This marks the end of our ESL One Katowice-related coverage. It's been a wild and—at least for many of us—unexpected ride. As our Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coverage team is still quite new, coming into the year's first major with relatively little experience was a tad scary (to say the least). Little did we know that we would be welcomed with such positive and thoughtful feedback throughout the community, and in the end, the support made the hundreds of hours we poured into our material seem like a nice dream.
We know we haven't been 100% perfect, which makes all the feedback all the more valuable. We are growing alongside a burgeoning scene and will no doubt only get better from here on. It is absolutely thrilling to think about the days to come, not only for us but the CS:GO community as a whole, and we are incredibly honored to be a part of this scene. To everyone who has read, commented on and circulated our material: Thank you! You make it all so worth it.
Without further ado, we would like to present to you our final piece for ESL One Katowice: Fnatic — A Tale of Two Tales.
P R E L U D E
It was a tale of two tales—
Of passion, of hate.
Strong and yet feeble,
Proud and yet shamed.
It is of little secret that Fnatic has drawn the scorn of the community at large since their incident at DreamHack Bucharest 2013. Compounding the hate were the anti-cheat witch hunts of 2014 that propelled Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer and Robin "flusha" Rönnquist—the latter chiefly and significantly so—to the forefront of perhaps the most hostile tirade CS:GO has yet to witness.
"Some players in my team feel like there is no more enjoyment in the game and would rather quit than keep playing in this situation."
— Robin "flusha" Rönnquist in response to the cheating accusations.
— Robin "flusha" Rönnquist in response to the cheating accusations.
The end of the year did not fare any better for the team, however, as their controversial Overpass boost against then-LDLC and the subsequent handling of the ordeal by both Fnatic and the DreamHack tournament organizers were called into question by the community, and Fnatic, succumbing to the unrelenting pressure, forfeited after being granted a rematch that most deemed unconscionable.
Over three months later, the Swedish squad found themselves once again at the precipice of another major with little more than themselves to push them forward. They were the favorites and the most likely to be the first to secure the titles of two majors, but as always, they walked into the battleground with minimal support and a heavy weight on their shoulders. The team would play for themselves and a modicum of blessings as they had done for so long. The battlefield may have been different, but the scenery was ever the same.
Fnatic's first match was against the perky Australians of Vox Eminor who displayed a breadth of raw talent during the offline qualifier. Although Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill's team came loaded with brilliant aimers, their experience and coordination were never enough to cause the Swedes to fret.
The first round exemplified the Australians' typical Terrorist play as they opted for a quick execute onto the A site of Inferno. An immediate entry from the captain onto Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson as he and two of his mates took over arch and a pick from the young up-and-comer, Justin "jks" Savage, from apartments allowed the Australians easy access onto the site. The round was quickly over with a gritty knife kill also secured by Aaron "AZR" Ward onto the stalwart captain of Fnatic, Markus "pronax" Wallsten. With only one member lost in the round, the Australians made a big opening statement: they were no longer the same team from events past.
Vox elected for full rifles against the pistol and armor of Fnatic's in the second round and went for a quick hit on B with three members, but flusha, who was sent to defend the site alongside KRiMZ and olof as if expecting the aggression, stopped the Terrorists dead in their tracks with two quick kills while the third subsequently fell to KRiMZ. The final two surviving members of Vox, jks and Luke "Havoc" Paton, decided to take a second shot at the same site with the timer winding down, but both similarly fell to KRiMZ and flusha and found their resting place alongside the rest of their team. The Fnatic eco was successful as it had been so many times before.
The Swedes clamped down on the scrappy Australians as Vox did not secure their second win until the seventh round, in which a superb individual effort by Azad "topguN" Orami opened up the B site entirely and provided the team with enough time to establish an impenetrable post-plant defense. Vox's Terrorist side would never shine again, however, as the following rounds played like a broken record with the Australians simply getting picked apart by a Fnatic playing a fairly standard Counter-Terrorist side and not relying on many tricks. Vox simply lacked the coordination to penetrate the Swedes' defense and mainly relied on brute force instead of timing smokes and flashes to force the CTs out of position. Although that did secure them entries and bomb plants in a couple of rounds, it was never enough for them to acquire an elusive third round as they found themselves down 2-13 at the half.
The Australians were not granted a thread of hope at the start of the second half as Fnatic easily took the pistol round with a full execute onto the B site. With a successful anti-eco and now up 15-2, Fnatic finally presented Vox with their third round win due to a failed A execute, but the Swedish powerhouse quickly stamped the life out of the Aussies in the next and final round, ending the match at 16-3. Fnatic's players were in great form, and their match against Vox was merely a warm-up.
Fnatic would meet the staunch veterans of Natus Vincere—a team they often found themselves fighting tooth and nail with—in the winners’ match on the highly untested, revamped Cobblestone. The pistol round began with the Terrorist side of Fnatic passively scouting the A site with four while olofmeister situated himself outside of B. With the clock close to 40 seconds, the Swedes decided to rotate towards B and join up with olof who was equipped with armor and a Tec-9 from pronax. What happened next was merely a prelude of olof's trek through the major: the Swedish renaissance man notched an ace after clutching a one-versus-four in which he masterfully isolated each player on Na`Vi to claim victory in four separate duels and capture the pistol round.
The following anti-ecos were overall uneventful as Fnatic only dropped one player throughout both, yet after only three rounds, olofmeister was already sporting a dominating 12-0 scoreline courtesy of a triple and quad kill following his ace. The first gun round saw Na`Vi playing their usual passive, standard setup which was easily dismantled by a push into B from the Swedes. It was not until olofmeister registered his first death in the sixth round, marking his score at 16-1, that the CIS-based team managed a point in their favor.
Fnatic would go on to secure two additional rounds, putting them up 11-1. At this point, pronax could be seen enjoying himself between rounds as he beamed with delight. Fnatic were in high spirits, and rightfully so; the lead was overwhelming on the Terrorist side of Cobblestone, revamped or not. To further demonstrate their preparation, Fnatic double naded Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács into oblivion through smoke as he pushed up to the outer A door. The message was clear: the CIS squad never had a chance against such thorough groundwork.
