ESL One Cologne 2016
ESL One Cologne 2016 - it was a big tournament and major event. It falls under the e-sports discipline in Counter-Strike with global offensives. In 2016, Brazil won the tournament with SK Gaming. The Electronic Sports League is the organizer and the venue was the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. In 2016 there were 16 participating clans! The tournament started on July 5th of 2016 and the final was played on July 10th. The prize pool was a whopping $ 1,000,000! You have to let that melt in your mouth! There were a total of 27 games and the sponsor was Valve Corporation. SK Gaming from Brazil won this tournament for the second time in a row! Before that, they won the 2016 MLG Major Championship Columbus. The old team here was Luminosity Gaming.
The qualification
There were eight Challenger teams available. The determination took place through an offline qualifier. On the field of participants for the qualification were eight teams eliminated from the Major Championships Columbus of the same year. These were eliminated during the group stage. There were also eight other teams to choose from. The teams won a ticket in the minor tournaments (four in total). Thus they could be chosen for the offline qualifier.
The minor tournaments
Before the offline qualifier started, there were four minor tournaments in total. The names of the participants: CIS Minor Championship 2016 Cologne, Asian Minor Championship 2016 Cologne, DreamHack Tours 2016 and Americas Minor Championship 2016 Colonge.
The organizers were: Star Ladder, Professional Gamers League, KeSPA, DreamHack and Major League Gaming.
Places and time:
• from 28.04. until May 1st 2016 - Moscow
• from 05/05 to 08/05 2016 - Seoul
• from May 14th to 16th in Tours
• from 19 to 22 May in Columbus
The winners were:
• The Russia Fluffy Gangsters with a cash prize of $ 30,000
• The People's Republic of China TyLoo with prize money of $ 30,000
• The Danes Team Dignitas with also $ 30,000 in prize money
• Canada OpTic Gaming with $ 30,000 in prize money
The finalists and their prize money:
• Commonwealth of Independent States Team Empire with $ 15,000
• the Australia Renegades for $ 15,000
• the European Union HellRaisers with $ 15,000
• The Brazil Tempo Storms with $ 15,000 in prize money
3rd place and the prize money:
• Russia worst players with $ 5,000 each
• People's Republic of China with VG.CyterZen for 5,000 dollars
• The Bulgaria team also with $ 5,000 in prize money
• The Canadians with the SoloMid team with $ 5,000 in profit
Fourth place - no prize money
• Russia Anox won nothing
• Australia Team Immunity failed to collect prize money
• Finland eSports didn't get any dollars
• The United States with Selfless Gaming got zero prize money
Other participants were:
• Russia with Arcade eSports, Russia Binary Dragons Gold, Russia Digital Wave, Russia Vesuvius
• Korea Koream0nster, Korea MVP Project, the United Arab Emirates with Risky Gaming, Mongolia and eMongolZ
• Sweden with Epsilon eSports, Sweden with GODSENT, Poland with Lounge Gaming, Denmark and SK Gaming
• the United States with NRG eSports, Canada and the Kaliber Team, Brazil with WinOut.net, the United States and Winterfox
The qualification for the offline qualifier - every finalist at this event could qualify for the offline qualifier. A total of $ 50,000 in prize money was at stake for each tournament.
The offline qualifier
This offline qualifier was on the program from June 9th to June 12th. The qualification took place in the studios in Katowice. The Swiss system was used for the first time. Three game victories have to be achieved. Only then does the main tournament continue. If a team loses three times, it is eliminated. Every game had the best of one mode. The map was created by Teamvetos.
All participants in the offline qualifier
• Cloud 9 team from the United States
• Asian Union with FaZe Clan
• Ukraine with Flipsid3 Tactics
• France and the G2 Esports
• Russia with the Gambit Gamings
• Germany and mousesports
• the United States with Splyce
• the EnVyUs team from France
• Russia with the FLuffy Gangsters
• the People's Republic of China with the ChinaTyLoo players
• the Danes and the Dignitas team
• Canada with the OpTic Gaming team
• the Commonwealth of Independent States with Team Empire
• the Australia Renegades
• the European Union with the UnionHellRaisers
• Brazil and the Immortals team
The Immortals lineup matched for the America minor and Tempo Storm.
The round 1
In the first round, the participating teams from MLG Columbus from 2016 were:
the result: Participating minor:
the G2 Esports
France 16 to 9 TyLoo from China
the FaZe Clan team 16 to 8 Denmark with Dignitas
Russia and the Gambit
Gaming 16 to 14 Canada with OpTic Gaming
Germany and
the mousesports 19 to 16 FLuffy Gansters Russia
France team
EnVyUs 16 to 6 Brazil with the Immortals
United States
Cloud 9 16 to 12 Independent Community
States with empire
Ukraine with Flipsid3
Tactics 16 to 9 Australia Renegades
United States
with Splyce 9 to 16 European Union - HellRaisers
Round 2
Round 2 is fought by winners against winners. Pot A plays against Pot B from the first round.
