with how dysfunctional it was,” daps concluded. “I do hope my friends find their form again, as it was sad to see what this team once was be turned into this.” maLeK becomes EG CSGO head coach Our 2021 #CSGO holiday wish list: ⚪ Rifler ⚪ Another Rifler ⚪ IGL 🔘 A Head Coach to help us fill out our new rosterWelcome to the team, @G2maLeK_! This is going to be a great year! #EGWIN #LIVEEVIL pic.twitter.com/wFLsOpxx8Z — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) December 24, 2021 MaLeK comes to EG after coaching G2 since 2018, and leading that team to a number of wins and first-place tournament finishes. However, it remains to be seen if he’ll be given the power to do what daps wasn’t, and build the roster the way he wants to. Currently, there are only two players active on the EG roster, so we should see some new signings start happening as we head into 2022.

Evil Geniuses scrap 15-man CSGO roster in Blueprint overhaul Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses have announced that they are revamping their CS:GO division nine months into the Blueprint project. In a statement posted on Twitter, Evil Geniuses admitted that the performance of their CS:GO team “has been a miss”, after the squad failed to qualify for the BLAST.tv Paris Major RMR and finished 29th-32nd at ESL Pro League Season 17. The North American organization launched in June a development program called Blueprint that was aimed at building up North American Counter-Strike. EG signed the Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem lineups to create what was described as a fluid 15-player roster. Evil Geniuses drew on the success of their LCS squad when developing Blueprint, but the project has failed to yield the desired result and has been derided by the CS:GO community. The organization’s main team is on an eight-match losing streak on LAN and was denied a spot at the Americas RMR after losing to LOS + oNe, who secured the $1,000 bounty placed on EG by analyst Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunović. Evil Geniuses told Dust2.us that they will drop the EG White lineup, formerly known as Party Astronauts. The team peaked at 39th in the world rankings while playing under the organization, winning Fragadelphia 17 and attending ESL Challenger Melbourne 2022, where it finished in last place. “We’ve learned a lot in the last ten months about how we want to support our academy program and are refocusing our efforts on the top ten players from our current 15-person roster,” EG said in the statement. The news comes amid reports that Evil Geniuses are close to signing Sprout’s Ismail ‘refrezh’ Ali to their main team. The former Heroic player will replace Jadan ‘HexT’ Postma, who is being demoted to the academy squad, according to Dust2.us. The North American organization is currently under intense scrutiny following reports of mistreatment of League of Legends star Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki. In a statement to Dexerto, Riot Games confirmed that an investigation into the matter is being conducted by a third-party law firm.

Evil Geniuses CEO teases new CSGO roster with Cloud9 Boston Major stars ESL / ELEAGUE / EGEvil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson teased the org’s 2022 CSGO roster headlined by Cloud9 Boston Major winning stars including Jacky ‘Stewie2K’ Yip. LaPointe came just short of confirming the lineup, instead opting to directly name drop the talents who could wear the black-and-white jersey for the next few months. Going by her tweets, the org will retain the services of longtime members Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov and Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte while adding a trio of NA players who’ve hoisted the region’s only Major trophy. EG new CSGO roster While EG have yet to give official confirmation of its 2022 roster, the CEO’s Twitter thread gave fans a pretty good idea of what it could be. EG 2022 CSGO roster: William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba – Jacky ‘Stewie2K’ Yip – Timothy ’autimatic’ Ta – Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte – Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov – Stewie parted with Team Liquid along with Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo and Michael ‘Grim’ Wince at the end of 2021. Rush was recently in Complexity Gaming before the team cleared the house of its CSGO members. Read more: NBK announces CSGO return with MOUZ – Meanwhile, autimatic retired from CSGO after his time on Gen.G Esports to play in T1’s Valorant team. According to LaPointe’s tweets, autimatic is primed to re-enter the scene and link up with his old C9 teammates. “In all seriousness, we are here to save NA CS. Get hyped to learn about the team and why they joined starting next week,” LaPointe said, all but confirming the team. Ahead of the 2022 campaign, Evil Geniuses parted ways with most of its CSGO talent when it let go ‘Tarik’ Celik, Owen ‘oBo’ Schlatter, Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz, and Michał ‘MICHU’ Müller. As one of the last big NA orgs in CSGO, EG are looking to put together a roster that could match the firepower of top teams that are currently running the scene.

EG Tarik replaced by MICHU after CSGO star quits active roster StarLadderCSGO star ‘Tarik’ Celik has stepped down from the Evil Geniuses roster and will be replaced by Michał ‘MICHU’ Müller effective immediately. Tarik moves to content creation while “exploring the next steps.” – EG MICHU will debut at Funspark ULTI 2020. – Tarik has previously joked about switching to Valorant. – Tarik steps down from EG Tarik, 25, has stepped down from the Evil Geniuses CSGO roster in light of the team’s form. He said he was “unhappy” with EG’s results and is benching himself due to differences in how the team should be run. “Ultimately, I had a different approach to our issues however the team didn’t agree with my views,” he said. “I respect their decision but came to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be apart of a project which I had lost faith in.” The former ELEAGUE Boston 2018 Major Champion will now be replaced by MICHU, who once played for teams like Envy, Virtus.Pro, and more. As an integral part to our ongoing presence in CS:GO, @tarik is transitioning to focus on streaming and content creation. We are excited to support and work with him while exploring the next steps in his career. pic.twitter.com/shNsEMkEJI — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) April 15, 2021 What’s next for Tarik? In separate releases, Tarik and EG indicated that the Turkish player would stay under the org for the time being. As a popular content creator in his own right, Tarik will be focusing on his stream while evaluating his next move. A natural question to have at this point is if Tarik would make the move to Valorant esports. It’s something a lot of CSGO pros have favored, especially with diminishing opportunities in NA or the online era. On social media, Tarik has expressed a ton of praise for Riot’s FPS since it launched and even joked about making the switch to Valorant before. EG called Tarik an “integral part” of the org’s presence in CSGO, which means they could try to keep the American in their corner until a good offer comes around.

Evil Geniuses eliminated from ESL CSGO playoffs in horrifying 16-0 loss The Evil Geniuses’ Counter-Strike roster suffered from one of its most embarrassing losses in the quarterfinals of the ESL Pro League playoffs against mousesports. EG were unable to produce a single round, and were eliminated from the tournament as a result of the shutout. For Evil Geniuses, their chances of repeating success at an ESL event were just thoroughly and decidedly nuked by mousesports. The North American roster came into third map having already been tested by the international mous roster. They withstood a thrashing on the first map and were forced to take the second map (their map pick of Inferno) into overtime. In that overtime map on Inferno, they had to rally back from what should have been a back-breaking ace on the AWP from Özgür ‘woxic’ Eker, but somehow EG pulled it off to force map three. But in expending all of their energy just to keep their hopes alive in the series, Evil Geniuses might have inadvertently emptied all of the gas in the tank headed into the third and final map on Nuke. At least the suffering didn’t last too long, taking less than half an hour for mous to roll over EG. The @mousesports vs. @EvilGeniuses quarterfinal saw the fastest map played in all of #ESLProLeague Season 10. Nuke ended 16-0 after just 28 minutes and 57 seconds. — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) December 6, 2019 As is typically seen in 16-0 matches, no one player on the victorious mouseports side stood out the most. In-game leader Finn ‘Karrigan’ Andersen was the only player on the mous side not to at least double his kills. While not as impressive as his AWP ace on Inferno, woxic did tally a couple more highlight plays in the rout on Nuke, including a vital hold in the 16th round after the bomb plant, and another impressive multi-kill round on the AWP. For Evil Geniuses, the end they met on Nuke was the nail in the coffin for North American hopes of winning the ESL Pro League finals. Both NA teams were eliminated on Friday, with Team Liquid getting bounced convincingly by the still resurging Fnatic team, 2-0. EG’s Bulgarian AWPer Cvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov summed up the shutout bluntly after getting out-dueled by woxic. “Yikes ?.” For the victorious mousesports, they move on to the semifinals, where IGL karrigan will face his former teammates in Astralis. The Danish leader was powered by the home crowd advantage against EG, but he’s unlikely to retain that support from the crowd against the all-Danish lineup. Astralis are no strangers to playoff dominance themselves, having rolled over FaZe Clan 16-0 on Dust2 in the semifinals of IEM Beijing.

Evil Geniuses CEO apologizes as CSGO team crashes out of another event João Ferreira for PGLOn Twitter, Nicole LaPointe Jameson wrote that the organization is “committed to making changes to improve” the CS:GO team’s results. Evil Geniuses’ disastrous campaign hit another low on Wednesday, April 27, as the team crashed out of the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown in the first round of the tournament following a 0-2 defeat to Brazilian side GODSENT. It wasn’t the most surprising defeat that this EG roster has suffered, but it definitely stung as it left the team out of the running for the BLAST Premier Spring Finals, one of the few international tournaments of the season for which they could still qualify. With a 0-2 loss to @GODSENT, we are eliminated from the #BLASTPremier Spring American Showdown. pic.twitter.com/bIkV6o928U — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) April 27, 2022 EG, who had failed to qualify for PGL Major Antwerp and IEM Dallas earlier in April, have no avenue left to qualify for IEM Cologne, not even through ESL’s World Ranking, in which they are currently ranked 30th. EG CEO apologizes to fans After seeing the CS:GO team eliminated from yet another tournament in disappointing fashion, Nicole LaPointe Jameson made it clear that the organization will not stand idly by. “Disappointing finish in CS:GO today,” she wrote. “I’m sorry to all the fans. “We are not complacent with these results and are committed to making changes to improve!” https://twitter.com/tothelapointe/status/1519452232399294464 Evil Geniuses’ current roster was assembled in January, when the organization signed Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip, William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba, and Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta — bringing back the core of the Cloud9 team that won ELEAGUE Major Boston in 2018. The trio was paired with Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte and Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov, two players who have struggled for form in the last two years. On Twitter, RUSH admitted that the team’s continued struggles were “unacceptable”. “It’s been four months with this squad and we haven’t accomplished anything and have improved very little,” he wrote. The issues experienced by EG’s underperforming CS:GO roster stand in contrast to the success enjoyed by the organization’s League of Legends team, featuring a mixture of young players and veterans. The team won on April 24 its first-ever LCS title after a 3-0 rout of 100 Thieves in the final, qualifying for the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in Busan, South Korea.

Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More ESLESL One: Cologne 2018 has reached the knockout stage with just six teams remaining to battle it out for their share of the $300,000 prize pool. Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious events in all of Counter-Strike, ESL One: Cologne 2018 returns to the Lanxess-Arena on June 6th as the quarter-final matches loom. https://glhf.rivalry.gg/get-started-csgo/?utm_source=dexerto&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=dexerto&utm_content=dexerto-csgo-esl-one-article Ten teams have already fallen, including MiBR, Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, but six teams remain with a shot at the grand prize. Having topped their respective groups, Astralis and FaZe Clan have advanced directly to the semi-finals which will not be played until Saturday, July 7th. Natus Vincere, Fnatic, BIG, and G2 Esports will all be on show in the quarterfinals, though, and all matches will be streamed exclusively on Facebook. Stream: First up was Na’Vi versus Fnatic. The Ukrainian team’s only loss in the tournament up to that point came in the form of a narrow 16-14 defeat on Inferno to G2 Esports, while Fnatic were be looking to bounce back from a rough game against FaZe Clan where they lost 16-1 on the final map. Na’Vi continued their blistering run through the tournament to edge out the quarter final match in a 2-0, perhaps a more convincing scoreline than some would have expected. Astralis are the tournament favorites thanks to their recent dominance. On the other side of the bracket G2 Esports took on BIG. The recently revamped G2 put on a show in the group stage with wins over Na’Vi and Mousesports before falling to Astralis in the winners match. Meanwhile, the BIG players had been the shock of the tournament so far, having defeated Team Liquid, Renegades, and MiBR despite being the underdogs in every game. BIG took yet another scalp, with the home crowd advantage and a somewhat reckless unpredictability proving too much for G2. Quarter Finals Results – Friday July 6th So Na’Vi advanced to face Astralis, while BIG will took on FaZe Clan in the semi-finals. Astralis, tournament favorites dropped the first map despite mounting a comeback, and won second map convincingly. But a back and forth Inferno decider saw Na’Vi take the grand final spot. And another upset was on the cards thanks to BIG, who bounced back from an overtime loss on map one, to defeat heavy favorites FaZe 2-1. The schedule for the semi-finals is as follows: Semi-Final Results – Saturday July 7th The Grand Final will take place on Sunday, July 8th, and the eventual winners will take home the lion’s share of the prize pool with a total of $125,000. With the star power of s1mple and Co. Na’Vi will be expected to take the crown, but at this point absolutely no one will be ruling out BIG who look to pull off the biggest tournament upset of the year. Sunday July 8th – Begins 15:00 BST, 16:00 CEST, 10:00 Eastern Time, 07:00 Pacific Time The English broadcast will be brought to you by most of the usual suspects for ESL events, with Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson, Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill, and Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer all on display. The full talent lineup consists of: The prize breakdown and results for ESL One Cologne 2018 are as follows:

What are the new X-Ray scanners in CSGO? Everything you need to know ValveValve has introduced a new x-ray scanner for French Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players who want to open cases amid a gambling law crackdown on in-game loot boxes. Here’s what you need to know about them. In recent months, governments around the world have been cracking down on gambling in video games through opening cases, packs, and loot boxes in a wide variety of titles. Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands are unable to purchase casino chips in GTA Online or open cases from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive due to these new laws, but Valve has found a way for their neighbors in France to keep on doing so in the form of a new x-ray scanner. So, this is what they’re all about. How does CS:GO’s new x-ray scanner work? These x-ray scanners were introduced in the September 30 update for CS:GO. Instead of a sweeping change, the patch focused on french players. The concept of the x-ray scanning is actually quite simple compared to a normal case opening. Instead of using a key before knowing what you’ve got, French players have to scan their selected case to reveal the contents inside. After a few seconds, the scanner will show you what you have won and give you the option to claim it by using the keys as normal. If you don’t like what’s inside though, you can’t bounce from case to case to find the skin or knife that you want. Once the contents of a case has been revealed, the scanner is temporarily locked until the scanned case has been claimed. Are there any new CS:GO skins in the X-Ray scanner? There are exclusive skins to French players under the new X-Ray collection that, as the name might suggest, let you see through the gun itself. The only one that has been revealed so far is for the P250, which will be the first skin you find when you join the x-ray scanner program. It is also untradable, at the time of writing, so you won’t be finding them on the community market anytime soon. Keeping with the community market, French players are now also unable to purchase cases from there and will, instead, have to trade for them. They can, though, still be sold. What this means moving forward in relation to free cases from leveling up and completing parts of the Major viewer pass challenges remains to be seen, but Valve will surely cross those bridges when they come to them.

Everything we know about CS:GO’s third-person view bug and the challenge ESIC faces ESIC/ValveWe’ve put together an article outlining everything we know about the third-person CS:GO bug, which has added a new layer of complexity to ESIC’s investigation. On March 29, Dexerto’s Richard Lewis wrote that “as many as 52” CS:GO coaches faced sanctions as the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) was finalising two investigations related to the historical use of the spectator bug in a competitive setting. The article explained that one of the reasons for the delay in reaching an outcome was the existence of other versions of the spectator bug, which came to light in August 2020. In addition to the first, more common version of the bug, called “static view” by Michal Slowinski (the tournament admin that played a central role in uncovering the bug scandal in 2020), two other versions are being investigated by ESIC: the free roam view bug – which Dexerto revealed on February 9 – and the third-person view bug. The latter version is particularly important, because it affected dozens of coaches, including some high-profile names. Here’s what we know about this bug. How was the third-person view bug triggered? The third-person bug was triggered by reconnecting to the game server during an online match. Instead of watching the game from a player’s point of view, this would result in coaches having a third-person view of their players for one round. When the round was over, everything would return to normal. The advantages this version of the bug gives are more limited than those of the static and free roam bugs. But, with a third-person view, a coach could still relay information – obtained by moving the camera – that would be outside of a player’s field of view, helping them, for example, to clear certain angles in maps. There was a “”3rd person”” one, where you could watch your teammate from a 3rd person view and simply clear all the angles for him (if abused). You can see an example I recorded for Valve back in 2020: https://t.co/que89Iqh0q 3/5 — Michal Slowinski (@michau9_) March 29, 2022 How many coaches experienced this bug? Dexerto knows that over 40 coaches came across this version of the bug between 2017 and 2020. All cases are currently being investigated by ESIC. This version of the bug was triggered only on servers hosted by Gamers Club, one of the most popular game server providers in South America, and FACEIT. Neither company was able to provide an explanation for this when contacted by Dexerto. A FACEIT representative said that the bug was never reported by coaches. Had tournament admins been made aware of any irregularities, the company added, they would have acted immediately. Dexerto knows that a number of cases were detected in the Esports Championship Series (ECS), a now-defunct league that FACEIT ran between 2016 and 2019 and that featured some of the best CS:GO teams in Europe and North America. ECS ran for eight seasons before FACEIT pulled the plug on the project and switched its focus to Flashpoint, for which it was the tournament operator. Gamers Club said that all instances of bug use that it found in its servers were punished in October 2020, when it banned ten coaches, for periods ranging from one to five months, for using the spectator bug (regardless of version) in a competitive setting. How has this bug impacted ESIC’s investigation? This third-person view version has posed new challenges to ESIC, which launched an investigation in September 2020 into the historical use of the spectator bug. Thirty-seven coaches were caught in the first wave of bans, all of which related to the static version. Two coaches, Sergey ‘lmbt’ Bezhanov and Anton ‘ToH1o’ Georgiev, were later cleared after successful appeals. The final batch of findings was due to be released before the end of 2020, but “unforeseen complexities” made it impossible for ESIC to complete the investigation on time. The most recent entry about the investigation in ESIC’s register, dated August 20, 2021, mentions that the second batch of cases includes “very short instances of triggering the coach bug.” The esports watchdog noted that following the appeals launched by coaches, it has had to revisit both the second batch of cases and its sanctions matrix. It added that it is working with Valve to “try and come to a conclusion that is fair to all parties.” The difficulty in ascertaining just how much information was obtained in each case of the third-person bug has only added to the complexity of ESIC’s investigation. In some of the cases reviewed by Dexerto, there appears to be clear sweeping movements of the camera; in others, there is barely any movement that would suggest the coach was trying to obtain information. Dexerto has contacted three high-profile coaches who came across the bug in a professional tournament. All expressed surprise when shown footage and said they had no recollection of ever experiencing the bug. They also admitted to being concerned about the possibility of being banned by ESIC without having the chance to defend themselves. A known problem? While the CS:GO community at large was oblivious to the existence of this third-person view bug until recently, in Brazil it was all too common an occurrence in 2020. Sources told Dexerto that South American teams were well aware that all sorts of spectator bugs were happening in Gamers Club’s servers. Brazilian coach Bruno ‘bruno’ Ono even posted in September 2020 screenshots of a conversation with a Gamers Club official in which he reported that coaches kept running into bugs in scrims and official games. “It’s impossible to play tournaments like this,” he wrote. bruno, who is currently coaching Brazilian team paiN Gaming, has already served a 10-month ban from all ESIC member events for his use of the spectator bug. He is one of seven coaches who are permanently banned from Valve events. And almost two years later, he now runs the risk of being slapped with another ban by ESIC, having also come across the third-person view bug on multiple occasions, Dexerto has learned. The fact that the third-person view bug was restricted to FACEIT and Gamers Club servers will undoubtedly raise questions about just how much responsibility coaches should bear in this case. Should they face penalties for a bug that could be the game server’s responsibility, lasted one round only, gave very limited advantage, and was triggered by something as innocuous and simple as reconnecting mid-match? These are all important questions that help explain just how complex and nuanced the investigation into the historical use of the spectator bug has become. Richard Lewis wrote that several parties outside of ESIC had underlined the importance of the matter being resolved ahead of PGL Major Antwerp, which begins on May 9. That now seems to be a rather optimistic, if not unrealistic, target as more than two weeks have passed and the situation doesn’t seem to be any closer to a resolution. ESIC have been approached for comment.

