DreamHack Austin Open showed that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive can command numbers both on stream and in stadiums, which became a standing room during the playoffs for this $100,000 purse tournament.
Inside the Austin Convention Center, fans donned their most patriotic gear. With Luminosity and Tempo Storm in the house, fans from Brazil wore their country's flag while their American counterparts did the same. This year's tournament had all the necessary ingredients to entertain the multitude of fans, players, coaches -- and it resonated. Would Cloud9 or Team Liquid upset one or both of the Brazilian teams to get a North American team into the finals?
In the early match of the day, Cloud9 would find itself against Tempo Storm in an exciting three game thriller that would see massive leads and comebacks nobody thought possible. On Cobblestone, game one would see some of the best retakes this season. Cloud9's Ryan "Skadoodle" Latham and Henrique "Hen1" Teles took center stage, using their devastating AWP prowess to destroy their opponents. Skadoodle showed early what he was capable of, as he finished off a triple-kill in the pistol round in a two versus four retake.
Cloud9 would bring things to 7-1 before Tempo Storm started to figure things out. Becoming more aggressive, Tempo Storm started rushing as a group and pushed the score to 7-8 at the half. Gustavo "SHOOWTIME" Goncalves started to find a groove, getting a triple-kill, but Cloud9 would go on to win its chosen map 16-13.
In game two on Inferno, Tempo Storm dismantled Cloud9 in the early stages with a 9-2 score. That seemed to ignite a fire in Skadoodle, as he proceeded to go off in the subsequent rounds. He first took out what was left of Tempo Storm in a two versus three and drew an ace in the very next round. Cloud9 would fight all the way back, getting to match-point at 15-14, but couldn't close. Tempo Storm, given the chance to win, took control and won the map 19-16.
To start game two, Tempo Storm went on one of the most intense runs in the tournament, shooting its way to a 12-0 lead. Although Cloud9 would switch gears for a slight comeback, Tempo Storm would win the map 16-11, and advance to the finals.
Congratulations to @Luminosity for winning the first Dreamhack on US soil! #DHATX16 #ZowieOpen pic.twitter.com/PjFNTnNGYq
- DreamHack Open (@DreamHackOpen) May 9, 2016
In the second semifinal, Luminosity would take on the last standing North American team, Team Liquid. This best-of-three started on Dust II. Luminosity, behind Lincoln "fnx" Lau, who recorded a triple-kill, pulled ahead, tallying a 4-0 lead. Liquid wouldn't take a round until the sixth and appeared to look outmatched. With a 10-5 score at halftime, Luminosity took the next four rounds and finally finished it up with a one versus two clutch play by Gabriel "Fallen" Toledo, giving Luminosity the game 16-6.
Game two was much more exciting. At halftime, Luminosity had the slightest edge over Liquid, with an 8-7 score line. Liquid would win the pistol round after the half, but the Brazilians would get aggressive and push out to a 12-8 lead. Luminosity would win the next available weapon round, which would reset the economy of Liquid. This was too much to overcome as Liquid fell 16-14, making the Dreamhack Zowie Austin Open an all Brazilian affair.
With green and yellow waving in the air, Luminosity and Tempo Storm made their way to the main stage to determine who would be the pride of Brazil and DreamHack Zowie Austin 2016 champions.
Luminosity and Tempo Storm would start the Grand Finals on Mirage, where Luminosity would light it up, starting off 3-0. From there, with help from an ace by Fernando "fer" Alvarenga, Luminosity would go up 9-6 at the half. Luminosity would then take the next five rounds, and would survive a 3-0 rally by Tempo Storm to take the first map 16-9.
With Luminosity just one map win away from taking home the title of champion, Tempo Storm came out like a team that didn't yet want go home, gaining a 5-0 advantage. Luminosity responded huge shortly after, taking the next nine out of ten rounds to push its advantage to 9-6 at the half. Tempo Storm would continue to battle, winning the pistol round on the Counter-Terrorist side, but couldn't survive the onslaught that only the number one team in the world could bring. Luminosity sealed the victory with another 16-9 win, claiming victory and a second premier tournament win in 2016.