The last Dreamhack before Invitationals presents a unique opportunity alongside a $50,000 prize pool. Not only will the winner receive a well-reimbursed payout, but a spot at the Six Invitational 2019. Participants travel from near and far- from the hometown representatives in Chaos to S7 Champions Team Liquid’s first-ever Dreamhack appearance, a stacked lineup of teams from across the global competitive scene would prove to be a monolithic hurdle to leap for a spot in Montreal. Featuring top caliber teams, upset victories, and a caster panel dressed in matching ugly Christmas sweaters-This is your roundup for the first day of events at Dreamhack Winter, live from Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.
Group B Opening Match: Team Empire 2 - 0 MnM Gaming
Maps: Consulate (7-5), Coastline (7-4), Border (Not played)
Empire: Shockwave, ShepparD, JoyStiCK, karzheka, Scyther
MnM: FraO, neLo, Prox, f0nkers, Doki
We start our day’s worth of on-stream matches with Team Empire- the maelstrom of a force entering European Pro League after their incredible contest versus ENCE eSports. The four Russians and one Estonian have wasted no time in proving their capabilities, blowing through Challenger League with an explosive 13-0-1 win-draw-loss record. To face the new addition to Pro League would be MnM Gaming, a team hailing from the ESL Premierships after seeing much success in the Winter circuit, running a 4-3-0 win-draw-loss record finishing second to Pro League’s own Team Secret. However, this lineup would see f0nkers from MnM’s Benelux team and Doki, a player who frequently plays ranked with Pengu and plays for Vexed Gaming.
Map One: Consulate
MnM kicked off the first round in dominance fashion- notably the incredible frags from Doki, but Empire found their footing almost instantaneously with a dominance fashion grabbing rounds two to four- with huge plays coming from JoyStiCK. Empire goes up 4-2 in the halftime after their win on round six, but MnM comes back up in the seventh round- with FraO’s outplay against Scyther to put them just continuously tailing behind Empire. It would be MnM to successfully play catch-up on round eight, tieing up the score 4-4. Team Empire pushes through to lock in map point, 6-4. MnM look to push it to overtime, picking up round eleven but it would be Empire to close out the map on round twelve with a 7-5 scoreline.
Map Two: Coastline
The fight continues on Coastline, where Empire swing off the bat with a dominating 3-1 lead, but MnM would stall their dominance on round five- giving the Premiership hopefuls some leeway to tail right behind on the halftime round. The lead post-half would go to Empire, trailing ahead 4-2 as MnM follow right behind with a win on round seven and eight- tieing map two on 4-4. Empire continues with their cerebral, surgical strikes picking up rounds nine and ten, looking to close out the round now up 6-4 with the match point advantage. After dropping round eleven to MnM, it would be Empire to close out the series with a 7-5, taking both maps in brutal fashion.
Group C Opening Match: LeStream Esports 2 - 1 PACT
Maps: Coastline (8-7), Border (5-7), Clubhouse (7-1)
LeStream: AceeZ, Alphama, Hicks, UUNO, risze
PACT: Kendrew, Magic, Deep, Derius, Saves
Directly off a win at the 6Cup 2018, and a near-shot at making Season 8 Finals, the team we all knew and loved as Millenium continue to prove themselves- now representing LeStream Esports with huge additions in the form of Alphama and ex-ENCE’s UUNO. Facing this formidable lineup comes PACT- formerly TrainHard who managed to place third overall in EU Challenger League after a loss to ENCE, and a victory against EnD in the playoffs.
Map One: Coastline
When formerly Millenium, the trio of AceeZ, Hicks, and risze saw only one loss out of four games played on Coastline since the Paris Major. LSE conquer the first two rounds, with misplays from PACT as they quickly find their footing. PACT are able to follow up on round three and four, equalizing long before the halftime. The halftime heads in the way of 3-3, both lineups equally matched. PACT take up the lead on the role swap, with massive frags overall from Saves and Kendrew. LSE answer back on round eight, but PACT climb back up on round nine with a 5-4 lead with LSE following right behind on round ten to even things out. It would be round eleven, to give PACT map point as LSE close out the twelfth round with a win- forcing overtime. In overtime, PACT gain the first round, but it wouldn’t do much with LSE closing out the game 8-7, very well fought with at least ten kills coming from risze, AceeZ, and UUNO.
