A stunned CIS region: Who are Akuma?

CIS keeps delivering as our latest Counter-Strike overlords may already have met their maker. So who is the David to our CIS Goliaths? It could only be another CIS team.

Who the f*ck are Akuma?

Say hello to Akuma: ranked #69 () at the start of the Epic League CIS RMR – now #43. The team consists of four former CR4ZY players. No, not the version with nexa and huNter-, but the worse version that followed. Representing Akuma are Sergiz, Psycho, SENSEi, DemQQ, and j3kie, with the latter being the only player not part of the 2020 CR4ZY core.

Source: HLTV.org

Stunning the CIS heavy-weights

Akuma’s start to the CIS RMR held no surprises, dropping 0-2 to the world’s #1, Gambit. Unaffected by this, Akuma went 3x 2-0 against GROND, 1WIN, and AdreN’s K23 to reach the playoffs. Akuma hit the ground running in playoffs, taking down Na’Vi 2-0, allowing them 12 rounds in total, before proceeding to only lose 17 rounds in another 2-0 win over Virtus.pro.

Akuma will now have a second shot at Gambit in the upper bracket final.

The numbers – what do they mean?

Even in pure numbers, Akuma stands out. SENSEi is by far the highest-rated player of the tournament so far, with a rating of 1.43. His closest competitor is s1mple with 1.27(!), and SENSEi’s teammate, DemQQ, follows in #4 with 1.23. On top of this, Akuma is the highest-rated team alongside Gambit, with an average rating of 1.15.

The two will face off on Saturday for a spot in the EPIC League Grand Final. Tune in to see if the beautiful underdog story of CIS follows through.