This weekend Evil Geniuses strengthened its top-five position with the award of StarSeries & I CS: GO Season 8, which defeated Fnatic in the grand finals on two maps. It was just too much for Fnatic to contend with EG’s firepower, although the Swedish team received a point earlier this month at DreamHack Masters Malm luckily.
The StarSeries is a CS: GO event that features a $500,000 prize pool which is mainly sponsored by esports betting sites and various other sports-related companies.
The triumph restores some faith in the North American organisation, particularly after its own harsh performance in Malm Dem. Evil Geniuses crashed and burned in Sweden, missing a best-of-three over Mousesports and falling 16-10 at Grayhound Gaming to finish 14th.
Nevertheless, StarLadder was another matter.
EG has lost just three maps in the whole tournament, crossing the finals with victories over great adversaries like Heroic, FURIA Esports, Ninjas in Pijamas and Renegades. Through beating Fnatic 2-0 in the upper bracket finals, they set the stage for the grand finals to be the strong favourites to win.
Fnatic climbed the final like that, winning just three maps against EG to cement his place. Their lower FURIA bracket sequence was a particularly interesting game, which saw Ludvig “Brollan” Broline come to life on Mirage and post + 15 K / D, 108.9 ADR and an incredible 1.64 HLTV score.
Nevertheless, the conclusion of the tournament was somewhat necessary, and EG is making its way this morning between Evil Geniuses and Fnatic.
The big final veto was a straightforward one, with EG picking first as a reward for winning the top bracket. Evil Geniuses took control of Fnatic right from the start. EG owns an impressive 93.3 percent winnings on Dust 2 with at least 5 Dust 2 maps played, the highest winning percentage out of each any CSGO group.
Fnatic’s elimination was a normal ban and his choice of Mirage was not scheduled but based on convenience. In fact, EG is better than Fnatic at Mirage, on average, so that the Swedes wanted personal outplays than a map benefit. Inferno as always remains a map that can be used to construct a simple decision map for every Counter-Strike team worth their salt. More importantly, train or nuke are the other options.
Dust 2 began with a ferocious Fnatic T-side pistol that kicked out a 9-0 orange run of the boys. EG was held on the back foot by a mixture of prompt executes and touch works. With its first-round victory in round 10, EG finally found a semblance of stability. This one win was only enough to provide EG with some confidence, which led to Fnatic being scored 5-10.
Nonetheless, Dust 2’s second half was a completely different storey. The overwhelming assault of EG, especially Vincent “Brehze” Cayonte, was a good one if it looked good on Fnatic’s T-side. A EG T-side weapon round win leads to one round that cut Fnatic off. Although Fnatic earned their first CT victory in round 20, EG would win five straight calls to complete their comeback and pick 16-12 cards.
There is no underestimation of the effects of Brehze here. He posted a difference of+ 13 killing and 102.4 ADR for heading the EG victory. Nobody else in EG had a disparity over+ 8.
Evil Geniuses seal the deal, confirming the top of the StarSeries Season 8 Mirage Selection from Fnatic went worse than EG’s Pick 2 Dust.
Although, thanks to Jesper’s “JW” Wecksell ass, Fnatic started strong and ended the first half with a lead of 9-6, it didn’t matter. In the second half E G, did not give up one round on the T side, earning the StarSeries & I 8 trophy and the $250,000 highest prize in ten rounds in succession for polishing off Mirage 16-9.
In the end, both EG and Fnatic were shown to be capable of the current top five. After their move from NRG Esports, EG continues to operate tactically and independently, fans can expect only more from the team.
Fnatic also demonstrated a strong late promise. Their victory in Malm and their performance here indicate a rising trend for a team that many of them have left for months.
Intel Extreme Masters XIV Beijing fans can watch Evil Geniuses, where Team Liquid’s absence gives a good sign for their chances of winning in the country. The ESL Pro League Season 10 is now monumental for Fnatic, with the ECS Season 8 beginning on 28 October.