A dazzling triple kill from GuardiaN would allow Na`Vi a second round in their Counter-Terrorist half, leaving the score at 13-2 for the Swedes, but neither that nor their ensuing pistol and anti-eco victories were enough as Fnatic eventually closed the match at 16-7. The first day of Katowice was over, yet pronax and his men had yet to break a sweat. The next day would hopefully prove to be more onerous.
Day 2 started and ended much in the same vein as the previous, however, as Fnatic was faced with only a small amount of trouble in their first round of brackets. PENTA Sports was their first opponent in the best-of-three stage and would quickly show just how considerable the skill gap between tier one and tier two teams could actually be. Starting on the Terrorist side of Inferno, pronax led his team to a quick pistol-round victory after a quick and easy A site take. Some poking and prodding up banana had three PENTA players waiting at B, with two more playing arch side ready for a fast rotate. Once the fake was sold, Fnatic took A with minimal effort and olofmeister cleaned up the round with a Tec-9 quad kill.
In the second round, however, a botched, self-damaging grenade from flusha and a couple of fumbled engagements left Fnatic at a man disadvantage once they secured the A site. From there, too far damaged and with too many angles to hold, Fnatic's immaculate start to Game 1 would be met with some resistance as PENTA managed a successful retake with only pistols. Fnatic's prowess with the Tec-9 proved especially useful this map, however, as they rarely found themselves on eco; rather, partial buys with one or two Tec-9s and some Galils would facilitate the Swedes' playstyle and allow for deadly pushes led by top-fragger JW. JW's all-star performance on Inferno exemplified his power as an entry fragger and positional player.
Some particularly risky play and unorthodox setups clearly had PENTA scrambling on their Counter-Terrorist half. Fnatic's abusive map control went uncontested far too often, causing their clean and manipulative fakes to be all the more convincing. Every reactive positional move that PENTA tried to make was shut down by pronax, one step ahead at all times. An aggressive hold by the Germans in apartments would suddenly have Fnatic playing patiently, waiting for the CTs to push and get caught by any number of clever angles being held by the Swedes across alt-mid. Fnatic's strong fakes and calculated risks, coupled with their efficient, textbook executes, paid off in an 11-4 half-time score. PENTA came out of the gates strong in the second half, securing the pistol round and three more subsequent rounds with strong, standard executes. Unfortunately for PENTA, the train stopped there—an adaptive Counter-Terrorist side from Fnatic would give them a big upper hand in bombsite defenses. Aided by a few great individual performances by olofmeister and JW, Fnatic sealed the map at 16-8.
The story of map two, Cache, was similarly one-sided with the opening Counter-Terrorist half for Fnatic playing out in dominant fashion. In the pistol round, despite gaining control of most of the A site, PENTA was unable to get a safe bomb plant in, hindered by Fnatic's fast rotate and immediate responsive pressure. After taking one too many aim duels with flusha, the Germans would fall in round one and give up the next four in succession. After a 3-6 scoreline, hopes for PENTA to salvage a solid half remained, but the remaining six rounds had the Germans with very little left in the tank. One round after another, Fnatic's aggressive map control prevailed, with JW and olofmeister shutting down any sort of mid play and with flusha on B taking smart, efficient engagements which left PENTA's offensive forces battered by the time they made it to the site. Without any real AWP presence, PENTA was doomed to a 3-12 half dished out by a frighteningly confident Fnatic.
In short, the first half of this game forced PENTA up against a wall, completely outclassed by an unyielding defense at every angle. Kevin “kRYSTAL” Amend had a particularly poor showing, dropping only six frags in the map and was clearly not able to handle his AWP duels with neither JW nor olofmeister. PENTA took three rounds in the half: one gun round with a swift take of the B site, one Tec-9 rush which caught Fnatic playing greedy and aggressive on A, and a subsequent anti-eco round just after.
The final half of PENTA's tournament life played out much differently from their brief struggle in the second half of Inferno. Fnatic took an effortless pistol round with two quick entries onto A through squeaky thanks to olofmeister and his Tec-9. The Swedes took a beating in their second round, however, as PENTA's potential shined through their eco play. Three pistol kills put a dent in a Fnatic's burgeoning economy, and an eco conversion for PENTA in the following round saved the Germans from match point. It would only be for a single round, though, as Fnatic with a Tec-9 buy in the 19th round put the Swedes one round away from a convincing 2-0 victory. A massive partial-buy ace from Denis “denis” Howell saved PENTA for another round and consequently earned them an anti-eco round against an armorless Fnatic with three Glocks. A split-second defuse in a one-versus-one would buy PENTA their way into the next round, but it was clear that winning by such slim margins was never going to last. Finally, in the last gun round of the series, some unfortunate pushes by PENTA left them down two members when it came time for Fnatic's split execute onto the A site. With ease, Fnatic threw PENTA out of the tournament with a 16-7 scoreline on Cache. Fnatic’s first real challenge, it seemed, would not come until the semi-finals.
The first round exemplified the Australians' typical Terrorist play as they opted for a quick execute onto the A site of Inferno. An immediate entry from the captain onto Freddy "KRiMZ" Johansson as he and two of his mates took over arch and a pick from the young up-and-comer, Justin "jks" Savage, from apartments allowed the Australians easy access onto the site. The round was quickly over with a gritty knife kill also secured by Aaron "AZR" Ward onto the stalwart captain of Fnatic, Markus "pronax" Wallsten. With only one member lost in the round, the Australians made a big opening statement: they were no longer the same team from events past.
Vox elected for full rifles against the pistol and armor of Fnatic's in the second round and went for a quick hit on B with three members, but flusha, who was sent to defend the site alongside KRiMZ and olof as if expecting the aggression, stopped the Terrorists dead in their tracks with two quick kills while the third subsequently fell to KRiMZ. The final two surviving members of Vox, jks and Luke "Havoc" Paton, decided to take a second shot at the same site with the timer winding down, but both similarly fell to KRiMZ and flusha and found their resting place alongside the rest of their team. The Fnatic eco was successful as it had been so many times before.
