By Ginx eSports TV<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a ride. ELeague \u2013 the televised CS:GO tournament from Turner Broadcasting \u2013 is coming to an end, and it\u2019s easy to call it a success. The matches have been thrilling, the production has been fantastic and the viewing numbers have been surprisingly high.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been such a success, in fact, that TBS has already confirmed a second season is in the works.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s been drama, too. Outside of the intense match-ups, we\u2019ve seen SK Gaming excluded from the tournament due to its controversial issues surrounding the contracts of Luminosity\u2019s Brazilian squad \u2013 with claims the team was being poached.<\/p>\n
With new Brazilian SK squad and the former SK Gaming team \u2013 now named Team X \u2013 having been disqualified, Cloud9 was rewarded with an automatic boost to the finals, while Renegades, Mousesports and Gambit Gaming were each given one more chance at grasping ultimate victory by being placed in the Last Chance Qualifier bracket.<\/p>\n
And yet only Mousesports were able to make it to the finals phase.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve seen strong favourites Astralis suddenly struggle to maintain its otherwise impressive run (though it did make it to the Quarterfinals, at least, before being eliminated by Mousesports).<\/p>\n
Ninjas In Pyjamas managed a number of impressive matches, making it to the Quarterfinals before it, too, was knocked out by a confident Virtus.pro.<\/p>\n
Other names that failed to make it to the finals include an otherwise strong side in Counter Logic Gaming, G2 Esports and even Flipsid3 Tactics. It\u2019s been a rollercoaster, frankly, which should make for an interesting set of finals.<\/p>\n
There are four teams remaining, and it\u2019s really anyone\u2019s game at this point: Fnatic and Na\u2019Vi will face off against one another this Friday, followed by Mousesports and Virtus.pro.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s take a look at each of these teams, their journey to the semi-finals and who we might see as the ultimate victors of CS:GO\u2019s first ELeague tournament\u2026<\/p>\n
CS:GO ELeague Finals \u2013 Fnatic<\/p>\n
The best word for Fnatic is \u2018erratic\u2019. Here\u2019s a team that constantly finds itself in the upper echelons of many of CS:GO\u2019s most significant tournaments, but often the journey there is not a simple one.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the decorated squad will dominate a match, coming out ahead early on in a map and capitalising on that advantage for an easy victory. Other times it will struggle, with success coming from the closest of final pushes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s recent games haven\u2019t been quite that difficult, however. In the group knockout stage it managed handily, taking on TSM first \u2013 and winning 2-1 in the end, but each of its successes looking strong \u2013 and then a 2-0 victory against FaZe Clan.<\/p>\n
Fnatic\u2019s last match \u2013 where it knocked Team EnVyUs out during the Quarterfinals \u2013 was close, a back and forth throughout the match before final pushes gave Fnatic the lead and, ultimately, the victory.<\/p>\n
Now it faces Na\u2019Vi, and though this is a team with history it, too, suffers from a similar unpredictable performance of late.<\/p>\n
The semi-final match is a roll of the dice, then, but if Fnatic can make it to the ELeague Final then we wouldn\u2019t count the team out. It\u2019s notorious for its achievements under pressure, and there are few situations as stressful as this one.<\/p>\n
CS:GO ELeague Finals \u2013 Natus Vincere<\/p>\n
Na\u2019Vi will forever remain a fan favourite. The number of Premier finals it\u2019s attended \u2013 this last year alone \u2013 proves it\u2019s a team that can perform, and its long history with CS:GO eSports means it\u2019s a name fans have grown to recognise.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s last first-place victory was in March at the finals of the Counter Pit League Season 2, since then it\u2019s had an turbulent life of it, managing a handful of second place finishes in between 5th place finishes at ESL One Cologne and ESL\u2019s Pro League Season 3, even failing to qualify for the ECS.<\/p>\n
During the ELeague Na\u2019Vi\u2019s performance has been a little more stable, however, and while that doesn\u2019t mean we should expect to see a confident win against Fnatic \u2013 the two are fairly equal at this point \u2013 it might give the squad a little more confidence going into its semifinal match. And that will be important.<\/p>\n
