This week's TL;DW looks at the roster changes during the first week of the player's break
Valve have made some interesting changes to CS:GO during its lifetime, From the ability to swap out different weapons to, well, the less said about the R8, the better. Most recently, the Negev heavy machine gun underwent an unusual adjustment to behave unlike any other weapons.
Ask Questions for next week's episode here: https://boo.gg/2vfNdP1
"Ask Thorin" #12:
Pistols have remained a point of contention in CS:GO for some time now, with everyone from players and analysts to even your average Joe on reddit weighing in to impart their views. Many struggle to reconcile the handguns’ cheap costs with their ability to quickly dispatch players holding far more expensive investments. Others despise the seemingly random and spammable nature of the weapons, citing a lack of skill in their use.
If you decided to take part in this Major’s Pick‘Em challenge, I can only feel sorry for you. The PGL Major has proven to be the most unpredictable in CS:GO’s history, with favourites dropping at every stage. With the likes of G2, Cloud9 and NaVi falling in the group stage, the Major looked ripe for an Astralis or SK final, only to find them matched in the quarterfinals. The playoffs continued the trend, with no one predicting a Gambit-Immortals finale. Even then, Immortals looked to subvert expectations, overwhelming Gambit 16-4 on Cobblestone. In the end, Gambit’s strategy won out, finally earning Zeus a long deserved Major title in his third attempt.
Stuck between ESL One Cologne and the PGL Krakow Major, this was never going to make for the most action-packed week of CS. In fact, it’s largely proven an affair of embarrassment, with a number of teams producing some shockingly poor performances at Dreamhack Valencia. Fortunately, all this confusion has given NiP the opportunity to flex their new muscles and take the prize. Second place went to underdogs, Red Reserve, who took part in the most memorable matches of the tournament. Let’s look back at the key moments you might have missed.
It was the Major that wasn’t really a Major. ESL One Cologne returned this week and as always it delivered incredible action, but this time only $250,000 was on the line instead of $1m and the title of world champions. Still, even without the Major title, this was one hell of a tournament, and one that showed how much things have changed in the last month. The Astralis era is on the rocks and the Brazilians are back on top. Outside Cologne, teams switched orgs, tournaments announced invites and Valve brought out its biggest banhammer yet.
FalleN is not a fan of the Swiss system
Cloud9 put in an absolute shift to make it out of groups
This is how much money is lost in dropped nades each round
Cologne is the first big event where every NA team made it out of groups
Shroud is back making big plays
GROUPS FOR DREAMHACK VALENCIA HAVE BEEN DRAWN
NEW WAVE OF VAC BANS ELIMINATES EVEN MORE CHEATERS, INCLUDING CLARA
THIS HEARTBREAKING MISPLAY COSTS NORTH A CHANCE AT A COMEBACK
PASHA SAYS VIRTUS.PRO MIGHT NOT SURVIVE THE UPCOMING OFF SEASON
DREAMHACK INVITES 12 TEAMS TO MALMO
CLOUD9 AND NA’VI JUST PLAYED A 66 ROUND BEST-OF-ONE
REZ HAD A PRETTY GOOD START TO HIS NIP CAREER
THESE TWO ACES FROM DAY ONE OF ESL ONE COLOGNE ARE VERY DIFFERENT
OPTIC’S COLOGNE SUCCESS MAY BE DOWN TO NEW IGL
TALENT AND SCHEDULE FOR THE KRAKOW MAJOR ANNOUNCED
Ask Questions for next week's episode here: https://boo.gg/2sCUlr2
"Ask Thorin" #11:
Major Qualifiers are great for neutrals, but if you support one of the teams involved then they can be horrific. Fans of GODSENT, Immortals, Renegades and even Cloud9 were all put through the ringer this weekend at what was undoubtedly one of the best Major qualifiers we’ve seen. Big names dominated, but the underdogs threw in plenty of surprises and some crucial matchups went the distance. Overall it was a tense affair.
ESEA BOOSTS RANK S PRIZE POOL, AS IF IT WASN’T TEMPTING PROS ENOUGH
TEAMS GET PRETTY HYPE WHEN THEY QUALIFY FOR A MAJOR
THE FIRST ROUND OF THE KRAKOW MAJOR MATCHES HAVE BEEN REVEALED
THE FINAL TEAMS FOR THE KRAKOW MAJOR HAVE BEEN CONFIRMED
A CIS SHUFFLE MIGHT BE ON THE CARDS
ImAPet reportedly joining OpTic Gaming
Liquid and TyLoo play a round that ends with no deaths
Some players are not impressed with the PGL studio
RFRSH is going to comply with WESA’s multi-team ownership roles
The first round of Krakow Major qualifiers were unbelievably close, except one
PGL HAS A SWEET SETUP FOR COACHES AT THE MAJOR QUALIFIER
SK GAMING HAS BEEN SPONSORED BY HYPERX FOR 10 YEARS
NRG SIGNS ANJ FROM SINGULARITY
CLG COACH IMAPET POACHED AWAY BY ANOTHER TEAM
SPLYCE RELEASE TWO PLAYERS
First round matches for ESL One Cologne revealed
Tricked may be about to sign the Singularity roster
NA pros seem to be loving FPL
We know NiKo revolutionised FaZe, but you won't believe this stat
Qualifiers for ESL One New York detailed