The Barcelona CS:GO Invitational presented by Mobile World Congress is a Counter-Strike tournament with a twist. The stakes are high - in addition to the title and trophy, over €75,000 is on the line. However, it’s not solely a matter of skill - politics also play a part. Each team taking part in the Barcelona CS:GO Invitational presented by Mobile World Congress started with three lives. For every game lost, a life was also lost, with the ultimate winner to be the last team with lives standing. However, for every game won, the team who comes out on top gets to choose who faces who in the next matchup.
The Danish Alliance
The most defining aspect of the first day was the Danish alliance between Astralis and Team Dignitas, who were the only two teams to keep their full lives at the end of the day. Their strategy of pitting each other against weaker teams as long as they could, before having their strongest opponents in the form of EnVyUs and Fnatic face each other, paid off completely and put them into excellent position going into day 2. It wasn't all easy sailing however, as the the Spanish locals, Team gBots put up heavy resistance, taking Team Dignitas to their limits and nearly upsetting them. Astralis also had to mount a comeback against G2, ultimately forcing them into overtime before claiming victory.
Also amazing were the strong performances by Team gBots with 16-14 and 16-13 scorelines against Dignitas and Fnatic respectively. Between these and two intense matches between Fnatic and Team EnVyUs it was a day of incredible games and amazing CS:GO.
Results
Today’s matchups were as follows:
- Match 1: Fnatic 10 vs. 16 EnvyUs
- Match 2: Astralis 19 vs. 17 G2esports
- Match 3: Team Dignitas 16 vs. 14 gBots
- Match 4: Astralis 16 vs. 2 x6tence
- Match 5: Team Dignitas 16 vs. 7 Vexed Gaming
- Match 6: Fnatic 16 vs. 13 EnvyUs
- Match 7: Vexed Gaming 16 vs. 2 x6tence
- Match 8: Fnatic 16 vs. 13 gBots
This means that, at the end of day one, the teams’ life totals were as follows:
- Fnatic - 2 lives
- EnvyUs - 2 lives
- Astralis - 3 lives
- G2 Esports - 2 lives
- Team Dignitas - 3 lives
- Vexed Gaming - 2 lives
- gBots - 1 life
- x6tence - 1 life
Who will survive day two?
While Spanish teams sit at one life each, the Danish alliance of Team Dignitas and Astralis sit atop the leaderboard with full lives. How will the action continue tomorrow as the threat of elimination looms very real and teams like G2, who have only played a single match so far need to step up to the plate?
Tomorrow’s schedule is as follows:
- 09:30 CET: Match 9
- ~11:00 CET: Match 10
- ~12:30 CET: Match 11
- ~14:00 CET: Match 12
- ~15:30 CET: Match 13
- ~17:00 CET: Match 14
- ~18:30 CET: Match 15
- ~20:00 CET: Match 16
Tune in here from 09:30 CET to watch all the incredible CS:GO action unfold live!
Visit the official ESL Expo Barcelona 2016 website for all the latest updates, and don’t forget to follow ESL Counter-Strike on Facebook and Twitter for live coverage throughout the event!
