EN DE CN BR ES RU
Image
Icon

The 10 greatest comebacks in esports

Most of the excitement in esports comes from the high level that the involved teams show. Sometimes, matches can... Fragster | 31. July 2022

Most of the excitement in esports comes from the high level that the involved teams show. Sometimes, matches can be clearer than one might have expected. But just when you think it’s over, players sometimes start a rapid race to catch up and suddenly emerge victorious from a hopeless situation. That’s why today we’re looking at the 10 greatest comebacks in esports.

Of course, we have also prepared the list as a video. You can find the video here on our YouTube channel

10. 100 Thieves vs. Gambit Esports (VALORANT: VCT 2022 Masters 3 Berlin)

After 100 Thieves lost the first VALORANT map Ascent against Gambit 13-5, they had to prevail on Icebox. After 12 rounds, it was 9-3 for Gambit and a comeback was almost impossible. But whenever the North American team ran into a sticky situation, the team’s star player Hiko provided the much-needed clutches that brought 100 Thieves back. With the momentum they gained, 100 Thieves made it to map three, where they eventually defeated Gambit 13-10.

9. OpTic vs. Complexity (Call of Duty: MLG Fall Invitational 2013)

Our ninth place is probably the biggest comeback in Call of Duty history. During the grand finale between Complexity and OpTic, it looked like the team around Scump was in control, but Complexity had other plans that day. Round by round, the team fought their way back into the game, so that they were able to turn the 5-0 into a 6-5 win. A true MLG moment!

8. MKLeo vs. Tweek (Smash Bros. Ultimate: Evo 2019)

With an incredible run through the Losers Bracket, MKLeo made it to the Grand Finals of Evo 2019, where TSM Tweek already awaited. American Tweek quickly led Duell 2-0 before Leo reset the bracket with 3 straight wins. So it’s all at the beginning, isn’t it? MKLeo again won three straight and, with a spike from his joker against Charizard, was crowned the winner against Tweek.

MKLeo vs. Tweek

7. Cloud9 vs. FaZe Clan (CS:GO: Boston E-League Major 2018)

Cloud9’s win over FaZe Clan at the 2018 Boston E-League Major went down in history. After losing the first two games, Cloud9 made it to the finals with a good performance. However, a good performance was not enough against the FaZe from 2018, as was shown on Map 1, which went to FaZe. With a lot of effort, Cloud9 made it to the decider by winning Map 2. Things didn’t look good for Cloud9 at first, but then the team really pulled themselves together. After a 15-11, they made it into a double overtime only to then surprisingly beat FaZe.

6. OG vs. Paris LGD (Dota 2: The International 8)

OG already had their backs to the wall in the best-of-five against LGD, with a score of 2-1. When Paris then started in game four with a dominance that one could not expect, the match seemed to be already over. OG didn’t want to be defeated though and with a fantastic performance from Ceb, they turned the already decided game and got into game five. And their victory was one of the cornerstones of the TI8 and the only back-to-back TI victory in history.

5. Luminosity Gaming vs. Team Liquid (CS:GO: MLG 2016 Major)

The winner in the semi-finals of the MLG CS Majors was almost certain. Things weren’t looking too good for Luminosity until Coldzera took the match into his hands and with a 4K AWP play brought his team back. The 4 kills including jumpshot with the AWP alone would be absolutely incredible, but it was also the necessary push for Luminosity to turn the match around. After 10 rounds in a row, it was 19-15 for Luminosity, which meant the win. But the craziest thing was that map two was almost exactly the same. A 15-6 lead by Team Liquid turned into a 19-16 win for Luminosity Gaming. All that was missing was the major victory, but the team around Coldzera, Fallen, TACO, fnx and fer achieved that too.

4. Evo Moment #37 (Street Fighter III: Daigo Parry)

The Daigo Parry refers to part of the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike semifinal match at the 2004 Championship Series between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. During the fight, Umehara managed an unexpected comeback, parrying 15 consecutive hits from Wong while remaining at a fraction of his HP. Umehara won the match but lost to Kenji Obata in the Grand Final.

3. SK Gaming vs. Fnatic (League of Legends: IEM Katowice 2013)

During the early days of League of Legends esports, one of the most famous plays in LoL history was created. The xPeke backdoor against SK Gaming was one of the most spectacular comebacks we’ve seen in esports. After a teamfight in SK’s base, which Fnatic clearly lost, ocelote’s team made their way to the Fnatic Nexus. But xPeke, who was able to save himself earlier, had other plans. Riding his mobile champ, Kassadin, he snuck into the SK Gaming Base, where he took apart the Nexus blow by blow. With a pixel of his life, he ends the game in Fnatic’s favour.

2. Moscow 5 vs. CLG.EU (League of Legends: DreamHack 2012)

Almost 10 years ago but still so special is the comeback of CLG at DreamHack 2012. By mid-game, the Moscow 5 had already accumulated an unassailable 26,000 gold lead. But because of poor decisions by Moscow boys, as well as CLG’s good defence, the lead kept shrinking. After almost an hour, CLG set a trap for their opponents and destroyed them with a barrage of ultimates, creating one of the greatest comebacks in esports history.

1. Evil Geniuses vs. Ehome (Dota 2: The International 6)

The first place in our chart is not only the biggest comeback, but also one of the greatest Dota 2 matches ever. EG actually went into the match as favorites, but they didn’t really get going. Ehome made it to EG’s base, but no team had managed to come back against the Megacreeps during the TI Mainstage. Ehome were focusing on the wrong things and a few aggressive plays sent them spiralling down. EG took the win from Ehome after they nearly wiped out the entire team. They turned a certain defeat into the most amazing comeback in history.