The ECS Season 7 - Finals saw the birth of new stars and the fall of old titans. We recap the Finals and how they unfolded. Read on to find out more.
The Finals consisted of two stages, the Group Stage and the Playoffs.
The Group Stage took place from the 6 – 7 June and was divided into two groups consisting of four teams each. The initial matches in the Group Stage were best-of-one (Bo1) followed by the remainder of the Group Stage matches played in a best-of-three (Bo3) double-elimination format. The top two teams from each group then advanced to the Playoffs.
The Playoffs took place from the 8 – 9 June in a Bo3 single-elimination bracket similar to how the ECS regular season was formatted.
The odds below represent the historical odds for the outright winner of the ECS Season 7 - Finals. The final standing is ordered from first to last place finish at the event.
Insightful CS:GO Articles
Event previews, strategy articles and all the latest odds
Follow Pinnacle EsportsThere was one storyline that everyone was following at the ECS Season 7 – Finals, and the protagonists were Astralis. The recently dethroned Kings of CS:GO arrived at the Finals with a statement to make: that their reign wasn’t over, and the odds supported their claim placing them as favorites to be the outright winners at the event.
The optimism was short lived for Astralis as they struggled on Day one against a determined FURIA squad who dealt the Danes a damaging blow on Nuke (16 – 14) in a surprising upset. This trend would continue for Astralis into Day 3 of the Finals, where they faced FURIA in a best-of-three (Bo3) rematch for a spot in the Playoffs.
Unsurprisingly, many analysts had favoured Astralis to win the Bo3 format which typically benefits the better team by eliminating one-time variables that can occur in a one map match. However, FURIA would surprise the world with another huge upset against the Danes with a 2-1 victory and eventually forge their path to the Grand Finals.
On the other side of the ECS Season 7 – Finals bracket a storm was brewing for eventual Finals winners Vitality, who entered as champions at cs_summit 4. The French squad took an early victory against Complexity on Day 1 going 16-9 on Dust 2. However, faults began to appear in Day 2 with a 2-1 defeat to North. Vitality would quickly regroup for Day 3 with a clean victory over Complexity, and this dominant form would carry into the Playoffs where they beat NRG 2-0 and set the stage for a Grand Finals head-to-head against FURIA.
The Grand Finals was set to be an exciting affair for fans after witnessing multiple upsets leading into the final day at the SSE Arena. The heir-apparent to Brazilian Counter-Strike, FURIA, were finally given the recognition they deserved with the odds reflecting a tight match versus Vitality. There was one overarching character in the Finals and that was ‘ZywoO’ who absolutely dominated the FURIA lineup, posting stellar performance numbers that were supported by a masterfully crafted strategy by Vitality’s coach ‘XTQZZZ’. The French squad would claim the ECS Season 7 – Finals trophy in style defeating FURIA 2-0 on Inferno (16-9) and Overpass (16-4), and in turn posing a question for analysts at future events, “Is French Counter-Strike back?”.
Whilst Vitality were the winners of the Finals, a special mention should given for arT, oBo, Brehze and Alex who provided some of the best moments to watch at the Finals.
That’s it for our coverage of ECS Season 7, be sure to check out our other content on the Pinnacles Esports blog.
Dota 2 betting preview and strategy articles to help you become a better bettor
