The FACEIT London Major is finally underway, with some of the best Counter-Strike teams battling it out for glory. We were given a wonderful display of games, with some teams starting off strong, while others disappointed. There was also a great mix of close games and blowouts, but let’s take a look at the big games of day one.
BIG returns with a bang
BIG made it look easy on Overpass against the boys from down under 👏 @BIGCLANgg 16 – 6 @Renegades #FACEITMajor
🔴 https://t.co/RueSYniwFV pic.twitter.com/Sqg65QVDlQ
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 5, 2018
Many people had their doubts about the ESL One Cologne runner-ups, BIG Clan. However, after their match against Renegades, they are looking stronger than ever. Granted, Renegades are not the biggest challenge for the German-based team. Still, after taking an almost two-month break from big events, they were showing no signs of rust in the play. They were exemplifying their classic utility usage, with perfect smoke, Molotov and HE grenades. Also, their in-game leader Fatih “gob b” Dayik was popping off today, with several multi kill rounds. The whole team was completely in-sync, with Dayik stating that teamplay was the focus in all of their practices. They are looking like a team that could go far in the FACEIT London Major. Plus, when you’ve got Tizian “tiziaN” Feldbusch making plays like this, how could you lose:
UHHHH THAT SHOT @tizianCS@BIGCLANgg 1 – 0 @Renegades #FACEITMajor
🔴 https://t.co/RueSYniwFV pic.twitter.com/lpCn4aFl0q
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 5, 2018
Ninjas in Pyjamas stomp Virtus.Pro
The Ninjas cruise through Mirage 👏@virtuspro 5 – 16 @NiPGaming #FACEITMajor
🔴 https://t.co/RueSYniwFV pic.twitter.com/gqEHJVO6nf
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 5, 2018
Also, the newly revitalized Ninjas in Pyjamas took down Virtus.Pro with ease. Virtus.Pro would look far too sluggish today, not being able to link up two successful rounds in a row. No one on the VP side could get anything going, with NiP stringing too many rounds together. They would end up hitting the halftime mark 10-5 on Mirage and would end the map 16-5. This year has been a sharp decline for Virtus. Pro, who have seen multiple key members leave the team. Meanwhile, Ninjas in Pyjamas are having the opposite happen, with their form returning to them just at the right time. We will see if the FACEIT London Major can be the event where the Ninjas make a mark on the Counter-Strike scene again.
HellRaisers halt the North hype train
HellRaisers take Overpass! A North comeback was on the cards, but HR eventually manage to close out the map in OT 💪 @TheNorthIsHere 17 – 19 @HELLRAISERSgg #FACEITMajor
🔴 https://t.co/RueSYniwFV pic.twitter.com/xrbsObzIjf
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 5, 2018
We thought North was the fifth best team at the FACEIT London Major, but maybe we are jumping the gun. They did not look as strong as they did at Dreamhack Masters Stockholm when they would beat Astralis, FaZe Clan and more. Instead, HellRaisers would take an early 2-8 lead on Overpass. Their exciting duo of Özgür ‘woxic‘ Eker and Issa ‘ISSAA‘ Murad would lead the way with 37 and 34 kills respectively. Although North would make an impressive comeback to force overtime, HellRaisers would be able to lock down the final rounds and take the win.
Technical Difficulties
Unfortunately, the game with Astralis and Complexity Gaming would be moved to the next day due to a network outage. The FACEIT official Twitter would send out a statement, saying:
Due to this evening’s unforeseen network outage at Twickenham Stadium, we will be unable to broadcast today’s final match, Astralis vs. compLexity. The match will be played on stream, tomorrow morning, at 10AM BST.
However, the other teams were still able to draw their opponents for the next day’s affairs. The matchups are looking like this:
The #FACEITMajor second-round matchups:
1-0 pool:
@NiPGaming vs. @tyloogaming @BIGCLANgg vs. @VegaSquadron @TeamLiquid vs. @HELLRAISERSgg @astralisgg/@compLexity vs. @GoingRogueGG pic.twitter.com/4QHHvph0EX
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 6, 2018
0-1 pool: @Renegades vs. @GambitEsports @TheNorthIsHere vs. @Team__Spirit
@OpTicGaming vs. @virtuspro @astralisgg/@compLexity vs. @SpaceSoldiersTR— FACEIT (@FACEIT) September 6, 2018
One match that we are looking forward to is the Team Liquid vs. HellRaisers bout. The fiery duo of woxic and ISSAA against the calm, calculated style of Team Liquid should be a treat to watch. Catch all the action tomorrow on the FACEIT TV Twitch channel at 5 AM EST, where Astralis faces off Complexity Gaming.
What do you think of the first day of the FACEIT London Major? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! If you want more Major coverage, check us out here!
