Recap of Day 3 & 4 – Heroic and HAVU reach the qualifier finals
Heroic and HAVU took the last qualifier final spots of Elisa Invitational Fall 2020. Apeks and Lyngby Vikings placed 5-6th, while AGF and Dignitas had to settle with last places.
Recap of the first two days here.
| Phase | Team | Team | Score | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Elimination match | Heroic | AGF | 16 – 6 7 – 16 16 – 6 | Inferno Overpass Nuke |
| Group B Elimination match | Dignitas | Lyngby Vikings | 13 – 16 10 – 16 | Vertigo Inferno |
| Group A Decider | Apeks | Heroic | 4 – 16 2 – 16 | Train Vertigo |
| Group B Decider | HAVU | Lyngby Vikings | 1 – 16 16 – 12 16 – 3 | Vertigo Dust2 Nuke |
Day 3 – Elimination matches
Group A Elimination match – Heroic vs. AGF
The elimination battle of two Danish teams looked to be pretty one sided, as Heroic took a quick 6-1 lead in the map pick of AGF, Inferno. AGF fought back to make it a decent 6-9 half time score, as they started as terrorists. Team switched sides and Heroic cruised to victory 16-6.
Overpass was Heroic’s choice and AGF had a horrible record there. Kristoffer “kristou” Aamand wasn’t ready to leave the tournament though. AGF won their CT-side 11-4, thanks to kristou’s AWP plays and clutches. They kept going by winning T-side pistol and eventually closed the map 16-7. Kristou had 28 kills and 113 ADR.
Heroic won the knife round of the decider map Nuke and started as CT. At best, they led 7-0, before AGF climbed back to 6-9 half-time score again. Just like in Inferno, Heroic didn’t lose a single round as terrorists, making it a 16-6 map win.
Group B Elimination match – Dignitas vs. Lyngby Vikings
Due to health issues, Dignitas had to play without their in-game leader Adam “friberg” Friberg. Their coach Halvor “vENdetta” Gulestøl played as a stand-in.
Their own map pick started well, as they won the force buy right after losing their T-side pistol, making it a 5-1 lead at best. The rest of the half was all Vikings, as they gave only one more, winning the half 9-6. The second half had its moments, but in the end Lyngby Vikings had no trouble closing it 16-13.
Lyngby Vikings picked Inferno, despite poor performance against GODSENT. It appeared to be the correct choice, as Dignitas never got a good grip during the first half. The Danish side led 10-5, before starting CT-side with a pistol round win. Dignitas broke their money with a force buy win and came back to 9-11. It was all over quickly, as Vikings marched to victory 16-10.
Day 4 – Decider matches
Group A Decider match – Apeks vs. Heroic
The rematch of the tournament’s first match-up was practically a speed-run by Heroic. Their own map pick Train didn’t last long, as they started with a 13-2 T-side half, before closing it 16-4 on the CT-side.
Then it was time for the map pick of Apeks, Vertigo. Heroic didn’t stop their overpowering efforts there though, as they won the first half 13-2 again. This time they didn’t give anything away on their T-side, and won comfortably 16-2.
Group B Decider match – HAVU vs. Lyngby Vikings
HAVU was nowhere to be seen during the first map. Lyngby Vikings had picked Vertigo and they really showed their worth there. The whole map took only 27 minutes, as Vikings won 16-1.
The second map – Dust2 – was HAVU’s choice, and it was definitely not among the best maps of the Danish underdogs. They stayed within reach, as HAVU won their T-side 9-6, but after switching sides the match looked to be over quickly. The Finnish fraggers took the lead 15-7, before Vikings started their comeback. In the end, HAVU won 16-12.
Nuke should have been an evenly matched decider map. HAVU won the knife round and had a really good CT-side, clutching all the close rounds in their favor. Vikings just couldn’t get their T-side rolling, and HAVU had a comfortable 13-2 lead before starting their T-side. The Danish team won both pistols of Nuke, but still lost the map 16-3, as HAVU went on to playoffs.
Schedule & broadcasts
Tournament continues with the following schedule (EET timezone, all matches are best-of-three):
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1: GODSENT – Heroic
20:00 Qualifier final #2: MAD Lions – HAVU
Broadcasts
- Finnish streams: Twitch & Elisa Viihde Sport
- Engelska: Twitch
The first two days of Elisa Invitational Fall 2020 ended with celebrations of MAD Lions and GODSENT. There were only one surprise, as Heroic lost their opener against Apeks. Other than that, favorites kept their cool.
| Phase | Team | Team | Score | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A Opener | Heroic | Apeks | 16 – 19 | Inferno |
| Group A Opener | MAD Lions | AGF | 16 – 13 | Train |
| Group A Winners | MAD Lions | Apeks | 16 – 7 | Nuke |
| Group B Opener | GODSENT | Lyngby Vikings | 16 – 7 | Inferno |
| Group B Opener | HAVU | Dignitas | 16 – 5 | Nuke |
| Group B Winners | GODSENT | HAVU | 16 – 6 | Nuke |
Day 1 – Group A Openers and Winners
Opening match #1 – Heroic vs. Apeks – Inferno
Heroic had a strong start, showing little to no signs of fatigue in their T side. They had won the best-of-five final of DreamHack Open Fall less than 12 hours earlier, so their best form wasn’t certainly expected. They lost pistol round without a bomb plant, but it didn’t stop them from winning the force buy right after. At their best, they led 7-2, before Apeks came back to 7-8 half time score.
Heroic won CT pistol round and stormed quickly to 12-7 lead. Apeks finally got their T side rolling, after breaking the economy of Heroic. Apeks won six rounds in a row to take the lead for a moment. In the end, they had a 15-14 before Heroic forced the match to overtime.
Momentum didn’t shift towards Heroic though, as overtime was as difficult for them as the second half. Apeks managed to close the surprising victory 19-16.
Opening match #2 – MAD Lions vs. AGF – Train
The first domestic battle was held between two Danish teams MAD Lions and AGF. MAD Lions started with a pistol round win, but force buys were won three times before AGF took three rounds in a row. Neither team dominated the half, and the halftime score was 8-7 for MAD Lions.
AGF had a strong start for their T side, as force buys were not so dominant anymore. They led 10-8, when MAD Lions had their first gun round and they put on a strong defence. Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen and Ismail “refrezh” Ali won their first official match with MAD Lions, as the match ended 16-13 in their favor.
Winners match – MAD Lions vs. Apeks – Nuke
MAD Lions lost their CT pistol, but turned the tide quickly by winning the following force buy. Apeks couldn’t hold their ground too well on CT side, as they couldn’t string two rounds in a row. MAD Lions won their T side convincingly 11-4.
Apeks had a glimpse of comeback by taking the first three rounds. Then it was all MAD Lions, as they took the first qualifier final spot by winning the map 16-7.
Day 2 – Group B Openers and Winners
Opening match #1 – GODSENT vs. Lyngby Vikings – Inferno
Lyngby Vikings replaced ENCE in the tournament and had a decent start by winning their CT pistol round against GODSENT. However, GODSENT came in guns blazing after that. After winning their force buy, they dominated rest of the half with 12-3 scoreline.
Vikings won the second pistol round as well, starting a comeback with four round wins. GODSENT won a partial buy round, and forced Vikings to try force buy after force buy, until they took the victory 16-7.
Opening match #2 – HAVU vs. Dignitas – Nuke
Dignitas didn’t have the best possible conditions, as their in-game leader Adam “friberg” Friberg reported about his positive coronavirus test a couple hours before the match.
He showed up during the pistol round though, as Dignitas took the lead with a nice retake. And then it was all HAVU after that. Dignitas won only two gun rounds during their CT half, as HAVU took a convincing 11-4 lead.
Once again, HAVU lost pistol only to win the second round. Dignitas had no chance, as HAVU won 16-5 in a quick fashion.
Winners match – GODSENT vs. HAVU – Nuke
The last match of the day settled the first group winner. Jesse “zehN” Linjala was on point against his former team, grabbing two knife kills during the first half. GODSENT won their first pistol round of the tournament, but despite their good 3-0 start, HAVU climbed to a decent 6-9 score in the end of their T-side.