Every skin in CSGO’s Fracture case: AK-47 Anubis, M4A4 Tooth Fairy, more ValveAfter months of waiting, there’s finally a new case of cosmetics in CS:GO. The Fracture case features 17 new skins for a variety of guns, including the AK-47, M4A4, and Desert Eagle. It’s been a while since CS:GO got a new case. The last one was actually released at the end of the Shattered Web event in March — the Prisma 2 case. Since then, the CS:GO skin market place had stagnated a little bit, but now it’s back and roaring with the Fracture case. 17 new cosmetics have hit the marketplace, and they are all pretty stylish. Today we are shipping the Fracture Case, featuring weapon finishes from over 17 Community artists. We’ve also fixed VPK tampering exploits and made improvements to SDR networking protocol. Mutiny, Swamp, and Anubis have also been updated. Release Notes: https://t.co/zoTXVgcUO3 pic.twitter.com/s022yUtQ5d — CS2 (@CounterStrike) August 7, 2020 The AK-47 and the Desert Eagle are getting two new Covert-Red rarity skins. The Legion of Anubis for the T-side rifle features the Egyptian God sprawled across the body of the gun. The Desert Eagle Printstream features a selection of shapes on the barrel, with a clean metallic finish. That’s not all though. The Tooth Fairy skin for the M4A4 would definitely catch the eyes of some players with its gory design. Speaking of eyes, the Glock-18 Vogue will stare right back into your soul, not just with its scintillating fade but with the big set of eyes across the body of the gun. The MAC-10 Allure features a more East-Asian design, with crashing waves and bright pastel colors. The Fracture Collection has a skin for everyone, on almost every gun, so you’re bound to find something that suits your fancy. If you want to pick up one of these skins for yourself, your best bet is to play some CS:GO and hope your luck is in. The cases are currently retailing for over $20 USD each on the Steam Marketplace, although that will plummet in a few hours and days as more cases are uncovered. If the cases are going for that much, the individual skins will be going for a lot more, especially if they are in good condition and have StatTrak equipped. If you manage to get your hands on a Fracture case, it can be worth just selling it while prices are high. However, if you want to, you can roll the dice and hope for one of the Covert or Classified skins, like the AK-47 Legion of Anubis. Those will be going for hundreds, especially in the early days. All skins in the CSGO Fracture Collection AK-47 | Legion of Anubis (Covert) Desert Eagle | Printstream (Covert) M4A4 | Tooth Fairy (Classified) Glock-18 | Vogue (Classified) XM1014 | Entombed (Classified) MAC-10 | Allure (Restricted) Galil AR | Connexion (Restricted) Tec-9 | Brother (Restricted) MP5-SD | Kitbash (Restricted) MAG-7 | Monster Call (Restricted) SG 553 | Ol’ Rusty (Mil-spec) SSG 08 | Mainframe 001 (Mil-spec) PP-Bizon | Runic (Mil-spec) P90 | Freight (Mil-spec) P250 | Cassette (Mil-spec) Negev | Ultralight (Mil-spec) P2000 | Gnarled (Mil-spec) The skins are now available in-game, or on the Steam Community Market.

Every player to have won a CS:GO Major championship Stephanie Lindgren / PGLThere aren’t a lot of players who’ve hoisted a Major championship trophy and those who do enshrine their name in history. These are all the pros who’ve won a CSGO Major. The expansive landscape of competitive Counter-Strike makes the Major an unattainable feat for many. Meanwhile, there are legendary teams who’ve done the unthinkable by claiming multiple titles in no time at all. At the start of Global Offensive, Ninjas in Pyjamas were an unstoppable force. Their famous 87-game win streak is still the benchmark in CSGO and the team was immortalized when they won ESL One: Cologne in 2014. Then the world watched as Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo led his Brazilian band of terrors to back-to-back Major victories, even between a change of orgs in that time. Shortly after came Astralis’ unmatched championship streak that ended with the most Majors (4) since they began in 2013. Even for rare talents like Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, a Major can seem impossible. The Ukrainian phenom became the latest player to put his name in CSGO lore with NAVI’s win at the CSGO Stockholm Major. Read more: Top 20 highest earning CSGO pros of all time – Stockholm was the 17th Major in CSGO history and the next two iterations are expected to come in 2022. 1. Dev1ce – 4x Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz was the anchor of Astralis’ potent offense and stiff defense. Time and again, his AWP would be the difference maker to ensure the Red-and-Black won a crucial round and demoralize opponents. He’s one of only five players to attend every Major in CSGO history and was awarded two HLTV MVP titles for the FACEIT London 2018 Major and the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019. 2. Gla1ve – 4x If dev1ce’s AWP was the brawn, then Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander was the brains of the Astralis CSGO squad, along with head coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen. The in-game dominance of Astralis’ firepower was only matched by the tactical brilliance to dismantle teams. While other teammates would claim most stats, the impact of gla1ve’s calls would shut down opponents before the first kill in a given round. 3. Xyp9x – 4x Andreas ‘Xyp9x’ Højsleth has long been hailed as ‘the Clutch Minister’ for being Astralis’ safety net when needed the most. He’s been to every Major and at one point held the record for most 1vX clutches at a single event (13) during IEM Katowice 2017. Though not the loudest of personalities, Xyp9x’s gameplay has lit up arenas all over the world. 4. Dupreeh – 4x The tip of the Astralis spear, Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen was instrumental in the Great Dane’s overwhelming attack. While others might have lit up the leaderboard, it all came off the back of dupreeh’s penchant for dismembering defenses. He’s been named a Top-20 HLTV player nearly every year since 2013. 5. Magisk – 3x Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif joined Astralis when it was well on its way to a dynasty but he immediately solidified himself as the gritty player the formula needed. With so much control and poise on the team, Magisk would be the spark that would ignite a round or shut down a stagnant offense. He was awarded the HLTV MVP for IEM Katowice 2019. 6. Flusha – 3x Fnatic tore the CSGO scene apart with Robin ‘flusha’ Rönnquist at the helm. The team hoisted the first CSGO Major trophy at DreamHack Winter 2013 and claimed two back-to-back titles in 2015. Flusha’s rifle would routinely be the lifeline Fnatic needed to pull together before running away with a match. They made up the last great dynasty before Astralis became the face of the modern age of CSGO. 7. Pronax – 3x Markus ‘pronax’ Wallste orchestrated Fnatic’s offense at the height of its power. The IGL was pivotal in the Swedes claimings three Majors in two years. Though Pronax would be overlooked by the legendary names at his flank, Fnatic claimed a lot of success off the back of Markus’s calls. 8. JW – 3x Two letters that still lights up venues after all these years, Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell has long been Fnatic’s ace when the team’s in a hole. His AWP would torment both sides of the map and his play would lay out the blueprint for how others would use the Big Green for years to come. 9. Olofmeister – 2x The best CSGO player in 2015, Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer Gustafsson has cemented his name and in-game likeness into CSGO history throughout his career. He’s one of only five players to attend all Majors to date. His trophies came from Fnatic’s triumphs at Katowice and Cologne 2015, and his legend only grows with every clutch or multikill in the twilight era of his career on FaZe Clan. 10. KRIMZ – 2x Mr. Consistency, Freddy ‘KRIMZ’ Johansson was the safety net of Fnatic’s immaculate offense. If it wasn’t JW getting picks, it was olaf and KRIMZ laying waste to frontline defenses. He still holds the record for highest kills in a single regulation map on LAN (44) and his catalog of 1vX clutches still defies belief.

Every CSGO coach implicated in coaching exploit scandal: Live tracker Dreamhack / ESL / Valve[jwplayer 3EyfiByz]Valve has recently announced that they will be issuing punishments to CS:GO teams for abusing a bizarre spectator exploit in-game. Here’s a list of all coaches that could be affected by Valve’s new ruling. After it was revealed that certain CS:GO coaches were abusing a spectator glitch in competition, Valve announced, on September 9, that they would be cracking down on the behavior. While the CS:GO devs explained they would start issuing their punishments once they have a clearer picture, tournament organizer ESL has already taken action against three coaches: Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia, Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen, Aleksandr ‘MechanoGun’ Bogatiryev. With the three receiving bans of different lengths, depending on how much they abused this glitch in-game. Numerous other coaches have since come forward, admitting that they have also made use of this glitch, following the efforts from Michal Slowinski & Steve Dudenhoeffer, who have been reviewing old demos to find more instances of this bug being used in competition. Any teams that have been found using this bug at Regional Major Ranking (RMR) events will have their RMR completely reset, making it much more difficult for them to qualify at the upcoming Majors. However, following the cancelation of ESL One Rio Major 2020, we are yet to see just how much of an impact this could have. According to a new report from DBLTAP, there could now be “over 15 coaches implicated” in this scandal, although many of them have yet to be publicly revealed. Here’s a list of all coaches that have admitted or been caught using this spectator bug in competitions so far. All CSGO coaches potentially affected Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia – 6-month ban from ESL events – Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen – 12-month ban from ESL events – Aleksandr ‘MechanoGun’ Bogatiryev – 24-month ban from ESL events, parted ways with Hard Legion – Aset ‘Solaar’ Sembiyev – Admitted to using bug – Faruk ‘pita’ Pita – Admitted to using bug – Ivan ‘F_1N’ Kochugov – Suspended from Gambit Youngsters – Arthur ‘prd’ Resende – Admitted to using bug – Peter ‘casle’ Sorensen – Admitted to using bug – Allan ‘Rejin’ Petersen – Admitted to using bug – Slaava ‘Twista’ Rasanen – Suspended from ENCE – It is worth noting that, while all of these coaches have used the glitch in some capacity, the extent of their exploit abuse is still unclear and may differ greatly. Similarly, more can be added to the list at any time, upon which we will be updating the piece.

eUnited release CS:GO coach after allegedly sending unsolicited ‘nude photos’ eUnitedeUnited have released their CS:GO coach Jared ‘osorandom’ Hartman, after evidence surfaced that he had sent unsolicited images to a graphic designer. Sophie Lidell shared a screenshot of direct messages between herself and Hartman on December 22, showing that he had apologized for “sending you an unsolicited photo.” In following tweets, Lidell confirmed that there had been “multiple nude photos” sent, without her asking for or agreeing to receive them. Ok so as this can be seen as confusing I’ll explain. Unsolicited pictures = multiple nude photos I didn’t ask for nor agree to being sent.— Soph (@DesignsByQueeny) December 22, 2018 The tweets quickly began to circulate on both Twitter and Reddit, and eUnited announced shortly after that Hartman had been released effective immediately. Osorandom set his Twitter account to private shortly after the details were shared by Lidell. Lidell explained that she had previously reported the incident to eUnited, but had asked “not to make such a huge deal about it,” as she did not want to tarnish the organization’s reputation. Ok so as this can be seen as confusing I’ll explain. Unsolicited pictures = multiple nude photos I didn’t ask for nor agree to being sent.— Soph (@DesignsByQueeny) December 22, 2018 Lidell says that she was initially hesitant to make the incident public, for fear of “ruining his life”, but managed to build up the courage to share her experience in hopes of protecting others. So no. I’m not a “”clout chaser””. Maybe if you took into consideration how difficult and hard it is to be able to gain the will and confidence to speak about this shit you’d understand slightly more . — Soph (@DesignsByQueeny) December 23, 2018 These kind of issues are common Lidell says, even claiming that she has suffered similar experiences with members of well known organizations like eRa Eternity (now defunct) and G2 Esports.

eUnited CS:GO pro details his frustrations with the organization amidst roster shuffling eUnitedCS:GO pro Skyler ‘Relyks’ Weaver had a tumultuous 2018 on the surface, but it was only after he opened up on the inner workings of his eUnited team during the year that fans and onlookers could see the source of his frustrations. eUnited is a North American organization who have generally been able to field a competitive CS:GO squad, but the team has seen many iterations to its roster in 2018 that have left players like Relyks stunned at the pace of its changes. In a TwitLonger post, Relyks gave his timeline of events in regards to his position with eUnited and the many roles he was placed and subsequently bumped that eventually led to him to be ousted from the teams starting roster. Relyks paints a very strange situation even at the very start of his time at the org, as he was thrust into the in-game leader (IGL) position “due to an unfortunate circumstance” in the team. Having to take the reins of a CS:GO squad for the first time, eUnited actually had a fair amount of success while being led by the 23-year-old. But unexpected signings in the following months saw the IGL spot taken away from Relyks, while being bounced from role to role within the squad. My 2018, eUnited and the Future Read: https://t.co/9NiO3vjiB5 — eU Skyler (@RelyksOG) January 3, 2019 His log of the events, although succinct, can be pretty hard to follow, but that only adds to the chaotic nature of eUnited’s structuring during his time there. Although Relyks doesn’t seem to carry any animosity over his “ex” organization and teammates, the experience seems to have lit a fire within the American to make 2019 a better year.

Esports talent agency Prodigy ramps up support of “groundbreaking” CSGO academy team Prodigy AgencyProdigy Agency, one of the biggest esports talent agencies in the world, has announced that it is providing increased support to its CS:GO academy project, called The Prodigies. The Prodigies is the brainchild of Jérôme Coupez, the founder and owner of Prodigy Agency, which represents some of the biggest esports talents in the world, including Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut, Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo, and Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski. Coupez launched The Prodigies at the start of the year as a way to support and bring visibility to up-and-coming CS:GO players. The first two seasons in the ESEA platform acted as a testing ground for the project, with Coupez himself competing for the team. He also hired a production company to broadcast the team’s matches, and professional casters. Some of the players have gone on to join professional teams, which strengthened Coupez’s conviction that he was doing the right thing. For ESEA Season 42, he is taking more of a hands-off approach, but for good reason: Through the support of a number of partners, The Prodigies have grown to the point that they now have six players, two coaches, and an analyst. The selection process for the team began in late June and resulted in over 200 applications. That list was whittled down to 50 hopefuls, who took part in trials until the six finalists were determined. While part of The Prodigies, the players will receive a salary, mentorship from veterans like Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire and Nathan ‘NBK-‘ Schmitt, bootcamp opportunities and guidance from the company’s agents. Despite the investment that has gone into the project, Coupez highlighted that the players will be able to join a professional team at any time, free of charge. The application process will remain open as he wants to continue to unearth the superstars of the next generation. “It’s a project that is very important for me and I’ve been working on defining the concept with two initial pilot seasons,” Coupez said in a statement. “This is truly a ground-breaking project for the whole CS:GO ecosystem with the goal to give a once-in-a-lifetime chance for young and promising players, having their first salary and contract, and to be seen by all the professional teams. “The traction that we are already having around the project is incredible and I can’t wait to push it way further in the future, with a lot of expansion ideas in mind. We are dedicating a lot of resources to support The Prodigies with Prodigy Agency but I’m also thankful to our partners who believe in this project and share our goal to support the young players: Razer, CS.Money, Scope.gg and Refrag.” The Prodigies CS:GO roster Sebastiaan ‘Acorn’ Wehnes – Timothy ‘tvs’ Sjöberg – Sébastien ‘SBT’ Sabbadin – Mihai ‘fNk’ Costache – Nolen ‘noleN’ Vida – August ‘Straxy’ Canavan – Patrik ‘pakesZ’ Rozsos (coach) – Oliver ‘kZy’ Heck (coach) – Felix ‘Frøg’ Bergeron (analyst) –

Esports org drops CSGO player two days after signing over allegations of racism GamerLegionGamerLegion have announced they have parted ways with Chloe ‘KittyTM’ Geaney, who was signed on as a part of their women’s CS:GO roster, GL Prism, just two days after announcing the team on social media. GamerLegion, a German esports organization that has gotten some recent buzz thanks to a second-place finish at the BLAST Paris Major, has gotten into hot water recently with the signing of a women’s CS:GO roster. The organization announced the roster on September 23, and dropped one of its players just two days later. In the organization’s statement about dropping the player, KittyTM, it highlighted its commitment to diversity. “We firmly denounce discriminatory comments and behavior, as they not only harm individuals but also tarnish the spirit of competition that esports embodies. That is why parting ways with KittyTM is inevitable and with immediate effect. We deeply regret any harm that may been caused by the comments made, and we are committed to learning from this experience as well and continuing our efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in esports,” the statement said. Esports org dropped player after allegation of racism The statement comes after multiple alleged screenshots of KittyTM using racial slurs were posted on social media following the organization’s initial team announcement. The player has yet to comment on her alleged messages and exit from the team via her own social media. GamerLegion announced the signing of KittyTM and the rest of the Let Her Cook roster after the team was already in the midst of the ESL Impact season. The league is a women’s only CS:GO competition, and features some of the top European teams including NAVI Javelins, G2 Oya, Guild and Nigma Galaxy. The league feeds into a LAN tournament which will feature top teams from Europe, North America, South America and Asia. GL Prism is now down to four players and will have to find a stand-in for their match against NAVI Javelins on September 27.

