Blunders from Majors past

After having a look at some of the feel-good stories from the Majors, it is now time to remind ourselves of some of the howlers.

Over the course of the last 16 Valve-sanctioned events, several teams have experienced horror stories during their Major journeys, and while some teams feasted on success some collapsed or even disbanded on the spot. The prestige and the pressure mounted by CS:GO Majors can often be too much to handle, even for the best players, leading to unexpected results that definitely kept more than one competitor awake for the next few nights.

karrigan had his fair share of Major heartbreaks

Secret agent friberg - ESL One Cologne 2014

Cloud9 came into ESL One Cologne 2014 after their acquisition of the Complexity roster and began their journey with their new organization sharing Group D with Titan and Dignitas. Against the expectations, the North Americans defeated both the Danes and the Frenchmen, securing the top spot in the group, and went into the playoffs hoping to make a deep run on the back of the confidence boost.

Kory "⁠SEMPHIS⁠" Friesen's boys went on to face NIP in the quarter-finals, and despite coming in as the underdogs again, Cloud9 managed to steal the first map from the Swedes. The soon-to-be Major champions were known to be a great team on Nuke, and beating them on the map came as a surprise even to the North Americans: "I don't think anybody expected us to win on nuke, we didn't expect to win on nuke. But it worked for us," said Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin after the game.

The pressure was now on as Cloud9 had a fighting chance to reach the semi-finals, and after losing the second map, everything came down to Cobblestone. The map had just been added to the competitive map pool and ESL One Cologne was the first LAN event to showcase the latest addition. "That was literally our first time ever playing it," stated the 24-year-old when talking about how little time they had spent on Cobblestone. Following a close CT side, SEMPHIS's team found itself 8-7 ahead before a successful pistol round in the second half gave Cloud9 the chance to run away with the game.

After a few skirmishes in round 17, the Ts poised themselves for an attack on the A site against the force buy of the Ninjas. With 22 seconds left in the round, the North Americans moved into the site at a big advantage, but that's when their lack of experience with Cobblestone came to bite them. Suddenly, Adam "⁠friberg⁠" Friberg came out from a position inside the site tucked in by the cannons which Cloud9 failed to check, and prevented the plant after taking down Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert with a CZ-75. That single frag turned the tide in favor of NIP as they crawled their way to a 16-14 victory. "We had no idea that spot even existed," said Hiko the day after their defeat. "Honestly, I think if we played cobble even one time through a full scrim, we probably would've won that game."

Titan disqualified - DreamHack Winter 2014

Hovik "⁠KQLY⁠" Tovmassian joined the Titan project in September 2014 alongside two of his companions from LDLC, but his time with his new squad did not last long.

On November 20, seven days before the start of the Major at DreamHack Winter, KQLY was hit with a VAC ban on his Steam account. He was not the only professional player to be slapped with such a ban, but he was certainly the most high-profile one, as he had recently won DreamHack Stockholm CS:GO Invitational, where he placed among the top three highest performers.

"As you saw yesterday, I was banned by VAC and unfortunately it was justified," wrote the Frenchman on his Facebook page. "My curiosity failed me and now my career is over CS after 12 years," he continued, stating that he had used illicit software for a week prior to joining Titan.

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KQLY handed VAC ban

The news broke the team apart, KQLY was suspended from the squad the following day and his team was disqualified from the Major by the event organizers alongside Gordon "⁠Sf⁠" Giry and Epsilon. Titan were one of the best squads at the time, and their inability to requalify for the Major raised some eyebrows, but in the end, CPH Wolves and FlipSid3 were the ones to reach the Major after going through the Last Call Qualifier.

FaZe collapse in Krakow - PGL Krakow 2017

Even before FaZe entered its superteam era, the squad could still count on great players such as Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Håvard "⁠rain⁠" Nygaard. Led by Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen, the core found success alongside Aleksi "⁠allu⁠" Jalli and a revitalized Fabien "⁠kioShiMa⁠" Fiey, reaching the finals of four consecutive events and taking the trophy from one of them. This run of form coming into the PGL Major in Krakow meant they were among the favorites to take the title and expectations were high.

Starting from the first best-of-one in the group stage, it was clear that FaZe were not at the top of their game. BIG easily dealt with the European mix as Fatih "⁠gob b⁠" Dayik' squad took advantage of a bug in the game during their CT side. MOUZ then came along, handing the European squad another defeat.

The elimination game against FlipSid3 crushed their chances of recovery as the Russian core ran over the Europeans on the T side of Mirage 11-4, a large enough margin to secure the win in the second half with relative comfort.

