Home Blog Page 1982

YaLLa Esports, Lucid Dream share spoils – DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019 Day 2 Match 1

YaLLa Esports and Lucid Dream took one map each in Match 1 on Day 2 of DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019.

The match started on Mirage, with YaLLa on the offence. YaLLa got off to a strong start with a pistol round victory and followed up with a clean anti-eco. Lucid Dreams brought their rifles out in the third round and capitalized on the inferior weapons of YaLLa.

After Lucid Dream got their first round on the board, they were rock solid on their defence, winning 11 rounds in a row. YaLLa were back on board on the 14th round and close the first half with a 12-3 scoreline in favour of Lucid Dream. YaLLa are a team that like to stick together, play on compact structures and it was evident on their CT side, which was way better than their offence. Lucid Dream raced to a 14-6 lead. But, YaLLa were far from done. Everyone from the Middle-Eastern roster started stepping up individually, with superb plays from Senpai and 3ARKOOZ pulling it back to 14-14.

Lucid Dream finally got to match point but YaLLa shut down a B split to take the game to overtime. Senpai was having a phenomenal game picking 34 frags from the middle-eastern side.

The Thai stack continued to find success on the B site though as it boiled down to a 1v3 for PTC, who converted the round for Lucid Dream. YaLLa punished Lucid Dream for a fallible attempt to take control of A to put themselves on the Board in Overtime.

After the failed attempt, Lucid Dream went back to the tried and tested B split but YaLLa’s aggression at Mid completely shut them down, with the first overtime ending 2-1 (17-16) in the favour of YaLLa.

Lucid Dream though, didn’t even give YaLLa a look-in, locking down both the sites and closing out Mirage 19-17.

YaLLa started on the offence once again on Inferno, winning the pistol round and converting the following round with ease. Lucid Dream had a full buy thanks to an eco on the second round and that allowed them to put a successful defence at A.

YaLLa went for a force buy, with DEAD on the CZ and 3ARKOOZ having to make do with a Mac-10. The middle-Eastern stack sold the B fake well and cleared A with ease, forcing Lucid Dream to save their weaponry. The Thai stack chose to buy around the two-man save and somehow made it work to break YaLLa back again.

3ARKOOZ opened up the B site in the 7th round, forcing Lucid Dream into a 3-man save. The half ended 9-6 in favour of Lucid Dream. YaLLa though, started their defence well, lapping up the pistol round along with the following one, thanks to a 3k from Kheops on the anti-eco.

YaLLa took the lead soon, thanks to their controlled yet unanswered aggression as well as good chemistry on the A site. With the game poised at 12-10 in favour of YaLLa, the attackers went for a Mid execute fake to a slow B take, which was well read by YaLLa, putting them within 3 rounds of sealing Inferno.

YaLLa continued to reap the dividends of their aggression, always finding pickoffs. The sites were on absolute lock down as Lucid Dream failed to find any chink in YaLLa’s armour, with the defenders closing out Inferno 16-10, sharing the spoils.

‘We were a bunch of friends before this lineup was created’ – Devil | YaLLa Esports – DreamHack Delhi

YaLLa Esports are one of the invited teams at DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational. We sat down to talk to the roster about their current performances, visa issues, potential heading into 2020 and more.

TE: This is your first time visiting India. What are your first impressions of India so far?

Devil: First of all thanks for having us. The food is good; there is a lot of traffic – We almost died on the road five times. But, we’re still here. We’re good (laughs).

TE: You guys had a far from ideal campaign at ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND. A major part of it was down to the unavailability of the full roster due to visa issues. How frustrating is it to qualify for an event but not be able to take your full roster?

Devil: It was very frustrating. We wanted to go with our full team. Kheops and Remind were not with us. These guys are essential pieces of our game plan. We rely a lot on them. We barely got a few days of practice in with the stand-ins. The situation was not ideal. We tried our best; it was fun. We learned from the experience.

TE: You have been regularly engaged in practice sessions and scrims with European teams and have also been participating in event featuring European teams at large, including United Masters League Season 2. How beneficial has it been for you guys as a team?

