Facts about the participants of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019: The New Challengers Stage

The 15th Major in the history of CS:GO will kick off with The New Challengers Stage on August 23. In this phase of the event, sixteen teams (The Returning Challengers and The Minor Champions) will fight for eight spots at The New Legends Stage, where they are set to be joined by The Legends of IEM Katowice 2019.

In this article, we’ve made a compilation of facts about every attendee of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019: The New Challengers Stage. Schedule of matches and other details of the event can be found via this link.

Team Vitality (#2)

Team Vitality CS:GO

The French five of Team Vitality is one of the main favourites in The New Challengers Stage. This season Nathan "NBK-" Schmitt’s squad made big waves, cementing itself as the #2 team in the world prior to the Major. There is little doubt that Vitality would fail in The New Challengers Stage, and that is the reason why they have become one of the most popular picks for a 3-0 prediction in CS:GO’s Pick’Em Challenge.

Other facts:

  • • Team Vitality is the highest-rated team in The New Challengers Stage of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, being ranked #2 in HLTV’s World Ranking.
  • • According to HLTV’s database, ZywOo has the second-highest KDR on LAN in 2019 (1.29 after 111 maps).
  • • NBK is one of the few French players who have won two CS:GO Majors (DreamHack Winter 2014 and DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015).
  • • Out of all Vitality players, NBK has attended the highest amount of Majors (13), while ZyWoo and ALEX have only participated in one, which is IEM Katowice 2019.
  • • After the previous Major, where Team Vitality placed 9-11th, the French team made the Playoffs at every LAN event it has attended prior to StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (7 events).


NRG Esports (#6)

NRG Esports CS:GO

NRG Esports is the second-best team from North America, which stands right behind the world’s finest lineup, Team Liquid. NRG had an unsatisfying showing at the previous Major, IEM Katowice 2019, and now they are travelling to Berlin as they aspire to redeem themselves for that result. As compared to the roster they had in Katowice, these days NRG is led by a new captain, and they also have the MVP of the Boston Major on their side. All in all, a series of good results in the last competitive season and other favourable factors show us that NRG should be one of the teams to prevail in The New Challengers Stage.

Other facts:

  • • NRG Esports did not win a single match in The New Legends Stage of IEM Katowice 2019, but they went undefeated in The New Challengers Stage.
  • • tarik won ELEAGUE Major 2018 alongside Cloud9 (RUSH, Stewie, Skadoodle, autimatic), and he was named the MVP at that event.
  • • tarik is the only player on NRG who has previously participated in a Major’s Playoffs.
  • • CeRq is the only player from Bulgaria to ever attend a CS:GO Major.
  • • Based on HLTV’s World Ranking, NRG Esports is the second highest-rated team in The New Challengers Stage of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (#6).


G2 Esports (#8)

G2 Esports CS:GO

G2 Esports is the second representative of France at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019. It is the 9th CS:GO Major in the history of this organization! The current roster of G2 has already shown what it is capable of, placing 2nd at ESL Pro League S9 Finals, and returned to the Top 10 of HLTV’s World Ranking. Richard "shox" Papillon’s squad has had a decent season, and, just like Vitality and NRG, it is legitimately considered as one of the favorites to proceed through The New Challengers Stage.

Other facts:

  • • shox and kennyS have each won a CS:GO Major: DreamHack Winter 2014 with Team LDLC and DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015 with Team Envy, respectively.
  • • kennyS was named the MVP at the 7th CS:GO Major, DreamHack Cluj-Napoca 2015, averaging a 1.23 KDR after 10 maps.
  • • shox has participated in every single CS:GO Major up to this date.
  • • kennyS has attended 13 out of the 14 CS:GO Majors, except for DreamHack Winter 2014, where his former team, Titan, was disqualified due to KQLY receiving a VAC ban.
  • • Each of JACKZ, Lucky and AmaNEk have played at only one CS:GO Major (IEM Katowice 2019 for JACKZ and Lucky, ELEAGUE Major 2018 for AmaNEk).
  • • G2 Esports is the oldest team in The New Challengers Stage of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (average age is 25.1).


FURIA Esports (#9)

FURIA Esports CS:GO

FURIA Esports is one of those teams who have just recently established themselves in the highest echelon of the CS:GO scene. FURIA’s lineup has young and ambitious players, and their high level of individual skill helped them in their run to the Top 10 of HLTV’s World Ranking. Given the fact that FURIA is the new hope of Brazilian CS:GO, high expectations are placed upon them, so making it to The New Legends Stage is one of these anticipated results.

