With the closed qualifiers coming to a close, all teams for the event have been finalized for tomorrow’s CS_Summit 8. The format for this event features 2 separate groups containing 4 teams each. These teams will fight off against each other in a best of 3 series in the coming days, and the top 3 teams advance to the playoffs. The top 2 teams from groups are placed in the upper bracket, whereas the 3rd placing teams in the group stage are placed in the lower bracket.
CS_Summit 8 Group Draw Finalized – What are they?
Here’s a short list of all participating teams, separated by their groups accordingly:
Group A:
Evil Geniuses
paiN Gaming
FURIA
O PLANO
Group B:
Team Liquid
Bad News Bears
EXTREMUM
Extra Salt
Concluding Thoughts
These teams are certainly the best in North America, and we’re in for a great show this upcoming week. This event will surely be one to watch if you’re a North American CS:GO fan. So much is at stake due to the event being an NA RMR event. The winning team will receive 1600 RMR points, along with a fat stack of $17,000 USD. We’ll just have to see which of these teams comes out on top!
Yesterday, CS:GO tournament host Flashpoint released a statement regarding NiP (Ninjas In Pyjamas) vs Anonymo. The entire CS:GO and esports community did not like it one bit. Here’s why:
Flashpoint statement regarding NiP vs Anonymo Sparks Drama – Why?
On the 14th of May during the Flashpoint 3 tournament, NiP took on team Anonymo from Poland. In the third round of map 1, NiP claimed that they were having internet issues. The admin team of Flashpoint switched server locations but it was pointless as the issues were still there. Nothing else could be done on Flashpoint’s side and the match continued on the German server. According to the statement, NiP’s internet issues were solved by the third map, however after the series concluded, NiP contacted Flashpoint’s admins, stating that they still had issues in the third map.
The next day, Flashpoint accepted NiP’s request to replay the match, and it was scheduled for the 16th of May at 9PM. On their side, NiP had offered Anonymo to either play the full best of 3, or just the final map. In response to this, Anonymo released a statement of their own, mentioning that they think that NiP are pressuring FACEIT.
Many believe that NiP let that map 3 play out due to their confidence heading into the match despite their internet issues. Now that the match has concluded, NiP have requested a rematch.
CS:GO pro for Team Liquid, FalleN stated that “internet problems is your own business, unfortunately”
Last time we had internet problems during flashpoint finals we rushed to another house instantly as a solution viable in time, of course not everyone has a solution like that but your internet problems is your own business, unfortunately. This replay should never be offered
The entire situation is a complete mess from top to bottom. Hopefully this gets resolved as soon as possible and the event can continue as planned.
Update to the official statement – The match was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 16th, but is currently being rescheduled and no official re-match time has been confirmed. Anonymo has been offered the choice between playing the full BO3 or only the last Map.
Next weekend we’ll be having one of the most anticipated CS:GO tournaments of the year. This is because CS_Summit 8 is going to take place, featuring some of the best North American teams. Here’s your full tournament guide of the event:
Only one team will have the greatest fortune of becoming champions of #cssummit 8… 🔮
Beyond the Summit, often abbreviated to BTS, is an esports production company focused on creating very particular esports events, shows, as well as content. This will be the 8th edition of the CS_Summit series for CS:GO and will be one of the first events to include mainly North American teams.
How to qualify for the main event
All of the teams that are participating in CS_Summit 8 have qualified due to their Regional Major Rankings in North America. The other 4 spots for the event are being given to those teams that qualify first through open qualifiers, and then through closed qualifiers.
A total of $50,000 will be given out to all participants taking part in the event. Along with prize money winnings, high placing teams will be receiving a significant increase with regards to RMR points. This is how the prize money will be distributed:
1st – $17,000
2nd – $10,000
3rd – $7,000
4th – $5,000
5th – $4,000
6th – $3,000
7th/8th – $2,000
Tournament Format for CS_Summit 8
The event will start with a group stage. Here, 8 teams split into 2 groups of 4 and battle it out between each other in a best of 3 format. The top 3 teams of each group qualify for the playoffs, eliminating the bottom team. Then when it comes to the playoffs, it is formatted with a Double-elimination bracket where each series is a best of 3. The grand finals on the other hand is played in a best of 5 format.
