DreamHack Winter 2014 (CS:GO)

Lore & Background

The tournament was the setting of one of the earliest significant controversies in Global Offensive esports. In the third game of the quarterfinal matchup between Fnatic and Team LDLC, Fnatic player Olof 'olofmeister' Kajbjer Gustafsson performed a controversial 'pixelwalk' boost to help his team come back from a 13–3 deficit to win the deciding map. Following the matchup, DreamHack ordered the game to be replayed, after both teams were found to have used the glitch, although to differing levels of success. Following significant community backlash, Fnatic forfeited the match and withdrew from the tournament. Team LDLC would then go on to win the event after beating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–1 in the finals.

Reader's Guide

The top eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2014 ('Legends') received direct invitations to DreamHack Winter 2014. Two of these invitations were rescinded after a cheating scandal, leaving ten spots (the 'Challengers') to be filled by a mixture of qualifiers and invites. Teams were split into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones using the GSL format. The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, all matches best-of-three, single elimination. The map pool did not change from ESL One Cologne 2014; group stage bans and random selection determined the map, while playoffs used a ban-pick-random system for best-of-three series.

Did You Know?

• Valve released a patch after the tournament that removed the pixel-walk from the map, including a sign reading 'Geländer übersteigen verboten!' below where the incident took place.
• Team LDLC became the first French team to appear in a CS:GO Major final.