Esports org Copenhagen Flames files for bankruptcy João Ferreira/DexertoDanish esports organization Copenhagen Flames has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy and laid off all personnel. In a statement posted on Copenhagen Flames’ website, CEO Steffen Thomsen explained that the decision was made after it failed to find funding to sustain operations for the club. Only two weeks ago, Copenhagen Flames had announced that they were seeking an investment of 5 million DKK ($740,000 USD) to balance their books and launch a series of initiatives to ensure their profitability for 2024 and beyond. “For the past six months we have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but unfortunately we have failed,” Thomsen said. “And for that I am deeply sorry. In the end it is my responsibility and I feel like absolute shit that it has come to this.” Launched in 2016, Copenhagen Flames proudly described itself as the “Ajax of Esports” because of its ability to develop young CS:GO players and sell them for a profit. In 2021, their CS:GO team, made up of virtually unknown players on the global stage, qualified for PGL Major Stockholm. A few months later, it repeated that feat by qualifying for PGL Major Antwerp, where it even reached the playoff stage. Shortly after the Major in Belgium, the team fell apart as the players joined teams like G2, Heroic and Fnatic. The organization quickly assembled a new lineup of Danish players but success was hard to come by, with the team unable to qualify for either IEM Rio or the BLAST Paris Major. “It is no secret that esport clubs have been and are struggling financially and especially the past six-nine months have been absolutely horrendous for us in terms of securing partnerships of any kind, both in terms of extending already existing ones as well as gaining new ones,” Thomsen said. “Marketing budgets are getting slashed by brands in a lot of businesses because of the global financial crisis and so our most important source of income has been reduced in a huge way and we have struggled to close out even smaller partnerships. Missing out on the past two Majors hurt us as well as we set a goal of going to at least one Major each year, to secure income but also for brand recognition, exposure, player sales and the gains in followers across all social media platforms. “And again, we know the risk of this approach, you can’t count on results in sports and we have always been looking to build a club that was independent of sporting income. But to get to that stage you need a solid foundation built from sporting success – at least to some extent.” Esports winter takes another victim Copenhagen Flames are the latest organization to cease operations during this period of economic turmoil with rising inflation and high interest rates. On April 17, Tricked, another Danish esports organization, filed bankruptcy after over a decade in the business. Two months earlier, it had closed down its professional esports division, citing the inability to “meet the ambitions in the current market.” Thomsen said that, after dropping the Fortnite roster at the start of this year, Copenhagen Flames began looking for ways to keep the organization afloat. However, talks with potential investors broke down due to how “the esports scene has developed the past year”. Copenhagen Flames have three teams, all competing in CS:GO. (In addition to a men’s roster, the organization fields a women’s team and an academy lineup). Danish AWPer Asger ‘Farlig’ Jensen, who played for the men’s squad, described this as a “sad day” for esports. He did not state what the future holds for his team, which is currently ranked 55th in the world. Thomsen noted that the organization will look after the best interests of players and staff during the upcoming process. Shutting Copenhagen Flames down and letting go of everyone, he added, “feels extremely disappointing and heartbreaking.” “I am immensely proud of what we achieved during these past 7 years without ever compromising our values, our mission or our conscience,” he said. “We never looked for shortcuts or the quick buck. We have treated everyone with respect, honesty and transparency. “That is what Copenhagen Flames was. Something you can trust, something to aspire to, look up to or want to be part of. That was the vision in 2016 and despite this ending, I know in my heart that we became and were exactly that.”

Esports in times of war: How NAVI are navigating Russia-Ukraine conflict João Ferreira/ESPATAleksey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov, NAVI’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), spoke to Dexerto about the steps the organization has taken to continue operating amid Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. NAVI’s last tweet on February 23 was a Dota2 meme with the head of Squee, one of the three characters that make up the hero known as Techies, photoshopped onto Sonic’s body in a scene from the 2020 film Sonic the Hedgehog. The tweet came out 20 minutes after Valve had released gameplay patch 7.31, featuring a major rework of the polarizing hero. At the time, the possibility of an imminent war seemed to many like a remote scenario. The following day, as explosions began to echo around Ukraine, NAVI’s tone on social media changed drastically, the memes and the feel-good posts giving way to condemnations of Russia’s invasion and calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Since then, NAVI, a Kyiv-based organization, have mostly used their social media platforms to raise awareness and support for Ukraine. The only video uploaded on their YouTube channel in the last two weeks was a collection of statements from Ukrainian esports figures calling for peace and unity. For an organization the size of NAVI, with approximately 170 employees, between management, operational staff, and players, the work never stops, even during these times of war. Many of the company’s Kyiv employees have since moved to other areas, but some still remain in the capital, a city on edge as Russian troops continue to press deep into the country. NAVI have two main areas of focus at the moment: making sure that the company can operate, and helping those in Ukraine in every possible way – which includes providing assistance with resettlement, helping with donations, and showing to the world what is happening in the country. With some employees still seeking refuge in shelters and others having joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces (including NAVI founder Alexander ‘ZeroGravity’ Kokhanovskyy), those available have their hands full. “A lot has changed, so everyone who can work has other tasks,” NAVI COO Aleksey ‘xaoc’ Kucherov tells Dexerto. Xaoc, a former Counter-Strike professional player who worked for HellRaisers and Heroic prior to joining NAVI in 2020, left Ukraine with his family a few days before the start of the invasion, “just in case”. Along with members of the finance and legal teams in NAVI, he has relocated to another country — a decision that safeguards the company’s interests in the event the war continues to escalate. “Without that, it would be even harder for employees,” he explains. “The risk had to be reduced.” Helping the CS:GO players NAVI’s CS:GO team learned about the invasion while in Poland competing at IEM Katowice, one of the biggest and most prestigious events on the calendar. On February 25, an emotional and distraught Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev delivered a powerful message of peace as he stepped onto the stage at the Spodek Arena. The Ukrainian superstar, who lives in Kyiv, spoke about all the friends he has made in his career and how esports players have nothing to do with government decisions. He made sure to mention that he has Russian teammates and that they remain a tight-knit group through these difficult times. The speech, watched over 3 million times on Twitter alone as of March 10, perfectly encapsulated that special quality about s1mple that is reserved for the all-time greats, those global icons who transcend the game they play. After the event came to an end, the team traveled in different directions, with s1mple, Valeriy ‘b1t’ Vakhovskiy and team coach Andrey ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskiy remaining in Poland, while the Russian trio of Kirill ‘Boombl4’ Mikhailov, Ilya ‘Perfecto’ Zalutskiy and Denis ‘electronic’ Sharipov returned home. “We are thinking about how best to proceed,” xaoc says. “We hope that the Russians will still be able to leave the country in the near future. Flights are being canceled, and it is getting incredibly harder to let people out at the border. The situation with visas, whether new ones will be issued, is not very clear. “The first few days, the team was in complete shock, but now they have started to realize that there are no other options.” S1mple, who is staying at the Kinguin Esports Performance Center in Warsaw, has opened up about the mental and emotional toll that the war and the distance from his family and friends have taken on him. In a recent stream from his room, he revealed that he had missed his mother’s birthday because of the conflict and that she had had to celebrate the occasion with the lights out for fear that her house might be shelled. He also confessed that he hasn’t felt like playing the game of late. “We’re trying to help their relatives because it is impossible to do anything when they are in such danger,” xaoc said of the support being provided to the team’s Ukrainians. “We are dealing with their future place of residence, traveling, and visas. A lot of things change every day.” But it’s not just the Ukrainians in NAVI’s ranks who are in need of assistance. According to xaoc, some of the organization’s Russian players “are trying to escape the country while they still can”, fearful of what might come next as the conflict drags on and can take many new forms. “They think about changing citizenship if possible because they already understand what awaits them in the near future,” he says. Impact on Ukrainian esports Two weeks on from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war continues to threaten much of Ukraine, permeating every aspect of its society. After years of sustained growth in multiple areas, Ukrainian esports are now forced to adjust to a new reality: that things won’t be quite the same for a long time. On March 2, Ukrainian organization HellRaisers, founded in 2014, announced that they were putting their operations on hold for the entirety of the conflict. Twenty-four-year-old Viktor ‘sdy’ Orudzhev, who plays for CS:GO team MAD Lions, has joined the civil guard in Kostopil after relocating from Kyiv to the small town located in northwest Ukraine. Employees at WePlay Esports, a Kyiv-based tournament organizer, have been working remotely since February 24, and while the company has vowed to “continue all our legal and financial duties for ourselves and our partners”, questions remain about the future of its CS:GO academy league. The tournament’s LAN component, one of its most valuable aspects as it gives young players much-needed stage experience, was already absent from Season 3 in early February due to concerns over the geopolitical situation in Ukraine. Xaoc believes that the impact on the country’s esports scene will largely depend on the duration of the war. NAVI, who will discuss the possibility of moving the organization’s headquarters from Kyiv to a different location “in the near future”, have had to put some projects on hold until some clarity about the future is achieved. “Many partners understand everything and support us, for which we are very grateful,” xaoc says. “They know our approach to cooperation and are confident that everything will be fine in the future.” For several days, NAVI’s social media accounts have been silent, but in the background, there is a frenzy of activity to get the company back to normal – whatever normal means in these dark times in which the lives of millions have been torn apart. On the agenda is trying to get the CS:GO team’s Russian players to Germany for ESL Pro League 15. If they are able to make the trip — NAVI are confident they will —, it will be another opportunity for esports to send out a message of unity and coexistence. And for the team to give their loyal supporters, particularly those in Ukraine, a reason to smile. “We would like to thank our fans for their support during these times,” xaoc said. “For their active stance and understanding.”

Esports casters share horror stories of late payments in the industry A plethora of Counter-Strike talent called attention to the toughest part of working as a freelancer in the esports industry, shared stories of not being paid on time, and even threatened to start calling out tournament organizers who are allegedly still behind. Being owed money is the worst feeling, especially when you’re the person who has to keep reminding the person who owes you. What makes it even more annoying, is when it’s a larger company that keeps pushing back the payment date. For people in esports, this is more of a common occurrence than it should be, especially in a scene like Counter-Strike where nearly all the talent consists of freelancers. Caster and commentator Vince ‘OnFireVince’ Hill expressed his concerns online on October 24, and alleges that he’s still owed payment from over two months ago, and has reached out several times to only be ignored further. Dear TO’s (some not all) I’m understanding about not being paid after a month or two, after that is taking the piss, especially when I’ve reached out and been ignored multiple times. We need to pay bills and frankly worry when this happens. Sort it out. Regards, Freelancers.— Vince (@OnFireVince) October 24, 2019 Fellow caster under the Room On Fire team, Jason ‘moses’ O’Toole, replied to Vince saying that he himself was tired of handling it internally, and may resort to publicly calling out these organizations. Vince warned of the dangers of “burning bridges” by doing so, and acknowledged in a follow-up video that just by making the tweet, he may have “put himself in the crosshairs.” But Vince doubled down in his video, calling more attention to the issue and driving home how frequently it allegedly happens. “Event after event after event. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, it isn’t even the tenth time it’s happened. It happens all the time to all of us.” This notion that it happens to multiple casters and talent at the very tops of their games was backed up by a slew of talent replying to his original tweet with their own tales of woe regarding late payments. This isn’t even the first time there’s been massive outcry from casters regarding the issue. Commentator Cory ‘Megaman’ Gilbert said the longest he’d gone was 10 months without payment. Lauren ‘Pansy’ Scott said that her stream literally saved her from not being able to pay rent. Scott ‘SirScoots’ Smith of the CS Professional Players’ Association suggested that talent start signing contracts with payment terms and penalties for late payments, but numerous people replied saying it would be near-impossible for organizers to agree to sign those. While none of the talent opted to name any of the organizations and organizers that owe them, it’s only a matter of time for the frustration of late payments to wear away at casters, until action is taken and/or organizers are called out.

Esports Betting Tips May 30th – Overwatch League and DreamHack Austin Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentEvery week, we take a look at some of the best matches in esports for prospective betters. Whether you’re looking for a low-risk favorite, an underrated underdog, or a shoot-for-the-moon upset, there’s a match somewhere for you, and we’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to provide a look at some of the most promising games in each of those categories. This week, upcoming matches in the crucial fourth stage the Overwatch League offer opportunities for upsets, but we look to CS:GO at DreamHack Austin for a more stable outcome. Get a $1.50 free sign-up with no deposit required. – DreamHack Austin OpTic Gaming TO WIN vs Rogue When: Friday, June 1, 21:30 UTC Odds: 1.30 vs 2.93 – Bet HERE The new OpTic Gaming line-up will be back in action at DreamHack Austin, where they fill face off against North American squad Rogue in their first match. The recent roster changes make OpTic an all-Danish team, with Jakob ‘JUGI’ Hansen and Marco ‘Snappi’ Pfieffer having joined from Heroic. The team’s first outing ended somewhat disappointingly in 9-12 place at the ESL Pro League Finals, but they were unfortunate to face off against eventual champions Astralis in the first round of the groups, and then were eliminated in a close series against SK Gaming. Nevertheless, this is a team built to challenge among the best teams in the world. On paper, OpTic Gaming is suddenly an incredibly formidable prospect – super-star potential in Kristian ‘k0nfig’ Wienecke, veteran experience from René ‘cajunb’ Borg, young talent in the form of JUGI, all communicating in their native language and directed by an experienced in-game leader. While this isn’t necessarily a team that would automatically be expected to be world-beaters, it is a squad that should be aiming to hang in the very upper echelons of world Counter-Strike. They shouldn’t even be in the same tier as their first obstacle in Austin, Rogue. Rogue is a respectable team in the second tier of North American CS, but they simply don’t have the pedigree, talent, or form to be expected to go toe-to-toe with this OpTic line-up. The new OpTic might still be finding its feet, but on sheer force of individual skill alone they should be a fairly safe favorite over Rogue. Feeling Lucky Overwatch League LA Valiant TO WIN vs LA Gladiators When: Thursday, May 31, 03:00 UTC Odds: 2.17 vs 1.57 – Bet HERE The battle for Los Angeles returns, but the stakes might well be higher than ever. As well as claiming intra-city superiority, the winner here will have a significantly greater chance of holding onto a spot in the $1.7 million end-of-season playoffs. Both teams currently sit within the qualifying top-six – Valiant in third, Gladiators in sixth – although the two are separated by just two match wins. While the Gladiator’s record might be slightly weaker, their run in Stage 4 so far has arguably been stronger. Of the Valiant’s four opponents so far, not a single one has won a series in Stage 4. On the other side, the Gladiators’ run includes wins over the Dallas Fuel and San Francisco Shock, both of whom have proven fairly formidable in this stage. Valiant’s position as the underdog is justified, then, and the eye-test of the two teams’ performances also suggests that Gladiators are the stronger right now. That being said, it’s worth bearing in mind that Valiant can only beat the teams in front of them, and so far they’ve knocked down all challengers as Gladiators have. While the Gladiators might be slightly favored, it’s well within the realms of possibility that the Valiant could take this series. This will be the biggest test for both teams so far this stage, and it’s a match-up that’s swung both ways in the past. Given that the odds put Gladiators as a distinct favorite here, if you’re feeling lucky a bet on the Valiant could result in a good return. Wildcard Overwatch League Philadelphia Fusion TO WIN vs New York Excelsior When: Wednesday, May 30, 23:00 UTC Odds: 4.70 vs 1.13 – Bet HERE New York Excelsior has been utterly imperious throughout the Overwatch League. They’ve won two Stage titles and lost only three matches total across the entire regular season so far. They sit nine wins clear of second place, and that gap is reflected in their performance. It’s been a long time since anyone has questioned whether they were the best team in the league. That being said, the New York Excelsior aren’t infallible. They’ve never yet gone an entire stage without losing a series, and if anything in Stage 4 they should be more likely to suffer defeat simply because they have so little to play for. The Excelsior have already locked in the number one seed for the playoffs, and the number one spot in the regular season. They’ll still be looking to qualify for the Stage playoffs, but they’d likely have to suffer several defeats to miss out on that. New York Excelsior is left, then, with almost nothing to play for other than competitive pride, and even on that front they’ve already proven themselves more than enough to worry little about regular season results at this stage. Meanwhile, for much of the league these matches might be the most important of the season. Philadelphia Fusion is one such team. They currently hold fifth place in the overall standings, within the top-six range that will qualify for the overall playoffs. They’re far from safe just yet, however, with only two matches separating them from seventh place. For the Fusion, every single match could yet be the difference between qualification and failure, and a win over the Excelsior would be a massive bonus, not only offering them safety from missing out but also potentially pushing them to a higher seed among the closely-stacked playoff hopefuls. Philadelphia Fusion is one of the three teams that has scored a win against New York Excelsior this season. They’re perhaps not in quite the same form now as they were then, and New York remains the most formidable opponent in the league, but the Fusion is one of the few with the potential peak to challenge them, and a decent wildcard bet for those looking to back a big upset. Get a $1.50 free sign-up, no deposit with Dexerto and visit Rivalry.gg for more odds on Overwatch, League of Legends, Call of Duty, DotA and CSGO.

