So far this year we’ve seen a number of AAA CSGO events. Heck, three of them had $1 million in prize money, with several more being hefty six-figure amounts. In fact, two Intel Extreme Masters coupled with the PGL Major Antwerp had $3 million in total. Out of the six biggest tournaments this year, we’ve had four different winners. Faze Clan won three massive titles which puts them in the CSGO winners’ basket, for sure.카지노사이트
But, this piece is not just about the winners. Several top-tier teams have been rather disappointing lately. Some have gone through massive changes, some through important roster alterations, and things just aren’t working out.
If you’re interested in CSGO betting, you need to stay on top of all things CSGO. Keeping track of the best and worst performance isn’t going to automatically win more bets, but it’s a great start.
Biggest CSGO Winners in the First Half of 2022
Here are five teams that have, in one way or another, made a positive difference in the first half of 2022:
Faze Clan
1st or 2nd depending on the IEM Cologne outcome
Faze Clan Logoare the absolute winners of 2022! They were dormant throughout the entirety of 2021 and are finally back. They’ve made a few changes, invested in young players, and all their hard work is finally paying off.
Last year, their best performance was a semifinal run on IEM XVI Cologne. In the first six months of 2022, they’ve already won three massive events:
- IEM XVI Katowice
- ESL Pro League Season 15
- PGL Major Antwerp
Well, it all started back in January when they dropped olof from the starting roster and signed ropz as his replacement. This enabled broky to get more favorable positions and was enough to finally get Twistzz in proper form.
Ropz is not Faze Clan’s best fragger, but he’s doing a much better supporting job than olofmeister. Rain and karrigan are important too – their experience is often the deciding factor in key matches. They’re not the biggest clutchers, but their contributions are essential, to say the least.
ENCE
Jumped from 15th to 3rd
Next up, ENCE! The Finns did have a couple of solid campaigns last year. However, they weren’t nearly consistent enough. Even the titles they ended up winning were tier-B events. Against top-notch competitions, ENCE just couldn’t do much.
But, doto proved to be an inadequate signing so the org acquired maden from FPX in late January. This massively changed how ENCE played and brought immediate results. Just a month later, ENCE almost won Pinnacle Winter Series #2, losing to ForZe in the end.
This was followed by a series of exceptional campaigns ranging from Elisa Invitational Winter and Fantasyexpo EU Champions. ENCE ended up winning the title of the latter.
The pinnacle of their 2022 campaign thus far came shortly after the end of Pinnacle Cup III (pun intended). ESL Pro League was their big breakthrough – ENCE ended up second, falling short to Faze Clan who were just ramping up for the things to come.
Even though ENCE’s form over the last three tournaments (IEM Cologne, Roobet, and BLAST Spring) hasn’t been up to par, they are still considered one of the most consistent teams right now. They’ll need to put the effort in over the summer to come back stronger and hopefully contest for another good Major campaign… this time in Rio.
Movistar Riders
Jumped from 19th to top 10 for sure
The Spaniards are in top form right now. As I write this blog, SunPayus and the Movistar boys are preparing for their quarterfinal clash against Team Liquid. They’re coming into it as the slight favorites, which tells you enough about the form they’re currently enjoying.
The Spaniards had to take the long route to the IEM Cologne playoffs. They went through the entire play-in stage and finished second in their group following a relatively tight loss to NaVi in group A finals. Two wins against Vitality and a win against G2 tell you all you need to know, really.
But, since they’re still alive in the competition, it’s difficult to place them on the table. At the moment, they’re 13th, which is already a bit of an improvement over last year’s 19th place.
Cloud9
Relegated from 2nd to 4th
Cloud9-logoHow come we’re listing Cloud9 among the biggest CSGO winners here when their placement went from 2nd to 4th? Well, allow me to elaborate:
The situation with Cloud9 (or Gambit, since that’s the team we’re using as our base reading for Dec 2021 standings) is kind of tricky. You see, they’ve acquired Gambit which were banned, just like Virtus.pro, from competing under organizations associated with the Russian Government.
