ESL One Cologne 2016 explained

ESL One Cologne 2016
Sport:
Year:2016
Location:Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Start Date:July 5, 2016
End Date:July 10, 2016
Administrator:Valve
ESL
Tournament Format:16 team double-elimination group stage
Eight team single-elimination playoff
Venue:Lanxess Arena
Teams:16 teams
Purse:$1,000,000 USD
Champions:SK Gaming (1st title)
Runners-Up1:Team Liquid
Runners-Up2:Fnatic
Virtus.pro
Mvp:Marcelo "coldzera" David
Previous:Columbus 2016
Next:Atlanta 2017

ESL One Cologne 2016, also known as ESL Cologne Major 2016 or Cologne 2016, was an Electronic Sports League tournament. It was the ninth Major Championship[1] and was held at the Lanxess Arena In Cologne, Germany from July 8–10. It featured 16 teams from throughout the world competing. Cologne 2016 had the second consecutive major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.[2]

The playoffs featured eight teams. Astralis, Fnatic, Gambit Gaming, Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, Team Liquid, and Virtus.pro were returning Legends and FlipSid3 Tactics was the only new Legend. Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to retain its Legends status after eight straight majors of being Legends. The grand finals had SK Gaming, which was the defending champion from the previous major at, against Team Liquid, which was the first ever North America team to reach the grand finals at a major. SK Gaming defeated FlipSid3 Tactics and Virtus.pro and Team Liquid upset Natus Vincere and Fnatic to reach the finals. In the end, SK Gaming defended its title 2–0 over the underdog Team Liquid and continued to be the only non-European team to win a title until the PGL 2017 Kraków Major Championship, in which Gambit Esports from Kazakhstan won the title. SK Gaming also joined Fnatic to be the only teams to have multiple major titles.

Format

The top eight teams from the MLG Columbus Major ("Legends") were automatically invited to ESL One Cologne 2016. The remaining eight spots were filled by teams that advanced from the ESL One Cologne 2016 Main Qualifier. These 16 teams were then split into four groups, seeded based on results from Columbus 2016 and the Cologne 2016 Main Qualifier. The groups were decided by a random number generator. First the bottom four teams of the qualifier – G2 Esports, Team EnVyUs, Team Dignitas, and FlipSid3 Tactics – were randomly assigned to groups as the fourth seeds. The top four teams of the qualifier – Gambit Gaming, OpTic Gaming, mousesports, and FaZe Clan – were then randomly selected to be the third seeds. The teams that placed fifth through eighth at Columbus 2016 – Fnatic, Virtus.pro, Counter Logic Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas – were randomly assigned the second seeds in the group. Finally, the top four teams from Columbus 2016 – SK Gaming (formerly Luminosity Gaming), Natus Vincere, Astralis, and Team Liquid – were randomly given the top seeds in the four respective groups.[3]

The way that ESL seeded the groups drew some criticism. While Groups A and B combined had three of HLTV's top-10 teams,[4] [5] Group D alone had SK Gaming (#1), G2 Esports (#2), Fnatic (#4), and FaZe (#16).[6] CS:GO analysts called for a more effective seeding method.[7] [8]

All group matches were best-of-ones with the exception of the final decider match, deciding the last playoff spot. 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 a best-of-three elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.[9]

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

There were seven maps to choose from. Between Columbus 2016 and Cologne 2016, Inferno was taken out of the active map pool and Nuke was reintroduced after the CSGO development team revamped the map.[10] Before each best-of-one match in the group stage, teams alternated banning maps until five maps had been banned. One of the two remaining maps was randomly selected, and the team that that did not get a third ban then selected which side it wanted to start on. In all best-of-three series, each team first banned a map, leaving a five-map pool. Each team then chose a map, with the opposing team selecting which side they wanted to start on for their opponent's map choice. The two map picks 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.

Main Qualifier

Regional Qualifiers

The final four bracket from each qualifier are shown below; two from each move on to the main qualifying event. All games are offline.