Esports Betting Tips May 23rd – Overwatch League and StarSeries Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentEvery week, we take a look at some of the most interesting matches in esports for prospective betters. We’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to bring weekly insight into the world of esports betting by highlighting some of the matches that might be worth a venture. Whether you’re looking to play it safe or go high risk, high reward, there’s a match for you. This week, we’re looking at the upcoming Overwatch League matches, and the first round games of the StarLadder StarSeries CS:GO event. Get a $1.50 free sign-up with no deposit required. – Overwatch League Boston Uprising TO WIN vs Dallas Fuel When: Wednesday May 23, 23:00 UTC Odds: 1.21 vs 3.65 – Bet HERE The Boston Uprising became one of the strongest teams in the league during Stage 3. They were the first team to complete a whole stage of regular season matches undefeated, and reached the final of the stage playoffs before losing to the New York Excelsior. While New York Excelsior remain the consensus best team in the league, there’s no question that Boston Uprising claimed second place by the end of Stage 3. Several matches clear of the teams beneath them in the overall standings, they were expected to cruise to a spot in the season playoffs Unfortunately, in Stage 4 Boston’s form seems to have taken a hit, sustaining two losses in the opening week after a 14-match regular-season win streak. The team known as one of the strongest at dive compositions in the league has struggled to adapt to a meta in which, for the first time, dive isn’t always a safe strategy. If you’re betting on this match, those week-one losses might have done you something of a favor, as Boston in Stage 3 form would likely have been even more favored by the odds. A bit of vulnerability proves that it doesn’t take the unmatched New York Excelsior to beat them. There’s almost no world, however, in which that weakness is so great that it allows the Dallas Fuel to defeat the Uprising. Dallas hasn’t been a top team throughout the season, and there’s no sign that things have significantly improved in Stage 4. Dallas put a win on the board over the still-winless Shanghai Dragons, but they were rocked by the LA Gladiators. Even a slumping Uprising should be a safe bet against a team that is only saved from being the weakest in the league by the presence of the Dragons. Feeling Lucky Overwatch League Los Angeles Gladiators TO WIN vs Houston Outlaws When: Thursday May 24, 03:00 UTC Odds: 2.13 vs 1.59 – Bet HERE In Stage 3 of the league, these two teams had opposite records – Houston Outlaws finished at 4-6, while the Gladiators reached the stage playoffs with 6-4 in the regular season. For Stage 4, however, the Outlaws represent a far more formidable opponent. It seems that Houston is a patch team. On patches with a favorable prevailing meta they can be among the most formidable in the league, as in their second-place regular-season finish in Stage 1. When the patch moves away from their strengths, however, they’re not as strong at adapting as some other teams. The Stage 4 patch might be as perfect for the Outlaws as they could possibly have hoped for. The formerly omnipresent Tracer, the most glaring weakness in the Outlaws squad, is less prevalent than ever before, while heroes like Junkrat and Pharah return to strength – heroes that Jacob ‘Jake’ Lyon excels on. Widowmaker also plays a key role in the current meta, and the diminished frequency of dive compositions means more focus on the head-to-head duel with Widowmaker’s opposite number, an area that Jiri ‘Linkzr’ Masalin has historically thrived in. The meta shift has seen the Outlaws kick the stage off with big wins over Boston Uprising and London Spitfire, and accounts for the favorable odds they’re given here. However, the Gladiators are not to be underestimated. Baek ‘Fissure’ Chan-hyung continues to perform as one of if not the most impactful main tank players in the league, a walking testament to the power of the position in the right hands. Meanwhile, this is another team with a well-implemented DPS core. The Gladiators DPS may not be obvious Overwatch League all-stars, but between them they have all their bases covered and, most importantly, the team knows how and when to field different players depending on the team’s needs. When it comes to the Widowmaker duel in particular, the surge in form for Lane ‘Surefour’ Roberts across Stage 3 also means that this particular head-to-head can’t be taken as a given for the Outlaws. This match-up could ultimately determine which of these two teams reaches the end-of-season playoffs, the winner taking one step closer to claiming a spot in the overall top-six. In a match that really could go either way, it makes sense to back the underdog, at least as indicated by the odds. Wildcard HEREThere’s no question that Team Liquid are the favorites for this game. They’re coming in off of a second-place finish at the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals, and with the recent addition of Epitacio ‘TACO’ de Melo are looking well on track to establish themselves as one of the world’s strongest teams. NRG Esports, on the other hand, are a team whose big results have come exclusively online, whose stars are less experienced at a tier-one level, and whose result at that same tournament was a top-twelve, only claiming a win over Korean squad MVP PK. NRG’s showing at IEM Sydney, while yielding the same result, was more impressive. They pushed eventual finalists and the best team in the world right now, Astralis, into overtime, and were ultimately eliminated in a 1-2 defeat against G2 Esports that arguably could have been theirs with slightly fewer mistakes. While it’s apparent that NRG performs better online than offline, at least so far, there are definitely suggestions that there are some real strengths to this team. With some experience at tier-one events now under their belt, NRG Esports still has time to Even if they do so, they’re almost certainly not going to be a stronger team than Team Liquid overall, but if the right pieces come together in a best-of-one its feasible that they could walk away victorious, especially in the first round of a Swiss system, which has been known to produce upsets more frequently than some other formats. Get a $1.50 free sign-up, no deposit with Dexerto and visit Rivalry.gg for more odds on Overwatch, League of Legends, Call of Duty, DotA and CSGO.

Esports Betting Tips May 17th – EPL Finals, Overwatch League, and LoL’s MSI Every week, we take a look across esports for the most interesting matches to bet on. When done responsibly, betting on a match can make it all the more enjoyable to watch, the intensity of the game amplified by the personal consequences of the outcome. We’ve teamed up with Rivalry.gg to provide weekly insight into some of the matches that might be most interesting for prospective betters. Whether you’re looking for a comfortable favorite, a bigger payout for a bit more risk, or a shoot-for-the-moon underdog, there’s a match for you. This week in esports, the highlight events are League of Legends’ Mid-Season Invitational, and the ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals in CS:GO. Get a $1.50 free sign-up with no deposit required. – https://glhf.rivalry.gg/get-started/?utm_source=dexerto&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=dexerto&utm_content=dexerto-free-150 Play It Safe ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals Astralis TO WIN vs Team Liquid When: Thursday May 17th, 22:00 UTC Odds: 1.22 vs 3.54 – BET By most estimations, Astralis is the number one team in the world right now – although it’s a title they themselves have denied. Though they fell in an incredibly close final series against FaZe Clan at IEM Sydney, Astralis have all the makings of a world-beater over the coming months. While they certainly don’t lack for star power – the move to Astralis seems to have rejuvenated Emil ‘Majisk’ Reif in particular – what’s most remarkable about Astralis’ rise is the structural element. Unlike other number one candidates over recent months, this isn’t a team reliant on individual superstars for success. That model has proven unreliable, but Astralis’ success comes off the back of phenomenal team cohesion and a solid strategic and tactical foundation. The Astralis system has produced what looks like the most consistent elite team CS:GO has seen for some time. On the flip side, Team Liquid certainly isn’t a weak team right now. As Cloud9 continues to struggle TL have established themselves as the clear number one North American team, and they have both the pieces and the structure to challenge as one of the world’s top teams over the coming months. So far in the tournament they’ve cruised through the opening rounds, but the opponents they’ve faced – Grayhound and Space Soldiers – don’t come close to the challenge that Astralis represents. This Astralis isn’t prone to being upset, and it took the best shot of the most talent-stacked team in the world to take them down at IEM, and even then only by a handful of rounds. Over a best-of-three, Astralis is about as safe as it gets right now. Read more: Former Cloud9 Star shroud Makes an Exciting Announcement About a Return to Competitive CS:GO – Feeling Lucky Overwatch League Houston Outlaws TO WIN vs London Spitfire When: Friday May 18th, 01:00 UTC Odds: 2.49 vs 1.43 – BET Given recent history, it’s perhaps a little surprising to see so great a disparity in odds between these teams. Both teams are coming off of a particularly weak Stage 3. London Spitfire finished in sixth while Houston Outlaws placed ninth, although the difference between the two was only one match win. Typically, it has to be expected that the all-star squad of London Spitfire would be more likely to recover its form, but historically this is a match-up that the Houston Outlaws have always gotten the better of. Houston has beaten London in all three stages so far, with London only having won the duel once, in the Stage 1 playoffs. Even in London’s most successful season in terms of regular season record – Stage 2 – a weakened Houston were responsible for one of their two losses. The stakes for each of these teams are also different in this match. With this being the final stage of the regular season, it’s the last chance to secure a spot in the $1.7million end-of-season playoffs, and so every victory might be crucial. London Spitfire, however, already sits fairly comfortably in third place, several wins clear of the current top-six cut-off for playoffs. Houston Outlaws, meanwhile, sits in eighth place – for them, every single match could be the difference between qualifying or not. If you were betting on which team would end the stage with a higher placement, London would be a safer choice. In this head-to-head match, however, history says the Outlaws at the very least have a good shot at taking it. Wildcard LoL Mid-Season Invitational Flash Wolves TO WIN vs Kingzone DragonX When: Saturday May 19th, 10:00 UTC Odds: 3.33 vs 1.25 – BET Kingzone is supposed to be the best team in the world. They dominated the LCK Spring split, losing just two matches in the regular season before taking the title relatively comfortably. This is a team already positioned to go down as an all-time great squad. The roster is deadly at every position. Top-laner Kim ‘Khan’ Dong-ha is for most the best in the world at his position. Likewise mid-laner Gwak ‘Bdd’ Bo-seong, who might be the first player to surpass Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok as the king of mid since Faker’s reign began. In the bot-lane is one of the longest-standing and accomplished duos in the world. Kim ‘Pray’ Jong-in and Kang ‘GorillA’ Beom-hyeon remain, as they have been for several years, arguably the strongest bot-lane in the world. Capable of playing with limited resources or as the primary focus, they are arguably the core component of this exceptionally stacked squad. Rounding out the line-up is Jungler Han ‘Peanut’ Wang-ho, reunited with former ROX Tigers team-mates PraY and GorillA. Peanut might be coming off an underwhelming season with SK Telecom in 2017, but in Kingzone he’s reclaimed to dominant form that saw him raised as one of the best junglers in the world. On paper this makes Kingzone an incredibly daunting prospect, and domestically that’s exactly how things played out – a multi-threat team capable of pivoting to almost any strategy, almost impossible to put into a position of discomfort in pick-and-ban and with a ludicrous level of individual skill across the board. In the MSI group stage, however, Kingzone looked distinctly mortal. Two losses to Flash Wolves themselves helped drop them down into a third-place finish. Flash Wolves themselves have been a revelation so far at MSI. With the LMS having lost its major region status in 2017 after perhaps the weakest year the region has ever seen, the Flash Wolves had to win a match in the play-in stage to even reach the main group stage. Meanwhile, for the first time in years the Flash Wolves is without jungler Hung ‘Karsa’ Hau-Hsuan, whose synergy with mid-laner Huang ‘Maple’ Yi-Tang has historically been one of the team’s greatest strengths. At the same time, in a meta favoring strong AD Carrys, Flash Wolves’ Lu ‘Betty’ Yu-Hung was largely overlooked while the major region teams each feature a legend at the position. While expectations might have been low, the results certainly haven’t been. Flash Wolves blitzed the first round-robin of the group stage, defeating every single opponent and reaching a 6-0 record before eventually dropping a game to Fnatic. History suggests that Kingzone still deserve to be significantly favored in the semi-finals – Korean squads have typically been most dangerous in best-of-five series, and Kingzone can hit a peak that Flash Wolves can’t match. With Flash Wolves having won both previous engagements, however, it’s not at all impossible that they could pull off the upset.

Esports Betting Tips May 10th – ECS League CS:GO and Overwatch Contenders Blizzard EntertainmentDexerto has teamed up with Rivalry.gg to bring weekly insight into the world of esports betting. Whether you’re a newcomer or esports veteran, looking to play it safe or go for the riskier plays by supporting an underdog, we take a look at the most promising options and why you might want to back a particular team. This week, we’re highlighting some of the most promising matches in the online stages of the ECS League for CS:GO, as well as a potential upset for the most prestigious Overwatch title outside of the Overwatch League itself. Get a $1.50 free sign-up with no deposit required HERE – ECS League Astralis TO WIN vs Gambit Esports When: Thursday May 10th, 18:00 UTC Odds: 1.22 vs 2.54 – Bet HERE For this week’s safe bet, we’re once again looking to Astralis for a consistent favorite. Astralis might be coming off a loss at IEM Sydney, but their defeat in the final came at the hands of arguably the most skilled line-up ever put together in CS:GO, and even then a mere handful of rounds might have turned FaZe Clan’s 3-0 victory into the very same score-line in favor of Astralis. Even in spite of the loss, there’s a very strong argument to be made that Astralis is the best team in the world in terms of form right now. They’re displaying a consistency and depth that few teams have demonstrated in recent months, making them far less vulnerable to upsets than other potential world leaders. Gambit isn’t in quite the degree of disarray it was not too long ago, with the addition of Denis ‘seized’ Kostin to take over the in-game leadership having helped reinvigorate the team to some degree, resulting in a top-four finish at DreamHack Marseille. That being said, this is still a team that hasn’t really been a major threat at the highest level since the departure of Danylo ‘zeus’ Telenski, and they have neither the tactical prowess nor the fragging power to go toe-to-toe with Astralis in current form. In online competition there’s never going to be a guaranteed win and Astralis isn’t infallible, but they are the closest thing you’ll find anywhere in CS:GO right now. They’re the team to back if you’re looking for a safe bet. Read more: The G2 CS:GO Project With NBK- and Mixwell Could be Aborted as the Organization Considers New Roster With Shox – Feeling Lucky ECS League Renegades TO WIN vs OpTic Gaming When: Friday May 11th, 23:00 UTC Odds: 2.15 vs 1.57 – Bet HERE OpTic Gaming recently made a roster move that formed an all-Danish squad, a line-up on paper that appears to have all the pieces necessary to create a legitimate contender on the international stage. In its infancy, however, the team may be vulnerable to a few upsets. The new squad has so far only played one official match, also in ECS, against eUnited. In that case OpTic Gaming lost both maps convincingly, although the roster change had only been made days before and they were all playing from Europe on a North American server. While the new OpTic has now had weeks of practice rather than days, they’re still very much unproven, and there’s also a distinct possibility they’ll once again be playing with a connection disadvantage – although exactly where in the world the OpTic players will be when this match occurs hasn’t been officially confirmed. Renegades, meanwhile, have been in fine form of late. While they might not have found a direct replacement for the consistent firepower of Keith ‘NAF’ Markovic, AWPer Noah ‘Nifty’ Francis has increasingly demonstrated an ability to fill the gap. The team is coming off of another solid showing at IEM Syndey, during which they took down eventual champions FaZe Clan 2-1 in the group stage and played Mousesports incredibly close in the quarter-finals. OpTic have had more time since their first official match, but Renegades are a more dangerous squad than eUnited. Without more data on both of these squads it’s hard to say whether or not a Renegades victory should even be considered an upset, so its definitely worth backing the better odds on Renegades here if you’re willing to accept a bit more risk. Wildcard Overwatch Contenders Korea Ardeont TO WIN vs X6 Gaming When: Saturday May 12th, 05:00 UTC Odds: 3.14 vs 1.27 – Bet HERE The first season of Overwatch Contenders Korea, effectively the successor to OGN’s APEX, is approaching its final match. The tournament may not have quite as much prestige now that many of the country’s best are competing in the Overwatch League, but its still no mean feat to take Korea’s highest domestic title. The obvious favorite for the inaugural Contenders Korea was Element Mystic, who didn’t drop a series in the regular season and lost a mere two games across the five four-game matches they played. Ardeont were supposed to be Element Mystic’s first victim in the playoffs, but Ardeont went off-script by defeating the top-seeded team in the first round. Having taken down the heavy hitters, they made quicker work of Meta Bellum to reach the finals. Their opponent for the title will be X6-Gaming, who as the more likely finalist come in significantly favored by the odds. The disparity in regular-season form between these two teams is likely the biggest source for the imbalance, but while X6 have looked consistently solid, it’s Ardeont’s surge in the playoffs that makes this match particularly interesting. Ardeont have the odds of a significant underdog, but they’ve already pulled off one such upset in their playoff run. Victory here would be no more surprising than the victories Ardeont needed to even reach this match, and so if you’re willing to take a chance that their surge in form holds they may well be capable of claiming the title.

ESL unveil NFT fashion drop with partnered CSGO teams ESLTournament organizers ESL have unveiled their first-ever NFT collection, featuring some of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the world. After announcing their intentions to dive into the world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs — non-fungible tokens that verify ownership of assets on the blockchain — back in October 2021, ESL have officially revealed their first endeavor in digital goods. The first of the company’s NFT projects is a fashion drop featuring eight of their partnered CS:GO teams that includes branded collectible gloves and outfits. The drop features teams such as Astralis and Natus Vincere and will be available for purchase from November 10 at 5 p.m. Central European time. Each piece has been designed to fit the style of the eight organizations, which include Astralis, NAVI, Team Liquid, NIP, ENCE, Team Vitality, Fnatic, and Evil Geniuses. The team gloves are valued at 0.05 ETH ($220 at the time of writing) and are limited to a quantity of 30. The outfits are limited to 10 per team and will cost fans 0.15 ETH ($662 at the time of writing). “The Immutable team has gaming in their DNA and we share the same vision for the future of NFTs,” said ESL’s SVP of global business development, Bernhard Mogk, at the time of their official NFT announcement. “In combination with a deep passion for the community, this is the only way to forge meaningful innovation in the space. “We could not be more excited to launch on Immutable X, the best possible community-driven and fan-centric collectible platform to buy, collect and own some of the most memorable moments in EPT history.”

ESL under fire for lack of quality IEM Katowice 2020 qualifier coverage ESLIntel Extreme Masters Katowice 2020 kicked off the ESL Pro Tour on January 7, but the tournament organizer is already under fire after eager CS:GO fans are already missing out on some of the biggest headlines heading into the first night. ESL Pro Tour’s premiere night for its “open ecosystem connecting every ESL and DreamHack competition around the world” hit an early snag, with the TO only widely broadcasting the first round match of the NA Closed qualifier between Chaos EC and FURIA. While a great match in its own right, there were major debuts for highly anticipated rosters on the agenda that were lacking any significant coverage. Industry vets and the casual viewer alike were finding it hard to track down streams showing the debut for both Cloud9’s new roster and C9’s old roster wearing Gen.G colors against Complexity. Read more: Stuchiu: Best CSGO Players by Role in 2019 – “Complexity and Cloud9 ‘debut’ and Gen.G in only their third map,” user ‘ppears’ said. “Don’t give GOTV, only stream one match, and make it god damn Chaos v Furia. ESL ya okay?” The CS:GO community weren’t fans of ESL’s strategy for covering the first day of matches, and the people started to voice their disappointments. Comment byu/emanuellond from discussion inGlobalOffensive “ESL it is absolutely pathetic that in 2020 you can’t provided ips for matches that you are unable to cover,” popular Australian analyst Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill said. “I understand the desire to hold onto the control of your matches and qualifier broadcast but when you don’t actively try to show the matches people want to watch, what the f**k are you thinking?” What the fuck are you thinking? There are members of the community actvitely wanting to broadcast these matches for you. I’m sure they’d even use your overlay with sponsor roll if you made that a condition. — Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) January 7, 2020 There was even more backlash when ESL’s Twitch channel moderators were reportedly “blocking people complaining in the chat.” Fan desperation got to the point that popular Brazilian CS:GO streamer Alexandre ‘gAuLeS’ Borba started broadcasting HLTV’s live game logs of the matches; at one point, over 30,000 fans tuned in to watch. “All the Brazilians wanted at that moment was to watch our team’s matches,” gAuLes said. “And I would definitely use any HUD / overlay and promote any and all sponsors needed [to legally stream the Qualifiers].” The acquisition of the ATK lineup came as a surprise to those who weren’t savvy to the mounting reports for the C9’s impending deal. But once the ink dried, intrigue started building to see if this talented roster of sporadic flair could step up in their first outing representing The Nine. On the other side of the coin, it was Gen.G that piqued people’s interest. All eyes would be on how Indonesian star Hansel ‘BnTeT’ Ferdinand would pair with NA’s Major-winning Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta, all under the calls from Damian ‘daps’ Steele. But fans would have been lucky to catch a few coherent rounds of either game from a Russian streamer’s makeshift broadcast; the streamer had to switch between the action with both games in a creative picture-and-picture mode. The inaugural ESL Pro Tour got off to a shaky season, and with a long 2020 campaign, fans will be eager to see how the TO adapts to the growing concerns.

