For a good few years, esport is no longer an area closed to new concepts. Pro-players get involved in various types of projects, often positively surprising their fans with something new. This also applies to Polish personalities. Not so long ago Jaros³aw “paszaBiceps” Jarząbkowski entered the octagon. Last summer, GGLeague organized a football tournament called “Esport Game”, in which various people associated with the field participated. The most famous event of this type with the participation of Poles, however, was the match between Virtus.pro and SK Gaming, organized in 2017 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.
A treat for fans
The Round 31 initiative was born out of joint harassment between the members of both teams. The suggestion of transferring the rivalry to a plane other than CS: GO intrigued the fans of the teams. What should I say – football is the most popular sport in the world. Both Virtusi and SK were at their peak then. Behind the Polish “Bears” there was a crowd of fans from all over the world, loving the nature of the team. The Brazilians were supported primarily by their compatriots, although the successes of 2016 attracted new fans to them.
In the end, the words made the body. On July 10, 2017, Virtus.pro and SK Gaming ran onto the pitch of the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. Both lines in a slightly different edition, because in the 7 by 7 format. The teams were completed by people related to the organizations.
The prize for the victory was 50 thousand dollars. The game was played on a reduced pitch, of course, and the game lasted 40 minutes.
Behind the scenes of the meeting
The cyber.sports.ru portal revealed some interesting behind-the-scenes features of the event. The Poles – although they had failed at ESL Cologne, taking the last place just before the game – were in a good mood. They joked about the then CEO of Virtus.pro Gleb Czerniawski, who came with them to Germany, amusingly calling him “Bread”.
“Pasha” himself developed quite an interesting analysis, subtly suggesting a simple meeting:
In 2014 we beat Germany 2-0 and the Brazilians lost 1-7 to them!
Even the Russian commentators grew in a light, loose mood. The gentlemen Witalij Woloczaj and Wiktor Gusiew decided to come up with nicknames in the style of players only for this one meeting. This way the duo “V1lat” and “Lebed” were created. The gentlemen – although football experts – were completely unfamiliar with CS: GO, which resulted in a few rather unusual dialogues.
-I have written that “fer” is a rifler. What does that mean? -That means he’s playing with a sniper rifle. “
Course and result of the fight
Long after the first whistle, not much happened. The malaise was broken by Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski. Although the Pole is recognizable for his carcass, he moved like a wild cat on the pitch. His shot left no illusions to the goalkeeper SK.
Goal revived the game, because less than two minutes later Marcelo “coldzera” David entered the list of goalscorers and “snax” again. So three hits were scored by the break and Virtusi were leading 2: 1. Everything, however, was still held in a friendly and familiar atmosphere. The interviews at the halfway point only confirmed this – the players showed that they were having a great time.
The start of the second half belonged to “feed”. Jarząbkowski recorded two pretty hits, although in the meantime “cold” hit the net again. The Virtusi still held the lead and there was less and less time until the final whistle. Suddenly, however, SK started to recover from the Benjamin “Kane” Reichert doublet. In the last seconds, Alex “theslash” Muller wrapped the “golden goal”. So in the end it was the German organization that triumphed.
SK Gaming decided to honorably donate the winnings of 50,000 to charity – half for Brazilian and the other half for German.
Irreversible nostalgia
In retrospect, one looks at this event with a tear in the eye. This unusual opportunity presented esports from a completely different, refreshed side. Almost five years have passed since the match, and you can still remember it with fondness.
Especially that the good, golden times of the Polish Virtus.pro are a thing of the past. The Brazilians also cannot be proud of their own representatives on the CS: GO scene. In 2017, the situation was completely different. At that time, VP from SK was in the lead, and a few weeks after the football game, both teams were to go to the Major in Krakow.
There could be many more initiatives like “Round 31”. It is a nice variety and an affordable promotion for the field itself. A chance to eradicate certain stereotypes regarding esports. After all, more and more athletes are more eagerly involved in electronic sports, and the combination of disciplines is not as surreal as it might seem a few years ago. There were also several talks about VP’s rematch with SK, but this never happened. Gleb Czerniawski recalls:
“In my opinion, there were no more attempts to organize something else, because everything in the band fell apart, it got bad. Although there was a bit of confusion on Twitter: SK players wrote and” pasha “teased.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