Devil: That event in particular was important for us. The teams in general, were mostly top 50/60 on HLTV so it was a good step up for us and a good experience. In general, we went in just trying to learn as much as possible and we noticed a ton of mistakes. We are working on getting better and doing better at such events in the future.

TE: You have your full roster here. What are your minimum expectations from DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019?

Devil: Personally, I think we can reach the finals. We are preparing as much as possible. These guys can destroy any squad. We are confident.

TE: This lineup has a mixture of four countries. How is the communication and chemistry within the roster?

Devil: I know all of them. We have been friends for over 3 years. Kheops, Remind played all their entire career together. Senpai, DEAD also played together for a good while. 3ARKOOZ knows everyone from before. We were a bunch of friends before this lineup came to be. The chemistry is really good. You might see us fighting each other here, having fun. It’s normal. Don’t worry. (laughs)

TE: What is ahead for YaLLa Esports after DreamHack Delhi? What is the aim for 2020?

Devil: Before coming to DreamHack, we qualified for WESG and we are looking forward to compete at the event and climb as far up the HLTV Rankings as possible.

TE: Anything you want to say to your fans, shoutouts or anything in general?

YaLLa: First of all, we would like to thank DreamHack for the opportunity; for inviting us to the event. This is our first big LAN event with our full lineup. It will be a good experience for us. We want to prove we are worthy of the invite and show the world we are present in the scene.

Goliath, pro100 book semi-final spot: DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational Day 1 Recap

The 55,000 USD flagship event in Delhi began with the Group featuring the likes of Orgless Five, Goliath Gaming and pro100 in a Round Robin Best of 2 format.

Match 1 (Orgless Five vs Goliath Gaming)

Train started with Orgless on the offence. The Indian stack won the pistol round and the ensuing round. But, things soon started to falter. Goliath Gaming turned the tide and then continued to impress, locking down both sites with individual plays from the likes of adaro, massacRe and ZipZip.

Orgless tried to do a Goliath, shutting down the A site regularly, with the help of some immaculate plays from DeathMaker. But, Goliath broke through on an eco round with a well calculated B split through Ivy, going on to secure the map 16-10.

Goliath started with dominance on the T side, racing to a 5-0 lead, with the South African stack targeting the B site most of the times. A brilliant 2k spraydown at Mid from HuNtR put Orgless on the board.

But, Goliath IGL massacRe returned fire with a 3k ensuring their A split paid dividends to break Orgless back. haiVaan then decided to take matters into his own hands with a 3k while aggressing at B halls to double the number of rounds for Orgless.

Orgless won another round before a 3k from adaro halted the Indian train. A quadkill from ZipZip on the 14th Round, which included a brilliant 1v3, saw Goliath touch double figures. Goliath ended strong with a 11-4 lead. The South African stack looked to end things early winning the pistol with a 3k from adaro with the MP9 on the anti-eco.

DeathMaker though, had something to say about it and delivered for Orgless, with quadkill handing Entity a win in the post-plant situation. The map soon became a back-and-forth affair, with Goliath ultimately closing out Inferno 16-10 and the series 2-0.

Match 2 (Orgless Five vs pro100)

Orgless Five started their map pick Train with a pistol round victory on the T-Side but their lead was levelled by a forcebuy victory from Goliath. Orgless were running down the clock quite often in the initial rounds with came back to haunt them on multiple occasions.

It was a disappointing T Side considering Train was their map pick, as they only managed 3 rounds to close the half 12-3. The second half saw Orgless start with two consecutive round losses before they got back on board. They looked much refined as they managed 6 rounds on the defensive side but the South African side needed only 4 of their own to take the map, which was only a matter of time considering how seasoned the offence of Goliath was as they closed the map 16-9.

Goliath started their map pick Inferno with a 5 round streak. Orgless didnโ€™t seem to find their footing until the 6th round. Although Inferno is considered as a CT sided map, Orgless didnโ€™t put much resistance having managed only 4 rounds. adaro and mango were up to their usual tricks finding entries and playing off of their teammates to close out the rounds some of which got very close. Complete elimination in the final two rounds helped close the first half with an 11-4 in favour of Goliath.

