ESL One Katowice 2015

ESL One Katowice 2015, also known as Katowice 2015, was the fifth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship, held from March 12 to March 15, 2015, at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. It was the first CS:GO Major of 2015. It was organized by Electronic Sports League with sponsorship from Valve. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000. The defending champion was Team EnVyUs, whose roster had won the previous Major as Team LDLC.com.

ESL One Katowice 2015

2015
The ESL One Katowice 2015 logo
Tournament information
Sport	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Location	Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Dates	March 12, 2015–March 15, 2015
Administrator	Valve ESL
Tournament format(s)	16 team GSL group stage Eight team single-elimination playoff
Venue	Spodek Arena
Teams	16 teams
Purse	$250,000 USD
Final positions
Champions	Fnatic (2nd title)
1st runners-up	Ninjas in Pyjamas
2nd runners-up	Team EnVyUs Virtus.pro
MVP	Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer
← Jönköping 2014 Cologne 2015 →

Eight teams advanced from the group stage to a playoff bracket, earning "Legends" status and automatic qualification to the following Major. Fnatic, Team EnVyUs, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere, PENTA Sports, and Team SoloMid were returning Legends from the previous Major. Keyd Stars was the only new Legends and became the first South American team to play in a Major and qualify to the playoff bracket. HellRaisers lost its Legends status after losing to Counter Logic Gaming and Keyd Stars in the group stage. The grand finals featured two Swedish teams. Fnatic defeated PENTA Sports and Virtus.pro in the bracket while Ninjas in Pyjamas defeated Team SoloMid and Team EnVyUs on their way to the grand finals. Fnatic then beat Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–1 in the finals.^[1] Fnatic became the first team to win a second Major, and remained the only team to do so until MIBR (attending Katowice 2015 as Keyd Stars) won MLG Columbus 2016 and ESL One Cologne 2016.

Format

The top eight teams from DreamHack Winter 2014 ("Legends") received direct invitations to Katowice. In addition, eight other teams (the "Challengers") emerged from offline qualifiers.

Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play an elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.^[2]

The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.

Map Pool

The seven-map pool did not change from DreamHack Winter 2014. Before each match in the group stage, both teams banned two maps. The map for the match was then randomly selected from the remaining three maps. In the playoffs, each team first banned one map, then chose one map. The two chosen maps were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps.

Maps Cache Cobblestone Dust II Inferno Mirage Nuke Overpass

Main qualifier

The 16 teams at the main qualifier were separated into two groups of 8. The teams played in a double-elimination, best of one bracket. Four teams from each group, two from the winner's bracket and two from the loser's bracket, advanced to the Major.

Invited[a] Cloud9 Gamers2[b] KaBuM.TD Team Dignitas Team Liquid Titan Vox Eminor	Regional Qualifiers Copenhagen Wolves (Europe Qualifier 1) mousesports (Europe Qualifier 1) Flipsid3 Tactics (Europe Qualifier 2) 3DMAX2 (Europe Qualifier 2) LGB eSports (Europe Qualifier 1) PiTER (CIS Qualifier) INSHOCK (Poland Qualifier) Counter Logic Gaming (NA Qualifier) ESC Gaming[c] (EU Last Chance)

1. Only seven teams received direct invites because four of the five players from Team iBUYPOWER were banned by Valve for their role in the North American match fixing scandal.^[3] The bans were officially made permanent on January 5, 2016.^[4]
2. Team WinneR was found to be guilty of match fixing, so the team was disqualified. 3DMAX took the vacant spot. Players of ESC Gaming were also accused of match fixing, but they were cleared of any wrongdoing.
3. The Polish roster of ESC Gaming was picked up by Gamers2. ESC Gaming would go on to pick up a Danish roster.^[5][6]

Group A

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Qualified
	Titan		28
	PiTER		24
						Titan		14
						Counter Logic Gaming		16
	Counter Logic Gaming		16
	Gamers2		14
											Counter Logic Gaming
											LGB eSports
	Team Liquid		14
	FlipSid3 Tactics		16
						FlipSid3 Tactics		11
						LGB eSports		16
	Copenhagen Wolves		8
	LGB eSports		16
	Lower round 1					Lower round 2					Qualified
						FlipSid3 Tactics		16
	PiTER		19			PiTER		3
	Gamers2		17								FlipSid3 Tactics
											Titan
						Titan		16
	Team Liquid		10			Copenhagen Wolves		4
	CPH Wolves		16

