The rest of the group stage was all wins for the new SK Gaming lineup. Surprisingly it was the matches against x6 and TCM which were closest, while their match against fnatic was a brutal 16:6 stomping on mirage. SK exited the group stage in first place and moved directly to the semi-final. Thanks to Na`Vi having lost to ESC in the other group the Ukrainians were placed on the same side of the bracket and following a quarter-final win over fnatic would be SK's semi-final opponent.
The tournament began ominously enough as SK once more faced a troublesome stylistic matchup in the form of aggressive Russian all-star lineup Moscow Five. The same team who had helped see SK eliminated from the IEM European Championship and then played them in a tight series at Xperia PLAY would make a fine first test for the new Delpan-powered lineup. The opener was on tuscan, the same map from the aforementioned Kiev-based event, and SK this time managed a tie with the Russians, coming back to put up a strong CT side and earn a point.
After romping through all of their Swedish competition in the latter two tournaments, including a number of big time wins over rivals fnatic, the final proving ground would be the main Dreamhack Summer tournament. It had been two and a half years since SK had won a Dreamhack tournament and with mTw and Na`Vi in attendance the new look Swedish side were certainly not the favourites going in. Thanks to skipping Xperia PLAY Na`Vi still seemed like the best team in the world, having won the IEM V World Championship to claim their fourth straight major title in the space of 13 months.
Picking up Delpan at the end of May SK added what would be the missing component to their lineup: a high level dedicated AWP user. From MYM in 2009 to SK at WEM in late 2010 to fnatic at the IEM V European Championship Delpan had proven his worth time and time again as a big time AWP player. Now he would provide SK with an extra weapon to use, and further solidify their CT side strength. The first test would be the Dreamhack Summer tournaments: the main tournament, the IOL FINAL 4 and WCG Sweden qualifier.
When GeT_RiGhT and f0rest had left fnatic for at the end of 2010 the entire community seemed certain success for the new SK lineup was a sure thing. Phrases like "dream team" were thrown around and people generally had very high expectations for the new squad. After SK failed to get out of the group stage at the IEM V European Championship those expectations came under question. A solid 4th at the IEM V World Championship and runnersup finish at Xperia PLAY helped put the bad memories of Kiev behind the new Swedish team but made some wonder if SK would ever win big titles, even with their newly boosted talent level. The answer, it turned out, was only a couple of months away.
A new lineup begins their momentous run, Swedish history is made, a legendary foursome adds to their haul and an all time great team's incredible run contains is marked by an impressive finale of greatness.
NEWS By Duncan 'Thorin' ShieldsJan 18, 2012 01:23 The last four of the 'Top 10 CS moments of 2011' see a new lineup embark on a run, Swedish history made, a legendary foursome claiming more success and an all time great run of winning brought to an epic claimx. In of the 'Top 10 CS moments of 2011' I went from 10-8 on the list and then progressed from 7-5. The final part sees the last four examined, ending on the top CS moment of the year.
Counter-Strike: Top 10 CS moments of 2011: 4-1 | SK Gaming
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