# DreamHack Winter 2014

DreamHack Winter 2014 was the fourth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship, held from November 27–29, 2014 at Elmia in Jönköping. It was organized by DreamHack and sponsored by Valve. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000. The eight quarter-finalists from the previous Major, ESL One Cologne 2014 received direct invitations, while qualifiers were held for the remaining spots.
Team LDLC was the winner of the event after beating Ninjas in Pyjamas 2–1 in the finals.

## Format

The top eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2014 ("Legends") received direct invitations to DreamHack Winter 2014. Two of these invitations were rescinded after a cheating scandal, leaving ten spots (the "Challengers") to be filled by a mixtures of qualifiers and invites. Five teams from Europe, one team from North America, and two teams from a "Last Call LAN Qualifier" qualified for the tournament. After the scheduled qualifiers were completed, two teams were directly invited to the Major to fill the final two spots.
Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones. 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 an 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

The seven-map pool did not change from ESL One Cologne 2014. Before each match in the group stage, both teams banned two maps. The map for the match was then randomly selected from the remaining three maps. In the playoffs, each team first banned one map, then chose one map. The two chosen maps 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
* Inferno
* Mirage
* Nuke
* Overpass

## Regional qualifiers
### European Closed Qualifier

| Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 | | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 |
| Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| AliGon | AliGon | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| AliGon | AliGon | 0 | Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | myXMG | myXMG | 0 | | | | | | | |
| dAT Team | dAT Team | 1 | myXMG | myXMG | 0 | | | | | | | |
| myXMG | myXMG | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| myXMG | myXMG | 2 | | | | Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | Q | | | | |
| | | | | | | Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | Q | | | | |
| 3DMAX | 3DMAX | 1 | | | | | | | Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | Q | | | | |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 2 | Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | 2 | | | | | | | |
| mousesports | mousesports | 0 | Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Planetkey Dynamics | Planetkey Dynamics | 2 | | | | | | | | DreamHack Winter 2014 | DreamHack Winter 2014 | → |
| | | | | | | | | | | DreamHack Winter 2014 | DreamHack Winter 2014 | → |
| Copenhagen Wolves | Copenhagen Wolves | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | DreamHack Winter 2014 | DreamHack Winter 2014 | → |
| ESC Gaming | ESC Gaming | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| ESC Gaming | ESC Gaming | 2 | ESC Gaming | ESC Gaming | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Team Alternate | Team Alternate | 0 | | | | | | | |
| London Conspiracy | London Conspiracy | 1 | Team Alternate | Team Alternate | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Team Alternate | Team Alternate | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Team Alternate | Team Alternate | 2 | | | | ESC Gaming | ESC Gaming | Q | | | | |
| | | | | | | PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | Q | | | | |
| x6tence | x6tence | 0 | | | | | | | PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | Q | | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 2 | PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 2 | | | | | | | |
| | | | HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 0 | | | | | | | |
| HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 | HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 0 | | | | | | | |
| duttdutt | duttdutt | 0 | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5th Place Decider | 5th Place Decider | 5th Place Decider | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 |
| myXMG | myXMG | 2 | | | |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 1 | | | |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 1 | myXMG | myXMG | 0 |
| | | | HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 |
| Team Alternate | Team Alternate | 0 | HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 |
| HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 2 | | | |

### North America Closed Qualifier

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Team iBUYPOWER | Team iBUYPOWER | 16 | | | | | | |
| WeRidePonies | WeRidePonies | 2 | | | | | | |
| WeRidePonies | WeRidePonies | 2 | Team iBUYPOWER | Team iBUYPOWER | 16 | | | |
| | | | eLevate | eLevate | 7 | | | |
| eLevate | eLevate | 16 | eLevate | eLevate | 7 | | | |
| 'SapphireKelwona | 'SapphireKelwona | 5 | | | | | | |
| 'SapphireKelwona | 'SapphireKelwona | 5 | | | | Team iBUYPOWER | Team iBUYPOWER | 2 |
| | | | | | | NetCodeGuides.com | NetCodeGuides.com | 1 |
| NetCodeGuides.com | NetCodeGuides.com | 16 | | | | | | | NetCodeGuides.com | NetCodeGuides.com | 1 |
| dxm | dxm | 5 | | | | | | |
| dxm | dxm | 5 | NetCodeGuides.com | NetCodeGuides.com | 16 | | | |
| | | | Denial eSports | Denial eSports | 10 | | | |
| Denial eSports | Denial eSports | 16 | Denial eSports | Denial eSports | 10 | | | |
| The Stream Team | The Stream Team | 14 | | | | | | |

### Last Call LAN Qualifier

| 5th Place Decider | 5th Place Decider | 5th Place Decider | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 | DH Winter 2014 |
| Copenhagen Wolves | Copenhagen Wolves | 2 | | | |
| 3DMAX | 3DMAX | 1 | | | |
| 3DMAX | 3DMAX | 1 | Copenhagen Wolves | Copenhagen Wolves | 16 |
| | | | Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 6 |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 2 | Flipsid3 Tactics | Flipsid3 Tactics | 6 |
| London Conspiracy | London Conspiracy | 0 | | | |