That was literally all they could get, as GODSENT didn’t lose a single round as terrorists. Convincing 16-6 victory for GODSENT, and they moved on to qualifier final.
Schedule & broadcasts
Tournament continues with the following schedule (EET timezone, all matches are best-of-three):
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match: Heroic – AGF
14:00 Group B Losers match: Dignitas – Lyngby Vikings
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match: Apeks – Heroic / AGF
14:00 Group B Decider match: HAVU – Dignitas / Lyngby Vikings
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1: GODSENT – Group A #2
20:00 Qualifier final #2: MAD Lions – Group B #2
Broadcasts
- Finnish streams: Twitch & Elisa Viihde Sport
- Engelska: Twitch
Elisa Invitational Group B kicks off 12:30 EET on Tuesday 27th of October. Teams in this group are GODSENT, HAVU, Dignitas and Lyngby Vikings.
After ENCE forfeited and groups were seeded again, three teams must have breathed a sigh of relief. Originally, HAVU, GODSENT and Dignitas were in the same group with Heroic instead of Lyngby Vikings.
Both new and old seeding was made by teams rating each other, and there were no doubt about the two best teams in the tournament. In all the updated answers after ENCE’s forfeit, Heroic was rated as the best team, while GODSENT was rated right behind them by almost all teams.
GODSENT are definitely the biggest favorite to win the group. However, their recent performances have been anything but consistent. Dignitas has changed two players, so their form against HAVU is interesting to see in their opening match.
Teams were interviewed in the beginning of October, a few weeks prior to the tournament. Since then, a lot has changed. Main differences are that ENCE forfeited their spot, and two teams will qualify for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown instead of one.
Opening matches and Winners’ match are best-of-one, and they are played on Tuesday. Both Losers’ match and Decider match are best-of-three, they are played on Wednesday and Thursday.
GODSENT
GODSENT has definitely had its ups and downs lately. This tweet was made after difficult match against North, in which they lost 0-2 (6-16, 6-16).
HLTV rank (19th of October): #19th
Latest tournaments
- cs_summit 6: #5th
- LOOT.BET S7: #1st
- Nine to Five #4: #2nd
- ESL Pro League S12 Europe: #15-16th
- DreamHack Open Fall: #11th
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| zehN | Jesse Linjala | 28 | Finland |
| STYKO | Martin Styk | 24 | Slovakia |
| kRYSTAL | Kevin Amend | 27 | Germany |
| Maden | Pavle Bošković | 21 | Montenegro |
| Farlig | Asger Jensen | 21 | Denmark |
GODSENT had a very disappointing Elisa Invitational, as they were eliminated by finishing last in their group. A few weeks later the organization announced that their AWP player Mikael “Maikelele” Bill was moved to bench, as Asger “farlig” Jensen was acquired from Copenhagen Flames.
They didn’t have much time to practice with their new AWPer, because they played DreamHack Masters Spring, ESL Pro League S12 Europe and cs_summit 6 in a short timespan before the player break. The global pandemic also prevented them from bootcamping, until the beginning of October.
So far with this lineup, they have had promising results against good teams, but they have lacked consistency. DreamHack Open Fall was their latest tournament, in which they finished 11th. Once again, they had a huge gap between their good and bad performances.
Jesse “zehN” Linjala, farlig and Jonatan “Devilwalk” Lundberg represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. In this article, comments are from zehN. Answers from both farlig and devilwalk can be seen in our broadcasts. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
zehN:
– We can start with farlig, he’s the main AWPer for our team. Basically his role is to be the entry-fragger with AWP sometimes, doing aggressive moves. Sometimes he’s holding angles. If someone doesn’t know how AWPers usually work, he has to be very mobile around the map and do certain type of plays.
– Then we have maden, who is our entry-fragger on T sides. On CT sides he’s usually playing A sites with a second guy. His role is usually to create space for us, when we’re playing as terrorist and going for sites. Or as a CT he usually loves to do a lot of plays around the map and get info and room for us.
– Then we have kRYSTAL, who is the in-game leader. His role is to try to read and call what we should do in certain situations. Sometimes he’s mid-round calling, sometimes he sacrifices himself for maden or for our AWPer, so basically he’s doing a lot of dogwork, as people would use this word.
– Then we have STYKO, who is our lurkish player, lurking on the other side of the map. For example, in Nuke he’s usually anchoring alone on ramp on the CT side and lurking lobby on T side.
– Then it’s me, I’m usually on the other side opposite to STYKO. I will be also alone sometimes, I’m also lurking a lot and doing a lot of plays. I also play anchor on the other side of the map on CT sides, for example in Train I play inside [B-site]. I’m usually getting also a lot of info for us and try to make room and plays on CT-side.
Toughest opponent in the tournament
zehN:
– I think it has to be Heroic. I just think their playstyle is hard for us a little bit. We have practiced and played a few officials against them. We have the potential to upset them, but I just think they play a little bit different. Under every Danish IGL it’s different. MSL calls different, gla1ve calls different and so does cadiaN. It’s a little bit different, so we just have to adapt and try to beat them if we face them.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
zehN:
– Our goals and expectations are to move through the groups and obviously fight for the title, but we know that there is Heroic and other higher tier teams. We are at our bootcamp trying to fight our curse, so that we can close out games and upset teams like this. Basically our first goal is to get to the semi-finals.
HAVU Gaming
HAVU earned their spot in the tournament by winning the Elisa CS:GO Finnish Championship 2020 tournament.
HLTV rank (19th of October): #49th
Latest tournaments
- LOOT.BET S7: #5-8th
- Elisa CS:GO Finnish Championship 2020: #1st
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| xseveN | Sami Laasanen | 26 | Finland |
| sAw | Eetu Saha | 28 | Finland |
| ZOREE | Lasse Uronen | 27 | Finland |
| sLowi | Olli Pitkänen | 24 | Finland |
| doto | Joonas Forss | 24 | Finland |
HAVU surprised everyone during the first season of Flashpoint, but third place there wasn’t followed with success back in Europe. They were shocked in the Finnish Esports League final in July, as KOVA Esports surprised them 2-1. A few weeks later they announced that Aaro “hoody” Peltokangas quits CS:GO to start a new career with VALORANT.
They found the best possible replacement, as they acquired Sami “xseveN” Laasanen from ENCE. They have already won the FunSpark Ulti European qualifier and they also claimed their spot in the Elisa Invitational by winning Elisa CS:GO Finnish Championship 2020. In the final, KOVA won the first map Vertigo, but HAVU had no trouble winning the two following maps.
After ENCE forfeited, HAVU is the only Finnish team in the tournament. Their first opponent is Dignitas, who hasn’t played any officials with their two new guys. They aren’t completely in the dark about their opponent though. According to Dignitas interviews during Elisa Invitational media sessions, they have practiced against each other.
Taneli “disturbed” Veikkola and xseveN represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
disturbed:
– sAw is the in-game leader, controlling everyone else. ZOREE is the main AWP. Doto is the lurker extraordinaire. Then xseveN is kind of a support player with sLowi, who’s entering the sites.
Toughest opponent in the tournament
disturbed:
– I think it’s Heroic. They’ve been playing pretty solid CS for the past 2-3 months. They’re the #1 team in the world right now. I think they’re the best team attending. GODSENT is another nemesis for us.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
disturbed:
– The main goal for us is to win the event. We have been trying to work out all things and make a big next step for the whole year after Flashpoint.
xseveN:
– It’s pretty simple, it’s to win the Elisa Invitational.
Dignitas
A month ago, Dignitas decided to bench both Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Richard “Xizt” Landström.
HLTV rank (19th of October): #71st
Latest tournaments
- Eden Arena Malta Vibes Week 6: #2nd
- Eden Arena Malta Vibes Week 7: #9-12th
- Eden Arena Malta Vibes Week 9: #3-4th
- Nine to Five #4: #19-20th
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| f0rest | Patrik Lindberg | 32 | Sweden |
| friberg | Adam Friberg | 29 | Sweden |
| hallzerk | Håkon Fjærli | 20 | Norway |
| H4RR3 | Haris Hadzic | 23 | Norway |
| HEAP | Ludvig Alonso | 20 | Sweden |
Dignitas surprised everyone in the last Elisa Invitational, by qualifying to BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. In the final they took down Heroic, who was making their comeback after the failed FunPlus Phoenix deal. In this tournament, Dignitas is the team that has recently changed two players.
