fnatic win ESL ESEA Season 1 Finals

The grand final started on de_cobblestone, where Cloud9 got off to a flying start with quick bombsite B attacks that saw them grind up a 5-2 lead on the terrorist side of the map.

fnatic's defense tied the game at seven before Cloud9 won the final round. The North Americans also won the defensive pistol round, and the following rounds, to go up 11-7.

Next rounds saw fnatic pick one, Mike "⁠shroud⁠" Grzesiek win a two-on-two for C9, and Tyler "⁠Skadoodle⁠" Latham score three AWP kills in B to give them a commanding lead.

shroud then won a one-on-two with time running out for Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell, giving his team game point, as fnatic finally got the timeout eBot issues prevented them from having.

shroud put up 32 frags en route to a win on de_cobblestone 

The Swedes mounted a comeback at the end - getting as close as 14-15 - but in the final round shroud and Jordan "⁠n0thing⁠" Gilbert got key entry kills in B, giving Cloud9 the first map.

A seemingly new fnatic showed up on de_cache. Though Ryan "⁠freakazoid⁠" Abadir's four kills won a save round for C9 to make it 1-2, it was just about the last highlight for them.

Combined with Cloud9 making mistakes, fnatic had clearly done their homework on their finals opponent as they had an answer to everything the North Americans did, winning 12-3 first half.

shroud's two Tec9 kills got his team three rounds to bring it to 6-12, but fnatic then quickly put a stop to the potential comeback, closing the map out 16-6 to even the series.

To start de_overpass the first nine rounds were traded neck and neck with C9 coming out ahead 5-4 on the defensive side before they were able to make some ground.

olofmeister was fnatic's best player in one-sided de_cache win 

With Freddy "⁠KRIMZ⁠" Johansson struggling individually, fnatic found themselves trailing 5-8 and ultimately lost the opening half with a score of 6-9, still in it but brutal given the lost rounds.

In a fashion similar to the first map, Cloud9 found themselves up 13-7 as terrorists after winning the pistol round, and fnatic's early third round FAMAS force buy attempt.

Despite Olof "⁠olofmeister⁠" Kajbjer also not putting up numbers, Robin "⁠flusha⁠" Rönnquist jumped in and put in more than thirty frags in total to complete a neat comeback on the map, winning 16-14.

fnatic continued their winning ways, taking the counter-terrorist pistol round on de_dust2. However, Cloud9 bought second round, and shroud's four Scout kills tied the game.

The underdogs went to string together seven rounds before olofmeister's monster flank around the map, following fnatic's timeout, got them a round win to make it 2-7.

flusha helped fnatic win de_overpass from a 7-13 deficit with 30 kills 

After making 9-2, fnatic figured out ways to stop Cloud9, ending the half with a respectable 5-10 score, after changing to the easier side of the map, terrorists.

Two entry kills from Sean "⁠seang@res⁠" Gares in B, and two more from n0thing, stopped fnatic in their tracks with no kills on the pistol round, and the latter's four kill middle push made it 12-5.

Next seven rounds were essentially traded - with fnatic winning four to Cloud9's three - which put the latter up 15-9, with a chance to tie the series at two maps each.

Unfortunately for fans of the game that last round win never materialized, as fnatic abused C9's B defense and won a close round in A despite freakazoid's triple  to force overtime.

Once regulation ended, Cloud9 could not find a way to stop fnatic. The Swedes won nine straight rounds, from 9-15 to 19-15, to clinch the map, and with it, the series 3-1.

ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 Finals:

1. fnatic - $100,000
2. Cloud9 - $60,000
3-4. CLG - $25,000
3-4. Virtus.pro - $25,000
5-6. EnVyUs - $12,500
5-6. Keyd Stars - $12,500
7-8. TSM - $7,500
7-8. Luminosity - $7,500

Though the action has now ended at ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1 Finals in Cologne, Germany, we still have more photos, highlights and the winners' interview coming up.