Asia Minor

The winner and runner-up of Intel Extreme Masters Season X Taipei were invited to the qualifier. In addition, two teams from the Korean qualifier, two teams from the Chinese qualifier, one team from the Southeast Asia qualifier, and one team from the Oceania qualifier will be in the minor.

Europe Minor

The Europe Minor was held by DreamHack in Tours, France. Two qualifiers were held and four teams from each qualifier moved on to the minor.

CIS Minor

In the CIS Minor, four teams were invited and four more teams from the closed qualifier arrived to the minor in Moscow.

Americas Minor

The Americas Minor had four teams invited, three teams from the North American qualifier, and one team from the South American qualifier.

Main Qualifier

Like the previous majors, there will be a major qualifier and regional qualifiers. The bottom eight teams from MLG Columbus 2016 received automatic bids to the main qualifier. Two teams each from the Asia, North America, Europe, and CIS Minors will be able to compete in the major qualifier.

Unlike previous qualifiers, this main qualifier will be a sixteen team swiss tournament, where after the Day 1 games, teams will play other teams with the same win–loss record. Every round will consist of one game. In addition, teams will not play the same team twice. Any team with three wins would qualify for the major, and any team with three losses would be eliminated.

First round seeding was determined by the following:

In the second round, the winners in the first round will face each other in the "high" matches; the losers will face each other in the "low" matches.

In the third round, the winners of the high matches from round two will face each other. The winners of these two matches will qualify for the major. The losers of the high round and the winners of the low round will face each other in the "mid" matches. The losers from the previous low matches will face each other in round three's low matches. The losers of these low matches are eliminated. Twelve teams remain in the Qualifier.

In the fourth round, the losers of the high matches and the winners of the low matches will face each other in round four's high matches. The winners of the high matches qualify for the major. The losers of the mid matches and the winners of the low matches will face each other in the low matches of round four. The losers of these matches are eliminated from the Qualifier. Six teams remain.

In the last round, the remaining teams will face off. The winners of these matches will qualify for the major and the losing teams will be eliminated.

