After coming so close to pulling off an unfathomable Counter-Strike upset, Luminosity came up just one game short against Fnatic in the FACEIT 2015 Stage 3 Finals.
The Brazilian side came into the event at DreamHack Winter having replaced two players in their lineup—and their coach—just three days prior, and barely having practiced with the new-look team.
The lack of practice appeared to show in their first match against Fnatic, as Luminosity suffered an embarrassing and rare 0-16 loss. After the thumping defeat and an elimination match against DreamHack Cluj major winners EnVyUs looming, a group stage exit looked very much on the cards.
Despite a heroic performance from EnVyUs’ Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer, Luminosity took the series 2-1 with victories on Mirage and Inferno. From there, the Brazilians qualified for the top four after defeating Ninjas in Pyjamas in a series that featured another win on Mirage.
Headed into the final day, Luminosity were once again underdogs against a surging Team SoloMid, but an overtime victory on Inferno gave them another 2-1 victory.
The final seemed written in the stars—a rematch with Fnatic after their 0-16 opening loss, with no other team having been able to stop Luminosity since.
After a spirited performance on Train, Luminosity dropped the first game in a best-of-three for the first time all weekend. The team came back to win on Cobblestone, but a 16-7 win on Inferno for Fnatic secured their fourth $100,000 win and eighth title of the year.
New signing Lincoln “fnk” Lau was the MVP of the final with 74 frags, but the combined effort of Fnatic star Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer and captain Robin “flusha” Rönnquist was too much for the Brazilians.
Luminosity earns $50,000 for placing second, but coming just one map short will be a bitter pill to swallow for the Brazilian underdogs.