ELeague Season 1

ELEAGUE

2016
Tournament information
Sport	Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Location	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Dates	May 24, 2016–July 30, 2016
Administrator(s)	Turner Sports William Morris Endeavor
Tournament format(s)	Group Stage (Bo1/Bo3) Single-Elimination Brackets (Bo3)
Teams	24 teams
Purse	$1,400,000 USD
Final positions
Champions	Virtus.pro
1st runners-up	Fnatic
2nd runners-up	Natus Vincere mousesports
ELeague Season 2 →

Eleague Season 1 was the inaugural season of the Eleague Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league that ran from May 24, 2016 to July 30, 2016 and was broadcast on cable television on TBS and online on twitch.tv. On September 24, 2015 Turner Broadcasting announced that it was partnering with talent agency WME/IMG for a new esports project.^[1] The season featured 24 teams from across the world to compete in a 10-week season,^[1] which included a regular season and a playoffs.^[2] Matches are broadcast live on TBS on Friday nights, starting on May 27, 2016.^[3] The broadcast is simultaneously available on the online streaming service Twitch.^[4] Matches are played at the Turner Studios facility in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The semifinals and final were played at the Cobb Energy Center.^[5]

Turner will be partnering with online streaming services to bring additional video content.^[6] One such program will feature the Renegades' move from Australia to the United States. Additional content will be available on Bleacher Report's Team Stream App.^[4] The finals between Virtus.pro and Fnatic was also broadcast Twitter.^[7]

On March 12, 2016 ELEAGUE announced sponsorship from Arby's, Credit Karma, and Buffalo Wild Wings.^[8]

At the end of the season 1 finals, analyst Richard Lewis announced that the second season of Eleague would air on October 7, 2016.

Teams competing

The first season's full team list was announced on April 21, 2016.^[9]

There were a total of 24 teams competing in the league and it offers $1,400,000 USD in prize money per season.^[10] It debuted on May 24, 2016. 23 invited teams and 1 team from the qualifier will compete in Eleague^[9][11]

Broadcast Talent

This season of Eleague brought in thirteen of the game's well known personalities.

Analysts

• Richard Lewis
• Duncan "Thorin" Shields
• Jason "moses" O'Toole
• Dustin "dusT" Mouret
• Mohamad "m0E" Assad

Commentators

• Anders Blume
• Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat
• Daniel "ddk" Kapadia
• James Bardolph

Interviewers

• Chris Puckett
• Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico

Observers

• Heather "sapphiRe" Garozzo
• DJ "Prius" Kuntz

Format

Teams will be separated into six groups of four. Every week, one group will compete at a time. Tuesday and Wednesday will consist of group play to determine the standings of the group. One win gives one point to the winning team and a loss gives zero points. Each team will play the other three teams in its group twice. On Thursday, the group playoffs begin with the group semifinals, in which the team with the most points faces off against the team with the least points and the other two teams facing off against each other. The semifinals are in a best of three format, so the first team to win two games moves on to the group finals. The winner of those two series will face off Friday, live on TBS in the group finals, which is also a best of three. The winner of that game will move into the playoffs and the loser of that game will go into the Last Chance Qualifier bracket.In addition, the top two third place teams will also go into the Last Chance Qualifier to accommodate the last two spots in the bracket. A third place team is determined by the team with the higher seed of the two losing teams in the group semifinals.

The Last Chance Qualifier consists of eight teams – the six group runner-ups and the top two third place teams. Teams will play in a single elimination bracket and each match is in a best of three format. The bracket continues until two teams remain. These two teams will earn spots in the Playoffs bracket.

The Playoffs consists of the six group winners and the top two teams out of the Last Chance Qualifier. This bracket is also a single elimination, best of three format. Teams will play and winners will advance in the bracket until a winner is decided.

Group Stage Results

Key to colors

	Team automatically advanced to Playoffs Groups
	Team advanced to Last Chance Qualifier Bracket via second-place finish or via top two third-place finish in group stage
	Team was eliminated in group stage

Group A

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	Luminosity Gaming °	6-0	+45	6
2	Cloud9	3-3	+8	3
3	Renegades	3-3	-14	3
4	Team Liquid	0-6	-39	0

Group A Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		Luminosity Gaming	16	16	–
		Team Liquid	6	12	–
									Luminosity Gaming†	11	19	16
									Cloud9†	16	16	9
		Cloud9	16	16	–
		Renegades	3	11	–

° - Disqualified due to SK Gaming acquiring the Luminosity roster, violating Eleague's rules. Cloud9 takes the spot of the first seed, automatically advancing to the Playoffs. Renegades takes the second seed and automatically moves on to the Last Chance Qualifier

Group B

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	G2 Esports	6-0	+33	6
2	Ninjas in Pyjamas	4-2	+18	4
3	OpTic Gaming	2-4	-15	2
4	Selfless Gaming	0-6	-36	0

