We explore the key storylines to emerge from all the FACEIT Minors played out in London – the Asia Minor, Americas Minor, CIS Minor and Europe Minor.

Majors are the biggest spectacle in the Counter Strike scene. Qualifying for the Majors though, is a prestigious event in itself. And FACEIT took it a level further by having all the Minors played out on Lan in London. The move was welcome by all pros.

We saw complexity and Rogue make it through in the Americas Minor. The CIS Minor saw the usual culprits – Renegades and Tyloo – prevail. Hellraisers and Spirit came through the CIS Minor. The EU Minor though, saw NiP qualify for the first time in almost two years. Optic was the other team to qualify for the Major Qualifier.

We now explore the key storylines that emerged from the FACEIT Minors.

The NiP Major romance resumes

It has been tough times for a NiP fan in the last couple of years. The Swedish stack often showed promise with changes. But, it all petered out every time the chance to qualify for the Major came along.

NiP looked miserable in the tournament right before the FACEIT Europe Minor Qualifiers. But, they managed grind out the results to not just qualify for the FACEIT Europe Minor but also win the Qualifying event, thanks to a bold lower-bracket run.

What was even more wondrous was the form of Get_RighT. Mr. Alesund picked up things at the right moment and shined throughout the FACEIT Europe Minor. With the legendary lurker back in form at the opportune moment, it makes NiP one of the darkhorses in the Major Qualifiers.

Will they be able to regain their once-guaranteed spot as one of the Legends? Only time will tell. It is refreshing to see them return to the big stage, though, for neutrals and fans alike.

The Danish gamble pays off for the Optic organisation

There were quite a few eyebrows raised when Optic decided to go Danish, picking up Snappi and Jugi. The start was promising. But, konfig seems to be thriving under the leadership of Snappi. With Jugi adding to the firepower and gade improving with experience at the top level, the Optic lineup does look strong.

Optic went unbeaten en route to qualifying for the Major Qualifiers. The loss to NiP in the grand finals did not hold much meaning, except a higher seed and a marginally better cash reward.

The Danish roster is still in it’s early phase and there is a lot to improve. But, the stack is showing positive signs.

allu, the boys and the rise of the Finnish scene

Every time a full Finnish roster is created, it has major excitement around it. But, the different lineups have always flattered to deceive. ENCE went around things a bit different this time. They entrusted the selection process to allu.

allu and natu have pieced together what looks like a strong lineup on paper. sergej headlines the stack. The prodigious rifler is being seen as the future of Finnish cs. The lineup have also had results to back their initial hype.

They did stutter at the start. But, the results and performances have gotten better. ENCE came close to sealing a place in the Major Qualifiers before being edged out by NiP. But, they had a lot of positives to take from their run.

It might not be #EZ4ENCE right now. They are getting there though, slowly but definitely.

FACEIT deserve applause for the LAN environment

Experts and players have always called out for Minors to be played out on LAN. FACEIT provided the facilities in London and there were many surprises, good ones, to emerge from the system.

Given the opportunity, SCARZ Absolute showed that there is more to the Asian scene than Renegades and Tyloo. The two giants managed to qualify but the Japanese stack proved that they can go toe-to-toe with them on the server.

The Asia Minor was not the only one that provided the surprises. NRG faltered in the Americas Minor, with Rogue and complexity making it through to the Major Qualifiers.

The CIS Minor saw Avangar fail and Spirit rise to claim their spot. As far as the European Minor is concerned, Sprout topping a Group B that included NiP, Red Reserve and Kinguin drove the point home to a certain extent as well.

The format shows that given the LAN surroundings, a lot can change. However, it is for the better and we could see this becoming a trend for future Majors.

The seeding system needs improvement

I think there’s a flaw @ minor LAN. 3/4 times, the team coming from the upper bracket grand final lost, and also lost to a team they had already beaten. It’s a game of no significance other than 15.000$ and a potential better seed, but that all seems useless in the big pictur — cadiaN (@caspercadiaN) July 23, 2018

While almost everything was lauded, one thing that came under the scanner was the Grand Final of each Minors. Granted, there is a case of a higher prize money and better seeding going into the Major Qualifiers. But, the difference is not a lot and it’s effect was seen in most of the Minors.

Apart from the CIS Minor, every team that had won the Winners’ Bracket Final went on to lose the Grand Finals. Optic vs NiP and complexity vs Rogue looked like showmatches.

There have been calls from experts to improve upon the difference in payout for the winner and the runners-up, monetary and otherwise.

This is the only negative point that we witnessed in the entire duration of the Minors. The things that were good, we look forward to them being repeated. The seeding system and the payout, though, needs improvement. And we hope, the future TOs will.