Teams Participating
The event is still going through its closed qualifier phase, meaning that there are still teams fighting for their spot in the main event. However, the four teams that were invited, are the following:
Evil Geniuses
Extremum
FURIA
Team Liquid
The other teams in the closed qualifier are:
Bad News Bears
Extra Salt
GODSENT
paiN Gaming
O Plano
RBG Esports
Triumph
Team One
Credits: Beyond The Summit
Schedule list for CS_Summit 8
The event starts on the 20th of May and will keep on going till the 30th. The event kicks off with the Group Stage, starting with group A. The teams are not yet finalized, so the groups have not yet been decided. However this is how the first 2 days of the event will play out:
Group A – May 20, 2021
23:30 CET – ? vs ?
Group B – May 21, 2021
02:30 CET – ? vs ?
Group A – May 21, 2021
23:30 CET – ? vs ?
Group B – May 22, 2021
02:30 CET – ? vs ?
Credits: Beyond The Summit
Streaming platform list
The event will stream on the official BTScsgo twitch channel here. In true Beyond The Summit fashion, extra content and spicy stuff will upload to their youtube channel here.
Watch the cs_summit 8 stream on esportsguide.com
You can also watch the cs_summit 8 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.
North American CS:GO is in a very peculiar state at the moment. Due to VALORANT and the mid-season flight towards Europe, NA CS:GO is very shaky. A lot of roster changes have been made, impacting both players and coaches. Lately we’ve seen a lot of solid performances coming out of both FURIA and Team Liquid. If we had to put our predictions on two teams it would have to be them. In the end we’ll just have to see how it all plays out!
Be sure to keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com for all your esports news!
Due to being an invited team, ENCE had already qualified to the playoffs, and did not have to go through the whole group stage.
Their first match was against the Bulgarian squad of SKADE. The blues have proven in the past that they are one of the best teams in Europe, but they had to pull off one more win against this European ENCE squad. The first map (Overpass) went the distance, finishing 19-16 in ENCE’s favour. Then came Train which went the way of SKADE. And lastly, we had Inferno which concluded with a 16-8 scorline, heading toward ENCE.
Next up for ENCE was the Semifinal match-up against the Swedish core of Dignitas. They were no match for the newly formed ENCE lineup, as they lost both maps (16-8, 16-11). This win for ENCE meant that they reached the Grand Finals.
Whilst ENCE were climbing their side of the bracket, so was Team Fiend, beating teams like Copenhagen Flames, forZe, as well as Entropiq. Despite their heroic effort during this tournament, they just did not show their full potential in the grand finals. ENCE won both maps 16-6 and were crowned champions of the 9th season of LOOTBET. Here is how it ended:
What’s next?
As stated recently, ENCE’s main awper Allu is now on temporary leave. The next step for ENCE is to adapt and improve together with this new roster featuring their stand-in Hades. They’ve already between some of the best tier 2 teams, but now they must improve their consistency. Their next event is the Elisa Invitational Summer 2021, taking place between May and July.
Following the past few events for CS:GO, there’s an entire summer of competition to enjoy! Indeed, CS:GO ESL BLAST, both being event organizers, have announced some changes for events heading into the summer heat. Read on for a quick and concise recap!
CS:GO ESL BLAST Events – Swapping Two Dates
Credits: BLAST
Let’s get straight to the point and list out some of the main changes:
ESL Pro League Season 14 – OLD DATE (Sep 8 – Oct 10). NEW DATE (Aug 16 – Sep 12)
BLAST Premier Fall Groups – OLD DATE (Aug 26 – Sep 5). NEW DATE (Sep 16 – 26)
IEM Fall 2021 – Sep 28 – Oct 10
Now this is some exciting news for CS:GO fans! Definitely, these are the top events to look out for following the player break in summer. For those unaware, this is the gap between July 19 and August 15th were players take a nice break.
