DreamHack Leipzig concluded on Sunday, with the results painting an alarming picture for 2020 CS:GO. In 2020’s first lan event, DreamHack Leipzig 2020 highlighted a troublesome trend for several teams. Many, including Virtus.Pro, North, and Cloud 9 all seemingly had a poor start to the year. Whether this is a sign of things to come is uncertain – all we know is these teams are off to a very rough start.
The Winner:
DreamHack Leipzig 2020 may have painted doom and gloom for tier 2 CS:GO in 2020. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. After a troubling late 2018 through 2019, BIG Clan hit a turbulent period, with players leaving the roster for a variety of reasons. With more signings, the team failed to get back to the rising threat they were in 2017-18. Although, 2020 might see the turnaround the rosters needs.
Joining BIG in 2020 are Nils “k1to” Gruhne and Florian “syrsoN” Rische. These two appear to be the missing links in the German roster, as they were able to compete from the get-go. BIG’s ability to gel as a team at the event stood out. They went undefeated in the entire tournament, taking down Virtus.Pro, Renegades (twice), and Heroic.
The standout point here is Virtus.Pro. VP purchased the AVANGAR CS:GO roster in December and debuted in EPICENTER. The roster was riding on a high in late 2018 after finishing second place at the StarLadder major, so taking a scalp like that in-game one is a strong start.
Other successes
Renegades are not the only team switching things up internally for 2020. With Jordan “Hatz” Bajic in the team only lost to BIG In the Groups. Moving on, they carried on their path to success with wins over Cloud 9 and MAD Lions. Whilst they lost in the Finals to BIG once again, the roster seems to be continuing their upward trend.
Last year, Renegades, (or Greyhound in 2019) qualified for several events. They also had strong moments for a team with little expectations at big events. With the roster seemingly improving ever so slightly, they may be one of the up and comers to watch for in 2020.
The doom and gloom
As mentioned in the intro, there are several teams that look like they are struggling.
Cloud 9 picked up the old ATK roster in December, entering the CS:GO scene with a brand new line-up. However, they have not had the best start in 2020. With their rejections to the ESL Pro League Season 11, they then came to this event and lost in the Groups. Whilst they did pick up a tier 2 team with potential, this has to be a setback for the organisation’s goals. Hopefully, the B Site league they are working on gets them back on track.
Another must mention is Virtus.Pro. Yes, the roster we gave BIG praise to above is an oxymoron. VP’s performance is seemingly tanking on the world stage. Just like FURIA last summer, the team has had their rise, and are now due to fall. There is still some hope for the roster as it is only the first event of 2020, so there’s still all year to turn things around. Although, it is a bad stain for VP as they have once again got a team that looks like it is struggling.
As for North, the new rebrand seemed to give the team a new breath of life from the initial announcement. However, the results don’t look particularly amazing. A brand that was once the second team in Denmark now looks like they belong in tier 2 CS:GO. Maybe Heroic just sent a message that they are Denmark’s second team? Whilst the organisation did change their roster around slightly, they do have time to shape up. But given that Copenhagen F.C. back them, and they are committed now more than ever to esports, this needs to be addressed ASAP.
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Image via Stephenie Lindgren @ DreamHack Leipzig
