The esports tournament, Eleague Major rounded up the best teams giving CS:GO fans a spectacle. Over the last week of January, this Major event was in full swing with fantastic executions and strategic gameplays that ended the event with the finalists Virtus.Pro and Astralis.
VP is known to be very consistent especially after the festive holidays, having a much-needed rest. Virtus.Pro have had the experience of beating renowned teams like Fnatic and Cloud 9, they started the new year well prepared to face off any team.
As for Astralis, the Danish team have had a few struggles in the past but they managed to pay back their opponents in their own game. Since November, the Danes have kept up their winning streak surprising their opposing teams. Astralis managed to finish in the finals of past tournaments like Esports Championship Series Season 2 and in the Eleague Season 2, making them a remarkable unit that is hard to beat.
The interesting part is the journey of both teams to be where they are today, to be the top CS:GO teams in the Eleague Major.
Quarterfinals
In the group stages Astralis have had a few struggles but their motivation has led them to eliminate Team Liquid, G2 and Optic Gaming, going through to the Quarterfinals. In the playoffs, Astralis morale was boosted after they managed to defeat Na’Vi, a favourite unit to win the event.
Virtus.Pro are a group of experienced players who have beaten Optic and Gambit Gaming in the group stages. Going through to the playoffs, VP defeated North 2:1 thanks to Snax’s impressive kills in every round.
Semi-Finals
Moving on to the Semi-Finals, four teams, Astralis, Fnatic, Virtus.Pro and SK Gaming were one step closer to the finals. Four teams remained but two more had to be eliminated.
Astralis closed the deciding match against Fnatic, the Danes dominating the second map, Nuke that resulted in a 2:0 victory. Giving the stage to the next semi-finalists, Virtus.Pro dominated the second map taking out all the SK Gaming players in a crossfire that ended the match with 2:0, securing VP a spot in the finals.
Finals
The secured finalists were Virtus.Pro and Astralis, who were both determined to win first place.
The final was an incredible show of game strategy, accuracy and nerve-racking situations from both sides. Virtus.Pro in all their experience stayed on top of the game all through. On the edge of being eliminated, Astralis turned the game around until the very last second of the match winning them the Major title.
Reaching the finals is an accomplishment having worked hard to get to where they are today, VP’s performance in the finals was a close second place.
After all the pressure of the match, Astralis won their very first Eleague Major taking home their first prize of a whopping $500K prize pool and have become the world’s top CS:GO team according to HLTV.org.
