Evil Geniuses, the Counter-strike: Global Offensive champions at ESL One New York, have been dumped out of Dreamhack Masters Malmo mere days after lifting that trophy.
On September 30, Evil Geniuses stood on the stage as victors holding the ESL New York trophy aloft. This marked a year since a team not named Astralis or Team Liquid had been victorious at a Masters level event.
Evil Geniuses had announced themselves as contenders for the title best team in the world by defeated Astralis in a best-of-five series, an achievement that few teams have been able to boast through 2018 and 2019.Â
At Dreamhack Masters Malmo, which kicked off on October 1, Evil Geniuses have been eliminated and will finish the event in last place. They began their run with a shocking defeat to Australian team Grayhound Gaming. This meant they were pushed into the lower bracket of the group, requiring immediate wins in order to progress.Â
There they faced Mousesports, who had unexpectedly lost to Ninjas in Pyjamas. This match was a must-win to remain in the tournament and Mousesports was the better team on the day, taking the series 2-0.Â
In a tweet the organization said they were excited to rebuild and rebound in the next opportunity.
“We’re out of the tournament after a hectic week of CS, but we’ll be looking to rebound towards our next challenge,” Evil Geniuses said.
The team didn’t look prepared for the tournament having only a few days to put the emotions of a big victory behind them and settle into practice and preparation for Dreamhack. While the team has not cited that as any kind of excuse for the subpar performance, it appears to have impacted the squad regardless.
The same cannot be said of their ESL opponents at Astralis, as the Danes have confidently fought their way straight to the semifinals by winning the upper bracket of their group.
Evil Geniuses had secured the first win en route to the Intel Masters Grand Slam and could have raced ahead with a victory at Dreamhack Masters towards the $1 million prize. This defeat will be a setback to them and also a boost to other teams looking to catch up.Â
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