Many thought it improbable, but the Renegades defied the odds in Berlin last month at the prestigious StarLadder Major to finish not only as reigning Legends contenders but as a top four Major Champions squad.
It took every ounce of resolve following two heartbreakingly narrow losses in their opening matches against EG and AVANGAR to recover in the Legends stage, having to win three straight best-of-three’s to make it to the Mercedes-Benz Arena stage.
But they never gave up, downing DreamEaters, FaZe & G2 to secure their second straight top 8 finish at a Major. They weren’t done there - RNG took to the crowd in force, downing ENCE in stunning fashion on Mirage before recovering on Nuke to qualify for the semi-final.
The boys would fall to eventual runner-up AVANGAR in the Legends stage rematch but they put the rest of the Counter-Strike scene on notice, returning to the top eight in the HLTV September rankings following Berlin.
It’s been a quiet month since with the team practicing ahead of their return to active duty this week in Season 10 of the ESL Pro League. Without event attendance the boys have slipped to 10th in the rankings but time missed at events has been spent well in preparation for a busy end to the calendar year.
Following the withdrawal of Ghost Gaming & Luminosity Gaming, NA-South African mix team ATK & Singularity join the boys, along with world no.2 Team Liquid in the opening group stage. Topping the group here would guarantee the Renegades a spot at the EPL LAN finals, to be held in Odense in early December.
The full match schedule for stage one can be found below:
Renegades vs. SINGULARITY [Bo3] - Mon Oct 14 @ 9:25pm PDT / Tue Oct 15 @ 3:25pm AEDT
Renegades vs. ATK [Bo3] - Tue Oct 15 @ 5:25pm PDT / Wed Oct 16 @ 11:25am AEDT
Renegades vs. TEAM LIQUID [Bo3] - Wed Oct 16 @ 5:25pm PDT / Thu Oct 17 @ 11:25am AEDT
As always, stay up to date on news, events, results and more on Twitter @Renegades!
Written by Nicholas “Taffy” Taifalos
@TaffyAU on Twitter