In September, both Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Richard “Xizt” Landström were benched. NiP legends were replaced with young hitters Haris “H4RR3” Hadžić and Ludvig “HEAP” Alonso. Elisa Invitational will be the first tournament with this line-up, and their first official will be against none other than Heroic.
Dignitas lost a lot of experience, but these roster changes might give them a fresh start. If they lose their opener against HAVU, they need to win two best-of-threes to advance to playoffs. Just like last time, they aren’t the favorites to qualify.
Adam “friberg” Friberg, H4RR3 and Halvor “vENdetta” Gulestøl represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
friberg:
– I’ll be the new in-game leader. It’s a pretty new role for me. I’ve done it in the past, but I’ll still need a lot of work and time to become a better in-game leader than what I am today. Then we have f0rest, I guess he would be the star player, I don’t know how to say it, he’s usually the guy being put into clutching, entrying, he can do anything basically. He’s the secondary AWP as well. We have hallzerk, he’s our main AWPer. Young, aggressive, super-skilled AWPer who can change the game for us.
– Then we have our two new players. H4RR3, he’s a really aggressive Norwegian player. He loves to be the first guy entering the bomb sites and being the guy jumping for anyone else to take the peek. He’s super good and individually skilled and most of the time he’s entering the site, he’s also opening up the site a lot. Which reminds me a bit of myself, when I was the entry in NiP back in the day.
– Our last player is HEAP. He’s a young Swedish talent. He has super good aim. He’s really good, I was really surprised by his way of communicating and individual skill. I think he’s a mix of everything. He’ll be our player maybe a bit further back in the field, helping out clutching the rounds and also taking one on one duels on the sides of the map.
Toughest opponent in the tournament
H4RR3:
– Obviously Heroic is there, which I think is an absolutely incredible team. They have a lot of good players, good structure and just an amazing team in general. They will be very hard to beat, but you know, every team is possible to beat.
friberg:
– There’s a lot of good teams. I think both Heroic and ENCE are two teams to beat. I also feel like HAVU is a bit of an underrated team. We have practiced against them and they’re really strong. They have individually skilled players, but also pretty deep stratbook, so it’s definitely a team that will cause upsets in the tournament.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
H4RR3:
– Our goals are basically to do as best as we can. Obviously we want to win everything we participate in. It’s going to be our first event as a team, I’m really excited and I look forward to seeing what we can do against some really good teams.
friberg:
– Our goal for Elisa is obviously to try to place really high. We have a new line-up, so it’s really hard to put expectations on us. It would obviously be a really good start for our team, if we place well and feel that we can compete against some of the really good teams in the tournament. I think we can try to place super high. I would love to qualify, because we qualified last time for the BLAST. Hopefully we can get another good run here at Elisa and qualify.
Lyngby Vikings
HLTV rank (19th of October): #79th
Latest tournaments
- Nine to Five #2: #25-28th
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 4: #5-8th
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 5: #13-16th
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 6: #5-8th
- Dust2.dk Liga Cup 2020: #2nd
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| raalz | Rasmus Steensborg | 25 | Denmark |
| Twinx | Malthe Jensen | 22 | Denmark |
| birdfromsky | Thomas Due-Frederiksen | 27 | Denmark |
| Cabbi | Casper Jensen | 22 | Denmark |
| Maccen | Mathias Madsen | 19 | Denmark |
Lyngby Vikings lost Dust2.dk Liga Cup 2020 final against AGF, but got a spot for this tournament after ENCE forfeited their own. Similarly to AGF, they aren’t the best-known Danish team, but they are ready to do some damage.
At the moment they are sitting in the second place of ESEA Advanced, with a solid 11-3 match record. They’re also a team that can make upsets in the open qualifiers for bigger tournaments. They are used to playing best-of-ones where the whole tournament is on the line.
On a good day, they have the potential to upset GODSENT in their opening match. If they manage to do that, anything is possible since Winners’ match is also a best-of-one.
Schedule for Elisa Invitational
All the times listed as EET.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Heroic vs. Apeks (BO1)
14:00 MAD Lions vs. AGF (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 GODSENT vs. Lyngby Vikings (BO1)
14:00 HAVU vs. Dignitas (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1 (BO3)
20:00 Qualifier final #2 (BO3)
Elisa Invitational Group A kicks off 12:30 EET on Monday 26th of October. The first teams entering the virtual arena are Heroic, MAD Lions, AGF and Apeks. All the teams in the tournament listed Heroic as the toughest opponent, so there shouldn’t be any doubt about the favorite to win the group.
However, Heroic has played tournament after tournament lately, almost 90 maps during the last three months. If Heroic hasn’t recovered well enough from DreamHack Fall Open, the new lineup of MAD Lions is surely ready to snatch the better seed for qualifier finals.
AGF Esports and Apeks are the underdogs of this group. Neither one should be counted out though, as the opening best-of-one offer both of them a chance to surprise.
Teams were interviewed in the beginning of October, a few weeks prior to the tournament. Since then, a lot has changed. Main differences are that ENCE forfeited and there will be two spots for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown instead of one. Not to mention the addition of Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad to Apeks roster.
Opening matches and Winners’ match are best-of-one, and they are played on Monday. Both Losers’ match and Decider match are best-of-three, they are played on Wednesday and Thursday.
Heroic
Heroic was the #1 team in the world for one week, according to HLTV Ranking. Astralis topped them quickly, but they’re still in the second place. They also beat Astralis in the Consolidation final of DreamHack Open Fall, so it’s possible they regain the #1 spot on next week’s ranking.
HLTV rank (19th of October): #2nd
Latest tournaments
- DreamHack Open Summer 2020 Europe: #2nd
- ESL One Cologne 2020 Europe: #1st
- ESL Pro League S12 Europe: #3rd
- IEM New York 2020 Europe: #7-8th
- DreamHack Open Fall 2020: Top2 (best-of-five final tonight)
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| cadiaN | Casper Møller | 25 | Denmark |
| b0RUP | Johannes Borup | 21 | Denmark |
| niko | Nikolaj Kristensen | 22 | Denmark |
| stavn | Martin Lund | 18 | Denmark |
| TeSeS | René Madsen | 19 | Denmark |
The first official appearance for this Heroic lineup was in the last Elisa Invitational less than half a year ago. They were narrowly defeated by Dignitas in the second qualifier final, losing the spot for BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. Failed roster deal with FunPlus Phoenix has been a distant memory during last months, when Heroic has been in the top three of European tournaments again and again.
Heroic lost their coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen after he was caught using the infamous coaching exploit during DreamHack Masters Spring. The eight-month long coaching ban was set 31st of August. A month later Heroic announced that HUNDEN will work as the team’s analyst going forward.
IEM New York was obviously a massive blunder for them in the beginning of October, since they finished in the last place. DreamHack Open Fall 2020 was their chance to get back on track, and they used it perfectly. They play in the Grand Final tonight, against Vitality.
Johannes “b0RUP” Borup and René “TeSeS” Madsen represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
b0RUP:
– We don’t have a designated entry fragger or designated support player. Depends on the map, I would say, but niko, stavn and TeSeS are definitely the hard hitters, as well as cadiaN. I’m more of an anchor player on CT sides. Niko is playing all rotation roles with stavn. As terrorists me, cadiaN and TeSeS are taking map control while two others are lurking.
The toughest opponent in the tournament
b0RUP:
– Either ENCE or GODSENT is our toughest opponent. If GODSENT hits their high level and they get the ball rolling, I think they can do a lot of damage. ENCE has been showing good things on and off between best-of-threes. They have taken down some titans in top10 in the past few weeks.
