Souma Profile Blog Joined May 2010 2nd Worst City in CA 8905 Posts Last Edited: 2015-02-11 06:37:56 #1

With MLG Aspen now behind us and Clutch Con/ASUS ROG on the horizon, it figures to be a good time to reflect one last time on the first big tournament of the year.



We present to you the first of hopefully many post-tournament award celebrations.



Most Valuable Player

Vincent "Happy" Cervoni





Vincent "Happy" Cervoni started the year in the same vein as he ended the previous: as the best player of the tournament. The in-game leader and renaissance man of Team LDLC put up sterling numbers as he led his team to back-to-back championships, topping the charts throughout the bracket stage of MLG Aspen as the player with the highest kills-to-death ratio (1.3), highest average damage-per-round (92.11), and highest kills-per-round (0.84), along with being one of only three players to secure an ace by tournament's end.



Don't be blinded by the numbers, however, as the most impressive aspect of the brilliant 23-year-old is not his big-play ability, but the fact that he has molded LDLC into a team that understands how to play the Terrorist side in a Counter-Terrorist-sided game. Few may remember the days when the team was initially formed and struggled to perform under the reigns of his teammates, Nathan "NBK" Schmitt and Richard "shoxie" Papillon. However, with Happy leading the charge not only by example, but with a comprehension of the game inferior to none, LDLC is now enjoying their throne atop the world of CS:GO, in large part because the man gets it.



As someone who did it all during MLG Aspen, Happy narrowly beat out his stellar teammate, shoxie, as the tournament's most valuable player.











Breakout Team of the Tournament

Team Dignitas (now Team SoloMid)







With the pass of the baton from Henrik “FeTiSh” Christensen to Finn “karrigan” Andersen following Dreamhack Winter, a big question regarding the Danish squad was whether karrigan could complement Dignitas' strong Counter-Terrorist side with a Terrorist side capable of closing out the few remaining rounds. If the Winter X Games was a prelude of what's to come, then the team now known as Team SoloMid may have once again put the world on alert.



While the Dignitas of old did make its appearance occasionally throughout the tournament, karrigan and his team were able to show a respectable Terrorist side in a handful of games. With strong late-round calls from the Danish leader and phenomenal entry fragging from René 'cajunb' Borg, Dignitas were able to come back against the eventual champions, LDLC, on Inferno after losing seven rounds as Counter-Terrorists, a feat that may not have been possible under FeTiSh.



In the Bronze Medal Match, they put on a similarly incredible performance as they took nine rounds as Terrorists against Fnatic on Nuke, and were able to topple the Swedes in overtime on Mirage after losing six rounds as Counter-Terrorists in the first half of the game.



If karrigan can continue to improve the team's Terrorist play, and if Nicolai 'device' Reedtz can overcome his







Games to Watch









Best Series





The best series of the tournament is a no-brainer. Ninjas in Pyjamas once again proved that they are the team to showcase entertaining matches, and this time it was in a series against their Swedish rivals, Fnatic. From start to finish, the matches came down to the thinnest margins, mind-blowing ecos, and magnificent clutches. The score line? 16-14, 14-16, and 16-12. What made the series even better was that NiP were the projected underdogs in all three maps, having let through all of Fnatic's best including Cache, a map that has proven to be a crutch for the Ninjas time and time again. For a more in-depth recap of the players and their performance in this series,







The Games









Best Single Map



Game 2



In a tournament that featured some of the best CS:GO we have seen to date, it is only natural that the best map played throughout the tournament is one that was not only played in the grand finals, but also one that went to overtime. This Inferno match featured it all: intense eco wins, insane clutches, beautiful T side plays, amazing entries, the glorious Swag-7, and dualies on both sides. To top it off, the match was incredibly back-and-forth within each individual round and kept spectators on their toes throughout.



For those who wish to revisit some of the best the match had to offer, check out the highlights below!











Best Clutch

Peter "ptr" Gurney vs. Team LDLC









The tournament was ripe with outstanding clutches, but none quite like the one Counter Logic Gaming's Peter "ptr" Gurney displayed against the gold-medal champions. What put ptr's clutch above the rest was the fact that it sealed the deal against the best team in the world, and he did it all on one hit point. There are hardly any words to describe it, so see for yourself.