Goliath started their defence with a pistol round victory and they built upon it with a successful anti-eco. Orgless capitalized on their bonus round and continued their dominance till 5 rounds. Goliath traded a round with Orgless, after which they only 2 more rounds to take the map, which they did to close it out with a 16-10 scoreline.

Match 3 (pro100 vs Goliath Gaming)

The third match of the day 1 was between pro100 and Goliath Gaming. Pro100 in their previous game were looking a bit shaky as they lose the second map to tie the scoreline with the Indian stack.

The South African roster started with a Pistol win on the defence and converted the following round. Although, the CIS stack immediately with 9 consecutive rounds of their own and ended the first half with a pretty dominant scoreline of 10-5.

Goliath won the second pistol as well as the following round. The teams started trading rounds but the CIS roster was in no mood to surrender their lead and won the map with a 16-11 scoreline on Goliath’s map pick.

The second map was even more dominant as Train was their own map pick which started with a pistol win. pro100 converted the next 4 rounds on the offence. Goliath retaliated with one round of their own but there was no stopping the CIS roster today and they closed the half with same scoreline as Inferno, 10-5.

Pro100 allowed only 3 rounds on Goliath’s offensive side and won the map and the match with 16-8 and a 2-0 scoreline.

Goliath and pro100 have secured their place in the semi-finals at DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019, with Orgless Five missing out. The Indian stack did take a map off of pro100 and could have added more to their tally on another day.

‘They (Orgless Five) had good aim but we had the better game plan’ – LighteRTZ

Goliath Gaming are one of the two teams that booked their place in the semi-finals, which are scheduled to happen on Day 3 of DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019.

We got a chance to talk with the Goliath Gaming team after their 2-0 win over Orgless Five in the opening series of the day, with the focus being the match and associated topics.

TE: This is your first time in India and now you have got your first win in the bag at the event. What are your first impressions of the country, the setup at DreamHack Delhi and everything?

LighteRTZ: It was pretty good. Most of the players are young and it was important to get this win under the belt. Getting this win was a boost of confidence we needed for the games to come. Coming here for the first time, this was kind of a culture shock for us. But, you guys have put on such a good environment for us; the stage is good, the setup is working. Everything has been going according to the plan so far.

TE: You just played Orgless Five. What did you make of your Indian counterparts?

LighteRTZ: They hit their shots, which is kind of nice to see as it means the aim is there; the skill level was there. But, in the end, our game plan, structure and mid-round decision making was a bit better than theirs. The final scoreline reflected everything.

TE: You [mango] are only 15 and have come into the lineup recently at Goliath. You seem to have adjusted well. What is your personal aim going into 2020?

mango: It feels pretty good. I can only get better and my aim for 2020 is to try and work as hard as I can and help my teammates as much as possible.

TE: You guys have come into the event after a period of roster instability, with Detrony returning to Bravado after the end of his loan spell. Is this the roster for 2020?

adaro: We were looking to build for the future. That is why we picked mango on a permanent basis. He is a talented youngster. As far as this being the permanent roster is concerned, we will see after this LAN.

TE: What are your expectations from the current roster at DreamHack Delhi 2019?

adaro: I think we will do great. The last two weeks, each one of my teammates have put in the work, with 120 plus hours in the game. That’s gonna come through. I think this is going to be a good event for us.

For more updates about DreamHack Delhi, click here.

autimatic koosta and daps leave Cloud9 for Gen.G

1

Korean powerhouse Gen.G, who recently took home the PUBG Global Championship have picked up 3 players from the North American esports organization Cloud9 to announce their entry into the CS:GO scene.

Timothy “autimatic” Ta, Kenneth “koosta” Suen, and Damian “daps” Steele have left Cloud9 for Gen.G and the assistant coach of Cloud 9 has been appointed as the head coach for the new line-up.

