Yesterday, in part one, I counted down numbers 10-8 of the 'Top 10 CS moments of 2011' as a classic rivalry came to a definite end, an underdog team took down a late title and an all time great match was played out in the cold of Sweden. In part two we'll go from 7-5.

An underdog miracle takes place in Kiev, the team of year finally overcomes their biggest roadblock of an opponent and one player transfer which shakes the CS world and alters the outcome of the rest of the 2011 for all the top teams.


7. fnatic wins the IEM V European Championship

If there were ever a new lineup which looked like it had no shot at winning a significant title it was fnatic 's new 2011 lineup. Assembled in the wake of GeT_RiGhT and f0rest leaving for SK Gaming it seemed as though fnatic had been forced to pick up anyone who was left over from the aftermath of that move. Gux had not signed up with SK but had also chosen not to remain in fnatic, moving over to Lions instead. In doing so he had ensured niko turned down an offer to join up with fnatic too.

Delpan had been an obvious pickup in light of his strong play in the late 2009 MYM side and playing a big part in helping SK to take second at WEM 2010, legit star player material out of the free agents available. Likewise Xizt was the natural pickup of the Lions players of 2010. That left the final spot, which would not be filled by Gux or niko. With MODDII apparently off the table due to his bad reputation it was left to Delpan's ex-MYM team-mate Pita to fill the final spot in the fnatic roster.

Uncertainty abounds

Those moves left fnatic with a drastically different lineup than at any other time in their history since cArn and dsn had been involved. From 2006-2008 they had only undergone one lineup change, and it had been a very carefully thought out one where they took in someone who fit with the rest of the team socially. When they changed two at the beginning of 2009 it seemed drastic at the time, being as GeT_RiGhT and Gux were still unproven at the elite level, but that the team still had the great f0rest in place along with the tandem of dsn and cArn ensured there was a degree of consistency to the team. In 2011 fnatic was starting with cArn and dsn only remaining from previous teams.

What's more the event seemed to packed with killers, as all the top European teams were in attendance. fnatic had caught a break in that they had avoided FX, mTw and the new SK lineup, who were all in Group A. The Swedes would face tough competition from Lions and Na`Vi though. At that point in time Na`Vi seemed worlds above the new fnatic lineup and Lions looked like they were be at the same level, given as the Lions lineup might even have been slightly more skilled overall.

An opener against 2010's team of the year

Facing Na`Vi in the opening game of the group fnatic found themselves in deep trouble after Na`Vi romped through their defenses with ease and put up 10 terrorist rounds in the first half. Na`Vi had experienced trouble on inferno in the past but that nearly always came on the T side, with their CT side good enough to put up 9-10 rounds with regularity. Now it seemed as though the Ukrainian side had done enough to ensure they'd cross the finish line.

Instead cArn's men began their own T side rampage and found themselves at game point for the last round, up 15:14. markeloff had gone crazy around the bomb box, killing four players before dying. This left cArn 1v2 as he planted, facing starix and Edward. The fnatic captain moved around the backhalls, with the two Na`Vi players inside of the site. Each Ukrainian player peeked one after the other and cArn killed them both in order of their peeks, starix and then Edward, to win the round and the map for fnatic. Taking down the team of 2010, even in a 16:14 game, was a great start to the team's campaign.



The next match was against Lions on nuke and the question of who the second best Swedish team was, in light of SK's expected form, seemed to go unanswered after the match ended in a tie. fnatic had put up a huge 10 round T performance in the first half only to have it answered in return by Lions. The rest of the group stage games were complete blowouts, as fnatic smashed forZe, TCM and ALTERNATE without any of them getting more than three rounds. fnatic had managed to progress from Group B in first place, moving directly to the semi-finals for a guaranteed top 4 finish.