Qualifier results

PlaceTeamRecordDifferentialRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5
1–2FaZe Clan3–0+24Team Dignitas
16–8
Mirage		High match
FlipSid3 Tactics
16–5
Cobblestone		High match
Gambit Gaming
16–11
Train		QualifiedQualified
mousesports3–0+22FLuffy Gangsters
19–17
Dust II		High match
Cloud9
16–12
Mirage		High match
G2 Esports
16–1
Dust II		QualifiedQualified
3–5Team EnVyUs3–1+20Immortals
16–6
Dust II		High match
Gambit Gaming
10–16
Cobblestone		Mid match
Splyce
16–4
Cobblestone		High match
Cloud9
16–12
Cobblestone		Qualified
OpTic Gaming3–1+16Gambit Gaming
14–16
Cobblestone		Low match
FLuffy Gangsters
16–9
Train		Mid match
FlipSid3 Tactics
16–7
Train		High match
HellRaisers
16–14
Cache		Qualified
Gambit Gaming3–1+9OpTic Gaming
16–14
Cobblestone		High match
Team EnVyUs
16–10
Cobblestone		High match
FaZe Clan
11–16
Train		High match
G2 Esports
16–10
Train		Qualified
6–8Team Dignitas3–2+6FaZe Clan
8–16
Mirage		Low match
Team Empire
16–13
Nuke		Mid match
HellRaisers
10–16
Nuke		Low match
Renegades
16–12
Dust II		TyLoo
16–3
Cobblestone
G2 Esports3–2+2TyLoo
16–9
Cache		High match
HellRaisers
16–8
Dust II		High match
mousesports
1–16
Nuke		High match
Gambit Gaming
10–16
Cache		Cloud9
16–8
Overpass
FlipSid3 Tactics3–2−2Renegades
16–9
Mirage		High match
FaZe Clan
5–16
Cobblestone		Mid match
OpTic Gaming
7–16
Train		Low match
Immortals
16–12
Train		HellRaisers
16–9
Overpass
9–11HellRaisers2–3−9Splyce
17–19
Cobblestone		Low match
G2 Esports
11–16
Dust II		Low match
Team Dignitas
16–9
Nuke		Low match
OpTic Gaming
16–8
Cache		FlipSid3 Tactics
13–16
Overpass
Cloud92–3−6Team Empire
16–12
Cobblestone		High match
mousesports
12–16
Mirage		Mid match
TyLoo
16–13
Cache		High match
Team EnVyUs
12–16
Cobblestone		G2 Esports
8–16
Cache
TyLoo 2–3−16G2 Esports
9–16
Cache		Low match
Immortals
16–11
Cache		Mid match
Cloud9
13–16
Cache		Low match
Splyce
16–14
Mirage		Team Dignitas
3–16
Cobblestone
Renegades1–3−8FlipSid3 Tactics
9–16
Mirage		Low match
Splyce
14–16
Cobblestone		Low match
FLuffy Gangsters
11–16
Mirage		Low match
Team Dignitas
12–16
Dust II		Eliminated
Immortals1–3−10Team EnVyUs
6–16
Dust II		Low match
TyLoo
11–16
Cache		Low match
Team Empire
16–7
Cobblestone		Low match
FlipSid3 Tactics
12–16
Train		Eliminated
Splyce1–3−19HellRaisers
9–16
Cobblestone		Low match
Renegades
16–14
Cobblestone		Mid match
Team EnVyUs
4–16
Cobblestone		Low match
TyLoo
14–16
Mirage		Eliminated
15–16FLuffy Gangsters0–3−15mousesports
16–19
Dust II		Low match
OpTic Gaming
9–16
Train		Low match
Renegades
11–16
Mirage		EliminatedEliminated
Team Empire0–3−16Cloud9
12–16
Cobblestone		Low match
Team Dignitas
13–16
Nuke		Low match
Immortals
7–16
Cobblestone		EliminatedEliminated

Broadcast talent

Stage Hosts

Analysts

Commentators

Broadcasts

All streams were broadcast on Twitch in various languages.

Teams

Pre-Major ranking

The HLTV.org July 4, 2016, ranking, the final one released before ESL One Cologne 2016, is displayed below.[11]

World Ranking
PlaceTeamPointsMove†
1SK Gaming964
2G2 Esports734
3Fnatic627 1
4Ninjas in Pyjamas596 1
5Natus Vincere596 2
6Team EnVyUs340 3
7Virtus.pro320
8Astralis320 2
11Team Liquid230 1
13mousesports209
14Team Dignitas190 1
16OpTic Gaming188 1
17FaZe Clan161 1
20Gambit Gaming101
23FlipSid3 Tactics84 2
26Counter Logic Gaming65 4
†Change since June 27, 2016, ranking

Group stage

The four groups were announced on ESL's social media accounts on June 12, 2016.[12]

Group A

PosTeamWLRFRARDPts
1Gambit Gaming203219+132
2Astralis217071−12
3Team Dignitas127165+81
4Counter Logic Gaming021432−180
Group A Matches
Astralis10Team Dignitas
Counter Logic Gaming01Gambit Gaming
Astralis01Gambit Gaming
Counter Logic Gaming01Team Dignitas
Astralis21Team Dignitas
Group A Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Astralis16Overpass12Team Dignitas
Counter Logic Gaming13Dust II16Gambit Gaming
Astralis6Dust II16Gambit Gaming
Counter Logic Gaming1Cobblestone16Team Dignitas
Astralis16Cobblestone19Team Dignitas
Astralis16Mirage10Team Dignitas
Astralis16Cache14Team Dignitas