The Swedes clamped down on the scrappy Australians as Vox did not secure their second win until the seventh round, in which a superb individual effort by Azad "topguN" Orami opened up the B site entirely and provided the team with enough time to establish an impenetrable post-plant defense. Vox's Terrorist side would never shine again, however, as the following rounds played like a broken record with the Australians simply getting picked apart by a Fnatic playing a fairly standard Counter-Terrorist side and not relying on many tricks. Vox simply lacked the coordination to penetrate the Swedes' defense and mainly relied on brute force instead of timing smokes and flashes to force the CTs out of position. Although that did secure them entries and bomb plants in a couple of rounds, it was never enough for them to acquire an elusive third round as they found themselves down 2-13 at the half.
The Australians were not granted a thread of hope at the start of the second half as Fnatic easily took the pistol round with a full execute onto the B site. With a successful anti-eco and now up 15-2, Fnatic finally presented Vox with their third round win due to a failed A execute, but the Swedish powerhouse quickly stamped the life out of the Aussies in the next and final round, ending the match at 16-3. Fnatic's players were in great form, and their match against Vox was merely a warm-up.
Fnatic would meet the staunch veterans of Natus Vincere—a team they often found themselves fighting tooth and nail with—in the winners’ match on the highly untested, revamped Cobblestone. The pistol round began with the Terrorist side of Fnatic passively scouting the A site with four while olofmeister situated himself outside of B. With the clock close to 40 seconds, the Swedes decided to rotate towards B and join up with olof who was equipped with armor and a Tec-9 from pronax. What happened next was merely a prelude of olof's trek through the major: the Swedish renaissance man notched an ace after clutching a one-versus-four in which he masterfully isolated each player on Na`Vi to claim victory in four separate duels and capture the pistol round.
The following anti-ecos were overall uneventful as Fnatic only dropped one player throughout both, yet after only three rounds, olofmeister was already sporting a dominating 12-0 scoreline courtesy of a triple and quad kill following his ace. The first gun round saw Na`Vi playing their usual passive, standard setup which was easily dismantled by a push into B from the Swedes. It was not until olofmeister registered his first death in the sixth round, marking his score at 16-1, that the CIS-based team managed a point in their favor.
The next three rounds played out to Fnatic's benefit as the passive and oft uninformed CIS squad was unable to compete with the Swedes' dominant map control. Up 8-1 and entering the 10th round, the brilliance of Fnatic's preparation was on full display as they triple naded Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev through smoke after he was boosted onto skyfall, causing the rifler to retreat as he miraculously survived with a mere three health. It was also this round that the young star of Na`Vi, Denis "seized" Kostin, secured two brilliant kills after flanking Fnatic from A long, and although he met his demise immediately after, the information he gained allowed Na`Vi to set up on A to repel the incoming Swedes. A lackluster effort from captain Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko and Sergey "starix" Ischuk, however, combined with flusha's pristine timing and positioning, left Fnatic two men up with the bomb planted against the three-health bearded Ukrainian. The round was already won for Fnatic.
Fnatic would go on to secure two additional rounds, putting them up 11-1. At this point, pronax could be seen enjoying himself between rounds as he beamed with delight. Fnatic were in high spirits, and rightfully so; the lead was overwhelming on the Terrorist side of Cobblestone, revamped or not. To further demonstrate their preparation, Fnatic double naded Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács into oblivion through smoke as he pushed up to the outer A door. The message was clear: the CIS squad never had a chance against such thorough groundwork.
A dazzling triple kill from GuardiaN would allow Na`Vi a second round in their Counter-Terrorist half, leaving the score at 13-2 for the Swedes, but neither that nor their ensuing pistol and anti-eco victories were enough as Fnatic eventually closed the match at 16-7. The first day of Katowice was over, yet pronax and his men had yet to break a sweat. The next day would hopefully prove to be more onerous.
Day 2 started and ended much in the same vein as the previous, however, as Fnatic was faced with only a small amount of trouble in their first round of brackets. PENTA Sports was their first opponent in the best-of-three stage and would quickly show just how considerable the skill gap between tier one and tier two teams could actually be. Starting on the Terrorist side of Inferno, pronax led his team to a quick pistol-round victory after a quick and easy A site take. Some poking and prodding up banana had three PENTA players waiting at B, with two more playing arch side ready for a fast rotate. Once the fake was sold, Fnatic took A with minimal effort and olofmeister cleaned up the round with a Tec-9 quad kill.
In the second round, however, a botched, self-damaging grenade from flusha and a couple of fumbled engagements left Fnatic at a man disadvantage once they secured the A site. From there, too far damaged and with too many angles to hold, Fnatic's immaculate start to Game 1 would be met with some resistance as PENTA managed a successful retake with only pistols. Fnatic's prowess with the Tec-9 proved especially useful this map, however, as they rarely found themselves on eco; rather, partial buys with one or two Tec-9s and some Galils would facilitate the Swedes' playstyle and allow for deadly pushes led by top-fragger JW. JW's all-star performance on Inferno exemplified his power as an entry fragger and positional player.
Some particularly risky play and unorthodox setups clearly had PENTA scrambling on their Counter-Terrorist half. Fnatic's abusive map control went uncontested far too often, causing their clean and manipulative fakes to be all the more convincing. Every reactive positional move that PENTA tried to make was shut down by pronax, one step ahead at all times. An aggressive hold by the Germans in apartments would suddenly have Fnatic playing patiently, waiting for the CTs to push and get caught by any number of clever angles being held by the Swedes across alt-mid. Fnatic's strong fakes and calculated risks, coupled with their efficient, textbook executes, paid off in an 11-4 half-time score. PENTA came out of the gates strong in the second half, securing the pistol round and three more subsequent rounds with strong, standard executes. Unfortunately for PENTA, the train stopped there—an adaptive Counter-Terrorist side from Fnatic would give them a big upper hand in bombsite defenses. Aided by a few great individual performances by olofmeister and JW, Fnatic sealed the map at 16-8.
