Cloud9’s RUSH Weighs in on the Home Crowd Advantage Debate Following BIG’s Impressive ESL One: Cologne Run
Cloud9’s Will ‘RUSH’ Wierzba has commented on the ongoing debate about whether there is any such thing as a home crowd advantage at CS:GO events.
The question about home crowd advantages cropped up during the $300,000 ESL One: Cologne 2018 event where the German team, BIG, performed well above expectations.
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After BIG defeated G2 Esports 2-0 in the quarter-finals, popular analyst Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields released a video on YouTube where he broached the subject and gave arguments for and against it.
While the Brit did not deny that a home crowd can have a positive effect, he did argue that it isn’t as significant as some people make out, that there is a lot of nuance to the subject, and that the pressure of a home crowd can also work against you.
- Read More: BIG Fans Make Plenty of Noise Outside of ESL One Cologne Arena After Semi-Final Celebration
But BIG’s performance did not stop with their defeat of G2. The German side went on to shock FaZe Clan in the semi-finals and Cloud9’s RUSH took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the subject.
The reigning Major Champion claims that anyone who doesn’t believe in home crowd advantages is “simply wrong” and that he has experienced it first hand:
To anyone who says there is no home crowd advantage in CS, you are simply wrong. I’ve experienced it and it really does make a difference.
— Will (C9) (@RUSH) July 7, 2018
It seems likely that RUSH is referring to Cloud9’s ELEAGUE Major: Boston win where they shocked the world and became the first North American team in history to win a CS:GO Major by defeating FaZe in the Grand Final.
The support for Cloud9 at the American event was certainly strong and we haven’t seen the same level from the team before or since the Major so his point does hold some significant weight.
Unfortunately for BIG, home crowd or not, they were unable to defeat Na’Vi in the Grand Final, losing 3-1 to the Ukrainian team but still showing a great deal of promise.
You can watch Thorin’s video discussing the subject of home crowd advantages in detail below.