Author: Benjamin "esk1mo" Esgate
Here are eleven of the twenty-two CS:GO players making their first Major appearance in Rio de Janeiro.Part OneFollowing the conclusion of the RMRs, all the twenty-four teams attending the upcoming IEM Rio Major 2022 have been decided. The Rio Major is set to begin on the 31st of October with the Grand Final taking place on the 13th of November. A CS:GO Major in Brazil has been long-awaited for the Counter-Strike community following the original cancellation due to COVID-19 in 2022 but the world’s best teams are finally heading to South America. An event of this magnitude comes with heaps…
Bad News Eagles are a self-made organization from Kosovo. The team features all the members from the ex-BLINK team – star riflers Flatron ‘juanflatroo’ Halimi and Rigon ‘rigoN’ Gashi, sniper Genc ‘gxx-‘ Kolgeci, support player Sener ‘SENER1’ Mahmuti who all play under the leadership of In-Game leader Dionis ‘sinnopsyy’ Budeci and coach Klesti ‘stikle-‘ Kola. Following their exit from under the BLINK banner, the Kosovan side existed without an organization for six months in 2022 and it was during that time that the Eagles had their breakout event at the PGL Antwerp Major.The story begins in the second European open…
Following the first group of ESL Pro League Season 16, Group B had much to live up to. Despite sub-par teams, Group B is full of highly contested games between the top three. Playoff positions were up for grabs heading into the final day, and some fan-favorite teams looked strong. We’ve picked five takeaways from Group B of ESL Pro League Season 16.New-look G2 looks very improved and topped the group flawlesslyOver the Summer break, there was movement inside the G2 camp. French rifler Audric “â JACKZâ ” Jug and Finish leader Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen made way for two new additions, Rasmus…
Season 16 was another action-packed season of the ESL Pro League, which saw the Counter-Strike scene head to Malta. Vitality take home the trophy on the European island beating out Team Liquid in the Grand Final . No prizes for guessing which category they fall into at this event. But which teams joined them in the winners’ section ‘ and which teams left Malta wanting more? We’ve picked out six winners and six losers from ESL Pro League Season 16.Winners: VitalityVitality look revitalized with the addition of Lotan “Spinx” Giladi and take home the trophy.The Parisian organization was in the…
The last group of ESL Pro League Season 16, Group D, saw the final six teams go head-to-head for the last three spots available for the Playoffs. The games were action-packed, and there were a lot of closely-fought matches. In Group D, there were no completely new lineups; teams were either bedding in just one new player or continuing with the same five as before the Summer break. The stable rosters meant there was some high-quality Counter-Strike on display, preparing us nicely for the Playoffs, which are starting in just a couple of days. Here are our six major takeaways…
Group C of ESL Pro League Season 16 was action-packed and was the first group without a clear favorite heading into it. There were never before seen lineups, some long-time squads, and some other teams fielding new players. All this resulted in a group stage full of competition and exciting Counter-Strike. Here are six major takeaways from Group C of ESL Pro League Season 16.With another player promoted, MOUZ look strong and progress to the ESL Pro League Playoffs in MaltaI have been doubtful of Christopher ‘dexter’ Nong and his MOUZ project for a while now. However, my view of…
A season of ESL Pro League is always a premium event on the Counter-Strike calendar and Season 15 is no exception. These tournaments are highly contested, with the field of teams at ESL Pro League Season 15 consisting of the best Counter-Strike has to offer – all packed into four round-robin groups.According to the Louvre agreement, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FaZe, and G2 Esports are considered ‘Partner Teams’ and receive automatic invitations to these competitions. Other teams like Heroic and Entropiq obtain their invites through their position on the ESL World Ranking. Outside of these phenomenal teams backed by…
Being one of the highest performing players on the team and in the world, the departure of Robin “ropz” Kool serves as a massive hit to MOUZ. They were also the first professional squad for the Estonian sensation.ropz joined the organization; then known as mousesports, in 2017, after establishing himself as a young up-and-comer in the FACEIT Pro League (FPL). But following the departure of Finn “karrigan” Andersen, he too is now moving on to be reunited with the aforementioned In-Game Leader.Can NBK- bring an end to the irregularity?With the exception of a brief period following an unexpected victory at…
With the PGL Major Antwerp 2022 starting in around a week, we present our preview of the Challengers stage.The prize pool for this year’s major event is $1,000,000 USD. It will be held in Antwerp, Belgium, at the Antwerp Sportpaleis arena. But it’s not just the prize money that motivates the teams and players. This is 2022’s biggest event, and every team wants the prestige that comes with lifting the trophy. Here’s a quick rundown of the sixteen teams taking part in this stage of the Major. ENCEFollowing their Grand Final appearance at ESL Pro League Season 15, the Finish…
With Groups A, B, and C for Season 15 of ESL Pro League all wrapped up, Group D is just around the corner. Group D is the final group of the Group Stage and will decide who will be the final three teams to earn their berth into the playoffs. The top three teams from Group D will join NIP, Entropiq, Fnatic, FURIA, ENCE, FaZe, Movistar Riders, Players, and Liquid in competing for the ESL Pro League Season 15 trophy.Group D contains the world’s number one team Natus Vincere as well as the two Danes in Heroic and Astralis -…