The ELeague Major: Boston culminates in a historic final today between FaZe Clan and Cloud9. For just the second time in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s tournament history, a North American team, Cloud9, will compete in the final of a major tournament, and for the first time it will happen on American soil.
The ELeague Major: Boston Finals will be a best of three and starts at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 28. The match will be broadcast live from the Agganis Arena in Boston and can be viewed here or on the ELeague Twitch channel.
Why you should watch
Whether you’re rooting for the hometown heroes or not, this Finals will be a momentous occasion in professional Counter-Strike. For years, North America has been seen as nothing more than an also-ran region. But its teams have slowly climbed their way into respectability and the top of the CS:GO rankings. Now one of the region’s best, Cloud9, will have the chance to claim a major title with the home fans behind them.
Cloud9 enters this final with a roster in the midst of a renaissance. Every member of the team is playing the best Counter-Strike of their careers, and it showed through in spades when the team faced SK Gaming in the semifinals. Unanimously considered the best team in the world right now, SK Gaming was utterly demolished by Cloud9, proving that after months of struggle it has finally earned a spot as one of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams in the world.
The next step for Cloud9 will be no easy feat when faced with a team like FaZe Clan in the finals. FaZe has looked nearly unstoppable so far at the ELeague Major and is no stranger to beating Cloud9. In fact, this FaZe Clan lineup has eliminated Cloud9 from three different tournaments in the last six months alone. But with a major championship on the line and Cloud9 playing as well as ever, the series is likely to be the closest and most important the two teams have ever played.
