After the series of Minor tournament has concluded, we can finally write our recaps about everything that happened on each of these Minor events. When it comes to CIS Minor betting, every bookmaker out there favoured Avangar, Gambit and pro100.
However, if you are interested in what happened, and want to see if the esports betting sites got it right you can read our CIS Minor recap down below.
Just like we had talked about in our CIS betting preview, three teams would advance through the Minor and onto the either Major Main Qualifier, or Minor Playoffs:
#1. Avangar
Avangar was sitting at 3.5 odds to win CIS Minor, and they delivered. Even though they had a poor showing in the early stages of the event, they stepped up massively to seal that #1 spot. Not only did they win a ticket for the Major Main Qualifier, but they also added an additional $30,000 to their winning.
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Group B opening match
They had to play against pro100 in their opening match, and they trashed pro100 on Dust 2 with a final score, 16-5.
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Group B winners’ match
Furthermore, their first best-of-3 series against Winstrike saw them at the receiving end. Even though they won the first map, Dust 2, with a 16-5 scoreline, they were stunned by Winstrike on both Cache and Train. This defeat placed Avangar on the verge of elimination as they had to play a decider against pro100, again.
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Playoffs, upper bracket
After winning their decider, Avangar advanced through to the playoffs of CIS Minor. However, this time round they had to play against Spirit.
Many were expecting Spirit to surprise Avangar simply because they are more experienced and it’s unlikely that the pressure of the game could not get the better of them, but that’s not what happened. Avangar won this best-of-3 series in such an easy fashion: 16-6 on Overpass, and 16-5 on Dust 2.
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Upper bracket grand final
In the grand final, they had to play against their nemesis, Winstrike. As we mentioned above, they were stunned by the Russian organization in their group winners’ match. But this time round, they played a really solid game of CSGO.
Once again, Avangar won their map pick, Dust 2 in a dominating fashion, 16-6. Furthermore, they played on another level in the first half of Train, Winstrike was able to mount a comeback as this map ended with a 16-14 scoreline in favour of Winstrike. Lastly, these two teams had to play Mirage as a decider. Avangar was definitely the superior team in this one as they closed this best-of-3 series with a dominating 16-7 victory.
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Summary
AVANGAR really looked solid throughout the entire CIS Minor. They had a perfect map for them on this event, that being Dust 2. They just outclassed everyone on that map, and as you can see from the results, they never lost over 10 rounds on it, and that says a lot. Furthermore, three best players from CIS Minor are from AVANGAR, that being qikert, Jame and buster. This trio was very strong, and it is going to be interesting to see how will they perform in the Major Main Qualifier
#2. Spirit
If we are looking at betting odds, Spirit was sitting at the fourth place to win the entire thing. Even though they did not win CIS Minor, they played really good and they were rewarded with that second place finish and the ticket for Major Main Qualifier.
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Group A opening match
Everyone was expecting Spirit to have it easy against Nemiga, but that is not what happened. After they decided to play Mirage in their opening match, they found themselves in a whole world of trouble, especially on the T-side. After going 10-5 up on their CT-side, they could not get a grip on the game once they switched sides. Even though they had three map points, it was not enough, and we had our first overtime of the event. I recon pressure got the better of Nemiga, as they were not able to win a single round in overtime. 19-15 final score in favor of Spirit.
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Group A winners’ match
After Syman surprised Gambit, they had another challenge in front of themselves. However, they fell short against Spirit. Even though they had their chances, they were defeat over two maps in this best-of-3 series. Firstly, they lost Dust 2 with a 16-11 scoreline in favor of Spirit. Secondly, they were defeated on Mirage, but what a thriller that was. After losing 12-3, Syman was able to mount a comeback, just to be defeat in the overtime. Final score, 22-18.
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Playoffs, upper bracket
As we mentioned above, Spirit played against Avangar in the upper bracket. To be honest, no one was expecting them to win this best-of-3 series, and they simply had no chance against Avangar. They were defeat over 2 maps in a dominating fashion. Their best players could not get a grip in this match, and getting stomped is what happens if your star players are not on point.
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Playoffs, lower bracket final
This was a do or die moment for Spirit. If they lost this match, they would not advance through to either Major Main Qualifier or Minor Playoffs. They took this match-up seriously and they won 2-0.
This time round, they did not struggle on Mirage, as they were able to beat Gambit, 16-7. Furthermore, everyone was expecting Gambit to tie the series on their map pick, but that is not what happened. Spirit was on point throughout the entire map. Their timings, executions, and utility usage was on point. They were rewarded with a superb victory on Overpass, and they still had a chance to earn that Major Main Qualifier ticket.
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Consolidation final
Lastly, they had to play against a loser of Avangar – Winstrike match. One of these two teams advances through to the Major Main Qualifier, while the other will earn themselves a Minor Playoffs ticket.
Spirit narrowly lost Winstrike’s map pick, Nuke. They seemed like a better team on that map, but they were edged out with a final score going in favor of Winstrike, 16-14. However, they had success on Overpass against Gambit, and they decided to go for this map. It paid dividends as they stomped Winstrike with a final score, 16-6. Lastly, Dust 2 was left as a decider. Even though we had a competitive halftime score, 9-6, it was not enough. Spirit proved how dominant they were on the CT-side of Dust 2 as they easily closed this best-of-3 series with a final score, 16-9.
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Summary
Even though Spirit had a shaky start, they managed to show how experienced they are. In their first two matches, we have seen them play two overtimes, and both times they came out on top. Furthermore, their two best players somedieyoung and COLDYY1 were on point. To be honest, Spirit has a serious chance to surprise everyone in the Major Main Qualifier, and it is going to be interesting to see how will they do against stronger teams.
#3. Winstrike
After dominating matches at the beginning of CIS Minor, Winstrike started to lose their momentum. However, they were still able to qualify for Minor Playoffs since they were the third-placed team in this event.
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Group B opening match
Winstrike had it easy in their opener against Runtime. Runtime was definitely the worst team in this tournament, and Winstrike proved that in this match. They were dominant throughout the entire map, and they were able to close Dust 2 with a 16-6 finish.
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Group B winners’ match
As we talked above, Winstrike had to play against Avangar next. They did not have a lot of chances, but they made sure to grab everything that they could. They played on a level above Avangar and they were able to get that 2-1 victory.
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Playoffs, upper bracket
Since they topped group B, Winstrike was matched against Gambit. Former Major winners had no chance against fired up Winstrike. Firstly, Winstrike won their map pick, Cache. After that, they struggled on Gambit’s best map, Overpass, but still, they made it competitive. Lastly, they were able to edge out Gambit on Dust 2, with a final score, 19-16.
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Upper bracket grand final
Once again, Winstrike was matched up against Avangar. Just like we talked above, Avangar was here on a mission, to get revenge over Winstrike. They did exactly that. Even though Winstrike did not play so bad, they still had no chance in the decider map.
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Consolidation final
After their defeat against Avangar, Winstrike lost all the hope. However, they had another chance to earn that Major Main Qualifier ticket, but they had to beat Spirit. Sadly, they once again narrowly lost and that probably crushed their morale. But still, they will another go at IEM Katowice in the Minor Playoffs.
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Summary
No one expected Winstrike to have a chance in this one. Even though they did not qualify for Major Main Qualifier, this is still a victory for them. They had their ups and downs on this event, but they pulled through. Even though I do not fancy them to do much in the Minor Playoffs, they could surprise a lot of teams if they are not taken seriously.
