*Bolded text indicates commentary on the primary era. All unbolded text is commentary on sub-eras. This article was written in the wake of ESL Pro League Season 7 - Finals

NiP Era: August 2012 - December 2013

The Struggles of VeryGames: August 2012 - December 2013

The Post-NiP era: January 2014 - January 2015

Fnatic Era: December 2014 - March 2016

EnVyUs’ Failed Era: December 2014 - June 2015

The Rise of TSM and NiP’s Magic: January 2015 - May 2015

Na’Vi Creeps to the Top: June 2015 - March 2016

Cloud9’s Summer Run: July 2015

The EnVyUs Resurgence: August 2015 - November 2015

The Rise of Luminosity: November 2015 - March 2016

Fnatic’s Six Title Streak: November 2015 - March 2016

Absence of Fnatic: April 2016 - July 2016

The Blossoming of Luminosity into SK: April 2016 - July 2016

Parity: September 2016 - November 2016

Uncertainty: December 2016 - February 2017

Parity: March 2017 - June 2017

Diarchy: June 2017 - December 2017

Uncertainty: January 2018 - Present

NiP Era: August 2012 - September 2013

The Post-NiP era: January 2014 - January 2015

Fnatic Era: December 2014 - March 2016

Besides being host to the most dominant team of CS:GO, 2015 contained many interesting sub-eras. The first of them all was the failure of EnVyUs to have an era. As stated earlier, people had high expectations for LDLC, the predecessor to nV, as they very well should. EnVyUs was a lot like what Fnatic would become at the end of 2015. They were a group of star players led by a loose in-game leader that competed as a star also. Despite their frequent attempts, the French were never able to breakthrough and get on even footing with Fnatic, nor were they able to outlast the Swedes. So they crumbled and swapped out shox and SmithZz for apex and kennyS. EnVyUs would soon resurge after their roster change in July. They quickly found a rhythm and maintained their honeymoon phase for a few months until they won Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca, the last Major of 2015, after which they soon fell out of form.

As it became harder and harder for NiP to consistently manifest their talent in-game, their potential talent came to the forefront in what has been termed NiP Magic. NiP Magic was a term coined by Thorin and was initially seen by NiP players and fans as pejorative but has now become accepted. To be clear, it does not seem as though the term’s coiner purposely created it to offend a certain crowd, but rather, they had difficulty in adjusting to the new way of things—NiP was no longer the best team in the world and that their only opportunity to win was only when they played above the level that they would normally play to. Virtus.pro fans are no stranger to this reality, but NiP fans kept believing that it was all just a dream and that they would soon wake up in 2013. Reality eventually sunk in, and NiP has become a team that provides occasional wonders, but those wonders grow fewer and fewer each year.

What also coincided with the decline of NiP was the rise of TSM. Before 2015, this group of Danes—dev1ce, Xyp9x, dupreeh, and cajunb—completely lacked direction so much so that they didn’t possessa proper T side. What you could be sure of, besides their need to learn the Heimlich maneuver, was that they were a great constellation of star talents. These young players promised a bright future for Denmark, and if they could overcome their playoff jitters, they could be winning tournaments. karrigan stepped up to the plate and was then chosen as the qualified candidate he was to be a leader of stars.

Under karrigan’s leadership, TSM did not become the best team, but dev1ce went from winning zero tournaments after two years of professional play to having won three tournaments in a row in the space of a little more than a month. They hadn’t yet become the Major-winning team that they are today and still had issues with choking, but karrigan’s joining the Dignitas core marked the beginning of the upwards swing in the careers of some of the best players today.

Though not quite as conspicuous as the ascent of TSM, Na’Vi had become a contending team in the middle of 2015. This was particularly predicated on GuardiaN’s ability to stay relevant after the AWP nerf and the acclimation of flamie within Na’Vi. GuardiaN’s high-level of performance after the AWP nerf is not just a minor factoid but a major reason why GuardiaN is considered one of the best CS:GO players of all time. The AWP nerf had taken the wind out of kennyS’ sails and put an end to his peak. But for GuardiaN, the AWP nerf meant that he would be a giant compared to his peers.

GuardiaN was only able to carry his team so far though. GuardiaN had carried his team all the way to the finals of Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca, and unlike the story of the Columbus Major finals, GuardiaN had played his heart out yet failed. The story of Na’Vi’s success in the Fnatic era ends at the same time and in the same way in which Fnatic’s era ended. At MLG Columbus, both GuardiaN and olofmeister developed crippling wrist injuries that prevented them from playing at the level we had come to expect from them, an unfortunate and tragic end for the two best players of the year before.

Just as Na’Vi was finding their groove, Cloud9 rose to an unprecedented level for an NA team. Their famed “Summer Run” did not end in victory, thanks in part to Na’Vi, but it is nonetheless one of the most remarkable events in NA CS history. For three tournaments in a row, Cloud9 made the finals of each, and in all of the tournaments did they show a highly remarkable level of cohesion and skill, which was unfathomable for the time. Despite not having amounted to much at the time, Cloud9’s Summer Run had inspired hope and wonder in the minds of all Counter-Strike fans, regardless of nationality.

The Brazilian entry to international Counter-Strike began when KaBum attended MLG X Games Aspen, which flusha notably and generously helped them to travel to.

Where the Brazilians really rose to international success was on Luminosity Gaming and specifically after the recruitment of TACO and fnx. Their first result was an appearance in a final at the FACEIT 2015 Stage 3 Finals. Before this result, Luminosity had managed only to make it to the Ro8. After this jump up in form, results-wise, Luminosity had maintained the same level, finals and semifinals. In-game, though, Luminosity was improving tournament to tournament and was becoming a greater and greater threat to the two best teams at the time, Na’Vi and Fnatic.

By most accounts, Luminosity were not ready to win the Major but were a strong dark horse. It was the injuries to the superstars of their biggest rivals allowed them to bloom early.

Absence of Fnatic: April 2016 - July 2016

As it became abundantly clear that the overlords were unable to gather enough strength to be anywhere close to the dominant forces that they were, Luminosity was allowed to ascend to the throne of CS:GO in the hearts and minds of Counter-Strike fans. Since Luminosity had a riveting rise to excellence and fit within the general Counter-Strike narrative, fans had gotten sucked up into the narrative and improperly assigned this year as having belonged to Luminosity/SK.

The lack of tournament wins outside of the Majors makes it impossible for 2016 to be called the Brazilian era. LG/SK had no era, and although winning Majors is of high remark, more than four titles are certainly needed for any team to claim a year as their own.

Parity: September 2016 - November 2016

Uncertainty: December 2016 - February 2017

Parity: March 2017 - June 2017

Diarchy: June 2017 - December 2017

Uncertainty: January 2018 - Present

Image credit: u/joelnir, Game Haus, Dreamhack, Dot Esports, Redbull, Mashable, Sportschau, ESL, WESG

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