TeSeS:
– I think it’s ENCE right now. ENCE is playing with Jamppi and he is really good. He has a kind of X factor, where he’s doing stuff no one else can do. Like some flashy plays or sick kills. He brings a lot for the team.
(for TeSeS only) You have played under multiple different IGLs this year. How is cadiaN’s leading style different from HooXi and AcilioN?
TeSeS:
– CadiaN’s call in-game leading style is very loose. The playstyle is depending on players making the right decisions in every moment. We also have really structured tactics and playstyles. We have a good balance of structure and playstyle and I think we have found the perfect balance between those two. Right now it works really well for us, because we are kind of unpredictable and some tactics are predictable as well. It’s easy to play, when every player of the team is making the right decision most of the time.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
b0RUP:
– Our goals for Elisa Invitational is of course to do good. We’ve had a lot of prac days in a row now. We haven’t had that since the player break. We believe we will do really good, compared to the last event [IEM New York Europe, last place finish].
TeSeS:
– Our goal is definitely to win this qualifier for BLAST, and hopefully we will move on. I think we are the best team in the Elisa and I think we definitely should win.
MAD Lions
HLTV rank (19th of October): #27th
Latest tournaments
- DreamHack Open Summer Europe: #7-8th
- ESL Cologne Europe: #9-12th
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 9: #2nd
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 10: #9-11th
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| HooXi | Rasmus Nielsen | 25 | Denmark |
| acoR | Frederik Gyldstrand | 23 | Denmark |
| refrezh | Ismail Ali | 22 | Denmark |
| sjuush | Rasmus Beck | 21 | Denmark |
| roeJ | Fredrik Jørgensen | 26 | Denmark |
MAD Lions won the first season of Flashpoint, but it hasn’t been easy for them ever since. They benched Lucas “Bubzkji” Andersen in the summer and tried out international roster for a while, before returning back to full Danish lineup just before this tournament.
They changed their in-game leader too, as Asger “AcilioN” Larsen was let go and Rasmus “HooXi” Nielsen came in his place. Elisa Invitational will be a good test of their new leadership and lineup in general.
HooXi and Fredrik “roeJ” Jørgensen represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
HooXi:
– Basically I’m the IGL, I’m the one calling the shots for the most part. Refrezh is more of a lurker I guess. Also really good at helping me mid-round call and come up with suggestions and inputs. RoeJ is more of the aggressive player, kind of our star rifler I would say. There’s acoR, he’s the AWPer, a lot of frags and clutch plays. Sjuush is a really good anchor player, holding the sites and doing what’s needed.
roeJ:
– Usually refrezh tends to have those kind of solo positions where he ends up as lurk on T-side, while me and sjuush usually play entry roles and go with the team. That’s the general idea, but of course it changes from map to map and position to position.
– On the CT side it’s kind of the same thing. I play pretty aggressive on both sides, where sjuush is more like an anchor player. Refrezh is kind of in a role where he flows a bit. so he’s not stuck to a site like sjuush is.
Toughest opponent in the tournament
roeJ:
– It’s probably ENCE. I feel like they are a pretty good team. It seems like they’re getting back into form with the addition of Jamppi and he’s been doing pretty well. I think they also had a pretty rough period and it seems like they’re coming out of a slump and playing pretty good CS.
I have to ask this, because so many teams have mentioned Heroic as their answer for the previous question. What do you think about Heroic in this tournament?
He laughs and continues:
– Of course Heroic, I kind of forgot about them actually. Of course they are looking really good. They are a team to watch out, they’ve been playing really well. They made it to top1 [HLTV-ranking] actually. They just came out, as Astralis went on top of them this week. They’ve been playing really good CS and I actually think that in terms of roles and players, they are really solid.
HooXi:
– The obvious one is probably Heroic. I feel like a dark horse to the toughest opponent would be GODSENT. But I think for sure Heroic because of their firepower and just in general I feel like they’re playing really well right now.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
HooXi:
– I think the goal is to go the whole way and win the whole thing. It’s not really much to say, but I feel like we should be able to, even though we haven’t been playing together that long and haven’t had too much practice. Hopefully, we’ll get there.
AGF Esports
HLTV rank (19th of October): #45th
Latest tournaments
- Nine to Five #1: #3-4th
- Nine to Five #4: #16-18th
- LOOT.BET S7: #3-4th
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| netrick | Jonas Wenzelsen | 25 | Denmark |
| Lukki | Lucas Pilheden | 21 | Denmark |
| Kristou | Kristoffer Aamand | 18 | Denmark |
| fr0slev | Magnus Frøslev | 23 | Denmark |
| TMB | Thomas Bundsbæk | 18 | Denmark |
AGF Esports qualified for Elisa Invitational by winning Dust2.dk Liga Cup 2020, without losing a single map in the playoffs. They’ve been rising the ranks steadily, reaching TOP50 in HLTV ranking a couple of weeks ago.
They have been in the spotlight for their co-operation with North. Their AWP player Kristoffer “kristou” Aamand played for North as a stand-in in the summer, before North bought him and loaned him back to AGF in September. He’s been back in the AGF lineup for almost four months now, and has certainly shown his talent with the big green gun.
AGF is a semi-professional team, but they are ready to do some damage in this tournament. They already beat HAVU in a LOOT.BET match earlier this week, with some really convincing map wins.
Rasmus “FaagaN” Møller Thomsen, Magnus “fr0slev” Frøslev and kristou represented the team during Elisa Invitational media sessions. Here are some of the topics we discussed.
In-game roles
fr0slev:
– Nettrick is our in-game leader. He’s the one who is calling the strats and controlling the game. He tries to read the game as much as possible. We have kristou, who is our AWP player. I guess the rest of us, TMB, Lukki and me are just simply rifle players. We don’t really go too deep into roles in terms of dedicated entry player or dedicated support player. I guess we can all fill out those roles and positions, it just depends a bit on the map and also the situations we are in.
Toughest opponent in the tournament
kristou:
– I think it should be Heroic because they are number one in the world, but all of those teams are very good, so we just have to do our best and see how far we can go.
faagan:
– The obvious pick would be our Danish friend Heroic. They’ve shown great form recently.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
fröslev:
– I think it’s a little bit hard for us to have too high expectations towards Elisa Invitational, because we are obviously underdogs alongside Apeks. We have to face some of the best teams in Europe. I guess our goals would have to be to do the best we can, and to try and learn as much we can from this experience.
kristou:
– I think it’s just to make some upsets, and just try to be in our A-game and see if we can beat one of those bigger teams.
Apeks
HLTV rank (19th of October): #75th
Latest tournaments
- Nine to Five #3: #21st
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 8: #3-4th
- Eden Arena: Malta Vibes Week 9: #5-8th
- Nine to Five #4: #25-28th
- LOOT.BET Season 7: #5-8th
Players
| Nick | Name | Age | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| dennis | Dennis Edman | 29 | Sweden |
| jkaem | Joakim Myrbostad | 26 | Norway |
| Marcelious | Ole Kristian Langan | 21 | Norway |
| Grusarn | Sander Iversen | 23 | Norway |
| Nasty | Martin Garvik | 23 | Norway |
Apeks dropped quite a bomb this week, as they announced the signing of Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad. The 26-year-old is one of the most known Norwegian CS:GO players after touring the world with various international rosters. He came back to Norway after his most recent team 100 Thieves decided to release their whole roster and quit CS:GO.
We interviewed jkaem on Friday, three days before the tournament starts.
You had quite a journey with the boys, how does it feel to be back in Norway?
– Obviously it’s been long long time in America together with the boys. To be honest it feels really good to be back in Norway. I’ve been thinking and dreaming about it for a while. I’m pretty glad I’m back in Norway.
You’ve made most of your CSGO career in international line-ups, is it strange to speak your native language while playing?
– Basically I’ve been speaking English for almost my whole career so it’s a bit weird now to go over to Norwegian again. But I guess it won’t take long, it’s my natural language so I think I’ll be fine pretty fast.
Allu did a similar move in the Spring of 2018, when he left Optic to join ENCE. He raised ENCE and the Finnish scene to a whole new level. Are you planning to do the same with Apeks?