Gen.G are now:

  • Timothy “autimatic” Ta
  • Damian “daps” Steele
  • Kenneth “koosta” Suen
  • Chris “Elmapuddy” Tebbit (coach)

Only three players have been confirmed so far but announcements are expected in the coming weeks and according to Dexerto they are hoping to acquire the services of Georgi โ€˜โ€™SHiPZโ€ Griorov.  Cloud 9 are sticking with JamezIRL and mixwell and the situation surrounding TenZ is still unclear.

NaVi edge out EG to reach ESL Pro League Semi-Finals

0

Natus Vincere beat Evil Geniuses 16-5 on Mirage, followed by 16-11 on Nuke to book themselves a spot in the Semi-Finals of ESL Pro League Season 10.

ESL Pro League Season 10 held in Odense saw Natus Vincere take on heavy favorites Evil Geniuses in the upper bracket finals with a semi-final spot on stake. Both sides came into this match up with a clean record, without dropping a single map. NaVi were ranked 14th coming into this tournament which was an understatement considering the performance they delivered.

MAP 1: Mirage(Evil Geniusesโ€™s Pick)

NaVi had a strong start to their defense, winning 4 rounds on the trot before EG broke their duck to get on board. EG continued their streak till 6 rounds which they followed by trading round-for-round only to have Peter โ€˜stanislawโ€™ Jarguz close the first half with a 3K and a 9-6 scoreline in their favour. Once EG swapped side, NaVi seem to be able to put up a much better fight against them. But, Tvsetelin โ€˜CeRqโ€™ Dmitrovโ€™s AWP came alive which made the difference to give EG the upper hand against NaVi. CeRq delivered two 3Ks in two rounds to snatch away the first map with a 12-16 scoreline.

MAP 2: Dust 2(NaViโ€™s Pick)

Dust 2 was a fine pick for NaVi as they looked much refined. The boys in yellow came out all guns blazing, on their T-Side only dropping four rounds in the first half. The CIS roster had EGโ€™s number, although EG came close on many occasions but individual brilliance, one from the likes of Denis โ€˜electronicโ€™ Sharipov where he had to clutch a 1v3 in the pistol round bailed them out tough situation time and time again. CeRq on the final round of the first half showed up with a 3K to close the half with an 11-4 scoreline. NaViโ€™s defense started with a clinical 4K from Oleksandr โ€˜s1mpleโ€™ Kostyliev and they kept building upon it. EG werenโ€™t allowed more than 1 round from them as NaVi leveled the series after dominating Dust 2 16-5.

MAP 3: Nuke(Decider)

The deciding MAP started with NaVi on the defense. NaVi heavily focused on defending the sites, giving the outer control for free on many occasions, which let EG call for last-minute rotations quite often which came back to haunt NaVi. Nuke is considered as a CT sided map and NaVi winning only 7 rounds is a disappointing start to their deciding map. EG coming confidently into the CT in the second half didnโ€™t expect what NaVi had in store for them. s1mple and Igor โ€˜flamieโ€™ Vasilyev came onto their own dropping 26 and 25 bombs respectively.  They ran over the North Americans on the T side winning  9 rounds with perfect executes and effective trading as they booked a place in the semi-finals with a 16-11 scoreline.

Stewie2K becomes first NA CSGO player to reach $1 million in prizes

In the recently ending ECS Season 8 Finals, Stewie2k and his organization Team Liquid ended up second in and against Astralis.

Though they ended up losing the tournament it didnโ€™t stop Stewie to still nail it like a boss! Yes!! you read that right, Stewie became the first-ever NA player to earn in a total of $1 million in just tournament earnings.

Young Stewie2K got his Major breakthrough in 2016 when he joined Cloud9, one of the biggest Esports organization in NA.

Before that, he used to play Counter-Strike with teams like Splyce and SapphireKelownaDotcom there he enjoyed some success in the domestic scene.

During his time in Cloud9, Stewie2K is said to have earned $400,000 with the team in the popular tournaments and the Eleague Boston Major in 2018.

Currently, Stewie2K is the 6th player in the club of Millionaires the top 5 being the Astralis Lineup.

