StarSeries Season 6 Review

Recently the six season of StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 6 has ended up. Now it's time to sum it up.

Losers

Sprout

As it had been said before in our preview, it was the first time when Sprout participated in a LAN tournament of such a level. The collective couldn't cope with the emotions and psychological difficulties. The matches showed that Sprout had prepared for the tournament and the German-Danish team gave a fight. The collective lost 14-16 against mousesports, but after that they win 12 rounds playing with Vega Squadron. At the elimination round against HellRaisers, the European players led their game to overtime and lost by the score 19-22. Despite all the expectations of the spectators and analysts, Sprout played better than the other people had expected and took part in three interesting matches. The first attempt to perform at the prize pool of $300,000 turned out to be a failure for Sprout. Maybe next tournament will result in more luck for them and they will be able to get to the playoff, but the European players got the last place at StarSeries Season 6, being the first to leave the tournament together compLexity. But after the participation in the tournament they got a consolation prize of $2,500.

compLexity Gaming

stanislaw and his team didn't manage to show any good results and didn't meet the expectations. At the previous major LAN tournament, compLexity showed more than at StarSeries #6. At the Major championship coL couldn't overcome many opponents of the world class getting to Eight Best. At the first round, compLexity played with the Kazakh players from Gambit eSports, where they lost 14-16. At the second round, the Australians from Renegades played against compLexity. At this fight coL were weaker than their opponents and managed to take only 9 rounds. At the elimination match against BIG, compLexity performed even worse taking eight rounds in total. This way the Americans ended their participation at StarSeries Season 6 on the 15-16 place and became the second team to leave the tournament. The team got a money reward of $2,500 for passing the qualifier in North America and making it to the LAN final.

CyberZen

CyberZen started their participation in StarSeries Season 6 very well but the continuation of that happened to be a failure for the fans of this team. At the first match CZ played against the strongest Australian team - Renegades and got the win at the difficult battle by the score of 16-13. At the next battle CyberZen fought with mousesports and their game ended by the score 1-16. At the third match where CyberZen faced The Imperial, the Chinese players didn't play any better as they managed to win only at six rounds. CZ’s last match was the battle against HellRaisers at the fourth round. Their European opponents gathered their powers and got the win on overpass, losing three rounds against the Chinese players. CyberZen had been named one of the outsiders of this tournament but they performed better than compLexity Gaming and Sprout. Thanks to their efforts CZ ended their participation in the sixth season of StarSeries on the 12-14 place and got a money reward of $4,000.

TyLoo

Lately TyLoo have worsened their game level. The collective can't get to the playoff of the championships and StarSeries Season 6 hasn't been an exception. At the first round TyLoo played against ENCE eSports and couldn't oppose them taking only six rounds. At the second round the Chinese players player with HellRaisers and managed to win a difficult battle. At the next round TyLoo played against the Australians from Renegades. The battle was hard but the representatives of Renegades managed to end up the game by the score 16-13 for them. At the elimination match BIG faced TyLoo. The last match was interesting and intense, but TyLoo couldn't give enough pressure on the opponents and became the fourth collective to leave the competition. The taken 12-14 place resulted in a money reward of $4,000 for the team.

Gambit eSports

We can't say that the spectators expected anything from the performance of Gambit eSports. Gambit have been in a bad play shape for a long time. The only exception was the recent ESL One New York 2018, where the team took the 3-4 place. That's why the fans hoped that the collective had prepared for StarSeries Season 6 and would make it to the playoff. At the first round Gambit fought with compLexity Gaming which wasn't easy for sure and got the win by the score 16-14. At the next round the Kazakh performed against Fragsters and were defeated 11-16. At the third round Gambit faced North and managed to win over their Danish opponents. The game ended by the score 16-13 for North. At the elimination match Gambit played with another CIS collective - Vega Squadron. There “Blue Sharks” got the win 16-9 and made Gambit leave the tournament.Dosia and his team ended their participation on the 12-14 place with the statistics of 1-3. These events were expected, but many people know that this participant could have more success.

HellRaisers

The European team wasn't one of the clear favourites of the championship, but, nevertheless, HR didn't meet the expectations. After their success at the Major tournament where the collective took the 5-8 place and managed to overcome many world class teams, the majority of viewers expected HellRaisers to make it to the playoff. At the first round they couldn't overplay The Imperial, and the second round resulted in the same way at the match with TyLoo so they got to the lower matches of the third round. At the elimination round HellRaisers faced Sprout and showed an interesting meeting up to the overtime. As a result, HR did manage to postpone their leaving of the tournament ending the match by the score of 22-19. At the lower matches HellRaisers felt more confident and playing against CyberZen, they won 16-3. At the decisive meeting which was held against Vega Squadron, HR weren't able to oppose the CIS team and the meeting ended by the score of 16-7 for “Sharks”. As a result, HellRaisers left the championship at the group stage with the statistics of 2-3. Their 9-11 place resulted in a money reward of $6,000 for the collective.