– Obviously a move like allu did with ENCE is something I’ve been thinking for a while. Also a couple of other players that I know have a big interest in that as well. The timing felt right for me to come back now with Apeks that is willing to go all-in with CS, and to bring a Norwegian team back to the top. Definitely the goal is to bring a Norwegian team back to the top.
Is there any role changes in the team, or do you play similarly to truth, who was described to be a lurker player?
– I will go back to my normal, more aggressive role, together with a couple of more aggressive players. I don’t know, right now I feel like we need to play on-the-fly. It won’t be like very strict or very set. We need to have some fun, play together, learn the basics together and just do normal stuff.
Here are some parts of the interview we had with their coach Pål “Polly” Kammen during the media sessions of Elisa Invitational two weeks ago.
In-game roles
Polly:
– We have Grus, who is our main entry and rifler. He’s usually the frontman. Dennis is our in-game leader, and also usually up in the front with Grus. Nasty is our newest member, who is like a solo CT player, he holds all the bad positions, if you want to call it that, and tries to lock the sites. On the T side he’s one of the pack, as a rifler. Marcelious is our AWPer. Pretty crazy player, if you want to see some cool flashy plays, he’s the one to spectate.
Goals and expectations for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
Polly:
– Our goal for every tournament we enter is to go as far as we can. We naturally want to qualify, but we know we have some strong opponents to face. We are very excited, we don’t get opportunities to play these kinds of teams that often these days, so we’re really looking forward to it. Hopefully we can do some damage.
Schedule for Elisa Invitational
All the times listed as EET.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Heroic vs. Apeks (BO1)
14:00 MAD Lions vs. AGF (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 GODSENT vs. Lyngby Vikings (BO1)
14:00 HAVU vs. Dignitas (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1 (BO3)
20:00 Qualifier final #2 (BO3)
Lyngby Vikings is the eight and final team of Elisa Invitational Fall 2020. The fourth Danish team of the tournament was close to qualifying themselves, as they reached the final of Dust2.dk Liga Cup 2020. AGF took the title and qualified for Elisa Invitational. Luckily, Lyngby Vikings still get a chance now.
As we announced last Thursday, ENCE forfeited from the tournament and we had to look for a replacing team. The spot was offered for multiple teams, but as the tournament is getting closer and closer, scheduling issues with other tournaments prevented many of them from accepting the invite.
Groups were re-seeded by teams to prevent imbalance caused by swapping one team to another. New groups and schedule available below.
Groups of Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
Group A
- Heroic
- MAD Lions
- AGF Esports
- Apeks
Group B
- GODSENT
- HAVU
- Dignitas
- Lyngby Vikings
Schedule for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020
All times listed as EET.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Heroic vs. Apeks (BO1)
14:00 MAD Lions vs. AGF (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 GODSENT vs. Lyngby Vikings (BO1)
14:00 HAVU vs. Dignitas (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1 (BO3)
20:00 Qualifier final #2 (BO3)
Broadcasts
Finnish broadcast on Twitch and Elisa Viihde Sport. English broadcast on Twitch.
We have some good news and some bad news.
Bad news first, ENCE has decided to step down from the tournament. We are currently co-operating with BLAST to find a suitable team to replace them in the Group B.
ENCE announced today, that their player Jani “Aerial” Jussila is on sick leave indefinitely. They are assessing the situation and their next steps without Aerial in their active line-up. This means, that they won’t be attending our tournament, as they can’t field a full roster.
The full announcement by ENCE can be seen here.
Grand Final is gone
At the same time, we are delighted to announce a schedule update. Grand Final won’t be needed for Elisa Invitational Fall 2020, because semi-finals will act as qualifier finals.
Not one, but two teams will qualify for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown. Just like in the first Elisa Invitational, when ENCE and Dignitas won their separate qualifier finals.
Next week will be full of action, as Elisa Invitational Fall 2020 kicks off on Monday.
Elisa Invitational schedule
All the listed times in EET timezone.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Heroic vs. Dignitas (BO1)
14:00 GODSENT vs. HAVU (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 TBA vs. Apeks (BO1)
14:00 MAD Lions vs. AGF (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 1.11.
16:00 Qualifier final #1 (BO3)
20:00 Qualifier final #2 (BO3)
The eight participating teams have been divided into two double-elimination groups. The opening and winners’ matches will feature a best-of-one format, with the elimination and decider games to be played out in best-of-three fashion.
Heroic headline Group A, where they will compete alongside Finns toned GODSENT, HAVU and Elisa Invitational 2020 Spring champion Dignitas.
Group B features the Elisa Invitational 2020 Spring champion ENCE, who will take on Apeks in the first round. The other opening encounter Danish clash between MAD Lions and AGF.
Elisa Invitational will take place from October 26th to November 1st and will be played online. Prize pool includes one spot to BLAST Premier Fall Showdown.
After group reveal tournament schedule is:
All the listed times in EET timezone.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Heroic vs. Dignitas (BO1)
14:00 GODSENT vs. HAVU (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 ENCE vs. Apeks (BO1)
14:00 MAD Lions vs. AGF (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 01.11.
12:00 Semi-final #1 (BO3)
15:00 Semi-final #2 (BO3)
20:00 Grand Final (BO3)
BLAST has announced that BLAST Premier Fall Series Regular Season will feature both American and European teams. Originally, the group stage was scheduled separately for Europe and America. After this update, the tournament schedule has been changed for both BLAST Premier Fall Series Regular Season and Elisa Invitational.
The first three days of Elisa Invitational remain the same, but they are much shorter than originally planned. The days are shortened, because BLAST Premier Group Stage is played in the evenings, after Elisa Invitational matches are done for the day.
Elisa Invitational Group Stage will be played from Monday to Thursday. Semifinals and the Grand final will be played on Sunday the First of November.
New dates and schedule for Elisa Invitational
All the listed times in EET timezone.
Monday 26.10.
12:30 Group A Opener #1 (BO1)
14:00 Group A Opener #2 (BO1)
15:30 Group A Winners match (BO1)
Tuesday 27.10.
12:30 Group B Opener #1 (BO1)
14:00 Group B Opener #2 (BO1)
15:30 Group B Winners match (BO1)
Wednesday 28.10.
11:00 Group A Losers match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Losers match (BO3)
Thursday 29.10.
11:00 Group A Decider match (BO3)
14:00 Group B Decider match (BO3)
Sunday 01.11.
12:00 Semi-final #1 (BO3)
15:00 Semi-final #2 (BO3)
20:00 Grand Final (BO3)
For more information about the changes of BLAST Premier Fall Season, check here.
Tänä viikonloppuna 10-11. lokakuuta taistellaan Kotipizzan lahjakorttikoodeista CS:GO -pelissä, kun Elisa Esports ja Kotipizza järjestävät 2v2 Wingman-turnauksen.
Sekä lauantaina että sunnuntaina pelataan erilliset turnauksensa, joihin mahtuu pelaamaan 64 nopeinta parivaljakkoa. Turnaukset pelataan FACEIT-alustalla ja niihin voi ilmoittautua alta.
Turnauksia voi seurata livenä tutusti Elisa Viihde Sportin Twitch-kanavalla. Lisätietoja turnauksesta tihkuu Elisa Esportsin somekanaviin, joten kannattaa ottaa seurantaan myös Twitter– ja Instagram-tilit.
Kummankin turnauksen voittajajoukkue tienaa 200 euron Kotipizza-lahjakortin. Lahjakortilla on hyvä laittaa testiin vaikkapa heidän tuorein uutuutensa: Kebabrulla Kotipizzan tapaan.
Elisa CS:GO Finnish Championship 2020 päättyi HAVU Gamingin mestaruusjuhliin. He kärsivät koko turnauksen ainoan karttatappionsa finaalin avauskartassa KOVA Esportsia vastaan, mutta voittivat kaksi seuraavaa karttaa näytöstyyliin. Pronssimitaleita pääsi juhlimaan turnauksen nuorin joukkue, mix-kokoonpano FCottoNd.