The story of map two, Cache, was similarly one-sided with the opening Counter-Terrorist half for Fnatic playing out in dominant fashion. In the pistol round, despite gaining control of most of the A site, PENTA was unable to get a safe bomb plant in, hindered by Fnatic's fast rotate and immediate responsive pressure. After taking one too many aim duels with flusha, the Germans would fall in round one and give up the next four in succession. After a 3-6 scoreline, hopes for PENTA to salvage a solid half remained, but the remaining six rounds had the Germans with very little left in the tank. One round after another, Fnatic's aggressive map control prevailed, with JW and olofmeister shutting down any sort of mid play and with flusha on B taking smart, efficient engagements which left PENTA's offensive forces battered by the time they made it to the site. Without any real AWP presence, PENTA was doomed to a 3-12 half dished out by a frighteningly confident Fnatic.
In short, the first half of this game forced PENTA up against a wall, completely outclassed by an unyielding defense at every angle. Kevin “kRYSTAL” Amend had a particularly poor showing, dropping only six frags in the map and was clearly not able to handle his AWP duels with neither JW nor olofmeister. PENTA took three rounds in the half: one gun round with a swift take of the B site, one Tec-9 rush which caught Fnatic playing greedy and aggressive on A, and a subsequent anti-eco round just after.
The final half of PENTA's tournament life played out much differently from their brief struggle in the second half of Inferno. Fnatic took an effortless pistol round with two quick entries onto A through squeaky thanks to olofmeister and his Tec-9. The Swedes took a beating in their second round, however, as PENTA's potential shined through their eco play. Three pistol kills put a dent in a Fnatic's burgeoning economy, and an eco conversion for PENTA in the following round saved the Germans from match point. It would only be for a single round, though, as Fnatic with a Tec-9 buy in the 19th round put the Swedes one round away from a convincing 2-0 victory. A massive partial-buy ace from Denis “denis” Howell saved PENTA for another round and consequently earned them an anti-eco round against an armorless Fnatic with three Glocks. A split-second defuse in a one-versus-one would buy PENTA their way into the next round, but it was clear that winning by such slim margins was never going to last. Finally, in the last gun round of the series, some unfortunate pushes by PENTA left them down two members when it came time for Fnatic's split execute onto the A site. With ease, Fnatic threw PENTA out of the tournament with a 16-7 scoreline on Cache. Fnatic’s first real challenge, it seemed, would not come until the semi-finals.
“We’ve never had the support of the crowd. If we face NiP in Sweden the audience always cheers for them.”
— Markus “pronax” Wallsten in an interview with Aftonbladet.
— Markus “pronax” Wallsten in an interview with Aftonbladet.
The overflowing gallery of Day 3 bellowed to the presence of their hometown heroes Virtus.pro. The tension in the air with the two elite teams situated on stage was on a level incomparable to days prior. Fnatic's first serious challengers were before them, and they came equipped with an army.
The maps for the series were decided amongst the rumbling of the crowd: Cobblestone, Mirage and Overpass would be the battlegrounds. With Nuke banned by Fnatic, Virtus.pro could not have asked for a better first two maps. Since the days of the now-obsolete version of Cobblestone, Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas and his team have had a peculiar affinity for the map that was hated by many. Mirage, of course, was their signature map, their hometown inside the game, and their personal fortress. The battle would be near impossible for the Poles, however, if the series went to a third map, as their record on Overpass against the Swedes was abysmal at best. A 2-0 victory was absolutely necessary.
Fnatic started off on Cobblestone as the Terrorists. The Swedish unit positioned four outside of B and in lower halls while flusha remained mid to stave off any potential flanks. With the bomb in mid beside flusha, a quick execute onto B was certainly out of the question bar any failed early aggression from the Poles. At the 50-second mark, three Fnatic members hopped down skyfall and into connector while JW joined flusha in pushing towards A from mid with the bomb. The A split was on, but the Swedes in connector would be met with Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski's USP-S as he instantly sniped down pronax from a distance. The top performer of previous majors quickly turned his attention back to the sub-unit of JW and flusha, taking down the former then spinning to secure his third kill on olofmeister as the Tec-9 guru came through connector. Although Snax would fall to flusha soon after, the remarkable triple kill enabled the rest of his team to finish the job, putting Virtus.pro up 1-0 to start things off.
Fnatic quickly responded with a Tec-9 armor buy in the second round. A B split and quick entry from JW, which led to a triple kill for the Swedish phenom and a double for olof, quickly tied the score at 1-1. Army or no army, Fnatic was never one to shy from a war. Setting the tone for the rest of the match, Virtus.pro would force a buy of their own, yet this time, they were successful at repelling Fnatic's B push. A huge effort by Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski tagging three with his Scout and a preemptive rotate accumulating in four defending the site brought the score to 2-1 in the Poles' favor. Another failed B push by Fnatic, equipped with four rifles, and consecutive defensive victories and big plays by the in-game leader, Filip "Neo" Kubski, would bring the score to 6-1. The Swedes were forced to take a timeout.
It was not until the tenth round—and a huge individual effort by olof with three stellar AWP picks—that Fnatic would finally secure their second round. With their chains finally loosened, Fnatic managed to close the half at a respectable 6-9 after meticulously picking off the Poles. With olof lurking with an AWP and the rest of Fnatic teaming up to take control of various points around the map, the Swedes had finally found their recipe for success.
The rest of the match would culminate into arguably the single best map played in the major. A successful pistol round and botched forced buys from Virtus.pro shot Fnatic to a 10-9 lead, but the ensuing 20th round witnessed phenomenal entries from Paweł "byali" Bieliński into the B site to tie the score up for a third time. pasha would try to one up byali in the following round with one of the highlights of the tournament: after receiving a boost from Neo, pasha secured an AWP kill on JW positioned on top of the vehicle at A. The clever maneuver put VP a man up, and shortly thereafter, a round up.
Down 10-12 after an eco, Fnatic buckled in. With another triple kill from olofmeister, beautiful reactive rotates, and a quad kill from flusha, the Swedish squad found themselves up 15-12 and at match point. The end of an arduous first map was finally in sight. Neither VP nor the crowd were anywhere close to done, however, as the Poles repelled Fnatic's CT aggression and dealt a blow to the Swedes' economy. Fnatic, too anxious to settle the match, half bought and were consequently punished for it as they went into the last round with two MAG-7s. Unable to overcome the disadvantage, Fnatic conceded the last round of the half to Virtus.pro, and the match went into overtime behind the clamoring of the crowd.