Other facts:

  • • According to HLTV’s Ranking, FURIA Esports is the highest-rated team from Brazil (#9 worldwide).
  • • The exact same roster of FURIA participated in the previous Major, IEM Katowice 2019, where they failed to make it through The New Challengers Stage.
  • • Based on HLTV’s database, arT has the highest rate of opening kills on LAN in 2019 (0.17).
  • • FURIA Esports is the second youngest team at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (average age is 20.8).
  • • FURIA’s biggest achievement up to this date is the 2nd place at ECS S7 Finals, which took place two months ago. There, FURIA lost to Vitality in the grand finals.


mousesports (#10)

mousesports CS:GO

The European five of mousesports is the last team in The New Challengers Stage that has a spot in the Top 10 of HLTV’s Global Ranking. In the beginning of 2019, after mouz had failed to qualify for IEM Katowice 2019, they made some substantial changes. Anyway, they quickly managed to bounce back and achieved great results in this season. Now, mousesports is operated under the leadership of an experienced IGL and has some future talents of CS:GO, which are woxic and frozen. This team has a huge potential, so The New Challengers Stage should not be the task that they cannot not complete.

Other facts:

  • • StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 is the career-first CS:GO Major for frozen.
  • • Except for frozen, every player of the current mousesports lineup has at least once acquired the Legend status at a Major.
  • • Out of all mousesports players, karrigan has attended the highest amount of CS:GO Majors (12 events).
  • • Every CS:GO Major chrisJ has participated in, he did it with mousesports.
  • • chrisJ is the only player from Netherlands to ever attend a CS:GO Major.


North (#13)

North CS:GO

Despite the fact that the Danish CS:GO scene has many talented players to offer, it will have only one representative in The New Challengers Stage, which is North. They had a hard time qualifying for the Major, as they won one of the spots in the last-chance qualifier (Play-in Stage), but the team is still considered as a force to be reckoned with. As of now, the squad led by Valdemar "valde" Bjørn Vangså is occupying the 13th place in HLTV’s World Ranking, and the bigger part of the community is sure that they would make it to The New Legends Stage.

Other facts:

  • • Kjaerbye won ELEAGUE Major 2017 alongside Astralis (gla1ve, device, dupreeh, Xyp9x) and was named the Major’s MVP for his performance.
  • • Out of all North players, aizy has attended the highest number of CS:GO Majors (10 events).
  • • Kjaerbye is the youngest Major champion up to this date. He was 18 years and 277 days old when he won ELEAGUE Major 2017.
  • • JUGi, gade, and valde have never acquired the Legend status at a CS:GO Major.
  • • North missed the previous Major, IEM Katowice 2019, due to failing to qualify through the Minor system, where they lost three deciders in a row against ENCE, Vitality, and ViCi Gaming (Play-in Stage).


CR4ZY (#16)

CR4ZY CS:GO

CR4ZY is a team that consists of up-and-coming players of the CS:GO scene, and it has a great potential. They were extremely close to qualifying for IEM Katowice 2019 but failed to deliver at the end. However, the team didn’t make the same mistake twice and managed to claim one of the tickets to the Major in Berlin. And if CR4ZY show a good level of play that we saw from them at the European Minor, they will have decent chances to advance through The New Challengers Stage. 

Other facts:

  • • All players from CR4ZY are attending their career-first CS:GO Major.
  • • LETN1, nexa, and huNter are the first Serbian players to participate in a CS:GO Major, with CR4ZY being the first Serbian team at a Major.
  • • At the EU Minor, CR4ZY eliminated Fnatic and denied the UK organization of attending a CS:GO Major for the first time in its history.
  • • nexa is the only player from CR4ZY who have previously participated in a Major qualifier. It happened at PGL Major Krakow 2017, which he attended with Renegades. Back then, the Challengers/Legends/Champions system had not been introduced yet.
  • • EspiranTo and nukkye are the first players from Lithuania after Kvik to attend a CS:GO Major.


forZe (#21)

forZe CS:GO

Russia is one of the most represented countries at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, and forZe is its main representative. This season, forZe has had some international success, so they came out of the shadows of the other top teams in CIS and eventually joined their ranks in the process. Their lack of experience is compensated by a huge amount of firepower, and that is why forZe should be taken seriously as any other participant of The New Challengers Stage.

