CS:GO – The eyes of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive world turn to the Summit House in Los Angeles, California this week and the $150,000 prize pool on offer at the second CS Summit.
Two clear favourites
The CS Summit appears to be a two-horse race, with Cloud9 and SK Gaming being the clear favourites to win it all. Cloud9 are coming off an incredible run at the Major, claiming first place after being down 0-2 during the Swiss system group stage. C9 have been on an upswing ever since the additions of tarik and RUSH to their roster, with an overall strength in firepower supplemented by a growing depth of tactics. Every single player performed at an incredibly high level during the Major, a necessity given Cloud9 had to beat arguably the three most dangerous teams in a row during the playoffs – G2 Esports, SK Gaming, and FaZe Clan – to win it all.
Cloud9 are also a team that tend to defeat those below their skill level, while generally they had been unable to compete against teams considered better than them until this last Major. The key for Cloud9 will be the level of AWPer Skadoodle, who prior to the Major had been in a prolonged slump. Should Skadoodle show any signs of life, Cloud9 should at least reach the finals.
SK at full strength
On the other side of the bracket are SK Gaming, who now have their five-man roster back after being forced to use Felps as a stand-in during the Major. Boltz rejoins the fray, with the Brazilians looking to return to their dominant form. SK, given their overall prolonged success, are the favourites over Cloud9 by a hair, with revenge certainly at the forefront of their minds. They’re also on the perceived easier side of the bracket, where they will come across the last-minute substitute team, Torqued (formerly known as GX), who are replacing OpTic Gaming.
Roster moves will impact play
Three teams enter this event with impactful roster moves: North, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid. North are the only team to remove two players, with star k0nfig and stable AWPer cajunb departing; mertz and Kjaerbye are set to join in their place. North are therefore an unknown quantity, although they did have a decent showing in their first matches as a team this past week. North have always been inconsistent, at times winning an event and immediately following that performance up with a disappointing group stage exit. The question mark is primarily Kjaerbye, and whether or not he can return to the peak form that he achieved while on Dignitas.
The Ninjas in Pyjamas have made a coaching change, replacing one of the most respected coaches in the game, in Threat, with pita. This is generally viewed as a poor decision for NiP, as Threat was considered the driving force behind the team’s flashes of success. Rumours of a possible player change are currently circulating as well, so the overall ability and morale of the team have to be in doubt.
Team Liquid have replaced AWPer jdm with NAF, formerly of Renegades. Liquid will finally be playing with their full five-man roster, with role swaps taking place. Due to NAF not being a dedicated AWPer, nitr0 has now picked up that role while also being the in-game leader. Liquid are a bit of an unknown, given their inability to showcase this roster until now, coupled with the sweeping changes to their lineup. NAF does appear to add much-needed firepower, with questions only surrounding his ability to mix well with the other members of the team.
Good quarterfinals matchup
Far and away the best performing player at the Major was nitr0, who was single-handedly carrying the squad to victories across multiple maps. The hope for Liquid is that these changes will not negatively impact nitr0’s play, but instead help propel him even further. Liquid versus NiP shapes up as an incredibly interesting match, with each team having something to prove entering the event.
The presumption remains that Cloud9 will meet SK Gaming in the winners’ finals, with the loser then qualifying for a rematch in the grand finals. Presumptions can be wrong, however, and nitr0, in particular, will be looking to help pull the upset.