Group B Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		G2 Esports	16	16	–
		Selfless Gaming	2	8	–
									G2 Esports†	9	3	–
									Ninjas in Pyjamas†	16	16	–
		Ninjas in Pyjamas	3	16	16
		OpTic Gaming	16	2	14

Group C

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	Astralis	5-1	+29	5
2	SK Gaming °	4-2	+31	4
3	Counter Logic Gaming	2-4	-28	2
4	NRG eSports	1-5	-32	1

Group C Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		Astralis	16	19	–
		NRG eSports	13	16	–
									Astralis†	16	16	16
									Counter Logic Gaming†	7	19	11
		SK Gaming	16	10	14
		Counter Logic Gaming	6	16	16

°Disqualified due to SK Gaming releasing the team and then residing under Team X.

Group D

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	Fnatic	5-1	+41	5
2	FaZe Clan	5-1	+20	5
3	Team Dignitas	2-4	-29	2
4	Team SoloMid	0-6	-32	0

Group D Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		Fnatic	16	11	16
		Team SoloMid	12	16	6
									Fnatic†	16	16	–
									FaZe Clan†	12	5	–
		FaZe Clan	16	14	16
		Team Dignitas	10	16	14

Group E

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	Natus Vincere	4-2	+23	4
2	mousesports	4-2	0	4
3	Flipsid3 Tactics	2-4	-8	2
4	Echo Fox	2-4	-15	2

Group E Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		Natus Vincere	16	16	–
		Echo Fox	9	4	–
									Natus Vincere†	16	16	–
									Flipsid3 Tactics†	13	2	–
		mousesports	9	9	–
		Flipsid3 Tactics	16	16	–

Group F

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	Team EnVyUs	5-1	+23	5
2	Virtus.Pro	4-2	+15	4
3	Gambit Gaming	2-4	-12	2
4	compLexity Gaming	1-5	-26	1

Group F Bracket

	Semifinals							Final
		Team EnVyUs	16	16	–
		compLexity Gaming	9	8	–
									Team EnVyUs†	16	16	–
									Virtus.Pro†	11	8	–
		Virtus.Pro	16	16	–
		Gambit Gaming	6	6	–

Third Place Team Standings

The top two teams in this list will join the second place teams in the Last Chance Qualifier bracket. However, since Luminosity Gaming and SK Gaming were disqualified, Cloud9 took Luminosity's first seed and Renegades took Cloud9's second seed. Thus, Gambit Gaming was considered the second team in the third place rankings.

Seed	Team	Record	+/-	Points
1	SK Gaming °	4-2	+33	4
2	mousesports	4-2	0	4
3	Renegades	3-3	-14	3
4	Gambit Gaming	2-4	-12	2
5	OpTic Gaming	2-4	-18	2
6	Team Dignitas	2-4	-35	2

°- Disqualified

Regular Season Standings

Final Standings
Place	Team	W-L	RF-RA	RD	Points
1	Luminosity Gaming	10-1	177-113	+64	12
2	Team EnVyUs	9-1	160-109	+51	11
3	Fnatic	9-2	152-93	+59	11
4	Astralis	9-2	152-93	+59	11
5	Natus Vincere	8-2	145-86	+59	10
6	Ninjas in Pyjamas	8-3	152-111	+41	10
7	G2 Esports	8-2	140-105	+35	8
8	FaZe Clan	7-2	143-132	+11	7
9	Virtus.pro	6-4	141-119	+22	6
10	Cloud9	5-4	149-128	+21	5
11	Counter Logic Gaming	5-7	132-133	-1	4
12	Flipsid3 Tactics	4-6	114-125	-11	4
13	SK Gaming	5-4	125-92	+33	4
14	mousesports	4-4	97-111	-14	4
15	Renegades	3-5	86-118	-32	3
16	OpTic Gaming	3-6	96-114	-18	2
17	Gambit Gaming	2-6	89-121	-33	2
18	Echo Fox	2-4	78-112	-34	2
19	Team Dignitas	3-6	98-133	-35	2
20	NRG eSports	1-7	91-128	-39	1
21	compLexity Gaming	1-7	79-126	-47	1
22	Team SoloMid	1-8	98-139	-41	0
23	Team Liquid	0-8	75-128	-53	0
24	Selfless Gaming	0-8	70-128	-58	0

^† - Game was broadcast on TBS.

Last Chance Qualifier Bracket

	Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Finals
		Renegades	16	16	–
		Flipsid3 Tactics	5	5	–
									Renegades	6	20	–
									Virtus.pro	16	22	–
		Gambit Gaming	17	6	–
		Virtus.pro	19	16	–
																Virtus.pro	Qualified	For	Playoffs
																mousesports	Qualified	For	Playoffs
		G2 Esports	9	25	17
		mousesports	16	22	19
									mousesports†	6	16	19
									FaZe Clan†	16	3	17
		FaZe Clan	16	14	22
		Counter Logic Gaming	4	16	19

^† - Game was broadcast on TBS.

