Counter-Strike’s Top Juggernauts to Clash at ECS Season 3 Finals
The top teams in Counter-Strike from North America and Europe will face off at the ECS Season 3 finals in London. This offline event will take place from June 23 to 25 at the Wembley SSE Arena.
Representing North America will be Cloud9, SK Gaming, Team Liquid, and OpTic Gaming. Cloud9 and SK both finished with 13-5 records, but Cloud9 secured the top spot due to their higher round win differential (+75 versus +70). Liquid and OpTic follow closely behind in second and third place with 12-6 and 11-7 records respectively. These teams outperformed CLG, Immortals, NRG Esports, Renegades, Luminosity, and Ghost Gaming in the eight-week season. Luminosity and Ghost were relegated for placing ninth and tenth.
Europe’s representatives in the ECS Finals will be FaZe Clan, Astralis, Fnatic, and G2 Esports. FaZe finished the season with a dominant 14-4 record, followed closely by Astralis (12-6), G2 (12-6), and Fnatic (11-7). Unfortunately, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team EnVyUs, mousesports, GODSENT, Virtus Pro, and Team Dignitas failed to qualify for the London LAN. Team Dignitas and Virtus Pro were also relegated due to their bottom two placings.
OpTic will have a chance to seek revenge against Astralis after being swept in last year’s grand final on Overpass and Train. The ECS Season 2 Finals could have been OpTic’s third title of 2016, following their victories in ELEAGUE Season 2 and Northern Arena. However, Astralis snatched the title away and cemented their status as champions before the ELEAGUE Major in January.
Astralis is eager to defend their title for the second consecutive year, having defeated OpTic, SK, and FaZe on their path to the championship final. FaZe, SK, and G2 are considered favorites in the playoffs of this high-stakes tournament, which will determine the top team before the Krakow Major in July. Liquid, Cloud9, OpTic, and Fnatic will also need to step up to prove themselves.
Can Astralis retain their title for a second year? Will FaZe, SK, or G2 dethrone them? Or will another team pull off an unexpected upset? All will be revealed in two weeks.
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