Cloud9 took down TSM to win the DreamHack Pro Circuit: Dallas Grand Final by the score of 4-2. Sunday’s victory is their second DreamHack title and third major tournament victory.
There was plenty of other action including some exciting upsets in Dallas this weekend. Here’s a full recap of DreamHack Dallas.
Day 1 Plays Out Predictably
There weren’t too many surprises during Friday’s group play. Mousesports took down Renault Vitality in the second round and Method upset Spacestation Gaming to advance to day two. Beyond that, the teams that advanced from their groups were the better seeds.
Mousesports and Team SoloMid moved on from the upper bracket in Group A while Method and Vitality advanced through the lower bracket. Mouz’s 3-2 upset shifted the two teams’ momentum for the rest of the weekend. Vitality fell to the lower bracket where Raul “Roll Dizz’s” y0 squad put a five game scare into them. Mouz and Vitality advanced, but Vitality faced a much more difficult path to Day 3, whereas Mouz had an easier path.
NRG Esports, Dignitas, Renegades and Evil Geniuses advanced from Group B without many hiccups. NRG swept SMISS and EG. Dignitas swept 303 and beat Renegades 3-1. Renegades made quick work of Splyce without Jamie “Karma” Bickford and made Day 2. EG dominated Uncharted in the lower finals and moved on.
FC Barcelona, G2 Esports, Complexity Gaming and The Peeps won out in Group C. Barca didn’t drop a game on their way to day 2. G2 and Complexity played an epic series in second round, but G2 muscled out a win in overtime of game five to clinch Day 2. Complexity started slow against Upper90 in the lower bracket, but won 3-1 and earned their Day 2 spot. The Peeps ran up the score on Afterthought in the other lower final and grabbed Group C’s final spot.
Cloud9, PSG Esports, Rogue and ICON Esports followed suit with a predictable Day 1 results in Group D. Cloud9 dominated Handsome Beavers and ICON with consecutive sweeps. PSG did the same and swept Nitrox and Rogue. Rogue outlasted a competitive RBG Esports squad 3-2. ICON swept Nitrox and landed the final spot in Group D.
Vitality and G2 Upset, OCE flops on Day 2
Dignitas reached Day 3 through the upper bracket of Group A after beating Method and mousesports. The series with Mouz was very close. Dignitas won the first two games by a 2-1 scoreline, but Mouz came within one goal of a reverse sweep. Both teams scored a goal en route to a game five overtime, but a backboard read shot by Pierre “Turbopolsa” Silfver was just enough to send Dignitas to Day 3.
Cloud9 grabbed back to back 3-2 victories over NA rivals The Peeps and G2 to move on to Day 3. C9 fell down 2-1 to The Peeps and nearly lost the series in a 3:54 overtime in game four. They bounced back in game five and won 3-2 behind a two goal performance by Mariano “Squishy” Arruda. G2 put up an even
tougher fight. C9 took a 2-1 lead into game four, but G2 won in overtime to force game five, which also went into overtime. Jesus “Gimmick” Parra finished off a pass from Kyle “Torment” Storer and C9 made Day 3.
Calamity ensued in the losers’ bracket of Group A. Evil Geniuses bounced back from their loss to Mouz in the first round with a 3-1 win over Method. They fell down 2-0 to their NA rivals G2 Esports, but found their footing with a 3-1 win in game three. EG shut out G2 in the final two games and pulled off the upset to move on to Day 3. G2 generated plenty of pressure, but EG soaked up the shots and were able to respond on the offensive side.
Mouz were caught in that same calamity, and emerged victorious 3-1 over Rogue to make Day 3. Rogue beat The Peeps in the losers’ bracket, but couldn’t keep Mouz off the scoreboard. Mouz scored 11 goals in the series (including 5 in an overtime win in game four) to grab the 3-1 win. Rogue’s defense plagued them throughout RLCS Season 7, and mousesports took advantage.
Even more chaos happened in Group B. Pre-tournament favorites NRG and Vitality faced off in the first round. NRG swept their co-favorites, but couldn’t find the same rhythm against the other EU squad in their way, TSM. TSM punched NRG in the mouth and won the first two games. NRG pulled the series back with consecutive shutouts and forced a game five. The teams were evenly matched in the five minutes, but TSM grabbed the win in OT after 58 seconds. Otto “Metsanauris” Kaipiainen scored a breakaway goal after NRG’s offensive push failed.
FC Barcelona snagged the other day three spot with consecutive sweeps over ICON and Complexity. The last two games against ICON ended in overtime wins, and Barca’s offensive pressure was too much for Complexity.
Complexity pulled off the upset of the tournament with a super sweep of Vitality in the loser’s bracket. Vitality couldn’t manage a goal in any of the games against COL despite putting up 13 in three against Renegades in the previous round. Complexity’s defense was incredible, and they didn’t need much offensive production to get the victories. They won 1-0, 3-0 and 1-0 to earn their spot on Day 3.
ICON upset PSG with a 3-0 sweep in the first round of the losers’ bracket, but couldn’t find the same form against NRG. NRG won the series 3-1 and controlled the pace of the series against the OCE squad. They grabbed an overtime win in game four and moved on to Day 3.
Cloud9 Top TSM in Day 3 Grand Finals
Cloud9 lifted the trophy after a 4-2 win over TSM in the Grand Finals. The series was very competitive, but Cloud9 found a rhythm similar to how they played at the Season 6 World Championships. Torment and Gimmick continued to team up for goals as they’d done all weekend long.
Game one was a slower series where both teams took time to feel each other out. Cloud9 grabbed the win and then carried that momentum to a massive 5-0 victory in game two. Their defense fell off in game three and TSM’s organized attack put in five goals. The fourth game of the series was much less open. Both teams traded possession throughout, but TSM held strong and won 2-1.
C9 won a very defensive game five 1-0 and moved to tournament point. They took home the trophy with a comfortable 3-0 win, with Squishy knocking in a goal with one second remaining for good measure. Ultimately, the pace and unpredictability of Cloud9 won out against the organized rotation patterns of TSM.
Gimmick earned the MVP award for his performance in the tournament.
As far as the rest of the Day 3 action, NRG Esports fell 3-0 to Dignitas. All three games in the series went to overtime, and the former world champs found goals in big moments, including what was likely the goal of the tournament by Maurice “Yukeo” Weihs. Cloud9 made easy work of Complexity on their way to the title, winning 3-0.
TSM narrowly beat a lively Mouz squad. Mouz went up 2-0 and had TSM on the ropes in overtime of game three, but couldn’t close the deal. TSM won game three, swung the momentum back to their side and completed the reverse sweep. Evil Geniuses upset FC Barcelona and landed in their first ever top four at a major tournament. They found a weakness in Barcelona’s fast paced style and found goals through offensive pressure as well as on counter attacks.
Featured image courtesy of Cloud9.
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