Writer: Souma

Editors: tofucake, kupon3ss

Graphics: InsidiA

Video: NihiLStarcraft



With MLG Aspen now behind us and Clutch Con/ASUS ROG on the horizon, it figures to be a good time to reflect one last time on the first big tournament of the year.We present to you the first of hopefully many post-tournament award celebrations.Vincent "Happy" Cervoni started the year in the same vein as he ended the previous: as the best player of the tournament. The in-game leader and renaissance man ofTeam LDLC put up sterling numbers as he led his team to back-to-back championships, topping the charts throughout the bracket stage of MLG Aspen as the player with the highest kills-to-death ratio (1.3), highest average damage-per-round (92.11), and highest kills-per-round (0.84), along with being one of only three players to secure an ace by tournament's end.Don't be blinded by the numbers, however, as the most impressive aspect of the brilliant 23-year-old is not his big-play ability, but the fact that he has molded LDLC into a team that understands how to play the Terrorist side in a Counter-Terrorist-sided game. Few may remember the days when the team was initially formed and struggled to perform under the reigns of his teammates,Nathan "NBK" Schmitt andRichard "shoxie" Papillon. However, with Happy leading the charge not only by example, but with a comprehension of the game inferior to none, LDLC is now enjoying their throne atop the world of CS:GO, in large part because the manAs someone who did it all during MLG Aspen, Happy narrowly beat out his stellar teammate, shoxie, as the tournament's most valuable player.With the pass of the baton fromHenrik “FeTiSh” Christensen toFinn “karrigan” Andersen following Dreamhack Winter, a big question regarding the Danish squad was whether karrigan could complement Dignitas' strong Counter-Terrorist side with a Terrorist side capable of closing out the few remaining rounds. If the Winter X Games was a prelude of what's to come, then the team now known asTeam SoloMid may have once again put the world on alert.While the Dignitas of old did make its appearance occasionally throughout the tournament, karrigan and his team were able to show a respectable Terrorist side in a handful of games. With strong late-round calls from the Danish leader and phenomenal entry fragging fromRené 'cajunb' Borg, Dignitas were able to come back against the eventual champions, LDLC, on Inferno after losing seven rounds as Counter-Terrorists, a feat that may not have been possible under FeTiSh.In the Bronze Medal Match, they put on a similarly incredible performance as they took nine rounds as Terrorists againstFnatic on Nuke, and were able to topple the Swedes in overtime on Mirage after losing six rounds as Counter-Terrorists in the first half of the game.If karrigan can continue to improve the team's Terrorist play, and ifNicolai 'device' Reedtz can overcome his nerves on the big stage , TSM will be shooting towards the top.The best series of the tournament is a no-brainer.Ninjas in Pyjamas once again proved that they areteam to showcase entertaining matches, and this time it was in a series against their Swedish rivals, Fnatic. From start to finish, the matches came down to the thinnest margins, mind-blowing ecos, and magnificent clutches. The score line? 16-14, 14-16, and 16-12. What made the series even better was that NiP were the projected underdogs in all three maps, having let through all of Fnatic's best including Cache, a map that has proven to be a crutch for the Ninjas time and time again. For a more in-depth recap of the players and their performance in this series, check out this article In a tournament that featured some of the best CS:GO we have seen to date, it is only natural that the best map played throughout the tournament is one that was not only played in the grand finals, but also one that went to overtime. This Inferno match featured it all: intense eco wins, insane clutches, beautiful T side plays, amazing entries, the glorious Swag-7, and dualies onsides. To top it off, the match was incredibly back-and-forth within each individual round and kept spectators on their toes throughout.For those who wish to revisit some of the best the match had to offer, check out the highlights below!The tournament was ripe with outstanding clutches, but none quite like the oneCounter Logic Gaming'sPeter "ptr" Gurney displayed against the gold-medal champions. What put ptr's clutch above the rest was the fact that it sealed the deal against the best team in the world, and he did it all on. There are hardly any words to describe it, so see for yourself.Soumatofucake, kupon3ssInsidiANihiLStarcraft Writer