ESL One Katowice 2015

ESL One Katowice 2015, also known as Katowice 2015, was the fifth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship, held from March 12 to March 15, 2015, at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. It was the first CS:GO Major of 2015. It was organized by Electronic Sports League with sponsorship from Valve. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000. The defending champion was Team EnVyUs, whose roster had won the previous Major as Team LDLC.com.

ESL One Katowice 2015
2015
The ESL One Katowice 2015 logo
Tournament information
SportCounter-Strike: Global Offensive
LocationKatowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
DatesMarch 12, 2015–March 15, 2015
AdministratorValve
ESL
Tournament
format(s)
16 team GSL group stage
Eight team single-elimination playoff
VenueSpodek Arena
Teams16 teams
Purse$250,000 USD
Final positions
ChampionsFnatic (2nd title)
1st runners-upNinjas in Pyjamas
2nd runners-upTeam EnVyUs
Virtus.pro
MVPOlof "olofmeister" Kajbjer

Eight teams advanced from the group stage to a playoff bracket, earning "Legends" status and automatic qualification to the following Major. Fnatic, Team EnVyUs, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, PENTA Sports, and Team SoloMid were returning Legends from the previous Major. Keyd Stars was the only new Legends and became the first South American team to play in a Major and qualify to the playoff bracket. HellRaisers lost its Legends status after losing to Counter Logic Gaming and Keyd Stars in the group stage. The grand finals featured two Swedish teams. Fnatic defeated PENTA Sports and Virtus.pro in the bracket while Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated Team SoloMid and Team EnVyUs on their way to the grand finals. Fnatic then beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–1 in the finals.[1] Fnatic became the first team to win a second Major, and remained the only team to do so until MIBR (attending Katowice 2015 as Keyd Stars) won MLG Columbus 2016 and ESL One Cologne 2016.

Format

The top eight teams from DreamHack Winter 2014 ("Legends") received direct invitations to Katowice. In addition, eight other teams (the "Challengers") emerged from offline qualifiers.

Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play an elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.[2]

The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.

Map Pool

The seven-map pool did not change from DreamHack Winter 2014. Before each match in the group stage, both teams banned two maps. The map for the match was then randomly selected from the remaining three maps. In the playoffs, each team first banned one map, then chose one map. The two chosen maps were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps.

Maps
  • Cache
  • Cobblestone
  • Dust II
  • Inferno
  • Mirage
  • Nuke
  • Overpass

Main qualifier

The 16 teams at the main qualifier were separated into two groups of 8. The teams played in a double-elimination, best of one bracket. Four teams from each group, two from the winner's bracket and two from the loser's bracket, advanced to the Major.

Invited[lower-alpha 1]
Regional Qualifiers
  1. Only seven teams received direct invites because four of the five players from Team iBUYPOWER were banned by Valve for their role in the North American match fixing scandal.[3] The bans were officially made permanent on January 5, 2016.[4]
  2. Team WinneR was found to be guilty of match fixing, so the team was disqualified. 3DMAX took the vacant spot. Players of ESC Gaming were also accused of match fixing, but they were cleared of any wrongdoing.
  3. The Polish roster of ESC Gaming was picked up by Gamers2. ESC Gaming would go on to pick up a Danish roster.[5][6]

Group A

Upper round 1Upper round 2Qualified
Titan28
PiTER24
Titan14
Counter Logic Gaming16
Counter Logic Gaming16
Gamers214
Counter Logic Gaming
LGB eSports
Team Liquid14
FlipSid3 Tactics16
FlipSid3 Tactics11
LGB eSports16
Copenhagen Wolves8
LGB eSports16
Lower round 1Lower round 2Qualified
FlipSid3 Tactics16
PiTER19PiTER3
Gamers217FlipSid3 Tactics
Titan
Titan16
Team Liquid10Copenhagen Wolves4
CPH Wolves16

Group B

Upper round 1Upper round 2Qualified
Cloud916
INSHOCK2
Cloud916
mousesports14
mousesports16
KaBuM.TD10
Cloud9
Vox Eminor
3DMAX11
Vox Eminor16
Vox Eminor16
Team Dignitas13
ESC Gaming11
Team Dignitas16
Lower round 1Lower round 2Qualified
Team Dignitas3
INSHOCK11KaBuM.TD16
KaBuM.TD16KaBuM.TD
3DMAX
mousesports8
3DMAX163DMAX16
ESC Gaming8

Broadcast Talent

Hosts

  • Sean Charles
  • Alex "Machine" Richardson

Analysts

  • Casper "cadiaN" Møller
  • Spencer "Hiko" Martin

Commentators

  • Leigh "Deman" Smith
  • Anders Blume
  • Lauren "Pansy" Scott
  • Stuart "TosspoT" Saw

