Looking back at the most epic victories in the CSGO pro scene
CSGO has a long history in esports. With its near-decade-long run, there have been many epic and legendary moments.
Looking back at the most epic victories in the CSGO pro scene
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has a long history in esports. With its near-decade-long run, there have been many epic and legendary moments. Let us dive into how these games have made an impact on the scene and what they meant to the players.
If you are a normal player, winning a ranked game feels so satisfying. When it comes to pro players, this can be seen in events be it online or offline. It is safe to say that these victories define the players’ careers given that there are many games that are important not only for them, but for CSGO as a whole.
There are many cases for CSGO to be called the most exciting esports title out there which means so much. Since League of Legends and Dota 2 are the most well-known games, most people will point towards them. Some people see Valve’s FPS as a hub for free CSGO skins but it is actually one of the most exciting games in the gaming world.
Let us talk about some of the best wins in CSGO history that changed the landscape of the scene.
Astralis vs Virtus.pro - ELEAGUE Major: Atlanta 2017
This is one of the most important series in CSGO history as this was the birth of the Astralis dynasty. In the past three years, the Danish squad is arguably the best CSGO team of all time. They have a good mix of leadership and skill because of the chemistry that they have on the squad.
Lukas ‘gla1ve’ Rossander is the best in-game leader in CSGO history because he was not only adept at the tactics but they were also awesome talents. In this series against Virtus.pro, there were numerous stand out players from both teams.
VP had their legendary Polish squad that played together for four years. In esports, most teams only last for about two years maximum as they are always open to changing the lineups. This happened with the Ninjas in Pyjamas squad in the early days of CSGO.
For the Polish VP, they were very successful as they won a Major in their stomping yards at Katowice back in 2014. They beat NiP which was a sign that this was truly a strong team. The star player of the team was Janusz 'snax' Pogorzelski.
This was still the same in the series against Astralis as snax was the main threat to the Danes. He was able to cut through the defence and used his trademark aim control to put up absurd frag stats.
The Poles were awesome in the series but they were unable to contain Astralis in their maiden run towards a Major. They were once known as the bridesmaid but the Atlanta Major changed the landscape of the scene due to this victory from Astralis.
The standout moment of this series has to go to Andreas 'Xyp9x' Højsleth who pulled off a 1 HP three vs one clutch in a pivotal 20th round. This was the catalyst for Astralis’ win as they came back from 13-7 down to win Overpass.
The second map was much the same as VP took a commanding 14-12 lead, but in typical Astralis fashion, they came back again to secure their first Major trophy of many. The MVP of the series has to go to Xyp9x but the rest of the Danes were stellar too.
Luminosity Gaming vs Team Liquid - MLG Columbus 2016
2016 was a special year in CSGO as it was an event that truly captured the hearts of many. This was because of the rise of Brazilian CS because of Luminosity Gaming. The team led by Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo was not known to the mainstream because they were always cellar-dwellers before.
However, 2016 changed the CSGO’s landscape as Brazilians and South American CS started their rise to prominence. FalleN and the rest of the squad won two Majors in 2016 which involved this win at Columbus and their ESL One Cologne win when they moved over to SK Gaming.
This series between LG and Team Liquid was not only important for the SA scene but it was also important for the development of both the North American and the CIS regions. Liquid had two stars on their team in Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev who was an import from Ukraine. The other was Jonathan 'EliGE' Jablonowski who was still a fresh face but he has loads of potential.
This was a two-map series where you see Liquid taking big leads on both Mirage and Cache. However, those big leads did not last long as LG went on historic runs en route to their comeback on both maps.
The most prolific play during this series has to go to Marcelo ‘coldzera’ David who made the legendary jumping AWP play. He was alone on the B site of Mirage when he managed to take four frags including a jumping collateral shot which shook Liquid to their core.
Because of that play and the change in momentum, Liquid blew their lead and LG took the first map 19-15. The second map was much of the same as Liquid took the big lead and then they blew it yet again.
This had a big impact on the CSGO scene as a whole as it was the birth of the Brazilian dynasty but it also motivated s1mple to the point that he became the best player in the world when he went back home to Ukraine and joined Natus Vincere.
Liquid was also a big beneficiary even if they lost. They realized that they are a top team and while they have not won a Major just yet, their 2019 Intel Grand Slam run was one of the best in CSGO history and they did so with an experienced EliGE as their main star.
Cloud9 vs FaZe Clan - ELEAGUE Major Boston 2018
There is something special about underdogs pulling off massive upsets in the most dramatic way possible. This has happened throughout esports over the years highlighted by the likes of OG winning The International 2018 or the Albus Nox run at LOL Worlds 2016. CSGO has its own underdog tale as Cloud9 pulled off an improbable upset victory back in 2018.
FaZe Clan was made up of renowned superstars with the likes of Ladislav ‘GuardiaN’ Kovács, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač and Olof 'olofmeister' Gustafsson. They were the overwhelming favourites heading into the event and they lived up to the hype as they made it all the way to the Grand Final. There they met C9 which was a well-known team but they were not seen as a top team as they came from NA.
Most fans and pundits saw this series as a one-sided final but C9 proved to be a pesky opponent. They had players who were known as stars but not to the level of FaZe’s trio who were all once hailed as the best player in the world.
C9 had an advantage as they were playing in the United States which can be considered as the team’s hometown during the event. They definitely used this energy to take them over the edge as they played to the crowd by pumping them up.
However, the main story of this series is definitely the amazing level of play that both teams showcased. You might have expected this from FaZe but C9 was playing out of their minds in this series.
The standout players for C9 was also a trio in Jacky ‘Stewie2K’ Yip, Tarik ‘tarik’ Çelik and Tyler ‘Skadoodle’ Latham. They were all amazing in this series which unexpectedly took them over the edge as they beat FaZe in arguably the best series in CSGO history.
The storyline of this series was that NA was seeking their first Major title and for the other side, both NiKo and GuardiaN were looking for their first ones as well. They were the two best players in the world at the time and it was not fair that they have not won the trophy just yet.
However, the heart of C9 shone through as they fought for every round that they won. This culminated in FaZe taking a three-round lead and Championship point. However, C9 turned it up as they prevailed in a gruelling third match at Inferno.
It was one of the best series in esports history given the drama and the storylines that were paid off. Skadoodle’s story might have been the best out of them all as he was unable to break through the group stage in his four-year career at that point. But the first time that he broke through, he won it.
Why these wins matter for the overall CSGO scene
There are many events in esports that you can’t even keep track. However, these epic victories that we just looked at are the most important and impactful series in CSGO history. There are many people who will take a look at this and might see it as a mere nostalgic look at the past but it was an amazing string of events that made CSGO look like the best game in the world.
Even if people like to throw around that CSGO is just a hub for free CSGO skins, it is actually one of the most exciting games in esports and it has earned that spot in the big three of esports alongside Dota 2 and LOL.
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Words: Pocholo Magsino