## Broadcast talent

Host
* Scott "SirScoots" Smith
Stage Host
* James Duffield
Analyst
* Duncan "Thorin" Shields
Commentators
* Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat
* Anders Blume
* Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson
* Stuart "TosspoT" Saw

## Teams

The most notable pre-Major team change came after a cheating scandal involving three French players. Two teams that achieved Legends status at the previous Major were dropped from their Legends spots. Titan, whose roster achieved Legends status as Team LDLC.com, was disqualified from the tournament after Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian was caught cheating. At the same time, Epsilon eSports was disqualified after Gordon "Sf" Giry was found to be cheating. The two players and Simon "smn" Beck were then VAC banned by Valve and were permanently banned from any Valve-sponsored tournaments, including Majors. Titan and Epsilons' spots were then filled by Copenhagen Wolves and Flipsid3 Tactics, teams advancing from a new qualifier.
| Legends Ninjas in Pyjamas Fnatic Team Dignitas Natus Vincere Cloud9 Virtus.pro | Challengers Team LDLC.com Planetkey Dynamics PENTA Sports ESC Gaming HellRaisers Team iBUYPOWER Copenhagen Wolves Flipsid3 Tactics myXMG Bravado Gaming |
* 1 2 Bravado Gaming and myXMG were directly invited to the tournament. Bravado did not play in any qualifier. myXMG failed to qualify through the European qualifier but was still invited.

## Group stage
### Group A

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | HellRaisers | 2 | 0 | 32 | 19 | +13 | 6 |
| 2 | Fnatic | 2 | 1 | 46 | 23 | +23 | 6 |
| 3 | Cloud9 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 3 |
| 4 | Bravado Gaming | 0 | 2 | 3 | 32 | −29 | 0 |
Group A Matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Fnatic | 16 | Mirage | 2 | Bravado Gaming |
| Cloud9 | 5 | Inferno | 16 | HellRaisers |
| Fnatic | 14 | Mirage | 16 | HellRaisers |
| Cloud9 | 16 | Cache | 1 | Bravado Gaming |
| Fnatic | 16 | Dust II | 5 | Cloud9 |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Team Dignitas | 2 | 0 | 32 | 16 | +16 | 6 |
| 2 | PENTA Sports | 2 | 1 | 41 | 41 | +0 | 6 |
| 3 | Team iBUYPOWER | 1 | 2 | 36 | 36 | +0 | 3 |
| 4 | Copenhagen Wolves | 0 | 2 | 16 | 32 | −16 | 0 |
Group B Matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Dignitas | 16 | Nuke | 9 | PENTA Sports |
| Team iBUYPOWER | 16 | Nuke | 4 | Copenhagen Wolves |
| Team Dignitas | 16 | Nuke | 7 | Team iBUYPOWER |
| PENTA Sports | 16 | Dust II | 12 | Copenhagen Wolves |
| Team iBUYPOWER | 13 | Inferno | 16 | PENTA Sports |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Team LDLC.com | 2 | 0 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 6 |
| 2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | 1 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 6 |
| 3 | ESC Gaming | 1 | 2 | 33 | 45 | −12 | 3 |
| 4 | Planetkey Dynamics | 0 | 2 | 15 | 32 | −17 | 0 |
Group C Matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Overpass | 2 | Planetkey Dynamics |
| Team LDLC.com | 16 | Cobblestone | 4 | ESC Gaming |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 13 | Overpass | 16 | Team LDLC.com |
| ESC Gaming | 16 | Mirage | 13 | Planetkey Dynamics |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Cache | 13 | ESC Gaming |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | W | L | RF | RA | RD | Pts |
| 1 | Virtus.pro | 2 | 0 | 32 | 4 | +28 | 6 |
| 2 | Natus Vincere | 2 | 1 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 6 |
| 3 | Flipsid3 Tactics | 1 | 2 | 39 | 46 | −7 | 3 |
| 4 | myXMG | 0 | 2 | 13 | 32 | −19 | 0 |
Group D Matches :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Inferno | 2 | myXMG |
| Natus Vincere | 16 | Mirage | 8 | Flipsid3 Tactics |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Nuke | 2 | Natus Vincere |
| Flipsid3 Tactics | 16 | Mirage | 11 | myXMG |
| Natus Vincere | 19 | Overpass | 15 | Flipsid3 Tactics |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| HellRaisers | HellRaisers | 0 | | | | | | |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | | | | | | |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2 | | | |
| | | | Virtus.pro | Virtus.pro | 0 | | | |
| Virtus.pro | Virtus.pro | 2 | Virtus.pro | Virtus.pro | 0 | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 0 | | | | | | |
| PENTA Sports | PENTA Sports | 0 | | | | Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 1 |
| | | | | | | Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 |
| Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 | | | | | | | Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 |
| Fnatic | Fnatic | 1 | | | | | | |
| Fnatic | Fnatic | 1 | Team LDLC.com | Team LDLC.com | 2 | | | |
| | | | Natus Vincere | Natus Vincere | 0 | | | |
| Team Dignitas | Team Dignitas | 0 | Natus Vincere | Natus Vincere | 0 | | | |
| Natus Vincere | Natus Vincere | 2 | | | | | | |
* ↑ The third map originally ended with a Fnatic win. However, the match was to be replayed due to both teams violating in-game rules. After community backlash directed at Fnatic, Fnatic forfeited the match.

