Highlights from The ELEAGUE Major

This past weekend’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ELEAGUE Major saw an abundance of unreal talent and raw emotion from teams who compete in the most popular first-person shooter game in esports. Astralis, the champions of the event, may have carried their winning legacy up until the moment they held up the trophy, but the tactics of their opponents will continue to be pondered in the nostalgic minds of their fanatics. There are many plays that could be considered crucial to a team winning a map, but I chose these plays based on the individual performances of each of the players. The following is an amalgamation of the most ambitious individual displays of skill from both the group stage and the playoffs.

Group Stage Round 1 Match – Team Liquid (0-0) vs. Team EnVyUs (0-0)

Josh “jdm” Marzano 1v5 on Cache

Map Result: Team EnVyUs 25 – 21 Team Liquid

Group Stage Elimination Match – North (2-2) vs. GODSENT (2-2)

Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke’s Knife Kill on Overpass

Risk it for the biscuit eh pic.twitter.com/3HOHRzJYnT

— Jamie (@junioritis) January 26, 2017

Map Result: North 19 – 17 GODSENT

• North advanced to the Playoffs Stage
• GODSENT eliminated from The Major

 Playoff Semi Final – Astralis vs. Fnatic 

Olof “Olofmeister” Kajbjer’s Ninja Defuse

OLOFMEISTER NINJA DEFUSE FOR OVERTIME @olofmcs pic.twitter.com/NjopujRYpW

— ELEAGUE (@EL) January 28, 2017

Map Result: Astralis 19 – 16 Fnatic

Match Result: Astralis 2 – 1 Fnatic

• Astralis advanced to the Grand Final
• Fnatic eliminated from The Major

Playoff Grand Final – Astralis vs. Virtus.pro

Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth’s 1 HP Clutch

Map Result: Astralis 16 – 14 Virtus.pro

Match Result: Astralis 2 – 1

• Astralis won the ELEAGUE Major
• Virtus.pro left as runner-up