What did we learn from StarSeries?

SLTV StarSeries IX Finals saw fnatic withdraw and make room for Natus Vincere, who wound up going 6-0 en route to their first CS:GO championship, with wins over both NiP and Titan.

The Ninjas' struggles continued in Kiev, where they have won just one of the four finals events they've attended. What do we make out of Titan's debut with Kenny "kennyS" Schrub?

To find the answers to theat question, and more, continue reading our first article about SLTV StarSeries IX Finals, with five lessons we took away from the $30,000 tournament.

What did we learn from SLTV StarSeries IX Finals? 

5. CS:GO can draw over 100,000 viewers even without Valve

It shouldn't be a big surprise anymore, but it still has to be pointed out that CS:GO has now drawn over 100,000 viewers even without the support of Valve and its deep pockets. This record isn't nearly as much as the two majors have drawn, but considering the significantly smaller scale of this event, it's still very impressive.

SLTV have done a very good job slowly growing their StarSeries league, with $30,000 now given out for the first time in prizes, a 100% increase from the $15,000 pot of the previous seasons. Nearly every top team takes part in the league, and we just saw three of the world's best teams, as well as Na`Vi who might break into that category very soon, attend the finals.

It will be very interesting to see going forward what kind of numbers other non-Valve supported events will be able to draw. This event had Titan's roster change and Na`Vi's upsets working in its favor, but it still shows a trend of  growth in CS:GO, one that we've had practically since the game took over the competitive Counter-Strike scene in late 2012.

These crowds might appear without Valve's funding 

4. How did SLTV StarSeries IX affect the world rankings?

We did not talk about the effects of Copenhagen Games previously, but to sum it up so this makes more sense, dignitas are now definitely above fnatic, whose stock keeps falling. Yet, René "cajunb" Borg's rumoured departure might change that in the future. Virtus.pro commanded a second place ranking in the world, NiP retained number one and Titan basically couldn't be placed. LDLC also moved up a notch, but that's highly irrelevant to the points I am about to make.

First and foremost, this was actually not a bad result for Titan. This roster finally took their first map from NiP, and although third map was a bloodbath, they put up a valiant effort on de_nuke as well. They barely had any time to practice with Richard "shox" Papillon officially departing on April 29, so they should be happy with a series win over Virtus.pro and a tough series with the world's number one team. This still doesn't solidify their spot in the top three, but it's once again in play.

For NiP, it's both good and bad. It proves their astonishing consistency that we often blabber about, yet it also shows how much they struggle to actually close out tournaments these days. For the first time it was their super stars who struggled, but like we stated previously, it seems hard for the Swedes to get production from all five players at the same time. They seem to go off a few at a time, which leads to these losses. It's still a very good result though, and NiP are still the world's best team.

As for Na`Vi, it's too early to tell. Although they did beat NiP twice in a series, and Titan once, it was still during one weekend, which could have been a hot streak. The CIS-based team needs to do this once or twice more, and we could be looking at a new top four team in the world. Up until then, they belong somewhere in that uncomfortable group of maybe sixth through tenth, which is harder and harder to define with all the roster changes taking place.

For now, the world rankings will continue to live until after DreamHack Summer and ESEA Invite Season 16 Finals in June, when we're planning on releasing an updated version of the official HLTV.org world ranking, right around the end of June or beginning of July.

Titan's stock rose with last weekend's performance 

3. seized is becoming a full-blown star

Not one, not two, not three... Just kidding, but a whopping six of our twenty top players for 2013 predicted that Denis "seized" Kostin could become the breakout star of 2014, and after SLTV StarSeries IX Finals it certainly seems like a possibility. The 19-year old Russian finished the event with a rating of 1.25, which would be good for third in the world for career ratings.

Kostin was the third best entry fragger of the event behind two of his teammates, and he also ranked third in KPR for the whole event. Furthermore, he also played a part in 68% of all rounds Na`Vi played; once again good for third overall at the event, which goes to show how consistently he played a part in Na`Vi's success. Getting a kill, an assist or surviving over two-thirds of all rounds, won or lost, is no mean feat.

