ELEAGUE Major 2017

Background and Significance

The ELEAGUE Major 2017 was the tenth edition of the most prestigious tournament series in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Entering the event, SK Gaming were the two-time defending champions, having won both Majors in 2016. The tournament was notable as the first Major to be organized by ELEAGUE, a professional esports league owned by Turner Broadcasting. It was also the third consecutive Major to feature a one million dollar prize pool, confirming the event's status as the top level of CS:GO competition.

Astralis arrived at the Major with a reputation for consistent playoff appearances but no championships. The Danish squad had been eliminated in the quarterfinals or semifinals in five previous Majors. Their opponents in the final, Virtus.pro, were seasoned veterans with one Major title from 2014. The stage was set for a clash between a team seeking its breakthrough and another aiming to reclaim past glory.

Tournament Format and Innovation

The Major featured sixteen teams. Eight teams, known as Legends, qualified directly from the previous Major, ESL One Cologne 2016. The other eight spots were filled by Challengers who advanced through a separate offline qualifier. A significant innovation for this Major was the introduction of the Swiss-system format for the group stage, replacing the older GSL format used in prior events.

In the Swiss-system group stage, teams played until they achieved three wins or three losses. Teams were matched against opponents with identical win-loss records after each round. This format aimed to create more balanced matches and reduce the chance of early elimination for top teams. The top eight teams from this stage advanced to a single-elimination playoff bracket, where all matches were played as best-of-three series.

The map selection process was detailed. For best-of-one matches in the group stage, teams alternated banning maps until five were removed, and one of the two remaining maps was randomly selected. For best-of-three playoff series, each team banned one map initially, then picked one map each for the first two games. The teams then banned one more map each, with the single remaining map serving as the decider if the series went to a third map.

Qualification and Team Changes

The path to the Major began with four regional Minors in Asia, Europe, CIS, and the Americas. The top two teams from each Minor, along with the bottom eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2016, competed in a 16-team Main Qualifier. This qualifier also used the Swiss-system format, with best-of-one matches. The first teams to secure three wins and advance were GODSENT and FaZe Clan, followed by mousesports, OpTic Gaming, and Team Dignitas. The final three spots went to Team EnVyUs, G2 Esports, and HellRaisers.

Significant roster changes occurred just before the Major. The entire Team Dignitas roster and coach mutually parted ways with the organization and were quickly signed by Danish football club F.C. Copenhagen and Nordisk Film, rebranding as North. In another swap, players Robin 'flusha' Rönnquist and Jesper 'JW' Wecksell moved from Fnatic to GODSENT, initially taking Fnatic's Legend status with them. However, a subsequent trade that sent Freddy 'KRiMZ' Johansson back to Fnatic and Jonas 'Lekr0' Olofsson to GODSENT returned the automatic Legend invitation to Fnatic.

Group Stage Results

The group stage first round seeding was determined by previous results. The top four teams from Cologne 2016 were first seeds, the 5th-8th place teams were second seeds, the top Main Qualifier teams were third seeds, and the remaining qualifiers were fourth seeds. In the first round, first seeds played a random fourth seed, and second seeds played a random third seed.

Two teams, Natus Vincere and Virtus.pro, achieved perfect 3-0 records to advance. Virtus.pro's path included wins over OpTic Gaming, G2 Esports, and Gambit Gaming. Three teams, Gambit Gaming, Fnatic, and SK Gaming, advanced with a 3-1 record. The final three playoff spots were taken by teams with 3-2 records: Astralis, FaZe Clan, and the newly formed North. This marked the first time players flusha and JW did not reach a Major playoff, as their team GODSENT lost to North in the fifth round and finished 9th.

Playoff Bracket and Quarterfinals

The playoff bracket was partially seeded and partially drawn. The top two seeds, Natus Vincere and Virtus.pro, were randomly paired with opponents from the pool of 3-2 teams. Natus Vincere drew Astralis, and Virtus.pro drew North. From the pool of 3-1 teams, Gambit and Fnatic were randomly drawn to face each other. The remaining two teams, SK Gaming and FaZe Clan, were then paired to complete the quarterfinal matchups.

The quarterfinals were broadcast by a roster of notable commentators. James Bardolph and ddk called the match where Astralis defeated Natus Vincere. Anders Blume and Semmler cast the Fnatic victory over Gambit Gaming. Sadokist and HenryG covered Virtus.pro's win against North. Blume and Semmler also called the match where the defending champions, SK Gaming, considered the world's best team of 2016, eliminated FaZe Clan.

Semifinals and Grand Final

The semifinals presented two high-stakes narratives. In the first, Astralis faced the three-time Major winner Fnatic, cast by Sadokist and HenryG. Astralis won, finally reaching a Major final after nine previous playoff appearances. The other semifinal, cast by James Bardolph and ddk, was a third consecutive Major meeting between Virtus.pro and SK Gaming. SK had narrowly won the two prior series, but this time Virtus.pro prevailed, ending SK's bid for a third straight title and advancing to their first final since 2014.

The grand final, cast by Anders Blume and Semmler, was a best-of-three thriller. Virtus.pro took the first map, Nuke, 16-12, with Snax and byali leading with 24 kills each. Astralis evened the series on Overpass, winning 16-14 after being down 13 14. Xyp9x was crucial with 28 kills. The final map was Train, a Virtus.pro stronghold. After a strong Polish start, Astralis mounted a comeback, tying the game at 14 rounds each, taking a 15-14 lead, and winning the final round for a 16-14 victory. Astralis player Kjaerbye led with 29 kills on Train and was named the Major's Most Valuable Player, becoming the youngest to earn the award.

Broadcast Team and Legacy

ELEAGUE retained much of its broadcast talent from its earlier seasons. The hosts were Sue 'Smix' Lee and Chris Puckett. Analysts included Richard Lewis, Jason 'moses' O'Toole, and Duncan 'Thorin' Shields. The commentator lineup was extensive, featuring James Bardolph, Anders Blume, Henry 'HenryG' Greer, Daniel 'ddk' Kapadia, Auguste 'Semmler' Massonnat, and Matthew 'Sadokist' Trivett. Observers and production staff like Kevin 'kVIN_S' Swift and producer Jason 'Alchemist' Baker ensured smooth coverage. All streams were broadcast on Twitch in various languages.

The event's legacy included a televised rematch later in 2017. Dubbed the Clash for Cash, it featured Astralis and Virtus.pro playing for a 250,000 dollar prize pool, which Astralis also won. In the immediate HLTV world rankings released after the Major, Astralis became the number one ranked team. The tournament also kept the Swiss-system format in future Majors, changing how the group stages of the most prestigious CS:GO events were conducted.