The result of Pot A looked like this:
• The United States with Cloud 9 played 12:16 against mousesports from Germany
• France with the EnVyUs team played 10:16 against the Russians with the Gambit Gaming team
• Ukraine with Flipsid3 Tactics played against the European Union and the FaZe Clan 5:16
• The HellRaisers / European Union played 8:16 against the French and the G2 Esports team
In pot B played:
• The Danes with Team Dignitas played 16:13 against the Independent States with the Empire team
• Australia played with the Renegades against the United States and Splyce
• The FLuffy Gangsters played 9:16 against Canada and the OpTic Gaming team
• Brazil with the Immortals played 11:16 against the People's Republic of China and the TyLoo team
Round 3
In the third round, unbeaten teams match for the first two slots. This is about Pot A from the main tournament. The teams that have not achieved any victories by then fight for elimination in pot C. The other teams fight in pot B and win 2.
• France and G2 Esports played 1:16 against mousesports from Germany
• The Russians with Gambit Gaming played 11:16 against the European Union with the FaZe Clan team
In pot B played:
• The Ukraine with the team Flipsid3 Tactics played 7:16 against the OpTic Gaming team from Canada
• France with EnVyUs played 16-4 against the United States with Splyce
• The HellRaisers and the European Union played against the Danes and the Dignitas team 16:10
• The Cloud 9 from the United States played 16:13 against the People's Republic of China
In pot C played:
• The FLuffy Gangsters from Russia played against the Australians and the Renegades at 11:16
• Brazil and the Immortals played here 16: 7 against the Independent States and Team Empire
Round 4
The teams that have won two games play here. It's about Pot A in the main tournament (three places). From the teams that had suffered two game defeats by then, three teams were eliminated in Pot B.
• The European Union with the HellRaisers played 14:16 against the Canadians OpTic Gaming team
• The EnVyUs team team played the United States and Cloud 9 at 16:12
• The Russians played with Gambit Gaming 16:10 against France and the G2 Esports team
The pot B:
• The People's Republic of China played in Pot B 16:14 against the United States of America with the Splyce team
• The Dignitas from Denmark played 16:12 against the Renegades from Australia
• The Flipsid3 Tactics from Ukraine played 16:12 against the Immortals from Brazil
The round 5
In round 5, three slots are determined in the main tournament.
• The Chinese with the TyLoo team played 3:16 against the Danes and the Dignitas team
• The European Union with HellRaisers played 9:16 against the Flipsid3 Tactics from Ukraine
• The Cloud 9 from the United States played 8:16 against France and the G2 Esports team
The participants
Eligible participants: Eight finalists from the quarter-finals MLG Major Championship of 2016. In addition, eight teams from the offline qualifier were able to qualify.
• Team SK Gaming 1 from Brazil
• Independent states with the team Natus Vincere
• The Danes with the team and the resounding name Astralis
• The Americans with the Liquid team
• The United States and the Counter Logic Gaming team
• The Swedes and the fnatic team
• The ninjas in pajamas from Sweden
• The Virtus.pro team from Poland
• The European Union and the FaZe Clan team
• The mousesports from Germany
• The Gambit Gaming team from Russia
• The Russians with the Gambit Gaming team
• Canada and the OpTic Gaming team
• The EnVyUs team from France
• The Danish team Dignitas
• Ukraine with the Flipsid3 Tactics team
• The G2 Esports team from France
SK Gaming contested with the lineup of the Major Championship MLG and Columbus 2016 (Luminosity Gaming).