He was the best player on the winning team, which makes him a strong candidate for MVP. Kostin also tied his teammate Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev for best performance in the grand final; a rating identical to his overall 1.25. He also had arguably the most important plays in the grand final for his team, scoring those three MAG-7 kills to win Na`Vi a save round that started their run towards the championship, and a few AK47 performances in the previous half.

It's too early to call Kostin one of the world's top players, but he certainly seems to be on track to improve. Both him and Natus Vincere are going to be fun to follow in the future when we see if they can replicate their performances from the past weekend. But even if he falls a little short, he can still be a star in the Counter-Strike scene.

seized had a breakout performance in Kiev 

2. NiP's struggles in Kiev continue

It's no secret Kiev hasn't been kind to NiP, or even its star players Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund in Counter-Strike 1.6. Obviously attending four finals events with a record of second, first, third and second is nothing to be ashamed of, but we have to compare the Swedes' results to the ridiculously high standards they've set for themselves. They did not play like the world's best team this weekend.

The often blamed Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson actually had some very good rounds, including two important AK47 clutches against Titan on de_inferno that helped them beat their long time rivals. In-game leader Richard "Xizt" Landström also had a good event, finishing with a rating of 1.10. It all stops there, as far as good performances go for NiP. Everyone had their rounds, as always, but no one else was consistently good.

It was especially bad for the two super stars, both of whom recorded their very first LAN tournaments in CS:GO where they finished with a sub-1.00 rating, and a negative K-D difference. It's often stated how much NiP relies on their fragging ability, and although they beat Titan with Alesund at a measly 0.81 rating, this goes to show it's tough even for the world's best team to win tournaments if their stars take days off.

It was especially bad for Lindberg, who took heavy critique for his weak Copenhagen Games grand final performance of 0.79 rating. This time, though with his team on the losing end, he performed even worse in the most important match, finishing with a rating of 0.71 versus Na`Vi in the grand final. Still needs to be said that he played well versus Titan though, with a 1.14 rating, and he scored important round wins for NiP throughout the weekend.

It's important going into the future that NiP were able to take down Titan, who are back to a roster that never defeated NiP. They also once more took down Virtus.pro, proving they are still the stronger side of the two. However, losing to Natus Vincere, even on their home soil, still wasn't what was expected of them, and it leaves you wondering whether NiP's days of dominating tournaments are behind them for good.

NiP must not be very fond of Kiev based on their history together

1. Na`Vi can beat any team

It's almost a cliche now after Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács' interview with us on Saturday, and the flame war it started in the comments, but it's true. Na`Vi defeated Titan 2-0, and took two 2-0 series wins over the world's number one team, NiP. Kovàcs actually has a solid résumé against Titan and NiP, having bested both in Virtus.pro and 3DMAX as well, and his AWPing has always been a big part of each of his teams' success.

Natus Vincere seem to get production out of all their five players on a fairly consistent basis. Obviously their three stars this weekend were Kovács, Sukhariev and Kostin, but it's not like Danilo "Zeus" Teslenko, the squad's in-game leader, or Sergey "starix" Ischuk did not contribute, because they did. What's more, watching the event, it seemed Na`Vi were really on point, and even after tough stretches they were always able to bounce back.

Critics will point to SLTV StarSeries IX having been held in Kiev, question whether the team ghosted or wonder if the crowd might have had an effect on the performance. I don't buy into that stuff too much; I think chokers may suffer from loud fans, but I can't see it directly improving anyone's performance. The fact is Na`Vi played a very good tournament, and you should not take credit away from them.

The champions skippped Copenhagen Games, while all the other three participants attended. That means they got to watch them play, and put in more practice and preparation going into this event. Surely that will not always be the case in the future, but there are rational reasons explaining why they were able to play so well this weekend.

It's impossible to rank Na`Vi just yet in terms of the world's best teams, because we will need to see them play more before we can draw all of those conclusions. Still, Kovács was right, his team have certainly now proven they can beat any team, and that makes them a contender in the future, and a team others won't be glad to face in the bracket stages.

GuardiaN proved he's a man of his word by winning on Sunday 

What do you think of the lessons above? Do you think we missed some, or do  you disagree with any of them? Let us know in the comment section below.