Counter-Strike Global Offensive‘s second major of 2017 has come to a close in remarkable fashion. Gambit has been crowned victor of the tournament after having fought its way past the best talent in the world.
Chances are you missed a few great matches during the event, because there were a lot of them. To help you get caught up, in this feature we’re going to go over the five best plays of the tournament.
5. Coldzera Gets a BIG League Ace
There’s a good reason SK Gaming’s Marcelo “coldzera” David won HLTV’s Best Player of 2016 Award: he’s pretty good.
During the quarterfinals match against BIG on Inferno, coldzera took the entire opposing team down with his AWP. Perfectly aimed twitch shots and immaculate positioning set him up for one of the only aces of the tournament.
Needless to say, BIG was careful to push through mid toward arches for the rest of the match. It would eventually lose the map against SK Gaming 7-16.
4. flusha Wallbangs for 1v2 Clutch
Of all players in the professional CS: GO scene, nobody gets accused of being a cheater more than fnatic’s Robin “flusha” Ronnquist. He’s had dozens of remarkable moments through history, many of which seemingly go beyond human ability.
flusha reminded us why he’s so much fun to watch when placed against Na’Vi in a 1v2 on Mirage. After deciding to approach a bomb downed in front of connector via Palace, he knocked down an AWP-equipped “GuardiaN” forcing a 1v1 situation.
For one reason or another, Flusha had a feeling that “seized” was hiding behind the wallbang spot next to stairs, and proceeded to spray it with a few rounds. His intuition was correct, and he would take down the last player without ever having seen him.
This moment was the beginning of a comeback that led fnatic from being down 1-7 to winning the map 16-12.
3. pasha Flexes Biceps in 1v4
While in dire straights sitting at 1-8 against Immortals, Virtus.pro needed someone to step up in a big way. That person would be none other than Jaroslaw “pashaBiceps” Jarzabkowski.
Pasha would begin his clutch on Mirage from catwalk, where he would flank and headshot “steel” before turning to triple and knocking out “kNgV”. Upon arriving on the A bombsite, he would take down LUCAS1 with a beautiful headshot, allowing himself to plant the bomb.
The last kill of the bunch was the most notable. Instead of safely sticking to the site, Pasha decided that he would wrap around through CT spawn and Jungle. “HEN1″‘s hesitation to start the defuse would ultimately be his undoing as pashaBiceps approached him from behind and capped off the clutch.
Immortals would go on to win the match, but at least Virtus.pro went out with a fight.
2. keev Temporarily Silences Immortals with a Knife
Emotions ran high during the tournament, especially when Immortals was involved. The team was seen erupting with energy after winning rounds, and delivered plenty of smack talk for the fans.
BIG was slightly triggered by all the showboating, so when Kevin “keev” Bartholomaus had an opportunity to kill “LUCAS1” in a disrespectful way.
As the bomb ticked down at B site on Cobblestone, keev hid behind the pillar, forcing LUCAS1 to stick the bomb. Right before the defuse was complete, keev snuck up behind and stabbed him for the win.
Given that this was the last round of the map, it’s safe to say that it was a bad manners play. Though, Immortals would get the last laugh, as it would win the next two maps securing its spot in the semifinals.
1. Dosia Throws a 200 IQ Nade
On the best of three map in the finals Immortals found itself struggling to take a round. It wasn’t until the scoreline was 9-1 that it would claim what appeared to be a clean victory by keeping three players alive with rifles.
As “steel” and “LUCAS1” ran to the corner spot at bombsite A of Inferno to avoid taking critical damage, Mikhail “Dosia” Stolyarov tossed a perfectly aimed grenade over balcony. Both players would die as the bomb exploded, causing more than $6000 of economic damage.
The play might have ended in Immortals taking a round, but it paid a hefty price for its second victory out of 11. Gambit would enter the next round without losing momentum, winning the tournament shortly after.
