ESL One Cologne Awaits as Cloud9 Take Home 10k & fnx Gets Benched

Lincoln “fnx” Lau Is Benched

Yesterday we learned that Lincoln “fnx” Lau has stepped down from Immortals’ first lineup. Fnx has had a colourful history in CS:GO with two Major titles to his name. 2016 brought 1st place at MLG Columbus under Luminosity and later that year, ESL One Cologne winners as SK Gaming. At 27 years of age, this will be one of Fnx’s biggest moves, although his next position is not yet certain.

Also not certain, is the reasoning behind the move. On Twitter Fnx stated: “My reasons will remain secret, out of respect for Immortals.”.

Immortals have been looking to sign an 18-year-old Brazilian by the name of João “horvy” Matheus Rodaczynski Horvath, who is currently a member of K1ck. For the time being, the team coach Rafael “zakk” Fernandes will step in until further notice.

Cloud9 Take Home $10k, Beating SK At Subaru Invitational

Following a 2-0 win against SK Gaming, Cloud9 claimed the title for the Subaru NA CS:GO Invitational. Taking home a cool $10,000 in prize money out of the total $20,000 fund, Cloud9 won every map they played throughout the tournament. SK Gaming put up a tough fight on both maps in the grand final, finishing 12-16 on Cobblestone and 14-16 on Train.

Cloud9’s Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert took the title of top fragger across both maps with a K/D of 53-37 and the highest ADR of 93.8. N0thing helped to secure the 1st pistol round on SK’s map pick, Cobblestone with 2 headshots whilst defending the B bombsite. Despite that, SK lead at halftime with a scoreline of 8:7, only to lose 12-16 after Cloud9’s aggressive Terrorist side took them by surprise.

Train was a similar story again as SK lead 8:7 at halftime but failed to secure the map win. Being Cloud9’s map pick, it was clear they had a few well-rehearsed strategies up their sleeve, ready for the final.

To secure their place in the final, SK beat fellow Brazilian team Immortals 2-0 on Mirage and Inferno. Cloud9 followed a similar path to the final with a 2-0 win over fellow Americans, CLG on Train and Inferno.

ESL One Cologne Qualifiers Set for 20th May

ESL One Cologne qualifiers that start on the 20th of May with the North American Closed Qualifier. There will be 6 teams in the NA qualifier.

Following shortly after that on the 21st May is the European Closed Qualifier where we will see the likes of EnVyUs and Gambit fight for a place at Cologne. In total there are 12 teams in the European qualifier.

There are another 12 teams that have been guaranteed a place at Cologne under invitation. These teams include names such as Immortals, G2 and SK Gaming. Of course, due to “fnx”’s recent step-down, Immortals tournament performance looks uncertain.