by Sören ‘Fantasy’ Vendsahm
A long night in Southern California ends in a disappointingly close loss for compLexity’s CS:GO roster. The team that fought its way through the group stage with a near perfect round score found their master in the final match against bitter rivals, iBuyPower.
Prior to that impactful loss the five compLexity boys had played top-notch throughout the long weekend event. After a dominant group stage gave the squad top seed into the brackets, the task was to keep up form and stand strong against increasingly stiff opposition. For the majority of the matches they were successful on that mission, crushing Legends first on de_Mirage to get into the upper bracket quarterfinal. On Saturday Legends had been taken down by iBP 16-8, but coL.cs managed to one up their rivals, closing the match with a safe 16-5 victory to move on.
Following the destruction of Legends was the immediate dismantlement of Revelry, a performance that paved the way for coL straight to the upper bracket semis without so much as a problem. With a clean and clear 16-7 behind them and Area51 ahead, it was shaping up to be a long evening of exciting Counter-Strike.
Area51 proved to be a challenge, but they couldn’t trip up one of the favorites of the event. The 16-11 win was the closest result coL had allowed up until that point in the weekend, but the matches against iBuyPower had just been put on the schedule.
The first meeting, with a Grand Finals spot on the line, turned out to be not just a marathon of a best-of-one, but also an instant classic. Both teams proved once more how evenly matched they are and how far above the rest they really are in the North American scene. Up until then no team had been able to really push either side to bring all their force, but in this one both squads had to pull out all the stop. Even exchanges and intense back-and-forths were the characteristics of the triple overtime match. It took the top NA teams a total of 47 rounds to settle the score, but eventually compLexity was finally able to pull ahead, capitalizing on a 3-0 start, and get the win, 25-22.
While coL took a rest and scouted the opposition, iBuyPower had to claw through the lower bracket finals to get the redemption match – the much anticipated coL vs. iBP II.
While the rest of Southern California was long asleep, Europe and even the East Coast were getting ready for the next day, but still the light burned in the GamersNET LAN center, harkening on the final showdown. The match would be one for supremacy in the North American scene for a while, giving the winner bragging rights up until the next big battle. Earlier in an interview team captain Sean Gares had shown his optimism, as he talked longingly for a best-of-three series against his NA rivals. He ended up recieving his wish here, and even ended ahead one map – something that turned out not to be too beneficial for coL.
Despite having a great start on de_Inferno, including a win on CT pistol, coL struggled to put the game away in time. iBuyPower overcame their disadvantageous 0-4 start and five map deficit at halftime, rallying back in impressive fashion to tie to contest at 12-12 and march forward from there. The 16-12 win in favor of iBP was a testament to the great will and morale of iBP’s squad, and just how evenly matches these teams are. It all came down to one map, a deciding battle between the two powerhouses of North America, played on the longtime fan favorite, de_Dust2.
What unraveled on the sandy surface was a true knock-down, drag-out fight, as the teams began trading blows. iBuyPower won the T pistol right away, but failed to convert that early advantage, losing the following two rounds. From that moment the score stayed close; no team ever jumped really far ahead as coL was still on top after seven rounds, but found themselves trailing close to halftime with 6-7 – eventually falling just short of winning the CT side with a 7-8 score.
Just like iBP on the T side it was now coL’s turn to win the pistol, courtesy of anger’s clutch play, in similar fashion coL failed to defend the all important eco. The advantage shifted back to iBuyPower and slowly but surely they gained a better grasp on the defensive assignments, shutting down coL in the process. Repeated attempts down Long A were crushed by well placed AWP shots and HE nades, pushing the score to 8-12 in favor of iBP.
coL tried to rally back after that, coming within striking distance at 11-12, only to get dropped hard once more. A demoralized and exhausted coL knew game was on the line at 11-15, when they were forced to buy out with a shaky economic situations. The boys in black and red almost started the miracle, as pistols and nades brought home a plant and a 2v2, but it all came tumbling down when iBuyPower pushed it out of reach to clinch the SoCal Revival #2 title. After an exhausting 21 hour day the coL.CS squad walks away with a respectable second place finish, $1500 in cash, and with some epic matches behind them. As coL, iBP and the sixty or so spectators left the LAN center at 6am the California sun greeted them, bringing on a bright new day for NA CS:GO.