All of the European CS:GO elite are currently heavily occupied with Flashpoint 3. Most of the familiar roster names are attending this A-tier Valve sponsored online tournament, which is going to bring many answers to some burning questions presently burdening the community.

What Happened So Far At Flashpoint 3

First of all, let’s mention that we are currently in the middle of Flashpoint 3, with little more than a week left to play. The final is scheduled for May 30^th, when the best of the best are going to face off in bo3. The prize pool for the tournament is 50,000 dollars, but there is a lot more at stake for the 16 teams competing. Well, for some more than for others.

Remember, about a month ago the community was shaken by the unexpected move of one of the greats. Dev1ce left Astralis after being the main force of the winning team for years, and settled in Sweden, becoming the newest member of Ninjas in Pyjamas. In his interviews after ‘that’ transfer he clearly stated that the team is aiming to be ‘competition-ready’ come Flashpoint 3. Well, Flashpoint 3 came, so let’s check on Dev1ce’s two teams: past and present, Astralis and NiP.

Everybody’s Waiting For The Face Off

Astralis, who has inevitably been on the downward spiral since the end of last year, begun Flashpoint 3 in the upper bracket (as did NiP). Both teams played two rounds so far, and both came out winners. Astralis cleared both rounds with 2:0, while NiP had some problems and did lose one game in the first round against Anonymo Esports (and with an addition of a somewhat controversial rematch, courtesy of technical issues).

Those first two round victories also mean we are very close to the two teams potentially going head to head. If Astralis beats mousesports and NiP beats G2 Esports (both of these upper semifinals happen this Sunday, May 23^rd, so mark that date) that means they will clash in the upper final next Thursday (May 27^th). But, there is still a lot more to come until then, and those are some big opponents both teams are facing in the semis.

In other big Flashpoint 3 news, but heavily related to what we just talked about, G2 just sent Heroic to the lower bracket. Heroic entered the tournament as favourites, with their game being on the rise in the last few months. On the other hand, G2 did have trouble finding their mojo with major transfers in the recent past. But, it seems their lesser form is definitely a thing of the past, with these games confirming their recent DreamHack Masters Spring performance wasn’t just a fluke. Moreover, they are currently having a phenomenal streak of 12 wins in the last 15 games.

Nobody Knows What To Expect, Not Even NiKo

With G2 looking so good, and NiKo Kovač finally finding his place in the roster, NiP is going to have a very hard time advancing. But, that doesn’t mean they don’t have any chance, on the contrary – Kovač himself recently said he has no idea what awaits him with NiP when they clash: “I don’t know what to expect from NiP, I’m not sure how to rate them”, he said. So it seems that the newness factor could be their advantage just as much as it could be their demise.

On the other hand, Heroic, who are the highest seeder of the tournament, will have a tough time climbing up from the lower bracket: they have to win five matches in a row if they ever want to see the light of the upper bracket again, in other words, they will have to win five matches in a row if they want to reach the final.

This is the current state of the biggest teams on Flashpoint 3. Have we failed to mention your favourites? If you’ve been paying attention and think you know better than us, you are always free to play our Pick 6 and prove your knowledge.