A top-notch match of CS:GO was played on the Grand Finals for the ELEAGUE Majors, the first CS:GO Major event of the year. Two teams that made it into the finals were out to prove themselves.
On one side, we have the Polish team of Virtus.Pro, one of the most longest standing rosters in e-sports history- this is the same team members that have won a premier event title three years ago and still remain until today. On the other, we have the up and coming Astralis, a strong team that until now, has a spotty record of not reaching the grand final fro a premier event, let alone a Major like this.
But it was the day the team from Denmark broke their curse- instead of choking at high pressure like they used to, Astralis made an epic comeback to a very dominant Virtus.Pro and secure their very first Major win.
The first round was played on Nuke, a map that analysers have mentioned to be in favour of the Polish side. And indeed it was. VP was on a long roll in the first round as the Terrorist side and secured a decent lead of 9-6 in the first half. Astralis put up a fight but VP has shown the crowd how dominant they can be if left unchecked. The round ends with VP winning 16-12.
With the second round, the pick goes to Overpass, a map supposedly favouring Astralis. Despite being mostly comfortable throughout the round, Astralis got caught off guard a few times from a series of fantastic clutches by VP. In the end, The Danish side barely prevailed by taking it 16-14, and took the series the whole distance where they played the last and deciding map: Train.
Astralis fans were not expecting a trainwreck so early, as VP continues to win round after round- a seven round winstreak. VP made it all the way to the finals without ever losing, while Astralis had a few rough matches before reaching the elimination stage and that was clearly the narrative at this point. If this was the Astralis we known beforehand, it had meant they have cracked under pressure.
Yet miracles do happen, as Astralis made the comeback run of their lifetime to take the last map, allowing VP to take one point to 14 but catching all the way up and get the 16th point of a best of 30, winning the last round thus taking the crown, for the first time ever, as a champion in a Major.
So what’s the x-factor here in play? Recently the team has recruited a sports psychologist to help work on the team’s mental strength. It seems to have work the part. In an interview with Yahoo Esports, Astralis player dupreeh opened up on his troubled love relationship but managed to press on and focus on the game.
The stars truly have aligned with Astralis on that day. Winning the ELEAGUE Major bagged them $500,000 USD and adding that they are still sponsored with Audi until Dreamhack Masters this February, it seems the team is riding on a successful wave. Hopefully they can do it more consistently after this.
As for Virtus.Pro, they may walk home a bit dissapointed, but they have put up a strong fight. The legends of CS:GO demonstrated why they are also called Virtus Plow, showing impressive plays once they get the ball running in their favour, and their unbeatable run to the finals is nothing to scoff at.