The CSGO festival started off in style with the 16 teams battling it out to make it to the New Champions stage and claim the trophy. Today it was Swiss Round 1 and all the games played were best of 1’s. Here’s a short recap of all the games that took place today in the Verti Music Hall.

ENCE vs. AVANGAR

The first matchup was pretty straight forward for the Finnish side (ENCE) which were the favourites as well on de_overpass. ENCE won the match 16-5 and AVANGAR never found a way to come back in the game.

ENCE has started their campaign on a start that no one expected them to make because of the roster changes they will be going through just after the majors.

Astralis vs. DreamEaters

One of the matchups that some people were excited about because the DreamEaters has eaten dreams of other teams but the Danish side was too strong to for their comfort. The map was de_dust2 with Astralis starting on the CT side with a slow start and gave the first 3 rounds to DreamEaters. There were some resistance in the starting rounds by the Russians but when the formers world’s best team got them going they took 7 rounds in a row and ended the half 9-6 scoreline.

The DreamEaters took the second round pistol and the following anti-eco but Danes didn’t slow down and won the game 16-9 as they were expected to.

NRG vs. Renegades

This one was a banger of a game which every CSGO fan will cherish (not Renegades fans), this map was de_dust2 again and took all the 30 rounds to decide who will be the winner. NRG took the W against the Australian team with a score line of 16-14. The former started on the CT side and took the half 10-5 in their favour.

The second half was the time when the real game began and Australian side started stringing consecutive rounds but soon it was a back and forth affair but NRG looked more poised in the last 2 rounds that mattered and took the win. This was the first match that a challenger team took the win over the returning legends.

Liquid vs. CR4ZY

The world’s best team taking on the team which have created a sense of fear in some of the top teams in the tournament but the North American squad showed why they are the best team coming to the tournament. The match was played on de_mirage which both the teams loves playing and Liquid won it 16-9 with a pretty dominating CT side.

In the first half CR4ZY showed some great CT side and took the lead 8-7 but the T-side just looked flat on the side of CR4ZY and took only 1 round against the mighty Liquid. Team Liquid showed that they are here to lift the trophy either by hook or crook.

Vitality vs. North

Vitality won their first game of the 2nd stage rather dominatingly than they were expected after that challengers stage games run they had, they won the game 16-9 on de_inferno. The French men (Vitality) showed why they are the 2nd best team in the HLTV rankings and North was found struggling. Vitality started on the CT side and won the half 9-6 not with much resilience from the Danish side and when the sides were switched the North defence looked flat and Vitality didn’t allow them to make the information plays and that’s why North never knew what was coming their way.

North had a good run in the challengers stage with a 3-0 score to qualify to the legends stage but the real test begins now and let’s see what they are capable of in the coming stages.

FaZe vs. Mousesports

This matchup always brings up the hype because of the ex-teammates rivalry between Karrigan and his ex-teammates in Faze. Mousesports were the favourites coming into this match but FaZe took over the W on de_mirage with a score line of 16-8 which is pretty dominating. Mousesports never looked good in this match even in the rounds they won. Faze started on the CT side and posted 9 rounds, the following pistol round was won by mousesports but Faze took the very next round and cemented a good lead and won the match in style.

No one expected it to be that dominant because of their performances before the player break. Rain played a huge role in getting this win while Niko didn’t had a good time in the server.

Natus vincere vs. G2 Esports

NaVi were the favourites coming to this matchup and they showed a pretty dominating CT half on de_overpass with a score line of 10-5 but we saw a huge comeback from the French squad (G2) on theirCT side with KennyS’ AWP making some impact which was not seen on their T side half and this helped them to take the match to Overtime and grabbing the win with a score line of 19-17.

This was the first OT game of the Legends stage thus and oh my this was with a lot of fireworks, some awkward rounds. This game will surely boost the confidence of the French squad continuing this campaign.

MIBR vs. NiP

This was a match that was evens stevens because of the roster situation of both the teams, Brazilian Squad playing with their coach and the swedes playing with a Stand-in. The Map was de_dust2 and MIBR started on the CT Side with a 6-0 start and ended up winning the half 9-6.

The Swedish side made a comeback and equalised the score 12-12 but it was not enough and MIBR took the win taking next 4 rounds in a row with a score line of 16-12.

The New Legends Stage Day 1 Standings

Photo via StarLadder

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