Home Blog Page 2101

OpTic India qualify for ESL Pro League Season 8 Asia

Bhavya Shah
-
1
OpTic India qualify for ESL Pro League Season 8 Asia

OpTic India have convincingly grabbed the trophy in Hyderabad after defeating Slaughter Rage Army (SRA) 2-0. Along with this, the North-American organization has also grabbed it’s slot at the ESL Pro League Season 8, Asia. OpTic India will battle with the winner of SEA Qualifier, winner of China Qualifier and the runner-up of Chinese Qualifier; the supreme will make it’s way all the way to the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals at Sparekassen Fyn Arena in Odense, Denmark from December 4-9.

Photo via ESL India

OpTic India has been undefeated throughout the online season having 11 wins and losing none. OpTic banned Mirage and Cache; picked up Nuke. While the boys from Kolkata removed Overpass & Train and picked up their best map, Dust II. Inferno was left over to be the decider of this best-of-three encounter.

  • Nuke: OpTic India 16–3 SRA

  • Dust II: OpTic India 16–6 SRA

Snapshot via HLTV.org

OpTic on the Terrorist side, grabbed the pistol round in no time followed by the second round merely losing one in each round. OpTic went for a quick outer play in the first buy round and went forward with an early 4-0 lead on the Terrorist side. OpTic, one again rushed outer with a smoke wall followed by inside rush in the sixth round and registered sixth round on the scoreboard.

OpTic secured the following two rounds while the lads from Kolkata didn’t get anything as of yet. SRA finally won the ninth round after shutting down some sloppy pushes from OpTic and secured the first round. In all succession, SRA only managed to get three rounds and OpTic bagged the first map 16-3.

OpTic started on defense in SRA’s map pick, Dust II. Pistol round was pretty one sided favoring OpTic as they went for an early map control towards short-A and yB concluded with a triple-kill of his own towards long-A. SRA went for a quick B-play but the utility usage from OpTic haulted SRA’s plans but they did get the bomb down alongside killing two defenders at the B-site.

OpTic closed down the first buy round after merely losing Marzil and secured the fourth round on board. SRA was falling apart one-by-one as they couldn’t trade the kills. Aflekx got a triple-kill in the fifth round but his side couldn’t get anything further. OpTic made no mistakes and added the seventh round in their bag with Marzil and Antidote getting all five kills with the big green gun.

Scoreboard appeared 7-0 in the favor of OpTic India. OpTic straight up rushed mid and long-A against pistols merely losing yB in the encounter. SRA finally got the first round with an early two-man advantage after The_Guru killed both OpTic AWPers – Marzil and Antidote. As always, the in-game-leader led from the front and lived up to his name, The_Guru.

OpTic didn’t let them settle as Marzil grabbed a triple with his AWP to seal the round 9-1. SRA’s economy crumbled and they were down to pistols in the eleventh round. OpTic had no problem winning against the pistols and haiVaan got a triple of his own. OpTic did get an early pick in the twelfth round but DreaM replied back with two quick frags and the round went in SRA’s bag.

Photo via SRA

Boys from Kolkata went for mid-round mid-to-B split and OpTic couldn’t act in time as the communication was not on point; SRA caught Marzil off-guard and cleared the B-site to get third round. A ray of hope could be seen as SRA was mounting a comeback. OpTic went down one by one in the upcoming round as Negative got a 3k of his own to secure the fourth round. OpTic bank finally drained as they were down to pistol in the last round of the first half. First half ended 10-5 with OpTic’s dominance.

OpTic smoked the x-box and went for a quick short-A play in the second pistol round of the second map. DreaM held his ground with a double kill on defense but yB clutched the round with a 1vs2 post plant scenario to hault SRA’s comeback. Aflekx an amazing triple kill towards short-A but Marzil edged past to move forward with a 12-5 lead. Since then, SRA could only sneak one round and there was no looking back for the OpTic squad. They grabbed Dust II 16-6 to lift the trophy in Hyderabad.

