Chaos have emerged victorious from IEM Beijing-Haidian North America, taking down Triumph 3-1 in the grand final (16-6 Train, 11-16 Mirage, 16-5 Overpass, 16-14 Nuke). The victory earns the team a spot in IEM Global Challenge, where they will compete against the likes of Heroic, FURIA, and Vitality.
The team’s victory over Evil Geniuses in the semi-final and their overall title win comes at an incredibly critical moment for the players after a recent report from DBLTAP indicated that Chaos are preparing to pull out of CS:GO. The first-place finish is also the roster’s best result since the departure of steel, and their first title from an event containing top North American teams.
It was a one-sided affair to kick things off, Chaos opening the series with a dominant showing on their pick of Train by securing a 13-2 scoreline on the attack before taking the map 16-5. Triumph were able to even the score as they narrowly pulled ahead at halftime on Mirage, with Ryan “ryann” Welsh and Alan “Shakezullah” Hardeman combining to help their side to a 16-11 victory to tie up the series.
However, Triumph were quickly left out of sorts as Edgar “MarKE” Maldonado and Erick “Xeppaa” Bach pummeled the defensive setups of their opposition on Overpass, leaving Shakezullah‘s troops no opportunity to get momentum on their side as the map was brought to a swift end in Chaos‘ favour, 16-5.
The onset of Nuke unfolded in the same fashion as a stalwart defense saw Chaos lock Triumph out of bombsites round after round, plowing ahead to a 12-3 lead at the break. A pistol victory offered Triumph the opportunity to fight back into the map, and it was a chance the roster seized wholeheartedly as they made a valiant comeback effort, grinding back to a 12-14 scoreline. However, double kills from Xeppaa and Nathan “leaf” Orf finally put Chaos on map point, and although stellar ramp holds from ryann seemed set to send the map to overtime, Chaos were able to edge out the win in round 30 to take home the title.
IEM Beijing-Haidian North America final standings:
1. Chaos – $35,000 + IEM Global Challenge 2020
2. Triumph – $15,000
3-4. Evil Geniuses – $6,000
3-4. Liquid – $6,000
5-6. TeamOne – $2,500
5-6. Rugratz – $2,500
7-8. Rebirth – $1,500
7-8. New England Whalers – $1,500