Photo Credit: vk.com
Last week we covered a brief overview of the teams attending the CS:GO major in Columbus that begins on March 29, 2016 (the article found here). With the event beginning tomorrow, there are several major news items that could potentially change the tides of this tournament.
Photo Credit: gosugamers.net
NiP pyth replaced by coach, THREAT
Ninjas in Pyjamas were looking extremely strong going into this tournament with quite a few dominant wins against some of the top teams in the world. The previous kings of CS:GO saw themselves leading the ESL Pro League with a stunning 14-2 record, dropping games only to two of the world’s best teams, Fnatic and Na’Vi. However, their prospective chances at the major was significantly reduced when their newest addition, pyth, was denied a visa to the United States (Pyth’s Tweet). As a result, NiP’s coach, THREAT will be filling in for pyth. THREAT had previously played professionally with team Acer and on top of being NiP’s coach he was also their in-game leader. The full story can be found here.
New Veto Process
Unlike many of the other CS:GO tournaments out there, MLG Columbus 2016 will feature a slightly different map pick and veto system for their group stage. The veto process will goes as follows, Team A bans, Team B bans, Team A bans, Team B bans, Team A bans, map is randomized from the 2 remaining maps with Team B getting to pick their choice of side. The choice of being Team A or Team B will go to the higher seeded of the two teams. The full format can be found here.
Photo Credit: blog.counter-strike.net
Souvenir Drops
Like the previous majors of CS:GO, MLG Columbus will feature exclusive souvenir package drops during each match. At the end of each round, viewers on MLG’s Twitch or through the in-game GOTV will have a chance to receive a souvenir package from the map being played with gold stickers of the team, the MVP of the round, and also of the event. Some of these packages, especially the Cobblestone and Overpass collections, are extremely valuable.
Additional Information
For any additional information, visit the MLG Columbus page or HLTV. HLTV has several articles about the individual teams and a general overview of the tournament. The MLG Columbus page contains the rules and format for the tournament.