Published on: 20/05/2021

CS_Summit 8 North America Preview

CS_Summit returns for its 8th edition on the 20th of May, bringing the first Regional Major Ranking (RMR) event to North America. RMR tournaments distribute points used to qualify teams for the upcoming 2021 Fall Major.

The CS_Summit tournament series is CS:GO for its distinctively laid-back attitude, informal demeanor and casual casting style. It sees suits switched out for casualwear, unconventional commentator combinations on the microphone, and a looser atmosphere.

The best North America-based teams will battle it out over ten days in this $50,000 tournament. You can watch the online event live on CS Summit’s Twitch Channel and track the latest CSGO betting odds here.

Key Teams to Watch

Extra Salt, paiN qualify for cs_summit 8 https://t.co/giwbi3NXMc

— HLTV.org (@HLTVorg) May 17, 2021

The event features four invited teams – Team Liquid, Furia, Evil Geniuses and EXTREMUM – joined by four teams from a closed qualifier. Extra Salt and Pain have claimed the first two qualifier spots, with the remaining two to be decided Tuesday evening.

The three top teams going into CS_Summit 8 are Team Liquid, FURIA and Extra Salt.

Liquid comes in as the favorites for the event and most likely to take the title. Liquid currently sits at #9 in the HLTV world rankings and is the highest-ranked North American team by a long shot. The US-majority team has numerous strong international performances under its belt and features some of the region’s best players, including ELEAGUE Major 2018 winner Jake ‘Stewie2k’ Yip.

FURIA, however, are strong contenders that are certainly capable of challenging Liquid. FURIA is ranked #9 worldwide and is the current highest-ranked South American-majority team. They have proven to be a powerhouse with strong fragging potential, with their US AWPer Paytyn ‘junior’ Johnson looking electric at times – but disappointing at others.

Extra Salt has the potential for a surprise run-in CS Summit. The North American mix, which also features two South African players, has made a quick ascent to the top of their region. They jumped from #64 to #19 in the world rankings since its new lineup formed at the start of 2021, and have had strong showings in domestic tournaments.

As they pine for more opportunities to prove themselves against top teams, Extra Salt is a team to watch out for.

Key Players to Watch

Who comes out on top in CS Summit 8 will depend on how key players in the top teams perform.

Since picking up Brazilian veteran and 2x Major winner Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo, Team Liquid has achieved two notable results – top four in the BLAST Premier Global Finals, and IEM Katowice Worlds Championship. But outside of those two tournaments, they haven’t been able to replicate much of that success.

As a supposed star, FalleN has a reputation to prove and uphold, as the world-renowned AWPing skills he was brought in to showcase will need to be up to scratch to stave off hungry competition.

Michu, a young and promising Polish player who has previously competed for Virtus Pro, Envy and OG, signed to Evil Geniuses last month in a bid to revitalize the team. Michu is a player to watch going into CS Summit, as his addition could add needed energy to a team that has shown plenty of promise but not as many results.

Also, on Evil Geniuses, star player Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov has lots to prove (and a lot to give) going into the event. The Bulgarian AWPer moved to North America to compete for NRG before moving to Evil Geniuses.

But while showing flashes of brilliance, he has not always delivered the consistency many had hoped. The Eastern European will be looking to help make CS Summit a turning point for the team.

Extra Salt’s South African pair – Aran ‘Sonic’ Groesbeek and Johnny ‘JT’ Theodosiou – are worth keeping an eye on, too. The dynamic duo, who have competed together continuously since September 2019, offers a strong foundation for their US, Canadian and Polish teammates to play around. As they seemingly get better with each event, if Extra Salt continues its consistency, they could pull off a dark horse run at CS Summit 8.

Written by Jake Norland