Decisive deciders

Losing a semi-final doesn't just eliminate you anymore. You get to be the showmatch.

With those stakes set, the teams at PGL Cluj-Napoca had everything to play for. Falcons, especially, seemed as motivated as ever, dominating in their matchup against FaZe with a 2-0 win. NiKo was on a mission, deadset to avoid a third-place decider and desperate for a trophy to justify his move to Falcons.

Nobody believes in you, what are you prepared to do about it?

Honestly, you could ask MOUZ the same question, because we didn’t expect to see them here after benching siuhy.

Weirdly, despite us doubting them, MOUZ didn’t care.

Instead, they stared Astralis down and made them choke like prime Liquid. Astralis had a 12-4 lead on Inferno but choked it into overtime, where Brollan’s Red and White army closed out. Map 2 might’ve gone the Danes' way, but the decider on Ancient was a slaughter. cadiaN’s brains were splattered on that stage.

Fortunately for them, they got a chance at redemption vs FaZe. A third-place decider can be good for something.

Though it started off… familiarly. Astralis got the lead at 12-8 on Map 1 but got dragged into overtime again. It was at this point that FaZe decided they also didn’t care about winning because it took another 28 rounds to settle the map in their favour.

Credit to Astralis though, their heads didn’t drop. They cleaned house on Inferno, despite dropping another 4 rounds while on match point. And at least map 3 of Ancient was an actual clean win for cadiaN and Co.

By winning this game, Astralis took home an additional 60 grand in prize money, and extra VRS points which will hopefully lift them out of online qualifier hell. We have to admit, it’s better than a showmatch.

AZU-Who?

After the news that roman and Shr were leaving SAW's active lineup, and with their unexpected run at PGL Cluj-Napoca now concluded – one of the best possible send-offs for both the veteran and the rookie – the Portuguese organization has officially revealed their replacements.

AZUWU and cej0t have been chosen to fill the roles held by roman and Shr, respectively, in a move that no one saw coming. Who are they? The duo hails from the former Endpoint squad, after the organization paused its Counter-Strike division earlier this month, leaving their roster free to explore other opportunities.

Looking at the new additions, and assuming these changes were necessary in the first place – which is very debatable - it’s a smart move by SAW. They’ve picked up two young talents with great potential and extensive experience in the tier-2 scene, something that’s becoming increasingly rare in the Portuguese scene, as story himself mentioned in a recent interview.

One of the challenges of such a move – and it’s certainly a big one – is that they’ll need to transition to communicating in English. This will inevitably involve a tough learning curve and an adjustment period. With the Major fast approaching, it’s a risky decision they might regret down the line, but only time will tell.

Just ask BIG about that - they transition to English and back every season.

This marks the first step toward what could eventually be an international roster majority for SAW, as they tap into a new market that will undoubtedly give them more flexibility when scouting talent.

The org has made it clear they have long-term goals and ambitions, as SAW’s GM highlighted in their statement. However, one big question remains – one that applies to any national team taking the international leap: Will they be able to maintain their roots and keep their national fanbase?

While we wait for those answers, we’ll get our first look at the new SAW lineup in ESL Pro League S21, which kicks off next Saturday.

SAW’s new lineup:

🇬🇧 AZUWU
🇵🇱 cej0t
🇵🇹 Ag1l
🇵🇹 story
🇵🇹 MUTiRiS

🇸🇪 Golden (coach)

We’re apologising (again)

A few weeks ago, we were apologising to REZ, but it turns out we may just have needed to apologise to the entirety of Swedish CS.

Okay, that’s probably too far.

But with our sincerest Frank Lampard impression: We’d like to apologise to Brollan. He’s just accomplished something siuhy couldn’t have dreamed of doing: He made xertioN play well during an arena playoffs.

Not only was everyone’s second-favourite (sorry, stavn) playoff bottler a solid force in getting them to the final, he was also the MVP of the grand final itself, and a massive reason as to why MOUZ have finally won an event in front of more seven people in Malta.

The final itself wasn’t much to write home about, it began with two comfortable maps and ended with two far closer ones. As BO5s go, it isn’t one we’re going to talk about for a long time, we’ll most likely get of it bored by next week, but there are some things worth talking about.

The first is that Falcons are getting there, and that’s honestly a good sign, considering that most people presumed this would be Niko’s retirement home. degster isn’t all there yet though, but we’re still sure m0NESY will be soon.

The bigger story is that MOUZ are just as good with Brollan leading them. Their T sides were mostly very solid, and Spinx looks back to his absolute best. With a bonafide superstar, MOUZ could turn this win into a fair few by the end of the year.

That is, until they do the most MOUZ thing ever, which, if you’re not familiar, will be selling siuhy and half of their remaining squad to FaZe.

Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it… or something like that.

Final standings at PGL Cluj-Napoca:

1st 🇪🇺 MOUZ – $400.000
2nd 🇪🇺 Falcons – $187.500
3-4th 🇩🇰 Astralis – $150.000
3-4th 🇪🇺 FaZe – $87.500
5-8th 🇵🇹 SAW – $62.500
5-8th 🇹🇷 Eternal Fire – $62.500
5-8th 🇲🇳 The MongolZ – $62.500
5-8th 🇧🇷 paiN – $62.500

📏 Rules aren’t always meant to be bent

🤔 Ancient: a map of smoke, gaps, and fire

⌛ Things used to be better

This TL;DR was written by aizyesque, shoko, AN1MO, Horizzon and napz.
Welshy coded the email and Crash_ copy edited.

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