The start of overtime was horrendous for the Swedish side. Stunning opening frags and out-of-position CTs suddenly added two rounds for Virtus.pro. The last round of the first half of overtime looked no better as Fnatic had only two rifles to work with, but in a stroke of genius, JW clinched three consecutive kills with his signature CZ-75 to give Fnatic one round. However, down 16-17 and swapping to the Terrorist side, the momentum, the game, and the audience were all in VP's favor. The hill Fnatic would have to climb was a tremendous one.
Yet climb it they did. With two incredibly crisp executes onto the B site, Fnatic put themselves on match point with Virtus.pro's economy in complete shambles. Regardless, VP came out with two men ahead in the last round due to a fatal one-two punch from Snax and Neo, but entries from olofmeister and JW onto the B site gave the advantage back to the Swedes. Unable to retake, VP dropped the first map to Fnatic in dramatic fashion. It was at this moment, however, that the most impressive element of Fnatic's members shined brightest: their steadfast, unshakable spirit. Going into Game 2 on their opponent's best map, it would prove to be an invaluable asset.
All things considered, the Poles were the favorites on paper to take the second map, but it was far from a wide margin. The first half started with Fnatic on the Counter-Terrorist side, and their opening of choice was a standard 2-1-2 split. Meanwhile, Neo and his squad aimed to acquire their signature mid control as four rushed up middle with TaZ left lurking in palace. A sensational one tap from flusha in sniper's nest instantly took byali out of commission, however, and provided Fnatic with all the information they needed. Fnatic positioned the two members on A by ticket booth to avoid being sandwiched on both sides, and KRiMZ instantly took out TaZ as he rushed out from palace. Meanwhile, flusha would turn his attention towards jungle to take out Neo as he came from connector.
On the other side of the map, pronax and JW pushed up catwalk to battle the Terrorists at mid, but they were met with pasha and crumbled to his dominant pistol work. KRiMZ and olof doubled up on Snax from the A site as he came up connector, leaving pasha alone in a one on three with only 34 health to spare. With the biceps taking a long-range aim battle with KRiMZ and olof from the bottom of connector, flusha flanked him from catwalk and ended the round. The pistol was Fnatic's to flaunt.
In the second round, Virtus.pro executed a brilliant B fake which was aided by KRiMZ pushing up mid and acquiring misleading information. The Polish side subsequently sent three into A with the bomb and secured themselves a free bomb plant. With the Fnatic squad in flux and across the map, save for olof who waited passively by CT spawn, VP were able to position themselves brilliantly with their remaining members. byali pushed into CT spawn and removed olof with his Tec-9, while TaZ creeped into sniper's nest to flank the CTs rotating from B. TaZ's flank proved fruitless, however, as he only managed a single kill before falling. With no defuse kit picked up, pronax held the defuse while the rest of his team cleaned up the last remaining Terrorist in pasha. The anti-eco was successful yet only with a second—if even that—to spare. In the meantime, VP secured a bomb plant, a couple of kills, and points for ingenuity, but their inability to close out the round was most certainly disappointing for the Poles nonetheless. Sighs of relief from the Swedish side were visible on screen.
The first gun round had Virtus.pro once again leading with an attempt to grab mid control. pronax, knowing very well what the Poles had in store, was promptly boosted on catwalk to leer over the smoke that he knew would come. As VP pushed up mid, pronax managed to secure a kill on Snax at the bottom of connector, but he was instantly traded out by Neo as he came up catwalk. With cat secured, VP decided to send two back down middle and into apartments where they were graced with JW's unfortunate timing. Swapping to his pistol as he ran through apartments for information, JW donated the man advantage in an instant. With both defending members of the B site down, Fnatic were forced to compensate, rotating flusha into B and KRiMZ up middle to seek out info. Yet VP were one step up ahead, having already rotated to A. A surprise entry from byali onto the lone CT left defending the site cleared the way and VP easily managed to notch their first round win.
To vie for early mid control, Fnatic responded by sending olof to sniper's nest with an AWP and was instantly rewarded with the initial kill. A man down, VP opted for a four-man execute onto the A site but they were easily thwarted by a triple from KRiMZ. It wasn't until the eighth round that Virtus.pro would find their footing, prompted by a magnificent one-versus-three clutch by Neo, the 1.6 legend. From 1-6 to 7-6, the Virtus Plow was in full effect, anchored as always by exceptional aim and blinding entries. Yet Fnatic would once again show why they were the best—that neither momentum nor crowd support could phase them. In the second-to-last round of the half, olof pushed through A stairs and into T spawn, knowing full well that VP liked to have one member playing outside of A or inside palace. And he was right, as he found byali with his sights set towards palace waiting for Fnatic's trademark aggression, but the young rifler misread the situation as olof blasted him from the side. With a man up, Fnatic easily equalized the score, and they went into the second half with an 8-7 scoreline following another won round.
Though it was without a doubt a marvelous T-side half for Virtus.pro, it was nothing compared to the brutal bulldozer that was soon to run them over. The second pistol was Fnatic's as they executed onto the A site with the entire Polish side playing passive and waiting for the retake. It would prove unsuccessful, however, as Fnatic readily shot them down from all sides. While Virtus.pro was able to secure an exceptionally clean gun round three rounds later, it would be their final moment of glory for the tournament.
The next five rounds were simply meticulous, orderly and commanding from the Swedes. Two pristine executes onto the B site destroyed the Poles' economy, and the following anti-eco by Fnatic was simply textbook as they quickly took A as five. Up 14-8, Fnatic opted for a 2-2 split between mid and underpass while one member lurked outside of A. JW, boosted underneath sniper's nest, would find an easy kill on pasha as the latter peeked the position. The Swedes would then revert to their traditional 2-1-2 split as they patiently waited for any desperate aggression from Virtus.pro, but they were unfortunately not granted a free kill. With a plethora of nades left in their arsenal, Fnatic executed onto A with their man advantage, and match point was easily theirs.
