Subaru Invitational 2017 - Cloud9 victorious

Cloud9 were able to upset tournament favourites SK Gaming in the grand final, securing first place, as well as $10,000 in prize money.

Cloud9 were crowned Champions of the Subaru Invitational 2017 during the weekend, after demonstrating a fantastic online performance, where the team was able to thrash all opponents in 2-0 map sweeps. Included in the list of fallen (no pun intended) opponents were SK Gaming, who the Americans met in the grand finals. After taking away two close maps against the Brazilians, Cloud9 were crowned victors of the first ever Subaru Invitational, receiving $10,000 in prize money.

With a total of eight participating teams, the journey started from the quarter-finals. Cloud9 initially faced NRG Esports, a team they dealt with in swift fashion after a 16:3 stomp on de_Cobblestone and a closer match on de_Train at 16:9. That was the team's only match for the evening, as they awaiting the next day to face Counter Logic Gaming in the semi-final. Once the time was nigh, the two teams faced off, in what proved to be a close encounter. The first map, de_Train, nearly saw an overtime, however Cloud9 were able to edge it out at 16:14 in the end. The second, and last, map of the best-of-three series was de_Inferno, where once again both teams made it to double digits, however Cloud9 made it to 16 rounds before their opponents, who managed to accrue a total of twelve. This victory meant a placement in the grand finals against SK Gaming for Cloud9. In the final series against the Brazilian powerhouse, Cloud9 gave it their best shot on de_Cobblestone, and despite it being one of SK's finest maps, the Americans were able to upset at a close 16:12 score line. De_Train, the very map that proved to be the conclusion of the invitational saw an even closer performance between the two teams, where Cloud9 managed to edge out their Brazilian opponents at a nail-biting 16:14 score.

Images courtesy of Subaru / Cloud9