FaZe's 0-3 meant they left the Major in joint-last place, a shock to fans and analysts alike. From there, the squad would recruit Ladislav "⁠GuardiaN⁠" Kovács and Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer in an attempt to take that next step and finally clinch their desired Major title.

allu played his latch match wearing FaZe colors in Krakow

suNny takes a leap - ELEAGUE Boston 2018

MOUZ were a team on the rise in 2018, but they had not yet reached their peak by the time the first Major of the year rolled around. Regardless, they made it through the Challengers and Legends stages to reach the playoffs in Boston, where they faced FaZe in the quarter-finals.

The "budget superteam" went through its offensive half with Miikka "⁠suNny⁠" Kemppi and Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool in good form, powering the squad to a 9-6 lead which they hoped to expand in the favored CT side of the map. However, karrigan had other plans and organized FaZe's T side to be as disruptive to the defense as possible, claiming a slight advantage.

It took a little time for MOUZ to get back in the game and eventually they strung the rounds necessary to lock a 15-13 scoreline. With their backs against the wall and a 2v4 disadvantage, FaZe made their way into the B bombsite to plant when, suddenly, they realized it was now a 2v3 situation.

suNny, while on his way to the lower bombsite, jumped off the old platform on A and collided with a roof hitbox, sending him straight down instead of landing on hut. The fall damage was enough to finish off the wounded Finn and turn the momentum around in favor of FaZe. The offense converted the round and the following to force overtime before taking the map 19-16.

It is difficult to say what would have happened if suNny had not jumped from the platform and his team converted the 4v2, but it is likely that the series would have gone to the decider on Train, a map on which neither team was a slouch on. Who knows, maybe MOUZ could have gone through to face an inconsistent Natus Vincere in the next round and reach the grand final.

Liquid's capitulation to Astralis - Starladder Berlin 2019

Coming into the Berlin Major, Liquid were the team to beat. The North American powerhouse had just gone through a fantastic summer, taking home the second edition of the Intel Grand Slam in a record-breaking 144 days after an incredible series of tournament victories between May and July.

The month-long player break between IEM Chicago 2019 and the Major, however, seemed to disrupt their incredible rise to the top. Whether it was complacency taking hold of the world's number one or other teams catching up during the break, Liquid never looked the same following the off-season.

Beginning in the Legends stage, Nick "⁠nitr0⁠" Cannella's men showed their first moments of fragility following losses to NRG and AVANGAR. Despite the 1-2 record, there was not much anxiety building around the fanbase because at the end of the day, they were best-of-one losses, and Liquid eventually qualified to the playoffs. A comfortable sweep of North was quickly followed by another hint of what was in store for the North Americans, going toe to toe over three sets of overtime against karrigan's MOUZ, a team that regardless of their improving form should have never brought Liquid to such a close game.

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Liquid scoop $1 million Intel Grand Slam Season 2 prize

Everything came down during their quarter-final match against Astralis. nitr0 and company had spent the better part of 2018 and 2019 losing to the Danes in tournament finals, but the winds had changed direction and the North Americans had gained the upper hand over the course of the previous months. Things were seemingly going even better for them as Astralis picked Vertigo, a map on which Liquid was still undefeated on.

The early stages of the game were going smoothly for the North Americans until a heroic round from Nicolai "⁠device⁠" Reedtz on a force buy prevented the CTs from running away with the half. From there, Astralis was able to control the pace of the game and edge an 8-7 advantage before going into their defensive half.

Once the Danes settled in the second half, it was clear that they had been putting a lot of work on the map to counter Liquid, executing a great defensive half characterized by a series of controlled CT pushes in the early stages of the round. This aggression caught the North Americans off-guard, completely shutting down their T side as Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's squad cruised to a 1-0 series advantage.

On Overpass, despite claiming an 11-7 lead, Liquid were unable to close out the game, allowing Astralis to catch up on the T side and close out the series 2-0, knocking the favorites out of the competition on their way to securing their fourth Major title.

Liquid never looked the same after the summer break

NiKo's Deagle whiff - PGL Stockholm 2021

There were a few blunders to consider from G2 over the course of the Majors they attended. Their failed defuse against Astralis on Nuke at the Berlin Major 2019 serves as one example, but that was a group stage game they had already been losing. Their blunder at the 2021 Stockholm Major would prove far more costly.

After a year full of ups and downs for the European squad led by Nemanja "⁠nexa⁠" Isaković, the return to LAN seemed to have given new life to a roster that had struggled to maintain consistency throughout the online era. At the PGL Major, G2 went through the Legends stage with a flawless 3-0 record and moved to the playoffs where they faced home favorites NIP, defeating them 2-0 before a semi-final match against Heroic. The Danes fought tooth and nail, but eventually G2 managed to go through to their first Major final against Natus Vincere.

