EliGE and the Elusive Major

Over the last 8 years, Johnathan “EliGE” Jablanowski has become one of the most accomplished talents in the history of North American Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Domestic and international LAN trophies, which includes big event wins as well as the fastest Intel Grand Slam victory in its brief history at just 68 days. EliGE’s nearly eight-year partnership with Liquid is profound in professional esports, but has paid off in abundance. He has gold in every facet available in professional Counter-Strike —  except one.

I think the Major is the one thing that's not on the trophy case for us right now and it's definitely the one thing I want. Being able to win the biggest tournament that everyone is going to be watching is the most desired thing, and what we are missing. That is what we are aiming to get — this Major.

The elusive Major escaped the famed talent eleven times over, encompassing the entirety of his tenure with Liquid. And that matters because, in Counter-Strike, no tournament matches the standing and prestige of a Major. A CS Major is the only kind of tournament that the game’s developer — Valve — will help run, manage, and fund. That makes the Major not only one of the biggest prize pools in CS, but one of the toughest events.

In just a few short days, Liquid’s franchise player and one of the faces of NA CS, will have one last, twelfth, shot at a CS:GO Major. With CS2 coming out soon, the upcoming Paris Major represents the very last one in CS:GO. To understand what the Major trophy means to EliGE, you’ll need to understand how close (and far) he’s been to it before.

Between silent exits, dramatic losses, and historic collapses, EliGE is no stranger to heartbreak on Counter-Strike’s biggest stage. In his second go at the Major, at MLG Columbus 2016, he and his team fell victim to an unlikely comeback sparked by an impossible double AWP and an even more impossible play from Luminosity’s Marcelo “coldzera” David.
 

We had them outplayed tactically for a lot of it and we were playing well individually. Then when we got stopped on the B rush and they had the double AWP setup. We tried a couple of different solutions to try and destroy it but they were giving us a lot of map control and we didn't know how to get onto sites in the way they were double AWPing. That is how I would think of the match, we just weren't able to find that solution. They had a really good answer to what we were doing.

It was a cool play but it is not like it broke us mentally. It was really sick, a highlight play. It didn't make everyone stop talking, we just weren't able to find a solution. We pretty much, from what I remember, went on to the next round, but it didn't change anything. We couldn't figure out how to beat their double AWP setup.

This play would become a historic moment in CS:GO’s fabric, and serve as the spark for Luminosity’s comeback and eventual Major victory. For Liquid, it meant being a stone’s throw away from a Major final to being eliminated in dramatic fashion. It would not take long for EliGE and the rest of the Liquid lineup to bounce back in a big way. In just three months, Liquid made it back into the Major spotlight. This time, in the grand finals of ESL Cologne 2016.

We were on such a hot streak. We came in super hot, we beat a lot of good teams.

A 1-1 start had Liquid on their heels, but stellar form by EliGE and his teammates helped secure them a playoff berth. From there, Liquid would best top five teams Natus Vincere and Fnatic to land a chance at the trophy against SK. After losing to the same lineup under the Luminosity moniker at the previous Major, there was a layer of revenge baked in this Major final.

We go into the SK game and it completely fell flat. It felt like we weren't playing on the same level as we were displaying the entire tournament.

I feel like for Cologne we crumbled a lot more than Columbus. Cologne definitely feels worse.

A tough 0-2 defeat to the champions at SK served as the start of a Major dry spell for EliGE and Liquid. The team would fail to make the top eight at the Atlanta and Boston Majors on home ground, as well as fail to qualify for the Krakow Major.  Fortunately, Liquid would find their form again in 2018, just in time for the FACEIT Major. Only now, they’d have a new rival that was even stronger than the Luminosity and SK of 2016. In 2018, Astralis ascended to the top of the CS:GO scene, consistently beating not just Liquid, but everyone. However, Liquid looked like they might tell a different story at the FACEIT Major, besting Astralis in a best-of-one early on. Things were looking up ahead of their playoff series, but EliGE still didn’t feel favored.

From my recollection, we played well against everyone except for Astralis. When we got to the Major, things didn't change. We still just got beat by Astralis. I never felt like we were favorites to win that Major.

The team’s impressive run at the FACEIT Major would come to an end after the 0-2 loss to Astralis, meaning a third unfortunate exit for EliGE. However, the loss in 2018 wouldn’t feel nearly as bad as what was to come in 2019, at the Starladder Berlin Major, where EliGE and Liquid had finally beaten Astralis several times, had won the massively difficult Intel Grand Slam in record time, and had ascended to be the favorites.

The best chance I've had to win the Major was the Berlin Major where we just had the Grand Slam win. Objectively looking at it, that is the most clear time where we could have won the Major. The others, we were either not there as a team or we were a little bit inexperienced or the underdogs. That one, I would say, was the best chance. It was directly after we went on our Grand Slam run, we went into the player break and I think by all accounts we were the favorites to win the Major for sure. Us not winning that one, I think, stung the most.

EliGE’s analysis only makes sense. 2019’s Berlin Major felt like a unique moment for Liquid, soon to be lost in time. Across the next two years and three majors — PGL Stockholm, PGL Antwerp, and IEM Rio — Liquid and company failed to make the top 8. At IEM Rio, the heartbreak was especially severe. In front of a Brazilian crowd cheering them on, Liquid lost out in two game 3’s. EliGE, still reeling from the blow, went out to sign autographs and greet the crowd.
 

Ahead of CS:GO’s 19th and final Major, EliGE has one last chance to change his narrative — and he has an arsenal of talented teammates supporting him inside the server. With three event MVPs and HLTV top-20 player recipients on the roster, the current Liquid lineup is well-equipped in skill to get the job done in Paris. This Liquid roster has beaten almost every top contender in CS. However, this Liquid roster has also lost to nearly every contender and struggled in recent weeks.

2023 Liquid might be the poster child for this new era of CS, where upsets abound. To win it all, Liquid will need to find consistency and form. In order to do that, they’ve taken time away from tournaments and are entering the final Major fresh, fully prepared, and harder to read.

The prep isn't different for this Major but we are going in with a lot of changes to our strats and making sure everything is very clean and concise, making sure we are not easily read. We've had enough of a gap between the RMR and the Major compared to other teams that went to Rio or Melbourne. Anyone who went to the last two tournaments is going to be on a little bit different of a playing field because we are going to have more prep on them, more knowledge. We've had a lot of time in-between the RMR and the Major, so it'll be harder for teams to know what we are doing.

The Paris Major — the last CS:GO Major — matters to every team, every player, but this one is especially important for EliGE. For him, it is an opportunity to hit a home run on an otherwise historic career inside CS:GO with the time ticking ahead of the transition to Counter-Strike 2.

This is the last opportunity. [...] When I am looking back at my career and this chapter that is going to be closing with CS2, I want to have that accomplishment.

Few players have experienced as much hardship as EliGE has. A victory at the final CS:GO Major would be payoff for everything he has experienced over the last eight years. All of the chokes, the dramatic losses, the blowouts, the unlucky draws, and everything in between would all pale in comparison to playing his best and winning the last CS:GO Major for it.

If I am doing my best and I can only get so far, at least I tried. For my career, I always want to know I did my best, I tried my best, and I got the accomplishments that I wanted and worked so hard for. If I can end CS:GO with winning I will be happy with that.

EliGE and his team will have one final shot to return the region to glory in CS:GO’s 19th and final Major, the Paris Major. The last CS:GO major begins May 8th — be sure to tune in on Twitch and YouTube.