Observers

  • Joshua "steel" Nissan
  • Yanko "YNk" Paunović

Teams
Legends
Main qualifier teams
  1. The roster of Team Dignitas was acquired by Team SoloMid.[7]
  2. Team EnVyUs acquired the full roster of Team LDLC.com.[8]

Group stage

Group A
Pos Team W L RF RA RD Pts
1 Sweden Fnatic 2 0 32 10 +22 6
2 Ukraine Natus Vincere 2 1 39 21 +18 6
3 Australia Vox Eminor 1 2 22 34 -12 3
4 Ukraine FlipSid3 Tactics 0 2 4 32 -28 0
Group A matches
Ukraine Natus Vincere 16 Mirage 2 Ukraine FlipSid3 Tactics
Sweden Fnatic 16 Inferno 3 Australia Vox Eminor
Ukraine FlipSid3 Tactics 2 Cache 16 Australia Vox Eminor
Ukraine Natus Vincere 7 Cobblestone 16 Sweden Fnatic
Ukraine Natus Vincere 16 Inferno 3 Australia Vox Eminor

Group B
Pos Team W L RF RA RD Pts
1 France Team EnVyUs 2 0 32 22 +10 6
2 Germany PENTA Sports 2 1 35 32 +3 6
3 Norway LGB eSports 1 2 36 35 +1 3
4 France Titan 0 2 18 32 -14 0
Group B matches
France Team EnVyUs 16 Cobblestone 14 France Titan
Germany PENTA Sports 3 Dust II 16 Norway LGB eSports
France Team EnVyUs 16 Cache 8 Norway LGB eSports
Germany PENTA Sports 16 Cache 4 France Titan
Norway LGB eSports 12 Dust II 16 Germany PENTA Sports

Group C
Pos Team W L RF RA RD Pts
1 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 2 0 32 16 +16 6
2 Brazil Keyd Stars 2 1 41 36 +5 6
3 United States Counter Logic Gaming 1 2 31 46 -15 3
4 Commonwealth of Independent States HellRaisers 0 2 26 32 -6 0
Group C matches
Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Inferno 9 Brazil Keyd Stars
Commonwealth of Independent States HellRaisers 14 Nuke 16 United States Counter Logic Gaming
Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Mirage 7 United States Counter Logic Gaming
Commonwealth of Independent States HellRaisers 12 Inferno 16 Brazil Keyd Stars
United States Counter Logic Gaming 8 Dust II 16 Brazil Keyd Stars

Group D
Pos Team W L RF RA RD Pts
1 Poland Virtus.pro 2 0 32 16 +16 6
2 Denmark Team SoloMid 2 1 46 34 +12 6
3 United States Cloud9 1 2 35 46 -11 3
4 Finland 3DMAX 0 2 15 32 -17 0
Group D matches
Poland Virtus.pro 16 Overpass 5 Finland 3DMAX
Denmark Team SoloMid 14 Nuke 16 United States Cloud9
Poland Virtus.pro 16 Inferno 11 United States Cloud9
Denmark Team SoloMid 16 Nuke 10 Finland 3DMAX
United States Cloud9 8 Overpass 16 Denmark Team SoloMid

Playoffs

The winner of each group played the runner-up of a different group for each quarterfinals match.

Bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
         
A1 Sweden Fnatic 2
B2 Germany PENTA Sports 0
A1 Sweden Fnatic 2
D1 Poland Virtus.pro 0
D1 Poland Virtus.pro 2
C2 Brazil Keyd Stars 1
A1 Sweden Fnatic 2
C1 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 1
B1 France Team EnVyUs 2
A2 Ukraine Natus Vincere 1
B1 France Team EnVyUs 0
C1 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 2
C1 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 2
D2 Denmark Team SoloMid 1

Fnatic vs. PENTA Sports

Casters: Deman & SPUNJ

Sweden Fnatic vs. Germany PENTA Sports Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
Sweden Fnatic 16 Inferno 8 Germany PENTA Sports
Sweden Fnatic 16 Cache 7 Germany PENTA Sports
Sweden Fnatic – Overpass – Germany PENTA Sports

Virtus.pro vs. Keyd Stars

Casters: TosspoT & seang@res

Poland Virtus.pro vs. Brazil Keyd Stars Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
Poland Virtus.pro 16 Mirage 4 Brazil Keyd Stars
Poland Virtus.pro 17 Overpass 19 Brazil Keyd Stars
Poland Virtus.pro 16 Nuke 1 Brazil Keyd Stars

Team EnVyUs vs. Natus Vincere

Casters: Pansy & natu

France Team EnVyUs vs. Ukraine Natus Vincere Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
France Team EnVyUs 16 Cache 12 Ukraine Natus Vincere
France Team EnVyUs 14 Dust II 16 Ukraine Natus Vincere
France Team EnVyUs 16 Mirage 3 Ukraine Natus Vincere