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G2 advance to PGL Major Stockholm grand final following victory over Heroic

Andrey "⁠B1ad3⁠" Gorodenskiy's men took the first map, and going into their pick of Nuke they were feeling good about their chances, having strung a 17-map winning streak on it. G2 responded with a commanding CT side, going 10-5 up in the first half before quickly extending their advantage on the offensive. The Eastern European squad then managed to break the T economy, forcing NiKo and company to go into round 28 with a few upgraded pistols and a bundle of utility, hoping to get that last necessary round to drag Natus Vincere into a third map.

A push into the A bombsite had the offense fall into a 3v5 almost immediately, until Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač responded with two quick Tec-9 frags, bringing the round even as nexa found another lucky kill through the smoke while the Ts planted the bomb, putting G2 one step closer to the decider on Mirage. As Aleksandr "⁠s1mple⁠" Kostyliev brought back the game to a 2v2, NiKo made his way from a ramp flank into the heaven position overlooking the site, catching the superstar AWPer and Valeriy "⁠b1t⁠" Vakhovskiy off guard.

What followed would be one of the biggest blunders in a Major final, with NiKo missing two seemingly easy Deagle shots on s1mple, who was busy looking towards main. The Ukrainian quickly turned around and sniped NiKo just as b1t took down huNter-, allowing the CTs enough time to defuse the bomb and bring the game to a 13-15 scoreline. G2 would never get that sixteenth round as Natus Vincere crawled their way back to force overtime and, eventually, take the title of Major champions after two sets of extra time.

Honourable mentions

Olofboost - DreamHack Winter 2014

Following all the drama from the previous weeks caused by the VAC bans, spectators prepared for a Major hoping to have an exciting competition free of controversy. Unfortunately for them, the playoffs of DreamHack Winter 2014 saw fnatic come under scrutiny over their use of a boost on Overpass against LDLC which allowed them to look over large portions of the map directly from the A bombsite.

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LDLC file protest over fnatic boost

The boost allowed the Swedes to come back from a 2-13 deficit and eventually claim the map 16-13, but the celebrations would not last long as LDLC filed a protest to the tournament admins over the boost, citing "pixel-walking" rules. fnatic responded with a protest of their own, claiming the Frenchmen had used a similar position in the first half. DreamHack officials ruled Overpass was to be replayed the following day, but the rematch would never take place, as the Swedes forfeited the match and a Major they were favorites to take.

gla1ve kills his own teammate - PGL Krakow 2017

Before Astralis established their Major-winning dynasty, the Danish core was known for losing winnable series in playoffs. It was thought that they had left that trait behind them after winning their first Major in Atlanta, but their past came back to bite them in Krakow.

Astralis made it all the way to the third map of the semi-final against eventual champions Gambit. On Train, the Danes were facing a 2v2 situation while 5-8 down, until gla1ve's masterful flank brought the round to a 2v1 scenario in favor of the reigning Major champions. Nerves seemed to get the better of the captain as he suddenly found a frag on his own teammate Andreas "⁠Xyp9x⁠" Højsleth, allowing Abay "⁠HObbit⁠" Khasenov to clutch the round by taking down gla1ve and defusing the bomb. Gambit eventually won the map 16-12.

FaZe fail to close out the final - ELEAGUE Boston 2018

Cloud9's fairy tale Major win was talked about in our article about Major feel good stories, but it's now time to touch on FaZe side of the story.

The European "superteam" came into the event as the clear favorites to take the trophy home, and as such cruised through the Challengers and Legends stages without too much trouble. But once they reached the deciding map of the grand final against Cloud9 the favorites folded under the pressure as they failed to close out a 13-8 lead on Inferno, being forced by the North Americans into two sets of overtime and falling at the last hurdle.

Vitality bottle it against AVANGAR - Starladder Berlin 2019

Vitality came into the Berlin Major after a year that saw them climb up the ranks of the European elite thanks to a revelatory rookie season from Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut. The Frenchmen were led in conjunction by Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin and Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt, a strange system that somehow allowed the Frenchmen to find success, becoming the only team that could slow down Liquid that year.

Despite not walking in as favorites, Vitality were nonetheless expected to give a great performance and put French CS back on the map after years of neglect. Unfortunately for them, Internal issues within the squad began to surface during the tournament, climaxing in the quarterfinals where the Frenchmen would drop to AVANGAR after a 0-2 defeat in the quarter-final. NBK- was shortly removed from the starting lineup and Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon was brought in to fill the void.