In an event that featured teams like Eternal Fire and Team Falcons (where s1mple made his CS2 LAN return), it’s SAW that have emerged as the cream of the crop to win ESL Challenger 2024. Their competition in the Grand Final was a young B8 roster – let’s take a look at how these two teams fared on the server here.
SAW take down B8 in two quick maps
Credit: Adam Lakomy | © ESL
After losing their coach BERRY and star rifler arrozdoce just before the event, hopes weren’t exactly high that SAW could deliver the goods at ESL Challenger Katowice 2024. However, this team has managed to go all the way in an impressive win, with all of roman, story, and ewjerkz putting up massive numbers throughout this CS2 event.
In the Grand Final, the way in which they put B8 down was fantastic. Across the two maps, they dropped just eight rounds in total. It was a total mismatch on the day, and there was no doubt about who deserved to be crowned champions here.
A step too far for B8
Credit: Adam Lakomy | © ESL
Winning an international LAN for this B8 team proved to be a step too far. The tournament had gone too well up until that point, and the ultimate fairytale run wasn’t to be as they were brought back down to Earth at the final hurdle. This B8 team features the likes of npl and headtr1ck, both of whom you might recognize from their time in NAVI and NIP respectively.
Despite the manner of their defeat in the Grand Final, there’s a lot for this B8 squad to be excited about in the future. It’s such a young roster that they can only get better with experience. This Grand Final at ESL Challenger Katowice 2024 is the start of a great journey, not the end of one.