The Star Union Arena in Beijing was the location for the Counter Strike: Global Offensive Super League 2017 Spring LAN Finals in late May, with TyLoo, Eclipse, NEW4 and ViCi Gaming Renascence getting the better of ViCi Gaming, B.O.O.T.cn, Eastern Mysterious Power and UYA, respectively, to gain the Beijing invite.
TyLoo dominate
China’s TyLoo dropped only one map in the entirety of the playoffs on their way to being crowned champions of CS:GO Super League 2017 Spring. Following the group stage qualification, but prior to the event in Beijing, ViCi Gaming Renascence was acquired by To.be.or.not.to.be, known for the sake of brevity as T.O.T, and it was they who opened up against TyLoo in the semi-finals.
Starting on Mirage, a map TyLoo had frequently visited in the playoffs, TyLoo absolutely dominated T.O.T. After picking up 13 rounds on their CT (counterterrorist) side, TyLoo secured the final three out of eight rounds on their T (terrorist) side, giving them the 16-7 win.
TyLoo’s somebody was the standout player of the map – and the series –securing 23 kills in as many rounds. The second map was even quicker than the first, with TyLoo defeating T.O.T 16-5 in a brutal fashion on Inferno.
DD and BnTeT impress
In the Winner’s Finals, TyLoo squared off against Eclipse in the most contested series of the tournament. Once again starting off on Mirage, TyLoo immediately found themselves in a more difficult fight, only securing seven rounds in the first half. In an absolute brawl, TyLoo secured the win 16-14, primarily off the back of stellar performances by DD and BnTeT, who both finished the map with 26 kills.
In their only defeat of the playoffs, TyLoo fell on Train in overtime 19-16. Each team only secured three T rounds, but Eclipse pulled off four straight rounds to begin overtime and ultimately secure the win. On a fairly decent AWP map, TyLoo’s Mo struggled, picking up 23 kills to 27 deaths, the lowest K/D on the team. However, Mo bounced back on the final map of the series, Overpass, where he secured 29 kills – the most on the server – in 30 rounds. In an incredibly back-and-forth affair, Mo and company secured just one more T round (in the final round, no less) than Eclipse, giving them the narrow 16-14 victory.
TyLoo face a familiar foe
In the Grand Finals, TyLoo once again faced off against Eclipse, as the latter made it through from the losing side of the bracket in the double elimination format. This time, however, the championship was on the line. The same three maps in the same order were selected – understandable given how close all three maps were in their previous encounter.
Back on their home map of Mirage, TyLoo came out firing on all cylinders, securing 11 rounds on the less favoured T-side. After losing the pistol and the subsequent two rounds, TyLoo secured five out of six rounds, giving them the win. In one of the best performances of the tournament, TyLoo’s BnTeT absolutely dominated Eclipse, producing 31 kills in just 24 rounds. BnTeT’s rating was 1.96 for that performance, with the next highest rated player a three-way tie between teammates DD, HZ, and Eclipse’s Ayaya.
TyLoo too strong for Eclipse
The next map was once again Train, yet this game played out completely differently than the previous encounter. Eclipse secured seven rounds on their opening T-side; while in the first matchup on Train, in the Winner’s Finals, both teams had combined for six T-side rounds total.
However, TyLoo recovered to secure seven out of their first ten rounds on the T-half, putting them on championship point. TyLoo dropped two more rounds before securing the map and series-clinching round, giving them the 16-12 win and the title. DD stepped up for TyLoo in the final map, picking up 32 kills in 28 rounds – good for a 1.59 rating – while BnTeT held the second highest with 1.19.
What TyLoo showed above all other teams at this event was their team cohesion and star power. Each map, a new player stepped up to the plate and delivered an outstanding performance to carry those that struggled. BnTeT, in particular, had an absolutely incredible tournament, as he was the first or second-highest rated member on his team in every map played against Eclipse. When TyLoo relied on him most, BnTeT showed the star power and skill required to take the team over the top and into first place; both his side and Eclipse now advance to the CSL 2017 Finals, which are set be held in September.
