Gamers8 2023 CS:GO Preview | Single-Bracket Chaos In Riyadh

The CS:GO Gamers8 2023 tournament begins tomorrow, in what is sure to be a chaotic few days of competition. Sixteen teams enter the running in Saudi Arabia, competing for their share of a massive $1 million dollar prize pool. Gamers8 was held in Riyadh for the first time last year, although this will be CS:GO’s maiden outing at the tournament, having missed out last time around.

CS:GO Gamers8 Format

The format of the CS:GO Gamers8 tournament is as simple as it gets. One bracket, sixteen of the best CS:GO teams in a straight shootout to the final. It’s entirely best-of-threes the entire way, ensuring the best team emerges on top.

For a CS:GO tournament, it’s a definite change of pace from what we’re used to from the likes of BLAST and ESL. Usually, there are Group Stages and advanced seeding calculations. Here, it’s single-elimination, one loss and it’s de_airport for you.

Of course, the big attraction here is that $1 million dollar prize money, which eclipses most CS:GO tournaments. In a scene where cash is King, there was no way teams were missing out on this opportunity.

CS:GO Gamers8 Teams

The CS:GO Gamers8 2023 tournament has an interesting selection of teams, with a few notable exclusions. These are the teams that are competing at Gamers8 2023:

As expected, the best CS:GO teams around like G2, Vitality, FaZe, and Heroic are all taking part. Of the sixteen teams, thirteen were invited, with Fnatic, MIBR, and 9INE earning their places in regional qualifiers.

Notably missing are the likes of Astralis, MOUZ, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. These are the types of teams we expect to see in Tier-1 events, and it’s a shame to not have them there. Even a team like Monte will be missed, having cemented their place alongside the big teams in recent tournaments.

CS:GO Gamers8 Schedule

The CS:GO Gamers8 Esports tournament kicks off tomorrow, August 16th, running until the Grand Final on August 20th. With just five days of action, we’re going to see the best CS:GO teams take part in a sprint as opposed to a marathon here.

There are some great matches to kick off the tournament. Liquid vs ENCE is perhaps the most well-matched, which means that it should be a banger of a contest. Meanwhile, we get to see the second outing of Cloud9’s all-star roster against Fnatic, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can dominate matches as expected. We’re also keeping an eye on FaZe vs Virtus.pro. VP have been grinding Tier-2 tournaments lately, so they’ll be looking to bring that online experience to a LAN environment. With FaZe not quite looking themselves of late, it’s a fun prospect.

Crucially, don’t count out the underdogs at Gamers8 2023. In single-elimination brackets, it only takes one upset to change the shape of the entire tournament. For example, if Falcons can squeeze out a victory against Heroic, it throws that entire bracket into disarray, and anyone can emerge on top.

When Gamers8 2023 comes to its conclusion, the question will then move on to what’s next for CS:GO? With Counter-Strike 2 reportedly set to release any time now, and ESL Pro League Season 18 not starting until August 30th, it could mean that Gamers8 2023 is the final ever competitive CS:GO tournament.