ECS Season 6 Finals Preview

November 16, 2018 11:12 am By: Pavo Jurkic

With IEM XIII Chicago out of our way, it is time to concentrate on the 2 big tournaments still left to be played before the end of 2018. Of course, I am talking about none other than ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals and ECS Season 6 Finals. These 2 tournaments are carrying the entire CSGO competitive season’s weight on their shoulders as far as late 2018 is concerned. But after IEM XII Chicago showed us all of its cards, there are newly opened questions onboard. First off – Astralis didn’t look at their very best during their match against FaZe. Fnatic was also quite problematic but, as you all know, they managed to thread the needle and go through to the finals. Despite all that, their game showed weaknesses at times, leading us to think they might not get the Intel Grand Slam title they desperately crave for.

There is plenty of time for The Great Danes to properly prepare before the ESL Pro League Season 8 Finals which is their first of two remaining chances at winning the Intel Grand Slam. Need I remind you – Intel Grand Slam is a special prize ($1,000,000) that goes to the team which collects 4 victories in a span of 10 consecutive tournaments. Of course, only ESL and DreamHack Masters tournaments count here.

With all that being said, why don’t we start off with the betting side of the deal before moving to the actual matter at hand!

ECS Season 6 Finals Preview | Where to Place Bets?

As far as the bets are concerned, here’s a couple of great examples of what proper esports bookies need to look like:

ECS Season 6 Finals Preview | What Do We Know So Far?

This year, the second yearly installment of ECS Finals is coming in a bit early. Need I remind you, ECS Season 4 Finals lasted from 15th till 17th December 2017. This time around, ECS Season 6 Finals kick off on 22nd November and last all the way to the 25th. The tournament format has remained the same but probably has one simple change – the grand finals match will be played on the third day instead.

Talking about tournament format, here are the teams that have qualified for ECS Season 6 Finals through the regional qualifiers:

As you can see, there are 4 teams from Europe and 4 teams from North America. That’s practically the basis of ECS – that pure rivalry between these 2 regions is what fuels and motivates these players to win this marvelous CSGO event. Sure, there’s $660,000 on the line but pride beats all that in a second. Back to tournament format – ECS Season 6 Finals will kick things off with the group stage followed by the final stage – playoffs. The group stage will consist of 2 groups with 4 teams each. 2 from EU and 2 from NA, as simple as that. The best 2 teams advance through to the semifinals and then the grand finals afterward. It hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but we can assume that all ECS Season 6 matches will be played as best of 3 series.

Which Teams Could Dominate ECS S6 Finals?

There always have to be numerous speculations before such big CSGO tournaments such as this one. Because of that, our ECS Season 6 Finals Preview will add a few as well. When talking about domination, the first thing that pops to everyone’s mind is definitely Astralis. However, lately, there are several other teams that are beginning to knock on Astralis’ door. However, 2 of them are not competing at ECS S6 Finals – NaVi and FaZe. With that said, I guess it will all come down to the 2 most dominant CSGO teams at the moment then – Astralis and Team Liquid. Yes, the grand finalists of IEM XIII Chicago. Here’s why:

Even though many will argue that Team Liquid is one of the most dominant CSGO teams at the moment, their recent matches are still looking outright spectacular.  With such an individually talented roster that still has an emphasis on team play, Team Liquid have proven themselves worthy of the big stage. The question now is – can they build on their IEM XIII Chicago performance and transition their form to ECS Season 6 Finals? Home turf advantage is in their favor and their star players definitely look to be ready for a spectacular performance.

Astralis is never out of the picture. They’ve been at a remarkable constant for quite some time now. Playing at the top levels usually takes a toll on the players but it seems as though such things don’t phase The Great Danes. Take IEM XIII Chicago as the perfect example. Everyone thought they were goners for sure after a terrible start on the third map of their semifinals match against Fnatic. But they managed to catch everyone by surprise and take the match to overtime with impressive utility-based plays. They are a difficult side to beat, unlike any other… But once again, FaZe has shown everyone how it’s done. Unfortunately, they couldn’t go past Team Liquid to display their prowess against Astralis one more time.

IEM XIII Chicago Short Recap | What Have We Learned?

Our ECS Season 6 Finals Preview just couldn’t cut it without a proper recap of IEM XIII Chicago. We should start off by saying that it was one of the best (if not the best) tournaments in the entire IEM series. Some would argue that’s an outright overstatement but I don’t really care… Those playoffs matches were absolutely sick, each in their own twisted little way. Especially that rollercoaster of a match between Fnatic and Astralis. If that thing didn’t make me bald, I doubt my wife will…

That brings me to the matter at hand – if there is one thing we’ve learned from IEM XIII Chicago, it’s that we’re going to have more than a fair share of dramatic matches. The drama was all over the place in Chicago and I don’t see why it can’t happen again in Arlington!

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