# ESL One Cologne 2016

ESL One Cologne 2016, also known as ESL Cologne Major 2016 or Cologne 2016, was an Electronic Sports League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. It was the ninth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship and was held at the Lanxess Arena In Cologne, Germany from July 8–10. It featured 16 teams from throughout the world competing. Cologne 2016 had the second consecutive major with a prize pool of $1,000,000.
The playoffs featured eight teams. Astralis, Fnatic, Gambit Gaming, Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, Team Liquid, and Virtus.pro were returning Legends and FlipSid3 Tactics was the only new Legend. Ninjas in Pyjamas failed to retain its Legends status after eight straight majors of being Legends. The grand finals had SK Gaming, which was the defending champion from the previous major at MLG Major Championship: Columbus, against Team Liquid, which was the first ever North America team to reach the grand finals at a major. SK Gaming defeated FlipSid3 Tactics and Virtus.pro and Team Liquid upset Natus Vincere and Fnatic to reach the finals. In the end, SK Gaming defended its title 2–0 over the underdog Team Liquid and continued to be the only non-European team to win a title until the PGL 2017 Kraków Major Championship, in which Gambit Esports from Kazakhstan won the title. SK Gaming also joined Fnatic to be the only teams to have multiple major titles.

## Format

The top eight teams from the MLG Columbus Major ("Legends") were automatically invited to ESL One Cologne 2016. The remaining eight spots were filled by teams that advanced from the ESL One Cologne 2016 Main Qualifier. These 16 teams were then split into four groups, seeded based on results from Columbus 2016 and the Cologne 2016 Main Qualifier. The groups were decided by a random number generator. First the bottom four teams of the qualifier – G2 Esports, Team EnVyUs, Team Dignitas, and FlipSid3 Tactics – were randomly assigned to groups as the fourth seeds. The top four teams of the qualifier – Gambit Gaming, OpTic Gaming, mousesports, and FaZe Clan – were then randomly selected to be the third seeds. The teams that placed fifth through eighth at Columbus 2016 – Fnatic, Virtus.pro, Counter Logic Gaming, and Ninjas in Pyjamas – were randomly assigned the second seeds in the group. Finally, the top four teams from Columbus 2016 – SK Gaming (formerly Luminosity Gaming), Natus Vincere, Astralis, and Team Liquid – were randomly given the top seeds in the four respective groups.
The way that ESL seeded the groups drew some criticism. While Groups A and B combined had three of HLTV's top-10 teams, Group D alone had SK Gaming (#1), G2 Esports (#2), Fnatic (#4), and FaZe (#16). CS:GO analysts called for a more effective seeding method.
All group matches were best-of-ones with the exception of the final decider match, deciding the last playoff spot. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play a best-of-three elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.
The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.

### Map Pool

There were seven maps to choose from. Between Columbus 2016 and Cologne 2016, Inferno was taken out of the active map pool and Nuke was reintroduced after the CSGO development team revamped the map. Before each best-of-one match in the group stage, teams alternated banning maps until five maps had been banned. One of the two remaining maps was randomly selected, and the team that that did not get a third ban then selected which side it wanted to start on. In all best-of-three series, each team first banned a map, leaving a five-map pool. Each team then chose a map, with the opposing team selecting which side they wanted to start on for their opponent's map choice. The two map picks were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps.
* Maps
* Cache
* Cobblestone
* Dust II
* Mirage
* Nuke
* Overpass
* Train

## Main Qualifier
### Regional Qualifiers

The final four bracket from each qualifier are shown below; two from each move on to the main qualifying event. All games are offline.

