Winners & Losers: XSE Pro League Group Stage

It’s been a long few days for the Counter-Strike fans who tried to watch this event.

Between the constant delays in action, empty screens between maps, and general low-quality production, we wouldn’t blame you if you missed some games. An event in the player break was always going to be an ugly duckling; this duckling just happened to be jaundiced.

So, for those who didn’t watch it all, here are some of the biggest winners and losers summarised for you.

Winner - TYLOO

This one is pretty straightforward.

TYLOO went 3:0 in groups, beating FaZe, PARIVISION, and EYEBALLERS. Three teams within their VRS sphere that they took points off. More importantly, they actually performed in front of a home crowd and will get to play in front of even more Chinese fans during the playoffs.

For TYLOO, even if they go out in the next game, I’d still consider it a good event.

Loser - Lynn Vision

A team that hasn’t had a good event is Lynn Vision.

Another home team, in front of a Chinese crowd. Except Lynn Vision went 1:3, being sent (on a relatively short) trip home. Their only win came against Luminosity, who have basically no practice with a new IGL.

Lynn Vision have now failed in groups in their last three events, two of which were in China.

Odds are this is the beginning of the end for this roster.

Winner - Nemesis

Nemesis were an unknown quantity to most coming into this event.

To me, I had only heard vague rumors about them and possible misconduct. Yet, LuzRaposa warned me that they’d be a serious upset contender. He’s turned out to be right; they flew through groups 3-1, only losing to BetBoom.

My favorite Nemesis subplot, though, was r3salt drinking several bottles of Pepsi throughout games, exemplified by him taking a big sip of a new bottle after winning a clutch.

Loser - Ninjas in Pyjamas

NIP were the mirror of Nemesis at this event: A known quantity that was awful.

They replaced cairne with n0te this off-season, and whilst n0te was a shooter in the academy, he struggled to come alive. Though it’s always worth mentioning that NIP are probably cursed or something. Their misfortune and mismanagement are so drastic that I’d rather ascribe it to spirits than think a human could make decisions like this.

In any case, they sucked at XSE Pro League, becoming the second team to go 1:3 instead of 0:3 after beating Luminosity.

God knows how much longer Snappi will be on this roster, but it’s already been too long.

Winner - JBOEN

Set FaZe as a unit aside for a second and just look at JBOEN.

This Danish kid comes on loan from BIG Academy, flies to China with FaZe, makes his top-level debut, and frags out. He has looked stellar, hitting the shots he should and regularly making flashy plays. There’s a potential there to be a serious top AWPer in CS2.

The only reason FaZe aren’t the winners here is that he’s only on loan, and if there wasn’t already a buyout negotiated, it’s gone up.

Since his first game against TYLOO, he's been FaZe’s highest-rated player at XSE. He's consistently dropped 1.2+ ratings, and he even hit a 2.09 against SINNERS on Ancient. This kid is an actual star in the making, and I look forward to watching him play more.

BIG, if you don’t end up getting him back, what a fumble.

Loser - Luminosity

It almost feels a bit mean to put them here.

I defended them on Win Condition and on Twitter, trying to play devil's advocate. This is their first event with lux as the IGL, which is a big adaptation. Especially when your practice PCs have viruses.

But even I have a limit.

They gave two separate teams wins that otherwise looked helpless, and with the Gizmy situation earlier in the week, this still feels bad. Especially when Monte decided to rub salt into their wounds by trolling on social media. Which is a bit audacious given they have no team now after losing their core for free.

Luminosity aren’t a doomed team, but they would’ve hoped to win at least a game.

Winner - MacMate

Bit unorthodox to pick a caster, but let me explain.

After day 1, it seemed like the caster count was halved. So, fans were left with a small pool of casters within a bad production. Despite it all, Mac brought a lighthearted vibe to the event that disarmed the annoyed fans and added a bit of fun to the games.

Yes, of course, people hate it when casters don’t talk about the game, but this event is almost unwatchable at times. Anything to make it more digestible is a good thing.

The fans seem to have responded largely positively. There’s a whole bunch of comments about him being the best part of this event. So, in the spirit of fair and honest journalism, we have to say that he’s one of the winners of this event.

Big credit to the other casters, though; it’s appreciated the work you guys do to keep this watchable.

Loser - Counter-Strike fans

The final loser is us all.

This event has blown our eardrums, wasted our time, and given us a constant stream of drama. Yet here I am still writing about it and still watching it, giving them what they want. For that, I am the loser, and for consuming, we all are the losers.

Bit dramatic? Maybe.

But it’s nonetheless an unfortunate reality that an event, no matter how poorly organized, will get views and attention if the prize pool is big enough. VRS will guarantee it matters too much to ignore.

All of that to say, I’ll still be watching the playoffs. See you there.