CS:GO Major underdogs always provide the most exciting games to watch. They always bring innovative, risky strats that you wouldn’t usually see on the big stage. The BLAST.tv Paris Major has been no different, with Monte and Into the Breach providing the perfect Cinderella story among the CS:GO Major teams. We’re looking at their journey so far, and their odds of upsetting the odds even further in Paris.
Monte’s Grind
This is what it means to sdy. Credit: BLASTtv on Twitter
In the three months leading up to the event, none of the CS:GO Major teams were committed to the grind like Monte. During this period, they played 140 maps in Tier 2 tournaments. It’s an insane amount of CS:GO to play with competitive stakes. Still, for many they were favorites to be eliminated from the Paris Major early in the Challengers Stage.
They persevered, reaching the Legends Stage comfortably. They quickly found themselves 2:0 up after the first day after beating FURIA and Fnatic, before losing to a brilliant Vitality on day two.
A spicy match-up against NAVI awaited them. For Monte’s IGL, sdy, this was an opportunity for redemption. NAVI ditched sdy last year, after deeming him not good enough for his role as a stand-in, instead opting for young gun npl. He made them look silly, hitting 43 kills across the series as they 2:0’ed NAVI to reach the big stage.
He’s too humble to ever admit it, but it was a victory that must have tasted so sweet. As CS:GO Major underdogs, every victory feels good, but this one had that special something about it.
With Monte going into the Champions Stage, they join the promised land among the best CS:GO teams in the world. And the best part? They don’t look out of place, not even a little bit. Woro2k looks to be an elite AWPer, BOROS is one of the tournament MVPs so far, and DemQQ and kRaSnaL are just so consistent on the server.
With teams like FaZe, Heroic, and Vitality left in the tournament, Monte will still be CS:GO Major underdogs. But with every convincing victory, a little part of us believes a little bit more that they really could do the unthinkable at the final CS:GO Major.
Into The Breach’s Dreamland
One happy family. Credit: ITBesports on Twitter
Some things really just don’t make sense. In our CS:GO Major predictions for the Legends Stage, Into The Breach were our 0:3. The safest of safe picks, in theory. Yet, here they are, not just as Legends, but Champions, ready to take the Quarter-Finals by storm.
It’s a run that defies all logic. Everything we know about CS:GO Major teams has been thrown in the trash, the CS:GO rulebook well-and-truly torn up. There seemed to be a moment of normality, as they fell to Apeks in the opening match. FaZe were up next, leaving them surely condemned to the 0:2 bracket… right? Except they beat FaZe, and ENCE afterward, and suddenly there were beating all of the best CS:GO teams.
It ended with a match against Fnatic, who were coming off the back of dumping G2 from the Paris Major. The winners of the first-ever CS:GO Major, a legendary org – destiny was on Fnatic’s side. Into The Breach have no time for that sort of thing. Completing the reverse sweep over Fnatic, they became the first-ever UK team to reach the playoffs of a CS:GO Major.
No hyperbole in the world can exaggerate just how great it is what Into The Breach has achieved so far. This was a roster put together just three months ago, with a ragtag bunch of players that were mostly unknown. It must smash all CS:GO Major records for the earliest team to ever reach the Champions Stage. Thomas and CRUC1AL might ring a bell from Endpoint, and rallen played in the early stages of two Majors back in 2015. CYPHER and volt were more unknown quantities, but you won’t find experts for any of the five on Into The Breach.
So how have they done it? Thomas gave away the secret to beating the best CS:GO teams after the victory over Fnatic.
“You can’t play Tier 1 CS, when you sometimes haven’t got the Tier 1 players… You can’t play their CS, because you’re just going to lose.”
It’s the perfect attitude to take if they want more than the Quarter-Finals. Some will judge the way they play, but will these CS:GO Major underdogs care? Not even a little bit – they’re the perfect Paris Cinderella story.
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