In the real matches (the ones without EG) there was almost some good Counter-Strike going on.
Not from G2, though: Their 13-match winning streak was broken by a re-invigorated Cloud9.
Of course, that doesn’t really matter. G2 still have two chances in ESL’s triple elimination bracket to make playoffs, but it’s still a shame.
G2’s streak was in the top ten of all time, which shows just how crazy the teams above them were. This game against Cloud9 didn’t matter for G2, but all the other teams in the list had games that didn’t matter too. Any streak this long is a rare achievement and should be treated as such.
That it was Cloud9 that broke the streak was a fun surprise, though.
sh1ro, after a 1.70 rating vs EG, dropped a 1.83 rating against G2. After four maps he has a 1.77 rating. ONE POINT SEVENTY SEVEN. Ax1Le broke FaZe in 2022, and sh1ro might have broken G2 in 2023.
Almost like picking Vertigo (where NiKo got a 0.31 rating) against G2 is a good idea. Cough, Heroic.
sh1ro is too good not to win a proper big trophy this year. But until Cloud9 show this same form in a real white-knuckle arena match, we wouldn’t hold our breath.
Elsewhere Outsiders out-boringed fnatic to secure their spot in playoffs, with Jame once again dying less than 10 times in a 28 round win. Inferno and Jame are like oil and water, they just shouldn’t be allowed to mix.
The top three teams of the group, then, should be obvious. G2 should smash everyone left in the ‘mid’ bracket, and Outsiders and Cloud9 have already qualified.
What will be really spicy is the fourth team to qualify. Fnatic look shaky. MIBR have insani. Eternal Fire have a system to back up XANTARES. IHC are always dangerous.
This format is set up for the favourites to go through. So how good would it be if one of them didn’t?