A rematch with Na`Vi for a spot in the final

When Lions also beat Na`Vi in the group stage, and on the Ukrainians best map (train), it seemed as though perhaps Na`Vi had had a bad first day. This didn't look like the team who had dominated 2010 and accomplished one of the truly great years in CS history. With the Ukrainian elites exiting their group in third place they were on a collision course to meet fnatic in the semi-finals. A quick win over MYM.ru ensured Na`Vi would get their chance to rematch the Swedes who had upset them in that opening match. As the match began on dust2 Na`Vi cruised to an easy win, displaying the kind of dust2 form they are famous for in playoff series. The next map was inferno and fnatic this time held on for nine CT rounds in the first half. With the needed seven T rounds coming after 10 rounds played in the second fnatic had knotted the series at a game apiece.

The decider was train, Na`Vi best map throughout 2010. Na`Vi had been so good at train they had never lost to mTw on it in their many matchups that year, despite mTw being one of the world's best train teams also. Likewise they had never lost to any of the 2010 fnatic lineups on it either. Na`Vi had been so good on train that any loss did they suffer, such as against k23 or SK or FX, those games stood out and were talked about exactly for how rare they were. If all Na`Vi had to do to reach the IEM V European Championship final was beat an underdog fnatic team, who had had a good day 1, on the Ukrainian teams best map then surely they were in a great position.

Instead it was fnatic who seemed to have the easy task, handling Na`Vi with a very impressive 16:3 scoreline. Taking down 12 CT rounds first half and then sweeping the second half fnatic didn't give 2010's team of the year a chance to get into the match.



The theme of fnatic having no hype surrounding them for this event and being expected to lose to the big names at every turn would continue in the final. One would think beating Na`Vi in a Bo3 would be enough to earn respect as a legitimate contender for the title but the events of the other semi-final ensured that wouldn't be the case. FX had been the dominant team of Group A, even winning on their troublesome inferno. So when mTw had locked horns with the Poles in an epic semi-final matchup which was instant classic material and escaped with the win it seemed only right that mTw got the nod as favourites to win the whole tournament. They had just beaten the best team in the tournament and in the best match of the tournament. Many still put Na`Vi's loss down to the Ukrainian team being in a post-2010 slump, as a 3rd place decider loss to FX would seemingly attest.

So many times in 2010 mTw had met Na`Vi in tournaments and due to being unable to get past the Ukrainians had not won any titles from those events. Now fnatic had taken care of Na`Vi for the Danes and they had a Bo3 with nuke and train as the first two maps in front of them. If ever mTw was going to win a big event this should surely have been it. Star player trace had been rolling throughout the tournament and his performance against FX had ensured he continued to impress CS fans around the world.

mTw stand in the way of the title

mTw took the first map, nuke, 16:11 with good T play and solid CT defense. On train fnatic took 11 CT rounds first half but mTw were a very strong CT side team on train and had responded to make it 14:14 with two rounds remaining, matters eventually going into overtime. The first half of overtime saw mTw take three rounds as CT and then in the second they got two T rounds in the first four played. That left the Danes with a chance to either win the map, and series, in that last remaining round or have the match go to a second overtime.

minet was left 1v2 at outer with time running down and as he evened the numbers with a kill at Z-hall 11 seconds were on the clock. minet got the bomb and began planting outside at around 5 seconds left, with his opponent, Delpan, holding an AWP at the CT ramp. Delpan pushed up during the plant and held an angle to side of the bomb planting spot. minet decided to strafe spray widly and move to his left, but was killed by an AWP shot from Delpan. fnatic had pushed the game to overtime and mTw had blown a 1v1 with the bomb planted to take the title itself.

In the second overtime fnatic were the team in control as they took three CT rounds in the first half and then the three needed in the second to secure the map and push the series to a decider. The train game had seem what would become famous moments from Xizt as he played the tournament of his life and secured memorable rounds such as the pistol round he won with a deagle and 1hp vs. players spamming bullets all around him. In the second overtime period he had a key CT round where he was at the electrical box outside and sprayed down three mTw players coming out of T mid.

