The GO Malta Esports Festival 2018 Recap: CS:GO

A total of nine tournaments were held at The GO Malta Esports Festival 2018, embracing 9 of the top esports across the globe. One of which was our tournament designated for CounterStrike: Global Offensive, the most popular first-person-shooter in the world. With $15,000 worth of prize pool on the line and some of the most prominent upcoming names in the international scene, we had high hopes for this specific tournament which were satisfied doubtlessly. 

There was one slight hiccup with the tournament, however. Due to the gravity of the tournament, inviting 8 of the top teams in the world to fly in and compete on Maltese soil; the event, unfortunately, collided with ESL qualifications for another event. Nonetheless, the tournament was carried out, but the final stages were completed online as certain teams were forced to cancel their trips for the mentioned reason, which is completely understandable. I'll reinforce once more that this did not at all affect the intensity and ferocity of the overall level of competition. 

Group Stages

The eight international teams were split into two groups of four teams each. Group A housed Epsilon, AGO, Red Reserve and LeftOut in what would prove to be a tight squeeze while Group B would offer Team Vitality, Valiance, x6tence Galaxy and Team Spirit to battle it out. These group stages would be carried out online prior to the event. 

Starting with Group A; every single round mattered here. With certain matches going up to 16-13 roughly three times, these scorelines added up as the dust settled. Epsilon, AGO and Red Reserve all managed to steal 2 victories, trading with each other while each of them defeated LeftOut, who were truly left out, having no victories to boast about. With 2 victories and 1 loss each, we crossed our fingers for a three-way-tie, because we can't help but love competition.

However, it seemed that while Epsilon and AGO tied at 30 RF (rounds for), Red Reserve only amounted to 22, meaning that they would not make it into the Playoffs, instead, packing their bags. Epsilon and AGO would head to this bracket, though AGO would unfortunately not manage to make it, being replaced by 3rd place from Group B following careful evaluation of the situation and availability of the teams. 

Speaking of the other Group, this one would stratify itself typically, with a 9-6-3-0 ratio between the four teams. Here, Team Spirit would offer a victory to each of their opponents, as they failed to close out a single series, x6tence Galaxy hanging on to this sole victory. Meanwhile, Team Vitality would edge out over Valiance in a 16-13 match, claiming the three victories while Valiance would qualify for the Playoffs with a second place victory. As stated before, due to the situation, x6tence Galaxy would also be invited to play in the Playoffs due to availability. With Team Vitality and Epsilon topping their groups, bracket play was in sight. 

Bracket Play

In this tight bracket of only 4 teams, Valiance would match up against Epsilon and x6tence would entertain Vitality, each in a best-of-three format. There being no Losers' Bracket, losing meant going home, taking with them less of the prize pool. 

Epsilon vs Valiance would kick off with Mirage, where both European teams had found success earlier in the tournament. Remaining rather close up to half-time, Valiance would close it out over a reassuring 16-8 scoreline. Unfortunately, for Epsilon, with Dust 2 on the horizon, Valiance would once again repeat the scoreline to close out the series after 2 maps. 

A similar fate awaited x6tence on the opposite side of the bracket. However, the first map, once again Mirage, saw Vitality feeling the pressure as the scoreline drew close, concluding with a 13-16 for Vitality. The French team would quickly gain their bearings, ending the series with a strong 16-5 game on Cache. Once again, we'd like to thank the Swedish team of x6tence for filling in and performing quite well. To note, Epsilon and x6tence placed 3rd/4th.

On the 10th of December, the European teams of Vitality and Valiance were ready to conclude the event online, due to priorities elsewhere. Having encountered one another earlier on in the event, in Group B, Vitality had the advantage on paper, winning 16-11 at that point in time. However, this was a best-of-three and it was indeed a new day for Valiance. 

Here are the team rosters for the Grand Final squads, who'd face head to head, deserving of recognition: 

Valiance

•  Nestor 'LETN1' Tanic
•  Nemanja 'huNter' Kovac
•  Nemanja 'nexa' Isakovic
•  Otto 'ottoNd' Sihvo
•  Rokas 'EspiranTo' Milasuaskas 

Vitality

•  Nathan 'NBK Schmitt
•  Vincent 'Happy' Schopenhauer
•  Mathieu 'ZywOo' Herbaut
•  Dan 'Apex' Madesclaire
•  Cedric 'RpK' Guipouy. 

Game 1, on Nuke, would see Vitality clench an early, expected lead through a 16-9 victory with some poor choice on the side of Valiance. They'd have to pull themselves together to bring this back - and bring it back they did. Mirage hosting their second game, Valiance flipped the switch and the scoreline too, heading to the final map with a 16-8 victory. With the comeback almost complete and Dust 2 being a strong map for them, a 16-9 victory crowned them The GO Malta Esports Festival 2018, CS:GO champions. More than 1.5 million views accumulated throughout this specific tournament, while a peak of 13,000 CCV was reached at times, excluding Chinese viewership. 

We're happy to also mention that in the meantime both teams managed to qualify to the ESL Katowice 2019 Minor and we wish the best of luck to the two of them!

To learn more about the tournament, check out the event page here.