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team SoloMid

Casters: Anders Blume & natu

Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Denmark Team SoloMid Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Dust II 8 Denmark Team SoloMid
Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 4 Inferno 16 Denmark Team SoloMid
Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Nuke 12 Denmark Team SoloMid

Fnatic vs. Virtus.pro

Casters: Anders Blume & SEMPHIS

Sweden Fnatic vs. Poland Virtus.pro Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
Sweden Fnatic 19 Cobblestone 17 Poland Virtus.pro
Sweden Fnatic 16 Mirage 8 Poland Virtus.pro
Sweden Fnatic – Overpass – Poland Virtus.pro

Team EnVyUs vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Casters: Deman & seang@res

France Team EnVyUs vs. Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
France Team EnVyUs 9 Cache 16 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas
France Team EnVyUs 10 Dust II 16 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas
France Team EnVyUs – Mirage – Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas

Finals

Both teams in the final had at one point been considered the best team in the world, and the head-to-head was split right down the middle, with Fnatic having a 16–15 lead.

Casters: Anders Blume, TossopT, & seang@res

Sweden Fnatic vs. Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas Scores
Team Score Map Score Team
Sweden Fnatic 16 Dust II 14 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas
Sweden Fnatic 10 Cache 16 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas
Sweden Fnatic 16 Inferno 13 Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas

Final standings
Place Team Prize Money Seed for ESL One Cologne 2015 Roster Coach
1st Sweden Fnatic US$100,000 Legends status Sweden JW, Sweden flusha, Sweden pronax, Sweden olofmeister, Sweden KRiMZ Sweden Devilwalk
2nd Sweden Ninjas in Pyjamas US$50,000 Sweden f0rest, Sweden GeT RiGhT, Sweden Xizt, Sweden friberg, Finland allu Bosnia and Herzegovina pita
3rd–4th France Team EnVyUs US$22,000 France kioShiMa, France Happy, France SmithZz, France NBK, France shox
Poland Virtus.pro Poland TaZ, Poland NEO, Poland pashaBiceps, Poland byali, Poland Snax Poland kuben
5–8th Brazil Keyd Stars US$10,000 Brazil FalleN, Brazil fer, Brazil steel, Brazil zqk, Brazil boltz
Ukraine Natus Vincere Ukraine Edward, Ukraine Zeus, Ukraine starix, Russia seized, Slovakia GuardiaN
Denmark Team SoloMid Denmark karrigan, Denmark dev1ce, Denmark cajunb, Denmark dupreeh, Denmark Xyp9x Denmark 3k2
Germany PENTA Sports Germany nex, Germany Spidii, Germany denis, Germany kRYSTAL, Germany Troubley Germany alexRr
9–12th Australia Vox Eminor US$2,000 – Australia SPUNJ, Australia Havoc, Australia jks, Australia AZR, Australia topguN
Norway LGB eSports Norway RUBINO, Norway rain, Norway jkaem, Norway zEVES, Norway Polly
United States Cloud9 United States ShahZam, United States sgares, United States n0thing, Canada shroud, Canada Semphis
United States Counter Logic Gaming United States hazed, United States reltuC, United States tarik, United States ptr, Canada FNS
13–16th France Titan US$2,000 France kennyS, France Rpk, France apEX, Switzerland Maniac, Belgium Ex6TenZ
Ukraine FlipSid3 Tactics Ukraine B1ad3, Ukraine bondik, Ukraine markeloff, Russia WorldEdit, Russia DavCost
Commonwealth of Independent States HellRaisers Ukraine ANGE1, Ukraine kucher, Russia flamie, Russia Dosia, Kazakhstan AdreN
Finland 3DMAX Finland diSTURBED, Finland natu, Finland KHRN, Finland stonde, Finland xartE

References
  1. "3 things we learned from ESL Katowice's Counter-Strike event". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  2. Švejda, Milan. "Searching for the perfect format". HLTV.org. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  3. Lewis, Richard (January 15, 2015). "New evidence points to match-fixing at highest level of American Counter-Strike". Dot eSports.
  4. Corporation, Valve (January 5, 2016). "A Follow Up to Integrity and Fair Play". Counter-Strike.net.
  5. Mira, Luis (February 11, 2015). "Gamers2 sign ex-ESC". HLTV.org.
  6. Park, Paul (February 11, 2015). "ESC Gaming acquires new CS:GO team". Score eSports.
  7. Walkowiak, Marek (January 25, 2015). "CS:GO squad move on". Team Dignitas.
  8. Rahul (February 2, 2015). "TEAM ENVYUS ACQUIRE LDLC CS:GO ROSTER". GFinity.
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