The first Counter-Strike: Global OffensiveMajor of 2017 is coming up in January, and all 16 teams are locked in after this weekend's qualifier for the $1 million ELeague Major.
The eight "Legends" — teams that placed in the top eight at the previous Major in July — are champions SK Gaming, Team Liquid, Virtus.pro, Fnatic, Astralis, Na'Vi, Gambit Esports and FlipSid3 Tactics. The eight "Challengers" that qualified over the weekend are FaZe Clan, Godsent, Mousesports, OpTic Gaming, Team Dignitas, Team EnVyUs, G2 Esports and HellRaisers.
SEE ALSO:The most beloved version of 'Counter-Strike' will live on as a mod for 'CS:GO'A lot has changed since the ESL One Cologne Major in July, so let's break down how the Legends and Challengers are looking going into the ELeague Major.
Legends
SK Gaming— The reigning Major champions continue to be one of the strongest CS:GOteams in the world, but the (mostly) Brazilian squad has had some difficulty winning tournaments since the Cologne Major. In fact, they haven't managed to come in first place at all over the past five months, placing between second and fourth over their past six premier tournaments. SK Gaming recently replaced Lincoln "FNX" Lau with Ricardo "Fox" Pacheco after SK lost to Astralis in the ELeague Season 2 semifinals. The team fell to Astralis again in its next tournament, ECS Season 2. The team may still need some time practicing before returning to first place finished.
Team Liquid— Team Liquid lost to SK Gaming at the Cologne Major and hasn't seen much success since. The team's top player, Oleksandr "S1mple" Kostyliev, left in August and joined Na'Vi, followed by the departure of coach Luis "Peacemaker" Tadeu in October. The current Liquid squad had a pretty strong showing at ESL One New York before Peacemaker left, but has barely placed above seventh in tournaments since.
Team Liquid's Hiko, Nitr0, Elige, JDM64 and Pimp.Credit: Team LiquidVirtus.pro— While Virtus.pro has the most consistent roster in all of CS:GO, the Polish team isn't the most consistent in terms of wins. VP broke its dry spell with an impressive first-place finish at ELeague Season 1 in July (where the team went on a five-match win streak without losing a single map), followed by a win at DreamHack Bucharest. Aside from a couple second place finishes at ESL One New York and Epicenter 2016, VP has been knocked out of tournaments after surprising losses to EnVyUs, Dignitas and FaZe Clan. Although the team tends to perform well at LAN, there's still a chance it could be knocked out because of a huge upset.
Fnatic— Out of all the Legends teams, Fnatic has had the most roster changes since July. At this point, Fnatic has three of its original five team members — Olof "Olofmeister" Kajbjer, Dennis Edman and Freddy "Krimz" Johansson — as well as one player from Godsent (home to Fnatic's other two players) and former Epsilon player Joakim "Disco Doplan" Gidetun. Prior to the trades with Godsent, Fnatic was one of the most successful teams in CS:GO,but it has yet to find its footing with the new roster. They're not likely to find that footing by the ELeague Major.
Astralis— Astralis may be one of the best Legends teams in the running for the Major title. Astralis won the last premier tournament of 2016, ECS Season 2, right after placing second at ELeague Season 2, racking up big wins against SK Gaming, OpTic Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Astralis' entire squad has been on fire in recent months, especially Nicolai "Dev1ce" Reedtz and Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth. If it can keep its streak going through January, the Danish team will be one of the toughest in the tournament.
Na'Vi— Na'Vi has seen some minor success since the Columbus Major, winning ESL One New York in October with big victories over SK Gaming and Virtus.pro and boasting amazing performances from everyone including newest player S1mple, who came from Team Liquid in August. S1mple is arguably the greatest player in Counter-Strikeright now, but his performance alone hasn't been enough to bring Na'Vi consistent wins. If the team can work together and stay levelheaded, the ELeague Major could go to Na'Vi, but without consistency it's hard to put faith in them.
Na'Vi after winning ESL One New York.Credit: Tanner Ethridge/mashableGambit Esports— Gambit just isn't the same team it used to be. Ivan "Spaze" Obrezhan and Dmitry "Hooch" Bogdanov left the team in October and Gambit gained Na'Vi's previous leader Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko. Though the team won DreamHack Winter in November, the competition wasn't very strong at all. And on top of that, it has primarily failed to qualify for most premier tournaments or has placed below fourth over the past year. Gambit will probably lose its Legend status after the ELeague Major.
