Top 10 esports miracles

When your back is against the wall and you only have one chance left to prove yourself, some esport players have managed to rise above and activate the superhero mode.

In these moments, adrenaline rushes through the players’ blood and they have to act quickly. In the process, they have already overcome the biggest obstacles and found solutions to hopeless situations. Needless to say, these are the moments when the legends are born. 

10. Nifty 

In the quarterfinals at IEM Sydney 2018, the Renegades were down by one round against Mousesports. Although it really didn’t look good for them, Nifty just wasn’t going to let his team lose the match in front of their home crowd. When the miracle happened and Nifty summoned hidden inner powers, the map was in the second half. He managed to drop an unprecedented 50 Bomb and clutch the map with it. It became one of the most iconic moments in CS:GO history, now known as the Nifty Fifty. No one before him has ever managed to do that, and probably no one after him will ever do it again.

9. IgNar

A very special moment occurred during the quarterfinals of League of Legends Worlds 2017, when IgNar from Misfits decided not to go with the meta and pick an Enchanter as support, but simply played Leona. At the time, it was the height of the so-called Ardent Censer meta, where you were virtually forced to play Enchanter Supporters if you didn’t want to troll your team. But IgNar decided to trust his gut in the game against SKT T1 and picked his signature champion Leona. He was able to make good plays on the lane with her as well, but unfortunately, the Misfits still lost the Series against SKT T1 in the fifth match. For that, this moment showed us that it’s often wise to trust your intuition.

8. Asuna

In the next place, we have an insane performance from the king of Icebox himself: Asuna, who has earned this name. After failing to qualify for Masters Reykjavík with his team, 100Thieves, they entered NA Challengers Stage 3 because they wanted to prove that they were still good players and could play better than they had shown before. This apparently motivated him so much that Asuna completely lost it in the first match against Version1. In a hard-hitting 36-round match on his best map Icebox, he made it to 48 frags and made sure his team won the map 19:17.

7. Stewie2k

Of course, Stewie2k’s legendary 1v3 B-Hold can’t be left out of the greatest Esport miracles. At the 2018 Boston Major, a lot of pressure was on Cloud9 as all hopes rested on them that NA would finally win their first Major title. Yet they were the absolute underdog team at the Major, barely making it past the group stage but still making it to the Grand Final. At match point on the third map, Inferno, the FaZe Clan team rotated to the B-Site late in the game and looked to overwhelm Stewie in a 1v3. However, things did not go as planned for FaZe. However he managed to do it, he stayed calm and took out all of his opponents. Does that count as a miracle?

6. TenZ

In another moment where a team desperately needed help from the esport god, prayers were answered and a VALORANT miracle child was born: TenZ. In 2021, Sentinels desperately needed a last-second replacement player in the first round of the NA Masters. They didn’t know it at the time, but it was the right decision to get TenZ on the roster. He was young and had yet to prove himself in the world of VALORANT – and that’s exactly what he did. In the match against Luminosity, TenZ competed with the Sentinels for the very first time and immediately made a lasting impression. He captivated everyone with his good performance and has been with the Sentinels ever since.

5. Axe

Something happened at Evo 2014 that is actually almost impossible and borders on a miracle. Axe actually managed to defeat his opponent with four sticks. Two sticks is already not easy in Smash Bros and taking an extra stick before the opponent grabs one back again. Three sticks is even harder, but getting all four sticks without losing one yourself is absolutely insane! Axe did just that with his main, Pikachu, when he played Silent Wolf for a Top eight spot in the Losers Bracket. He was totally focused, just turned on Godmode, and did it all in under a minute.

4. Mang0

A wonderful moment at Smash Summit 11 showed the Fighting Game community that you should never give up and we have Mang0 to thank for it. He didn’t get off to a good start at the tournament and quickly ended up in the Loser’s Bracket. He was ready to just give up, but instead, he decided to make a comeback attempt. It paid off for him, too, as he was able to prevail against all odds with his newfound willpower. He defeated some of the best players in the world, such as Hungrybox and Plup, before going on to beat Zain in the Grand Final and making it to first place.

3. Perkz

When it comes to small miracles, we simply have to mention Perkz’s play at the League of Legends Worlds 2019. He and his team G2 fought their way through the play-ins to the group stage and were definitely the underdogs at the Worlds. To advance they had to win a tie-breaker against RNG and that was harder than it sounds. The Series had reached the deciding fifth match when Perkz decided to pick his OTP champion, LeBlanc. He carried the match so hard that it was 11-0, his best play on this champion. With that, they were able to prove to the world that you should never underestimate an underdog and that Perkz is damn good with LeBlanc.

2. Ceb

The next miracle came at a moment’s notice for OG and they had Ceb to thank for it, as they were in an extremely grueling 60-minute match at TI8 and trailing by 20K gold in the fourth match of the Series. There was $11 million at stake and OG had just secured Mega Creeps when all they needed was a proper team fight, so to speak, to win the match. But unfortunately, control slipped out of their hands on the map and LGD was able to gain the upper hand. The fight seemed to be as good as over when suddenly Ceb appeared out of nowhere and was able to bring his opponents to their knees. He managed to Taunt all the enemy Heros with Berserk, which gave his team enough time to take out LGD. OG was able to win this match and also the fifth match of the Series, giving them $11 million. They owe it to the brilliant move of Ceb.

 

1. Daigo

Another legendary spectacle happened quite a long time ago and maybe you haven’t heard about it yet. It happened in the quarterfinals of the Street Fighter 3 Third Strike tournament at Evo 2004, when Daigo took on Justin Wong. In the decisive match, Justin knew that Daigo couldn’t be hit by his next super and his only chance out of the hopeless situation was to parry every single hit of his opponent. If Justin had thought that Daigo would not manage to parry his opponent’s hits, he was taught better there. Daigo had seemingly developed superhuman abilities and was able to parry each of his opponent’s hits with perfect timing. It became one of the most iconic moments in esports history.