NA CS at the Majors: EMS One Katowice 2014

With the BLAST.tv Paris Major just over two weeks away, Dust2.us is building up to the last ever CS:GO Major Championship by taking a trip down memory lane at all the history of North American Counter-Strike in the top-tier competition. Yesterday, we covered the first ever Major Championship, DreamHack Winter 2013, now let's look at the first one with stickers, EMS One Katowice 2014.

As we discussed in yesterday's piece, Global Offensive was still recovering at this point after a tough launch. Players and teams still believed in CS 1.6, with CS:GO being seen as a whole new beast. With the launch of the Arms Deal Update, a brand new fan base was ushered in that was interested in more than just the game. New fans, casual players, and even streamers were starting to get in on the action. It was a big year.

The announcement of EMS One Katowice 2014 showed that Valve was heavily involved in making the professional esports scene happen, especially thanks to the success of DreamHack Winter 2013. It was also at this Major that one of the more influential additions to the game happened — in-game team stickers. The concept of in-game stickers had only come out just a month prior, with fans now able to attach little images to set positions on their weapon skins, but in an announcement, Valve revealed that team specific stickers would also be available during this Major.

It's hard to ignore the impact that the stickers from EMS One Katowice 2014 have had on the game ecosystem. Like specific skins, these stickers have become some of the most sought-after items in the entire game. Their exclusivity, rarity, and nostalgia factor completely outweigh anything available in the current climate. Some of the more rare stickers can even go for the tens of thousands of dollars while serving no other utility than being an item you can place on a weapon, only within Counter-Strike.

EMS One Katowice 2014 would be host to two North American teams: compLexity and iBUYPOWER. compLexity were invited thanks to their top eight finish at the previous Major, DreamHack Winter 2013, while iBUYPOWER had a much different route. For this Major, ESL were unable to finance transportation for any non-European teams to come to Poland with the Major only having European qualifiers. However, there were two spots reserved for non-European teams, but those that wanted to enter had to file an application and prove that they had the funds and the means to attend.

Thankfully, Sam "DaZeD" Marine's iBUYPOWER team received one of the invites, while Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill's Vox Eminor were the second attendee to the reserved non-European spots. Nine years on it is inconceivable to think that not only were there no worldwide regional qualifiers, but teams were also not guaranteed travel stipends and had to apply to attend a Major Championship. This second Major shows how far the scene has come.

Heading into the event, neither compLexity nor iBUYPOWER elected to make any changes to their squads. Both teams had been on excellent form since the previous Major. compLexity had finished third in ESEA Global Finals Season 15 and first in CEVO Main Season 3, while iBUYPOWER had won ESEA Global Finals Season 15, which included a lower-bracket run and a double-BO3 Grand Final win over French powerhouse Titan.

The expectations were definitely higher for compLexity coming into the event, who had finished as semifinalists at the first Major and were considered one of the stronger teams at this event. For iBUYPOWER, their win over Titan was convincing, but they had struggled against fellow top opposition in Europe with their last Major performance seeing them finish in last place.

The tournament, like at DreamHack Winter 2013, had a GSL-style group stage, with compLexity finding themselves paired up with the Swedes of LGB, the French from Clan-Mystik, and Ukrainian squad Natus Vincere. compLexity were able to take down Clan Mystik, but lost to LGB, forcing them to play Clan-Mystik a second time to see if they would advance to playoffs. With the decider played on Nuke, compLexity took down Kenny "kennyS" Schrub's team, heading into the playoffs.

iBUYPOWER did not have the same sort of good fortune as they were matched up against the Danish powerhouse in Dignitas to open their group. They could do nothing as René "cajunb" Borg went 28-15 with a 1.76 Rating on Nuke to force the American team into an elimination match against reigning Major champions, Fnatic. While the game became exceptionally close, it would be Fnatic to take home the win, sending the Americans back across the Atlantic with two losses.

The playoffs would see compLexity have to face Ninjas in Pyjamas, the runners up of the DreamHack Major and a team that had been red-hot for so long in the scene. The BO3 would get started the right way for compLexity as they claimed Dust2 in a 16-12 victory, however, NiP would come roaring back in a dominant 16-2 Nuke victory that would even the score. Despite Braxton "swag" Pierce posting a 69-54 K/D ratio and a 1.28 rating throughout the series, he would be unable to help his team stop Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund and his fellow Swedes from going on to win the match and send compLexity home.

It would be a worse result for the American side, but because of their top 8 finish at the Major, compLexity would once again be invited to the next Major Championship. This would secure them some stability, but did nothing to console a team that came so close to a Major grand final just a few short months ago.

Swag was the best-performing North American at the event with a +15 K/D and a 1.13 rating across six maps. DaZeD was once again the best performing player on iBUYPOWER, posting a +2 K/D and a 1.03 rating ahead of players like Adam "friberg" Friberg.

Despite the poor performance from iBUYPOWER as a team, and compLexity failing to repeat their semifinals appearance, North America once again put on a good showing. iBUYPOWER had improved upon their lackluster first Major while compLexity played well against tough opponents in the playoffs.

Tomorrow, we will talk about the legendary ESL One Cologne 2014.