#### Asia Minor

The winner and runner-up of Intel Extreme Masters Season X Taipei were invited to the qualifier. In addition, two teams from the Korean qualifier, two teams from the Chinese qualifier, one team from the Southeast Asia qualifier, and one team from the Oceania qualifier will be in the minor.
* Teams
* The MongolZ (IEM Taipei #1)
* Renegades (IEM Taipei #2)
* MVP Project (Korea #1)
* m0nster.kr (Korea #2)
* VG.CyberZen (China #1)
* TyLoo (China #2)
* Risky Gaming (SEA #1)
* Team Immunity (Oceania #1)
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | Team Immunity | 0 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Renegades | 2 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Renegades | 2 | B2 | Renegades | 2 | | | |
| | | | B1 | TyLoo | 0 | | | |
| B1 | TyLoo | 2 | B1 | TyLoo | 0 | | | |
| A2 | VG.CyberZen | 1 | | | | | | |
| A2 | VG.CyberZen | 1 | | | | B2 | Renegades | 1 |
| | | | | | | B1 | TyLoo | 2 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | B1 | TyLoo | 2 |
| | | | B1 | TyLoo | 2 | | | |
| A1 | Team Immunity | 0 | A2 | VG.CyberZen | 0 | | | |
| A2 | VG.CyberZen | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Europe Minor

The Europe Minor was held by DreamHack in Tours, France. Two qualifiers were held and four teams from each qualifier moved on to the minor.
* Teams
* HellRaisers (Qualifier #1)
* Lounge Gaming (Qualifier #1)
* SK Gaming (Qualifier #1)
* Team Dignitas (Qualifier #1)
* ENCE eSports (Qualifier #2)
* Epsilon eSports (Qualifier #2)
* GODSENT (Qualifier #2)
* Team Orbit (Qualifier #2)
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | Team Dignitas | 2 | | | | | | |
| B2 | ENCE eSports | 0 | | | | | | |
| B2 | ENCE eSports | 0 | A1 | Team Dignitas | 2 | | | |
| | | | A2 | Team Orbit | 1 | | | |
| B1 | HellRaisers | 0 | A2 | Team Orbit | 1 | | | |
| A2 | Team Orbit | 2 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Team Orbit | 2 | | | | A1 | Team Dignitas | 2 |
| | | | | | | B1 | HellRaisers | 1 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | B1 | HellRaisers | 1 |
| | | | A2 | Team Orbit | 1 | | | |
| B2 | ENCE eSports | 0 | B1 | HellRaisers | 2 | | | |
| B1 | HellRaisers | 2 | | | | | | |

#### CIS Minor

In the CIS Minor, four teams were invited and four more teams from the closed qualifier arrived to the minor in Moscow.
* Teams
* ANOX (Invited)
* Arcade eSports (Invited)
* Team Empire (Invited)
* Worst Players (Invited)
* Binary Dragons Gold (Closed Qualifier)
* Digital Wave (Closed Qualifier)
* FLuffy Gangsters (Closed Qualifier)
* Vesuvius (Closed Qualifier)
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | FLuffy Gangster | 2 | | | | | | |
| B2 | ANOX | 1 | | | | | | |
| B2 | ANOX | 1 | A1 | FLuffy Gangster | 1 | | | |
| | | | A2 | Team Empire | 2 | | | |
| B1 | Worst Players | 1 | A2 | Team Empire | 2 | | | |
| A2 | Team Empire | 2 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Team Empire | 2 | | | | A2 | Team Empire | 0 |
| | | | | | | A1 | FLuffy Gangster | 2 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | A1 | FLuffy Gangster | 2 |
| | | | A1 | FLuffy Gangster | 2 | | | |
| B2 | ANOX | 1 | B1 | Worst Players | 0 | | | |
| B1 | Worst Players | 2 | | | | | | |

#### Americas Minor

The Americas Minor had four teams invited, three teams from the North American qualifier, and one team from the South American qualifier.
* Teams
* NRG Esports (Invited)
* OpTic Gaming (Invited)
* Selfless Gaming (Invited)
* Tempo Storm (Invited)
* Team SoloMid (NA #1–2)
* Winterfox (NA #1–2)
* Team Kaliber (NA #3)
* WinOut.net (SA #1)
| Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper round 1 | Upper final | Upper final | Upper final | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | Tempo Storm | 2 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Selfless Gaming | 0 | | | | | | |
| B2 | Selfless Gaming | 0 | A1 | Tempo Storm | 0 | | | |
| | | | B1 | OpTic Gaming | 2 | | | |
| B1 | OpTic Gaming | 2 | B1 | OpTic Gaming | 2 | | | |
| A2 | Team SoloMid | 1 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Team SoloMid | 1 | | | | B1 | OpTic Gaming | 2 |
| | | | | | | A1 | Tempo Storm | 1 |
| Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower round 1 | Lower final | Lower final | Lower final | A1 | Tempo Storm | 1 |
| | | | A1 | Tempo Storm | 2 | | | |
| B2 | Selfless Gaming | 0 | A2 | Team SoloMid | 0 | | | |
| A2 | Team SoloMid | 2 | | | | | | |

