BBC wants to make a documentary about esports. CS.MONEY Blog looked at the Rio Major and picked five moments from the tournament worthy of a place in a CS:GO esports documentary.
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Subway CSers
Brazil has been waiting a long time for an official Major championship. The first attempt to hold the tournament in Rio fell apart due to the coronavirus pandemic. The second entry happened only three years later. Therefore, everyone was waiting and fluttered in anticipation. Moreover, some Brazilian players and influencers, such as Gabriel Fallen Toledo, stated that the local audience would not fit into the chosen arena and that the tournament operator should rent a football stadium.
The city itself was also preparing to host the largest CS:GO tournament. One of the first things that appeared on everybody’s timelines and newsfeeds was Rio’s special subway trains with thematic liveries. They displayed CS:GO stars, as well as information about the time and place of the tournament. A great idea that energises the fans even before entering the arena.
Gaules & The Fan Zones
Luckily, ESL didn’t rent the football stadium. After all, whenever the non-Brazilian teams were playing, the stands were half-empty. And the point is not that the locals didn’t give a damn about CS:GO, no. Most of the fans were rooting for their home teams, so when they got eliminated, and the players began to hang out outside the fan zone, many spectators flowed there. The first part of the promo code for GameChanger Hub: FAS.
One cannot ignore the influence of Gaules on this phenomenon. Covering what is happening inside the arena from the fan zone, the Brazilian Twitch star only magnetised fans to the fan zone, which affected their intentions to stay inside. This documentary should include when Gaules asked people from the fan zone who had tickets to enter the arena and start rooting for MOUZ. After this request, many fans filled the stadium, and it was noticeable.
Fallen, Hulk & The Drummer
Gabriel “Fallen” Toledo will be remembered at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio Major 2022 not for his esports performance, no. His Imperial Esports was eliminated in the tournament’s first stage with a score of 0:3, so he was completely free during the Playoffs. He would not be remembered for his loud words about renting the stadium we mentioned above. In this tournament, the undisputed top star of Brazilian CS:GO once again showed his dedication to the game and its fans.
After being eliminated from the competition, the Imperial Esports captain was among the arena visitors, the ordinary people. And, to be more precise, not Fallen himself, but an unknown person in a Hulk mask. He was deanonned on camera, and the reaction followed. However, another video is much more aesthetic—there, Fallen cheers the crowd up with a drum in his hands and in a PSG sweatshirt. What a show! Second part of the promo code for GameChanger Hub: VVJ.
The Most Boring Showmatch
Rio Major had its mindblowing clutches and brightest highlights, but the weakest episodes of the tournament should also be included in the documentary. We mean the showmatch. Two squads confronted: Team Sweden and Team Brazil. Olofmeister, f0rest, GeT_RiGhT, friberg and karrigan (stand-in) vs FalleN, fer, coldzera, fnx and TACO. That’s one hell of a set, all players have won gold in the previous Majors, and some even have more than once.
But despite such a powerful line-up, the match itself turned out to be boring. First, they chose Train. As much as the community loves this map, it has seen thousands of rounds in the competitive scene in various tournaments, so it was unlikely that esports fans would see unusual tactics or outcomes. Second, the Brazilian team naturally tried hard and played too seriously. You won’t get an enjoying showmatch with such an attitude. It’s a pity that ESL did not dare to hold this meeting with unusual rules or on unusual maps. Even the Danger Zone arena would’ve been better.
The End Of Eras Era
Outsiders and Heroic met in the Rio Major grand finals, number 7 and 8 in the HLTV ranking as of the start of the tournament. Almost no one expected such a pair to make it this far. According to various sources, Outsiders’ victory was predicted by 3 to 6% of all those who made Pick’em predictions. Hardly fewer players believed in Heroic.
In addition to the grand final itself, it is worth paying attention to the overall course of the tournament. G2’s roster didn’t qualify for the tournament, nor did Astralis. FaZe Clan, Team Vitality, Team Liquid, and Ninjas in Pajamas left the competition in the second stage. Excuse us for pointing it out again, but these are the teams HLTV’s top-10. And they couldn’t reach the Playoffs! Yet somehow Fnatic made it, numbered 19 before the major’s start.
Previously, in competitive CS:GO, people often tried to divide time into Eras. There was the Astralis era when the Danes took one tournament after another, and the LG/SK era, or the Fnatic era. Now, after the majors in Stockholm, Antwerp and Rio, it became clear that the Era of Eras no longer exists. Natus Vincere were victorious in Stockholm, runner-ups in Antwerp, but in Rio, the team entered only the top 8. FaZe Clan won the last Major, while in Rio, the same roster dropped out even before the Playoffs. Last time, this Major’s title-winners barely got to the 12-14th place, and now they roll over Heroic in the finals to raise the cup on stage.
ESL Rio Major 2022, of course, gave birth to a lot of esports documentary material. We have proposed five moments; you can suggest yours in the comments below. What else should be included in the BBC documentary?
