The case for the Last Dance

It’s official: falleN, fer, and fnx will reunite in a roster dubbed “The Last Dance. The legendary trio will be joined by boltz and VINI. The announcement has been the talk of the town in the Brazillian scene ever since we reported it back in December.

The big question now is: will this roster be any good? In this article, we will make the case in favor of the Last Dance.

You can read our case against the Last Dance by clicking here.

A wealth of experience

G2’s lineup reached the final of the Stockholm Major with an average age of 26. f0rest is 33-years old but could still hang with the best.

The age limit on competing in esports has been pushed in the past few years. It’s no longer a teenage world, but players can perform on the highest level well into their twenties and thirties.

Yes, the Last Dance has some ‘old’ players. fnx, fer, and falleN are all above thirty. This lineup will have one of the highest average ages in Counter-Strike.

But as karrigan said recently in an interview: “I think it comes down to priorities in life. If you’re 30 years old and have kids, it’s harder to compete at a high level. But we haven’t discovered the age limit in CS:GO yet”.

If these guys are all-in on this project, age shouldn’t be a factor. Their experience will be an advantage.

They’ve done it all

Image: ESL

Reunions often don’t work out as intended. History is splattered with once-legendary teams getting back together years after their dominance ended but failing to recreate the magic.

But there are always exceptions to the rule.

Let’s not forget how high the core of this roster once ranked due to some poor performances in the past years. fnx was once the best x-factor player globally, fer’s aggression revolutionized the way entry players play, and falleN combined lethality on the AWP with a leading a lineup of outsiders to an era.

VINI and boltz are no slouches themselves.

This isn’t just a reunion. This is The Last Dance.

Commercial succes

Image: ESL

Imagine you’re a tournament organizer. You’re hosting an event and have one wildcard left. Why shouldn’t you invite this roster?

They bring huge popularity wherever they go. Your stream, which under normal circumstances would have gathered some then thousand viewers, now skyrockets to the top of CS:GO’s Twitch page, Escharts has to write article upon article about how a relatively small online tournament rivaled both ESL and BLAST in terms of peak viewership.

Even if they would lose all their games, there’s a huge commercial success in getting the entire Brazillian fanbase to watch those games.

Even more so if you’re a team, signing these guys will get eyes on your sponsors, at least until the magic wears off.

No pressure

Image: Starladder

What if they lose all their games and are eliminated in every event they attend?

So what? These guys don’t have to prove anything. They’ve been very vocal about this project having nothing to do with expectations and everything with passion.

Five players living and breathing CS.

This low-pressure environment might be precisely what some of these guys need. They’ve been chasing the glory of the past for far too long. If they focus on what’s in front of them and play some CS, they might finally be able to turn back the years.