This article is part of our CS:GO Recap series.
EPICENTER Moscow was arguably one of the most hotly contested tournaments to date in terms of the amount of "split" and "2-1" series seen in both the group stages and the playoffs. In the end, only one team could prevail and that team certainly wasn't one that many would have predicted from the outset of the tournament.
The Rise of Team Dignitas
Team Dignitas have cemented itself into the upper echelons of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive professional teams. Not only did it take down Virtus.pro in the grand finals, but it had to go through the most recent major champion, Natus Vincere, in the semfinals to even get there. Before we take a look at the destination, let's look at the team's journey to this point.
To even make it to the group stages of EPICENTER, Dignitas had to make its way through the European Closed Qualifier. There, it had to take on eight other teams for a shot at a trip to EPICENTER. It took down Astralis and GODSENT in the playoffs and booked its flight to Moscow.
Dignitas was placed in Group A and had to face-off against Na'Vi, G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas. This group was the closest of the tournament, with every single match a 1-1 split between each team. Dignitas came out of the group as the third seed, which placed it in the Round of 6 to take on Fnatic.
Dignitas came out the gate a bit off, as it fell 9-16 against Fnatic on Train. Game 2 shifted to Cobblestone and Dignitas came alive with a 16-4 win. Ruben "RUBINO" Villarroel was the MVP of that game with his 22/10 KD and 100.7 ADR. Game 3 was much closer, with Fnatic almost coming back from a 5-10 halftime deficit on Mirage. Kristian "k0nfig" Wienecke and his 108.9 ADR wasn't going to let that happen. Dignitas held on for the 16-13 win that put the team into the semifinals.
As would be expected in a matchup against the latest major champion, Na'Vi, Dignitas had its hands full in the semifinals. Game 1 on Cobblestone was a fairly easy win for Dignitas, with k0nfig once again stepping up to take the win. Game 2 on Overpass was a big missed opportunity for Dignitas. Up 12-3 at the half, Dignitas but still managed to lose the game. Aleksander "s1mple" Kostyliev, posting a 108.9 ADR, was a driving force for the big comeback. Game 3 on Nuke was another close match that saw RUBINO come up big once again to secure Dignitas' trip to the grand finals with a 26/15 KD and a 115.1 ADR.
The grand finals between Dignitas and Virtus.pro started off about how one would have expected it to, with Filip "NEO" Kubski pushing his team to a 16-11 win. What transpired in Games 2 and 3 would have been hard for Nostradamus to predict. Dignitas took down the old guard of Virtus.pro in back-to-back 16-5 maps. Basically in control from start to finish, Dignitas took an 11-4 and 13-2 lead in each respective game. The 13-2 CT-side on Mirage in Game 3 was essentially a clinic from Dignitas on good CT play. Dignitas took the series 2-1 and were crowned champions of EPICENTER.
Whether or not Dignitas will continue this high level of play into future tournaments remains to be seen. What is not up for debate, though, is that Dignitas just put the CS:GO world on notice with a resounding victory against some of the best teams in the scene.
Veteran Teams Falter
While Dignitas were the biggest winners of the tournament, many of the teams that critics and fans alike consider the best in the world seemed to lose a bit of steam.
While Na'Vi finally exorcised its demons by winning a major with the win at ESL One: New York, it was unable to follow that up with a strong performance at EPICENTER. Sure, it came out of its group in the top spot, but it was based on round differential rather than any sort of dominant play from the team. Then it was bested by Dignitas in the semis. Only time will tell whether or not its run in New York was a fluke.
Ninjas in Pyjamas has continued its slide in recent mediocrity with a poor performance in the group stages. Due to a minus-10 round differential, it didn't even make it out of the group stages. There is clearly something off with this team lately, and it's only got three days to figure things out before the ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals begin on Wednesday.
The return of Fernando "fer" Alvarengaer to SK Gaming was supposed to be a huge boost for the team that dominated much of 2016 before his injury, but it hasn't done much to change their fortunes of late. It fell to Virtus.pro in the semifinals of ESL One: New York, and then fell to Polish squad once again in the semifinals at EPICENTER. With the Pro League Finals looming later this week, SK will certainly be looking to bounce back to their early-2016 form to do some damage at the tournament.
While Virtus.pro made it all the way to the grand finals, the performance it put on there in Games 2 and 3 certainly left a bit to be desired. Unfortunately for the team, it won't get any significant action until November 4th when it plays its Group B ELEAGUE matches. It will hopefully have made some adjustments by then to prevent a performance like this one from happening again.
