DreamHack Winter 2014 was the fourth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship, held from November 27–29, 2014 at Elmia in Jönköping. It was organized by DreamHack and sponsored by Valve. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000. The eight quarter-finalists from the previous Major, ESL One Cologne 2014, received direct invitations, while qualifiers were held for the remaining spots.
The tournament was the setting of one of the earliest significant controversies in Global Offensive esports. In the third game of the quarterfinal matchup between Fnatic and Team LDLC, Fnatic player Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer Gustafsson performed a controversial "pixelwalk" boost to help his team come back from a 13–3 deficit to win the deciding map. Following the matchup, DreamHack ordered the game to be replayed, after both teams were found to have used the glitch, although to differing levels of success. Following significant community backlash, Fnatic forfeited the match and withdrew from the tournament.
Team LDLC would then go on to win the event after beating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–1 in the finals.
Format The top eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2014 ("Legends") received direct invitations to DreamHack Winter 2014. Two of these invitations were rescinded after a cheating scandal, leaving ten spots (the "Challengers") to be filled by a mixtures of qualifiers and invites. Five teams from Europe, one team from North America, and two teams from a "Last Call LAN Qualifier" qualified for the tournament. After the scheduled qualifiers were completed, two teams were directly invited to the Major to fill the final two spots.
Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play an elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.
The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.
Map pool The seven-map pool did not change from ESL One Cologne 2014. Before each match in the group stage, both teams banned two maps. The map for the match was then randomly selected from the remaining three maps. In the playoffs, each team first banned one map, then chose one map. The two chosen maps were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps.
Maps
Cache Cobblestone Dust II Inferno Mirage Nuke Overpass
Olofboost controversy
DreamHack Winter 2014 was the site of the Fnatic pixel-walking controversy, more commonly referred to as the Olofboost. The dispute centered on a series of controversial plays made by Swedish Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer Gustafsson. Fnatic and Team LDLC.com (LDLC) had advanced in the group stage phase of the tournament, where the would play each other in the quarterfinals. LDLC won the first game of the match on Dust II 16–10 while Fnatic came back to win the second game 16–8 on Cache.
The third game of the match was played on Overpass. LDLC won the first half of the game 12–3. Following a first–round win by LDLC that brought the score to 13–3, olofmeister exploited an invisible "pixel-walk" glitch, allowing him to use a series of illegal boosts and jumps to place himself at an increased height; this enabled him to see a greater portion of the map and shoot from a greater height, unseen by LDLC. Fnatic would win thirteen rounds in a row unanswered and won the game 16–13, advancing to the semi-finals.
Reactions and aftermath
After winning the match, Fnatic coach Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg gave an interview where he revealed that the team had been practicing the boost strat two months before the Major.
Following the matchup, LDLC lodged a protest to DreamHack, the tournament organizers, claiming that Fnatic and olofmeister used an illegal "pixelwalk" on invisible ledges outside of the map geometry not intended for player use. LDLC player Nathan "NBK" Schmidt criticized the move, saying that "the CS:GO scene will turn into a joke" if Fnatic weren't disqualified. Semifinalists Ninjas in Pyjamas and Virtus.pro both supported LDLC, with Virtus.pro tweeting that Fnatic had "no respect for the fans."
DreamHack ruled in favor of LDLC and ordered the second half of the game to be replayed. Fnatic launched a counter-protest claiming LDLC also used a pixelwalk during the match. DreamHack then ordered the entire game to be replayed, but following intense backlash from fans and players Fnatic decided to forfeit the map, becoming the first team to forfeit a match in Major history.
LDLC advanced to the semifinals against Natus Vincere and won the series 2–0. LDLC would defeat defending Major champions Ninjas in Pyjamas in the grand final, winning the organization's first Major championship. Fnatic would later win ESL One Katowice 2015 and ESL One Cologne 2015 to become the first organization to win multiple Majors and the first to win back-to-back Majors.
