The closed qualifiers for CS Summit 8 the first Regional Major Ranking event of 2021 came to a close today with O Plano and Bad News Bears joining the teams in the main event. Here’s everything you need to know about the event.
Participating Teams
8 teams are participating in the main stage of CS Summit 8, 4 of them were invited based on their previous RMR Standings, while the others came through the closed qualifier stage.
- Furia
- Team Liquid
- Extra Salt
- Evil Geniuses
- Pain
- Extremum
- Bad News Bears
- O Plano
Furia and Team Liquid come in as the favourites for this event and will look to get a good start in the RMR cycle to secure their spots at the PGL Stockholm Major. Teams like Extra Salt and O Plano have a good chance at taking the third Legends spot if they can continue the good form they have showed versus lower-tier opposition. The event will also be an important test for Evil Geniuses if they want to bounce back from their poor stint in Europe and reach Stockholm.
CS Summit 8 Group Stage
The group stage will consist of two 4 team GSL brackets, with the top 3 teams from each group going through to the playoffs.
In their opening game, Evil Geniuses will take on paIN gaming. Ever since they hit number 1 on the HLTV rankings last year, EG has been in a steady decline. The additions of oBo and Michu to the roster haven’t improved the team as drastically as they would have hoped for. On the other hand, paIN has been one of the top teams in NA and went through the closed qualifiers without dropping a single map. The match will be important for EG as they wouldn’t want to be in the lower bracket with the loser of the Brazilian battle.
In the other opener of the group, Furia faces Brazilian mix team O Plano. In his victory interview O Plano player Leonardo “leo_drk” Oliveira said that the team wants to beat Furia as a gift to HEN1 who previously played there. Despite this, Furia is the heavy favorite going into this matchup and will look to continue as Brazil’s best team.
Over in Group B, our first match is between Extra Salt and Extremum. Extra Salt has had good showings recently both in Europe and back at home. They have been the best team in the region and just like paIN, they went through the qualifier without dropping a single map. Their Aussie rivals have had a poor showing ever since the lineup was formed and have been unable to get good placings even in tier 2 events.
Team Liquid will face Bad News Bears in what should be the easiest opener in the two groups. Liquid has looked like a top-tier team since the addition of Fallen. They have also brought back Adren to replace Moses as their coach which should bring additional tactical depth to the roster. The mixed team Bad News Bears have been a strong contender in the NA region and won many tournaments in the absence of Extra Salt, but despite the good results they still aren’t a competitor to a top 10 team like Liquid.
The top 3 teams from each group will go into double-elimination playoffs with the bottom seed from each group starting in the lower bracket.
Schedule:
CS Summit 8 will begin from May 20th, with matches starting at 14:30 and 17:30 PDT. Watch them live on BeyondTheSummit’s Twitch Channel.