OG announce entry into CSGO with lineup led by Aleksib

OG have announced their entry into the Counter Strike Global Offensive scene, unveiling their lineup led by former ENCE star Aleksi ‘Aleksib’ Virolainen.

Nathan ‘NBK-‘ Schmitt, who was benched by Vitality, teams up with Aleksib and Valdemar ‘valde’ Bjorn Vangsa, who has been bought out of his North contract.

Issa ‘ISSAA’ Murad comes in from HellRaisers after the CIS giants revamped their roster after the Starladder Berlin Major.

The final member is somewhat of a wildcard but has been in the scene for a fair while. Mateusz ‘mantuu’ Wilczewski has been playing actively for Alternate Attax and joins the newly formed OG lineup as the Primary AWPer.

OG CSGO:

Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen

Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt

Valdemar “valde” Bjรธrn Vangsรฅ

Issa “ISSAA” Murad

Mateusz “mantuu” Wilczewski

A roster full of promise and an organization that has captured the imagination of Esports fans worldwide with their success in Dota 2; can this combination usher in success and glory for the two in CSGO?

10 Reasons why DreamHack Delhi Invitational is the place to be

0

We are less than 48 hours away from DreamHack Delhi Invitational 2019 and the enthusiasts are waiting in anticipation of the spectacle that will light up the NSIC Exhibition Grounds in Okhla Industrial Area.

There is an array of disciplines where participants can duel with each other for a handsome pocket change while the main attractions like CSGO have professional teams competing for the lion’s share of a 55,000 USD prize pool.

DreamHack Delhi is an event for all facets of the gaming community. We enlist a few reasons why DreamHack Delhi Invitational 2019 is a must-attend for you.

BYOD events

DreamHack have, in addition to BYOC events, have introduced BYOD events for the first time in India for the Delhi Invitational. The category features popular disciplines like FIFA 20 and Rocket League, both of which can be played on consoles.

Apart from the console games, BYOD participants have access to Dota Underlords, Clash Royale, Mobile Legends and Brawl Stars, all of which are games that are playable through your mobile devices. All of the games have handsome prizes that the BYOD participants can fight for.

Get a feel of the old and the new

The BYOC events feature an array of intriguing disciplines for pariticpants to take part, have fun and also win prize money while at it. But, the highlight is the contrast in the games available.

While Rainbow Six-Siege is a game that is gaining popularity and just had a very successful event in ESL India Fall Season, the likes of Dota Underlords and Rocket League are games that have built their own niche community in the country.

The highlight, as mentioned above though, is the presence of both CSGO and CS 1.6 along with Dota 2 at BYOC. Fans of the game can have a feel of nostalgia with 1.6 and a sense of ecstacy playing Dota 2 after the game-changing Outlanders Update. Not to mention the prize money at grabs in each discipline.

Mouthful CSGO action featuring international teams

Yalla Esports and Goliath Gaming have so far been confirmed to be attending DreamHack Delhi Invitational 2019. Along with the two teams, Lucid Dream has managed to qualify for the event through the Indian Online Qualifier.

Hellraisers and pro100 have been added to the list. The main attraction though is set to be Orgless Five, the Indian stack that grabbed the spot through the ESL INDIA Fall Season Finale.

With the teams set to be divided into two groups and set to face each one in their own group twice in a RO2 Round Robin format, Orgless Five going up against the foreign talent will be quite a spectacle.

Fans can cheer them on as the Indian stack attempt to emulate or even better the performance from Signify at DreamHack Mumbai Invitational.

Cosplay Competition

Cosplay competition is the staple of every Major event in esports disciplines. The Indian Cosplayers have already gained a lot of reputation after a stellar show of talent at TI 9.

DreamHack Delhi Invitational 2019 will have its own Cosplay competition on all 3 days of the event, with a daily prize of INR 50,000. There are international cosplayers that would be present at the event as guest judges in what is set to be an enthralling display of skills from cosplayers.

Subscribe to Nostalgia with Retro and Tabletop Games

Who doesn’t love to live the past, eh? Most of the attendees would have a memory of playing the arcade, tabletop games along with Retro disciplines. To top it off, you can also win prizes for being the best at the games that will be available.