Obviously, all this commotion took a toll on the players. They didn’t lose anyone, the roster has stayed intact, but there was a lot of controversy surrounding the acquisition and seeing them still be a top 4 team means they’ve managed to live through the turbulent times.
Cloud9’s biggest achievement this year was IEM XVII Dallas title. It happened in front of their own fans, so it must’ve felt special. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to transition their form into Cologne.
Individually, sh1ro is the bread and butter of this Cloud9 roster. He’s been an absolute beast lately, especially post-acquisition where he’s developed into a true leader of the pack.
Ax1Le has to be mentioned too. His clutch game is continuing to improve… but you know how they say – live by the clutch, die by the clutch.
NaVi
1st or 2nd depending on IEM Cologne outcome
NaVi-logoEven though NaVi have tough competition at the number one spot, they’re still worthy of the winners’ basket. After all, they did win everything there was to be won in 2021. I’m sure that’s enough for us to forgive a few rough campaigns in 2022.
Mind you, they weren’t disastrous. They reached the semifinal in Katowice, quarterfinal in Dusseldorf, and went on to the Antwerp Major grand finals. While they did lose to Faze, they came right back up on their feet by winning BLAST Premier Spring Finals too.
Boombl4 was benched shortly after the end of PGL Major Antwerp, which prompted such a quick recovery on BLAST Premier Spring Finals. As for IEM Cologne, they’re still in the mix. At the moment, they’re waiting to see who they’ll play against in the semifinals. It’s either Astralis or Mouz – the match is scheduled for this Friday, July 15th.
Overall, Natus Vincere are in great shape. Despite many doubting their choice, NaVi’s gamble with sdy has already paid off, and I’m already getting the feeling that NaVi will end up buying him from MAD Lions in a few months. Remember, the current loan deal is temporary.바카라사이트
As for S1mple, he’s doing what he does best. True, he hasn’t been that good in the first three months, but his form did improve later on. Whichever way you put it, he’s been better than ZywOo this year…
Biggest CSGO Losers in the First Half of 2022
Here are five teams that couldn’t cope with pressure or have in other ways negatively affected their end-of-2021 standings:
Outsiders
Relegated from 7th to 16th
Virtus.pro logoRemember when I said that, despite all ongoing controversy, Gambit roster’s transition to Cloud9 went relatively smoothly? Well, that can’t be said for Virtus.pro’s transition to Outsiders. On the business side, the answers are pretty obvious. But, as far as the current roster morale goes, Outsiders are yet to do themselves some justice.
Virtus.pro boys have already played several big tournaments under the new banner. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a single solid campaign. I’m not trying to bash on them, but they’ve been absolutely atrocious all year long.
Right After the Major They Parted Ways With Buster and YEKINDAR
Unfortunately, both of their situations are well-known and it had to be done. Let’s not get into that. But, what we could get into is the choice for their replacements – n0rb3r7 and fame from K23.
Right off the bat, we can agree they’re not exactly household names. But, they aren’t bad either. Throughout their first couple of matches, both have been solid. When talking raw contributions, both have been better than Qikert.
But, there’s a lot more work to be done which puts Outsiders in an uphill struggle. They’re definitely the biggest CSGO losers in the first half of the 2022 season.
G2
Relegated from 4th to 6th
G2 logoG2 have been absolutely awful lately. To be honest with you, I am not even sure how they’re in the sixth spot right now. That’s bound to drop down even lower after the end of IEM Cologne as they weren’t exactly good on it either.
Their best performance was way back in February when they reached the finals of IEM Katowice. But, they got their ass whooped by Faze Clan who asserted dominance with a clean 3:0 finish. Since then, it’s been nothing but one bad campaign after another.
What seems to be wrong with G2? Well, at this point, pretty much everything!
