Who Won The Last Cs Go Major

In his latest column for Pinnacle Esports, Duncan “Thorin” Shields tells us how the biggest events in Esports and the NFL's Super Bowl use similar devices to build a compelling narrative.

The Super Bowl is the most widely recognised championship event in American sports. The zenith of the NFL's American Football season, it is a single game that determines the champions each year.

Results for March 3rd 2021. ESEA Premier Season 36 North America. StarLadder Berlin Major Champions. 2019.09.09 - Congratulations to Astralis, who won a record-breaking third straight Major Championship and their fourth overall. AVANGAR’s path to the Grand Final met the brick wall of Astralis, who took hold of the series from the first few rounds and never let go.

Would Eli Manning's 2007 epic upset have been so spectacular if the series had been a best-of-seven, and Brady's unbeaten Patriots could have won on consistency? It seems quite unlikely.

What is a championship, but the ultimate moment of truth? A day when no excuses matter. A day to be at your best, else suffer regret. Heroes are found where nobody suspected and great players sometimes have an off day that skews their career narrative for good. Those who steal a close game will forever believe in fate, while those who are denied in heart-breaking fashion question why they play at all.

Depending on where you are sitting, a championship can mean everything or nothing. If you don't care about American Football, then perhaps the significance of this game seems massively overblown and oversold. Perhaps for you the sports seasons blur into one and simply seem like a blockbuster rollercoaster for adults.

If you have followed the sport for many years, or have a deep love for it, then chances are the Super Bowl means so much more for you. Perhaps it represents a deep connection to family, home, and tradition - following the same team as your elder relatives, and theirs’ before them. For such people, the game itself stands as an avatar of their country, their people, and their heritage. Certainly much more than simply kicking and throwing a leather ball up and down a field.

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Esports evolution

Esports has undergone its own path of evolution. What were once simply the best tournaments a particular organiser might be able to arrange, are now prestigious and historic events in their own right. They exude a significance that extends beyond the boundaries of the specific game, and even esports as a whole.

In games like Dota2 and League of Legends, the outline of the season is the same. Everything culminates in a final championship for the entire competitive field and the winner is crowned. Being the best over the rest of the circuit matters, but much less than being the one to win The International or the LoL World Championship.

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In CS:GO, the ‘big moment’ has typically been a series of ‘big moments’ instead. With the exception of 2013, the first year of the official majors, and last year, when none were held due to COVID-19, Counter-Strike has traditionally had multiple majors per year. In 1.6 these were technically unofficial, with the game developer not organising them or giving them their stamp of approval, while in the modern era CS:GO averaged three majors per year and in recent years down-shifted to two.

Effectively these championships are treated as equally meaningful for one’s career, and thus are more in line with the grand-slam style circuits of Tennis or Golf rather than a traditional North American sports league with a final championship for each year.

For all the marbles

The most compelling and cruel component of the end-of-year championship, ever present in the stories of the Super Bowl each year, are the drastic highs and lows bestowed not just in the moment, but their ripple effect on the career narratives of the players in question. In this sense, esports comparisons are easy to find and begin to paint a picture of how much mental energy the participants of traditional sports and esports alike invest into these tournaments.

Perhaps the most important effect of the Super Bowl, a CS:GO Major, or The International is their immediate ability to draw the attention of those who don't religiously follow the game.

Try telling Aaron Rodgers this was a good season when he had an MVP-worthy campaign, got the home seed for the conference championship, and had his eye on a second Super Bowl ring. It's easy to see why it might feel as if it were all for naught now the whistle has blown and his Packers will be forced to wait again for another crack at it in a career which is clearly 'on the back nine', as the man himself put it.

Similarly, Oleksandr 's1mple' Kostyliev has hotly contested the title of best player ever for numerous years now. Rest assured though, he is still thinking about the lack of majors won in his career. For the player who has everything else, and has seemingly done everything else, what would you expect? There's nothing there for him in hearing that he was the best player ever on the other days of the year, but when he made the final of a major it just didn't happen, or that his team was good enough on those other days but not during the major itself.

The toils of the great players are sometimes so tragic, with the best sometimes being denied championships no matter their individual abilities. Focusing on this perspective, it is easy to see why many players become embittered by the arbitrary nature of simply being judged on one specific day’s performance.

