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GUIDES
Simple Radar
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And if not, why not?
FISSURE Playground 2 is still going on, and honestly? It actually might be better than the Major.
Speaking of, the VRS race is about to reach it’s conclusion, and it’s getting spicy…
Despite what you may think, the rumours are not true. VRS does not stand for ‘very rubbish system’, that’s merely a backronym.
It is, however, very rubbish.
Do you remember not long ago when BNE came and blew the RMR wide open and made Counter-Strike fun again? What if we had that, but none of the fun parts? Valve have the answer.
We’re sick of talking about how rubbish VRS is, but it’s important because the Major invites go out on the 6th of October, and there’s not many tournaments before then that matter - in fact, the biggest one is happening right now.
That would be StarLadder StarSeries Fall 2025, where NIP, OG, PARIVISION, B8, Gentle Mates and 9INE all have a shot to get enough points to qualify, and a big result here would go a long way to securing that spot.
Oh, and Passion UA over in the Americas. NAVI are the last team, but they’re basically a lock.
There’s a few other matches that might matter between now and then, but for NIP it seems to be the last chance they have. We say seems, because we can’t be certain - not only is this system worse, it’s also a bloody nightmare to follow.
We shouldn’t have to be doing maths or reading about whether ‘Galaxy Battle 2025 Phase 4’ counts for ‘VRS points’. This is nonsense. The only maths should be three wins, or three losses.
We think it does count, by the way. So OG, PARIVISION and Gentle Mates might have another go.
That makes this a very important tournament for NIP, who despite being… well, NIP, are actually half-decent now, and were built with the goal of eventually abusing the system enough to edge their way to a Major, and this is their shot to do so.
They did muscle past OG, thankfully, but PARIVISION are in exquisite form and will meet them today having smacked B8 around. Personally, we expect PARIVISION to make it again, because Jame is in the form of his life.
So, what do you need to know?
In light of Twistzz looming return to FaZe, Sam and Jack dissect what else needs to happen for the move to actually work, and why this could be the last chance for Karrigan’s squad. Among the chaos they also ask:
A full-BO3 Swiss group stage? Are we watching the Major?
Well, no, because Valve are sh-t. But that’s a topic for another day.
No, instead, we’ve been watching FISSURE Playground 2, which we’d love to clown on but we actually just can’t. It’s honestly just been a really good time.
Falcons and Aurora breezed through the group stage, with Falcons having a particularly easy time of it as they didn’t drop a map and opened their account with a 26-3 win over Virtus.pro. Of course, at the time we weren’t sure as to whether that was down to VP being rubbish or Falcons actually being good again, but later results told us it might actually be both.
We then saw The MongolZ, G2, and FURIA all go through, with all three of the teams living up to the expectations that have been placed on them by their impressive recent form.
We were slightly worried by The MongolZ getting beaten by 3DMAX, and by FURIA losing their 2-0 game against Aurora, but it’s okay, even the teams we like are allowed to lose sometimes.
Rounding out the playoffs are Astralis, paiN, and Liquid. Which is good, really. Not because we wanted any of the three teams to make it through, we honestly couldn’t care if they did or didn’t, but the potential conflict of interest in the FaZe vs Liquid 2-2 game is a conversation we’re glad will now be avoided.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, HEROIC and Lynn Vision both crashed out of the event 0-3. We’d say this should be considered a disappointment, but looking at the field, we think it’s probably about right. A bit of a shame, seeing how we like both teams, but that’s just the way life goes sometimes, we guess.
TYLOO were the big disappointment for us, especially because their elimination was at the hands of an actually dead Liquid team. A poor showing from Jee in particularly, it seems the Chinese team still has a long way to go before they can truly put themselves on the same level as The MongolZ.
3DMAX also went out 1-3, which is really funny considering they beat The MongolZ in their opening game. Losing to both GamerLegion and VP on that run wasn’t exactly a good look for the Frenchies, but for this unfriendly English TLDR writer, it was bloody fun to watch.