Group B

PosTeamWLRFRARDPts
1Natus Vincere203219+132
2FlipSid3 Tactics216958+112
3Ninjas in Pyjamas125766−91
4OpTic Gaming021732−150
Group B Matches
Natus Vincere10FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas10OpTic Gaming
Natus Vincere10Ninjas in Pyjamas
OpTic Gaming01FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas12FlipSid3 Tactics
Group B Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Natus Vincere16Train7FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas16Dust II4OpTic Gaming
Natus Vincere16Cobblestone12Ninjas in Pyjamas
OpTic Gaming13Train16FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas16Overpass14FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas2Cache16FlipSid3 Tactics
Ninjas in Pyjamas11Mirage16FlipSid3 Tactics

Group C

PosTeamWLRFRARDPts
1Virtus.pro203222+102
2Team Liquid216040+202
3mousesports124360−171
4Team EnVyUs021932−130
Group C Matches
Team Liquid10Team EnVyUs
Virtus.pro10mousesports
Team Liquid01Virtus.pro
mousesports10Team EnVyUs
Team Liquid20mousesports
Group C Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Team Liquid16Train7Team EnVyUs
Virtus.pro16Train10mousesports
Team Liquid12Cobblestone16Virtus.pro
mousesports16Train12Team EnVyUs
Team Liquid16Cobblestone11mousesports
Team Liquid16Mirage6mousesports
Team LiquidDust IImousesports

Group D

PosTeamWLRFRARDPts
1SK Gaming203217+152
2Fnatic216245+172
3FaZe Clan123862−241
4G2 Esports022432−80
Group D Matches
SK Gaming10G2 Esports
Fnatic01FaZe Clan
SK Gaming10FaZe Clan
Fnatic10G2 Esports
FaZe Clan02Fnatic
Group D Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
SK Gaming16Cobblestone11G2 Esports
Fnatic14Dust II16FaZe Clan
SK Gaming16Cobblestone6FaZe Clan
Fnatic16Train13G2 Esports
FaZe Clan9Cache16Fnatic
FaZe Clan7Mirage16Fnatic
FaZe ClanDust IIFnatic

Also known as the "Group of Death," Group D featured four world class teams in one group, including the top three teams in the world. The matchup of the number 1, number 2, and number 3 teams all in the same group received criticism when a team of a lesser caliber such as Gambit could make it to the playoffs and a top three team would not. CS:GO analyst Duncan "Thorin" Shields called it the hardest group of all time.[13]

Playoffs

Quarterfinals

Virtus.pro vs. Astralis

Casters: moses & Pansy

Virtus.pro vs. Astralis Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Virtus.pro19Overpass17Astralis
Virtus.pro19Train15Astralis
Virtus.proCacheAstralis

SK Gaming vs FlipSid3 Tactics

Casters: James Bardolph & ddk

SK Gaming vs. FlipSid3 Tactics Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
SK Gaming16Mirage7FlipSid3 Tactics
SK Gaming19Nuke17FlipSid3 Tactics
SK GamingTrainFlipSid3 Tactics

Natus Vincere vs Team Liquid

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG

Natus Vincere vs. Team Liquid Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Natus Vincere16Train11Team Liquid
Natus Vincere12Nuke16Team Liquid
Natus Vincere6Cobblestone16Team Liquid

Gambit Gaming vs Fnatic

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler

Gambit Gaming vs. Fnatic Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Gambit Gaming5Train16Fnatic
Gambit Gaming3Cache16Fnatic
Gambit GamingDust IIFnatic

Semifinals

Virtus.pro vs SK Gaming

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG

Virtus.pro vs. SK Gaming Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Virtus.pro19Cobblestone17SK Gaming
Virtus.pro5Nuke16SK Gaming
Virtus.pro12Mirage16SK Gaming

Team Liquid vs. Fnatic

Casters: James Bardolph & ddk

Team Liquid vs. Fnatic Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
Team Liquid16Cobblestone13Fnatic
Team Liquid16Cache13Fnatic
Team LiquidTrainFnatic

Finals

Casters: Anders Blume, Semmler, & moses

SK Gaming vs. Team Liquid Scores
TeamScoreMapScoreTeam
SK Gaming16Train7Team Liquid
SK Gaming16Cobblestone6Team Liquid
SK GamingNukeTeam Liquid