### Main Qualifier

Like the previous majors, there will be a major qualifier and regional qualifiers. The bottom eight teams from MLG Columbus 2016 received automatic bids to the main qualifier. Two teams each from the Asia, North America, Europe, and CIS Minors will be able to compete in the major qualifier.
Unlike previous qualifiers, this main qualifier will be a sixteen team swiss tournament, where after the Day 1 games, teams will play other teams with the same win–loss record. Every round will consist of one game. In addition, teams will not play the same team twice. Any team with three wins would qualify for the major, and any team with three losses would be eliminated.
First round seeding was determined by the following:
* Teams that placed 9th at the previous major (mousesports, FaZe Clan, Gambit Gaming, G2 Esports) were first seeds
* Teams that placed 13th place at the previous major (FlipSid3 Tactics, Splyce, Team EnVyUs, Cloud9) were second seeds
* Teams that placed first in their regional qualifiers (OpTic Gaming, TyLoo, FLuffy Gangsters, Team Dignitas) were third seeds
* Teams that were runners-up in their regional qualifiers (Immortals, Renegades, Team Empire, HellRaisers) were fourth seeds
In the second round, the winners in the first round will face each other in the "high" matches; the losers will face each other in the "low" matches.
In the third round, the winners of the high matches from round two will face each other. The winners of these two matches will qualify for the major. The losers of the high round and the winners of the low round will face each other in the "mid" matches. The losers from the previous low matches will face each other in round three's low matches. The losers of these low matches are eliminated. Twelve teams remain in the Qualifier.
In the fourth round, the losers of the high matches and the winners of the low matches will face each other in round four's high matches. The winners of the high matches qualify for the major. The losers of the mid matches and the winners of the low matches will face each other in the low matches of round four. The losers of these matches are eliminated from the Qualifier. Six teams remain.
In the last round, the remaining teams will face off. The winners of these matches will qualify for the major and the losing teams will be eliminated.
| Columbus 2016 Bottom 8 mousesports FaZe Clan Gambit Gaming G2 Esports FlipSid3 Tactics Splyce Team EnVyUs Cloud9 | Regional Qualifiers OpTic Gaming (Americas Minor #1) Immortals (Americas Minor #2) TyLoo (Asia Minor #1) Renegades (Asia Minor #2) FLuffy Gangsters (CIS Minor #1) Team Empire (CIS Minor #2) Team Dignitas (Europe Minor #1) HellRaisers (Europe Minor #2) |

