Evil Geniuses claims StarSeries i-League CS:GO Season 8 trophy

Evil Geniuses have won StarSeries i-League CS:GO Season 8 and have claimed the Champions Cup along with $250,000 in prize money. Previously, the North American squad entered the top-four in StarLadder series regularly, however, this is the team’s first StarSeries Cup.

Prior to the start of the tournament, Evil Geniuses entered as a strong favorite. Their commanding performance at the StarLadder Major in Berlin, matched with their consistency as a team formed high expectations. During the group stage, EG finished in second place after dropping one match to NiP. In the playoffs, Evil Geniuses sent Renegades to the lower bracket in the first match, then beat Fnatic twice. Once in the upper bracket final, and then again in the Grand Final.

The Grand Finals began on Dust II, chosen by Evil Geniuses. In the first half, and to the surprise of many, Fnatic were able to take the opening nine rounds on T-Side. Though the team wasn’t able to maintain this pace and struggled defensively before eventually losing 16:12. The Swedes started their map, Mirage, with a comfortable score of 6:9. They again failed to realize an advantage on the CT side, losing all rounds of the second half and the match with a score of 16:9.

Ethan "Ethan" Arnold was awarded the “Most Valuable Player” by HLTV, the first MVP award for the 19-year-old player.

StarSeries i-League CS:GO Season 8 prize pool distribution:

Place	Team	Prize money
1 place	Evil Geniuses	$250,000
2 place	Fnatic	$80,000
3 place	FURIA Esports	$40,000
4 place	Renegades	$25,000
5-6 place	G2 Esports	$15,000
5-6 place	MIBR	$15,000
7-8 place	Team Vitality	$12,500
7-8 place	Ninjas in Pyjamas	$12,500
9-12 place	North	$7,500
9-12 place	mousesports	$7,500
9-12 place	AVANGAR	$7,500
9-12 place	Heroic	$7,500
13-16 place	Imperial e-Sports	$5,000
13-16 place	Invictus Gaming	$5,000
13-16 place	5Power Gaming	$5,000
13-16 place	Natus Vincere	$5,000

 

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