Their map pool is in scrambles, their form is non-existent, and as soon as they have an important match on their hands, they give their worst. It’s a never-ending cycle, really, and the worst thing is that their management isn’t keen on changing anything.
We haven’t seen any new signings or any roster alterations at all. Plus, Niko and hunter have just recently signed multi-year extensions. I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, truthfully they’ve been G2’s best players for quite a while already, but it’s still silly to see contract extensions being more important than imminent changes.
That said, I’m afraid we’re going to see G2 continue their downward path. So, if you’re looking for valuable info for your CSGO bets, take our advice and look away from G2.
Astralis
Relegated from 8th to 11th
Astralis are currently just shy of the top ten. But, given they’re still alive in Cologne, that’s bound to change following the end of the tournament. They’ll definitely be a top ten team, so perhaps we’re being a bit too rough on them here.
But, Astralis still aren’t even close to being a top-tier team. Even when they’re playing well, their map pool is not deep enough and they just can’t find the extra grit to clutch important rounds.
They keep mixing things up in the roster department. At the moment, Xyp9x and gla1ve core is coupled with k0nfig, blameF and farlig. The latter joined late February after Lucky got benched. On paper, the roster seems to have a nice combination of youth and experience. But, CSGO games aren’t won on paper.
On the bright side, Astralis are finally getting top four finishes. Pinnacle Cup Championship saw them finish second; Roobet Cup saw them reach the semifinals. They might finally get their lucky break, but Astralis are still among the biggest CSGO losers in the first half of 2022.
Vitality
Relegated from 3rd to 5th
Vitality-logoVitality’s drop from third to fifth isn’t a massive one, right? Well, it’s not. But, there’s a reason why they’re on our list. You see, when they signed dupreeh, Magisk, and coach zonic back in January, we all expected a lot more from this team. We all expected them to finally be able to content NaVi.
Instead, all we got was a mediocre star-packed roster with no real consistency. Consistency, that’s the name of the game for Vitality. They have Zywoo, one of the best players to ever play the game, yet they’re still struggling against European challengers and even lowly tier-B teams from time to time.
It’s not the drop itself that’s the big issue here, it’s the fact everyone (including the fans) expected a lot more. Hardcore Vitality fans were enthusiastic, to say the least. Now that they’ve seen what these guys can do, the enthusiasm is gone.
With ZywOo bound by contract for quite a while, we’re left to see what the management will do with Vitality’s roster. As things stand now, there’s no need to raise the alarm. But, if their poor form continues, one good campaign like BLAST Premier Spring Finals won’t be enough to save them from the bench hammer.
Entropiq
Relegated from 10th to 32nd
Where is Entropiq? What happened to the team that finished 2021 on a rather strong note. They didn’t win any big tournaments, but they were consistent on smaller ones and almost went all the way in Hungary last November. V4 Future Sports Festival was the occasion and Entropiq reached the grand finals, giving Gambit a proper test with 3:2 on the final scoreboard.
They kicked 2022 off with a banger, going all the way to the grand finals but losing to Gambit in the end. Though this campaign suggested an amazing season is in front of them, Entropiq boys became complacent and went on what’s got to be one of their worst runs ever.
The problems weren’t just present on the server, they were present off it too. The management didn’t want to push for any roster alterations. They kept doing the same stuff over and over again, but without any luck.
It’s not going to be easy, though. Their poor spell pushed them out of all major AAA competitions and they’ll need to work extra hard in the qualifications for a chance to show what they’re made of under the big lights.
Casino : Wrapping Things Up
The players’ summer break starts this Sunday July 17th following the end of the IEM XVII Cologne spectacle. The break ends on August 19th with the start of the all-new season of BLAST Premier. The regular Fall season is followed by the all-new season of ESL Pro League on August 31st. These two are bound to get the players up and running for the IEM XVII Rio Major in November. 온라인카지노