Final Standings:

1.ย ย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ OpTic India –ย $6,750 + ESL Pro League Season 8 Asia

2.ย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย Slaughter Rage Army –ย $3,375

3-4. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Team Brutality –ย $1,687

3-4. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ 2ez Gaming –ย $1,687

 

 

PLG Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi with $100,000 announced, 8 teams invited

Parth Gada
-
2
PLG Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi with $100,000 announced, 8 teams invited

In what is huge news for Indian CSGO fans, Power League Gaming has announced a 16 team CSGO event to be held in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi from December 12-16, with a prize pool of $100000.

The great news for Indian teams is that while 8 of the 16 teams will be invited, India along with SEA will share 1 of the 8 regions to have a guaranteed spot to the event by means of a regional qualifier.

The other regions vying for a spot at the finals are South America, GCC & South Asia, East Asia, North America, South East Asia, Levant & Africa, Europe, and Oceania.

he manager of Power League Gaming and former Risky player Abdulla โ€œt0ksโ€ Al-Ghafari hopes that this event brings new, talented teams into the foray.

The PLG Grand Slam focuses mainly on providing an opportunity for teams that are looking for a breakthrough. We are not aiming to create a world-class spectacle but rather a high-standard event that will have all necessary elements for a player, team, talent member, and spectators to enjoy being a part of.

Although there is no information right now on the teams to be invited, at the very least Tier 2 or even some Tier 1 teams could be in the mix, which makes this a potentially exciting tournament of fans from regions that do not boast international recognition and skill, the likes of which are India and Africa, and can be a stepping stone for them to learn from the very best. This is also a huge for the CSGO community in general, as it is a stepping stone for inclusiveness among other, less known regions.

The Indian and SEA qualifiers begin on the 4th of November, which features a single elimination best of 1 format with the semis and the finals being B03 matches hosted by FACEIT. OpTic India is the front runner from the Indian side of things, having had a dominant run thus far. However, they are yet to prove themselves in Asia, but the signs look promising, after they gave a tough fight to MVP PK in the Toyota Master Bangkok 2018 SEA Qualifier, including a narrow double overtime loss in Inferno.

Teams can register for the tournament on this link: bit.ly/2OnQTLB

Here is the full list of qualifiers:

  • South America (October 26-27)
  • GCC & South Asia (October 28-29)
  • East Asia (October 30-31)
  • North America (November 1-3)
  • South East Asia & India (November 4-6)
  • Levant & Africa (November 7-9)
  • Europe (November 12-15)
  • Oceania (November 16-17)

 

In the earlier version of the article we erroneously reported that India had a direct spot at the PLG Grand Slam Abu Dhabi, where in fact, that spot is shared by India and SEA and will be decided through a qualifier. We regret the mistake and have updated the article.

 

Kinguin Win ESL Polish Championship

Parth Gada
-
1
Kinguin Win ESL Polish Championship

Kinguin have won the ESL One Polish Championship after they beat PACT 2-0 (16-13 on Overpass and 16-7 on Cache)

The Finals featured 4 teams, who fought single elimination BO3 matches in a bid to get a lionโ€™s share of the $16000 pool.

The other finalist, PACT, was a surprise entrant, having made their way to the ESL Polish Championship finals having beaten Xcom 2-0 in the qualifiers, and then crushing favourites AGO, who had a 13-1 record in the regular season, 16-7 on both Overpass and Inferno.

The first map was a very close affair, with a monstrous performance by Karol โ€œrallenโ€ Rodowicz that ensured an overtime was avoided. He finished with an ADR of 105, K/D of 1.63 and an HLTV rating of 1.55.

Snapshot from HLTV.org

Kinguinโ€™s map pick, Cache, was a much easier affair with the Polish side taking 11 rounds on the T side, and ultimately winning 16-6.

Incidentally, it was Wiktor โ€œTaZโ€ Wojtasโ€™ first win since Dream Masters Las Vegas 2017, and the first with his new team Kinguin, after they missed out on a championship at Zotac Cup Masters 2018.

ESL Polish Championship Season 17 Final Standings:

  1. Kinguin –ย $8,070
  2. PACT –ย  $4,035
  3. AGO –ย $2,015
  4. Izako Boars –ย $2,015

Picture by HLTV.