### Qualifier results

| Place | Team | Record | Differential | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 |
| 1–2 | FaZe Clan | 3–0 | +24 | Team Dignitas 16–8 Mirage | High match FlipSid3 Tactics 16–5 Cobblestone | High match Gambit Gaming 16–11 Train | Qualified | Qualified |
| 1–2 | mousesports | 3–0 | +22 | FLuffy Gangsters 19–17 Dust II | High match Cloud9 16–12 Mirage | High match G2 Esports 16–1 Dust II | Qualified | Qualified |
| 3–5 | Team EnVyUs | 3–1 | +20 | Immortals 16–6 Dust II | High match Gambit Gaming 10–16 Cobblestone | Mid match Splyce 16–4 Cobblestone | High match Cloud9 16–12 Cobblestone | Qualified |
| 3–5 | OpTic Gaming | 3–1 | +16 | Gambit Gaming 14–16 Cobblestone | Low match FLuffy Gangsters 16–9 Train | Mid match FlipSid3 Tactics 16–7 Train | High match HellRaisers 16–14 Cache | Qualified |
| 3–5 | Gambit Gaming | 3–1 | +9 | OpTic Gaming 16–14 Cobblestone | High match Team EnVyUs 16–10 Cobblestone | High match FaZe Clan 11–16 Train | High match G2 Esports 16–10 Train | Qualified |
| 6–8 | Team Dignitas | 3–2 | +6 | FaZe Clan 8–16 Mirage | Low match Team Empire 16–13 Nuke | Mid match HellRaisers 10–16 Nuke | Low match Renegades 16–12 Dust II | TyLoo 16–3 Cobblestone |
| 6–8 | G2 Esports | 3–2 | +2 | TyLoo 16–9 Cache | High match HellRaisers 16–8 Dust II | High match mousesports 1–16 Nuke | High match Gambit Gaming 10–16 Cache | Cloud9 16–8 Overpass |
| 6–8 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 3–2 | −2 | Renegades 16–9 Mirage | High match FaZe Clan 5–16 Cobblestone | Mid match OpTic Gaming 7–16 Train | Low match Immortals 16–12 Train | HellRaisers 16–9 Overpass |
| 9–11 | HellRaisers | 2–3 | −9 | Splyce 17–19 Cobblestone | Low match G2 Esports 11–16 Dust II | Low match Team Dignitas 16–9 Nuke | Low match OpTic Gaming 16–8 Cache | FlipSid3 Tactics 13–16 Overpass |
| 9–11 | Cloud9 | 2–3 | −6 | Team Empire 16–12 Cobblestone | High match mousesports 12–16 Mirage | Mid match TyLoo 16–13 Cache | High match Team EnVyUs 12–16 Cobblestone | G2 Esports 8–16 Cache |
| 9–11 | TyLoo | 2–3 | −16 | G2 Esports 9–16 Cache | Low match Immortals 16–11 Cache | Mid match Cloud9 13–16 Cache | Low match Splyce 16–14 Mirage | Team Dignitas 3–16 Cobblestone |
| 12–14 | Renegades | 1–3 | −8 | FlipSid3 Tactics 9–16 Mirage | Low match Splyce 14–16 Cobblestone | Low match FLuffy Gangsters 11–16 Mirage | Low match Team Dignitas 12–16 Dust II | Eliminated |
| 12–14 | Immortals | 1–3 | −10 | Team EnVyUs 6–16 Dust II | Low match TyLoo 11–16 Cache | Low match Team Empire 16–7 Cobblestone | Low match FlipSid3 Tactics 12–16 Train | Eliminated |
| 12–14 | Splyce | 1–3 | −19 | HellRaisers 9–16 Cobblestone | Low match Renegades 16–14 Cobblestone | Mid match Team EnVyUs 4–16 Cobblestone | Low match TyLoo 14–16 Mirage | Eliminated |
| 15–16 | FLuffy Gangsters | 0–3 | −15 | mousesports 16–19 Dust II | Low match OpTic Gaming 9–16 Train | Low match Renegades 11–16 Mirage | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| 15–16 | Team Empire | 0–3 | −16 | Cloud9 12–16 Cobblestone | Low match Team Dignitas 13–16 Nuke | Low match Immortals 7–16 Cobblestone | Eliminated | Eliminated |

## Broadcast talent

Stage Hosts
* Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner
* Alex "Machine" Richardson
* Mitch "Uber" Leslie
Analysts
* Duncan "Thorin" Shields
* Jason "moses" O'Toole
* Janko "YNk" Paunović
Commentators
* Anders Blume
* Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat
* Henry "HenryG" Greer
* Matthew "Sadokist" Trivett
* Daniel "ddk" Kapadia
* James Bardolph
* Lauren "Pansy" Scott
* John "BLU" Mullen

### Broadcasts

All streams were broadcast on Twitch in various languages.
* ESL CSGO
* 99Damage
* CSGOITALIA
* ESL Brazil
* ESL France
* ESL Poland
* ESL Spain
* Magyar Esport TV
* RuHub
* striimIT
* Strimok

## Teams

| Legends SK Gaming Natus Vincere Astralis Team Liquid Ninjas in Pyjamas Virtus.pro Fnatic Counter Logic Gaming | Challengers mousesports FaZe Clan OpTic Gaming FlipSid3 Tactics Gambit Gaming G2 Esports Team Dignitas Team EnVyUs |
* ↑ A few months before the Major, SK Gaming and Luminosity Gaming were in a contract dispute in which the Luminosity owner accused SK Gaming of attempting to poach the roster. SK Gaming claimed the Luminosity players, coach, and manager all signed a contract with SK Gaming before they joined Luminosity Gaming. After weeks of conflict, both sides agreed to the contract. Thus, the roster of Luminosity was acquired by SK Gaming prior to the Major.