These changes have been carried out to ensure adequate spacing of events for both competitors and viewers.
In addition, ESL and BLAST have also issued a joint statement:
……{this will} benefit the CS:GO ecosystem by taking a unified approach to the governance of scheduling tournament dates, rulebook alignment, and integrity policies…..
Allu taking temporary leave from ENCE and competitive CS:GO – Why?
In ENCE’s statement, it is mentioned that the main reason for Allu’s break is due to personal reasons. We cannot know for sure what these personal reasons are, but de-motivation could certainly be a factor in all of this. Being a professional esports athlete nowadays is very stressful, especially in CS:GO. Schedules are filled with matches and events happening left, right and centre, and that could take a huge toll mentally.
Credits: Vectorama
For this, ENCE’s staff and coaches sAw and Willkey are prioritizing the wellbeing of Allu and are putting him on the side for the time being.
Who will replace Allu?
As a replacement, ENCE have revealed that the team will be fielding a stand-in for their upcoming events. The stand-in they have chosen is Polish 21-year-old Olek “hades” Miskiewicz. His first match with the team will be against SKADE in the LOOT.BET Season 9 Quarterfinals.
What’s next for ENCE?
ENCE has been struggling ever since they’ve started making roster changes back in 2020. Allu has been on this roster changing train for a very long time, and has shown struggles during recent competitions. Hopefully with this temporary break, Allu can return back to the main lineup with a fresh mentality and a stronger performance.
Entropiq acquiring EPG Family lineup for CS:GO – Who did they pick up?
As you may have seen recently, the newly signed Entropiq lineup was previously representing the Winstrike team. However, due to rumoured contractual breaches by the organization, the players parted ways and played as EPG Family. Since the parting ways, the team has stuck together and have been looking for a new organization to play for. But this did not mean that they were having some sort of break. The lineup went back into the server and continued practicing and competing.
In fact, they’ve recently just won 2 Tier 2 events in Europe and CIS. They’ve taken 1st place at the ESEA Season 36 Premier Division as well as at the Dell gaming League Russia Season 2. These attractive wins immediately caught the attention of the Entropiq staff, and that was probably the reason why they signed them on.
This is Entropiq’s new main lineup:
Players:
Aleksey “El1an” Gusev
Viktor “Lack1” Boldyrev
Aleksey “NickelBack” Trofimov
Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko
Igor “Forester” Bezotecheskiy
Coach:
Dmitry “hooch” Bogdanov
What happened to Entropiq’s previous team?
Despite signing a new lineup for CS:GO, the former Entropiq lineup is going nowhere. While they have lost the name for the main team, it has been revealed that the org is keeping the team but renaming it to Entropiq Prague.
Last weekend we saw Na’Vi win DreamHack Masters Spring 2021. They took down some of the best teams in Europe to be crowned champions. This is how they did it:
— DreamHack Counter-Strike (@DreamHackCSGO) May 9, 2021
Final Standings + Winnings
1st – $100,000 – Natus Vincere
2nd – $42,000 – Gambit Esports
3rd-4th – $20,000 – G2 Esports
3rd-4th – $20,000 – Heroic
5th-6th – $10,000 – Astralis
5th-6th – $10,000 – FURIA Esports
7th-8th – $6,000 – Virtus.pro
7th-8th – $6,000 – Team Vitality
9th – $5,000 – Team Spirit
10th – $5,000 – mousesports
11th – $5,000 – BIG
12th – $5,000 – Complexity Gaming
13th – $4,000 – Team Fiend
14th – $4,000 – FaZe Clan
15th – $4,000 – Extra Salt
16th – $4,000 – paiN Gaming
Na’Vi win DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 – How did they do it?
