The dust has settled in Kiev where SLTV StarSeries VII finals were held last weekend, and there is a lot to say about the matches that took place at the CyberSports ARENA.

The Swedes of NiP traveled to the Ukrainian capital as heavy favorites, as usual, especially after they suggested they weren't interested in attending the MSI Beat it! finals, taking some meaning off their loss versus VeryGames.

Yegor "markeloff" Markelov's Astana Dragons had a solid showing at DreamHack Bucharest, but have been very inconsistent online, even losing versus PD in the RC EMS One Fall 2013 group stage.

VeryGames are clearly in the best shape they've ever been with Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom and Richard "shox" Papillon leading the way, arguably the hottest duo currently in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Finally the fourth team in attendance was fnatic, but despite clearly belonging in the top eight or so of the world, they really don't have a lot to show for from their trip to the Ukrainian capital.

What exactly happened at SLTV StarSeries VII finals then? Check out our event page if you missed it. Otherwise, let's begin with the five lessons we learned from the event last weekend.



Big things happened at CyberSports ARENA last weekend

5. fnatic are very inconsistent

fnatic leave Kiev with a last place finish, although after putting up fights versus AD and NiP, but not after playing as a team, performing evenly or being able to close out games. Personally I think it's a leadership issue that winds up making fnatic such an up-and-down team, but it's always hard to tell from the outside. Regardless, two things are sure; their results are random, and their players never seem to be hot at the same time, instead having their better games and tournaments one or two players at a time.

Robin "flusha" Rönnquist had a great match in their opening round, which wound up deciding practically the entire tournament for Patrik "cArn" Sättermon's squad, but he received almost no help from any of his teammates, with key AWPer Jesper "jw" Wecksell bottoming out the scoreboard at -17 for a measly 0.71 rating. For a team that relies so much on individual effort and skills, this kind of play could never land them big wins.

Aside from those glorious three days in June when the team, then under the name of Epsilon, managed to place second at both the Swedish Championship and the main DreamHack Summer tournament, this really seems more like the rule than an exception. The young Swedes haven't been able to crack the code to consistent results, and I believe the fault lies within leadership, or rather lackthereof.

How does fnatic go about fixing this? Can they fix it? Only time will tell, but one thing seems for sure; it can only happen through bringing some leadership onboard. We'll see if the Chief Gaming Officer can step in and offer some words of wisdom or if another roster change might be in the works, but for now the only consistent thing about fnatic we can say for sure is that they are inconsistent, and in the 4-8th region among the world's finest.



JW and the rest of fnatic battle inconsistency

4. Astana Dragons are officially a contender

We'd all been speculating it for quite a while, but this best-of-three series win over NiP on LAN truly certified the fact that Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev's side are capable of winning tournaments. It's worth pointing out that they really struggled versus fnatic and that had they lost that game, maybe they would've been the ones finishing fourth on home soil, but I think they feel confident they can outdo VeryGames in a good match, and now they know NiP aren't anywhere near untouchable either, as their three map overtime thriller win proves.

The stars of AD didn't exactly play consistently in Kiev, but it's also possible some of it has to do with their playing style, as we simply haven't seen consistent numbers from just about anyone since their team was founded; instead, all of their players have been chipping in with big performances here and there, and so far it has worked out fairly well, though it probably will not help them in the long run as it shows something still isn't consistent in their overall game strategy. It also still confuses me not seeing Markelov AWP more when he could have such a sizable edge over NiP and VG in that department.

What's worrysome to their competitors is that AD live together in the heart of Kiev, and the two former Na`Vi members have shown what they can do, given proper backing and conditions. The former Virtus.pro trio also strike me as the kind of players who are going to have no issues putting in ten hour practice days leading up to DreamHack Winter, so I have a really hard time imagining Astana not improving a ton more before the $100,000 check is handed out in November.

The fact Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow's squad isn't traveling to the RC EMS One Fall Finals or MSI Beat it! might also end up paying dividends to them in Jönköping, as they will have more time to prepare and other teams won't be able to study them as much in the final weeks leading up to the most important event of the year, and possibly in the long history of Counter-Strike.



Can Edward & co take down everyone at DreamHack Winter?

3. NiP are on thin ice without individual efforts

Both Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson (0.89 rating, -11 K-D) and Adam "friberg" Friberg (0.85 rating, -29 K-D) had very weak showings in Kiev, the latter drastically worse than his usual averages. After seeing the level of play in Kiev, I think it's safe to say NiP now need help from beyond their top three players to remain the world's number one. Their long bootcamp before DreamHack will help, but they've never had to deal with losses like this yet.