The end of the tunnel was finally in sight as Virtus.pro's economy was once again obliterated. Up against only two rifles, Fnatic elected for some early three-man aggression into A and caught the Poles off guard. Virtus.pro would once again fight back, however, as kills from TaZ, Neo and Snax put them up one man against olofmeister and flusha. flusha would be traded out for Neo post-plant, which left TaZ and Snax to deal with olofmeister who was positioned in palace with an AWP. With Katowice’s MVP down to a mere 37 health and smoked off, the round finally looked like it would go VP's way. The smoke would prove fatal though as a gap allowed olof to snipe down an unsuspecting Snax, and, with a molotov conveniently unused, olof put the bomb to flames—along with the hopes of an entire nation.
There was only one team remaining.
The final day of ESL One Katowice was a scene that was far from rare. For a third time, the grand finals of a major would see Fnatic across the aisle from Richard “Xizt” Landstrom and his fellow Ninjas in Pyjamas. The maps for the final were chosen: NiP banned Overpass, Fnatic banned Nuke, Dust 2 was chosen as the first map by the Ninjas while Fnatic chose Cache as the second. The final map, by the blessings of the all-mighty-yet-sometimes-decrepit randomer, was ordained to be Inferno.
Dust 2 began with Fnatic on the Counter-Terrorist side. Even with a bold A-site stack in the first pistol round, Fnatic's setup wavered under the pressure brought by a coordinated NiP squad. Exercising smart movement and decision making, the Ninjas won their duels and secured the opening round of the ESL One Katowice grand finals. The tale of the tape, however, would give the edge to Fnatic when it came to eco rounds and force buys. In the following round, a second A stack, with armor and pistols focused towards long, proved fruitful for Fnatic as they quickly shot to a 3-1 lead on the first map. Fnatic showed greater respect in the first gun round, playing conservatively and ceding mid, waiting for NiP to make their move. As the rounds progressed, Fnatic's normally aggressive plays never quite did the trick—mainly because they never had to. Early round stacks and quick pokes around the map provided pronax with plenty of information to work with, and it combined with Fnatic's safe and fundamental Counter-Terrorist setups to give the team a 10-5 half.
On the NiP side of things, the first half was surely a struggle, but they eventually found their footing through strong mid control and vicious mid-to-B splits. Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Adam "friberg" Friberg frequently poked up catwalk or into the B site before NiP would gather and execute. Ultimately, NiP did a perfectly good job keeping Fnatic on their toes and obtaining map control, but they only found success when assaulting the B bombsite. Fnatic quickly worked to plug the holes in their defense, and even began to play their classic map control style, but the Ninjas were able to secure a fifth round in the first half to draw a little bit closer.
The second pistol round of the grand finals had a Terrorist-side Fnatic claim a firm upper hand in the post-plant on A site. The round was fumbled, however, by some awkward positioning and a swift retake by Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund. They would close out the round, even as olofmeister sat in pit trying to pick away at the defusing Counter-Terrorists. In later gun rounds, KRiMZ and olofmeister anchored around the map and made huge progress for Fnatic, very commonly opening the round with an easy kill on a rotating CT. Though the Ninjas were able to capitalize fully on their pistol round win and take three rounds in total from it, pronax's Terrorist side mastery led Fnatic to a brief streak of convincing wins. That burgeoning confidence was knocked out from Fnatic, however, when things crumbled for flusha in tunnels and a crucial round spiraled out of control. “NiP magic” finally came into play and almost turned the game on its head, but it was too late. After a short timeout, a level-headed Fnatic squad closed out the game at 16-14 by returning to their comfort zone of smart and solid setups.
The excitement of the first map continued on Cache as an unconventional pistol round opened the second map of an explosive finals. Ninjas in Pyjamas, starting on the Terrorist side, enacted a clever double boost which quickly pinched together for a blinding A split. With absolutely zero mid control from Fnatic at the start of the round, NiP found their way onto the A site and scored themselves a very comfortable plant in A main. Fnatic was unable to retake, ceding the pistol round to the T’s. After converting the next two anti-ecos, the first gun round would have NiP in complete control on Cache.
Yet Fnatic had a plan. Conversely to their pistol rounds, Fnatic began to play heavy on mid control in their gun rounds. At times, they pushed three members forward to gain complete hold of vents and kept a constant eye on boost and garage. Xizt's executes faltered not too long into the half, however, and it left Aleksi “allu” Jalli with an inability to play for picks. With their spine broken, the other NiP members were spread just a bit too thin. Fnatic capitalized with some standard setups, save for JW opting for his typical aggressive peeks. Even with the occasional over-rotate and bad read by Fnatic, NiP had trouble holding under the pressure of some extremely coordinated retakes. Fnatic secured eight rounds in the half, but a big individual performance from allu brought NiP together for the final two. Heavy mid and boost pressure with the help of allu's AWP secured the A site for the Ninjas twice in a row and the half concluded at 8-7 in favor of Fnatic.
With the lead in their hands, they followed the trend of unusual pistol strategies coupled with Fnatic-esque plays: A molotov into vents followed immediately by JW and flusha taking control of checkered. Once they showed their presence at B, JW was boosted into vents to take mid control. By losing their handle on A/B main and mid, NiP was left without much working intel. JW rotated up highway as flusha took his place anchoring mid and the A split appeared to be successful. Yet an astonishing retake from allu and Xizt would win them a two-versus-three scenario, and NiP had officially taken both pistol rounds off of Fnatic. One of the key factors to NiP's success in this series was their resilience when facing pistol/armor pushes—one of Fnatic's strongest facets. NiP survived the Tec-9 onslaught to kick off the half with three full rounds, and their momentum spiraled into a 14-8 lead. Their extensive map knowledge and anti-stratting proved insurmountable, and the Ninjas picked Fnatic apart from the start of every gun round. NiP whittled down Fnatic’s numbers with perfectly timed peeks and preemptive strikes on player positions before the letter could even execute. Only two rounds were able to slip through the cracks of the second half Counter-Terrorist defense, one of which was decided by a low-health one-versus-one. NiP and Xizt displayed a masterclass on Cache, and they took down Fnatic by a final scoreline of 16-10 to push the series to a third and final map.