### Pre-Major ranking

The HLTV.org July 4, 2016, ranking, the final one released before ESL One Cologne 2016, is displayed below.
World Ranking :
| Place | Team | Points | Move$^†$ |
| 1 | SK Gaming | 964 | |
| 2 | G2 Esports | 734 | |
| 3 | Fnatic | 627 | 1 |
| 4 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 596 | 1 |
| 5 | Natus Vincere | 596 | 2 |
| 6 | Team EnVyUs | 340 | 3 |
| 7 | Virtus.pro | 320 | |
| 8 | Astralis | 320 | 2 |
| 11 | Team Liquid | 230 | 1 |
| 13 | mousesports | 209 | |
| 14 | Team Dignitas | 190 | 1 |
| 16 | OpTic Gaming | 188 | 1 |
| 17 | FaZe Clan | 161 | 1 |
| 20 | Gambit Gaming | 101 | |
| 23 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 84 | 2 |
| 26 | Counter Logic Gaming | 65 | 4 |
$^†$Change since June 27, 2016, ranking

## Group stage

The four groups were announced on ESL's social media accounts on June 12, 2016.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Gambit Gaming | 2 | 0 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 2 |
| 2 | Astralis | 2 | 1 | 70 | 71 | −1 | 2 |
| 3 | Team Dignitas | 1 | 2 | 71 | 65 | +8 | 1 |
| 4 | Counter Logic Gaming | 0 | 2 | 14 | 32 | −18 | 0 |
Group A Matches :
| Astralis | 1 | 0 | Team Dignitas |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 0 | 1 | Gambit Gaming |
| Astralis | 0 | 1 | Gambit Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 0 | 1 | Team Dignitas |
| Astralis | 2 | 1 | Team Dignitas |
Group A Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Astralis | 16 | Overpass | 12 | Team Dignitas |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 13 | Dust II | 16 | Gambit Gaming |
| Astralis | 6 | Dust II | 16 | Gambit Gaming |
| Counter Logic Gaming | 1 | Cobblestone | 16 | Team Dignitas |
| Astralis | 16 | Cobblestone | 19 | Team Dignitas |
| Astralis | 16 | Mirage | 10 | Team Dignitas |
| Astralis | 16 | Cache | 14 | Team Dignitas |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Natus Vincere | 2 | 0 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 2 |
| 2 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 2 | 1 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 2 |
| 3 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1 | 2 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 1 |
| 4 | OpTic Gaming | 0 | 2 | 17 | 32 | −15 | 0 |
Group B Matches :
| Natus Vincere | 1 | 0 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1 | 0 | OpTic Gaming |
| Natus Vincere | 1 | 0 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| OpTic Gaming | 0 | 1 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1 | 2 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
Group B Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Train | 7 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Dust II | 4 | OpTic Gaming |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Cobblestone | 12 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| OpTic Gaming | 13 | Train | 16 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Overpass | 14 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | Cache | 16 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 11 | Mirage | 16 | FlipSid3 Tactics |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Virtus.pro | 2 | 0 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 2 |
| 2 | Team Liquid | 2 | 1 | 60 | 40 | +20 | 2 |
| 3 | mousesports | 1 | 2 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 1 |
| 4 | Team EnVyUs | 0 | 2 | 19 | 32 | −13 | 0 |
Group C Matches :
| Team Liquid | 1 | 0 | Team EnVyUs |
| Virtus.pro | 1 | 0 | mousesports |
| Team Liquid | 0 | 1 | Virtus.pro |
| mousesports | 1 | 0 | Team EnVyUs |
| Team Liquid | 2 | 0 | mousesports |
Group C Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Train | 7 | Team EnVyUs |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Train | 10 | mousesports |
| Team Liquid | 12 | Cobblestone | 16 | Virtus.pro |
| mousesports | 16 | Train | 12 | Team EnVyUs |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Cobblestone | 11 | mousesports |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Mirage | 6 | mousesports |
| Team Liquid | – | Dust II | – | mousesports |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | SK Gaming | 2 | 0 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 2 |
| 2 | Fnatic | 2 | 1 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 2 |
| 3 | FaZe Clan | 1 | 2 | 38 | 62 | −24 | 1 |
| 4 | G2 Esports | 0 | 2 | 24 | 32 | −8 | 0 |
Group D Matches :
| SK Gaming | 1 | 0 | G2 Esports |
| Fnatic | 0 | 1 | FaZe Clan |
| SK Gaming | 1 | 0 | FaZe Clan |
| Fnatic | 1 | 0 | G2 Esports |
| FaZe Clan | 0 | 2 | Fnatic |
Group D Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| SK Gaming | 16 | Cobblestone | 11 | G2 Esports |
| Fnatic | 14 | Dust II | 16 | FaZe Clan |
| SK Gaming | 16 | Cobblestone | 6 | FaZe Clan |
| Fnatic | 16 | Train | 13 | G2 Esports |
| FaZe Clan | 9 | Cache | 16 | Fnatic |
| FaZe Clan | 7 | Mirage | 16 | Fnatic |
| FaZe Clan | – | Dust II | – | Fnatic |
Also known as the "Group of Death," Group D featured four world class teams in one group, including the top three teams in the world. The matchup of the number 1, number 2, and number 3 teams all in the same group received criticism when a team of a lesser caliber such as Gambit could make it to the playoffs and a top three team would not. CS:GO analyst Duncan "Thorin" Shields called it the hardest group of all time.