Mousesports consider benching Snax – Report

Parth Gada
-
2
Mousesports consider benching Snax – Report

According to a report by VPEsports, the German organization will take a decision regarding the future in the active roster in the upcoming days, after the Polish star was not involved in a meeting involving the future of the team.

According to the report, the team was contemplating a change after a disastrous FACEIT Major, with Tomรกลก โ€œoskarโ€ ล ลฅastnรฝ being the one to come under the hammer, but were saved by a surprise victory at ESL One New York 2018.

The obvious favorite to replace him is Martin “STYKO” Styk who is currently a free agent after his loan spell with Cloud9 ended a short while back and was instrumental in Mousesports being a consistent top 5 team before he left in July this year.

After the arrival of Snax, the team had mixed results with Semi-Final appearances at ELEAGUE Premier and Dreamhack Stockholm, and also a 9-12th finish at ESL One Cologne. The FACEIT Major was the worst of all, finishing with a record of 0-3 and placing 15th-16th, which made them consider their roster, and despite a victory at New York, the group stage loss at Starseries I-League is perhaps the final nail in the coffin.

The inclusion of Snax has always come under question, because of his play style and what he brings to the team is already something they possess. They have 2 stellar, arguably the worldโ€™s finest awpers in ChrisJ and Oskar, as well as some of the finest talents in ropz and SuNny. Perhaps was Snax offered was similar to the other 4, and the player who he replaced, STYKO, is one of the finest support players in the world, and that has caused to shift the balance of the team, causing huge rifts within the team itself.

Picture by HLTV.

Royal Bandits to skip Zowie eXTREMESLAND 2018 Due to Visa Issues

Parth Gada
-
0
Royal Bandits to skip Zowie eXTREMESLAND 2018 Due to Visa Issues

The Turkish team were not able to acquire visas to China, including the express method, and will miss the event which had Turkish qualifiers for the first time in its history, after booking their place by beating Bursaspor Espor 2-0 in the Grand Finals.


It is not the first time Turkish teams have had visa problems, with the most notable incident being the absence of Engin “ngiN” Kor in the FACEIT Major 2018, who was replaced by their coach Canpolat “hardstyle” Yฤฑldฤฑra. This led to the high flying Turkish side to crash out of the Challengers stage.

This means that as of now, only 15 teams remain, with Group D having only BOOT-d[S], TNC and XCN. It remains to be seen if the Bandits are replaced to fill the full quota of 16.

The current team list is the following:

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผย Sad Story

๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ทย MVP PK

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ TNC

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Chiefs

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ D13

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ Flash

๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Beyond

๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ตย SCARZ Absolute

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ FrostFire

๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณย Revolution

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ XCN

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ OpTic India

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช NASR

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ 5POWER

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌย BOOT -d[S]

 

Groups revealed for ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND Asia 2018

Bhavya Shah
-
1
Groups revealed for ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND Asia 2018

ZOWIE eXTREMESLAND has been a prominent event as far as the Asian scene is considered. All the fifteen regional qualifiers have ended and sixteen teams have been finalized for the premiere event. Zowie eXTREMESLAND is all set to host it’s 3rd edition in Shanghai, China from October 18-21 and the organizers have revealed the groups for the same.

Group AGroup BGroup CGroup D
5POWER GamingFlash Gaming OpTic India Executioners
NASR eSports Beyond Esports MVP PK B.O.O.T-dream[S]cape
SZ Absolute Chiefs eSports FrostFire TNC
D13Sad StoryRevolutionRoyal Bandits

$100,000 USD event will feature a double-elimination group stage with opening matches and winner matches featuring a best-of-one format while the losers match would be best-of-three. All the matches will be streamed live on Twitch over the span of four days.

Stay tuned for additional details regarding the talent line-up.

HeatoN steps down as brand ambassador of NiP

Bhavya Shah
-
1
HeatoN steps down as brand ambassador of NiP

In an official press release, Ninjas in Pyjamas have revealed that Emil โ€œHeatoNโ€ Christensen has parted ways with the prestigious organization as he seeks to endorse elsewhere. Although, he will still be a shareholder of Ninjas. Ninjas in Pyjamas claimed that it has parted ways to ‘avoid conflict of interest’ as the legend seeks to work with other brands.


