- Fnatic become the 13th team to secure a spot in the event
- They did not lose a single map throughout the European open qualifier
- Gamers8’s Counter-Strike event will be held from August 14-20
Fnatic defeated HEET’s former CS:GO roster to qualify for the upcoming Gamers8 2023 Counter-Strike tournament held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fnatic Defeat Looking4Org
Gamers8 2023’s European open qualifier has come to an end and fnatic have emerged victorious to secure a spot for the main event. The mixed European team went through the qualifier undefeated, their last opponents being the French roster Looking4Org, whom they defeated 2-0. Now, William “mezii” Merriman and company will be joining the like of Vitality, G2, and Heroic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they will compete for a chance to get a piece of the $1 000 000 prize pool.
It’s important to note that fnatic didn’t drop a single map in their entire run at the European open qualifiers, despite going up against strong opposition such as Sprout and GTZ. Perhaps the fact that the qualifiers were played in a single-elimination, best-of-one format played in their favor.
Meanwhile, their opponents, Looking4Org didn’t perform at the same level as fnatic, but still managed to take out several big names, such as 9INE and Astralis. The team did admirably all while, well, looking for an organization. The squad was initially HEET’s lineup, which left the organization just a couple of weeks ago, due to its financial troubles, among other issues. However, the players decided to stay together for the time being while looking for a new home, deciding to play under the eloquent Looking4Org in this event.
Despite their prowess in the face of adversity, however, the French team will not be attending the Gamers8 2023 event. The CS tournament will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city, from August 14-20 for the second time ever. It is a self-proclaimed “world's largest gaming and esports festival,” which starts much earlier on July 6.
Last year the festival featured tournaments for games like Rainbow Six: Siege, Dota 2, Fortnite, and Rocket League. This year, the festival will feature said games, with the Dota 2 tournament’s prize pool being a whopping $15 million. Meanwhile, the CS even’s prize money is “just” $1 million. Sixteen teams from all around the globe will duke it out for a chance to win a piece of the prize pool. There are three more teams to be invited to the event, but the thirteen that have already qualified or been invited are: Vitality, Heroic, FaZe, Natus VIncere, Cloud9, G2, Liquid, ENCE, FURIA, fnatic, Virtus.pro, MIBR, and Falons.