The defeats come at the worst possible time for the reigning world champions with the $250,000 tournament of DreamHack Winter looming just six weeks away, with RC EMS One Fall Finals and ESWC scheduled in between the two. I think skipping MSI Beat it! was the right move for NiP, regardless of them playing or not playing seriously in the match against VeryGames, as the prize distribution is sort of odd in Beijing and clearly doesn't offer as much value as DreamHack will.

Both Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund had somewhat weak performances in Kiev, although only by their very high standards, but I don't see that continuing in the coming tournaments. Losing a tournament before DreamHack will be good for NiP, as the online losses were prior to Mad Catz Vienna and DreamHack Summer, but ideally this should have happened some weeks down the line, not this early. It's also different getting upset by a single team in a tournament, and losing two best-of-three series, which we haven't seen before from NiP, and which suggests it's no longer a case of one specific style working well versus the Swedes, but rather teams catching up overall.

NiP have been riding the incredible confidence they earned from being the most dominant team in Counter-Strike's history, but losses have been piling up more and more since early April, and I wouldn't be surprised if that lowered confidence has something to do with for example Friberg's recent struggles. Either way, Alesund and Lindberg won't carry NiP all the way to that $100,000 check; they will need their teammates to step up as well, and that hasn't been the case for a while.



The world's best continue their relative struggles

2. ScreaM and shox can be the best duo in CS:GO

Often it seems like players mellow out after joining a stronger overall team because their freedom is cut, they don't necessarily get all the roles they want, and because they suddenly face a whole lot more pressure. You could say Benrlitom and Papillon had similar performances at last December's SLTV finals for Imaginary, only their supporting cast was nowhere near the same, the results weren't even close and their opponents weren't as strong.

Papillon finished the entire tournament, just seven maps in total, with an impressive +62 K-D difference, a 1.61 K/D ratio and an astonishing 1.42 rating, up there with the best individual performances in CS:GO so far. However, equally if not more important was Benrlitom, whose +33 K-D difference, 1.29 K/D ratio and 1.18 rating were largely put up in the incredibly important 2-0 besting of NiP in the upper bracket semi-finals, which was the true difference maker for VG in Kiev.

Benrlitom was an absolute monster in the series, recording 52 frags, +19 in K-D and a 1.42 rating in the match that once and for all proved to everyone VeryGames can defeat NiP. Their main rivals Lindberg and Alesund had weak performances, but it's likely due to the VG duo having such great games, including an above 67 headshot percentage for each player. Regardless, one has to wonder if this trend can or will continue in the future, and if so, will we the Swedes have to step aside as the best duo of fraggers in Counter-Strike?

Papillon has always been fairly consistent in both his aiming and decision making, but it definitely seems like Benrlitom has especially elevated his level of play in recent months. He has gone from an incredible aim star to an all around one of the best players in the world, one whom I wouldn't mind choosing in a hypothetical dreamteam over the Swedes of NiP anymore. If he continues to develop his game, he could become the world's best.



One part of the dynamic duo

1. VeryGames' window to win events is now open

Plenty of people had speculated about VeryGames' future should they continue to lose versus NiP, but all the doubters have been proven wrong following their convincing 2-0, including an incredible comeback from a 5-14 deficit, win over the Ninjas. The comments made by Johansson must have made that victory taste even sweeter, if at all possible, and you could make a case for attending MSI Beat it! hurting VG's preparation, but if they win in Beijing, the added confidence will work wonders for Kèvin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans' team.

Everyone from VeryGames seemed to play well in Kiev and it'd be hard to argue against Droolans' leadership in such a strong result, but it's clear Benrlitom and Papillon were in a league of their own, as described in the previous point about the duo. If the Frenchmen can match NiP in the individual skill department, which has been the case lately, Richard "Xizt" Landström's team really don't have a whole lot to fall back on.

It's also interesting to note VeryGames said after DreamHack Bucharest that they would alter their playing style to, in effect, be more like NiP's; simpler, and more reliant on pure individual skill. It's impossible to know if that's what sparked the strong performances by Benrlitom and Papillon in Kiev, but you have to assume that it definitely helped. One thing is for sure though, VeryGames now know how to beat NiP, and I can't imagine them making changes too radical to their winning formula, and we already know NiP doesn't change much at all.

If the Belgian and Frenchman continue winning frag battles versus Lindberg and Alesund, VeryGames are going to be in good shape heading into DreamHack. You can make a case for the rest of VeryGames being neck and neck with the rest of NiP, and the Frenchmen are lightyears ahead of NiP strategically, with the likes of Nathan "NBK" Schmitt still in reserves, ready to put up big performances when needed. If VeryGames continue playing like they did in Kiev, NiP and the rest of the scene should be scared.



Will this sight be more common in the future?

What were your takeaways from SLTV StarSeries VII finals? How do you think the results will affect the upcoming tournaments in the fall? Let us know below in the comment section.