Ninjas in Pyjamas also thanked Emil for his contribution in shaping the organization and helping it build huge fanbase in Sweden and throughout the globe. HeatoN had played under the Ninjas in Pyjamas banner in 2001 under Tommy โ€œPottiโ€ Ingemarsson. Apart from this, he helped NiP establish into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, acquiring the service of GeT_RiGhT, Xizt, f0rest, Friberg and Fifflaren in 2012.

Hicham Chahine, CEO, NiP:

Today marks the end of an amazing run for Emil Christensen here at Ninjas in Pyjamas. Without him and the 5 players which brought Ninjas in Pyjamas back to life in 2012, we would not have been here today. We are extremely grateful for his time with us, and I have personally enjoyed working with him over the years.

As the business has changed and matured over the years, Emil and NiP have grown apart with time. Being part of Ninjas in Pyjamas as an ambassador and public profile has certain expectations and requirements, where both parties acknowledge and agree that parting ways is in the best interest of both Emil and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

I am excited to continue working with Emil in a different role as he will remain a shareholder. The decision has matured over time, where we both feel it is the natural next step. Thank you for everything so far, and see you in the boardroom!

India gets playoff Spot for ESL Pro League Asia Finals

Parth Gada
-
1
India gets playoff Spot for ESL Pro League Asia Finals

In a move that is said to boost the countryโ€™s hopes of a more international presence, ESL in its press release has announced that India would be getting a playoff spot, where it would be competing against 3 more teams for a spot at the ESL Pro League Finals at Odense, Denmark.

The winner of the ESL India Premiership Finals, to be held in Hyderabad on the 13th and 14th of October, will move on to the Asia Playoffs, where they will face the winners of the China and SEA region for a chance to be Asiaโ€™s sole entrant for the finals.

China will get 2 slots for the Asia Playoffs, whereas the ANZ winner will get a direct entry to the global finals. This announcement is one of the first steps to recognize India as a growing scene within the Asian community, including the formation of OpTic India, who are undoubtedly the favourites for this spot.

Other changes in the APAC region include 2 spots for the playoffs in China. The playoffs will be played on October 23, with a single elimination best of 3 format, and the csgo community will have its eyes over it as it will be very interesting to see who gets the sole Asian entry.

CSGO update for 10/9/18: Valve brings huge changes in Economy

Parth Gada
-
1
CSGO update for 10/9/18: Valve brings huge changes in Economy

The new update from Valve (1.36.5.6) brings changes in the economy, while the CZ-75 and Tec-9 have been tweaked to make them more balanced.

The most notable, and potentially impactful change is the pistol round loss bonus. Both teams will receive $1900, with the loser getting $2400, $2900 and $3400 in subsequent losses and the loss bonus is reset to $1400 after the first round.

According to Valve, the move aims at “reducing the impact of a pistol round win on subsequent rounds.โ€ This means that teams winning both pistols will have a distinct disadvantage, as prior to the update winning both pistols increased the chances of getting 6 rounds before the first gun round began.

Other changes include reducing the fire inaccuracy of the Tec9, making it a more viable option at medium range encounters whereas the CZ75 has been made more inaccurate and the recoil rate has been increased. The prices of the SG553 and AUG has also been reduced to $2750 and $3150 respectively in a bid to make to make it more attractive in competitive play.

Finally, community maps Biome and Subzero have been made available in casual matchmaking as a part of Group Sigma, while Austria is now available in competitive matchmaking.