Group B

	Upper round 1					Upper round 2					Qualified
	Cloud9		16
	INSHOCK		2
						Cloud9		16
						mousesports		14
	mousesports		16
	KaBuM.TD		10
											Cloud9
											Vox Eminor
	3DMAX		11
	Vox Eminor		16
						Vox Eminor		16
						Team Dignitas		13
	ESC Gaming		11
	Team Dignitas		16
	Lower round 1					Lower round 2					Qualified
						Team Dignitas		3
	INSHOCK		11			KaBuM.TD		16
	KaBuM.TD		16								KaBuM.TD
											3DMAX
						mousesports		8
	3DMAX		16			3DMAX		16
	ESC Gaming		8

Broadcast Talent

Hosts

• Sean Charles
• Alex "Machine" Richardson

Analysts

• Casper "cadiaN" Møller
• Spencer "Hiko" Martin

Commentators

• Leigh "Deman" Smith
• Anders Blume
• Lauren "Pansy" Scott
• Stuart "TosspoT" Saw

Observers

• Joshua "steel" Nissan
• Yanko "YNk" Paunović

Teams

Legends Team SoloMid[a] Fnatic Hellraisers Ninjas in Pyjamas Team EnVyUs[b] PENTA Sports Virtus.pro Natus Vincere	Main qualifier teams Counter Logic Gaming LBG eSports Cloud9 Vox Eminor Flipsid3 Tactics Keyd Stars 3DMAX Titan

1. The roster of Team Dignitas was acquired by Team SoloMid.^[7]
2. Team EnVyUs acquired the full roster of Team LDLC.com.^[8]

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	W	L	RF	RA	RD	Pts
1	Fnatic	2	0	32	10	+22	6
2	Natus Vincere	2	1	39	21	+18	6
3	Vox Eminor	1	2	22	34	−12	3
4	FlipSid3 Tactics	0	2	4	32	−28	0

Group A matches
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Natus Vincere	16	Mirage	2	FlipSid3 Tactics
Fnatic	16	Inferno	3	Vox Eminor
FlipSid3 Tactics	2	Cache	16	Vox Eminor
Natus Vincere	7	Cobblestone	16	Fnatic
Natus Vincere	16	Inferno	3	Vox Eminor

Group B

Pos	Team	W	L	RF	RA	RD	Pts
1	Team EnVyUs	2	0	32	22	+10	6
2	PENTA Sports	2	1	35	32	+3	6
3	LGB eSports	1	2	36	35	+1	3
4	Titan	0	2	18	32	−14	0

Group B matches
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Team EnVyUs	16	Cobblestone	14	Titan
PENTA Sports	3	Dust II	16	LGB eSports
Team EnVyUs	16	Cache	8	LGB eSports
PENTA Sports	16	Cache	4	Titan
LGB eSports	12	Dust II	16	PENTA Sports

Group C

Pos	Team	W	L	RF	RA	RD	Pts
1	Ninjas in Pyjamas	2	0	32	16	+16	6
2	Keyd Stars	2	1	41	36	+5	6
3	Counter Logic Gaming	1	2	31	46	−15	3
4	HellRaisers	0	2	26	32	−6	0

Group C matches
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Ninjas in Pyjamas	16	Inferno	9	Keyd Stars
HellRaisers	14	Nuke	16	Counter Logic Gaming
Ninjas in Pyjamas	16	Mirage	7	Counter Logic Gaming
HellRaisers	12	Inferno	16	Keyd Stars
Counter Logic Gaming	8	Dust II	16	Keyd Stars

Group D

Pos	Team	W	L	RF	RA	RD	Pts
1	Virtus.pro	2	0	32	16	+16	6
2	Team SoloMid	2	1	46	34	+12	6
3	Cloud9	1	2	35	46	−11	3
4	3DMAX	0	2	15	32	−17	0

Group D matches
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Virtus.pro	16	Overpass	5	3DMAX
Team SoloMid	14	Nuke	16	Cloud9
Virtus.pro	16	Inferno	11	Cloud9
Team SoloMid	16	Nuke	10	3DMAX
Cloud9	8	Overpass	16	Team SoloMid

Playoffs

The winner of each group played the runner-up of a different group for each quarterfinals match.

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

A1

Fnatic

2

B2

PENTA Sports

0

A1

Fnatic

2

D1

Virtus.pro

0

D1

Virtus.pro

2

C2

Keyd Stars

1

A1

Fnatic

2

C1

Ninjas in Pyjamas

1

B1

Team EnVyUs

2

A2

Natus Vincere

1

B1

Team EnVyUs

0

C1

Ninjas in Pyjamas

2

C1

Ninjas in Pyjamas

2

D2

Team SoloMid

1

Quarterfinals

Fnatic vs. PENTA Sports

Casters: Deman & SPUNJ

Fnatic vs. PENTA Sports Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Fnatic	16	Inferno	8	PENTA Sports
Fnatic	16	Cache	7	PENTA Sports
Fnatic	–	Overpass	–	PENTA Sports

