and lose to the undefeated on Lan NiP roster, 16-10. Because they came second in the group, they faced VeryGames in the semi’s and lost in a 2-1 fashion. Area51 did win the 3rd place decider and received a spot in the podium.

This tournament was the debut for North-American CS:GO in the international scene. All things considering, this was a good performance from of the squad. They only lost to the eventual grand-finalists and proved that NA must be reckoned with in the nearby future.

There was NiP and there was everyone else

At the time of ESWC 2012, Ninjas in Pyjamas were the best team in CS:GO. They’ve made an early shift from pervious iterations to Global Offensive and had a lot more hours, compared to everyone else. Andunlike some other teams, their roster consisted of 1.6 and Source players, bringing firepower and experience into the mix. This was also the time, where the 87-0 lan streak was just ramping up. By this time in November, the team only lost 1 map and that was in an online qualifier called “Thor open”.

At ESWC 2012 the team had another great showing. It was a breeze in the group stage and the only teams which came close to contest NiP were the Brazilians and the North-Americans. In the grand finals, where the titans of NiP and VeryGames met, everyone was hoping for a thrilling game. But even that one somewhat one-sided. The Swedes secured a 2-0 victory and crowned themselves victors.

VeryGames take two

VeryGames, like many other teams, have