Get your favourite Merchandise and Represent your favourites

There has always been a gap between the favourite brands and teams in Esports and the availability of original jerseys in India. Avoid paying shipping fees and get it right from the Merchandise section at DreamHack Delhi.

You can get your hands on team jerseys, miscellaneous apparels, toys, plushies and more at the event.

Stand-up Comedy

While the list of comedians attending the event is yet to be announced, comedy has become a staple of everyone’s lives and the Indian Comedy scene has been on the up and up for a while.

Expect some lip-smacking comedy to lighten your moods and give a different taste at DreamHack. Expect top names to entertain the crowd.

Streamer Zone and Meet and Greets

A lot of popular streamers and personalities have already been confirmed at the event. PUBG Mobile star Naman ‘Mortal’ Mathur has been invited to the event while there are many others who have confirmed their attendance. Meet your favourite Indian streamers and personalities from the world of Youtube and Twitch.

Device Modding

A niche that has gained so much popularity in India, of late. Put your PC modding skills to the test, with a total prize pool of INR 100,000 up for grabs over the three days of the event.

You can even bring your already modded PC to the BYOC and it will qualify for the event or you can assemble it on the spot.

Know the business side of Esports

Most of the attendees would be unaware of the Business that is Esports. Learn the business side of it as you learn more and more about this aspect and quench your thirst for the same.

There are lots more in store for you at DreamHack Delhi. Hurry on in and get your tickets for the event.

DreamHack Delhi Invitational Team Spotlight: Orgless Five

The only domestic representation at DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational 2019, Orgless Five will be looking to emulate Signify or perhaps do one better against international opposition.

The Squad

Orgless Five came to be from the core of the OG Signify lineup. Later though, Agneya ‘Marzil’ Koushik departed and Lukas ‘yb’ Groning soon followed suit. The current lineup is just a temporary one and DreamHack Delhi will be the last event we will see these five players together on the same side on a server, at least for now.

Tejas ‘Ace’ Sawant is the most experienced player from the stack and the only one to have SEA experience under his belt, from his tenure at XCN. Debanjan ‘DeathMaker’ Das had already joined Entity a few months ago but decided to play the ESL INDIA Fall Season with his Orgless Five friends, hence his qualification for DreamHack with this stack.

Sabyasachi ‘antidote’ Bose and DeathMaker are now on the same team, with the duo teaming up with their former JMD teammate Sagnik ‘hellf’ Roy at Global Esports. The 23-year-old is one of the two ex-Optic India players on the roster and wields the Big Green Gun with the mobility and accuracy that is very hard to find in the country.

Ishpreet ‘HuNtR’ Singh is the designated Marzil replacement and perhaps rightly so. The 23-year-old is one of the best mechanical aimers in the country and is famed for his ability to be a threat while wielding any weapon available.

The second of the two Optic India members on the Orgless Five stack, Vishal ‘haiVaan’ Sharma came into the lineup after yb left. The 26-year-old is one of the two stars on the roster that are yet to announce their new home and will likely rely on a noteworthy performance at DreamHack Delhi to garner the attention of teams.

The Only Indian Hope

Orgless Five have achieved a lot, especially since Signify ceased to exist. Without the support of an organization, the stack continued to dominate the domestic circuit at large and further proved their ability after winning the ESL INDIA Premiership Fall Season LAN Finals over Global Esports.

The fact that Orgless Five will be the only Indian representation at the DreamHack Delhi CSGO Invitational will further motivate the stack for one last hurrah before they go their separate ways.

Expectation

It is anyone’s guess as to what we can come to expect from Orgless Five in terms of potential results at DreamHack Delhi. They will look to provide a tough fight to pro100 but their aim will be to beat Goliath and claim one of the two semi-final spots available from their group.

One thing you can definitely anticipate is passionate gameplay from the five players, who have given their all despite having no support for months now. We hope Orgless Five make it to the Final day of DreamHack. But, it will be a tough ask, given that the players have already started practicing with their respective new teams.