ESL to Host First Counter-Strike Major of 2019 at IEM Katowice ESL/Adela SznajderESL has announced that it will host the first CS:GO major in 2019, ESL’s sixth Major, and will make a return to the Polish city of Katowice for the third time, as part of the Intel Extreme Masters event. ESL last hosted a Counter-Strike major in 2016 at the famous Lanxess arena for ESL One Cologne, and the acclaimed tournament organizers have been granted Major Championship status from Valve once again. The Spodek arena where previous IEM Katowice events have been held is another iconic venue in Counter-Strike and will be lifted further by its largest ever prize pool. With $1,000,000 to be spread amongst the winners, the 24 best teams will compete for the lion’s share, over a gruelling number of weeks. Beginning on February 14th will be the ‘Challengers’ stage, in which 16 teams compete for a spot in the ‘Legends’ stage, starting February 21st. The Legends are made up of the top eight from the Challengers stage, plus the top eight teams from the previous major, which will be the FACEIT Major in London in September. February 14 – 20: will pit 16 teams against each other with competition held at the ESL Arena in Katowice. – February 21 – 24: will take place at the International Congress Center (ICC) as the best eight teams of the Challengers Stage and the top eight teams of the previous Major are battling for a spot in the playoffs in front of a live audience, ready to welcome over 1,000 fans. – February 28 – March 3: will be a four-day playoff taking place inside the legendary Spodek Arena, to crown a new world champion – LEGENDARY PLACE SUPREME MAJOR 2019 #IEM Katowice Major is coming! https://t.co/vGIDFTERti pic.twitter.com/VEUj3ilHhY— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) July 12, 2018 Vice President of Pro Gaming at ESL, Michal Blicharz, believes the already iconic IEM Katowice will be something legendary now that it has the Major status from Valve. “IEM Katowice has grown to become one of the most iconic esports tournaments in the world. I expect that coupling the heritage of IEM with the gravity of a Valve Major Championship will elevate the tournament to what will be the most incredible IEM event in history.” First up of course, fans have the FACEIT London Major to look forward to in September of 2018, but having the first of 2019 be at Katowice will no doubt start the year off with a bang.

ESL take action to stop crowd influence at IEM Rio Major ESLESL has been forced to take action to stop fans at the IEM Rio Major giving players on stage in-game information. After crowd cheers were reportedly influencing rounds, the tournament organizer has disabled minimaps and x-rays for fans at Riocentro. Crowd cheers at an esports event are common, and so too rowdy fans calling out information or hyping up a play before those on stage know what’s coming. However, at the IEM Rio Major 2022, it hit levels beyond what any expected. The Brazilian fans were getting right behind hometown heroes like Imperial and 00Nation, and in doing so were feeding information left and right with loud cheers. ESL has been forced to take action to stop the crowd influence from impacting competitive integrity, disabling the minimap and x-ray vision for fans at Riocentro. First reported by Roque Marques of Dust2, the tournament organizer will disable the features in spectator mode until further notice. While it might take away from the viewing experience for some at the venue, it also reduces the amount of information that could potentially be shared. Fans aren’t too pleased with the decision though, with apparent chants of “bring back the minimap” echoing around the arena. ESL confirmed the news in a statement, saying “the integrity of the tournament is the most important thing. “Over the last few days, there have been incidents which we believe have put this at risk. We felt the need to remove the minimap and x-ray view for the on-site audience to protect the integrity of the tournament.” It has been criticized by some players though, with Andrei ‘arT’ Piovezan of FURIA claiming he and his team didn’t hear any callouts from fans. The IEM Rio Major has been electric, but it’s not been the best time for Brazilian fans. Both Imperial and 00Nation were knocked out early in Challengers Stage, falling without a single series win. On the other end of the spectrum, Bad News Eagles and MOUZ are already through to the Legends Stage. Games will continue for Day 3 of the Challengers Stage on November 2.

ESL signs new deal with GamingMalta until 2024 for Pro League ESLESL has announced that it has extended its partnership with GamingMalta to host ESL Pro League in the Mediterranean island until Season 20. The deal sees ESL bring top-tier CS:GO to Malta until the end of 2024, starting with the group stage of Pro League Season 16, which kicks off at the end of this month. The ties between ESL and Gaming Malta, an independent non-profit foundation set up by the Government of Malta and by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), go back to 2020. That summer, the two parties agreed to “a deep strategic partnership to foster and develop the Maltese esports community” after previously partnering for Pro League Season 11. Malta was due to be the host location for both ESL Pro League events in 2021 before they were moved to an online format because of the global health crisis. ESL Pro League returned to a studio setting for Season 15 in March, but the tournament ended up being in Düsseldorf, Germany. With the new agreement, ESL will bring both Conference Stage and Group Stage teams to Malta moving forward. (The Season 16 Conference Stage took place in Jönköping, Sweden, in June as part of DreamHack Summer.) ”The partnership with GamingMalta has shaped the ESL Pro League experience for CS:GO fans over the last two years and I am proud that it will continue to do so,” said Alex Inglot, Commissioner of ESL Pro League. “It has grown to become an essential part of the League’s identity and we are looking forward to having the very best players in the world competing in the unique environment of this beautiful Mediterranean island.” Meanwhile, ESL has said that the playoff stage of ESL Pro League Season 16 will be held in front of an audience in a venue created together with GamingMalta at the luxurious Salini Resort. Tickets for the event will go on sale on September 5.

ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals: Streams, schedule, results The world’s top CS:GO teams are set to clash once again at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals, taking place December 3-8. The EPL finals is one of the biggest events on the CS:GO calendar, with an offline regular season having already been played to determine the 16 teams in attendance, and $600,000 on the line. Glory and prize money aren’t the only incentive for success at the EPL Season 10 Finals, however – the event also counts towards Season 3 of the Intel Grand Slam, which itself offers a $1,000,000 bonus prize. As it stands, four teams – Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Fnatic, and Astralis – all have one win towards the four required for the grand slam, and with all four teams in attendance at the EPL Season 10 finals, each has a chance to take the lead in the competition. Meanwhile, the winner of EPL Season 10 will also receive a direct invite to IEM Katowice. Here’s everything you need to know to catch all the action at the ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals. How to watch ESL Pro League Season 10 Finals For the group stage, the EPL Finals will run two streams, with two matches occurring at any given time. Only one stream will be used for the playoffs. EPL Season 10 Finals Stream A EPL Season 10 Finals Stream B EPL Season 10 Finals teams Teams have qualified to the event through the offline regular season stages, with eight teams qualifying from Europe, six from North America, and one each from Oceania and Asia. The finals will begin with a group stage, with the sixteen teams separated into two groups. Each group will play a double elimination bracket, with best of ones used for the first round and best of threes for all subsequent matches. Three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. Group A teams Natus Vincere – TyLoo – FaZe Clan – MIBR – Heroic – 100 Thieves – Fnatic – Evil Geniuses – Group B Teams Astralis – Renegades (formerly Grayhound) – G2 Esports – Sharks Esports – Mousesports – ATK – North – Team Liquid – EPL Season 10 Finals Schedule & Results Group Stage Schedule Tuesday, December 3 Wednesday, December 4 Thursday, December 5 Playoff Schedule Friday, December 6 Saturday, December 7

ESL roast ENCE with hilarious ticker memes during IEM CSGO Beijing Tournament hosts ESL have been spicing up their IEM Beijing CS:GO tournament with a few hilarious and cheeky text updates throughout the event. Intel Extreme Masters [IEM] Beijing is one of the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments of the year, with eight teams fighting over a massive $250,000 prize pool and a spot at the new World Championship event in Katowice, Poland. The matches are incredibly intense and tough competition rages throughout the tournament days, however, hosts ESL have been lightening the mood with some hilarious text updates on their streams. No one really knows who the mastermind behind these jokes is, but they are absolutely hilarious. Some of the best updates come as digs at ENCE, with the news ticker popping up during the downtime just to roast the Finnish team. Comments like “ENCE: *places 2nd at Major tournament* Also ENCE: let’s kick Aleksib lmao” and “Jks’ role is to click heads, ENCE’s is to lose rounds and mine is to write this text” have been popping up throughout, much to the delight of fans. It’s not all about ENCE or roasting people, however, other silly updates such as “honestly no stats here just wanted to look at his mustache again lol” when the camera pans to Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai occasionally pop up and fans on social media are loving it. As soon as they popped up on screen, images quickly found their way to Twitter and the Global Offensive subreddit, leaving fans in hysterics. Things even dipped into some controversy, with ESL calling for the Krieg to be nerfed during a match break, something that is currently a hot topic as many professional players have also made complaints about the gun. The IEM Beijing action continues until November 10, with just four teams remaining in the playoff bracket. You can follow the event in our coverage hub, which is constantly kept up to date with the schedule, latest results, and streams.

ESL Rio CSGO Major delayed: New dates and expanded prize pool ESLThe first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major of 2020, ESL Rio, has been delayed from May until the end of November – though it will be taking place on LAN in Brazil. With the current health pandemic sweeping across the globe, esports and other sporting events have either been postponed or moved online in order to maintain the health and safety of those involved. As there appears to be no end in sight for the postponements, many Counter-Strike fans have questioned whether or not the ESL Rio Major would be taking place behind closed doors, online, or outright canceled altogether. ESL has now confirmed that the first major of the CS:GO calendar is being rescheduled until November, meaning that the event will keep its Major status and fill in the spot where the second Major of the year should have been. The Champions Stage of the event will still take place in the Jeunesse Arena in Rio, moving to the dates of November 19-22 instead of May 21-24. With the Major taking the place of the second Major, Valve has also doubled the prize pool, meaning that there will be $2,000,000 on offer rather than the usual $1,000,000. This prize pool change means that the winning squad is likely to take home $1,000,000 instead of the usual $500,000 – so we could see some huge changes in the highest earners table. The rescheduled event will also still count towards the Intel Grand Slam – meaning that should events be held between now and November, we could see an Intel Grand Slam champion crowned at the Rio Major. Read More: Top 20 most expensive CSGO skins in history – Teams from across the globe have already played for their qualifying spots in their respective regions – with the European, Americas, Asian, and CIS minor spots being claimed with a number of familiar faces like Fnatic, Team Dignitas, Cloud9, TYLOO, and Renegades. Though, it is unclear what this news will mean for the Minor as ESL hasn’t confirmed if they will be delayed or not.

ESL reveals future of Intel Grand Slam amid Counter-Strike 2’s upcoming release ESLESL has revealed the future for one of Counter-Strike’s most prestigious trophies, the Intel Grand Slam, as Counter-Strike 2 gears up for its Summer release this year. When ESL Pro League Season 17 wrapped up, it was a momentous occasion for Counter-Strike. Not only did FaZe Clan win their first Intel Grand Slam, but it also saw Twistzz crowned as the only two-time Grand Slam winner. However, questions surrounded ESL regarding the future of CSGO’s most prestigious achievements, as Counter-Strike 2’s release was confirmed mid-way into EPL Season 17. Would the Intel Grand Slam IV be the last in CSGO history? In a press release, ESL answered the burning question and more, outlining the future of the Intel Grand Slam. Contents: The future of the Intel Grand Slam ESL has announced Intel Grand Slam V will commence with IEM Rio 2023. ESL also revealed its plans for when CS2 eventually releases, confirming any tournament wins across both CSGO and CS2 will count towards a team’s Intel Grand Slam run. “Once the highly anticipated CS2 is released and implemented into the ESL Pro Tour ecosystem, any eligible event wins in CSGO will count towards the Intel Grand Slam and as such a team can complete their runs with wins in both CSGO and CS2” they announced. ESL has not revealed any further plans to move the entire circuit to CS2 as of yet, however, it is obviously expected once the game comes out from beta and into its full release. Rules for Intel Grand Slam V Here are the rules and requirements for Intel Grand Slam V, which remains largely unchanged: The Intel Grand Slam V will be completed by the first team to win three ESL Pro Tour Tournaments and one EPT Championship tournament (ie. IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, or ESL-operated Majors) inside the span of ten consecutive events. – Results from Intel Grand Slam IV will not count towards Intel Grand Slam V. – If a player leaves their team and wins an Intel Grand Slam event beforehand, they are ineligible to win any prize money from their run. – If a team that is about to complete their Intel Grand Slam is defeated in the finals of their fourth win, their opponents will receive a $100,000 “giant killer bonus”. – The “giant killer bonus” will not be awarded if the team denying the competition the Intel Grand Slam also completes their run in the same final. – There is no limit to how many “giant killer bonuses” are paid out in a single Intel Grand Slam campaign. – Previous Intel Grand Slam winners When FaZe Clan won the Intel Grand Slam IV, it made them the fourth-ever team to do so, with Twistzz being the only player to do it twice, given his previous win with Team Liquid. So, here is a list of which other teams have also won the Intel Grand Slam throughout CSGO history: Intel Grand Slam I – Astralis – Intel Grand Slam II – Team Liquid – Intel Grand Slam III – Natus Vincere – Intel Grand Slam IV – FaZe Clan – And that is all there is to know about the ongoing Intel Grand Slam V campaign for the time being. Should any changes arise throughout the year, we’ll be sure to update you here with any further details.

ESL to sell NFTs of CSGO Pro Tour’s “most memorable moments” ESLTournament organizers ESL are set to launch NFTs — non-fungible tokens that verify ownership of assets on the blockchain — based on their ESL Pro Tour CS:GO circuit. ESL are betting big on cryptocurrency as a means of increasing fan engagement in Counter-Strike, striking up a partnership with Immutable to launch their own NFT platform. The tournament organizer’s new partner will provide them with the infrastructure necessary to build and launch their own platform for collectibles including “some of the most memorable moments” in the tour’s history. It’s not clear at this stage exactly what the NFTs will consist of, however. The announcement instead focused on highlighting that their crypto efforts will be carbon neutral and include gas-free trading. ESL’s platform will allow CS:GO fans to buy, sell, and trade NFTs relating to the ESL Pro Tour, though no launch date has been mentioned at the time of publication. ESL recently welcomed more CS:GO teams as stakeholders in the Louvre Agreement, meaning they will become partnered teams in the ESL Pro League. As part of a stated $20m deal, BIG, Heroic, and FURIA all invested to strengthen their positioning in the Pro Tour. “The Immutable team has gaming in their DNA and we share the same vision for the future of NFTs,” said ESL’s SVP of global business development, Bernhard Mogk. “In combination with a deep passion for the community, this is the only way to forge meaningful innovation in the space. “We could not be more excited to launch on Immutable X, the best possible community driven and fan centric collectible platform to buy, collect and own some of the most memorable moments in EPT history.”

ESL Pro League Season 9: Finals playoff stage – Stream, schedule, results and more The ESL CS:GO Pro League Season 9 Finals are underway, with the group stages officially wrapped up ahead of the playoff portion of the tournament. The Season 9 Finals are taking place in Montpellier, France, with 16 of the world’s best Counter-Strike teams descending on the city to take part in the $600,000 tournament, with the winners set to pick up a cool $250,000. The tournament’s group stages saw the 16 teams weeded down to just six, who advance to the playoff stage of the tournament, and get the opportunity to play inside the Sud de France Arena. A number of huge teams are in attendance this week, but perhaps none bigger than Astralis and Team Liquid, who square off with the pair battling for supremacy at the top of the CS:GO world rankings. Team Liquid became the first ever North American team to sit atop of the rankings, ending the dominant Danes’ stranglehold at the summit, which lasted for 406 days. The pair are two of the favorites heading into the playoff stage, however, a shaky start to the competition from the North American squad will give others confidence that they can go on and secure the victory in France. Where can I watch the ESL Pro League Season 9 playoffs? The Season 9 playoffs are being streamed on the official ESL Twitch account. You can view all the action below. Watch live video from ESL_CSGO on www.twitch.tvWho has made it into the ESL Pro League playoffs? G2 Esports became the first team a spot in the playoff portion of the tournament, sealing their position as the 3rd place finishers from Group A with an emphatic 2-0 win over Heroic. What is the schedule for the ESL Pro League Season 9 playoffs? With the group stage concluded, games resumed on Thursday, June 20 with the two quarter final matches. The incredibly intense semi-finals took place on Saturday as Team Liquid continued to show why they are the number one team in the world. Yet, they’ll face a difficult test – and the might of the home crowd – taking on the resurgent G2 esports. Thursday, June 20 Friday, June 21 Saturday, June 22 Sunday, June 23 How did teams qualify for the playoff stage? The 16 teams who entered the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals were divided into two groups of eight teams, using their online league placements to seed them. The first matches in the group stages were best-of-ones, with all following matches using a best-of-three format. Group winners advance straight to the semi-finals, with runners up and third-placed teams proceeding to the quarter finals as higher or lower seeds respectively. You can view the full final standings of both groups below. Group A Group B This post was last updated on Sunday, June 23 at 09:40 am EST.

ESL Pro League Season 7 Finals $750,000 CS:GO Tournament – Final Placements ESLThe culmination of the 2018 ESL Pro League Season 7 came to its climax at the grand finals in Dallas, Texas. Sixteen international teams qualified for the LAN finals from the North American and European leagues, plus two teams from APAC and one from South America. Astralis took down FaZe Clan in a rematch of the grand final at IEM Sydney, a match which they lost 3-0, this time advancing to the grand final with a 2-0 win over their European rivals. More: OpTic Gaming Player k0nfig Apparently Told to Kill Himself and His Family For Comments About FaZe Clan’s GuardiaN – Top North American qualifier Team Liquid were equally impressive in booking their spot in the grand final, taking down mousesports and Na’Vi in fairly convincing fashion. However Liquid came into the Grand Final somewhat underdogs, having already been beated by their opponents Astralis earlier in the tournament, in what was a comfortable 2-0 Astralis win. Astralis took a 2-0 advantage in the best of five grand final, but Team Liquid did take their first map from them to bring it back to 2-1, and force a fourth map. Liquid looked on course to bring it to a deciding fifth map as they went up 11 rounds to 7, but an impressive comeback from Astralis saw them take the championship 16-12.