### Quarterfinals scores
#### HellRaisers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
HellRaisers vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| HellRaisers | 5 | Dust II | 16 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| HellRaisers | 5 | Inferno | 16 | Ninjas in Pyjamas |
| HellRaisers | – | Overpass | – | Ninjas in Pyjamas |

#### Virtus.pro vs. PENTA Sports

Casters: TosspoT & Fifflaren
Virtus.pro vs. PENTA Sports :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Cache | 9 | PENTA Sports |
| Virtus.pro | 16 | Mirage | 5 | PENTA Sports |
| Virtus.pro | – | Nuke | – | PENTA Sports |

#### Team LDLC.com vs. Fnatic

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Team LDLC.com vs. Fnatic :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team LDLC.com | 16 | Dust II | 10 | Fnatic |
| Team LDLC.com | 8 | Cache | 16 | Fnatic |
| Team LDLC.com | W | Overpass | F | Fnatic |

#### Team Dignitas vs. Natus Vincere

Casters: TosspoT & Fifflaren
Team Dignitas vs. Natus Vincere :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team Dignitas | 3 | Cobblestone | 16 | Natus Vincere |
| Team Dignitas | 13 | Mirage | 16 | Natus Vincere |
| Team Dignitas | – | Overpass | – | Natus Vincere |

### Semifinals scores
#### Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Virtus.pro

Casters: TosspoT vs. Fifflaren
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Virtus.pro :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 22 | Nuke | 20 | Virtus.pro |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 10 | Cache | 16 | Virtus.pro |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Inferno | 8 | Virtus.pro |

#### Team LDLC.com vs. Natus Vincere

Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Team LDLC.com vs. Natus Vincere :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Team LDLC.com | 16 | Mirage | 11 | Natus Vincere |
| Team LDLC.com | 16 | Inferno | 11 | Natus Vincere |
| Team LDLC.com | – | Cobblestone | – | Natus Vincere |

### Finals scores

NiP was the defending Major champions and was also making its fourth straight Major final appearance. Team LDLC.com became the first French team to appear in a CS:GO Major final.
Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Team LDLC.com :
| Team | Score | Map | Score | Team |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 10 | Dust II | 16 | Team LDLC.com |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Inferno | 4 | Team LDLC.com |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 16 | Overpass | 19 | Team LDLC.com |

## Final standings

| Place | Prize Money | Team | Seed for ESL One Katowice 2015 | Roster | Coach |
| 1st | US$100,000 | Team LDLC.com | Legends status | kioShiMa, Happy, SmithZz, NBK, shox | MoMaN |
| 2nd | US$50,000 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | Legends status | f0rest, GeT RiGhT, Xizt, friberg, Maikelele | pita |
| 3rd–4th | US$22,000 | Natus Vincere | Legends status | Edward, Zeus, starix, seized, GuardiaN | – |
| 3rd–4th | US$22,000 | Virtus.pro | Legends status | TaZ, NEO, pashaBiceps, byali, Snax | – |
| 5–8th | US$10,000 | HellRaisers | Legends status | ANGE1, kucher, markeloff, s1mple, Dosia | B1ad3 |
| 5–8th | US$10,000 | Fnatic | Legends status | JW, flusha, pronax, olofmeister, KRiMZ | Devilwalk |
| 5–8th | US$10,000 | Team Dignitas | Legends status | FeTiSh, dev1ce, cajunb, dupreeh, Xyp9x | 3k2 |
| 5–8th | US$10,000 | PENTA Sports | Legends status | r0bs3n, Spidii, denis, kRYSTAL, fel1x | – |
| 9–12th | US$2,000 | Flipsid3 Tactics | Main Qualifier invitation | twist, berg, zende, BENDJI, Dumas | – |
| 9–12th | US$2,000 | ESC Gaming | Main Qualifier invitation | innocent, SZPERO, mouz, MINISE, rallen | – |
| 9–12th | US$2,000 | Cloud9 | Main Qualifier invitation | Hiko, sgares, n0thing, shroud, SEMPHIS | – |
| 9–12th | US$2,000 | Team iBuyPower | Main Qualifier invitation | nitr0, Skadoodle, swag, desi, AZK | lrukandji |
| 13–16th | US$2,000 | Bravado Gaming | Main Qualifier invitation | Cent, Detrony, Racno, bLacKpoisoN, deviaNt | – |
| 13–16th | US$2,000 | Copenhagen Wolves | Main Qualifier invitation | gla1ve, Pimp, tenzki, Kjaerbye, cadiaN | – |
| 13–16th | US$2,000 | Planetkey Dynamics | Main Qualifier invitation | strux1, alexRr, Troubley, nex, stavros | – |
| 13–16th | US$2,000 | myXMG | Main Qualifier invitation | MSL, HUNDEN, AcilioN, Friis, smF | – |