Other facts:

  • • All players from forZe are participating in their career-first CS:GO Major.
  • • According to HLTV’s Ranking, forZe is the second highest-rated team from CIS. 
  • • forZe placed 1st in the CIS Minor for StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, finishing the event without a single loss on their record.
  • • During this season forZe has won one international LAN event, Copenhagen Games 2019.


Grayhound Gaming (#22)

Grayhound CS:GO

StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 is the second Major for Grayhound Gaming, and once again, they have to start their journey from The New Challengers Stage. Since the last Major in Katowice, Grayhound have signed a new player, Simon "Sico" Williams, and brought in a coach, Neil "NeiL_M" Murphy. Over time, the team managed to improve its tactical element of the game and became more experienced overall. It should help them in The New Challengers Stage, where they are set to be up against an incredibly high level of competition.  

Other facts:

  • • StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 is career-first CS:GO Major for sico.
  • • Grayhound Gaming didn’t win a single map at the previous Major and were eliminated 0-3, following the losses against Cloud9, Team Vitality, Fnatic.
  • • erkaSt is the only player from Mongolia to ever attend a CS:GO Major.
  • • Grayhound Gaming took the 1st place at the last Asia Minor, losing only one map to TYLOO in the upper-bracket final (7W-1L in maps).


Complexity Gaming (#26)

Complexity CS:GO

Complexity Gaming is the second team in The New Challengers Stage that represents North America. We saw its new lineup with oBo and SicK in action at ECS S7 Finals in June, which they attended without any serious preparation, but for this event, however, coL had more than two months to gain the optimum form. Their result at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 will show us what this team has to offer as of now and how successful their latest replacements came to be.

Other facts:

  • • As an organization, Complexity Gaming has attended 4 CS:GO Majors, reaching the Playoffs at 3 of them (DreamHack Winter 2013, EMS One Katowice 2014, FACEIT Major 2018).
  • • oBo is the youngest player to ever participate in a CS:GO Major. When the Major begins, he will be 16 years and 58 days old.
  • • Out of all Complexity players, oBo is the only one who has previously never attended a CS:GO Major.
  • • In Complexity, ShahZaM has participated in the highest amount of CS:GO Majors (4 events: ESL One Katowice 2015, ELEAGUE Major 2018, FACEIT Major 2018, IEM Katowice 2019).
  • • Complexity Gaming placed 12-14th at the previous Major, finishing the event with a 1W-3L score in the Swiss System.


AVANGAR (#27)

AVANGAR CS:GO

AVANGAR is another team from CIS at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019, and they are here as one of the Returning Challengers. Considering the experience of the previous Majors, we are well aware of what this squad is capable of, and now, moreover, they have the support of a notorious Kazakh player, Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev. Taking into account all that we know about AVANGAR, they should have good chances to qualify through The New Challengers Stage.

Other facts:

  • • SANJI is attending his first CS:GO Major. He is also the first-ever player from Uzbekistan to attend a CS:GO Major.
  • • AdreN won PGL Major Krakow 2017 alongside Gambit Esports, which, at the time, featured Zeus, HObbit, Dosia, and mou. There, AdreN received the MVP award for his stunning performance.
  • • AVANGAR placed 9-11th at the previous Major in Katowice, being denied from the Playoffs spot by ENCE Esports, who beat them 2-0.
  • • In this season, prior to the Berlin Major, AVANGAR won two offline events: DreamHack Open Rio de Janeiro 2019 and WePlay! Forge of Masters S1.
  • • Based on HLTV’s World Ranking, AVANGAR is the third highest-rated team from CIS (#26).


TYLOO (#28)

TYLOO CS:GO

When we talk about the Asian CS:GO scene, the first team that comes to mind is TYLOO. In Berlin, the Chinese organization will participate in its third CS:GO Major. In the past, TYLOO managed to make it through The New Challengers Stage once, securing a spot in the Top 16 of FACEIT Major 2018, so there is nothing to prevent them from repeating that success at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019.