• Read more: The hidden depth of MMA and Counter-Strike

Similarly, though, this uncertainty is where we find the most epic of underdog stories birthed. Would Eli Manning's 2007 epic upset have been so spectacular if the series had been a best-of-seven, and Brady's unbeaten Patriots could have won on consistency? It seems quite unlikely.

The CS:GO equivalent for that scenario must be Cloud9's victory over FaZe Clan at the ELEAGUE Boston Major. A team with a “good enough” performance hits a streak of incredible form and rolls past better (on-paper, anyway) squads to win an historic championship in a one-of-a-kind fashion.

The microcosm

Perhaps the most important effect of the Super Bowl, a CS:GO Major, or The International is their immediate ability to draw the attention of those who don't religiously follow the game in question and potentially win them over as future fans.

When asked how one gets into a specific esports game, I often suggest my own method of finding a really good player or team that they can resonate with on some level - this could be from their style of play, or even as simple a matter as their personality and charisma - and then follow their journey. Along the way one will meet their rivals, see their ups and downs and in learning their strengths and weaknesses begin to model the game and the hierarchy of what makes a good player, and thus who is one.

In the final of the Super Bowl, or one of the big esports tournaments, we are introducing newer fans to either the best of the best, contending for the title as DAMWON Gaming did at this year's Worlds or Astralis did at the last CS:GO major, or the hottest underdogs, represented at those events by Suning and AVANGAR respectively. After seeing which is favoured by fortune, the viewer is primed to now follow a team and its players in the upcoming season.

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This is why story-telling and narrative-building will remain more effective tools than even the best in-depth analysis. In the final battle of the season or most important tournament, the war of turning new fans to the plight of the great competitors begins and has its impact on who will be watching the next year's battle.

The IEM Katowice 2019 CS:GO Major is well underway and there are still over 20 teams in the running. With many of the top teams in the world competing along with fast-rising teams, there are many potential winners. So who will win IEM Katowice 2019? Here are five of the most promising teams.

Who will win IEM Katowice 2019?

1. Astralis

Who Won The Last Cs Go Major 2018

From their achievements the past year alone, a case could be made that Astralis are the best CS:GO team of all time. They’ve won an incredible amount of big events and remained the #1 HLTV team for over 9 months.

However, there’s plenty of new blood and new team rosters at the major. Plus, the recent smoke bug being disabled could make a change in how the team plays. Astralis is always a threat to win, but they could get knocked off their perch here.

2. Team Liquid

Team Liquid look like a legitimate threat to take the throne from Astralis in 2019. Throughout last year, they constantly racked up 2nd places. Since adding Stewie2k, they won IBP Masters 2019 against Astralis- the first Premier Event of the year.

With renewed focus and a new, potentially stronger team, Liquid can make serious waves at this Major and possibly bring home their first Major victory.

The championship round 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gUHMjBRQts

— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) January 21, 2019

3. NRG

NRG has quietly become a mainstay in the HLTV Top 10, currently at #5. What’s more, the team made it comfortably into the Challengers Stage 3-0.

Who Won The Cs Go Major 2019

The team will get a huge step up in opposition in the Legends Stage, which may falter their progress. However, they’re a consistently strong team and Majors are always ripe for upsets. If they play their cards right, NRG could reach the top.

LEGENDS 👏 STAGE 👏 BOUND!

Led by @brehze's INSANE 72 kills over two maps, #NRGCSGO drops @tyloogaming 2-0 in the series!

What a start for the squad at the #IEM Katowice Major!!! pic.twitter.com/busSrHGLTr

Who Won The Last Csgo Major

— NRG Esports (@NRGgg) February 14, 2019

4. MIBR

Made In Brazil had a disastrous 2018 as their experiments to bring in American star players only made them worse. However, with the reintroduction of TACO and Felps, MIBR could return to their former glory.

In the past, they were a roster known for incredible team play, with TACO known as a solid bombsite anchor. With FalleN’s knowledge and leadership and good strategy, this could be their win.

5. ENCE

The Finnish roster consistently makes it look EZ4ENCE. With their mix of experience and rising talent, ENCE have proven to be a top team with the talent to compete with the best.

They had a fairly easy 3-1 run through the Challengers Stage (albeit dropping a Bo3 to Renegades) and the Legends Stage will be tough for them. However, this is a team that could rise up as a dark horse.

MY GOD @sergejcsgo !!!!!!!#EZ4ENCE#EZ4sergejpic.twitter.com/DTXUtv6xv8

— ENCE (@ence) February 15, 2019