The lineups of the teams
• Astralis Denmark - Finn "Karrigan" Andersen, Andreas "Xyp9x" Hojsleth, Nicolai "device" Reedtz, Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander, Peter "dupreeh" Rothmann
• United States with Counter Logic Gaming - Tarik "TaRiK" Celik, James "hazed" Cobb, Steve "CeltuC" Cutler, Faruk "pita" Pita, Kenneth "koosta" Suen
• European Union with FaZe Clan - Philip "aizy" Aistrup, Fabien "kioShiMa" Fiey, Joakim "jkaem" Myrbostad, Havard "rain" Nygaard, Ricardo "fox" Pacheco
• Ukraine with Flipsid3 Tactics - Aleksandr "Shara" Gordeev, Andrew "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy, Yegor "markeloff" Markelov, Jan "wayLander" Rahkonen, Georgi "WorldEdit" Yaskin
• Sweden fnatic - Dennis "dennis" Edman, Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson, Olof "olofm" Kajbjer, Robin "flusha" Rönnquist, Jesper "JW" Wecksell
• France G2 Esports - Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom, Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux, Cedric "RpK" Guipouy, Richard "shox" Papillon, Alexandre "bodyy" Pianaro
• Russia Gambit Gaming - Dmitry "hooch" Bogdanov, Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev, Ivan "spaze" Obrezhan, Mihai "Dosia" Stolyarov, Rustem "mou" Tlepov
• Germany mousesports - Chris "chrisJ" de Jong, Denis "denis" Howell, Nikola "NiKo" Kovac, Johannes "nex" Maget, Timo "Spiidi" Richter
• Commonwealth of Independent States with Natus Vincere - Denis "seized" Kostin, Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovacs, Ioann "Edward" Sukharyev, Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko, Egor "flamiE" Vasilyev
• Sweden Ninjas in Pajamas - Christopher "GeT RiGhT" Alesund, Adam "friberg" Friberg, Richard "Xizt" Landström, Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg, Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi
• Canada OpTic Gaming - Oscar "mixwell" Canellas, Peter "Stanislaw" Jarguz, Keith "NAF" Markovic, Damien "daps" Steele,
• Brazil SK Gaming - Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, Marcelo "coldzera" David, Tacio "TACO" Filho, Lincoln "fnx" Lau, Gabriel "fallenN "Toledo
• Denmark Dignitas Team - Rene "cajunb" Borg, Mathias "MSL" Lauridsen, Jesper "TENZKI" Mikalski, Ruben "RUBINO" Villarroel, Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke
• France Team EnVyUs - Timothee "DEVIL" Demolon, Dan "apEX" Madesclaire, Nathan "NBK" Schmitt, Nathan "NBK" Schmitt, Vincent "Happy" Schopenhauer, Kenny "kennyS" Schrub
• United States Liquid Team - Will "Rush" Wierzba, Nick "nitr0" Cannella, Jonathan "EliGE" Jablonowski, Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev, Spencer "Hiko" Martin, Josh "jdm64" Marzano
• Poland with Virtus.pro - Pawel "byali" Bielinski, Jaroslaw "pasha" Jarzabkowski, Filip "Neo" Kubski, Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski, Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas
The draw
On June 12, 2016, the group tournaments in the offline qualifier were drawn. There were 4 seeding lists from Group A to D.
Seeding list 1: Astralis from Denmark, Independent States with Natus Vincere, Team Liquid from the United States and Brazil with SK Gaming
Seeding list 2: Counter Logic Gaming from the United States, Sweden with the ninjas in pajamas, Poland with Virtus.pro and fnatic from Sweden
Seeding list 3: the Russians with Gambit Gaming, the Canadians with OpTic Gaming, mousesports from Germany and the FaZe Clan team from the European Union
Seeding list 4: the Danes with the Dignitas team, the Ukrainians with Flipsid3 Tactics, from France the EnVyUs team and also from France the G2 Esports team
The Maps
In the tournament game there were seven maps for the teams to choose from. In alternating rhythm, the teams in the best-of-one mode erased a map from the two teams. In the end, two cards were open. Then the two maps that had to be played were chosen at random from the two maps.
In the best-of-three mode, a map was crossed out by the two teams. The teams then selected the map that was fought out in the first two games. Then there was a decision map that was selected at random (from those that were left). There were these maps:
• Map de_dust 2
• Map de_nuke
• Map de_mirage
• Map de_cache
• Map de_cobblestone
• Map de_overpass
• Map de_train
The group stage
From group A: The Astralis team won against the Danes and emerged victorious. Their opponents were the Dignitas and they won with 16 to 12. They played in the map de_overpass. The group final was played against the Gambit Gaming team. The team won before that against the Counter Logic Gaming team. They sent the team to the lower bracket. The Astralis team could not win anymore and lost 6:16 against the Russian team. Kazakhs also played here and it was played in the de_dust2 map.
Astralis, Team Dignitas, Gambit Gaming and the Counter Logic Gaming Team played in the semifinals.
The Astralis team played a countermatch against the Dignitas team. Danny "zonic" Sorensen also played here. This was the substitute for the player Peter "dupreeh" Rothmann. Rothmann had to be treated in the hospital. The first map was lost, but two final map summaries were won. Thus, the team could compete in the playoffs.
In the loser's match there was then a game against the group place runner-up.
The group B
Here the group's favorite was Natus Vincere. The team emerged as group winners. They won against the Flipsid3 Tactics team and the ninjas in pajamas team. It was played in the de_cobblestone map. In the semifinals it came to the game to win the group. In the semi-finals, the Natus Vincere team, the Flipsid3 Tactics team, the OpTic Gaming team and the ninjas in pajamas played.
