This article is part of our CS:GO series.
The 2016 version of the DreamHack Zowie Austin Open showed that Counter-Strike:Global Offensive can command numbers both on its stream and in its stadium, which became standing room only during the playoffs of this $100,000 purse tournament. Over 100,000 viewers tuned in for these matches that had people everywhere cheering wildly for their team. And inside the Austin Convention Center, fans donned their most patriotic gear. With Luminosity and Tempo Storm in the house, fans of and from Brazil wore their country's flag while their American counterparts did the same. This year's tournament had all the necessary ingredients to entertain the multitude of fans, players, coaches, and prognosticators and it resonated. Would Cloud9 or Team Liquid upset one or both of the Brazilian teams to get a North American team into the finals? Let's find out.
In the early match of the day, Cloud9 would find themselves against Tempo Storm in an exciting three game thriller that would see massive leads and comebacks nobody thought possible. On Cobblestone, Game One would see some of the best retakes this season, as Cloud9's Ryan "Skadoodle" Latham and Henrique "Hen1" Teles would take center stage, using their devastating AWP prowess to destroy their opponents. Skadoodle showed early what he he was capable of, as he finished off a triple-kill in the pistol round in a 2-v-4 retake. Cloud9 would streak out to a 7-1 before Tempo Storm started to figure things out. Becoming more aggressive, Tempo Storm started rushing as a group and pushed the score 7-8 at the half. Gustavo "SHOOWTIME" Goncalves started to find a groove, getting a triple-kill at 14-12, but Cloud9 would go on to win their chosen map 16-13.
In Game Two on Inferno, Tempo Storm dismantled Cloud9 in the early stages of the game with a 9-2 score. That seemed to ignite a fire in Skadoodle, however, as he proceeded to go off in the subsequent rounds. He first took out what was left of Tempo Storm in a 2-vs-3 and drew an ace in the very next round. Cloud9 would fight all the way back getting to match-point at 15-14, but couldn't close. Tempo Storm, given the chance to win, took control and won the map 19-16.
To start Game 2, Tempo Storm went on one of the most intense runs the tournament had seen as they demoralized and demolished Cloud9, shooting their way to a 12-0 lead. Although Cloud9 would mount a slight comeback, Tempo Storm would win the map 16-11 and advance to the finals.
In the second semifinal, Luminosity would take on the last standing North American team, Liquid. This best-of-three started on Dust II. Luminosity, behind the play of Lincoln "fnx" Lau who recorded a triple-kill, pulled ahead, tallying a 4-0 lead. Liquid wouldn't take a round until the 6th and appeared to look overmatched. With a 10-5 score at halftime, Luminosity took the next four rounds and finally finished it up with a 1-vs-2 clutch by Gabriel "Fallen" Toledo, giving Luminosity the game 16-6.
Game Two was much more exciting as at halftime Luminosity had the slightest of edges over Liquid, 8-7. Liquid would win the pistol round after the half, but the Brazilians would get aggressive pushing out to a 12-8 lead. Luminosity would win the next available weapon round which would reset the economy of Liquid. This was too much to overcome as Liquid fell 16-14, making the Dreamhack Zowie Austin Open an all Brazilian affair.
With green and yellow waving in the air, Luminosity and Tempo Storm made their way to the main stage to determine who would be the pride of Brazil and DreamHack Zowie Austin 2016 champions.
Luminosity and Tempo Storm would start the Grand Finals on Mirage where Luminosity would light it up starting off 3-0. From there, with help from an ace by Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, Luminosity would go up 9-6 at the half. Luminosity would then take the next five rounds, and would survive a 3-0 rally by Tempo Storm to take the first map 16-9.
With Luminosity just one map win away from taking home the title of champion, Tempo Storm came out like a team that didn't yet want go home, gaining a 5-0 advantage. Luminosity responded in a huge way shortly thereafter, taking the next 9 of 10 rounds to push their advantage to 9-6 at the half. Tempo Storm would continue to battle, winning the pistol round on the Counter-Terrorist side, but couldn't survive the onslaught that only the number one team in the world could bring. Luminosity sealed the victory with another 16-9 win, claiming victory and their second premier tournament win in 2016.