Map Two: Border
Down their map pick, PACT looks for a potential win as they move into LSE’s pick of the Middle Eastern locale. The new lineup of LeStream will prove to be overwhelming, with incredible force leading up 4-1 before the halftime point. LSE head into the lead on the role swap, 4-2 and going to their popularized site of Tellers/Bathroom. PACT find their footing on the attack, equalizing the match on round eight. The teams play a game of back-and-forth, once again tied on round ten. Round eleven- the match point tossup, goes to PACT after an absolute wash on the defenders. PACT pick up their first map- taking the matchup to a final map,Clubhouse.
Map Three: Clubhouse
Looking for a comeback, PACT starts off on the wrong footing with an incredible losing streak even heading into the halftime, giving LSE the match point on round six, looking for our first 7-0 sweep onstream. Deep denies LSE their opportunity for this on round seven, with a last-second clutch to give PACT their first- and only round win on the map. LeStream close the game out with a 7-1 on Clubhouse, to send them with their first win as a new team.
Group D Opening Match: Trust Gaming 2 - 1 Team Liquid
Maps: Border (2-7), Clubhouse (7-4), Consulate (7-3)
Liquid: Nesk, ziGueira, xS3xyCake, Paluh, gohaN
Trust: Snuf, Leonski, Quadzy, Deapek, Avaiche
Coming all the way from Latin America into the freezing winters of Sweden, Team Liquid look to gain the former glory that they tasted at Season 7- except on a grander scale. After releasing Bullet1 and benching psk1, Liquid would end up picking up former FaZe Clan member gohaN and star player of Bootkamp- Paluh, who finished Season 8 with a 1.29 Rating. To face this titan in Latin America, would be Trust Gaming, Benelux Season 2 finalists who were notably defeated last weekend by Team Demise- now looking at their shot in the big leagues.
Map One: Border
The match starts off on the iconic Middle Eastern map, with a shock first round coming from Trust beating Liquid on defense, but is countered quickly with a win for Liquid. However, Liquid would follow up with a five-round streak to the halftime, leading 5-1 by the role swap. New acquisitions Paluh and gohaN are to note by this point- holding 8 and 7 kills respectively, which made Team Liquid look lethal to a team like Trust. Round seven, and the respective role swap would end up in Liquid’s favor by hitting map point on their first round as attackers. Trust would earn their second after a rush on site from Liquid, quickly picking off their enemies in a standoff between Ventilation and Bathroom. But, Liquid would prove far too powerful as they pick up round nine, and the victory on Border.
Map Two: Clubhouse
Trust kicks off the map same as last, getting early picks on Liquid to start off with rounds one and two on their side, only giving Liquid round three for an early one-up lead on the LATAM titans. By the halftime, Trust were up 4-2 and only in round seven would a single Nitro Cell from ziG punish a group of four Trust members. Liquid climb back up at the end of round eight, drawing the second map 4-4. But, Trust would pull through and thread the needle- securing map two with a 7-4 scoreline.
Map Three: Consulate
In an absolutely unexpected show of force from the Benelux runner-ups, Trust blow through Team Liquid to be up 4-2 by the role swap, looking very likely in closing out the game by being the the first to defeat LATAM’s newest lineup. Big clutches coming from Leonski are notable, as well as overall teamwork from the team. Round eight, and Trust gain the match point advantage to put the game at 6-2 after a standoff for the second floor site. Liquid are able to pull another point in round nine, but Trust would lock them out in an incredible final round, winning 7-3.
Offstream Recap
To ease up Group A, G2 Esports move on with a bye as PENTA take on the Finnish team of NYYRIKKI in today’s matchups, winning 2-0 on Oregon and Border. ENCE took on their fellow (and local) Pro League Team, Chaos- who would stand tall with an absolutely dominant 7-0, 7-2 finish on Coastline and Border. 2nd seed EU team Mock-It Esports (minus Vale- their coach Lazzo stepped in as the substitute) take a 2-0 win on Bank and Clubhouse against ÄPÖL, a local Swedish team. And finally, the Norwegian high school students and feel-good story of Dreamhack Winter, Minigolfgutta, loses in the first ever 14-0 to NA hopefuls Spacestation Gaming.
That was your roundup for Day 1’s action at Dreamhack Winter, swing around tomorrow for the continuation of the group stages. You can watch tomorrow’s events live from Twitch.tv/Rainbow6 starting at 10AM CET / 4AM EST / 1AM PST