A good underdog victory is easily one of the best things in esports – that feeling when a team or player manages to make an amazing comeback is one of the best! For the players, it’s beating the odds, and for the fans watching it’s unexpected, sometimes even crazy, excitement.
Not all comebacks were created equal, though – so we at EarlyGame have gathered a small list of some of the most amazing comebacks in esports history.
League of Legends – Moscow 5 vs CLG.EU
In now-distant 2012, during a Dreamhack Summer event, one of the most legendary comebacks in esports history happened. By the mid-game, LoL team Moscow 5 had accumulated a gold lead of over 26k, and it seemed all but a done deal. The comeback was made possible by some poor decisions from Moscow 5 – they struggled with their sieging attempts while CLG.EU did their best to clear creep waves and protect their base.
CLG ultimately managed to close a trap that used Moscow 5’s aggressive play against them – by trapping them and then hitting them with several ults at once. Almost an hour in, CLG.EU managed to pull off one of the best-known amazing comebacks in esports, ever.
CS:GO – Cloud9 vs FaZe
Cloud9’s victory at the Boston E-League Major 2018 is one for the history books. The team lost their first two games but then did alright – they made their way to the Grand Finals with a solid performance. It was an underdog victory, though – FaZe were set to win, and "solid" wouldn’t be enough to beat them. Indeed not – FaZe took the first map with relative ease, though Cloud9 managed to win the second one.
The third and deciding map didn’t look too good for Cloud9 – FaZe pushed the underdogs to 15-11 before Cloud9 really hit their stride. But then, FaZe were pushed back and through double overtime, before it all came down to one moment – with one defending T FaZe player, the last two Cloud9 players managed to snag the kill… and win the championship!
For the entire duration of the last match, the live audience was chanting for their favorites, eager to see them go head to head – and just about everyone was happy with the well-deserved victory, and the championship title for Cloud9.
- READ MORE: The Story of Cloud9 – Part 1
CS:GO – Luminosity vs Team Liquid
The 2016 MLG Columbus Major semi-final wasn’t looking great for Luminosity – Team Liquid had them dead to rights, with a 15-9 score against Luminosity. In pro matches, reaching that match point is all but a death sentence – except when it isn’t. Luminosity managed a real underdog victory here – they took back the map. It was all kicked off by Marcelo "coldzera" David, then playing for Luminosity. He managed to AWP pretty much the entire enemy team.
The rest of his team followed suit – they won the map with 19-15. The second map didn’t go any better for Liquid – in fact, it went the same. Repeating their amazing comeback, they snatched victory from Liquid – by winning the second map 19-16, once again after Liquid got to match point in normal playtime.
- READ MORE: The life and times of coldzera – Part 1
Dota 2 – Evil Geniuses vs Ehome
One of the most amazing Dota 2 games ever played – and one of the most amazing comebacks ever at the same time – was the 2016 upper-bracket semifinals match against Ehome. Initially, EG went in as the favorites to win, given that they were the reigning champions, but their performance was lacking.
They fell far behind Ehome early on in Game 1 and things just would not go their way – Ehome made it all the way into EG’s base and to their barracks. On the TI mainstage, nobody had ever managed to come back from mega creeps – at least not until this EG game. Their only path to victory was picking off enemy heroes one by one – and so they did.
Ehome had overinvested in the wrong things, and a few careless aggressive plays sent them spiraling – and the Geniuses were there to strike back. They took the win from Ehome after wiping out nearly the entire team... and then, in the biggest upset at any International, they turned a sure loss into an amazing comeback.
There is just something about a reverse sweep that warms the heart, regardless of the game. What is your favorite comeback?
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