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals							Semifinals							Finals
		Team EnVyUs	13	7	–
		Fnatic	16	16	–
									Fnatic	16	16	–
									Natus Vincere	4	14	–
		Natus Vincere	19	9	16
		Cloud9	15	16	14
																Fnatic†	10	8	–
																Virtus.pro†	16	16	–
		Astralis	2	12	–
		mousesports	16	16	–
									mousesports†	7	10	–
									Virtus.pro†	16	16	–
		Virtus.pro†	16	16	–
		Ninjas in Pyjamas†	8	9	–

^† - Game was broadcast on TBS.

Final Standings

Final Standings
Place	Prize Money	Team	Roster
1st	$400,000	Virtus.pro 1	TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, Snax, byali
2nd	$140,000	Fnatic	flusha, olofmeister, JW, dennis, KRiMZ
3rd – 4th	$70,000	mousesports 1	nex, denis, Spiidi, chrisJ, NiKo
	$60,000	Natus Vincere	Zeus, Edward, flamie, seized, GuardiaN
5th – 8th	$50,000	Team EnVyUs	kennyS, Happy, apEX, DEVIL, NBK-
		Cloud9 2	Stewie2K, Skadoodle, n0thing, Slemmy, shroud
		Astralis	dev1ce, karrigan, Xyp9x, dupreeh, Kjaerbye, zonic 3
		Ninjas in Pyjamas	GeT RiGhT, f0rest, Xizt, friberg, pyth
9th – 10th	$40,000	Renegades 2	AZR, jks, Yam, USTILO, Rickeh 4, SPUNJ 4
		FaZe Clan	fox, rain, jkaem, aizy, kioShiMa
11th – 14th	$40,000	Flipsid3 Tactics	Blad3, markeloff, Shara, WorldEdit, waylander
		Gambit Gaming 2	hooch, Dosia, spaze, DavCost 5, mou, AdreN
		G2 Esports	shox, bodyy, Rpk, SmithZz, Fuks6, ScreaM
		Counter Logic Gaming	reltuC, tarik, hazed, jdm64 7, koosta 7, pita
15th – 16th	$30,000	OpTic Gaming	daps, NAF, stanislaw, RUSH, mixwell
		Team Dignitas	cajunb, k0nfig, tenzki, MSL, RUBINO
17th – 22nd	$30,000	Echo Fox	sgares, ryx, roca, ShahZam, fREAKAZOiD
		NRG eSports	ptr, FugLy, tabseN, gob b, LEGIJA
		compLexity Gaming	sancz, witmer, dephh, Surreal, androidx23
		Team SoloMid	autimatic, SicK, Semphis, FNS, Cadian 8
		Team Liquid	Hiko, nitr0, EliGE, koosta 7, adreN
		Selfless Gaming 9	Relyks, MAiNLiNE, Nifty, mitch, CoNnOrRr93
DQ	–	Luminosity Gaming 2 10	FalleN, coldzera, TACO, fnx, fer
		SK Gaming 2 10	Friis, AcilioN, Magiskb0Y, Pimp, MODDII

¹ - Virtus.pro and mousesports received an additional $10,000 for winning the Last Chance Qualifier

² - Luminosity and SK were disqualified from the tournament due to SK Gaming letting go of its Danish squad and acquiring Luminosity Gaming's team. This does "do not comply with" Eleague rules, according to the commissioner at Eleague.^[12] Cloud9 took Luminosity's spot in the playoffs and Renegades and Gambit Gaming took Cloud9's and SK Gaming's spots in the Last Chance Qualifier.

³ - Astralis coach zonic stood in for karrigan for the first day of Astralis matches due to karrigan's ESTA application being denied.^[13]

⁴ - Rickeh joins the Renegades team after SPUNJ retired from professional CS:GO midway through the season.

⁵ - DavCost stood in for spaze due to spaze's health issues.^[14]

⁶ - Rpk suffered from a perforated eardrum, so G2 called in Fuks to replace Rpk in the Last Chance Qualifier.^[15]

⁷ - Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming swapped koosta and jdm64, respectively, shortly before ESL One Cologne 2016. This resulted in koosta playing for Team Liquid during the group stage and Counter Logic Gaming during the Last Chance Qualifier at Eleague.

⁸ - Eleague rules state that any participant 16 or under is not allowed to play. This resulted in Twistzz being replaced by cadiaN for the tournament.

⁹ - The CS:GO team Tyloo could not accept its invitation to play in Eleague due to visa issues. Eleague announced Selfless Gaming was its replacement.^[16]

¹⁰ - Luminosity Gaming (now SK Gaming) and SK Gaming (now Team X) are still eligible for unspecified winnings, despite the rulebook stating that disqualified teams forfeit all potential winnings.^[17]

References

External links

• Official website