SK Gaming crowned Champions at Intel Extreme Masters - Sydney 2017
The Brazilian roster of SK Gaming were able to overcome FaZe Clan in a best-of-five series at the grand finals of Intel Extreme Masters - Sydney 2017. A total of four maps were played out, three of which (de_Train, de_Cache and de_Overpass) fell in favour of SK Gaming, whilst FaZe Clan were only able to secure a single victory (de_Inferno). This marks the Brazilians' second consecutive first place finish at a LAN event, the prior being a victory against Gambit Esports at cs_summit.
Counter Logic Gaming sign academy team
The North American multi-gaming organisation joins the likes of Fnatic, GODSENT, Gambit and others in this endeavour, aimed at "fostering and developing rising talent". CLG have expressed that the academy team will not have its own training facilities, however also stated that all resources required by the team will be provided. In addition to the aforementioned, the team will have a dedicated team of professionals including a strategic coach, player development coach and analyst to aid with their development both within and outside of the game.
StarLadder announce details regarding CIS Minor Championship qualifiers
StarLadder have revealed details regarding the open and closed qualifiers for one of the regional precursors to the PGL Major Kraków 2017, the CIS Minor Championship. The tournament will consist of three phases - the open qualifier, the closed qualifier and the LAN finals. The open qualifier will be hosted by FACEIT (registration link) featuring 512 slots. Four teams will emerge victorious, securing slots at the closed qualifiers. The closed qualifier will feature sixteen teams (twelve invited, four from open qualifier) that will battle it out for a spot at the LAN finals. A total of four teams will seize the opportunity and visit the offline finals, the destination of which has yet to be revealed.
