That's a nice desk you've got there, ELEAGUE.
CS:GO

ELEAGUE’s Inaugural Season Draws to a Close

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I guess you could say things have gotten a bit hairy over in the Turner studios. (Photo via ELEAGUE.)

All good things must come to a close, and ELEAGUE is no exception. The finals of the first season of Turner’s televised CS:GO tournament will be taking place this weekend in Atlanta at the Cobb Energy Centre.

Is this what Twitch chat looks like IRL? (Photo via ELEAGUE.)

The venue for ELEAGUE’s finals comfortably seats around 2,750 fans–while this is far less than the likes of the Lanxess Arena, which can comfortably accommodate upwards of 19,000, this ‘shortcoming’ in status is more than made up for by the televised nature of the event.
The initial herd of 24 teams has been thinned considerably. Unsurprisingly, Swedish giants Fnatic will be making an appearance in the semifinals, alongside the Polish Virtus.Pro squad, CIS-based Natus Vincere, and, much to the surprise of almost everyone, the oft-beleaguered Mousesports lineup.

(Sorry, NiP fans. Not this time.)

With $390,000 USD up for grabs, as well as a place in the annals of Counter-Strike history, there’s no reason for these teams to hold back. There’s no ‘saving strats for the Major,’ since ESL One Cologne 2016 has come and gone, and with the eyes of the world–or at least the eyes of American cable subscribers–firmly glued to the television screen, the ELEAGUE finals is one of the most important tournaments in the history of CS:GO.

The semifinal matchup between Na’Vi and Fnatic will be broadcast via Twitch this Friday at 5PM EST, while the Virtus.Pro vs. Mousesports series will air on TBS that same evening. The finals will be aired on TBS at approximately 4PM EST on Saturday.

Predictions

While the explosive talent of Nikola “NiKo” Kovač has carried Mousesports this far, there’s no reason to be blindly optimistic about Mousesports’ chances at the ELEAGUE finals. I’d love to see this lineup prove me wrong–and I’m sure NiKo would as well–but the Mousesports roster just doesn’t have the firepower or mental fortitude necessary to compete with the likes of Fnatic, Natus Vincere, or even Virtus.Pro.

With that in mind, of course, it’s equally true that their Tier 1 competition have looked surprisingly mortal as of late. Both Fnatic and Na’Vi had disappointing showings at the Major. Virtus.Pro, despite being the only team who managed to take a map off of SK Gaming at Cologne, are still a team defined by their inconsistency, alternating between complete dominance and utter mediocrity multiple times within a single game or series.

J.P. Corner spends most of his time locked in a small room monitoring the latest esports happenings, but he’s slowly experimenting with this whole “sunlight” thing thanks to Pokémon GO. Hit him up on Twitter.

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J.P. Corner

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J.P. Corner is Esports Edition's Executive Editor. He was introduced to the wonderful world of esports by his older brother in mid-2014, and has a degree in Literature from Bard College. You can contact him via Twitter at @jpcornerGG.

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