The full update is as follows:

[GAMEPLAY]

  • Adjusted the start-of-half economy with the goal of reducing the impact of a pistol round win on subsequent rounds.
  • In Competitive Matchmaking, both teams are now considered to start the half with a one-round โ€˜losing streakโ€™ that is reset following a round win. Instead of $1400, the Round 1 loser receives $1900, then $2400 for a subsequent loss, etc.
  • The start-of-half losing streak can be adjusted via โ€œmp_starting_lossesโ€
  • CZ75a: Adjusted the CZ75a to encourage semi-automatic fire at medium and long ranges.
  • increased recoil and fire inaccuracy
  • slightly improved accuracy recovery rate
  • Tec9: Adjustments to make the weapon more forgiving at medium rates of fire.
  • reduced fire inaccuracy
  • slightly improved accuracy recovery rate
  • SG553 price reduced to $2750
  • AUG price reduced to $3150

[MAPS]

  • Austria is now available in Competitive Matchmaking.
  • Austria has been moved into Group Delta in official Casual matchmaking.
  • New Community maps Biome and Subzero are now available in Casual >matchmaking as part of Group Sigma.
  • Canals has been removed from Competitive Matchmaking.
  • Shipped and Insertion are no longer available in official matchmaking.

[AUDIO]

  • Added a โ€œVOIP Positionalโ€ audio setting. When this setting is enabled, in-game voice audio will be played from the position the player is standing at.

[MISC]

  • Enabled mouse bindings for voice chat to work at the end of match scoreboard.
  • Fixed backlog of async events in scoreboard causing performance problems during gameplay.

ESL announces qualifier schedule for 2019 Katowice Major, removes minor invites

Parth Gada
-
1
ESL announces qualifier schedule for 2019 Katowice Major, removes minor invites

ESL has announced in a statement that it plans to abolish direct invites for minors to teams that played in the Legends stage of the FACEIT major.

In a move that is expected to have massive ramifications for the qualification process of the majors, ESL explained its decision as a move to make the format of the Minors “completely inclusive”, with all teams required to qualify online.

This means that all the teams that did not qualify for the top 8 in the FACEIT Major 2018, will have to qualify for the minors via the regional closed qualifiers. The official rulebook of the qualifiers will be released by ESL next week along with the registration links for each tournament.

This comes as a blow to Mousesports, who crashed out of the Legends stage with a 0-3 defeat and will now have to play in the European closed qualifier with some of the top Tier 2 teams of Europe.

ESL has also released the dates of the qualifiers which is as follows:

Europe Minor

  • Open Qualifier #1 – October 22-23
  • Open Qualifier #2 – October 29-30
  • Open Qualifier #3 – November 10-12
  • Open Qualifier #4 – November 24-25
  • Closed Qualifier – December 11-12

CIS Minor

  • Open Qualifier #1 – October 24-25
  • Open Qualifier #2 – November 2-3
  • Open Qualifier #3 – November 6-7
  • Open Qualifier #4 – November 11-12
  • Closed Qualifier – December 20-21

Americas Minor

South America (two spots):
  • Open Qualifier #1 – October 24-25
  • Open Qualifier #2 – November 3-4
  • Closed Qualifier – November 17-18
North America (six spots):
  • Open Qualifier #1 – October 22-23
  • Open Qualifier #2 – October 29-30
  • Open Qualifier #3 – November 10-11
  • Open Qualifier #4 – November 26-27
  • Closed Qualifier – December 11-12

Asia Minor

Oceania (two spots):
  • Oceania Open Qualifier #1 – November 2
  • Oceania Open Qualifier #2 – November 13
  • Oceania Closed Qualifier – November 17-18
China (two spots):
  • China Open Qualifier #1 – November 1
  • China Open Qualifier #2 – November 6
  • China Closed Qualifier – November 15-17
Southeast Asia (one spot):
  • SEA Open Qualifier #1 – November 1
  • SEA Open Qualifier #2 – November 6
  • SEA Closed Qualifier – November 15-17
East Asia (two spots):
  • East Asia Open Qualifier #1 – November 1
  • East Asia Open Qualifier #2 – November 6
  • East Asia Closed Qualifier – November 15-16
Middle East (one spot):
  • Middle East Open Qualifier #1 – November 2
  • Middle East Open Qualifier #2 – November 8
  • Middle East Closed Qualifier – November 15-16

UPDATE:ย ESL’s Vice President for Pro Gaming, Michal “CARMAC” Blicharz, has confirmed on Twitter that, similarly to the FACEIT London Major 2018, all Minors will take place in Katowice, Poland.

1...2,1002,1012,102...2,183Page 2,101 of 2,183