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Vitality, in Paris. It’s almost too predictable to be a script. And almost too easy for them to do it. The kings of France, Team Vitality!
Liquid suck and siuhy has a big brain
Source: siuhy by BLAST / Michael Konkol
With Heroic out, many a CS fan would say Liquid were one of the favourites to win the Major. Many a CS fan, but not Apeks.
Ancient, Overpass, Anubis. That’s what the veto gave. Apeks then proceeded to give us amazing CS to watch, and Liquid a good old spanking. The Aztec temples of Ancient were painted red by the unlikely international mix, and Team Liquid looked absolutely lost as YEKINDAR and nitr0 tried to lead their team to success.
Ten rounds was all they could muster before Apeks reached 16-10. It’s alright, decent performance on your opponents map pick. We would’ve expected better from NA’s sole representative, but still.
Better luck on the next map, right? Wrong.
Apeks were on fire, and so was nawwk. Things went about as well as they did on map one, with Liquid showing us how not to take map control. 16-11, and Liquid had to face a 2-0 loss and book their flights home.
In the other quarter-final, Monte’s BOROS was the key to success, and GamerLegion knew it. The bans and picks would take us to Mirage and Overpass, with Vertigo never being played.
There were a lot of similarities in the two quarter-finals, with two unlikely candidates showing more than amazing CS.
With only a slight bit of help from iM and his 51 kills over the two maps, siuhy led his team to 16-10 on the first map. The second map was even more disheartening for Monte, as all they could win was six rounds before GL took the map and the match. Didn’t help that BOROS only managed a 0.97 rating.
Another 2-0, another dismantling. The fans went home early that night.
And so Apeks and GamerLegion surprisingly found themselves in the semi-finals of a Major, could they go all the way?
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Davids and Goliaths
Source: BLAST / Michael Konkol
We were close to seeing who would be crowned the last CS:GO Major Champions ever. But first, we had some semi-finals watch.
The unknown quantities of Apeks and GamerLegion had to face the established Vitality and Heroic. We thought we knew which teams would make it through and it had a distinct Danish-French scent.
Heroic and GamerLegion kicked off on Ancient, and we were shocked. siuhy's underdogs started out hot, leading the first half 5-10, until they suddenly collapsed. It looked like cadiaN the ComediaN would have the last laugh after all as Heroic turned it around closing the map 16-13.
We thought it was over. But boy were we wrong.
After an intense second map of Inferno with lots of clutch factor from isak, GamerLegion won the map 14-16 and made us all believe they actually had a shot of winning the series. Including Heroic, who completely fumbled on the last map, Mirage.
This seems like a good time to mention the insanity that was iM’s stats. He seemingly got better and better through this series, peaking on Mirage with a 1.87 rating. Due to this iM-sanity (not sorry), the Legion spanked Heroic 16-6 to win the series and a spot in the Grand Final.
As cadiaN was saying his final words on stage to an incredible crowd, Mauisnake gave him a scathing review: “GamerLegion had a 1 in 11 chance to win, and that is seemingly is when Heroic play their worst CS”. Spicy.
But who would face GL in the Final?
Apeks saw GamerLegion's feat and must’ve felt some hope. And who’d blame them. You see the impossible done and anyone would start to believe. Too bad they faced Spinx and ZywOo.
If you just look at the HLTV Ratings for the first map, Mirage, you’d expect Apeks to have been destroyed: 1.58 on Spinx, 1.23 for ZywOo even 1.43 for Dupreeh. Is it 2017 again?! Yet, the map went all 30 rounds, partially due to some incredible clutches by jL, jkaem and STYKO - all in a row! But despite Apeks’ best effort, Vitality took the map 16-14.
Moving on to Vertigo where Vitality won the first half comfortably 10-5. But Apeks wouldn’t give up. They clawed their way back to 13-12 but then they felt the pinch. Vitality found their momentum and swiftly took 3 rounds in a row. 2-0, the final was set up.
New Vs Old. New Ideas Vs Old Reliable. Vitality Vs GamerLegion.
Vitality in dreamland
Vitality won in Paris!
A fairytale victory, one almost too perfect to be predictable, Vitality romped to victory to complete what quite a few will discredit as a simple run, but nevertheless a fairytale one.
Apeks and GamerLegion tripped up many a top team, and that Vitality were the only ones able to withstand the test is a testament to their experience, their quality and their dominance.
Back-to-back trophies, now, for the undoubted best team in the world.
Map one was a stomp, as Spinx and ZywOo ran around doing whatever the hell they wanted, multi-killing left, right and centre. And sometimes diagonally too.
Just as GamerLegion looked like they were settling in, they got reset after winning a pistol and lost control of the economy, even after breaking back.
Map two was much closer, as we saw the iM we’ve become accustomed to this Major. At least for a half.
He picked up 23 kills as he ripped the Vitality defence apart and pushed GamerLegion to ten, but then found no way in to second half. He ended the game on 25 kills.
Eesh.
He kept trying to peek ZywOo outside, and that… that rarely goes well for anyone. ZywOo, incidentally, was by far the best player in the server on the final map. He hadn’t quite been god tier in the playoffs until that moment, but he was undeniable in this final map.
dupreeh got his fifth, and became immortalised as the greatest winner in history. Maybe not the finest player, maybe not the biggest name, or the flashiest, but the greatest winner.
Magisk picked up his fourth, and was phenomenal when things stopped going Vitality’s way, Spinx superb as the foil to ZywOo, and apEX has corrected the record about his own ability as a leader. His second Major, in a much different fashion to his first. Huge respect to him.
Vitality, in Paris, in the final CSGO Major.
What a f*cking send-off.
Final standings:
1. 🇪🇺 Vitality - $500.000
2. 🇪🇺 GamerLegion - $170.000
3-4. 🇪🇺 Apeks - $80.000
3-4. 🇩🇰 Heroic - $80.000
5-8. 🇺🇸 Liquid - $45.000
5-8. 🇺🇦 Monte - $45.000
5-8. 🇬🇧 Into the Breach - $45.000
5-8. 🇪🇺 FaZe - $45.000
9-11. 🇺🇦 NAVI - $20.000
9-11. 🇪🇺 fnatic - $20.000
9-11. 🇪🇺 NIP - $20.000
Knife(less)
🤨 Drama
- Can you imagine the odds of opening a knife at the Major? They must be impossible!
- Well, it’s because they are. Good investigating, ale.
- Looks like the guy got in trouble for it as well. You are in the city of the guillotine after all, watch out…
🪖 How it feels to chew- play the showmatch
- Sometimes you’re so bad it feels like you might as well turn your monitor off, like CYPHER.
- And sometimes you’re stood in a smoke smiling, knowing you’ll get a cheeky kill.
- Finally, sometimes the ferrari peeks are actually real. Vroom vroom.
😁 Wholesome af
- A kid and five Majors? What more could you want.
- There’s only one way to silence the haters, apEX. Go get em.