FaZe Clan win ESL Pro League Season 15: Full recap and results ESLThe 15th iteration of the ESL Pro League is in the books, after 24 of the best teams in the world fought it out for $823,000 in prize money. Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament. FaZe win ESL Pro League Season 15 with 3-1 win over ENCE – Vertigo, Overpass, Mirage, Dust2, and Ancient in best-of-5 finals – FaZe and ENCE advance to Grand Finals – With IEM Katowice in the rearview mirror, ESL was up next with its biannual Pro League, featuring some of the best teams on the planet. ESL Pro League 15 was initially due to be held in Malta, until organizers decided to move the tournament to a studio location in Düsseldorf. Most of the teams were unchanged from Katowice, save for MOUZ and FaZe, who had to field stand-ins in Poland due to the tournament’s health and safety protocols. ESL Pro League 15: Recap & Results Faze came into ESL Pro League fresh off a first-place finish at IEM Katowice looking to put NA CS:GO back on the map in a big way. Things started out dicey though, as they barely qualified for playoffs after coming in 3rd place in Group B behind ENCE and Furia. Once they reached the single-elimination bracket though, there was no stopping Karrigan and the boys. After a 2-1 win over Players (Gambit), FaZe would sweep Furia and NAVI 2-0 in each match. In the finals it all came down to a best-of-five against ENCE. Despite trading the first to maps to tie it at 1-1, FaZe pulled away on Dust II and Mirage to seal the deal and walk away with the trophy. Playoffs – April 5-10 R1: April 5 R1: April 6 Quarterfinals: April 7 Quarterfinals: April 8 Semifinals: April 9 Final: April 10 Group Stage (March 9 to April 3) Group D – March 30-April 3 Day 1: March 30 Day 2: March 31 Day 3: April 1 Day 4: April 2 Day 5: April 3 [Return to top] Group A – March 9-13 Day 1: March 9 Day 2: March 10 Day 3: March 11 Day 4: March 12 Day 5: March 13 Group B – March 16-20 Day 1: March 16 Day 2: March 17 Day 3: March 18 Day 4: March 19 Day 5: March 20 Group C – March 23-27 Day 1: March 23 Day 2: March 24 Day 3: March 25 Day 4: March 26 Day 5: March 27 [Return to top] ESL Pro League 15: Prize distribution ESL Pro League 15: All qualified teams Of the 24 teams attending this ESL Pro League season, 14 were invited as part of the Louve Agreement, which was recently extended through 2025. Four other teams booked slots through their placing in ESL’s world ranking, while the remaining six earned their way into the tournament via ESEA Premier and the EPL Conference. As Dexerto first reported, Virtus.pro’s team will attend the tournament as ‘Outsiders’ after ESL announced on March 2 that it would not allow Russian-based organizations to be represented in the tournament in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gambit have since stated that their players will compete under a neutral name, with ESL then revealing that the team will be called ‘Players’.

NAVI wins ESL Pro League Season 14 to complete $1 million Intel Grand Slam: Final placements & recap ESLESL Pro League Season 14 is officially in the books, with 24 top-tier CS:GO teams having fought it out for the prestigious title and a share of $750,000. Here’s everything you need to know on how NAVI locked up their Intel Grand Slam, including final placements, results, and more. NAVI lock up INTEL Grand Slam with win, taking home a cool $1,000,000 prize – S1mple named EPL MVP for 3rd year in a row – NAVI take down Vitality 3-2 in an action-packed Grand Final – ESL Pro League is one of the biggest events in professional CS:GO, bringing teams from all over the world together to fight it out for bragging rights and plenty of prize money. It’s a big event, and not just for its prestige. Teams earned points for the ESL Pro Tour and BLAST Premier, with several qualifying for the showcase events later in the year. Here’s what you need to know about Season 14, and how NAVI took home the gold. ESL Pro League Season 14 recap 24 of the world’s best CSGO teams battled it out in Group Stages to start off the season. By the beginning of September, that number had been cut in half for the beginning of the playoffs. Vitality breezed through Gambit and OG to set themselves up in the Grand Final, and NAVI didn’t have too much trouble taking down ENCE and Heroic to do the same. Heroic’s refrezh might have had the best play of the tournament, but that wouldn’t help them against NAVI in the Semis. The Grand Final was a battle though, and at times it seemed like the momentum could swing either way. Vitality fought hard, but in the end, it would be NAVI wrapping things up 16-14 on Mirage. Not only did s1mple and company take home the EPL trophy, NAVI also locked up the Intel Grand Slam. By winning IEM Katowice 2020, DreamHack Masters Spring, IEM Cologne 2021, and now ESL Pro League Season 14, they’ll be taking home an additional $1,000,000, on top of the $175,000 grand prize. 🥇#IEM Katowice 2020 🥇#DHMasters Spring 🥇#IEM Cologne 2021And now, #ESLProLeague Season 14 🏆@natusvincere have won the #IntelGrandSlam and the $1,000,000 prize! 💰 CONGRATULATIONS!@s1mpleO @Boombl4CS @B1tcs @perfectocsgo @electronicCSGO @Navi_B1ad3 pic.twitter.com/6gPQntRKfF — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 12, 2021 ESL Pro League Season 14: results ESL Pro League Season 14 final placements Teams receive $5,000 per group stage win. Group Stage Group A: August 16 — August 20 Day 1: August 16 Day 2: August 17 Day 3: August 18 Day 4: August 19 Day 5: August 20 Group B: August 21 — August 25 Day 1: August 21 Day 2: August 22 Day 3: August 24 Day 4: August 25 Day 5: August 26 Group C: August 27 — August 31 Day 1: August 27 Day 2: August 28 Day 3: August 29 Day 4: August 30 Day 5: August 31 Group D: September 1 — September 5 Day 1: September 1 Day 2: September 2 Day 3: September 3 Day 4: September 4 Day 5: September 5 Playoffs Day 1: September 7 Day 2: September 8 Day 3: September 9 Day 4: September 10 Day 5: September 11 Day 6: September 12 ESL Pro League Season 14: teams 24 of the world’s best teams fought it out for the ESL Pro League Season 14 title. From Europe to Brazil, North America to Asia, they hailed from all corners of the globe. IEM Katowice champion Natus Vincere were obviously in attendance, as well as CIS rising stars Gambit and Team Spirit. A Hunden-less Heroic, and a reinvigorated FaZe Clan and Astralis also showed up. Here’s a full list of teams, and their rosters, that participated in ESL Pro League Season 14.

Heroic crowned ESL Pro League Season 13 Champions: Full placements & recap ESL / DexertoESL Pro League Season 13 has wrapped up, with the original 24 teams battling until only Danish org Heroic remained standing. This Pro League has already set the scene for the rest of 2021, so here’s how it all went down. Heroic become the ESL Pro League Season 13 Champions, with a 3-2 win over Gambit. – Heroic beat FURIA 2-0 to advance to Grand Finals match vs. Gambit. – Gambit walks away with 2nd place and $85,000, plus a solid win over Astralis. – The ESL Pro League returned in style for Season 13, featuring the highest level of Counter-Strike competition to be seen anywhere. 24 of the world’s best teams fought it out for the prestigious title, $750,000 prize money, and bragging rights. After the dust settled and the Playoffs were all said and done, Heroic and cadiaN remained as the last team standing. ESL Pro League Season 13: Final placements Danish esports org Heroic have not only established themselves as the team to beat going forward into 2021, but they also took home a cool $200,000 after winning the Grand Final. Gambit will walk away with $85,000 and in third and fourth, FURIA and NiP leave with $45,000 and $50,000, respectively. ESL Pro League Season 13 playoffs: full results Friday, April 2: Round of 12 Saturday, April 3: Round of 12 Sunday, April 4: Round of 8 Thursday, April 8: Play-In Matches Friday, April 9: Quarterfinals Saturday, April 10: Semifinals Sunday, April 11: Grand Final ESL Pro League Season 13 groups: results Group A: March 8 – March 12 Monday, March 8 Tuesday, March 9 Wednesday, March 10 Thursday, March 11 Friday, March 12 Group B: March 13 – March 18 Saturday, March 13 Sunday, March 14 Monday, March 15 Wednesday, March 17 Thursday, March 18 Group C: March 19 – March 24 Friday, March 19 Saturday, March 20 Sunday, March 21 Tuesday, March 22 Wednesday, March 24 Group D: March 25 – March 29 Thursday, March 25 Friday, March 26 Saturday, March 27 Sunday, March 28 Monday, March 29 ESL Pro League Season 13 groups: final standings Group A The action started with Group A, and right from the start it was clear Heroic would be the team to beat. Despite a valiant effort from BIG on the second day of match play, Heroic would go undefeated and earn a play-in match against NiP. Group B Group B was a bit more of a toss up, with eventual first-place finishers Ninjas in Pyjamas losing on the first day to G2. NiP wouldn’t drop another match though, and will face Heroic during the play-ins. Group C Over in Group C it was all Gambit, who managed to go undefeated despite close matches against MiBR, Na’Vi, and FURIA. The latter of these two teams will join Gambit in the Playoffs, so it will be interesting to watch if they can extract some revenge for these early setbacks. Group D Finally, Group D rounded things off with a three-way race between Virtus.Pro, Team Liquid, and Astralis for the top spots. In the end it was favorites Astralis that earned their way to a Play-In match against Gambit, but VP and Liquid are still lurking in the main bracket as well. ESL Pro League Season 13: teams 24 teams from Australia to Brazil to Europe competed in ESL Pro League Season 13. IEM Katowice champions Gambit Esports were in attendance, as well as finalists Virtus.pro. However, rising CIS stars Team Spirit failed to qualify. Read More: Top 10 moments from IEM Katowice – Usual suspects like Astralis and Na’Vi will be looking to bounce back, while the new-look G2 Esports without kennyS will be one to keep your eyes on.

ESL Pro League Season 12 set to return to LAN format ESLCounter-Strike could be heading back to LAN. ESL have made their intentions clear about Pro League Season 12, stating that if “travel is possible,” the next season of their CS:GO tournament will be played in a “studio environment.” The ESL Pro League is coming back in just a couple of months, and it could mark a return to normalcy in esports. The possibility of LAN is being explored by ESL, and if teams can travel safely to a centralized hub, it will happen. In a statement on June 8, ESL said that Pro League Season 12 will be going ahead on LAN if the situation allows for it. It would make for the first major CS:GO tournament to jump back onto a LAN environment. BLAST and Flashpoint are still yet to make an announcement about their return to studios. The #ESLProLeague will return on September 2nd with it’s 12th season 🙌 ✅ 24 of the world’s best teams ✅ 4 action-packed weeks with top tier #CSGOGet all the details regarding format, qualification process and the new special qualifier below 👇 — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) June 8, 2020 “In case players can travel safely without larger restrictions again, ESL Pro League will be hosted in a studio environment with the originally announced format,” they said. However, ESL also has a contingency plan in place if things go awry. “Should travel not be possible, we will take ESL Pro League online again and divide it into regional online leagues covering all five regions: Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, and South America.” A return to stadium audiences remains unclear though. With the cancellation of events like IEM Melbourne and ESL One Cologne, it’s unlikely fans will be able to pack out an arena to watch the best teams go at it until 2021 at earliest. The ESL Pro League will include the best 24 CS:GO teams from around the world, split into four round robins. A full list of teams already announced for ESL Pro League Season 12 can be found below. 100 Thieves – Astralis – BOOM – Complexity – ENCE – Evil Geniuses – FaZe Clan – Fnatic – G2 Esports – Mousesports – Natus Vincere – Ninjas in Pyjamas – Renegades – Sharks – Team Liquid – Team Vitality – The remaining eight teams will qualify through various regional events and the Mountain Dew League. ESL Pro League Season 12 is set to kick off on September 2.

ESL Pro League Season 11: Europe & North America final results ESLSome of the best teams in European and North American CSGO have spent the last few weeks battling it out to see who will be crowned champion in each region, and at last we have the final results. 24 of Counter-Strike’s premier esports teams were pitted against one another for the 11th season of ESL’s Pro League. Due to the ongoing global health crisis, the entirety of Season 11 was played online between two dedicated regions: Europe and North America. There were three European groups versus only one North American group, so both divisions went ahead and crowned a champion this season. European Division Results The 24 total teams in ESL Season 11 were split into four different groups of six, with 18 representing Europe and the remaining six putting on for North America. Out of the three European groupings, Astralis, Natus Vincere, and mousesports each came out on top on the way to Stage 2, which took place from April 5 to 9. Fnatic ended up being the team to beat after of the second stage of play though, and the Grand Final between them and mousesports went the distance before one last showdown on Mirage. After the dust had settled, it was clear Fnatic wasn’t going to let mous repeat their performance from the ESL Pro League Season 10 this year, as they walked away with the Championship and the lion’s share of the prize money. ESL Pro League Season 11: Europe final placements and earnings Fnatic ($110,000) – mousesports ($65,000) – Astralis ($53,000) – Natus Vincere ($43,000) – FaZe Clan ($32,000) – OG ($31,000) – forZe ($24,000) – Ninjas in Pyjamas ($24,000) – Team Vitality ($24,000) – G2 ($22,000) – Complexity ($17,000) – Godsent ($17,000) – Team Spirit ($15,000) – North ($15,000) – Virtus.pro ($15,000) – BIG ($13,000) – ENCE ($8,000) – TYLOO ($3,000) – North American Division Results Following the European Championship, the North American Grand Finals took place between Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid. It was a one-sided affair though, as Team Liquid cleaned up and walked away with a 3-0 Championship win against EG. ESL Pro League Season 11: NA final placements and earnings Team Liquid ($90,000) – Evil Geniuses ($45,000) – FURIA Esports ($33,000) – MIBR ($23,000) – 100 Thieves ($15,000) – Swole Patrol ($13,000) –

ESL Pro League commissioner on saving NA CSGO: “We can’t afford for NA to not be a significant player” ELEAGUEThe Louvre Agreement, a joint venture between tournament organizers ESL and 14 top CS:GO teams, was renewed until at least 2025 earlier in January 2022, and the announcement promised a “redoubling of efforts in the North American scene”. Dexerto spoke with ESL Pro League commissioner Alex Inglot to find out exactly how they plan to revive a region that has taken a beating over the past two years. The Louvre Agreement was devised with the premise of creating a more sustainable future in competitive CS:GO, specifically for ESL and the teams who bought in, and now it’s taking that mission one step further by tackling ecosystem-wide issues. The state of the competitive CS:GO landscape has been a hot topic of debate over the past two years due to a plethora of reasons, including the global health situation, the arrival of a rival title in Valorant, and perhaps the repercussions of an over-inflated financial situation in North America. A press release for the recent news of the Louvre Agreement’s extension stated that ESL and their 14 partner teams — which include North American powerhouse organizations like Team Liquid and Complexity — were doubling down on helping to revive the region, but no methods or actual commitments were detailed. Shortly after the statement, Dexerto spoke with ESL Pro League commissioner Alex Inglot to discuss the exact steps those in the agreement are taking to try and rebuild CS:GO esports in North America. The decline of North American CS:GO Before detailing exactly how the Louvre Agreement aims to revive North American CS:GO, it’s worth looking at how and why there was the downfall of an entire region in the first place. According to Inglot, the competitive mentality of organizations certainly didn’t help matters. “Although the history of CS and esports is measured in months and years, not decades, what we’ve seen is that not that long ago every team was wary of every other team,” said the EPL commissioner. “They were competing for players, sponsors, events, slots, fans, everything. They were competitive with each other across almost every measurable metric. There were a whole bunch of very narrow-focused and self-concerned entities who didn’t think beyond their gated community. What I really like about the Pro League is that there’s a joint venture mentality, we have to help each other because we’re now in it together. “COVID obviously screwed everything up, but it’s also important to know that it’s exacerbated initial existing tensions. You already had a lot of travel for North American teams because the majority of events were happening on the other side of the Atlantic. If you were an NA player, you already were struggling with a pretty heavy travel itinerary. Then there were suddenly fewer events in America, which means that there are fewer fans interested because there was nowhere to go to watch. There’s nowhere for the players to play, so they’ve all got to go to Europe. “As a result, there’s less prize money in North America and fewer opportunities to showcase your talent as a player. From a business point of view, the sponsors were like, ‘Well, I’m not getting as much exposure here anymore’ and they started questioning why they were in CS:GO. This all made it more difficult for teams to rationalize keeping a roster and a presence in CS:GO, and NA has always been at the top end of salaries.” Why North America is important to CS:GO There’s been a lot of discussion regarding the decline of North American CS:GO but less so around why the region is so pivotal towards keeping the competitive ecosystem alive and thriving as a whole. It’s no secret that it’s a hotbed of commercial activity and it’s certainly bred some of the more entertaining personalities in the scene — players-turned-successful-creators like Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek and Tarik ‘tarik’ Celik have proven as much — but it’s not just players and sponsors that are pivotal for competitive CS:GO. “North America’s been part of CS:GO since the beginning. We’ve had great players like Stewie2K, who won the Boston Major and so on. NA has always been part of the game’s history, both as a host of events and a host of talent. If we deep dive beyond iconic images then why is it really that important? For us, first of all, we’ve got a large player base in NA where we want to nurture talent. We want them to have a pathway to pro, we want them to be in the tier-one teams, we want them to win events. When you don’t have events going on there it really kind of creates a big disconnect with fans and, let’s be blunt about things, we’ve got massive sponsors and advertisers who are based in NA and who value that market — whether it’s Intel, Monster, Coinbase, or the U.S. Air Force. We can’t afford for North America to not be a significant player in what we’re trying to put together. “The U.S. is the largest single country audience in terms of hours watched on Twitch. Considering that viewership numbers and metrics are a key portion of how we work out and distribute revenues, that viewership figure is critical. It’s actually more than twice as big as our number two country in terms of viewership on Twitch. The commercial value is ranked amongst the highest as well and when you multiply that against the larger potential audience it becomes clear that NA as a commercial market is critical for what we’re trying to maintain and build.” https://twitter.com/Complexity/status/1483499439667007492 Delving deeper into the one-liner hinting at a master plan to revive NA CS:GO, Inglot detailed all of the new features that they’ve deployed as part of their extended agreement. Reviving North American CS:GO “I hope it comes through that teams could easily have said, ‘It suits me in Europe that the teams in America are struggling’, but they didn’t have that attitude,” Inglot told Dexerto. “They decided that we actually do need this whole ecosystem, this global game, this circuit to thrive and we can’t afford to not look past our own noses.” Many of the Louvre Agreement teams are European, with only four fielding North American rosters — namely Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Complexity, and Brazilian organization FURIA. The European teams needed to be on board with creating a more inviting and rewarding experience, and willing to sacrifice financial gain in the short term to come to the aid of their North American counterparts. “First of all, we did a couple of things to improve the travel for partner teams based in North America,” the commissioner explained. “ESL agreed to move around the group stages of the Pro League so that it didn’t mean that the teams from NA had to be there for five weeks or six weeks, and they could spend more time practicing at home and spending time with their family. Together with a few other things, we wanted to make sure we can ease the burden of travel on those players. “We managed to, through the Louvre Agreement extension, incentivize boot camp facility conditions for teams who base themselves in North America. We got teams to offer other teams opportunities to come and train in their boot camps at discounted prices, or for free. We’re trying to encourage teams to come over and practice with NA teams, not just those in the Louvre Agreement but those who also need to practice.” The real selflessness of the European partner teams comes in the form of allowing their North American partners to have a chance at earning higher revenues, despite all teams otherwise being equal in the agreement, as Inglot went on to reveal. “We also created a revenue multiplier so if you either have a predominantly North American roster in terms of player nationalities or you agree to reside and practice together in NA for a healthy chunk of 2022, you will receive a multiplier of the revenue that you were going to get based on your traditional metrics, which was viewership and victories,” he said. “Depending on how you did and how many people watched you in the tournament, you are placed in a ranking and you are given a portion of the money based on that ranking. Now there’s another step, which is if you’re doing those things in NA we’re going to multiply that revenue by up to 1.5 times. That’s a significant chunk of change for those who make that commitment and satisfy those requirements. The European teams understood that there is a chance that, by doing this, they are going to reinvigorate North America and that’s worth doing because of the reality that actually our whole commercial viability depends on having a market there. “One more thing is that if you are underperforming consistently, there is a mechanism by which you may have to sell your slot. What we did was that if you are an NA team, we’re going to give you a little bit more flexibility around that because the talent issues in NA mean it’s going to be a bit more difficult to do a roster shuffle.” While ESL appears to be tackling the NA drought head-on, the interview made it clear that they don’t believe they can entirely prop up the scene by themselves. A major focus in the conversation was collaboration and accommodation, from the partnered teams to fellow event organizers. “We can only look after our guys, but we hope that there’s going to be a recognition across the circuit, across the ecosystem that everyone has to do their bit,” Inglot noted. “We’re talking to some of the other tournament organizers in the space and asking what we can do around the calendar to try and make it a little bit easier for NA teams. I think we’ve already rejigged the Season 15 dates to accommodate BLAST in a way that would minimize the time in Europe for the North American teams. We’re also trying to reimagine and improve the ranking system. “NA was struggling and it needed something proactive. It was not going to happen organically and because of the situation where we have a non-publisher-led ecosystem, it’s really difficult to find anyone who will grab the situation by the horns and do something. ESL often do that and tend to get hit over the head with it. “You could argue that by funding ESIC it looks dodgy, but no one else is gonna do it and no one else is gonna fund it. When I spoke to ESL about ESIC they said, ‘We are trying to get ESIC off the ground, but we’re not interested in owning it’. We want ESIC to stand on its own two feet but that takes time. We’ll fund it, but we’re not trying to control it. “I know it looks weird but if we don’t do it, who else is going to do it? The Louvre Agreement structure means that there’s no longer really an ESL thing, it’s ESL and 14 teams now. I can only look after what I can look after, but we’re actively working with other organizers and teams to try and help them.” While it will take more than a year of this new approach to get North America to a place even vaguely comparable to the vast amount of talent and teams in Europe, if it proves effective at all, Inglot hopes viewers, players, teams, and industry figures alike will recognize the effort and resources going into these initiatives and also contribute themselves where possible. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports is better with North America.