Other facts:

  • • Based on HLTV’s Ranking, TYLOO is the highest-rated team from Asia.
  • • Every player from TYLOO has at least once taken part in a Major, but BnTeT and somebody are the only ones who managed to reach Top 16.
  • • Freeman is the only player from Hong Kong to ever attend a CS:GO Major.
  • • According to HLTV’s database, BnTeT is one of the highest-rated players on LAN of all time (#7 in the list, 1.15 KDR in 279 maps).
  • • TYLOO participated in the previous Major, IEM Katowice 2019, where they were eliminated on the 17-19th place with a 2W-3L score in the Swiss System.


INTZ Esports (#31)

INTZ Esports CS:GO

INTZ Esports is one of the few teams in The New Challengers Stage that are out of the Top 30 of HLTV’s Global Ranking. This squad is also the second representative of Brazil in this stage of the championship. All in all, INTZ is rightfully considered as one of the dark horses at this event. They have individually skilled players, with kNgV- being the most notorious of them. Consequently, with the right level of play, INTZ would be able to put up a fight against many teams at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019.

Other facts:

  • • xand, yeL, chelo, and destiny are taking part in their first CS:GO Major.
  • • kNgV- is the only player from INTZ who has participated in a CS:GO Major (PGL Major Krakow 2017).
  • • kNgV- took the 2nd place at PGL Major Krakow 2017 alongside Immortals. In the grand final, they lost to Gambit Esports 1-2.
  • • INTZ claimed the last 24th spot at this Major, defeating MVP.PK in the Play-in Stage of the Minor System.
  • • As an organization, INTZ is participating in its first CS:GO Major and has received its first in-game sticker.


DreamEaters (#33)

DreamEaters CS:GO

DreamEaters is the second team from Russia at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019. They earned their spot at this tournament in the Play-in Stage, where they managed to overcome INTZ Esports. DreamEaters is quite a young squad and they are attending their first event of such a high calibre. It means that The New Challengers Stage would be a serious challenge to face for Svyatoslav "svyat" Dovbakh’s troops.

Other facts:

  • • All DreamEaters players are attending their career-first CS:GO Major.
  • • Based on HLTV’s Regional Ranking, DreamEaters is the 5th best team from CIS.
  • • DreamEaters is one of the four teams in The New Challengers Stage who are not in the Top 30 of HLTV’s World Ranking.
  • • As an organization, DreamEaters is participating in its first CS:GO Major and has received its first in-game sticker.
  • • According to HLTV’s database, Krad is the highest-rated player from DreamEaters on LAN (1.23).


HellRaisers (#34)

HellRaisers CS:GO

As an organization, HellRaisers boasts a rich history in CS:GO, and it is well-recognized by the community of this game. It’s not the first time when HR compete at a Major: StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 is the 8th CS:GO Major on their record. Since IEM Katowice 2019, the lineup of HellRaisers has changed drastically, and now, coming into The New Challengers Stage, it will have to take the Legend status back, which they acquired at FACEIT Major 2018. 

Other facts:

  • • ISSAA is the only player from Jordan to attend a CS:GO Major.
  • • nukkye is participating in his first CS:GO Major and has received his first sticker in the game.
  • • Out of all HellRaisers players, ANGE1 has attended the highest amount of CS:GO Majors, making the Playoffs in 4 out of the 8 events.
  • • oskar has taken part in three CS:GO Majors, representing mousesports at each of them. StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 is the first Major he is attending with a different organization.
  • • loWel is one of the only two players from Spain to ever attend a CS:GO Major.


Syman Gaming (#39)

Syman Gaming CS:GO

Syman Gaming is the last representative of CIS in The New Challengers Stage, which ensured its participation in the Major at the CIS Minor. There, Syman took the 2nd place, taking down DreamEaters in the lower-bracket final. This team is the heaviest underdog coming into this phase of the Major, so they have no choice but to exceed our expectations by achieving a good result.

Other facts:

  • • Syman Gaming is the youngest team at StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (average age is 20.4).
  • • All Syman players have previously never participated in a CS:GO Major.
  • • t0rick is the first ever player from Azerbaijan to participate in a CS:GO Major.
  • • Syman Gaming is the lowest-rated team in The New Challengers Stage of StarLadder Major Berlin 2019 (#39).
  • • Ramz1k is the only player from Syman to reach Top 24 of a Major. Before the Challengers stage was introduced, he participated in PGL Major Krakow 2017: Main Qualifier with Tengri.


StarLadder Major Berlin 2019: The New Challengers Stage will be held on April 23-26. Subscribe to StarLadder CS:GO on Facebook and Twitter to follow all the news about this event!