This article is part of our CS:GO Recap series.
After three days of competition in Leipzig, Germany, we have our DreamHack Leipzig Counter-Strike: Global Offensive champion. FlipSid3 Tactics coasted its way to victory with back-to-back sweeps in the playoffs to claim the crown and a respectable $50,000 on Sunday.
FlipSid3 started the day off with their series against Team LDLC.com. The first game of the series was on Cache and saw FlipSid3 rush out to an 8-1 lead early on in the first half. While LDLC would try and mount a bit of a comeback in the second half by winning four of the first five rounds, FlipSid3 brushed them off and took the map 16-8. In Game 2, the tables turned a bit as LDLC had a 5-2 lead after seven rounds and took an 8-7 lead into the half. FlipSid3 wasn't fazed at all by the reversal of fortunes and won seven straight rounds to completely stabilize and eventually push for the 16-10 win that secured their spot in the grand final.
In the second semifinal of the day, BIG continued their streak of three-game series, this time against Heroic. Stumbling out of the game in the first match of the series, BIG never recovered from the 11-4 first half deficit, ultimately losing in a lopsided 16-4 final. However, a switch over to Dust 2 for the second match provided what was the closest result of the day. BIG started off strong with an 8-1 lead, but Heroic stormed back in the second half to close the deficit. With BIG up 15-14 and trying to prevent overtime, Nikola "LEGIJA" Ninić got himself a double kill at the perfect time to open up the A-bombsite, locking up the round win. With the toughest game out the way, BIG took the final game on Cobblestone fairly easy by a score of 16-9.
With the win, the hometown favorites, BIG, secured their spot in the grand final against FlipSid3. But their run would end in second place, as both games in the series followed a similar path: a narrow first half by each team followed by a strong finish from FlipSid3 in the second half. Every time BIG looked like they were going to turn the corner, FlipSid3 shut them down, resulting in both Game 1 and 2 ending 16-11. Despite the loss, BIG still had a strong showing at the tournament overall.
Not only has FlipSid3 earned themselves the DreamHack Leipzig crown, but they've gotten themselves a nice dress rehearsal for the ELeague Major that begins next Sunday. While the level of competition will certainly be much higher than what they faced this weekend -- FlipSid3's first match is against FaZe Clan, one of the best teams in Europe -- this was a confidence booster nonetheless, and enough to wet their chops for the Major.