The ninjas in pajamas did not win in the lower bracket. Here the Flipsid3 Tactics team was better and won. The Ukrainians won the second map. The game ended 16: 2, with de_cache being played in the map. They could also win in the de_mirage map. The score ran out at 16:11. The Swedes were eliminated here for the first time in a major tournament in the preliminary round.
The group C
The Virtus.pro from Poland emerged as winners in the C group. They won the upper bracket final against the American Liquid team. The game ended 16:12 and it was played on the de_cobblestone map. The team with team player Jaroslaw "pasha" Jarzabkowski won against mousesports from Germany.
In the semi-finals, the Liquid Team, the EnVyUs Team, the German mousesports and the Polish Virtus.pro team played here.
The German team team mousesports was able to win the lower bracket for the time being. They played against the EnVyUs on the de_train map. But then they lost 2-0 to the Liquid team.
The EnVyUs team and the German mousesports played in the loser muddle.
The group D
SK Gaming were defending champions of this tournament. They won against the G2 Esports team and the FaZe Clan team.
The SK Gaming-Team, the G2 Esports, the FaZe Clan-Team and the fnatic-Team played in the semifinals.
The Swedish fanatics won against G2 Esports with 16:13. It was played in the de_train map. Finally, they were able to win against the FaZe team.
In the loser's match, the FaZe Clan team, the G2 Esports team and the fnatic team played for second place in the group.
The final round
In the final round with the two quarter-finals, the Virtus.pro won. Here the Astralis lost because the team was weakened. The SK Gaming team won against the Flipsid3 Tactics from Ukraine. A total of two maps were played here. The team Liquid and fnatic were second in the group. They won the last two quarter-finals. The Eastern Europeans all lost in the quarter-finals.
The VP team won the semifinals of the first round against their opponents. It was played in the de_cobblestone map. The game went into overtime. The SK Gaming team played in the de_nuke map. It won with 16: 5 and they also won in the third map called de_mirage. Nothing stood in the way of reaching the final.
The Liquid team from America won in the second semi-final. Here there were two wins with 16:13 each. It was played in the map de_cobblestone. In 2016 there was a historic event. It was the first time that American teams made it into the final round and played against each other in a major tournament. The first map was played on de_train. In the first half, the SK team was determined as the winner. In the second half-time round, the SK team won all rounds. It was played at 16: 7 and a first card was won. The de_cobblestone map was the second that was played. In the first half, the Liquid team was 5:10 behind. They only won one round in the second half. The SK Gaming team won with a 16: 6 success. Marcelo "coldzera" David surprised as a player with a very good rate.
In the quarterfinals played:
• Virtus.pro team with 19/19
• Astralis at 17/15
• Flipsid3 Tactics with 7/17
• SK Gaming with 16/19
• Nantus Vincere with 16/12/6
• Liquid team with 11/16/16
• Gambit Gaming with 5/3
• fnatic team at 16/16
In the semifinals played:
• the Virtus.pro on 19/5/12
• SK Gaming with 17/16/16
• Team Liquid at 16/16
• fnatic team with 13/13
In the final played:
• SK Gaming with 16/16
• Team Liquid with 7/6
The prize money distribution
In 1st place: The SK Gaming team from Brazil won and received $ 500,000.
In second place: The United States won $ 150,000 here with the Liquid team.
In 3rd and 4th place: The Swedes won with the fnatic team and the Polish Virtus.pro team. They both got $ 70,000 each.
In 5th to 8th place: After all, there was still $ 35,000 for each team. Denmark won with the Astralis team. The Ukrainians with the Flipsid3 Tactics team were also among the winners. The Gambit Gaming team emerged from Russia as the winner. The Natus Vincere also won $ 35,000.
9th to 16th place: went to the United States with Team Counter Logic Gaming. The FaZe Clan team received $ 8,750 in prize money. The French with G2 Esports also won $ 8,750 on these courses. The mousesports from Germany also won prize money. The Swedes took 8,750 in prize money (ninjas in pajamas). The OpTic Gaming team won from Canada and also took home the prize money. The Dignitas team from Denmark and the EnVyUs team from France were also in the price range.
The numbers as well as the facts
• The team Ninjas in Pajamas from Sweden had to retire (group stage), which happened for the first time in the CS: GO Majors.
• The ESL announced that the tickets were all sold out. That was announced on July 2nd. The expected number of visitors was over 14,000.
• The player Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev used an ingenious move to eliminate an opponent. After the tournament game, this scene was drawn as graffiti.
• Marcelo "coldzera" David, player from Brazil, was the best player of the entire tournament
• The de_cobblestone map was played the most at the tournament. There were 11 games on this map. The maps de_overpass and de_nuke were only played three times.