Gen.G stopped FURIA’s winning run when it mattered most to become the ESL One: Road to Rio North American champions. The Asian and Oceanian winners were also confirmed during the weekend.
You don’t need to win them all, but win them when they matter
That right there should be Gen.G’s moto and FURIA’s frustrating takeaway from the NA leg of ESL One: Road to Rio. The Brazilians were beating everyone left and right up to the final and entered the big match vs. Gen.G as firm favorites.
FURIA themselves knew they might be running into trouble, however, as they had already tasted defeat in a grand final courtesy of Damian “daps” Steel’s men. Gen.G’s first CS:GO title came at DreamHack Open Anaheim back in February against the same opponent, so the US-Canadian mix hardly felt intimidated by the opposition’s record at ESL One: Road to Rio.
We are your Road to Rio - NA CHAMPIONS!We come out on top of our #RoadToRio journey as we take down @Furiagg 2-1 in the Grand Finals! Damn it feels good! #GenGWIN#WeAreGenG #TigerNation pic.twitter.com/9Y77Hhh6mb
— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) May 11, 2020
That became perfectly clear on Train where Gen.G mopped the floor with FURIA 16-6. Brazil’s pride was somewhat recovered with a 16-12 Vertigo but Inferno proved to be FURIA’s dying ground. Neither their defense nor their offense clicked and Gen.G didn’t need a second invitation – 16-9 and a first-place finish.
Tyloo shocked in ESL One: Road to Rio Asia
If FURIA losing to Gen.G is leaning on the surprise spectrum, Asia presented an outright shock. Tyloo, always the regional favorite, were upset in the final by Erdenetsogt "erkaSt" Gantulga’s TIGER. The former Grayhound player saw his squad pull off the victory in a deciding map overtime and make a huge step towards ESL One Rio.
Oceania did not contain underdog stories and it was once again the Renegades that triumphed in the region. ORDER nearly got it, but the CS:GO gods decided one upset is far too many for on weekend. A map up and leading 12-3 at halftime on Inferno apparently isn’t good enough, at least not for ORDER that is, and RNG completed a massive comeback to win 22-20 in double OT, followed by a 16-12 closer on Dust2.
All three regional champions get 1,600 Regional Major Ranking points and a bit of money - $18,000 for Gen.G, $4,000 for TIGER and $6,000 for Renegades. BOOM Esports are the fourth pronounced ESL One: Road to Rio regional champ – they won the South American leg a couple of weeks ago.