Legacy Valve released a patch after the tournament that removed the pixel-walk from the map, which also included a sign reading "Geländer übersteigen verboten!" (German for "Climbing over railings prohibited!") below where the incident took place.
The controversy was featured in Red Bull Gaming's documentary Memories of CS:GO. Devilwalk reflected that Fnatic were "completely isolated" from the professional Counter-Strike scene after the Olofboost controversy. Olofmeister said in an interview that he was "very close to quitting."
Regional qualifiers European Closed Qualifier
North America Closed Qualifier
Last Call LAN Qualifier
Broadcast talent Host Scott "SirScoots" Smith
Stage Host James Duffield
Analyst Duncan "Thorin" Shields
Commentators Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat Anders Blume Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson Stuart "TosspoT" Saw
Teams The most notable pre-Major team change came after a cheating scandal involving three French players. Two teams that achieved Legends status at the previous Major were dropped from their Legends spots. Titan, whose roster achieved Legends status as Team LDLC.com, was disqualified from the tournament after Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian was caught cheating. At the same time, Epsilon eSports was disqualified after Gordon "Sf" Giry was found to be cheating. The two players and Simon "smn" Beck were then VAC banned by Valve and were permanently banned from any Valve-sponsored tournaments, including Majors. Titan and Epsilons' spots were then filled by Copenhagen Wolves and Flipsid3 Tactics, teams advancing from a new qualifier.
Legends
Ninjas in Pyjamas Fnatic Team Dignitas Natus Vincere Cloud9 Virtus.proChallengers
Team LDLC.com Planetkey Dynamics PENTA Sports ESC Gaming HellRaisers Team iBUYPOWER Copenhagen Wolves Flipsid3 Tactics myXMG Bravado Gaming
Group stage Group A PosTeamWLRFRARDPts 1 HellRaisers 2 0 32 19 +13 6 2 Fnatic 2 1 46 23 +23 6 3 Cloud9 1 2 26 33 −7 3 4Bravado Gaming 0 2 3 32 −29 0
Group A Matches Team Score Map Score Team Fnatic 16 Mirage 2 Bravado Gaming Cloud9 5 Inferno 16 HellRaisers Fnatic 14 Mirage 16 HellRaisers Cloud9 16 Cache 1 Bravado Gaming Fnatic 16 Dust II 5 Cloud9
Group B PosTeamWLRFRARDPts 1 Team Dignitas 2 0 32 16 +16 6 2 PENTA Sports 2 1 41 41 +0 6 3 Team iBUYPOWER 1 2 36 36 +0 3 4 Copenhagen Wolves 0 2 16 32 −16 0
Group B Matches Team Score Map Score Team Team Dignitas 16 Nuke 9 PENTA Sports Team iBUYPOWER 16 Nuke 4 Copenhagen Wolves Team Dignitas 16 Nuke 7 Team iBUYPOWER PENTA Sports 16 Dust II 12 Copenhagen Wolves Team iBUYPOWER 13 Inferno 16 PENTA Sports
Group C PosTeamWLRFRARDPts 1 Team LDLC.com 2 0 32 17 +15 6 2 Ninjas in Pyjamas 2 1 41 36 +5 6 3 ESC Gaming 1 2 33 45 −12 3 4 Planetkey Dynamics 0 2 15 32 −17 0
Group C Matches Team Score Map Score Team Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Overpass 2 Planetkey Dynamics Team LDLC.com 16 Cobblestone 4 ESC Gaming Ninjas in Pyjamas 13 Overpass 16 Team LDLC.com ESC Gaming 16 Mirage 13 Planetkey Dynamics Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Cache 13 ESC Gaming
Group D PosTeamWLRFRARDPts 1 Virtus.pro 2 0 32 4 +28 6 2 Natus Vincere 2 1 37 39 −2 6 3 Flipsid3 Tactics 1 2 39 46 −7 3 4 myXMG 0 2 13 32 −19 0