ESL Pro League cancels offline CSGO events due to coronavirus worries ESLThe ESL Pro League team announced on March 11 that they will be moving their Counter-Strike league matches from an arena in Denver, Colorado to a closed studio in Europe, citing concerns over COVID-19. Prior to ESL’s announcement, the Counter-Strike tournament and league organizers were dealt a massive blow in the midst of their IEM Katowice event, when the local government pulled their clearance to host a massive public gathering. The playoffs of that event continued without the usual rabid CS:GO crowd, and now they will officially do the same thing for their upcoming ESL Pro League season, as well as change venues. In order to ensure the safety of players, fans and our crew in the current global dynamics, Season 11 of #ESLProLeague will be played entirely online and the finals will be moved from Denver to a studio location. Full details: https://t.co/qBdmv0QjSj pic.twitter.com/rhT6awYDEQ — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) March 11, 2020 In their announcement, ESL said that Season 11 will be played entirely online, after initially announcing this upcoming season as being entirely offline. In addition, the finals that were scheduled to take place in 1STBANK Center in Denver will now take place “a studio location without a live audience in Europe.” Specifically, they cited recent travel restrictions that the country Malta had put in place, which effectively banned incoming travel from different locations, even if a traveler was just connecting from one of those places. OG’s manager Vladyslava Zakhliebina pointed out the likelihood of this outcome for ESL just a couple hours before the official announcement. Malta has banned the travels from France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain as well as Italy 👀 ESL Pro League is starting on 16th of March…— Vladyslava 💃🏻 (@Vladyslava_Z) March 11, 2020 Malta was slated to be the studio location for the offline regular-season games, but ESL said they “fully support all measures aimed at containing the COVID-19 dynamics as much as possible.” However, it did make travel for many teams and staff members “impossible,” so the league will revert to an online format for the regular season. ESL’s CS:GO league counterparts in FLASHPOINT have also had to make adjustments due to concerns over Coronavirus, resulting in them scrapping any plans to host regular-season matches or playoff matches in an arena for the time being. Many players and teams are of course disappointed, but unfortunate circumstances can sometimes bring out the best in people. One of ESL’s new faces in GODSENT is even offering to host teams displaced by the changes. To all teams that are affected by the recent ESL events: we have the ability to host two teams at our HQ in Malmö, Sweden, (flights to Copenhagen), with excellent comps, internet and an all-inclusive experience. @ChaosEC and @furiagg can vouch for our service 👌 DM — GODSENT (@GODSENT) March 11, 2020 The latest cancellations are the latest in a growing list of events that have canceled, which include E3 2020, the Rocket League Championships, several Overwatch homestand events, and much more. While losing a crowd is another disappointment for ESL, the matches will still be played as they host their first season with permanently partnered teams.

ESL One New York: First-round matchups and schedule ESLThe ESL One New York tournament will see eight of the best CS:GO teams in the world face off in the Barclays Center, and the first-round matchups feature some enticing battles. Eight teams will descend upon the Barclays center for the September 26-29 weekend. Two days of group stage play and two days of playoffs will determine who walks away with the lion’s share of $200,000 and an all-important victory in season 3 of the Intel Grand Slam. Team Liquid already has one Grand Slam victory from IEM Chicago. First-round matchups Team Liquid vs eUnited Team Liquid are right at home at IEM events. They dominated IEM Grand Slam season two. They’ve won the first event of season three. But they’ll be looking to re-assert their dominance after an early playoff exit at the Berlin major, as well as avenge their ESL One NY grand finals loss to mousesports from last year. eUnited fought their way through the open and closed NA qualifiers to make it to New York, and will have a tough task of trying to upset the world’s number one team. G2 Esports vs ENCE Both of these rosters are on the precipice of being considered contenders, but are both going through changes. ENCE’s debut for suNny at BLAST Moscow was a disaster; losing in embarrassing fashion to forZe and only picking up win against an NiP team that is a shell of its former self. G2 will be playing with kioShiMa as a stand-in, while transfer talks with Vitality over shox continue. Astralis vs OpTic It’s a Danish deathmatch in the first series of Group B. Astralis is looking to begin another championship era after winning the StarLadder Berlin major, and want to take home another Intel Grand Slam. Despite falling short of qualifying for the EU minor and the Berlin major, OpTic rallied to win the DreamHack Open in June, and then qualified for ESL One NY with a win at the GG.Bet NY Invitational. cajunb will face off against his old squad as he continues to stand-in for OpTic. FaZe Clan vs NRG Esports This is an instance of one team with a clearly outlined future facing a team that still has to answer a lot of questions. NRG Esports are looking to continue to build momentum after a run to semifinals of the Berlin major and obtaining a top three world ranking. FaZe are still in the process of acquiring a full lineup for this event, having released NEO and sent GuardiaN back to Na’Vi. At this time (September 21st) broky will be playing on trial for FaZe, but they still need a fifth. ESL One NY format ESL One NY will use a double elimination group stage format for two groups of four. The two teams that advance from each group will go to a single-elimination four-team playoff. The semifinals will feature 1st place and 2nd place from opposite groups facing each other. Prior to the grand final, there will be a showmatch showing off the remake of Cache. All matches are best-of-three, except for the grand finals that are best-of-five. Adding to the line-up of our #ESLOne New York Cache Showmatch, the recruited talent of @JoshNissan aka “steel” will make the main stage. :sunglasses: :statue_of_liberty::tickets:️: https://t.co/Zvh6ttniat pic.twitter.com/SoSZzdAIXM — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) September 18, 2019 Schedule September 26 September 27 September 28 September 29 Last updated September 26, 2019 at 8:30AM EST.

Evil Geniuses defeat Astralis to win ESL One NY – Final Placements Evil Geniuses, TwitterESL One New York saw eight of the world’s best CS:GO teams battle it out in the Barclays Center arena for their share of the $200,000 prize pool. ESL One New York was highly anticipated by many fans as it marked the first event for the new FaZe Clan roster after signing coldzera and Broky to the starting line-up. Although FaZe did not have the performance many of their supporters were hoping for following their defeats in the group stage to OpTic Gaming and the new Evil Geniuses (former NRG) roster. ESL One New York revealed the first look at the remake of fan-favorite map Cache with an incredibly entertaining showmatch highlighting some of the new features and angles. The StarLadder Berlin Major champions Astralis found themselves matching up against one of the home favorites, Team Liquid in the Semi-final of the New York event and managed to close out 16-13 in the final map of the series. Evil Geniuses‘ return to CS:GO started strongly, as they cruised their way to the grand-final, without a dropping a single map the entire event against the likes of G2 Esports and Astralis, setting them up for a rematch against the Danish side to finish the event. EG dominated their CT half on Inferno, and carried that momentum into the next half to shock Astralis on their Inferno pick 16-3. Both teams traded rounds to start Dust II, and that continued into the second half until EG started stacking rounds together to take a 2-0 lead. On Astralis’ second map pick, Train, Evil Geniuses started strong but Astralis was able to force overtime. Astralis outlasted EG with brilliant play from dev1ce, to force a map four on Nuke. Evil Geniuses’ strong T side start paved the way for a title clinching victory on Nuke 16-8. We are your #ESLOne New York 2019 Champions! We couldn’t be more proud of the team, and we can’t wait for what the future has to hold with this amazing group of people! #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/ym0DAvCAA7 — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) September 29, 2019

ESL One Cologne Grand Final Set As BIG and Natus Vincere Win Out In Semi’s BIG and Natus Vincere will face off in the ESL One Cologne grand final, with $125,000 up for grabs for the winner, as well as the coveted ESL trophy. Na’Vi caused an upset to eliminate the world’s top team and tournament favorites Astralis in a nail biting match in the first semi-final of Saturday. Na’Vi, led by Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev and Denis “electronic” Sharipov on map one took a 16-13 victory, but unsurprisingly Astralis battled back to take map two comfortably. But what was surprising was Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko being the star of the show for Na’Vi on map three, as the resisted an Astralis comeback on Inferno to secure the grand final. More: Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – FaZe were expected winners up against BIG, but considering BIG’s impressive and unprecedented run in the tournament they would have been foolish to underestimate them. Sure enough, Na’Vi was not the only squad to score a massive upset in the semi final. The crowd were well behind BIG, allowing them to play with some extra confidence and flair, and it was enough to shock the favorites of FaZe. With two underdogs squaring off in the Grand Final, it will be tough to decide the favorite going in. Na’Vi may have the slight edge due to s1mple’s performance, but after electronic’s and Zeus’ performances in the semi-final they are finally looking like much more than a one man show. BIG will feel confident thanks in large part to the support from the crowd and the dominance displayed by nex against FaZe.

ESL One Cologne 2020 to be played online with new format ESLTournament organizers ESL have announced that they will be hosting their highly anticipated 2020 ESL One Cologne CS:GO event online, following global travel restrictions. ESL Cologne is an annual CS:GO competition that features top teams from around the world, often considered one of the biggest events of the year, outside of the Majors. However, ESL announced, in a blog post, that they would be switching up the format for the tournament in 2020, following concerns around global travel leading up to the event. “After a thorough evaluation we’ve concluded that ESL One Cologne 2020 powered by Intel will transition to an Online Tournament.” the tournament organizer revealed, “The decision was made after extensive research and understanding of global travel regulations and individual national guidelines.” They also revealed that they would be splitting the event into four separate regions, Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia, allowing each of the teams to compete from home. “The teams were determined based on a regionalized version of the original ESL One Cologne qualification rule set: via the ESL Pro Tour ranking, ESL Pro Tour Challenger events, and the ESL World Ranking.” After extensive research of global travel regulations, #ESLOne Cologne 2020 will happen online. We are going to split the trophy across four regional divisions in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania from 18th – 30th of August. Read more here:https://t.co/GSSnKC1OjE pic.twitter.com/hsgIwgUplh — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 16, 2020 The $500,000 prize pool has also been proportionally split into each of the regions with Asia and Oceania, who are only fielding 4 teams each, fighting for a $20,000 prize compared to the $325,000 for Europe’s top 16. ESL One Cologne which was originally expected to run from July 6-12, however, it is now scheduled to span from August 18-30 after moving to an online format. Although the likes of Vitality, BIG, and Evil Geniuses have all been confirmed, there are still plenty of teams to be invited for each of these regional competitions, with more teams expected to receive an invite on July 20. ESL is also playing host to the next CS:GO Major in Rio, which has been delayed until November following similar concerns regarding the ongoing health crisis.

ESL One Cologne 2020 Final Placements: Results in all regions ESLAll four regions of ESL One Cologne have now wrapped up, as Heroic became surprise winners on the EU division by taking down Team Vitality in the Grand Final. Outside of CS:GO Majors, no other event drums up the anticipation and prestige of ESL One Cologne. Always a highlight of the year, things will have to be different in 2020, due to ongoing global circumstances. Because all matches will be played online, the event was split into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. The prize money was also divided among the regions, though not evenly, as regions with more teams have a greater share. ESL One Cologne 2020 Final Placements Europe North America Asia Oceania Format Both the EU (16 teams) and NA (8 teams) tournaments began with a Group Stage, to whittle the field down to eight and four teams respectively. EU Groups NA Groups Asia and Oceania didn’t have a Group Stage, as there are only 4 teams in each total, instead going straight to the Playoffs. ESL One Cologne 2020: Results European Division Group Stage Playoffs North American Division Group Stage Playoffs Asia Division *TyLoo started with a 1 map lead as winners bracket team. Oceanic Division *Renegades started with a 1 map lead as winners bracket team. Full schedule details are available on ESL official website for the event.

ESL One Cologne 2020: All teams announced for online CSGO event ESL / Helena Kristiansson[jwplayer MGioi8Ba]ESL have confirmed the full lineup of CS:GO teams for ESL One Cologne, their flagship annual event that will be held online in 2020 for the first time. Due to travel restrictions still in place around the world, the Cologne event has had to be moved totally online, which also requires a region split for the competition. The tournament is now spliced up into tournaments in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania. This means that fans will have to wait a little longer before seeing the best NA teams face off against the best of EU. But, in a surprising twist, MiBR are actually going to compete in the European region for the event, rather than North America. According to HLTV, MiBR are bootcamping in Europe ahead of the event. Ladies and Gentlemen, here they are! Confirming all teams in all divisions for #ESLOne Cologne 2020 🏆 👀https://t.co/GSSnKBKcV4 pic.twitter.com/vTEEuq3Lh3— ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) July 23, 2020 ESL One Cologne teams Europe Astralis – Natus Vincere – mousesports – Team Vitality – BIG – Heretics – OG – MAD Lions – Fnatic – G2 Esports – FaZe Clan – NiP – Sprout – Complexity – Heroic – MIBR – North America Team Liquid – Evil Geniuses – Cloud9 – Triumph – Thieves – FURIA – Gen.G – Chaos – Asia TYLOO – Invictus – ViCi Gaming – Beyond – Oceania Renegades – AVANT – ORDER – Chiefs – MiBR taking part in Europe means they avoid rivals FURIA, their toughest challengers Evil Geniuses, and even Chaos EC — who were at the centre of controversy due to unsubstantiated cheating accusations in a game vs MiBR themselves. The prize pools are not all created equal however. There will be a total of $500,000 in prize money, but the lion’s share will be distributed between the EU and NA regions. ESL One Cologne Prize Pool Europe: $325,000 – North America: $135,000 – Asia: $20,000 – Oceania: $20,000 – ESL One Cologne starts on August 18, running until August 30. Being online muddies the prestige of what is typically the most coveted event outside of the CS:GO Majors, but the players themselves will take no notice with all that cash on the line. After Cologne, ESL is also hosting the next Major, the first set to take place in Brazil. However, it was delayed until November, again due to the ongoing global situation.

ESL One Cologne 2019 CS:GO groups, schedule revealed The groups and subsequent schedule for this year’s ESL One Cologne event have finally been revealed – throwing up a number of interesting opening match-ups. While it may not be a Valve Major, CS:GO tournaments of the year, with players and teams alike circling it on their calendars ahead of time. This year’s event promises to be one of the most explosive yet, with 15 of the world’s top 30 teams heading to Germany in a bid to claim the top crown. Of course, all eyes will be on Team Liquid and Astralis – who are separated in the group stage – but there are plenty of other storylines to consider too. The tournament kicks off on Tuesday, July 2, with best of one matches running alongside each other starting at 11 AM GMT/ 7 AM EST/ 4 AM PST. Team Liquid, the newly crowned #1 team in the world, will get the action underway against MVP PK, while Natus Vincere and Mousesports do battle at the same time. Following them, FaZe Clan will take on Renegades while NRG – with new addition Peter ‘stanislaw’ Jarguz at the helm – will battle Brazilian upstarts FURIA. However, fans will have to wait just a little bit longer before being able to see the new line-ups of Ninjas in Pyjamas and MIBR. MIBR will take on Fnatic at 1:20 PM GMT/ 9:20 AM EST/ 6:20 AM PST alongside Astralis’ match against hometown favorites BIG. Once those two games are concluded, NiP’s new acquisition Nicolas ‘Plopski’ Gonzalez Zamora is in action against Team Vitality. From there, the matches move from best of ones into best of threes as the group stage winds down and the road to the playoffs begins. The action rolls right through until July 7, with July 5 deciding the quarter-finals and July 6, of course, settling the semi-finals. The prize pool split for the event has yet to be announced, but whoever claims the top prize at the Cathedral of Counter-Strike will have truly earnt it through a best-of-five grand final.

