Why CSGO’s Snow Sweet Snow event needs more attention

Relog Media had many big events in 2020 and they are coming back with Snow Sweet Snow which has a $300,000 up for grabs for the eight-region event in the first few months of 2021. There are three events that are scattered around January until March. 

This is a big deal for the CSGO’s European scene as it will help teams that had limited events in 2020. This will be an exciting event to compete in when it comes to the money as it has a bountiful prize pool. It will also serve as a challenge for smaller teams who did not have chances to compete in the past in big-money events. You can try and watch the games where you can also win free CSGO skins.

Snow Sweet Snow’s format

There are four stages in the event format. It starts with the regional group stage where there are eight double-elimination groups with four teams each. They will compete in a four-team bracket and the first team who wins two series advances to the next stage. There is also another team that can move forward by winning a third series

The next stage is the Regional Swiss Stage which is in a 16-team Swiss system format. All of the matches are a best of three once again and the top eight teams advance to the Main Swiss Stage which is basically the same format.

The winner of the MSS will advance to the playoffs where the final eight teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket.

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Why this is important for the CSGO scene

Due to the pandemic, CSGO events are scarce. Relog Media has served as a savior for the scene at times due to their events set in an online environment and its generous prize pool. Most of the tournaments in the past were all in a LAN format but with the new circumstances, the scene had to adjust their formats.

While ESL and BLAST Premier had events in 2020, it was only exclusive to the top teams in the CSGO scene. This left the lower-tier teams with limited chances to win which makes it not sustainable for any team who rely on prize money for a living.

With Snow Sweet Snow and the rest of Relog’s events, they have given smaller teams to shine and put up a fight against bigger teams in their region. In the group stage alone, there were groups that focused on certain areas of Europe. 

There was one group that was exclusive only to Poland and one where Denmark and Norway are combined. It is great for the scene as it helps them to play under the spotlight which is important for the overall health of CSGO.

It is also important to say that this kind of event can also serve as a chance for players to shine in pro games. There are players who are looking to catch the attention of prominent teams. If they get to impress these teams, they get recruited. It also gives them a platform to play where many fans will watch which can also help them grow.

Relog is not doing this only for CSGO as they are also holding similar events for Dota 2. While Dota has a better structure than CSGO with their Pro Circuit, Relog events are nice for their lower-tier scene as well. This has led to fans to ask more from Valve when it comes to CSGO. They can create a DPC-like system where there are events throughout the year and not just the Majors where you can get free CSGO skins.

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Who are the top teams that are competing?

Most of the well-known teams are already in the playoffs as they were invited. There are four teams that should be highlighted that loyal viewers of the CSGO scene should be aware of. 

Dignitas

First is Dignitas who is headlined by two former Ninjas in Pyjamas legends Adam ‘friberg’ Friberg and Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg. They are one of the favourites to win the entire tournament. They have a good crop of talent around the duo and they have the experience to compete for a title. This team is actually looking good in the past few months which shows that they have quality players in the lineup. 

ENCE

ENCE is a talented team but their best player continues to catch the attention of fans. Aleksi ‘allu’ Jalli is a well-known CSGO player and his AWPing skill is one of the best in the entire scene. 

He will be a player who can lead this team to glory especially with the level of play that they have showcased in the past. ENCE is a top team in this event and allu will be the primary star that they will rely on to make plays.

EXTREMUM

If you are familiar with the 100 Thieves squad of the past, you are probably familiar with this team as they are still composed of the Australian core that they have with Aaron ‘AZR’ Ward, Jay ‘Liazz’ Tregillgas, and Sean ‘Gratisfaction’ Kaiwai. 

They are flanked by their star player Joakim ‘jkaem’ Myrbostad and Hansel ‘BnTeT’ Ferdinand.  This is a team that has good potential to win the entire event. They have the chemistry from their 100 Thieves days but it also helps that they have a good coach at the helm in Aleksandar ‘kassad’ Trifunović.

GODSENT

The Brazilian squad of GODSENT is always a contender when it comes to events. They are headlined by former Major champion Epitácio ‘TACO’ de Melo, and a good mix of young stars and veteran talent. This team is a dark horse for the event but with TACO at the helm, they are expected to contend for the title.

When will Snow Sweet Snow take place?

Snow Sweet Snow is currently taking place as it started on the 18th of January and it is set to end on the 10th of February. Make sure to catch some of the games as this event is the tone-setter for the CSGO scene for the rest of 2021.

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Words: Pocholo Magsino