Esports Update: Cloud9 coasted to victory at this year’s CyberPowerPC Extreme Gaming Series Winter 2017, which was held online over the weekend. Eight teams were invited to compete for the $25,000 prize pool with $14,000 on the line for first place.
Cloud9 versus the rest
Cloud9 came in as the overwhelming favourite, given their stance as a top-tier team (arguably anywhere from fourth to tenth in the world) and their ability to continually defeat lower-tier competition. There was no group stage; instead, the tournament began in the quarterfinals, with Cloud9 squaring off against Torqued, a team not heard of for some time.
Torqued have been reborn after the unbanning, at least for some events, of in-game leader and popular player Steel. Also of note for Torqued was the addition of Subroza to the lineup for this event, a player most well known for his time on Counter Logic Gaming.
Cloud9 opened play on Cobblestone, one of their best maps. Cloud9 dominated on their CT side, securing 11 of the available 15 rounds. The T-half started off surprisingly slow for the boys in blue, but a streak of five in eight rounds allowed C9 to close out map one with a 16-12 scoreline. Often criticized AWPer Skadoodle had a breakout performance, grabbing an impressive 29 kills. The second map was Inferno, which had a similar opening to Cobblestone. Cloud9 once again held steady on their CT side, garnering ten rounds for a fairly sizeable 10-5 lead going into halftime. However, this time around, Cloud9 carried their momentum into the second half, winning the first four rounds for a dominant 14-5 lead. Cloud9 claimed two of the next six rounds for the eventual 16-9 victory, placing them in the semifinals against SoaR Gaming.
SoaR brought crashing down to Earth
The first map of Mirage was an absolute blowout in favour of Cloud9, who built on a brilliant CT side. Cloud9 only dropped a single round on their defensive effort, grabbing the first two rounds of the second half for the 16-1 stomp. The second map of Inferno was at the very least more competitive, with SoaR claiming the first four rounds of their T side before Cloud9 once again found their rhythm. Cloud9 closed the half on a 10-1 run, all but destroying SoaR’s confidence. While SoaR did claim four rounds in the second half, including the first three rounds, it was never all that close as Cloud9 took the victory at 16-9.
That victory placed Cloud9 in the finals against “Unemployed for Christmas”, a team mostly comprised of former Counter Logic Gaming members now that CLG have walked away from Counter-Strike. One key note for this team was that they were also using two new members, with ryx and XotiC in place of Rickeh and FNS.
UFC unable to prevent Cloud9 sweep
The initial map of the finals was Mirage, where Cloud9 finally started on the T-side. Cloud9 continually strung a few rounds together before UFC could claim one, leading to an 11-4 C9 lead at the break. After UFC claimed the second-half pistol, Cloud9 shut the door on any form of a comeback, claiming the final five rounds for the quick and easy 16-5 win. AWPer Skadoodle led the way for Cloud9 with 20 kills, with every member of the team achieving at least 14.
The last map of the series was Inferno, where Cloud9 had a real battle on their hands in the first half. UFC were expected to get stomped given their previous showing on Mirage, yet the former CLG members claimed an impressive eight rounds on their T side for the 8-7 halftime lead. How, ver Cloud9’s aggression on their T side was overwhelming, and they put on a clinic. Only dropping three rounds in the second half, C9 gathered the final nine rounds they needed for the 16-11 victory and the title.
CyberPower OC Extreme Gaming was something of a curiosity. Cloud9 went into the tournament with considerably more experience and talent than the other seven competitors and demonstrated that with their three 2-0 victories. A nice little earner and nothing more as they eased to the title.