The Imperial

The Imperial performed as it had been expected. Many people expected that the team would leave the championship earlier but the European mix were able to hold up to the last round of the group stage. At the first round Imperial faced with HellRaisers and got the win by the score of 16-11. At the second round they performed against the strongest team from Finland - ENCE eSports and ended up by the score of 16-12 for ENCE. At the middle match of the third round The Imperial managed to win over CyberZen by the score of 16-6 with no difficulty. At the upper matches of the fourth round The Imperial couldn't oppose the Australians from Renegades. The final match defined the last participants of the playoff stage: The Imperial played with North and at the difficult battle they lost 11-16. Thanks to their efforts, the European team took the 9-11 places in the tournament bracket and got a money reward of $6,000. This performance showed that The Imperial managed to fight with the Tier-2 teams, but they should have changed something and have prepared better.

mousesports

The European team had been expected to get to Four Best collectives of StarSeries Season 6. Instead of that, mousesports entered the list of the teams who didn't meet the expectations. Instead of a great performance, mouze couldn't even get to the playoff. At the first round they played with Sprout and it was really difficult for them to get the win on train by the score of 16-14. At the upper matches of the second round mousesports defeated their opponents CyberZen, giving them a chance to win only one round on nuke. At the third round the European team managed to finish their participation in the group stage with the statistics of 3-0, the collective couldn't oppose the players from ENCE eSports and lost a difficult match by the score of 12-16. At the fourth round mouze couldn't rehabilitate and playing against OpTic Gaming, they almost managed to win, but they lost 14-16. At the fifth round mousesports and BIG took part in the longest match of the group stage of StarSeries Season 6. The meeting ended with the score of 19-17 for the German and mouze left the tournament. They got the 9-11 place in the tournament bracket and got a money reward of $6,000. The reason of such bad results were known after the end of the championship. The team were not satisfied with their new player, so Snax left the roster and his place will be taken by STYKO. It is still unknown if the Polish esportsman will be sold to another organisation.

The teams that showed good results

North

The Danish collective couldn't get in a good game shape after the win at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. At this championship the Danish players didn't get to the semi-final, but they passed the group stage with the statistics of 3-2. At the first round they defeated OpTic Gaming by the score of 16-7. At the second round the Danish team performed against NRG and list by the score of 12-16. At the middle matches of the third round, North faced Gambit eSports, winning 16-13 over the Kazakh. At the upper match of the fourth round North played with their countrymen and couldn't defeat Fragsters, ending the meeting by the score 12-16. At the decisive match of the group stage The Imperial representing Europe played against North. But they showed more than the people had expected. It made North recollect themselves and they got the win. At the quarter-final North had to play against one of the main favourites of the tournament - NRG eSports. There the Danish showed the opposition but lost on train by the score 14-16 and on overpass by the score of 13-14. North showed that their holding the 7 place in HLTV’s rating is not groundless and they can compete with Tier-2 and Tier-1 teams, but the Danish players have to achieve teamwork with their new players to improve the results.

Fragsters

Fragsters were one of two outsider teams who managed to meet the expectations of the spectators and made it to the playoff. The Danish players had prepared for the tournament and the collective’s game proved it. Fragsters’ way to the playoff stage wasn't long as the players finished their participation in the group stage with the statistics of 3-1. At the first rounds the collective played against such opponents as BIG and Gambit eSports, defeating the German and Kazakh with the score of 19-17 and 16-11, correspondingly. At the third round Fragsters managed to become one of the first participants in the playoff, but NRG was an obstacle for the Danish on their way as the defeated “green” by the score of 16-5. At the fourth round Fragsters won 16-12 over North and made it to the playoff. Unfortunately, Fragsters’ participation in the playoff was limited to one quarter-final. There they faced Vega Squadron and lost 10-16 on dust2 and 13-16 on cache. Their efforts resulted in a money reward of $10,000, taking the 5-8 place at the tournament.

BIG

BIG entered the championship as one of the favourites of the event. The Germans faced a lot of difficulties at the beginning of their way, but later they managed to cope with them and made it to the playoff with the statistics of 3-2, being on the edge of leaving the tournament. At the first match BIG played with Fragsters and being not able to oppose the Danish players, they lost 16-19. At the second round the Germans performed against OpTic Gaming and were defeated by the Danish on inferno, ending the meeting by the score of 2-16. At one of the first elimination matches, BIG played against compLexity Gaming, defeating the Americans by the score of 16-8. At the lower match of the fourth round, BIG defeated TyLoo, stopping the comeback from the Chinese players. At the last round BIG participated in one of the hottest matches. At the first half of the meeting, BIG took 13 rounds, that provided them with an easy win, but passing to the Т side on train, the Germans were close to failure, as mousesports also took 13 rounds for CT. It resulted in extra rounds for the collectives. But still BIG won over mousesports and provided themselves with getting to the playoff making mouze leave the tournament.