Group Stage
Na’Vi kicked off the event with a nail-biting victory over mousesports in the 1st round of the upper bracket. This got them into the 2nd round versus Virtus.pro in which Na’Vi won 2-0. From there, the team moved on to play #1 team in the world at the moment Gambit Esports. Here Gambit showed for another time why they are the best team out there, and took down Natus Vincere 2-1.
Playoffs
Even though Natus Vincere only placed 2nd in their group, they were still qualified for the playoffs. Here they first met against FURIA Esports in the quarterfinals in a best of 3. The first map was tiresome, consisting of 41rounds in total went towards the Brazilian squad. However the two maps that followed were in the hands of Na’Vi. Their next opponent was Heroic, another team that has been very dominant in 2021. It was a very close series overall, but in the end, it was Na’Vi that progressed.
Grand Finals
The finals were between Natus Vincere, and the team that beat them in the group stage, Gambit Esports. Gambit have become familiar with the Grand Final series’ and have been an avid winner of them too. This time round it was not to be however, as Na’Vi carried the momentum from the playoffs onto the finals, winning all 3 maps in a row. Here are the final moments of the third map:
According to a report by Dust2.usCS:GO team Triumph have finalized their roster and are adding Ian “motm” Hardy as their permanent 5th. Read on to know more:
21-year-old Ian “motm” Hardy is a professional CS:GO player from North America. He’s been competing since 2016, when he first joined the Royal Flush Seven roster. He played for a couple more organisations, namely: Etherian E-Sports, Vireo.pro, ATK, Cloud9 and Extra Salt. Now with High Coast Esports moving away from CS:GO competition, motm has been given a golden opportunity to play with one of North America’s best teams.
Here are some of Motm’s best achievements:
4th in Flashpoint Season 1 – 14th April 2020 – $50,000
1st in NCS Grand Finals 2019 @ Fragadelphia 14 – 15th December 2019 – $20,000
7th/8th – EPL Season 10 Finals – 5th December 2019 – $17,000
Credits: DreamHack
With this addition, Triumph’s final roster is:
Alan “Shakezullah” Hardeman
Brendan “Bwills” Williams
Austin “Cooper-” Abadir
David “cynic” Polster
Ian “motm” Hardy
What’s next?
Motm has already aided the team, during the cs_summit 8 open qualifier. He helped them during the ESEA Premier Season 37 debut against the Big Chillin lineup also. Unfortunately the team didn’t fare well in the open qualifier as they only managed to place 3rd/4th, missing out on a qualification spot for the main event.
An official announcement is yet to be made but until then… Be sure to follow us on our website at www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!
Every now and then, competitive CS:GOshuffles up the map pool to keep things fresh and make way for edits. Accordingly, Valve announced a new change this past week. This time around, the CS:GOMap Ancient is being pulled into the Active Duty Map Pool, putting Train aside for the time being. Read on for some insight!
CS:GO Map Ancient – First Change Since March 2019
Indeed, this change is due. Accordingly, the last time the community enjoyed a change was all the way back in March 2019, when Cache came in to replace Vertigo.
However, while that change was fully supported, this move is not quite so. So much so, that the reaction from the side of the competitive community is certainly a mixed bag overall. The following are some of the more important opinions – those of some professional CS:GO players:
Let’s start with a player such as “EliGE” who is all for the change:
I've never seen a community hate any type of change in a game MORE than in CSGO. Same map pool for 2 decades. Same antique peripherals from 7 years ago😂😂
While that argument stands, it also means that many are quite attached to the classical map. This is exemplified by the guys over at Astralis showing their sadness:
But… WHY TRAIN.
— Astralis Counter-Strike (@AstralisCS) May 4, 2021
At this point in time, the change must be accepted. In my opinion, this offers an exciting shake up for both viewership and competition, with the CS:GO Map Ancient now on everybody’s radar.