Lopulliset sijoitukset ja palkinnot
| # | Joukkue | Palkinto |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | HAVU Gaming | 12000e + Elisa Invitational + eSM-kulta |
| 2. | KOVA Esports | 7000e + eSM-hopea |
| 3. | FCottoNd | 4000e + eSM-pronssi |
| 4. | SAWO Esports | 2000e |
| 5-8. | Hirveätilanne | |
| 5-8. | SJK | |
| 5-8. | hREDS | |
| 5-8. | SJ Gaming |
Torstai: HAVU Gaming – Hirveätilanne, SAWO Esports – SJK Esports
Puolivälierä #1 – HAVU vs. Hirveätilanne
Puolivälierät laitettiin käyntiin kenties selkeimmän ennakkosuosikin HAVUn ja mix-joukkue Hirveätilanteen ottelulla.
HAVU lähti vastustajansa karttavalintaan puolustuspuolelta, eikä antanut juurikaan siimaa. Puolia vaihdettiin HAVUn johtaessa 13-2. Toisella puoliskolla kierrosvoittoja vaihdeltiin huonommilla ostoilla, kunnes HAVU varmisti karttavoiton tuhnuisella pakko-ostolla 16-5.
Nukessa Hirveätilanne avasi CT-puolen huomattavasti varmemmin, mutta kierrosvoittojen ketjutus oli vaikeaa. Kierrostilanne eteni tasaisesti, vaikka HAVU rikkoi vastustajansa ekonomian kahteen otteeseen. HAVU itse voitti peräti neljä kertaa pakko-ostolla, voittaen terroristipuolensa lopulta 9-6.
Hirveätilanne voitti myös toisen pistoolikierroksen ja kampesi pelin pian tasoihin. HAVU alkoi kuitenkin voittaa kierroksia, edeten 12-9 -johtoon. Kahdella kierrosvoitolla Hirveätilanne pakotti HAVUn säästölle ja peli näytti jo menevän lähes varmasti tasatilanteeseen 12-12.
HAVU voitti kuitenkin pelkillä pistooleilla ja rullaili helposti 16-11 -karttavoittoon.
HAVU – Hirveätilanne -yhteenveto
- Mirage (Hirveätilanne valinta): 16 – 5
- Nuke (HAVUn valinta): 16 – 11
- Vertigo (päätöskartta): –
Puolivälierä #2 – SAWO vs. SJK
Iltaottelussa C-lohkon voittanut SAWO sai vastaansa D-lohkon kakkosen SJK:n. Train oli SJK:n karttavalinta, joten SAWO sai aloittaa suotuisammalla puolustuspuolella. Pistoolivoiton myötä SJK otti nopeasti 3-0 -johdon, mutta hitaat asekierrokset eivät tuoneet haluttua tulosta. SAWO voitti puolustuspuolensa lopulta 10-5.
Toisen puoliskon alku oli yksi sekavimmista koko turnauksen aikana. SJK voitti pistoolin, mutta SAWO voitti seuraavan pakko-oston. SJK voitti kuitenkin heti perään omansa, mutta SAWO voitti vielä kertaalleen oman pakko-ostonsa ja näin he johtivat peliä 12-7. SJK sai napattua pari yksittäistä kierrosvoittoa, mutta SAWO ryöväsi voiton vastustajansa karttavalinnasta 16-9.
Nuken alku terroristipuolella tuotti SAWOlle jo turnauksen kymmenennen pistoolikierrostappion kolmeentoista pistoolikierrokseen, mutta he käänsivät tappion jälleen edukseen. Pakko-ostovoiton myötä he saivat vahvan momentumin puolelleen – kavuten 4-1 -johtoasemaan.
SJK voitti seuraavan kierroksen pelkillä pistooleilla ja alkoi tehdä pientä comebackia, päästen kierroksen päähän tilanteeseen 4-5. Kaiken lisäksi SAWO joutui ottamaan säästökierroksensa perään vielä toisenkin. Ja kuten arvata saattaa, säästökierrosvoitolla SAWO otti momentumin takaisin, voittaen terroristipuolensa lopulta 9-6.
Voittavaa ei kannattanut vaihtaa, joten SJK käytti samaa terroristipuolen pistoolitaktiikkaa, joka toimi myös Menestystarinaa ja KOVAa vastaan lohkovaiheessa. Vahva alku vei heidät jopa 10-9 -johtoon, mutta yksikin puoliostovoitto – Niko “Nksu” Luhaniemen edelliseltä kierrokselta säästämän AWP:n voimalla – palautti SAWOn takaisin raiteilleen. Ei aikaakaan, kun karttavoitto paketoitiin Kuopiossa bootcamppaavalle SAWOlle.
SAWO – SJK -yhteenveto
- Train (SJK:n valinta): 16 – 9
- Nuke (SAWOn valinta): 16 – 11
- Mirage (päätöskartta): –
Perjantai: KOVA Esports – hREDS, SJ Gaming – FCottoNd
Puolivälierä #3 – KOVA vs. hREDS
Tästä puolivälieräottelusta ennakoitiin tasaisinta vääntöä, mutta tasaisia otteita nähtiin lähinnä avauskartassa Trainissa. Hivenen yllättäen hREDS valitsi vastustajansa yhden parhaista kartoista, mutta terroristipuoli alkoi vahvasti. KOVA sai ensimmäistä kertaa aseet kouraansa 0-3 -tappioasemassa, mutta paukutteli välittömästi kuuden kierroksen voittoputken.
Kierrokset olivat kuitenkin sen verran tiukkoja, että hREDSin 4-6 -kavennus sysäsi KOVAn välittömästi taloudelliseen ahdinkoon. Tasatilanteesta KOVA varmasti itselleen kahdella kierrosvoitolla puoliskovoiton, mutta 7-8 -puoliskotappio ei missään nimessä tehnyt hREDSia murheelliseksi.
Peli tasoittui hREDSin CT-pistoolikierrosvoiton myötä, mutta pakko-ostovoitolla KOVA sai myllyn pyörimään. Raharesetistä selvittyään hREDS oli jo 8-12 -tappiolla, eikä heidän kirinsä kestänyt kuin kaksi kierrosta. KOVA rullaili 15-10 -johtoon ja näytti ryöväävän vastustajansa karttavalinnan helposti, kunnes hREDS alkoi taas taistelemaan.
Neljä pakkovoittokierrosta selvitettyään hREDS taipui lopulta, kun KOVA pääsi juhlimaan tiukkaa 16-14 -voittoa.
KOVAn karttavalinta Nukesta ei jäänyt juurikaan kerrottavaa. Kerta toisensa jälkeen KOVA murjoi hREDSin puolustuksesta pari pelaajaa pois, jonka jälkeen loput joutuivat säästöreissulle. Tilanne oli jo 8-0 KOVAlle, kun hREDS sai parilla kierrosvoitolla otetta pelistä. KOVA kuitenkin jatkoi tykitystään, voittaen terroristipuolensa peräti 12-3.
Pistoolikierrosvoitto ja pari perään antoivat hyvän alun hREDSin comebackille. Selkäranka katkesi kuitenkin 7-12 -tilanteessa, kun Jarkko “spargo” Rahja pääsi puoliostokierroksella niputtamaan vanhoja joukkuekavereitaan pihamaalla edelliseltä kierrokselta säästetyllä AWP:lla.
Tästä kierrostappiosta hREDS ei enää noussut, joten heidän turnauksensa päättyi 7-16 -karttatappioon Nukessa.
KOVA – hREDS -yhteenveto
- Train (hREDS valinta): 16 – 14
- Nuke (KOVAn valinta): 16 – 7
- Overpass (päätöskartta): –
Puolivälierä #4 – SJ Gaming vs. FCottoNd
Ennakkosuosikista ei ollut epäselvyyttä, kun A-lohkosta vaivoin pudotuspeleihin taistellut FCottoNd lähti haastamaan B-lohkon ylivoimaista voittajaa – hallitsevaa suomenmestaria – SJ Gamingiä. FCottoNd:n karttavalinta Mirage ei tullut yllätyksenä, mutta sen sisältö oli hyvinkin yllätyksellinen.