Group D Matches Team Score Map Score Team Virtus.pro 16 Inferno 2 myXMG Natus Vincere 16 Mirage 8 Flipsid3 Tactics Virtus.pro 16 Nuke 2 Natus Vincere Flipsid3 Tactics 16 Mirage 11 myXMG Natus Vincere 19 Overpass 15 Flipsid3 Tactics
Playoffs Bracket
Quarterfinals scores HellRaisers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
HellRaisers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas Team Score Map Score Team HellRaisers 5 Dust II 16 Ninjas in Pyjamas HellRaisers 5 Inferno 16 Ninjas in Pyjamas HellRaisers Overpass Ninjas in Pyjamas
Virtus.pro vs. PENTA Sports Casters: TosspoT & Fifflaren
Virtus.pro vs. PENTA Sports Team Score Map Score Team Virtus.pro 16 Cache 9 PENTA Sports Virtus.pro 16 Mirage 5 PENTA Sports Virtus.pro Nuke PENTA Sports
Team LDLC.com vs. Fnatic Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Team LDLC.com vs. Fnatic Team Score Map Score Team Team LDLC.com 16 Dust II 10 Fnatic Team LDLC.com 8 Cache 16 Fnatic Team LDLC.com W Overpass F Fnatic
Team Dignitas vs. Natus Vincere Casters: TosspoT & Fifflaren
Team Dignitas vs. Natus Vincere Team Score Map Score Team Team Dignitas 3 Cobblestone 16 Natus Vincere Team Dignitas 13 Mirage 16 Natus Vincere Team Dignitas Overpass Natus Vincere
Semifinals scores Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Virtus.pro Casters: TosspoT vs. Fifflaren
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Virtus.pro Team Score Map Score Team Ninjas in Pyjamas 22 Nuke 20 Virtus.pro Ninjas in Pyjamas 10 Cache 16 Virtus.pro Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Inferno 8 Virtus.pro
Team LDLC.com vs. Natus Vincere Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Team LDLC.com vs. Natus Vincere Team Score Map Score Team Team LDLC.com 16 Mirage 11 Natus Vincere Team LDLC.com 16 Inferno 11 Natus Vincere Team LDLC.com Cobblestone Natus Vincere
Finals scores NiP was the defending Major champions and was also making its fourth straight Major final appearance. Team LDLC.com became the first French team to appear in a CS:GO Major final.
Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team LDLC.com Team Score Map Score Team Ninjas in Pyjamas 10 Dust II 16 Team LDLC.com Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Inferno 4 Team LDLC.com Ninjas in Pyjamas 16 Overpass 19 Team LDLC.com
Final standings Place Prize Money Team Seed for ESL One Katowice 2015 Roster Coach 1st 100,000 Team LDLC.com Legends status kioShiMa, Happy, SmithZz, NBK, MoMaN 2nd 50,000 Ninjas in Pyjamas , GeT RiGhT, Xizt, friberg, Maikelele 3rd–4th 22,000 Natus Vincere Edward, Zeus, starix, , GuardiaN– Virtus.pro TaZ, NEO, , byali, Snax – 5–8th 10,000 HellRaisers ANGE1, , , , Dosia B1ad3 Fnatic JW, flusha, , olofmeister, KRiMZ Devilwalk Team Dignitas FeTiSh, , , dupreeh, Xyp9x 3k2 PENTA Sports , Spidii, denis, kRYSTAL, fel1x – 9–12th 2,000 Flipsid3 Tactics Main Qualifier invitation , , , BENDJI, Dumas – ESC Gaming , SZPERO, , MINISE, – Cloud9 Hiko, sgares, n0thing, shroud, SEMPHIS – Team iBuyPower , Skadoodle, , , AZK 13–16th 2,000 Bravado Gaming Cent, Detrony, Racno, , – Copenhagen Wolves , Pimp, , Kjaerbye, – Planetkey Dynamics , , Troubley, , – MSL, HUNDEN, AcilioN, Friis, –
References
External links Official webpage