In both of its matches in the group knockout stage Na\u2019Vi went 2-0, confident victories against Echo Fox and the never-to-be-disregarded Flipsid3 Tactics. At 16-9 and 16-4 followed by an equally comfortable 16-13 and 16-2 against F3.<\/p>\n
Na\u2019Vi\u2019s last match \u2013 against Cloud9 \u2013 wasn\u2019t so easy, a 2-1 narrow victory. The first map went into overtime after a back and forth of points, until Na\u2019Vi managed four rounds in a row during overtime. The second map went to Cloud9 far more reliable, while the third map followed a similar pattern to the first, with Na\u2019Vi clutching victory by the end.<\/p>\n
Na\u2019Vi\u2019s form hasn\u2019t been too reliable of late either, and so up against Fnatic it could be a tough call. If we were to stake a claim, we\u2019d go with Fnatic in the semifinals but if Na\u2019Vi did make it to the grand final we\u2019d doubt they\u2019d have the composure to go all the way.<\/p>\n
CS:GO\u2019s ELeague Finals \u2013 Mousesports<\/p>\n
On the other side of the semifinals as a pairing of underdogs. Though Mousesports has been making a name for itself in the CS:GO circuit of late, it doesn\u2019t quite have the victories to go with it.<\/p>\n
In most of its Premiers the squad has struggled to achieve anything greater than 5-8th, though the team does manage to safely qualifier for the majority of CS:GO\u2019s key tournaments and events.<\/p>\n
In truth ELeague hasn\u2019t been an easy tournament for Mousesports, achieving fairly middling success during the main season, before being knocked out in the first round of the group playoffs stage.<\/p>\n
If not for SK Gaming\u2019s disqualification that would be it for Mousesports, but having been revived for the Last Chance Bracket it was clear the team wanted to use the opportunity to its best.<\/p>\n
The squad managed to pull away with a couple of scrappy maps against G2 Esports \u2013 a technically more accomplished team \u2013 with one map even ending 25-22 in overtime.<\/p>\n
This was a similar story against FaZe Clan, too, where it lost the first map but managed to achieve two close victories on the following maps to succeed and make it into the finals \u2013 the only team to do so after filling in for SK Gaming and X Team\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n
With a newfound vigour, however, Mousesports managed a rather comfortable looking victory against Astralis, a team that should have \u2013 on paper \u2013 been the dominant force.<\/p>\n
Going into its semifinal against Virtus.pro, Mousesports will be looking to prove itself on the CS:GO circuit. It\u2019s been a tough fight for the squad, and we\u2019d love to see a victory for such a tough underdog. There\u2019d be a beautiful story to tell if Mousesports could come out as first place victor at ELeague\u2019s grand final\u2026 and part of us is praying that this will happen.<\/p>\n
CS:GO\u2019s ELeague Finals \u2013 Virtus.pro<\/p>\n
As with Mousesports, Virtus.pro is a scrappy battler that will be using the finals of ELeague to stand out in the CS:GO scene \u2013 and that alone will make for an intense face-off between the two.<\/p>\n
On paper Virtus.pro edges out, having scored itself a first place victory at StarLadder earlier in the year in a final against Na\u2019Vi, as well as a couple of 3-4 places at CEVO Gfinity and ESL One: Cologne \u2013 not to be snubbed by any means.<\/p>\n
During the playoffs V.p has had a good number of strong wins, taking out Gambit Gaming twice with two 2-0 wins (once in the group playoffs, and again in the Last Chance Bracket).<\/p>\n
Even it\u2019s previous game \u2013 up against Ninjas In Pyjamas \u2013 was a strong showing, mostly leading in both maps ending with a 8-16 and 16-7 pair of victories, even crushing NiP for ten straight rounds in the final half of its second map.<\/p>\n
But then there have been a handful of not-so-strong games, too. It was handily put into the Last Chance Bracket by Team EnVyUs, for example, meaning the squad had to fight its way into the finals.<\/p>\n
Virtus.pro\u2019s semifinal match is going to be a close one, and it\u2019ll be hard to tell who could manage ultimate victory between it and Mousesports. In the end it\u2019ll come down to whichever team wants it the most, and V.p will need that extra gear if it wants to make it in the finals.<\/p>\n
And if Na\u2019Vi does make it to the finals against V.p, the Ukrainian team will be looking for vengeance after the pair\u2019s previous battle\u2026 it\u2019ll be a tough set of games for Virtus.pro, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ginx eSports TV It\u2019s been a ride. ELeague \u2013 the televised CS:GO tournament from Turner Broadcasting \u2013 is coming to an end, and it\u2019s easy to call it a success. The matches have been thrilling, the production has been fantastic and the viewing numbers have been surprisingly high. It\u2019s been such a success, in … <\/p>\n