FCottoNd aloitti terroristipuolensa siirtymällä nopeasti 3-0 -johtoon, mutta SJ sai hyvän momentumin CT-puolelleen ja kampesi itsensä edelle kierroksin 5-4. Loppupuolisko olisi rahatilanteiden puolesta voinut olla FCottoNd:n heiniä, mutta he hävisivät kaksi kertaa SJ:n huonommalle ostolle. Puoliskovoitto niukasti 8-7 SJ:lle.
Myös SJ avasi terroristipuolensa vahvasti ja peli oli pian 12-7. Parin kaventavan kierroksen jälkeen SJ voitti taas säästökierroksella, selvittäen FCottoNd:n säästön heti perään, ja tilanne oli jo 14-9. Pieni comebackin tynkä ei riittänyt, vaan SJ voitti vastustajansa karttavalinnan 16-12.
SJ:n karttavalinta Nuke lähti heiltä sikäli vahvasti käyntiin, että hävityn pistoolikierroksen jälkeen he yllättivät vastustajansa pakko-ostolla. Turnauksen nuorin joukkue ei kuitenkaan lannistunut, vaan he rikkoivat SJ:n pankin heti perään omalla pakko-ostollaan. SJ onnistui voittamaan vain yksittäisiä kierroksia, kun FCottoNd hivuttautui pikkuhiljaa 6-2 -johtoon.
Yhdellä kierrosvoitolla SJ kuitenkin pakotti FCottoNd:n säästölle, ja peli näytti aukeavan. FCottoNd yllätti pelkillä pistooleilla, ottaen jo 7-3 -johdon. Heti perään SJ sai haluamansa momentumin voittamalla puoliostokierroksen, tuoden pelin lopulta jopa tasoihin. Viimeinen kierros taittui FCottoNd:lle, joka voitti CT-puolensa tiukasti 8-7.
Toinen puolisko olikin Juho “juho” Lampisen näytöstä, kun juho paukutteli kartassa lopulta huimat 34 tappoa. SJ sai CT-puolellaan vaivoin kaksi kierrosvoittoa, kun juhon johdolla FCottoNd otti vakuuttavan 16-9 -voiton.
Ratkaiseva kartta Train oli SJ:ltä surullinen esitys. FCottoNd voitti puukkokierroksen ja aloitti CT-puolella, eikä SJ saanut hyökkäyksissään juuri mitään aikaiseksi. Kenties räikeimpänä esimerkkinä yhdeksän kierroksen jälkeen tilanne oli FCottoNd:lle 9-0 ja koko SJ:n joukkueella oli yhteensä kymmenen tappoa tilastoissaan.
SJ oli tappiolla jo 0-12, jonka jälkeen he saivat raavittua puoliskotilanteeksi 2-13. Toinen puolisko alkoi heiltä lupaavasti, kun CT-puolen kierroksia tarttui plakkariin yksi kerrallaan pistoolikierrosvoitosta lähtien. Kuinka ollakaan, FCottoNd otti yllättävän säästökierrosvoiton ja siirtyi jo 14-5 -johtoon. Pian heillä oli kaikkia odotuksia vastoin kymmenen ottelupalloa hallussaan.
SJ rimpuili parin kierroksen verran, kunnes FCottoNd päätti kartan 16-7, edeten välieriin. Pudotuspelien ensimmäinen yllätys oli tapahtunut.
SJ – FCottoNd -yhteenveto
- Mirage (FCottoNd valinta): 16 – 12
- Nuke (SJ valinta): 9 – 16
- Train (päätöskartta): 7 – 16
Lauantai: HAVU – SAWO, KOVA – FCottoNd
Välierä #1 – HAVU vs. SAWO
Ensimmäinen välierä oli HAVUn näytöstä. Sekä Mirage että Vertigo ovat aiemmin tänä vuonna tuottaneet HAVUlle vaikeuksia, joten lopputulos oli yllättävän selvä.
SAWOn karttavalinta Mirage mentiin sekavissa merkeissä, sillä huonomman oston kierrosvoittoja vaihdeltiin puolin ja toisin, kunnes HAVU karkasi 5-3 -johdosta viiden kierroksen voittoputkella 10-3 -johtoon. SAWO laittoi heidän pankkinsa solmuun voittamalla 14. kierroksen, mutta puoliskon hengen mukaisesti HAVU laittoi pakko-ostolla puoliaikatilanteeksi 11-4.
Avauspuoliskolla SAWO oli voittanut pistoolin, mutta hävinnyt seuraavalla kierroksella pakko-ostoa vastaan. Toisella puoliskolla sama tapahtui toisinpäin, mutta HAVU onnistui toisella peräkkäisellä pakko-ostollaan laittamaan vahingon takaisin, siirtyen jo 13-6 -johtoon.
SAWO ei kuitenkaan lannistunut, vaan voitti heti seuraavan kierroksen, mutta HAVU vastasi kahdella kierrosvoitolla laittaen SAWOn selkä seinää vasten 7-15. Ensimmäinen pakko-osto onnistui, mutta HAVU laittoi seuraavalla kierroksella kaiken peliin ja päätti kartan 16-8.
Vertigossa sekavat kierrokset päättyivät lähes poikkeuksetta HAVUn eduksi. SAWOn pistoolikierrosvoitto jäi laihaksi lohduksi, kun HAVU myllytti puoliskovoiton 12-3. Erityisesti Joonas “doto” Forss oli pelipäällä, nakuttaen jo avauspuoliskolla 22 tappoa.
SAWOn pistoolikierrosten tuska jatkui toisella puoliskolla, kun HAVU siirtyi vahvalla alulla nopeasti 15-3 -johtoon. SAWO sai kolmannella peräkkäisellä pakko-ostollaan vielä yhden kaventavan kierrosvoiton. Seuraavalla kierroksella doto sai 30 tappoa täyteen, paketoiden SAWOn ensimmäisen virallisen Vertigo-ottelun murskalukemiin 16-4.
HAVU – SAWO -yhteenveto
- Mirage (SAWOn valinta): 16 – 8
- Vertigo (HAVUn valinta): 16 – 4
- Nuke (päätöskartta): –
Välierä #2 – KOVA vs. FCottoNd
Karttaveto ei tarjonnut yllätyksiä, kun FCottoNd napautti karttavalinnakseen Miragen, KOVA puolestaan Nuken ja Train jäi ratkaisukartaksi.
Mirage avattiin KOVAn CT-pistoolivoitolla, mutta FCottoNd voitti pakko-ostonsa heti perään. KOVAn pakko-osto ei tuottanut tulosta, mutta FCottoNd ajoi itsensä suoraan miinaan KOVAn täyttä säästöä vastaan. Jarkko “spargo” Rahja otti A-pommipaikalla neljä tappoa ja tasoitti pelin lukemiin 2-2.
Tämä suoritus rikkoi FCottoNd:n talouden, joten KOVA otti nopeasti 4-2 -johtoaseman. Aseiden kanssa hyökkäyspuoli alkoi taas kulkea ja peli oli äkkiä tasan. KOVA kuitenkin voitti jälleen kerran lähes täydellä säästökierroksella ja jälleen kerran FCottoNd:n talous meni solmuun. Tämän myötä KOVA rullaili helpohkosti 10-5 -puoliskovoittoon.
Puolustuspuoli sujui kuitenkin myös FCottoNd:llä, joka kiipesi nopeasti tasatilanteeseen 10-10. KOVA onnistui voittamaan kaksi yksittäistä kierrosta, mutta FCottoNd jatkoi yllätysten tiellä, voittaen kartan 16-12.
Hyökkäyspuolen ongelmat olivat kuitenkin historiaa, kun KOVA aloitti oman karttavalintansa Nuken. Kuuden kierroksen voittoputken jälkeen FCottoNd avasi kierrostilinsä puoliostovoitolla, mutta KOVA lisäsi pökköä pesään.