FlipSid3 Tactics— FlipSid3, similar to Gambit, is not a strong team going into the Major. The squad has consistently lost to middle- and bottom-tier pro teams, not qualified for multiple premier tournaments over the past year and has not placed above fifth in premier tournaments in all of 2016. FlipSid3 Tactics will not likely be a Legend for Major after ELeague.
SEE ALSO:Will Ferrell will be starring in a comedy about esportsChallengers
Godsent— Godsent is the newest team at the Major and was the first team to qualify for the ELeague Major, going on a 3-0 run against G2 Esports, Dignitas and HellRaisers. Godsent formed in April and has since acquired former Fnatic players Jesper "JW" Wecksell and Robin "Flusha" Rönnquist, but has yet to place well in big tournaments. The team is still finding its place after multiple trades over the past several months and probably won't be the top team at the ELeague Major.
FaZe Clan— FaZe Clan also went 3-0 at the ELeague Major qualifier this past weekend against Cloud9, OpTic Gaming and Immortals. With those wins against Cloud9 and OpTic, FaZe showed it's a pretty solid team against big players, helped by the recent addition from Astralis, Finn "Karrigan" Andersen. FaZe has been on the upswing and has the potential to place in the top eight at the ELeague Major.
Mousesports— Mousesports as a whole is not a top-tier team, primarily relying on Nikola "Niko" Kovač's individual skill, yet the team has barely adjusted its roster in the past year. Mousesports lost its first qualifier match to HellRaisers and earned its three wins over three teams that did not qualify for the Major — Team Spirit, TyLoo and Immortals. Mouse is not looking too hot coming into the Major.
OpTic Gaming— OpTic Gaming is one of two North American teams in the ELeague Major and have a lot to prove. OpTic started their rise at ESL One New York, placing in the bottom four but playing surprisingly well against most teams. Since then, OpTic has won Northern Arena Montreal and ELeague Season 2 and placed second to Astralis at ECS Season 2. With consistently strong performances from the entire team, including Will "Rush" Wierzba, Keith "Naf" Markovic and Óscar "Mixwell" Cañellas, OpTic has been on the rise and has a chance at placing very well at the ELeague Major. OpTic is North America's only hope at winning its first CS:GO Major.
OpTic Gaming after winning ELeague Season 2.Credit: optic gamingTeam Dignitas— Dignitas is another team that has seen a recent rise in success, although their peak may have come a little too soon before the Major. Dignitas' best moment of 2016 was winning Epicenter in October, defeating Na'Vi and Virtus.pro in the playoffs. Dignitas recently fell to SK Gaming at both ELeague Season 2 and ECS Season 2, but have shown a lot of potential against top-tier teams. Seeing Dignitas gain Legend status at the ELeague Major wouldn't be much of a surprise.
The day after qualifying for the Major, the Team Dignitas organization dropped its full roster of players to form a North America-based team in its stead. Dignitas' former roster of René 'CajunB' Borg, Kristian 'K0nfig' Wienecke, Mathias 'MSL' Lauridsen, Ruben 'Rubino' Villarroel and Emil 'MagiskB0y' Reif are still qualified for the Major.
Team EnVyUs— Since winning its last Major in late 2015, Team EnVyUs has been unable to cobble together a good enough roster to return to its former glory. Kenny "KennyS" Schrub is the top player on the French squad but doesn't have a solid team to back him up. Team EnVyUs is not likely to make the top eight at the ELeague Major.
G2 Esports— G2 has not performed well recently, with the team taking a nosedive since ECS Season 1 in June. For the most part, G2 can't seem to break through top teams, placing below fourth in most premier tournaments since the last Major. The entire squad, which used to be among the top players in the world, can't get important wins and likely won't get far at the ELeague Major.
HellRaisers— HellRaisers continue to stick around in the top 20 teams but don't regularly place well in tournaments. However, HellRasiers had some surprising wins at the qualifier, helping take out Ninjas in Pyjamas and Cloud9 with close victories. Though they likely won't make it too far in the ELeague Major, HellRaisers may be on a path to improvement.
The ELeague Major runs from Jan. 22-29 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The top eight teams will earn the Legend status and automatically qualify for the next Major.
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