Electronic Sports League Major Series 2014 or as known as EMS One Katowice 2014 was the second CS:Go major held at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland.
The major was organized by ESL and funded by Valve, the developers of the game. EMS One Katowice 2014 had a prize pool of $250,000 with the winner taking a cool $100,000 for their efforts.
Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas, the winners and runner ups of the first major were again the favorites to win the championship but they faced stiff competition from the home team Virus.Pro who eventually were crowned champions.
The CS:GO scene had become competitive after the first major and it wasn’t only Swedish teams that were dominating anymore. Dignitas, Virtus.Pro and LGB eSports were there to give NiP and Fnatic a run for their money.
A total of 16 teams qualified for the major with 8 teams qualifying from DreamHack Winter 2013, two teams received direct invites and the rest 6 qualified from the qualifiers. Virtus.Pro were one of the teams who qualifed via the qualifiers and were not considered as contenders by the experts.
Teams:-
| Group A | Group B |
| Virtus.Pro | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| Titan | Team LDLC.com |
| HellRaisers | 3DMax |
| mousesports | Vox Eminor |
| Group C | Group D |
| Team Dignitas | LGB eSports |
| Fnatic | compLexity Gaming |
| Reason Gaming | Clan-Mystik |
| Team iBUYPOWER | Natus Vincere |
VP’s journey at EMS One Katowice 2014:-
The competition began on March 13th 2014 with fans rallying behind the home team from get go. Virtus.pro had emerged onto the scene after DreamHack Winter 2013 under the leadership of “neo”. The Polish organization had evolved into one of the best teams around with some serious firepower in their ranks with the likes of “pashaBiceps” and “Snax”.
VP were determined to make a impact on the Counter Strike scene with the scene dominated by the Swedish teams before. They started EMS One Katowice 2014 with a resilient 19:16 victory against HellRaisers on Mirage. It was the kind of performance which VP later built their legacy on. They defeated Titan on Mirage, winning 16:7 to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic, the other championship rivals too qualified for the quarter finals with 2-0 and 2-1 W/L record respectively in the group stages. But VP avoided the heavyweights in the quarters and instead set up a clash with Team LDLC.
VP defeated the French roster in two straight maps to march onto the semi-finals. “byali” and “taz” the two support players showed their importance to the team as they put in monumental efforts in the playoffs.
NiP moved on to the semi finals while their Swedish counterparts Fnatic were eliminated by LGB esports who had a certain “olofmeister” in their ranks.
VP faced the “olof” lead team in the semis, a game which delivered beyond expectations. VP came out on top in the end winning 2:1 earning a place in the grand finals.
On the other hand, NiP booked a second consecutive final appearance beating Team Dignitas 2:0 in the semi finals. With no Fnatic in the finals this time, the title was considered as NiP’s to loose.
But they were up against the home team Virtus.Pro who were there to make history of their own. Virtus.Pro were determined to take the EMS One Katowice 2014 trophy. They blew away the Swedes in the final conquering them 16:9 on Mirage and 16:10 on Inferno.
VP’s victory was significant considering they defeated a legendary NiP lineup in the grand finals and showed the world that they were to stay and not be forgotten.
Virtus.Pro’s victory laid a foundation for the team to lay down its legacy and become the second ever champions in CS:Go’s history.
“pashaBiceps” was awarded the MVP award for his monumental performances in the competition. THe Polish giants aslo took $100,000 out of the $250,000 prize pool while NiP again had to settle for a second place finish again.
Rewatch the grand finals of EMS One Katowice 2014 here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do4FUYUHmUM
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