Four rounds do not constitute the end of the world for the Terrorist side of Inferno, however, and NiP—in classic NiP fashion—would soldier on. To kick off the second half, Fnatic demolished the NiP defense at A with an extremely clean execute through lane, aided by a perfect popflash to clear out both friberg and GeT_RiGhT in pit. Fnatic converted three in a row in the second half to push them up 14-4, and it appeared as if NiP had half their bodies in their graves. Yet NiP’s CT-side Inferno was considered the paragon of standard play, and they were able to take advantage of a number of risky, almost haphazard plays from Fnatic. Their overconfidence at tie point became a liability, and NiP’s expertly organized defense dismantled them. Rounds ticked up on NiP’s side of the scoreboard, but Fnatic recovered in the 23rd round with a fast halls execute catching NiP off balance. Two fast entries and a strong post-plant left the rotating B players and allu in library with too steep a mountain to climb. Fnatic earned match point, but “NiP magic” was there to contest them. The familiarity seeping between both teams and the pressure of a grand finals resulted in rounds being played out slower and more methodically.
NiP's Counter-Terrorist setup was nearly unchanging, but Fnatic could not close out a round. World-class fundamentals and strong teamplay led Xizt and his Ninjas to five more rounds in succession, highlighting their stunning coordination and a propensity for exceptionally strong retakes. It seemed for a time that the fierce, fundamental play at the core of NiP's game could simply not be countered, out-strategized, or overwhelmed. The slow play from Fnatic in this stage of the game looked less deliberate than ever, and they appeared unsure of how to shake the rock-solid defense of NiP’s and unable to convert on any progress they made.
Just as the momentum was about to carry Ninjas in Pyjamas into overtime, Fnatic found the $100,000 crack in NiP's armor. A standard hit onto A seemed like it would accumulate into another fruitful round for NiP, but as they opted to play for a retake, Fnatic hit the shots they needed. With only olofmeister and KRiMZ alive against f0rest, friberg, and Xizt, the odds were stacked against Fnatic. Yet with a quick bomb plant and post-plant positions based solely on running the clock, Fnatic cut down NiP as the crowd chanted for the Ninjas. Xizt, the last member of NiP remaining, was left with too little time to complete the defuse. Fnatic finally broke the Ninjas' defensive line and ended the final map of ESL One Katowice at 16-13. This time, Fnatic would be the ones greeted by the roars of the crowd. This time, on that illustrious stage, it was their victory—in more ways than one.
Dust 2 began with Fnatic on the Counter-Terrorist side. Even with a bold A-site stack in the first pistol round, Fnatic's setup wavered under the pressure brought by a coordinated NiP squad. Exercising smart movement and decision making, the Ninjas won their duels and secured the opening round of the ESL One Katowice grand finals. The tale of the tape, however, would give the edge to Fnatic when it came to eco rounds and force buys. In the following round, a second A stack, with armor and pistols focused towards long, proved fruitful for Fnatic as they quickly shot to a 3-1 lead on the first map. Fnatic showed greater respect in the first gun round, playing conservatively and ceding mid, waiting for NiP to make their move. As the rounds progressed, Fnatic's normally aggressive plays never quite did the trick—mainly because they never had to. Early round stacks and quick pokes around the map provided pronax with plenty of information to work with, and it combined with Fnatic's safe and fundamental Counter-Terrorist setups to give the team a 10-5 half.
On the NiP side of things, the first half was surely a struggle, but they eventually found their footing through strong mid control and vicious mid-to-B splits. Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Adam "friberg" Friberg frequently poked up catwalk or into the B site before NiP would gather and execute. Ultimately, NiP did a perfectly good job keeping Fnatic on their toes and obtaining map control, but they only found success when assaulting the B bombsite. Fnatic quickly worked to plug the holes in their defense, and even began to play their classic map control style, but the Ninjas were able to secure a fifth round in the first half to draw a little bit closer.
The second pistol round of the grand finals had a Terrorist-side Fnatic claim a firm upper hand in the post-plant on A site. The round was fumbled, however, by some awkward positioning and a swift retake by Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund. They would close out the round, even as olofmeister sat in pit trying to pick away at the defusing Counter-Terrorists. In later gun rounds, KRiMZ and olofmeister anchored around the map and made huge progress for Fnatic, very commonly opening the round with an easy kill on a rotating CT. Though the Ninjas were able to capitalize fully on their pistol round win and take three rounds in total from it, pronax's Terrorist side mastery led Fnatic to a brief streak of convincing wins. That burgeoning confidence was knocked out from Fnatic, however, when things crumbled for flusha in tunnels and a crucial round spiraled out of control. “NiP magic” finally came into play and almost turned the game on its head, but it was too late. After a short timeout, a level-headed Fnatic squad closed out the game at 16-14 by returning to their comfort zone of smart and solid setups.
The excitement of the first map continued on Cache as an unconventional pistol round opened the second map of an explosive finals. Ninjas in Pyjamas, starting on the Terrorist side, enacted a clever double boost which quickly pinched together for a blinding A split. With absolutely zero mid control from Fnatic at the start of the round, NiP found their way onto the A site and scored themselves a very comfortable plant in A main. Fnatic was unable to retake, ceding the pistol round to the T’s. After converting the next two anti-ecos, the first gun round would have NiP in complete control on Cache.
Yet Fnatic had a plan. Conversely to their pistol rounds, Fnatic began to play heavy on mid control in their gun rounds. At times, they pushed three members forward to gain complete hold of vents and kept a constant eye on boost and garage. Xizt's executes faltered not too long into the half, however, and it left Aleksi “allu” Jalli with an inability to play for picks. With their spine broken, the other NiP members were spread just a bit too thin. Fnatic capitalized with some standard setups, save for JW opting for his typical aggressive peeks. Even with the occasional over-rotate and bad read by Fnatic, NiP had trouble holding under the pressure of some extremely coordinated retakes. Fnatic secured eight rounds in the half, but a big individual performance from allu brought NiP together for the final two. Heavy mid and boost pressure with the help of allu's AWP secured the A site for the Ninjas twice in a row and the half concluded at 8-7 in favor of Fnatic.