KOVA johti parhaimmillaan jo 10-1, mutta hyvällä taistelulla FCottoNd kavensi puoltenvaihtotulokseksi tutusti 5-10. Puolustuspuolella KOVA ei kuitenkaan ollut horjutettavissa. Ainoastaan yksi kierrosvoitto tarttui hyökkääjien haaviin, kun kartta päättyi KOVAlle 16-6. Ratkaisua lähdettiin siis hakemaan junamaasta.
Puukkokierros päättyi KOVAn voittoon, joten he aloittivat vähemmän yllättäen puolustuspuolelta. Ratkaisukartasta ei jäänytkään paljon kerrottavaa, kun KOVA lukotti pommipaikat kerta toisensa jälkeen. FCottoNd oli suuressa vaikeuksissa saada edes pommia maahan.
Avauspuolisko päättyi KOVAlle 14-1, eikä toista puoliskoa pelattu kuin kaksi kierrosta. Karttavoitto KOVAlle 16-1 ja otteluvoitto kartoin 2-1.
KOVA – FCottoNd -yhteenveto
- Mirage (FCottoNd valinta): 12 – 16
- Nuke (KOVA valinta): 16 – 6
- Train (päätöskartta): 16 – 1
Sunnuntai: SAWO – FCottoNd, HAVU – KOVA
Pronssiottelu – SAWO vs. FCottoNd
Pronssimitaleita lähdettiin ratkomaan SAWOn ja FCottoNd:n välillä. Joukkueet olivat kohdanneet puolitoista kuukautta aiemmin ensimmäisten liigakarsintojen finaalissa, jolloin SAWO oli päihittänyt FCottoNd:n Nukessa selkein lukemin 16-7.
Ja lupaavasti SAWO aloittikin myös FCottoNd:n karttavalinnassa Miragessa. CT-puolen pistoolitappio ei jäänyt harmittamaan, sillä he voittivat seuraavan kierroksen pakko-oston, ja tilanne oli heille nopeasti 4-1. Seuraavalla kierroksella FCottoNd raapaisi yllätysvoiton puoliostolla ja rullaili 5-4 -johtoon. SAWO sai kasaan enää kaksi kierrosvoittoa, joten FCottoNd johti terroristipuolensa jälkeen 9-6.
Mirage osoittautui tällä kertaa terroristivoittoiseksi, kun puoltenvaihdon jälkeen FCottoNd onnistui voittamaan ainoastaan kaksi yksittäistä asekierrosta, kunnes SAWO oli karttavoitossa kiinni 15-11.Kaksi pakkovoittokierrosta selvitettyään, FCottoNd oli pahasti selkä seinää vasten.
Heidän nuorin tähtensä 14-vuotias Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo jäi 1v3-tilanteeseen pommin ollessa kiinni A-pommipaikalla. Ensimmäisen tapon jälkeen hän heitti savukranaatin pommin päälle ja alkoi röyhkeästi purkamaan. Jostain syystä SAWOn pelaajat antoivat hänen purkaa rauhassa aivan liian pitkään, joten hän sai purettua pommin savussa ennen kuin hänelle lopulta tarjoiltiin kuolettava laukaus.
Tästä “blunderista” SAWO ei enää toipunut, vaan FCottoNd hoiti kartan ensin jatkoille, joista he päättivät kartan puhtaalla pelillä edukseen 19-15.
FCottoNd:n vahva CT-puolen momentum siirtyi myös Nuken puolelle, kun siirryttiin SAWOn karttavalintaan. SAWO pääsi tasoittamaan kartan nopeasti 2-2 -tilanteeseen kahdella ensimmäisellä asekierroksellaan, mutta sitten turnauksen nuorin joukkue repäisi viiden kierroksen voittoputkella itsensä jo 7-2 -johtoon.
SAWOn terroristipuoli lähti kuitenkin taas rullaamaan onnistuneen puoliostovoiton myötä, ja puolia vaihdettiin FCottoNd:n johtaessa vain 8-7.
SAWO onnistui Miragen tavoin myös Nukessa voittamaan toisen puoliskon pistoolikierroksen, joten peli oli tasan. FCottoNd:n pakko-osto ei tuottanut tulosta, mutta seuraavalla kierroksella he voittivat pelkillä pistoolipäivityksillä ja tilanne oli jälleen tasan 9-9.
Siirryttiin sekavaan vaiheeseen, kun molemmat joukkueet ottivat kaksi kierrosta kerrallaan – ja näistä kierroksista ensimmäinen tuli toinen toistaan huonommilla ostoilla. Kun SAWO siirtyi lupaavasti 13-12 -johtoon CT-puolella, kolmas kartta alkoi vaikuttaa realistiselta.
Heidän haaveensa kaatuivat nopeasti, kun FCottoNd otti ensin johdon takaisin, ja lisäsi löylyä entisestään kaappaamalla itselleen kaksi ottelupalloa siirtymällä jo 15-13 -johtoon. SAWO taisteli pakko-ostolla kierroksen päähän, mutta tuttuun tyyliin Jimpphat ratkaisi lopulta kartta- ja otteluvoiton seuraavalla kierroksella FCottoNd:lle.
SAWO – FCottoNd -yhteenveto
- Mirage (FCottoNd valinta): 15 – 19
- Nuke (SAWO valinta): 14 – 16
- Train (päätöskartta): –
Finaali – HAVU vs. KOVA
Suomenmestaruusfinaalissa oli vastakkain kaksi turnauksen kovinta joukkuetta, mutta pronssiottelun kaltaisia tiukkoja karttoja ei valitettavasti nähty yhtäkään. KOVAn karttavalinta Vertigo mentiin heidän komennossaan, kun HAVU ei saanut CT-puolellaan kasaan kuin kolme yksittäistä kierrosvoittoa. KOVA ei joutunut puoliskon aikana kertaakaan huonommalle ostolle.
Myös HAVU avasi terroristipuolensa vahvasti, mutta neljän kierroksen voittoputki KOVAn puoliston myötä. Samalla katkesi selkäranka, sillä KOVA voitti kartan helposti 16-7.
HAVUn karttavalinta Mirage lähti heiltä käyntiin pistoolikierrosvoitolla, mutta KOVA rikkoi onnistuneella CT-pakko-ostolla heidän pankkinsa heti perään. HAVU ei kuitenkaan lannistunut 1-4 -tappioasemasta, vaan repäisi viiden kierroksen voittoputkella 6-4 -johtoon.
KOVAlla oli vaikeuksia asekierroksilla, mutta kahden puoliostovoiton myötä he pitivät itsensä pelissä mukana. Puolisko päätettiin HAVUn 8-7 -johtoasemassa, kun KOVA sai lopultakin voiton myös “rehdillä” asekierroksella.
Puoltenvaihdon jälkeen nähtiin, miksi HAVU oli valinnut Miragen, vaikka sitä ei tunneta heille vahvana karttana. Puolustus piti yhtä poikkeusta lukuunottamatta täydellisesti, joten he murjoivat kartasta nopean 16-8 -voiton.
Suomenmestaruus ratkottiin näin ollen turnauksen pelatuimmassa kartassa Nukessa. Nuke nähtiin ratkaisukarttana sekä turnauksen avausottelussa VISUn ja FCottoNd:n välillä että finaalissa. Pelikertoja Nukessa tuli yhteensä 20 eli melkein joka kolmas turnauksen taisteluista käytiin ydinmaassa.
HAVU voitti puukkokierroksen ja valitsi CT-puolen aloituksen. KOVAn hyökkäys oli pahasti tukossa, eivätkä he päässeet useimmiten edes lyömään pommia kiinni. Avauspuolisko meni HAVUlle peräti 12-3, eikä yksikään heidän kierrosvoitostaan tullut pommia purkamalla. Kaksi KOVAn kolmesta kierrosvoitosta tuli puoliostoilla.
KOVA voitti CT-pistoolinsa, mutta HAVUn pakko-ostovoitto seuraavalla kierroksella murskasi viimeisetkin rippeet mestaruushaaveista. Ratkaiseva kartta HAVUlle lopulta 16-5.
HAVU – KOVA -yhteenveto
- Vertigo (KOVA valinta): 7 – 16
- Mirage (HAVU valinta): 16 – 8
- Nuke (päätöskartta): 16 – 5
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