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StarLadder CS:GO Major - New Challengers Stage Round 4 full recap

January 23, 2020

Telling tales of esports, one word at a time, six years and counting

It was a short day in Berlin as all but one series ended 2-0 as thee more of the New Legends Stage spots have been distributed. Only one huge upset occurred today but it was a quite impactful one as FURIA was sent home by Syman Gaming, a side which no one expected to do anything going into the event but are still with a chance to advance.

FURIA crash out of the major as they’re stomped by Syman

The day began with a massive upset as Syman Gaming took out FURIA to survive. It wasn’t even close in the end as the Brazilians couldn’t get going on their opponent’s map pick, losing 8 CT rounds on Train. The map ended 16-9 in Syman’s favor but there was still hope that KSCERATO and co. would be able to turn things around on Inferno. Astoundingly, their CT side absolutely collapsed in the second half after securing 6 on the T side, losing all but one round as they were sent packing.

G2 advance to the New Legends Stage after forZe put up a good fight

You’d have been forgiven for thinking that North’s marathon encounter with CR4ZY would be the longest map of the stage but kennyS’ side got caught up in an insane quintuple overtime bonanza against forZe on their own map pick on Dust 2. Neither side managed to keep things together on the defense in regulation, only picking up four rounds, and G2 had to put 28 rounds on the board in the end to take down the CIS side. Inferno was also a close affair with a 16-12 end result. Fans of the Frenchies will be happy to see that both kennyS and shox are doing well at the same time – meanwhile, forZe’s impressive showing bodes well for their last round showdown with DreamEaters.

Grayhound stay alive; big changes are promised with Complexity

Despite their freefall in the early rounds, Grayhound managed to claw their way back to a 2-2 score as they comfortably took out Complexity as Sico and dexter shined on both maps. After a 16-11 win on Dust 2, they crushed the North Americans on their own map pick by only giving up four rounds. Owen ‘oBo’ Schlatter ended the event with a very disappointing performance, ending the series with a -14 K/D and the bottom-fragger of his side.

Complexity CEO Jason Lake didn’t exactly take the result well:

I love our players as individuals but these results won’t be tolerated.

If you’re a Tier 1 player looking for a fresh start at the best facility in the world, HMU. I’ll pay your buyout and give you the world’s highest salaries.

Let’s build a juggernaut.

Spread the word.
— Jason Lake (@JasonBWLake) August 25, 2019

NRG take out AVANGAR in dominant fashion

In the end, the North Americans only gave up 12 rounds across the two maps played to their CIS opponents as AdreN’s disappointingly poor showing with a -22 K/D paved the way to NRG’s swift victory and successful qualification to the New Legends Stage. Most notably, AVANGAR only had five kills across the entire team seven rounds in on their own map pick with three players simultaneously pulling off a James Bond impersonation.

Vitality stay alive, send Hellraisers home

There were some murmurs that Hellraisers could cause an upset here if they step up their individual performances, and it seemed like another surprise could be on the cards as they sprung to a 4-0 lead on T side Inferno and kept their advantage eight rounds in with a 6-2 scoreline. However, Vitality kicked into higher hear from then on, winning every single round in the half and then six in a row on the T side, quickly closing off the map with 16 rounds to 8. It wasn’t very different on Mirage either as NBK- stole the show and Hellraisers were sent packing.

CR4ZY make comeback to secure 3-1 record

The only series not to end 2-0 was the final one between two overperforming sides. In the end, it was CR4ZY who prevailed despite a sluggish start that saw them fall behind 1-6 on Inferno, and even though they managed to eventually even up the series, they fell apart on the business end of the map and gave up five rounds in a row on the T side. Next up, huNter- and co. took a huge lead on Dust 2 but faded away at the end of the half, eventually winning 16-11 after an 11-4 half.

The story was almost identical on the decider map as CR4ZY raced to a 11-1 lead only to finish the half 11-4 then losing six in a row at the start of the second half. The CIS side almost managed to complete the comeback but huNter-‘s had enough at that point, carrying his team almost single-handedly across the finish line, all the way to the New Legends Stage.