CS:GO: MLG 2016 Columbus Major Preview

This article is part of our CS:GO series.

From March 29 to April 3, Major League Gaming will host 16 teams that will converge on the city of Columbus, Ohio to compete in the first-ever CS:GO Major held on North American soil. The already sold out $1,000,000 purse tournament will lure teams from all over the world in an attempt to etch their place in North American and world CS:GO history by winning this inaugural major.

Of the 16 teams vying for the title, eight of them were invited as "legendary" teams – those who have already proven through their body of work to be one of the best – and eight other teams that had to shoot it out through a rigorous qualification process, which took place in late February. One of those eight teams that had to qualify, Splyce, has a very interesting story to tell on how they got into the MLG major.

Group Play

From March 29-31 at the MLG Arena, the group stage will take place in a closed event with the 16 teams playing in their assigned groups in a GSL format; this format plays two initial matches with the two winners and two losers playing each other in a mini-bracket format. Group play matches will be a best-of-one with the exception of the last match in each group, which will be played best-of-three. The top two teams from each group will then advance to the eight team playoff bracket for a chance at the top spot. The eight teams that don't make it out of group play with leave with a parting gift of $8,750.
One of the caveats about the group play format, because of its initial best-of-one, is that one bad map can send an underdog into the top-eight. Good teams can sometimes find a way back into a match in a best-of-three after dropping a map, but at the MLG Major in Columbus, mistakes get punished -- severely.

Championship Bracket

On April 1-3, the major will move sites to the sold out Nationwide Arena where the top eight teams will progress towards the title of major champions and the $500,000 grand prize. This will be a traditional single-elimination bracket, played best-of-three, with the quarterfinal losers receiving a total of $35,000 just for making it to the top bracket. The semifinalists will take home $70,000 each while the runner-up will pocket $150,000.
This is where the top-tier professionals separate themselves from the rest. With all eyes on the performers and spectators allowed to be within two feet of the participants, being able to ignore distractions becomes just as big a piece to winning as strats and shooting straight.

Group A

1. Ninjas In Pyjamas -- ESL World Ranking #10
2. Luminosity Gaming -- ESL World Ranking #5
3. Mousesports -- ESL World Ranking #13
4. FlipSid3 -- ESL World Ranking #18

Getting out of Group:
Luminosity Gaming
Ninjas in Pyjamas

Upset Watch:
Mousesports

Luminosity Gaming is coming off of a great IEM Katowice tournament that saw these upstarts finish second, losing to the #1 ranked team in the world, Fnatic, in the finals. However their first round matchup against Mousesports could be very interesting, as these two teams have played each other tough on numerous occasions; including a razor thin win over Mousesports 16-14 on Cobblestone in the group stage at Katowice.

Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), one of the crowd favorites and a former powerhouse, is looking to make a resurgence. They are off to a good start, sitting in first place with a 14-2 record in the most recent version of the ESL Pro League. NiP has also fared well against some of the best teams in the world, most recently taking a 16-6 map win March 16 on Cache against Fnatic.

FlipSid3 simply doesn't have the guns to get past NiP and is the most likely candidate to be done after Group A play is complete.

Group B

1. FaZe Clan -- ESL World Ranking #6
2. Fnatic -- ESL World Ranking #1
3. Splyce
4. Team Liquid -- ESL World Ranking #12

Getting out of Group:
Fnatic
FaZe Clan

Upset Watch:
Team Liquid

Having the #1 World ranked team in your group makes this the toughest stage for any of the other teams to advance to the playoff rounds. Fnatic will draw Splyce in their first match of group play and quite frankly, Splyce is lucky to even be there.

Splyce was not initially selected as one of the teams taking place in the qualification process for this major. Instead it was the Mongolz who were supposed to be there. But as fate would have it, the Mongolz club fell victim to the visa trap and were unable to get their paperwork in on time to travel. This opened the door for Splyce to play in the qualifier and they made the most of it, defeating Vexed in the winner's bracket to earn the coveted spot.

FaZe is a struggling team right now. In their last 13 ESL Pro League matches they are 1-12 and their player doesn't appear to be improving. They have the individual talent, but they just can't seem to function as a unit. This could open the door for Team Liquid to flow fast out of the gate and take the second spot to the playoffs coming out of this group.

Group C

1. Team EnVyUs -- ESL World Ranking #4
2. Astralis -- ESL World Ranking #3
3. Gambit Gaming
4. Counter Logic Gaming -- ESL World Ranking #11

Getting out of group:
Astralis
Team EnVyUs

Upset watch:
Counter Logic Gaming

Astralis is in a pretty good position in this group, finding themselves matched up against the currently unranked Gambit Gaming. Taking second place at the Counter Pit League Season 2 – Finals and a tying for third in the aforementioned Katowice tournament, Astralis is playing at a high level and will be almost impossible to beat in the first round.

The Team EnVyUs vs. Counter Logic Gaming matchup could very well prove to be one of the most tenacious first round group matches at the major. EnVyUs has registered a couple of very good wins during the ESLP Pro Season, with map wins over both Fnatic and Astralis. They have shown periods of map domination over just about every team in the ESL league.

All of the North America CS:GO fans will be looking to CLG to get out of the group and into the 8-team bracket. CLG, minus qualifying for this major, has had a poor season up until this point. They are 3-9 in the ESL Pro League and really have not played to their potential. The great thing for them is that Gambit Gaming makes this group a little bit easier to exit.

Group D

1. Natus Vincere -- ESL World Ranking #2
2. Virtus.PRO -- ESL World Ranking #8
3. G2 Sports -- ESL World Rankings #9
4. Cloud9 -- ESL World Ranking #14

Getting out of group:
Natus Vincere
Virtus.Pro

Upset watch:
Cloud9

By simply looking at the world rankings one would think that this is by far the toughest group of the tournament. The obvious favorite is Natus Vincere, who just won the Counter Pit Season 2 – Finals and the Dreamhack tournament in Leipzig. However, the other playoff spot seems entirely up for grabs.

G2 Sports is 12-6 in ESL Pro League play and has a couple of good finishes in the Dreamhack Masters Malmὅ European Qualifiers. The problem here is that G2 lacks the playoff experience necessary to win the Columbus major, as this team hasn't seen a bracket since 2013.

Virtus.Pro is another team that by all intents and purposes could get out of pool play and into the playoff bracket. They had a solid showing at the Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, tying for fifth place. However, they sit in dead last in the ESL Pro League with a 2-14 record, having lost 258 of 422 maps.

Cloud9 crashed this party by virtue of winning their Group D MLG Columbus Qualifying match over Renegades back in February. Cloud9 is a solid 12-4 in ESL Pro League play and if manager and former army sergeant Tres "stunna" Saranthus has anything to say, these guys will double-time march themselves into the playoffs.