Steven R. March 1, 2019
Renegades’ magic run in Katowice is over.
The Australian squad captured the imaginations of fans with their early heroics at the 2019 Katowice Major, but their swagger wore off in the Champions Stage playoffs. Facing MiBR in the quarterfinals, “the boys” were knocked out courtesy of a 2-0 series loss.
Though Renegades had some big moments in the group stages, the difference between the teams was clear from the start of the quarterfinal series.
Facing off on Dust 2, MiBR outright bullied Renegades in the first half with Fernando "fer" Alvarenga racking up kills early and Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo taking over from there. By the second half MiBR was toying with Renegades, delaying bomb plants in order to hunt down surviving players. The end came mercifully quickly, with MiBR closing out the first game 16-6.
It seemed like Renegades was ready to turn things around on second map Train. Spearheaded by a strong showing from Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai, the team leveraged the CT side advantage to rack up a sizable 11-4 lead. But that door swung both ways as MiBR returned the favor in the second half by taking 10 straight rounds to close out the game and the series 16-12.
Though Renegades fell short of the run it was looking for in the major, the team’s progress in the tournament was still a success.
Entering as a largely unknown commodity, the team caught the eyes of fans its unique style and strong performance in the Challengers Stage. From there, “the boys” proved themselves as a legitimate force in the Legends Stage by becoming the first in the tournament to take a map off Astralis.
By advancing to the Champions Stage, Renegades will skip a brutal travel schedule and treacherous trek through the Asia Minor, with a guaranteed spot in the Berlin Major later this year.
This was a definite growing experience for Renegades, and the team has the chance to rebound later this month with a spot at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 7.