NA CS at the Majors: DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015

With the BLAST.tv Paris Major just under 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 ESL One Cologne 2015, but today we will be looking at the third Major of the same year, DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015.

Unable to break into playoffs at ESL One Cologne 2015, North America found themselves without a direct invite to the Major, instead having to duke it out at DreamHack Open Stockholm to lay claim to the eight spots up for grabs. North America's representatives in Stockholm included Cloud9 and Counter Logic Gaming, both receiving invitations thanks to their appearances at the previous Major.

Joining them from the event's North American qualifier would be Liquid and Winterfox, with the latter team being an international side competing in North America that featured two American players as well as prominent Swedish player Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg.

The two invited squads, Cloud9 and CLG, would ultimately make their way to the main stage with relative ease, as both sides topped their groups in the event's GSL format. Cloud9 bested Finnish side ROCCAT in their opening BO3, before moving past Dignitas to secure their spot, all without dropping a map. CLG's run involved taking down FlipSid3, then subsequently closely beating out CSGL in the winner's match.

Liquid and Winterfox found themselves in the same group in Stockholm, but the sides missed out on playing one another as Liquid won their opener versus Renegades while Winterfox succumbed to mousesports. Winterfox were unable to contend with Renegades, seeing them exit the event with an 0-2 record, while Liquid similarly struggled against mousesports, earning them a rematch versus the Australian side. Liquid's second match against Renegades proved easier than the first, as the Americans bested them 2-0 to be the third North American side to qualify for DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca.

DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca stands out as being the first Major to feature three North American squads in the top 16, while also being the first to have the United States as the most represented nation, with thirteen American players in attendance. Despite these interesting tidbits, North America's woes from the previous Majors would largely continue, as none of the three competing teams were able to claw their way into playoffs.

Cloud9's run kicked off with an unfortunate BO1 loss to Luminosity, with the Americans falling 11-16 on Dust2 to Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and his men. Cloud9 survived their elimination match versus the Polish side of Vexed, but with considerable strain, securing a scoreline of 16-13 to make their way to the decider match. A daunting BO3 against fnatic was the final hurdle for Cloud9 to clear before reaching playoffs, but Sean "seang@res" and company were unable to clear that, as they lost the series with an uninspired 0-2 scoreline, denying them a playoff spot for the fourth Major in a row.

Liquid were by no means given an easy start in their group, as they matched into the Polish powerhouse of Virtus.pro in their opening match. Even despite the formidable matchup, Liquid showed impressive form, taking a 12-6 lead at one point in the Cobblestone BO1. In classic Liquid fashion however, this lead soon evaporated, and although Liquid were the first to secure match point, Virtus.pro clawed their way back to a 19-15 overtime victory, sending the Americans to an early elimination match. Analysts favored Liquid in their elimination match against Ninjas in Pyjamas, but these predictions proved to be fruitless as the Swedes marched ahead on Mirage to dispel Liquid 16-11, sending the squad packing from Cluj-Napoca in last place.

The final remaining North American representatives resided under the banner of CLG, who, like their compatriots in Cloud9 and Liquid, were also unable to procure a victory in their opening match, falling to eventual finalists Natus Vincere 12-16. CLG managed to keep their run alive after staving off Dignitas 16-14 in the elimination match, but the situation was still far from rosy, as it soon became apparent that CLG would have to play Natus Vincere once again in the decider BO3. The relatively close opening BO1 inspired some hope, which began to materialize after CLG snatched Cobblestone to equalize the series 1-1, but the team's playoff dreams were shattered as Natus Vincere claimed a dominant 13-2 lead on the final map of Inferno, paving the way for a 16-8 win.

While there is no doubt that North America's performances in Cluj-Napoca were disappointing, there were still signs of life to be found. The mere presence of three American squads in the first place was already a step in the right direction, but CLG and Liquid took things further by providing close matches against top teams, giving fans hope that a return to Major playoffs would be near for North America.

Tomorrow our series will continue with MLG Colombus 2016, the first Major to be played on North American soil.