The StarLadder Berlin CS:GO Major started in the most unexpected way today.
NRG lost 19-17 to DreamEaters on Overpass and joined Vitality in the 0-1 pool at the New Challengers Stage. They were considered huge favorites to win the first round.
The final scoreboard suggests that the game was very even from the beginning, but that’s not what happened. DreamEaters dominated the first half with a good CT setup to shut down NRG’s plays and switched to the T side with a 10-5 advantage.
NRG were on the brink of losing the match in a disastrous way when DreamEaters went up 15-6. The North Americans showed resilience, however, and at least brought it to overtime thanks to some bright moments from individual players.
But Cvetelin “CeRq” Dimitrov’s 32 kills at the end of the game weren’t enough. DreamEaters finished on top despite losing the first half of overtime. Anton “speed4k” Titov had the most kills for DreamEaters, 31, and had a great AWP duel against NRG’s CeRq.
This loss may haunt NRG for the rest of the tournament, especially because they underperformed at the last Major, IEM Katowice in February. Losing in overtime is also a more difficult pill to swallow than losing in regulation like Vitality, who were completely dominated by Syman earlier today.
Due to the seeding applied at the StarLadder Berlin Major, Vitality and NRG won’t face each other in the next round. You can keep up with the New Challenger Stage results here.