Both GamerLegion and VP then exited the competition in the 2-2 bracket, losing to Astralis and paiN respectively. We’d like to make a joke about this, but considering they’re both dead teams - well, VP should be a dead team - it’s probably a decent result all things considered.
Still, Jame is right there, guys.
They were joined by FaZe in narrowly missing out on playoffs, who coincidentally are also a dead team.
A bit of a shame if it is to be rain’s last event for the organisation, we’re now pretty excited to see who will be making way for the returning Twistzz.
And hoping to God that it’s not going to be karrigan.
CS2 has had another update.
We used to think that was a good thing. Now it just worries us every time.
And with good reason, apparently. Plenty of pros are complaining about how the game feels right now after Valve said that they improved sub-tick in the patch notes.
You can’t polish a turd, lads.
Grenade sounds also got a big overhaul during the update, which we know is something we’ve all been asking for.
Actually, we don’t really mind this part of the update. The new sounds are a bit too loud, but they sound good. The added realism in the new versions is quite appreciated.
The big talking point, though, is the new Genesis Collection. Which, instead of being available via the normal case system, can be obtained through a Genesis Uplink Terminal.
A Genesis Uplink Terminal - which you can get through a weekly drop - allows you to access the Arms Dealer, who will then offer to tell you a gun from within the collection. Don’t like what he’s offering? Cool, just pass on it and see what he offers next, which you can do up to five times.
Surely this is a good thing, right? Instead of opening a case, hoping for gold, and eventually seeing a P250 Sand Dune, you now get five goes at it, right?
Well, sort of. You do then have to buy the skin from the Arms Dealer. Which would be great if the good skins weren’t ridiculously expensive.
We’re sure there’s nothing nefarious about that.
The last thing worth mentioning from the update is that you can now inspect a teammate’s inventory when spectating.
Great. We’re really struggling to hold back our excitement.
Actually, no, that might be a good change actually. We all have really good inventories.
Or maybe we’ve all just spent too much money on this game.
Hmm.
We can sometimes be a bit Debbie Downer on these sorts of events here at TLDR, but actually, this has been a whole lot of fun.
BO3 Swiss system groups? We like. A mix of teams without the inevitability of Vitality winning? Fun, actually. The playoffs? Well… it could be better, but we’re not going to complain. We didn’t expect that much of groups, and it was great.
The first quarter-final is an absolute banger, and honestly could just be the final. G2 are off the back of a very impressive win in London, and The MongolZ are one of the best teams in the world.
They’re two of the most in-form teams in the world, and we’d be disappointed if this game was before the semis at the Major, never mind whatever this event is called.
The winner of that will play the winner of Aurora vs Liquid. So, Aurora.
Outside of that EWC run, the Turks haven’t been at their best as of late , but they’re surely still better than the ghost of Liquid. Is it just us, or are Liquid perennially dead? They’re like the team version of karrigan in the server.
The bottom half of the bracket is a bit more open - FURIA are a renewed force and might just actually be one of the best teams in the world, just keep it quiet. They’re up against Astralis, who… look, they’re not great. But they’re not terrible. They’re decent enough.
FURIA should win, but Astralis do look markedly better with HooXi at the wheel. Put some respect on his name.
paiN are doing their ‘we’re actually good this time, honestly. For real. This time we’re actually good’ thing again, but we won’t be convinced. Not even if they beat Falcons, who are also sort of doing the same thing. Again.
Falcons are good. They will eventually, probably, be unstoppable. Right now, they are stoppable. Believably good. Playable. Beatable.
Having said that, they have the three top rated players at the event. kyousuke top, with TeSeS and NiKo not far behind. That’s terrifying - especially when paiN aren’t really known for being a heavy firepower team. They’re alright, but, look, they’re paiN. Enough said.
Maybe they can outfox, outwit and outplay Falcons. But they ain’t outshooting them, and it might not even matter if they outfox them. Well done, lads, kyousuke is out of position.
He only killed two of you this time.