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| C1 | Virtus.pro | 2 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Astralis | 0 | | | | | | |
| A2 | Astralis | 0 | C1 | Virtus.pro | 1 | | | |
| | | | B1 | SK Gaming | 2 | | | |
| D1 | SK Gaming | 2 | B1 | SK Gaming | 2 | | | |
| B2 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 0 | | | | | | |
| B2 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 0 | | | | B1 | SK Gaming | 2 |
| | | | | | | C2 | Team Liquid | 0 |
| B1 | Natus Vincere | 1 | | | | | | | C2 | Team Liquid | 0 |
| C2 | Team Liquid | 2 | | | | | | |
| C2 | Team Liquid | 2 | C2 | Team Liquid | 2 | | | |
| | | | D2 | Fnatic | 0 | | | |
| A1 | Gambit Gaming | 0 | D2 | Fnatic | 0 | | | |
| D2 | Fnatic | 2 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals
#### Virtus.pro vs. Astralis

Casters: moses & Pansy
Virtus.pro vs. Astralis Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Virtus.pro | 19 | Overpass | 17 | Astralis |
| Virtus.pro | 19 | Train | 15 | Astralis |
| Virtus.pro | – | Cache | – | Astralis |

#### SK Gaming vs FlipSid3 Tactics

Casters: James Bardolph & ddk
SK Gaming vs. FlipSid3 Tactics Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| SK Gaming | 16 | Mirage | 7 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| SK Gaming | 19 | Nuke | 17 | FlipSid3 Tactics |
| SK Gaming | – | Train | – | FlipSid3 Tactics |

#### Natus Vincere vs Team Liquid

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG
Natus Vincere vs. Team Liquid Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Train | 11 | Team Liquid |
| Natus Vincere | 12 | Nuke | 16 | Team Liquid |
| Natus Vincere | 6 | Cobblestone | 16 | Team Liquid |

#### Gambit Gaming vs Fnatic

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Gambit Gaming vs. Fnatic Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Gambit Gaming | 5 | Train | 16 | Fnatic |
| Gambit Gaming | 3 | Cache | 16 | Fnatic |
| Gambit Gaming | – | Dust II | – | Fnatic |

### Semifinals
#### Virtus.pro vs SK Gaming

Casters: Sadokist & HenryG
Virtus.pro vs. SK Gaming Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Virtus.pro | 19 | Cobblestone | 17 | SK Gaming |
| Virtus.pro | 5 | Nuke | 16 | SK Gaming |
| Virtus.pro | 12 | Mirage | 16 | SK Gaming |

