One of the highlights of the tournament year
ESL One Cologne is one of the biggest and most prestigious tournaments of the year. Together with twelve other events, the tournament is part of the Intel Grand Slam Season 3, which should culminate in the Major in Rio at the end of 2020. Whether and when the mega event will take place is still uncertain. With a prize money of 2 million USD, it will be the biggest in the history of Counter Strike.
The last edition of ESL ONE Cologne was divided into four divisions. Alongside the North American region there were tournaments in Europe, Asia and Oceania. So in the end there were four teams which could crown themselves this year's Cologne Champion.
Winner and tournament MVP
The winner of the North American edition of the tournament was Evil Geniuses. In the final match against Liquid, they won 3:2 and were rewarded after a great performance. They crowned their winning streak with 65,000 USD in prize money.
Group stage
In total, there were only eight teams qualified for the tournament in this region. While Evil Geniuses and Chaos won the first two days of play before the last round to win the group, the second places were hard-fought. In the end FURIA won the direct duel with 100Thieves in group A and Liquid against Cloud9 in group B.
The sovereign victories of Chaos were a bit surprising and put FURIA and 100Thieves, who were the two favorites for the places in the playoffs, in front of a decision for the second group place.
The sovereign victories of Chaos were a bit surprising and put FURIA and 100Thieves, who were the two favorites for the places in the playoffs, in front of a decision for the second group place.
Playoffs
In the playoffs Evil Geniuses and Liquid showed why they are the two best teams in the North American scene. With 2:0 each Chaos and FURIA lost in the semifinals of ESL ONE Cologne.
Surprises and disappointments
Team Chaos was able to surprise with wins against FURIA and 100 Thieves on the first two days of the group stage and showed that they have the potential to become one of the top teams in the region in the future.
It was only disappointing for the Australians 100 Thieves not to have made it into the playoffs. The third place in group A and thus the early elimination were not the goal on the part of 100 Thieves.
It was only disappointing for the Australians 100 Thieves not to have made it into the playoffs. The third place in group A and thus the early elimination were not the goal on the part of 100 Thieves.
Performance of the individual teams
- Evil Geniuses: Unbeaten for eleven duels: confident, secure, moving away from the world's top teams
- FURIA: Mandatory playoffs achieved, no chance against EG
- Liquid: Good performance, appearance in the final
- Gen.G: Disappointing, no chance, eliminated without gaining points
- 100Thieves: Lost the decisive duel against FURIA, missed the playoffs
- Cloud9: Expectedly eliminated after the group stage
- Chaos: Surprise team of the group stage, no chance against Liquid in the semifinals
- Triumph: not competitive
