The review of ECS Season 6

The LAN final of the sixth season of Esports Championship Series finished on November 25. The time has come for us to make a conclusion.

The teams-losers

Team Liquid

Team Liquid didn’t meet the expectations more than all participants. While viewers expected to see them in the final or, at least, in the playoff stage, the Americans were not able to achieve a single victory in the group stage and held the last place at the championship, having left the event first. They got in Group B with such participants as Ninjas in Pyjamas, North, and NRG eSports. In the first match against North, they won 12 rounds in a bo1 match and they lost with a score 0-2 in the elimination match against NRG. They prevailed in 14 rounds on the first map and won only 7 on the second one. Liquid can hardly be blamed for a bad preparation for the championship. The prize pool of the championship was significant enough, namely, $660,000. Due to this, the Americans were motivated to win like the rest of the participants, however, they were unable to beat their opponents. They earned a consolation prize in the sum of $35,000 for the 7th-8th place.

Cloud9

Cloud9 met the viewers’ expectations at the tournament and finished the participation in Esports Championship Series Season 6 one of the first, having placed 7th-8th in the general standings and 4th in its group. They got in Group A with such participants as MIBR, Astralis, and mousesports. They played against Astralis in the first match and managed to win only 3 rounds against the Danes. In the elimination match against mousesports, the Americans showed a good resistance to the Europeans, having won 14 rounds on the first match, however, the Americans’ power became weaker after that and C9 achieved victory only in 7 rounds on the second map and finished their participation in the tournament. Cloud9 received a money prize in the sum of $35,000 for the 7th-8th place. Considering the opponents of the Americans in Group A and at the tournament in general, the result didn’t surprise someone.

NRG eSports

The impression from NRG eSports’ performance was controversial. The American team was put in Group A with such opponents as North, Team Liquid, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. NRG lost the first match against NiP with a score 6-16. They rehabilitated in the second match, having beaten Team Liquid with a score 2-0. After NRG eSports beat one of the favorites of the tournament, many people thought that the Americans would advance to the playoffs and take part in the distribution of the major part of the prize pool, however, North didn’t give North such an opportunity. The decisive match, which decided what team would get to the playoffs, was difficult both for NRG and North. It’s worth to notice the fact that the teams played an overtime on the second map. As a result, NRG lost to the Danes with a score 1-2 and finished its participation in the tournament, having held the 3rd place in the group and the 5th-6th place in the general standings. NRG eSports earned a money prize in the sum of $45,000 for such a result. NRG eSports might perform better but their performance can’t be called disappointing.

mousesports

The European team mousesports, like Cloud9, had a tough time in the group stage. They faced two strong opponents in their group: MiBR and Astralis. Mousesports lost the first match against MiBR with a score 7-16. In the elimination match against Cloud9, mouse, making some kind of an effort, beat the Americans with a score 2-0 and they almost managed to achieve victory in the decisive match against Astralis. They won 13 rounds on the first map and 14 on the second one. Lacking a bit to bring the match to an overtime, mousesports lost a chance to eliminate the Danish top team from the tournament and to advance to the playoffs. The Europeans placed 3rd in their group and stopped on the 5th-6th place in the general standings. They earned a money prize in the sum of $45,000 for their efforts. The tournament shows that the return of STYKO to the main roster is a good decision and if the team practices regularly, it will be able to enter the top four or three of the best CS:GO teams in the world.

The teams-winners

North

Few expected the Danish team to advance to the playoffs. Such skeptical thoughts emerged due to the fact that North had such teams as Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, and NRG eSports in Group B and North’s gaming shape left more to be desired. It’s not worth to forget that the roster changed a couple of months ago and it was not able to show good results at LAN tournaments. However, the Danes from North managed to exceed the viewers’ expectations. They achieved victory in the first match against Team Liquid with a score 16-12, being an underdog of the match. CadiaN with his team was not able to show a good game in the match of winners, which was hosted against Ninjas in Pyjamas, and moved on to play the decisive match against NRG eSports. There, the battle was not easy both for North and NRG, however, North managed to win its American opponents with a score 2-1 and advanced to the playoffs. In the semi-final, North played against MIBR and lost with a score 1-2. North held the 3rd-4th place at ECS Season 6 and earned a money prize in the sum of $65,000 for their efforts.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

It’s difficult to say what viewers expected from Ninjas in Pyjamas. On one hand, the Swedes had recently played well at BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen 2018 and placed 2nd there, so an advancement to the playoffs was not a surprise. On the other hand, there were such strong opponents as NRG eSports and Team Liquid in Group B and some viewers were impressed by NiP’s advancement to the final stage of the championship. Ninjas in Pyjamas showed the best result in the group stage among all participants. They placed first in the group, having beaten NRG eSports with a score 16-6 and North with a score 2-0. After an advancement to the playoffs, NiP faced the favorite of the championship, the team Astralis. There, the Swedes had a tough battle against their opponents and were defeated with a score 2-0. NiP earned a money prize in the sum of $65,000 for the 3rd-4th place at the tournament.

MIBR

MIBR got in Group A with such opponents as Astralis, mousesports, and Cloud9. As a result, the Brazilian-American team placed first at the group stage, having beaten mousesports in the first match with a score 16-7 and achieved victory over Astralis in the second match with a score 2-1. It’s worth to notice in the specific way that the victory was achieved with a great effort by the players of MIBR. 44 rounds were played on the second map and the total score was 22-20 in the favor of the Brazilian-American team. Having advanced to the playoffs, FalleN and his teammates faced North and worked hard to win, having advanced to the final. In the semi-final, the Danish opponents showed a good resistance and even won one map, however, MIBR prevailed with a score 2-1 as a result. FalleN and his team had significant chances to win the final and the team almost had a triumph in the match. On the first map, MIBR won 14 rounds, without being able to bring the match to an overtime, and the situation from the group stage repeated with an overtime. The teams played 44 rounds again and the map was over with a score 22-20 again but in the favor of Astralis this time. MIBR earned a money prize in the sum of $120,000 for the second place.

Astralis

Many viewers were sure that Astralis would become the winners of Esports Championship Series Season 6. At the group stage, Astralis was close to an elimination from the tournament when played the match against mousesports. In the decisive match, the Danes beat their European opponents with a great effort, having lost 14 rounds on the first match and 13 rounds on the second map. Having advanced to the playoffs, Astralis faced Ninjas in Pyjamas where beat the Swedes with a score 2-1 and got to the grand final. There, they met MIBR and were full of motivation to make a rematch for the match in the group stage. The match was tough, however, gla1ve and his team achieved victory over the Brazilian-American roster with a score 2-0. Astralis became the champions of the tournament one more time and their money prize amounted $250,000. The Danish team had proved again that it holds the first place on the list of the best CS:GO rosters in the world for a reason and will not move from the first place soon.