The DreamHack Masters Spring finals treated CSGO fans to some hotly competitive action in Europe, while the North American competition was surprisingly one-sided.
FURIA Esports, which started with a one-map lead after clearing the upper bracket, demolished Team Liquid 3-0 to reclaim a spot among Counter-Strike’s elite. On the other side of the Atlantic, BIG pulled off the reverse sweep against a powerful G2 Esports team. While DreamHack Masters Spring didn’t award any Regional Major Ranking points towards a spot in the ESL One Rio Major, it does count towards ESL’s Pro Tour, giving both FURIA and BIG an advantage in ESL’s meta tournament.
Additionally, DreamHack Masters Spring gave fans a preview of what they can expect at cs_summit 6, the next RMR event.
FURIA rolls over Team Liquid 3-0
Starting off with a lead thanks to the team’s upper-bracket position, FURIA took down Liquid 3-0 over two maps played. Liquid posted a horrific T side on Mirage despite stealing the second round after the pistol round loss. After the 1-1 start, Liquid couldn’t find any foothold on the map and lost nine rounds in a row before going on a run of four rounds to end the first half at a respectable 10-5.
Liquid’s spacing and pacing was off during the team’s entire attacking side, a problem best showcased when it lost a five-on-three attacking the B bombsite. Yuri “yuurih” Santos ended the match with a +11 KD, bolstered by a triple kill in that round that summed up Liquid’s T side.
FURIA lost the second pistol round, opening the door for a Liquid comeback. The Brazilian squad settled down and closed things out 16-13 to advance to match point.
No one on the Liquid roster went positive on Mirage, with young star Russel “Twistzz” VanDulken going 10-19 while averaging just 48.7 damage per round.
Liquid’s Vertigo crumbles under FURIA assault
If Liquid had any chance, it was on Vertigo. During the team’s IEM Grand Slam run, Vertigo was the team’s surprise map. It wasn’t against FURIA.
FURIA crushed Team Liquid on the skyscraper, starting off on the T side and putting up 12 rounds against TL. After Vertigo’s changes to middle and the B bombsite stairs, many predicted that Vertigo would swing to being a CT sided map. FURIA wasn’t having any of that talk against Liquid.
Jonathon “EliGE” Jablonowski, the usual star player for Liquid, bottom fragged on Vertigo with a 10-20 scoreline.
FURIA, on the other hand, was clicking all across their lineup. The roster ended the series within six kills of one another, a signal that a team is working well together with solid spacing and active trading. Once again, yuurih came through with an impressive play. Early on in the game, yuurih converted a one-on-two post-plant clutch that set Liquid on the back foot for the rest of the half.
FURIA could now be considered the leader in North American online tournaments. They’ve now proven over both ESL’s Road to Rio and DreamHack Masters Spring that they’re the real deal and they should continue to succeed in cs_summit 6.
BIG reverse sweeps G2 to win DreamHack Masters Spring
Second-ranked team G2 was reverse swept by BIG in the European iteration of DreamHack Masters Spring. The series proved to be a much more exciting affair than its North American counterpart.
With G2 holding a map advantage thanks to its own upper bracket finish, the French team led by Kenny “kennyS” Schrub started the series off strong, taking Vertigo away from BIG in a solid 16-6 fashion. Both G2’s offensive and defensive performances were dominant and the team had its kills evenly distributed across its five players.
It looked like it was going to be a quick match, but BIG came back big the following three maps by taking Nuke 16-5, Dust 2 16-6, and finishing things with a 19-17 overtime thriller on Mirage. BIG’s veteran leader, Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz was the team’s rock, but it was Florian “syrsoN” Riche that was the roster’s standout performer.
syrsoN ended the map with a 1.46 rating, including a 96-63 KDR good for a +33 FINISH. Overall, BIG’s five-man roster steamrolled G2 after Vertigo, with only Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač posting a rating for G2 at or above 1.00.
syrsoN’s sniper prowess shuts down KennyS and G2
syrsoN’s AWP was a major factor in BIG’s win, with his highlight play coming on Dust 2’s round 12.
BIG’s upset against G2 throws a wrench in fans’ plans to crown G2 AS the new top team in Europe, especially with Astralis’ ongoing struggles leaving the top of the European rankings wide open. BIG made a fantastic case at DreamHack Masters Spring that they can punch well above their weight class.
Next up for all four teams is the cs_summit 6 Regional Ranking tournament. Both the European and North American versions of cs_summit 6 kicks off on June 24.