Final standings

PlacePrize MoneyTeamSeedRosterCoach
1st500,000SK GamingELEAGUE Major 2017FalleN, coldzera, fnx, TACO,
2nd150,000Team LiquidHiko, EliGE,,, s1mple
3rd 4th70,000Virtus.proTaZ, NEO,, Snax, byali
fnaticflusha, olofmeister, JW,, KRiMZ
5th 8th35,000Astraliskarrigan, dev1ce, dupreeh, Xyp9x,,
FlipSid3 TacticsB1ad3,, Shara, WorldEdit,
Natus VincereZeus, Edward,,, GuardiaN
Gambit Gaming, Dosia,,, AdreN
9th 12th8,750Team DignitasELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers, MSL,,, RUBINO
Ninjas in PyjamasGeT_RiGhT, f0rest, Xizt, friberg, THREAT
mousesports,, Spiidi,, NiKo
FaZe ClanRobbaN
13th 16th8,750Counter Logic Gaming,,,,
OpTic Gamingdaps, NAF, stanislaw, RUSH, mixwell–
Team EnVyUsNBK-, Happy, kennyS,, DEVILNext
G2 Esportsshox, RPK, bodyy, SmithZz, ScreaMNiaK

Post-Major Ranking

The HLTV.org July 11, 2016 rankings of teams in the major is displayed below. The ranking was the first one released after the ESL One Cologne 2016.[14]

World Ranking
PlaceTeamPointsMove†
1SK Gaming1000
2Fnatic615 1
3G2 Esports530 1
4Natus Vincere509 1
5Team Liquid467 6
6Ninjas in Pyjamas422 2
7Virtus.pro403
8Astralis310
9Team EnVyUs256 3
11Gambit Gaming188 9
12FlipSid3 Tactics184 11
15mousesports179 2
16FaZe Clan175 1
18Team Dignitas168 4
19OpTic Gaming149 3
24Counter Logic Gaming64 2
†Change since July 4, 2016, ranking

Notes and References

  1. News: Major confirmed at ESL One Cologne . HLTV.org . Luis . Mira. 8 April 2016.
  2. Web site: ESL One Cologne 2016 . 2016-02-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160419030241/http://esl-one.com/csgo/cologne-2016/ . 2016-04-19 . dead .
  3. Web site: Švejda. Milan. ESL One Cologne groups drawn. HLTV.org. 5 July 2016.
  4. Web site: Malachowski . Michal . ESL One Cologne Group A preview . HLTV.org . 14 February 2021 . en.
  5. Web site: Švejda . Milan . ESL One Cologne Group B preview . HLTV.org . 14 February 2021 . en.
  6. Web site: Švejda. Milan. ESL One Cologne Group D preview. HLTV.org. 5 July 2016.
  7. Web site: Thorin's Thoughts – Major Seeding Needs to be Rehauled (CS:GO) . youtube.com . Released on Thorin's YouTube channel on 23 June 2016.
  8. Web site: Kovanen . Tomi . Key Takeaways from ESL One Cologne 2016 . Dot Esports . 14 February 2021 . 11 July 2016.
  9. Web site: Švejda . Milan . Searching for the perfect format . HLTV.org . 11 February 2021 . en.
  10. Web site: Nuke replaces Inferno in CS:GO's Active Duty map pool. Josh. Raven. April 22, 2016. Dot eSports.
  11. http://www.hltv.org/ranking/teams/2016/july/4/
  12. Web site: Švejda. Milan. ESL One Cologne groups drawn. HLTV.org. 12 June 2016.
  13. Web site: Thorin's Thoughts – ESL One Cologne Group D (CS:GO). Duncan. Shields. YouTube. July 4, 2016. January 7, 2018.
  14. Web site: CS:GO World ranking on July 11th, 2016 . HLTV.org.

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