The train game of that series was broken down in this edition of Fresh Pots:



The decider was inferno, a map fnatic had been leaning on all tournament long, and seven rounds as T in the first half put the pressure on mTw's shoulders for the first time as the Danes had a lot of work to do if they were going to avoid elimination. fnatic locked down the second half defensively and needed only 10 rounds played to get the nine they needed. They had shocked the world over and over, and against some of the world's best teams, to win the IEM V European Championship. Their form, both as a team and individually, would not continue throughout 2011 and lineup changes would abound but this event stood as a perfect moment where an underdog team had everything go the right way when it was needed to come out on top against teams who appeared to overmatch them on paper.




6. AGAiN beats Na`Vi in the SEC final
VODs: Thorin & Semphis

Despite winning e-Stars Seoul in August AGAiN were still a shaky prospect for best team in the world. That South Korean event had been double elimination on single pre-determined maps. That had meant FX (as they were then called) had gotten to play Na`Vi on forge, a map which was brand new into the map pool, and SK had taken care of Na`Vi for them with a win on nuke in the lower bracket. In the final the Poles had almost blown as it as they lost unimpressively on tuscan in the first map and then barely held on to claim an overtime win inferno. It was an impressive tournament run, being as they were the first team to stop an SK team which had won every tournament since acquiring Delpan from fnatic. Not only that but to pull out an inferno win was a feat in its own right being as FX had suffered a very up and down history on that map, with numerous memorable losses on it.

Going into SEC many still figured SK were the world's best team until AGAiN could prove their pedigree with a consistent followup win. The Samsung European Championship was held in Warsaw, Poland in early October. The tournament began fairly underwhelmingly for the Poles as they lost to WinFakt on nuke by a sizable score in their first group game, meaning they would go to the playoffs as a second seed. They couldn't have known it at the time but that actually ended up being a boon for NEO and his team-mates, as the bracket draw ended up leaving them on the side without Na`Vi or SK.

With only a Moscow Five team, who had been partying, to beat on their side of the bracket AGAiN handled the Russians with ease in two maps and then smashed on fellow countrymen Fear Factory to reach the final.

Facing their Ukrainian nemeses

Their opponents in the final were the one team AGAiN feared facing: Na`Vi. The Ukrainians broken their hearts in Hannover in the IEM V World Championship final, closing the championship door on them in two maps. Then, only weeks later, Na`Vi had against dealt them a crushing blow as the Poles had blown a one map lead in the ICSC7 final, losing both of the following maps 14:16. The decider, on inferno, had even seen FX blow a late lead and a chance at overtime after markeloff won a 1v3 in B to seal the series. Even though Na`Vi had not won anything of significance since that event one could be sure the Poles had a psychological disadvantage heading into the final and Na`Vi were brimming with the confidence they could get back on the winning track with this matchup.

Na`Vi's run through the tournament had been one to rebuild their confidence too, taking out SK in two straight in the quarter-final and then outlasting WinFakt in a three map semi-final. What had always made Na`Vi vs. AGAiN a great series for spectators is that both teams were good at some of the same maps, and thus willing to play them against the other. In particular that meant games on train, where each is one of the best of all time at one of the sides. The first two maps of the SEC final would be the exact same maps, and in the same order, as in the IEM V World Championship final: train and then dust2.

The world's best offense against the world's best defense

train began with AGAiN as CT and Na`Vi went to work with their patented grinding style of terrorist attacks, managing to take a big eight rounds into the half. With Na`Vi as the best train CT side of all time and AGAiN historically as the best train T side team it setup a truly classic matchup. In Hannover AGAiN had not brought their A game on the T side but now it was fully in force and even Na`Vi's defenses could not hold back the rampaging Polish titans. NEO and company smashed home nine rounds in only 12 played to take the first map.

The Warsaw CT rampage

dust2 began even enough as rounds went back and forth with AGAiN as CT but then the Poles seemed to snap into hyper-aggressive mode. With NEO and TaZ pushing up at their respective spots, NEO at catwalk/lower B and TaZ in B tunnels, the Poles were constantly catching Na`Vi off-guard as the Ukrainians went to setup their attacks. Na`Vi are usually good at punishing teams on their T side, markeloff's AWP onto doors and their catwalk setup ensuring they can tear open the A site whenever they want.