Virtus.pro vs. Keyd Stars

Casters: TosspoT & seang@res

Virtus.pro vs. Keyd Stars Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Virtus.pro	16	Mirage	4	Keyd Stars
Virtus.pro	17	Overpass	19	Keyd Stars
Virtus.pro	16	Nuke	1	Keyd Stars

Team EnVyUs vs. Natus Vincere

Casters: Pansy & natu

Team EnVyUs vs. Natus Vincere Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Team EnVyUs	16	Cache	12	Natus Vincere
Team EnVyUs	14	Dust II	16	Natus Vincere
Team EnVyUs	16	Mirage	3	Natus Vincere

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team SoloMid

Casters: Anders Blume & natu

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team SoloMid Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Ninjas in Pyjamas	16	Dust II	8	Team SoloMid
Ninjas in Pyjamas	4	Inferno	16	Team SoloMid
Ninjas in Pyjamas	16	Nuke	12	Team SoloMid

Semifinals

Fnatic vs. Virtus.pro

Casters: Anders Blume & SEMPHIS

Fnatic vs. Virtus.pro Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Fnatic	19	Cobblestone	17	Virtus.pro
Fnatic	16	Mirage	8	Virtus.pro
Fnatic	–	Overpass	–	Virtus.pro

Team EnVyUs vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Casters: Deman & seang@res

Team EnVyUs vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Team EnVyUs	9	Cache	16	Ninjas in Pyjamas
Team EnVyUs	10	Dust II	16	Ninjas in Pyjamas
Team EnVyUs	–	Mirage	–	Ninjas in Pyjamas

Finals

Both teams in the final had at one point been considered the best team in the world, and the head-to-head was split right down the middle, with Fnatic having a 16–15 lead.

Casters: Anders Blume, TossopT, & seang@res

Fnatic vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas Scores
Team	Score	Map	Score	Team
Fnatic	16	Dust II	14	Ninjas in Pyjamas
Fnatic	10	Cache	16	Ninjas in Pyjamas
Fnatic	16	Inferno	13	Ninjas in Pyjamas

Final standings

Place	Team	Prize Money	Seed for ESL One Cologne 2015	Roster	Coach
1st	Fnatic	US$100,000	Legends status	JW, flusha, pronax, olofmeister, KRiMZ	Devilwalk
2nd	Ninjas in Pyjamas	US$50,000		f0rest, GeT RiGhT, Xizt, friberg, allu	pita
3rd–4th	Team EnVyUs	US$22,000		kioShiMa, Happy, SmithZz, NBK, shox	–
	Virtus.pro			TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, byali, Snax	kuben
5–8th	Keyd Stars	US$10,000		FalleN, fer, steel, zqk, boltz	–
	Natus Vincere			Edward, Zeus, starix, seized, GuardiaN	Ugin
	Team SoloMid			karrigan, dev1ce, cajunb, dupreeh, Xyp9x	3k2
	PENTA Sports			nex, Spidii, denis, kRYSTAL, Troubley	alexRr
9–12th	Vox Eminor	US$2,000	–	SPUNJ, Havoc, jks, AZR, topguN	–
	LGB eSports			RUBINO, rain, jkaem, zEVES, Polly	–
	Cloud9			ShahZam, sgares, n0thing, shroud, Semphis	–
	Counter Logic Gaming			hazed, reltuC, tarik, ptr, FNS	–
13–16th	Titan	US$2,000		kennyS, Rpk, apEX, Maniac, Ex6TenZ	–
	FlipSid3 Tactics			B1ad3, bondik, markeloff, WorldEdit, DavCost	–
	HellRaisers			ANGE1, kucher, flamie, Dosia, AdreN	–
	3DMAX			diSTURBED, natu, KHRN, stonde, xartE	–

References

1. "3 things we learned from ESL Katowice's Counter-Strike event". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 20 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
2. Švejda, Milan. "Searching for the perfect format". HLTV.org. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
3. Lewis, Richard (January 15, 2015). "New evidence points to match-fixing at highest level of American Counter-Strike". Dot eSports. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
4. Corporation, Valve (January 5, 2016). "A Follow Up to Integrity and Fair Play". Counter-Strike.net.
5. Mira, Luis (February 11, 2015). "Gamers2 sign ex-ESC". HLTV.org.
6. Park, Paul (February 11, 2015). "ESC Gaming acquires new CS:GO team". Score eSports.
7. Walkowiak, Marek (January 25, 2015). "CS:GO squad move on". Team Dignitas.
8. Rahul (February 2, 2015). "TEAM ENVYUS ACQUIRE LDLC CS:GO ROSTER". GFinity.

External links

• Official webpage