#### Team Liquid vs. Fnatic

Casters: James Bardolph & ddk
Team Liquid vs. Fnatic Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Cobblestone | 13 | Fnatic |
| Team Liquid | 16 | Cache | 13 | Fnatic |
| Team Liquid | – | Train | – | Fnatic |

### Finals

Casters: Anders Blume, Semmler, & moses
SK Gaming vs. Team Liquid Scores :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| SK Gaming | 16 | Train | 7 | Team Liquid |
| SK Gaming | 16 | Cobblestone | 6 | Team Liquid |
| SK Gaming | – | Nuke | – | Team Liquid |

## Final standings

| Place | Prize Money | Team | Seed | Roster | Coach |
| 1st | US$500,000 | SK Gaming | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | FalleN, coldzera, fnx, TACO, fer | zews |
| 2nd | US$150,000 | Team Liquid | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | Hiko, EliGE, jdm64, nitr0, s1mple | peacemaker |
| 3rd – 4th | US$70,000 | Virtus.pro | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, Snax, byali | kuben |
| 3rd – 4th | US$70,000 | fnatic | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | flusha, olofmeister, JW, dennis, KRiMZ | vuggo |
| 5th – 8th | US$35,000 | Astralis | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | karrigan, dev1ce, dupreeh, Xyp9x, gla1ve, zonic | zonic |
| 5th – 8th | US$35,000 | FlipSid3 Tactics | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | B1ad3, markeloff, Shara, WorldEdit, waylander | kane |
| 5th – 8th | US$35,000 | Natus Vincere | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | Zeus, Edward, flamie, seized, GuardiaN | starix |
| 5th – 8th | US$35,000 | Gambit Gaming | ELEAGUE Major 2017 | hooch, Dosia, spaze, mou, AdreN | beAst |
| 9th – 12th | US$8,750 | Team Dignitas | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | cajunb, MSL, k0nfig, tenzki, RUBINO | ruggah |
| 9th – 12th | US$8,750 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | GeT_RiGhT, f0rest, Xizt, friberg, pyth | THREAT |
| 9th – 12th | US$8,750 | mousesports | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | nex, denis, Spiidi, chrisJ, NiKo | kassad |
| 9th – 12th | US$8,750 | FaZe Clan | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | fox, rain, jkaem, aizy, kioShiMa | RobbaN |
| 13th – 16th | US$8,750 | Counter Logic Gaming | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | reltuC, hazed, tarik, koosta, pita | pita |
| 13th – 16th | US$8,750 | OpTic Gaming | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | daps, NAF, stanislaw, RUSH, mixwell | – |
| 13th – 16th | US$8,750 | Team EnVyUs | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | NBK-, Happy, kennyS, apEX, DEVIL | Next |
| 13th – 16th | US$8,750 | G2 Esports | ELEAGUE Major 2017 Qualifiers | shox, RPK, bodyy, SmithZz, ScreaM | NiaK |
* ↑ Due to dupreeh needing surgery, Astralis coach zonic stood in for the player from July 7 onwards.

### Post-Major Ranking

The HLTV.org July 11, 2016 rankings of teams in the major is displayed below. The ranking was the first one released after the ESL One Cologne 2016.
World Ranking :
| Place | Team | Points | Move$^†$ |
| 1 | SK Gaming | 1000 | |
| 2 | Fnatic | 615 | 1 |
| 3 | G2 Esports | 530 | 1 |
| 4 | Natus Vincere | 509 | 1 |
| 5 | Team Liquid | 467 | 6 |
| 6 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 422 | 2 |
| 7 | Virtus.pro | 403 | |
| 8 | Astralis | 310 | |
| 9 | Team EnVyUs | 256 | 3 |
| 11 | Gambit Gaming | 188 | 9 |
| 12 | FlipSid3 Tactics | 184 | 11 |
| 15 | mousesports | 179 | 2 |
| 16 | FaZe Clan | 175 | 1 |
| 18 | Team Dignitas | 168 | 4 |
| 19 | OpTic Gaming | 149 | 3 |
| 24 | Counter Logic Gaming | 64 | 2 |
$^†$Change since July 4, 2016, ranking