ESL One Cologne 2018 $300,000 CS:GO Tournament – Final Placements ESL One Cologne, the self-proclaimed ‘cathedral of Counter-Strike, rarely disappoints, and 2018 certainly did not with a slew of upsets and engrossing matches. CS:GO at the highest level was on display from the international field, but it was the Europeans who faired best overall, with both North and South American teams largely having a tournament to forget. https://glhf.rivalry.gg/get-started-csgo/?utm_source=dexerto&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=dexerto&utm_content=dexerto-csgo-esl-one-article Made in Brazil (formerly SK Gaming) had another poor showing, as did Cloud9, Team Liquid and Renegades. And what MiBR, Team Liquid and Renegades all had in common is that they were victims in BIG’s shocking run to the grand final, as a raucous home crowd cheered them on. More: Everything You Need to Know About the ESL One: Cologne CS:GO Knockout Stage – Stream, Schedule, Results and More – Na’Vi took on tournament favorites Astralis in the first semi-final, and after a close match come out on top by preventing an Astralis comeback on map three Inferno, securing Na’Vi’s spot in the grand final. FaZe Clan faced BIG in the other semi-final, and in the ‘biggest’ of BIG’s upsets were humbled by a 1-2 defeat, despite FaZe taking the first map. With the Grand Final set between the two lesser expected teams from the semi’s, an unpredictable match awaited to decide the 2018 champions. The Grand Final didn’t disappoint, with BIG remaining to look a real force, with Smooya’s fearless and aggressive playstyle balanced with the leadership of Faith “gob b” Dayik. Na’Vi narrowly took the first map, but BIG didn’t go down without a fight immediately bouncing back to tie it up. But unsurprisingly, s1mple stole the show in the end, as Na’Vi closed the series out 3-1 with a more convincing win on Inferno, granting them the championship and firmly vindicating s1mple as the game’s best player.

ESL Odense MVP Ropz explains how “crazy” win changes mousesports’ year ESLNewly-crowned ESL Pro League Season 10 champions mousesports have rewritten their entire 2019 narrative, tournament MVP Robin ‘ropz’ Kool said, after their underdog run in Odense ended with a 3-0 victory over Fnatic. With dominant teams like Astralis, Team Liquid, and Evil Geniuses all in the playoff bracket, there weren’t many tipping mousesports to emerge victorious, especially after falling to Liquid 2-1 in the upper bracket’s second round. Sparked by a triumphant three-map series victory over Evil Geniuses, including a brutal 16-0 win over their North American opponents, mousesports battled through two more of the biggest names in the scene, Astralis, and Fnatic. While the 2-1 victory over the Danish superstars, which was marred by crowd participation which nearly led Astralis to a win, was a tight upset, mousesports put a bow on their Odense success at Jyske Bank Arena with a rapid-fire 3-0. Congratulations to @mousesports, your #ESLProLeague Season 10 Champions 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9EVnEmWDjc — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) December 8, 2019 It was a year-defining victory in front of the Danish crowd, ropz told HLTV after being crowned MVP of the ESL tournament, and one that was built on the back of a series of reflections within the team after IEM Sydney right at the start of the year. “We started off [the year] pretty well, we reached our first couple of playoff matches really early in Sydney, and that’s the level that we kept,” ropz explained. “When the Major came around we really wanted to get top eight, and I think that’s where we kind of started to become shaky. We weren’t so good as a unit, and a team.” Ropz admitted that a poor run at the Major, where mousesports missed the New Challengers stage and finished 9th-11th after back-to-back 0-2 losses to Vitality and Liquid, gave the European squad a very necessary shock to the system. The Odense MVP revealed that while mousesports were “still happy” they had made the top ranks in Berlin at all because of their “crazy” qualification road, a look at the team was still in order. That came in the form of a post-major bootcamp. There, the team reflected on their strengths in Sydney, their top-eight finish in Cologne, and the Berlin struggles. Karrigan laid out a plan for the team, ropz revealed: to make top-five before the end of the year, and prove they were a championship team. Read more: Thorin’s Take: No Company for Young Men – “We were working with a psychologist and we were trying to figure out our goals, and everyone came to the conclusion that our common goal was to become a top-five team and win a big event,” ropz explained. “Our whole goal for the year was to become a top-five team and I think at this moment we might have achieved it. I hope we have, and for 2020 I think we’re going to be challenging for top one, hopefully, because that’s obviously the next step.” According to ropz, whose last premier event win came with the team at ESL One New York in 2018, winning a “big event” has turned the whole calendar year into a success, as the team built on their lessons to finally claim silverware. “For the whole year, this was our goal, and we did that now… even after the Major, this specific event, the Pro League finals, was what we set as the highest priority [as a chance to claim a trophy],” he said. “We wanted to do the best here, and I’m so glad we did. I think it takes some pressure off our shoulders to perform well. Everyone has been expecting us to play well, and I think now that we have done it, we can take that pressure off.” As well as the weight of pressure being lifted off their shoulders, mousesports walk away from Odense with a hefty prize of $250,000 for finished first place, and a confirmed place at Valve’s next major, IEM Katowice 2020. Behind them, Fnatic collected $80,000 for second, while Astralis and Natus Vincere were each paid out $40,000 for their top-four placements. Mousesports next take to the stage at cs_summit 5 from Thursday, December 12. The team will also contest EPICENTER 2019 in Moscow before Christmas.

ESL launch $500k CSGO circuit for women’s teams ESLESL have launched a competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit for women’s teams as part of their new #GGFORALL program, which aims to make esports more “inclusive, respectful and all-empowering.” ESL have ambitions of creating a world where “everybody can be somebody” and have launched their #GGFORALL program as a vessel for their new, inclusive initiatives. The first outcome of this program is the CS:GO Women’s circuit, a competitive ecosystem for women that will offer $500,000 in prize winnings across regional leagues, DreamHack competitions, and ESL Cash Cups. The circuit includes new leagues that will feature eight teams from both Europe and North America where $150,000 will for up for grabs. The best three teams from both regions, as well as other qualifying squads, will compete in the Global League Finals at DreamHack Dallas in June and DreamHack Winter in November. As well as establishing new competition for women, the tournament organizers have stated their intention of creating a players council. The aim is to give women players an avenue to provide direct feedback to ESL and other organizers in the industry. Additionally, ESL have stated that they’re creating a talent development program that provides selected broadcast talent with the “necessary tactics and tools” to become successful in helping to bring tournament broadcasts to life through commentary and analysis. “By providing an infrastructure equal to their male counterparts, we are thrilled to create more visibility and opportunities for women in the esports space, as well as to support them in their professional development and to help make their dreams come true,” said ESL Gaming’s senior vice president of people and culture, Roberta Hernandez. “This is only the first part of a number of #GGFORALL initiatives we are currently working on and we can’t wait to tell you more about what is yet to come.” ESL also says that one of the “discussion points” for the new Women Players Council will be “the integration of the women’s circuit winners into the ESL Pro Tour.”

ESL announce controversial self-elimination rule for IEM CSGO events ESL have announced a new set of rules for their Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events, and one of which has not gone down well with fans and players. ESL are one of the biggest tournament organizers in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, bringing numerous exciting events to fans all around the world. Their biggest events, known as Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournaments are some of the most prestigious in the game. The company announced a few rule changes to these events on November 4, with fans and players reacting rather negatively to one change in particular. This new rule states that “A player is not allowed to intentionally cause self-elimination of their player character. This includes using the /kill command or using map features to deny kills to the opposing team.” It is followed by an example – jumping off the map on Vertigo, one of the first competitive CSGO maps where a player can easily fall to their deaths. This change comes with the addition of the map to the competitive pool, which is replacing the recently updated Cache. We have updated the #IEM Rulebook for season 14 ahead of Katowice 2020. Read on to find out what has changed:https://t.co/JcYjWUPzhP — Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) November 4, 2019 Fans and players were quick to criticize this rule, claiming that it makes the game simpler as tactical deaths are used by players to deny kill bonuses, guns, and equipment to their opponents. With this rule, one interesting element of the game would be removed. Others noted that the rule is vague and unclear, as it doesn’t specify exactly what is and isn’t a self-elimination in the game, and if it only counts self-eliminations on the kill feed or team kills as well. ESL have not yet commented on the matter, however, with IEM Beijing being just around the corner, players will have to quickly adjust to this rule, and fans may even see some controversy at the event. IEM Beijing is set to take place from November 7-10, with top teams like Astralis, Vitality, Evil Geniuses, and FaZe Clan all competing for a large chunk of the $250,000 prize pool.

ESL India release final statement on OpTic forsaken cheating scandal, confirm ban length and next step for India Premiership ESL / OpTic IndiaESL India and Nodwin Gaming have released a final statement on the OpTic India cheating scandal and confirmed that they will be hosting a rematch to decide the new winners of the Premiership Fall Finals. OpTic India’s Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat was caught cheating at the eXTREMESLAND 2018 LAN on October 19 and was immediately disqualified from the event along with his team, all of whom have now been dropped by OpTic Gaming. However, the controversy didn’t end there as ESL India conducted their own investigation and found that forsaken had also been using the hack during the Fall Premiership Finals, an event that OpTic India had won. Now the event organizers have released a final statement on the matter, beginning with an apology to the community: “We would like to apologize that cheating could even happen at this competition.” They also confirmed that Kumawat will be banned from all ESL and Nodwin Gaming competitions in accordance with the recent ruling from the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC). “We were in close contact with ESL Global to revisit our processes and to make sure that upgraded standards are in place for the upcoming replay of the finals: 2ez Gaming (losing semi finalists to OpTic Gaming) will take on Slaughter Rage Army (losing finalists to OpTic),” they explained. “The winner of the best of 3 will represent India in the ESL Pro League Asia Finals.” According to a report from HLTV.org, the teams will be playing the match from internet cafes under the watchful eye of ESL India admins. “ESL has established leading standards for global tournaments, and the ESL India team will now turn the lesson into an opportunity for the ESL India Premiership to further align standards to those of the global events,” they concluded.

ESL extend Louvre Agreement with partner teams to 2025 ESLESL have extended the Louvre Agreement, a partnership between the tournament organizers and 14 major teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, until the end of 2025. The German company have re-committed to the agreement, which came into effect in February 2020 and was built on the premise of providing security and revenue share for the ESL Pro Tour with partnered teams. Originally featuring 13 teams before 100 Thieves withdrew from Counter-Strike, the Louvre Agreement was recently expanded to 15 teams in a $20 million deal. German org BIG and Brazilian side FURIA both committed to the agreement, with Danish team Heroic set to join the fold in the second half of 2022. Many of the best CS:GO teams in the world are part of the extended agreement, including HLTV.org top-ranked team NAVI, top-three side G2 Esports, fourth-placed Team Vitality, and the dev1ce-led NIP. A press release states that, as well as extending the length of the partnership, the new agreement allows teams to generate “higher revenues” and aims to contribute to the rebuild of the competitive CS:GO landscape in North America. Another CS:GO initiative by ESL, the #GGFORALL program was announced in December 2021 as a commitment to women’s teams from the tournament organizers. The program includes a CS:GO circuit that has committed $500,000 in prize winnings for the inaugural season in 2022. “Despite the global challenges and uncertainties of the last 24 months, I’m proud that together we have created something so dynamic for the CS:GO ecosystem,” said Alex Inglot, ESL Pro League commissioner. “The Louvre Agreement is a manifestation of a joint desire to create a sustainable yet ambitious framework within CS:GO – one that can serve to positively impact and influence the rest of the ecosystem. This extension was agreed on unanimously, which reiterates the partner’s joint dedication to our goals of a peerless competition for fans, a stable environment for teams and players, and an attractive destination for investment. There is so much we can achieve now that we are working on a time scale of 2025 and beyond.”

ESL confirms IEM Rio 2022 CSGO Major ESLESL has announced that it will host the second CS:GO Major of 2022 in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, as reported by Dexerto in January. The IEM Rio Major will take place between October 31 and November 13, with the playoffs being held in front of an audience at the Jeunesse Arena in the final four days of the competition. The Jeunesse Arena, which has a capacity of around 15,000 for sporting events, has staged a number of esports tournaments in the past, most notably the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and the 2018 Rainbow Six Siege Season 8 Pro League finals. Twenty-four teams will be in attendance at the IEM Rio Major, with $1 million up for grabs — the same prize purse that was at stake at PGL Major Antwerp. Details about the qualifying process for the Major should be announced in the coming weeks. The IEM Rio Major will be ESL’s tenth CS:GO Major but only its first since IEM Katowice 2019, with StarLadder hosting that year’s second Major, in Berlin, and PGL the following two, in Stockholm (2021) and Antwerp (2022). The Rio Major was initially due to be held in May 2020 under the name ‘ESL One: Rio Major’ before being postponed amid the global health crisis. “We couldn’t be more excited to finally bring the Major to Rio de Janeiro,” said Ulrich Schulze, SVP Product Management at ESL Gaming. “The ever-growing and passionate Brazilian esports community is amazing and for the past couple of years we have been hoping to provide the fans with one of the greatest esports experiences ever. “Now the time is finally here and we can’t wait for the world’s best CS:GO teams to ultimately enter the Jeunesse Arena and have it shake to its foundations from the excitement from Brazil and beyond.” IT’S HAPPENING The first @CSGO Major in Brasil! 🇧🇷#IEM Rio 2022 📅 Tournament: October 31-November 13 🏟 Jeunesse Arena: November 10-13 🎫 Tickets open May 25 at 14:00 BRT🔗https://t.co/rYYLX97o1G pic.twitter.com/X47IU3jkGd — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS) May 24, 2022 A thriving community ESL will be looking to capitalize on the popularity of CS:GO in Brazil, which boasts one of the game’s biggest and most passionate communities. Portuguese-language streams were the second most popular during the Antwerp Major with a peak viewership of 734,880, according to statistics website Esports Charts. Brazilian streamer Alexandre ‘gAuLeS’ Borba set on May 16 a new record for Portuguese-language streamers with over 700,000 concurrent viewers during the Antwerp Major clash between Imperial — a Brazilian team featuring high-profile and storied players like Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga, and Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau — and Cloud9. Este é nosso! Parabéns comunidade Brasileira.. Isso só é possível por que somos JUNTOS! Obrigado pic.twitter.com/KWVQMAcAhW— Gaules (@Gaules) May 16, 2022 “Intel is very proud to bring Intel Extreme Masters back to Brazil — and this time as a CS:GO Major so our local gaming community can experience firsthand one of the top CS:GO tournaments in the world,” said Carlos Augusto Buarque, marketing director at Intel Brazil. “Gaming happens with Intel, and we have increasingly sought to offer the best technologies to gamers around the world. Brazil is one of Intel’s key markets in the world and when it comes to gaming, 3 out of 4 Brazilians play electronic games, so being part of the organization of an event as big as this one is very important for us”. Tickets for the IEM Rio Major will go on sale on Wednesday, May 25, at 6pm BST, with prices ranging from R$90 ($18.79) for one-day, early-bird tickets for Thursday and Friday to R$1,999 ($417.35) for Lounge tickets.

OpTic India’s forsaken also cheated at the ESL Premiership LAN finals [Confirmed] OpTic India / ESLESL have confirmed that OpTic India’s now infamous former player, Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat, cheated during official matches in the ESL India Premiership. Forsaken made headlines on October 19 when he was caught cheating at the $100,000 eXTREMESLAND 2018 LAN event in Shanghai, resulting in him and his team being disqualified from the event. OpTic India were quick to distance themselves from the player, kicking him from their roster, but the organization eventually decided to drop the entire roster with immediate effect. Shortly after news about forsaken broke a number of suspicious clips and evidence of him potentially cheating in the past began to surface, and now ESL India have found proof that he was hacking at the ESL India Premiership Fall Finale (an event that OpTic India won convincingly). “Based on the proof from Zowie eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals, we at ESL India are investigating all the 20 players in the #ESLIndiaPremiership Finale for any potential cheats on their drives,” ESL revealed on Facebook. They continue: “On immediate inspection, we have discovered the same cheat program that was used by Forsaken in Shanghai on the SSD he used at the ESL India Premiership Fall Finale and have shared this evidence with the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC).” ESL class this evidence of forsaken cheating at their event as a Level 4 offence under ESIC’s ‘Code of Conduct’ but will refrain from making a final decision until the commissioner has conducted an independent inquiry. Read More: Skadoodle retires from competitive CS:GO – Four teams took part in the ESL India Premiership Fall Finale – the fact that all 20 players were investigated, but only forsaken’s SSD was found to have the files on immediate inspecition, adds some credence to the claims of the former OpTic India players that they were unaware of their teammate’s actions.

ESL Clarify That a Hacker was Responsible for Insensitive Tweet About Madden Event Shooting Electronic Sports League (ESL), has clarified that an insensitive tweet from one if their official accounts about the Jacksonville shooting at a Madden 19 tournament, was posted by a hacker. ESL, one of the largest and most recognized esports tournament organizers, posted a Tweet from their main account sending condolences to those affected, but a response from the official ESL Counter-Strike account was much less compassionate. The reply was quickly deleted, and ESL have since confirmed that based on the information they have, the account was hijacked by hacker, who posted the offensive tweet. The tweet linked to a video, which played an audio file of the ‘monster kill’ sound effect, a quote popularized in first person shooter game Unreal Tournament. ESL initially called it simply an “unauthorized use of the account.” Gaming Community Warns Against False Link Between Video Games and Violence, Following Shooting at Madden Tournament After investigation, ESL staff confirmed that it was a hack. VP of marketing at ESL, Kai Kienzle said that the Counter-Strike account was being locked down until they could discover the source. Lead Event Marketing and Observer at ESL, Patricia von Halle, later posted more updates on the cause of the tweet, revealing that they could not be confirm fully that it was a ‘hijack’, but it was certainly not an authorized action. calls from the esports community for increased and stricter security at events, to avoid such tragedies in the future. Unfortunately, because the Madden tournament took place within a larger shopping and entertainment complex, the small restaurant/bar itself could not be wholly responsible for security.