Esports Gaming: The Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg played host to Epicenter 2017 this past week, as eight teams battled for a $250,000 first-place prize.
In one of the best and most competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments of the year to date, Brazil’s SK Gaming claimed the spoils.
New addition shakes up SK
SK Gaming came into Epicenter amidst uncertain expectations, given the incredibly recent addition of boltz to the lineup in place of felps. The first match for SK in Group A came against Virtus.pro, who had been in a somewhat of a slump entering the event. The first map of Train was all too easy for SK, as despite losing five of the first six rounds, the Brazilians pulled off 15 in a row to claim victory at 16-5. That momentum carried over to Mirage, where SK dominated VP 16-7, giving them the 2-0 victory and setting themselves up for the winners’ match against the red-hot FaZe Clan.
After dropping Inferno in a one-sided 7-16 fashion – with FaZe’s in-game leader karrigan surprisingly dominating with 24 kills – SK rebounded incredibly well on Overpass. SK only dropped two rounds on their CT side before securing three rounds on their T side for the 16-2 stomp. The final map was Mirage where, after a narrow 8-7 halftime lead, SK completely controlled the second half. SK won eight of nine on the T side for the 16-8 win. For SK, boltz leading the way on Mirage with 22 kills gave them confidence moving forward as he slowly started to develop his role within the team.
Astralis provide tough competition
The semifinals saw SK square off against Astralis in a matchup that was even closer than the scoreline suggested. The first map was Train, where SK stifled Astralis on the CT side, grabbing a solid ten rounds at the half. SK then pushed the lead even further on their T side, securing the first three rounds for the 13-5 scoreline. Astralis slowly recovered, winning six rounds in a row before FalleN and company figured out the Danish defence, gathering the final three rounds needed for the 16-11 victory. The next map of Mirage would require overtime, with SK once again pulling out the win. Each team had dominant T sides in regulation (11 each – unusual for Mirage), but coldzera’s 35 kills led the way as SK moved on with a 19-17 triumph and the 2-0 winning margin.
SK face surprise opponent
In a shocking turn of events, SK squared off against their original opponents in Group A, Virtus.pro – who finally looked back to their old form – in a best-of-five to decide the winners. The initial map was Mirage, where each team successfully strung rounds together. After VP claimed the first five rounds, SK countered with four of their own before VP ended the half with five of six. VP then won the opening three rounds of the second half before SK once again answered; this time with five rounds, before VP finished off the Brazilian side with three rounds in a row, giving the Poles a comfortable 16-10 victory.
The second map of Cobblestone was the most one-sided map of the series, with SK victorious with a 16-6 victory and winning all seven rounds on their T side. Map three of Train was the first of two to reach overtime, with SK inching out VP at 19-16. Each team had incredible CT sides in regulation, as both claimed an impressive 12 rounds. Map four was Cache, in which SK jumped out to a 9-6 T-sided lead. Virtus.pro, however, displayed brilliance on their own T side, only losing three rounds on their way to the 16-12 victory. Even in defeat, SK Gaming’s fer led all players with an incredible 30 kills.
One for the ages
The final map of Cobblestone is one for the ages, as the teams found themselves in double overtime. Neither could ever truly pull away, with even 8-7 CT sides leading to overtime. At 18-17, VP appeared to have done just enough to pull out the win, as they secured a 4-2 player advantage with powerful defensive holds. Unfortunately for the Polish side, the combination of boltz and FalleN were able to pull off the win despite the 2-4 disadvantage, forcing double OT, and giving SK all the momentum. SK Gaming won the final four rounds of play to claim the incredible 22-18 victory and the championship.
For SK, the future looks incredibly bright with boltz in place of felps – although felps will be forced to play in some upcoming tournaments due to certain rules. Boltz’s controlled style works much better with the aggressiveness of fer and coldzera, unlocking both players knowing they have a stable player such as boltz behind them. Given their incredible showing with limited practice, SK Gaming should be the team to beat moving forward in CS:GO.
