The FaceIT London CSGO Major finally came to Wembley last week. If the idea of hosting such an event in the UK had been proposed two years ago it would’ve been considered ridiculous (and we were blessed with two this year, the other being the UK’s first Dota 2 Major).
However, despite being typically mocked in the game’s global scene, UK CS performed on the back stage, as Jamie Wootton highlights in this recap piece.
The Major was received especially well by most UK fans as not only was it the first event of its kind to come to the UK, it was operated by UK-based company FaceIT.
It was also the first Major in CSGO history that featured professional CSGO players from the UK in smooya and dephh.
Although power outages and internet problems at Twickenham’s CSGO Minors plagued the earlier stages and irritated viewers, the live Finals of FaceIT’s Major ran relatively smoothly at Wembley.
Fans, both in the venue and watching online, couldn’t be disappointed with the final event.
In keeping with the event’s prestige, the final eight teams in the finals were all legendary in their own right. With organisations such as Liquid, FaZe, Natus Vincere, MIBR and UK players Owen “smooya” Butterfield and Rory “dephh” Jackson present at the event, fans were in for an incredible treat.
“Fans couldn’t be disappointed with the final event. The fans were electric and smooya was the subject of countless, almost cult-like chants.”
Just like FaceIT’s other premier tournaments in the UK, such as the 2017 ECS Finals at Wembley, the fans were yet again electric. Whilst the home stage helped neither smooya’s BiG nor dephh’s Complexity, smooya was the subject of countless, almost cult-like chants.
CIS powerhouse Natus Vincere (who knocked Smooya’s BiG out of the tournament in the quarter finals) went on to become one of two finalists. But it was the tactical Danes – Astralis – that eventually went on to win CSGO’s 13th Major and bag the $500,000 top prize in the process.
This marked their second Major Championship win and 5th first place finish of the year after winning FaceIT’s other tournament, the ECS Finals, at Wembley in June.
Capitalising on all the attention surrounding the London Major and the impressive viewership count (which peaked over 1 million concurrent viewers), FaceIT released an announcement after the event. FaceIT plans to bringing team leagues to their matchmaking platform.
Whilst further details are limited, the news indicates that FaceIT are continuing their campaign of challenging ESEA – an alternative third party client platform.
You can also check out a London Major recap video from FaceIT here:
Jamie has been following competitive Counter-Strike for roughly four years and has fallen in love with esports ever since, slowly branching out into other titles and learning more about the industry. He has recently started an esports degree in London.
“I started playing CSGO when I first got my own PC and haven’t really stopped ever since," he said. "After playing more competitively I opened my eyes to esports and have been doing my best to learn as much as possible about both the competitive side within CSGO and the business side across the industry as a whole.
"Much of my work so far has consisted of interviews, however I hope to branch out in the future and write more content about Counter-Strike."