Instead the Poles were having their way with Na`Vi, as push after push yielded early kills for the CTs and eventually ended up with the ridiculous scenario of Na`Vi being unable to leave the terrorist spawn. TaZ was having one of the best games of his career in B and Na`Vi were unable to go anywhere on the map. pasha had also proven his worth as a big game player with some clutch kills at the B bombsite. The half ended 12:3 to AGAiN.

Na`Vi managed to mentally reset during the swapover and began to put a CT string of rounds together but they knew they faced a mammoth task to win the map, having to get a huge CT score against the game's best attacking team. AGAiN would not be denied and 12 rounds into the second half secured the winning round. The Poles had won another title, done it at home and crushed their biggest nemeses at the same time. Celebrations erupted and former captain TaZ turned on the waterworks on cue. AGAiN could now call themselves the undisputed best team in the world, even if that title would be called into questions only weeks later.

What made that final so special is that Na`Vi did not quietly take their beating and disappear, it was a real war and Na`Vi was in the series at all times until AGAiN really blew the doors off with their incredible dust2 CT side against one of the world's elite dust2 T side teams.

Footage of AGAiN's winning celebration.


5. Delpan joins SK Gaming

The one transfer in 2011 which really changed everything was SK SK Gaming 's pickup of Marcus 'Delpan' Larsson from fnatic. SK had been lacking something throughout the year to get them over the hump and to the level of being able to win titles. fnatic on the other hand had failed to do anything of note since their IEM victory but of their lineup Delpan was the one player who had that star player pedigree. Thanks to the large shadow cast by Xizt's playoff heroics Delpan's finals performance had perhaps gone underappreciated, as his AWP had done serious damage to mTw's offensive approach. He had been, along with MODDII, one of the players to emerge from the MYM lineups of late 2009.

While that MYM team had been rolling everyone on the team seemed to be a good player and many seemed puzzled as to what drove them. Once their form fell off and their placings became nonexistent it soon became clear that Delpan and MODDII were the legitimate elite level players at their respective positions in the lineup. Both had been used as stand-ins for SK in the lineup which placed second at WEM, defeating Na`Vi on train along the way. If anyone wanted a Swedish AWPer Delpan was the logical choice, standing head and shoulders above the others.

SK had gradually improved across the year, moving up the placings ladder as each event passed. Following their group stage elimination in Kiev with allen they had taken in dennis as a stand-in and finished 4th at the IEM V World Championship and 2nd at Xperia PLAY. Taking Delpan from fnatic not only added a dangerous AWPer to the lineup but also left fnatic with a hole they were unable to fill using the players left over in the Swedish scene.

Delpan's effect on SK was seen immediately as they went crazy during the Dreamhack Summer events, winning IOL FINAL4, the Swedish WCG qualifier and Dreamhack Summer itself. After facing fnatic at e-Stars Seoul, where the team would place 2nd overall, SK had still not suffered a loss to their rivals in 2011. Since Delpan's addition the record was six wins and a draw, while for the entire year it stood at eight wins and a draw. The Delpan acquisition had not only changed SK's fortunes but seemingly reversed the expected outcome of the fnatic-SK rivalry permanently, with fnatic unable to find any answers for the new lineup during that time period.

SK would also win ICSC8, IEM VI New York and ESWC with their new AWPer onboard. While key Bo3 losses to Na`Vi and seeing titles go ESC.pl's way meant 2011's SK lineup would not deliver a year for the ages they were able to resurrect the SK name from the doldrums of semi-finals losses to winning significant titles and being elite level contenders for every big event. Prior to Delpan's arrival nobody knew what it would take to accomplish that, being as even the additions of GeT_RiGhT, the best Swedish player of 2010, and f0rest, perhaps the greatest Swedish player of all time, had not been quite enough. Delpan's addition was enough to tip the scales in SK's favour and help add titles to the trophy cabinet.

There were other significant transfers in 2011 but none shook the world as much as Delpan's move to SK Gaming.




Tomorrow I'll count down the final four as we go from 4-1 of the 'Top 10 CS moments of 2011'. Can you guess what they'll be?