WinOut

The final play day of the World e-Sports Masters, reserved for the CS 1.6 Grand Finals, is now a thing of the past, as fnatic, favorites heading into the tournament, have confirmed themselves as the champions of this 2009 edition. Held in Hangzhou, China, over a period of one week, the event brought toghether eight teams from across the world, competing for $50,000 in prizes.

In the end, it was an all-Scandinavian final, Finland vs Sweden, a shot at revenge for the group stage, where the underdogs, Power Gaming, managed an upset on de_train against fnatic. As in the first meeting between both, the Swedes came in as the favorites, particularly after their dominating performance against a strong AGAiN lineup in the semi-finals.

In the first of the best-of-three matches, played on de_inferno, fnatic quickly took off with a strong lead, taking both pistol rounds and winning their offensive half by the score of 11-4, on a map known for it's defensive bias. The Swedes' advantage was never threatened by Power Gaming and fnatic closed the deal switfly on inferno, 16-8.

Now ahead and one map from the championship, fnatic came into the second map, dust2, with all the momentum possible. The first half brought us more of the same, Swedish domination, as they picked up their third pistol round in a row thus putting the pressure on PG. The Finns could not defend properly and fnatic took a commanding 12-3 lead by the half. It was only a matter of time, and although Power Gaming did put up a decent effort in the second half, picking up seven rounds before fnatic finally got the four rounds needed to secure a victory. It was well fought, but the Swedes were just too much and with a final score of 16-10, giving them a 2-0 win, they showed once again why they are considered the world's number one CS team. Nonetheless, Power Gaming should be proud of the second place in a very stacked tournament, outplacing top tier teams like AGAiN, wNv, WeMade FOX and MYM.

2009 World e-Sports Masters final results:

1. fnatic - $22,500
2. Power Gaming - $7,500
3-4. AGAiN - $5,000
3-4. TyLoo - $5,000
5-8. TitaNs - $1,500
5-8. wNv.cn - $1,500
5-8. MYM - $1,500
5-8. WeMade FOX - $1,500

With yet another title under their belt in the last major tournament of 2009, fnatic have brought a fitting end to one of their most successful years to date. With six titles and two second places in major international tournaments, they have solidified their image as the world's top team, not to mention picking up over $170,000 in prize money over the course of their 2009 season.

Fnatic's 2009 Results:

4th – $4,000 ESL Extreme Masters III Continental Finals Europe
1st - $50,000 ESL Extreme Masters III Global Finals
1st - $20,000 2009 ESWC Asia Masters of Cheonan
1st - $25,000 Kode5 Global Finals
1st - $12,000 eStars Seoul
2nd - $7,500 Global Challenge Chengdu
1st - $10,000 Global Challenge Dubai
2nd - $18,000 World Cyber Games 2009
1st - $22,500 World e-Sports Masters 2009