Interesting fact: after the second round BIG were on the edge of leaving the tournament three times, but all of them resulted in postponing the end of their participation in StarSeries #6.

At the quarter-final, BIG performed against the champion of the tournament - ENCE eSports and played one of the longest matches. The game ended in 22-20 for BIG on overpass, on nuke — 16-9 for ENCE, and on train BIG they took only 10 rounds and left the competition. BIG got $10,000.

Renegades

The Australians as well as Fragsters managed to get to the playoff despite the outsider status, and their statistics at the group stage were not bad, which is 3-1. At the first round Renegades lost against the clearest outsider of the tournament - CyberZen and it was the only loss of the Australian players at the group stage. At the second, third and fourth rounds, Renegades got the win over compLexity Gaming, TyLoo and The Imperial by the score of 16-9, 16-13 and 16-12, correspondingly. At the playoff stage Renegades faced OpTic Gaming and lost against the Danish team by the score of 2-0, should no opposition. As a result, Renegades as well as BIG, Fragsters and North took the 5-8 place in the tournament bracket getting a money reward of $10,000 for the efforts.

Winners

OpTic Gaming

At the end of September OpTic’s roster was changed. Taking it into account and paying attention to the failed performances, many spectators treated the likelihood of their successful performance sceptically. Despite the opinion, OpTic performed well in the championship and ended their participation at the 3-4 position in the tournament bracket. At the first round OpTic lost against North and this loss was the only at the group stage. At the second, third and the fourth rounds the Danish defeated BIG, Vega Squadron and mousesports by the score of 16-2, 16-9 and 16-14, correspondingly. At the final stage OpTic managed to get an easy win over the opponents from Australia, defeating Renegades by the score of 2-0. At the semi-final OpTic didn't manage to oppose the champion of the tournament and lost the match against ENCE by the score of 0-2, taking 16 rounds on two maps. OpTic performed pretty well, exceeded the expectations and got placed at the 3-4 place, getting a money reward of $25,000.

NRG eSports

The North American team performed at the group stage almost better than everybody. All three played matches at the initial stage resulted in wins over Vega Squadron, North and Fragsters for NRG by the score of 19-17, 16-12 and 16-5, correspondingly. At the playoff NRG played against North, winning them over by the score of 2-0. At the semi-final NRG met with Vega Squadron, where they got a difficult win by the score of 2-1. daps and his team were placed at the 3-4 position in the tournament bracket and got a money reward of $25,000.

Vega Squadron

Vega Squadron prove that such a notion as “Home arena” exists in eSports. The support of audience helped Vega to go further that it had been expected and at the final they almost managed to get a win. At the first stage Vega Squadron lost against NRG by the score of 17-19. At the second round they played against Sprout, where the European defeated the European players by the score of 16-12. At the third round Vega met OpTic at the middle matches and lost 9-16. At the two other rounds Vega Squadron defeated mousesports and HellRaisers by the score of 16-14 and 16-7, correspondingly. At the playoff stage Vega participated in the match against Fragsters, winning over them by the score of 2-0. At the semi-final “Blue Sharks” managed to play with NRG eSports again, where they won the rematch by the score of 2-1. At the Grand final Vega fought with ENCE eSports and according to the majority of viewers they should have won, but on the fifth map something went wrong and it resulted in their loss of 9-16 on overpass. Thanks to their efforts, Vega Squadron became vice-champions and got a money reward of $50,000, which, by the way, is the biggest prize of the CS:GO roster.

ENCE eSports

The titans of the Finnish CS:GO stage ENCE eSports headed the tournament bracket of StarSeries Season 6. While Vega Squadron had a great support from the audience, allu and his team showed their courage and got the win at the championship despite everything. A remarkable fact is that at the group stage ENCE eSports got the top position in the bracket showing what they wanted from the very beginning. The Finnish won over TyLoo, The Imperial and mousesports by the score of 16-6, 16-12 and 16-12, correspondingly. At the final stage ENCE were close to a failure at the final and the quarter-final. At the first match of the playoff the Finnish players had to play with BIG. The longest match of StarSeries Season 6 was held on overpass and the team lost against 20-22. On nuke ENCE rehabilitated losing only 9 rounds and at the decisive match BIG were defeated by the score of 16-10. At the semi-final ENCE met with OpTic and won over the Danish team by the score of 2-0. The Grand final was very interesting and presented us five maps of battle between ENCE eSports and Vega Squadron. On train Vega got the win by the score of 16-14, and after that ENCE came back to inferno by the score of 16-6. ENCE shook off after the end of dust2 by the score of 16-12 for the Finnish players while Vega leveled the score, taking mirage by the score of 16-12. On the last map Vega couldn't win even having the support of the viewers. They got only 9 rounds, when ENCE eSports became the champions of the tournament. allu and his team received the main money reward of $125,000 for their work. ENCE deserve the title of the best team in Finland and their performance at the major international tournament does prove it.