Group B matches of the ESL Pro League Season 14ended a few days ago. Today, the CS.MONEY Blog takes a look at the expectations from the teams and whether the clubs lived up to these expectations.
OG’s long-awaited success
Expectations:
The game community perceives OG as a solid middleweight team. The Europeans’ biggest achievement in 2020 was second place at Flashpoint 2, where they lost to Virtus.pro in the finals. Five months ago, the team signed Dane Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen to replace Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt. Another month later, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan replaced Issa “ISSAA” Murad on the roster. The newcomers blended in well: the renewed lineup won silver at IEM Summer 2021. While the club was indeed expected to fight their way out of the group, they weren’t among guaranteed playoff contenders.
Reality:
Everything was much easier for the European team than the experts had thought. Of the five games in the group, it was their encounter with forZe that posed the most difficulties for the squad. In the match, it seemed that the Russians were able to defeat their opponents on two maps. Nevertheless, OG were victorious by clinching victory on the second map, Inferno, and by displaying better preparation on the decisive map, Overpass. The squad finished the group stage without a single loss, receiving first place in the group, and entered the playoffs.
ForZe’s much-celebrated breakthrough
Expectations:
ForZe learned that they would play at ESL Pro League Season 14 instead of Renegades two weeks before the event when they were preparing for the new season at their bootcamp. Initially, the guys thought the letter from the ESL was some kind of joke from a fan. But after they realized the message wasn’t fake, forZe began intensive preparations for the tournament. Analysts believed the team would be able to advance out of the group but considered their chances limited due to the formidable opponents.
Reality:
After they lost in a close match to the group leader OG, forZe defeated all the other teams, including the group favorite G2, albeit not effortlessly. This success may be related to the fact that the squad ended their vacation rather early as well as to their training at the bootcamp. Captain Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov said in an interview after the victory over Complexity that the team’s goal was to get out of the group — and they succeeded. The captain also emphasized that he considers this tournament the world’s best. It has to be a safe guess, that the players’ morale and motivation were and still are at the maximum level.
Complexity’s good performance despite k0nfig’s injury
Expectations:
Shortly before the start of the group matches, it was confirmed that Christian “k0nfig” Wieneke had suffered a wrist injury. The player revealed the nature of the injury later in an interview, specifying that it required surgery. Complexity announced that k0nfig would be temporarily replaced by Christian “NaToSaphiX” Sillassen. Even though NaToSaphiX had already played for Complexity as a substitute, expectations weren’t high for the lineup, as analysts considered the replacement too weak for successful performance.
Reality:
Complexity showed an incredible will to win, even though they played with a substitute. After losing to the better-prepared forZe and OG, the European club was able to place third in the group, therefore, reach the playoffs. The team clinched victory in the principally important match against Virtus.pro with a score of 16:14 on the last two maps. Thus, they ensured they’d get out of the group as early as after the fourth round. Their captain, Benjamin “blameF” Bremer, did a particularly great job: at the end of the group stage, his Rating 2.0 amounted to 1.22 — an excellent result. It’s a nice bonus to the team’s general success.
Virtus.pro — the team whose play never changes
Expectations:
The CIS team, currently ranked fifth by HLTV.org, approached the tournament with certain tensions within the organization. Their CEO Sergey Glamazda said that the team’s goal was to attend the Major in the fall, and if they didn’t, the lineup may undergo changes or get disbanded. And even though ESL Pro League Season 14 wasn’t among Virtus.pro’s milestones according to Sergey Glamazda’s statement, analysts expected a decent performance from them as well as their presence in the playoffs.
Reality:
Virtus.pro defeated G2 and the nominal underdogs of Group B, Sinners, but failed to beat the more prepared forZe, Complexity, and OG. Several factors could have been at play here. For one thing, SANJI and Qikert failed to take full advantage of their potential in micro and aim. Besides, it seemed throughout the matches that the Bears’ opponents were able to “read” their tactics too often. Later, Almaz “almazer” Asadullin from forZe said that Virtus.pro’s play never changes in any way, making it easy for their opponents to predict their actions. VP’s predictability might well have played a decisive role in their failure at the tournament.
Sinners — an outsider who stormed out
Expectations:
The Czech squad Sinners, led by Tomáš “oskar” Šťastný, were hardly considered a playoff contender against the backdrop of their more established opponents. On paper, even a single win would be a success for the team, and their participation at an event like ESL Pro League Season 14 would mean great practice. The club managed to accomplish both of those things.
Reality:
After defeating the renowned G2 in the first round amid much funfair, Sinners lost the rest of their matches. Still, the Czechs’ result can’t be called a disappointment. With a certain amount of luck, the team could have beaten Complexity in the second and forZe in the last match. The guys played like a very strong team. Although they failed to advance out of the group, Sinners displayed remarkably high morale, fighting to the end in every single match.
G2’s disaster: a team that forgot to finish vacation
Expectations:
Among all teams in the group, G2 were an outlier. According to analysts, the IEM Cologne 2021 finalists would smoothly get out of the group. At the very least, with second or third place in the group — and that’s in the worst-case scenario. With players like that on the team, it was hard to imagine any possible problems. Yet in reality…
Reality:
Apparently, G2 finished their vacation too late, as stressed by Jerry in his interview. Except for Nikola “Niko” Kovač, all players on the team showed terrible individual performance. Additionally, G2’s lack of a tough sniper came to a head. AmaNEk was forced into the AWPer’s role after kennyS left, which accounts for the former’s dismal 0.91 in Rating 2.0. A lack of training, the team’s reliance on the Kovač brothers who didn’t deliver as much as they usually do, and AmaNEk’s mediocre AWPing proved fatal for G2. They dropped out of the tournament without a single win. We hope to see them at their full strength at the next tournament.
ESL Pro League Season 14 Group Stage is in a full swing. We’ve already witnessed several major upsets and now we’re waiting for the Groups C and D matches. Are you excited as we are? Then follow the event with CS.MONEY!
Do you like getting CS:GO news in our vibe?
What are you waiting for? Hit subscribe!