“They took a major from us on Inferno; let’s take a major from them,”
— Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer to his team before the final map.
— Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer to his team before the final map.
With the lead in their hands, they followed the trend of unusual pistol strategies coupled with Fnatic-esque plays: A molotov into vents followed immediately by JW and flusha taking control of checkered. Once they showed their presence at B, JW was boosted into vents to take mid control. By losing their handle on A/B main and mid, NiP was left without much working intel. JW rotated up highway as flusha took his place anchoring mid and the A split appeared to be successful. Yet an astonishing retake from allu and Xizt would win them a two-versus-three scenario, and NiP had officially taken both pistol rounds off of Fnatic. One of the key factors to NiP's success in this series was their resilience when facing pistol/armor pushes—one of Fnatic's strongest facets. NiP survived the Tec-9 onslaught to kick off the half with three full rounds, and their momentum spiraled into a 14-8 lead. Their extensive map knowledge and anti-stratting proved insurmountable, and the Ninjas picked Fnatic apart from the start of every gun round. NiP whittled down Fnatic’s numbers with perfectly timed peeks and preemptive strikes on player positions before the letter could even execute. Only two rounds were able to slip through the cracks of the second half Counter-Terrorist defense, one of which was decided by a low-health one-versus-one. NiP and Xizt displayed a masterclass on Cache, and they took down Fnatic by a final scoreline of 16-10 to push the series to a third and final map.
Inferno would be the scene of Katowice’s climax. The two legendary teams were tied, and both had storied histories on the deciding map. The stage was set, and the pistol round started with Fnatic playing a safe setup with a standard split as the CTs. A quick peek from JW into alt-mid, however, provided pronax with all the information he needed to call for their A setup. As Fnatic doubled up in pit—with an extra man by moto—the A attack by NiP was quickly shut down. The Ninjas’ three-two split between halls and lane proved futile, but they were able to grab an eco round conversion due largely to a star performance by allu in the second round. This led both teams into a force-buy-against-force-buy scenario to claim the early advantage. Fnatic earned a painless opening pick with fast banana control in the third round, and the information they gained allowed them to preemptively rotate and stop the Ninjas in their tracks. Undeterred, strong eco pushes from NiP into B kept the score running back and forth, but Fnatic’s defense would prevail and stabilize their economy for a 6-2 lead. pronax's finessed balance between banana and apartments control kept their Counter-Terrorist side on lock. NiP's offense never quite came together in the first half: f0rest was never able to open rounds out of boiler or halls and friberg was met with extreme resistance at banana. Fnatic took away their opponent’s strongest opening options, and the Ninjas were relegated to playing defaults and hammering away at Fnatic’s advantageous angles. NiP still managed to pick up two more rounds in the first half to keep things close, as Fnatic over-rotated against a fake in one and pushed carelessly into apartments in the other. However, Fnatic’s understanding of NiP’s setups and strats, combined with their crisp, reactive rotations, still had them sitting pretty at the end of the half—11 to 4 in favor of Fnatic.
Four rounds do not constitute the end of the world for the Terrorist side of Inferno, however, and NiP—in classic NiP fashion—would soldier on. To kick off the second half, Fnatic demolished the NiP defense at A with an extremely clean execute through lane, aided by a perfect popflash to clear out both friberg and GeT_RiGhT in pit. Fnatic converted three in a row in the second half to push them up 14-4, and it appeared as if NiP had half their bodies in their graves. Yet NiP’s CT-side Inferno was considered the paragon of standard play, and they were able to take advantage of a number of risky, almost haphazard plays from Fnatic. Their overconfidence at tie point became a liability, and NiP’s expertly organized defense dismantled them. Rounds ticked up on NiP’s side of the scoreboard, but Fnatic recovered in the 23rd round with a fast halls execute catching NiP off balance. Two fast entries and a strong post-plant left the rotating B players and allu in library with too steep a mountain to climb. Fnatic earned match point, but “NiP magic” was there to contest them. The familiarity seeping between both teams and the pressure of a grand finals resulted in rounds being played out slower and more methodically.
NiP's Counter-Terrorist setup was nearly unchanging, but Fnatic could not close out a round. World-class fundamentals and strong teamplay led Xizt and his Ninjas to five more rounds in succession, highlighting their stunning coordination and a propensity for exceptionally strong retakes. It seemed for a time that the fierce, fundamental play at the core of NiP's game could simply not be countered, out-strategized, or overwhelmed. The slow play from Fnatic in this stage of the game looked less deliberate than ever, and they appeared unsure of how to shake the rock-solid defense of NiP’s and unable to convert on any progress they made.
Just as the momentum was about to carry Ninjas in Pyjamas into overtime, Fnatic found the $100,000 crack in NiP's armor. A standard hit onto A seemed like it would accumulate into another fruitful round for NiP, but as they opted to play for a retake, Fnatic hit the shots they needed. With only olofmeister and KRiMZ alive against f0rest, friberg, and Xizt, the odds were stacked against Fnatic. Yet with a quick bomb plant and post-plant positions based solely on running the clock, Fnatic cut down NiP as the crowd chanted for the Ninjas. Xizt, the last member of NiP remaining, was left with too little time to complete the defuse. Fnatic finally broke the Ninjas' defensive line and ended the final map of ESL One Katowice at 16-13. This time, Fnatic would be the ones greeted by the roars of the crowd. This time, on that illustrious stage, it was their victory—in more ways than one.
THE FIRST STEPS
THE TRIBULATION
THE FATED REUNION
F A R F R O M “T H E E N D”
A lot can be said about a team that seemingly attracts and elicits controversy, but there is also much to be said about a team that is able to crawl to the top over mountains of adversity. What was on display in Poland was a lot more than just skill—it was the mental fortitude of a champion, crafted and perfected after months upon months of perseverance. Though with less to raise their spirits, the members of Fnatic still portrayed to the world their constrained yet unwavering heart. They were the first to win one major, the first to claim two, and as the story continues, they may very well be the first to earn three. Whether it will be with the majority support of the crowd, however…
Well, that is a tale for another time.