The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 2019 Major Championships are currently being contested in a tournament that started August 20 and is scheduled to run through September 8. As with almost any large-scale esports production, the technical side of the streaming setup can lead to a variety of problems that cause delays between matches. One such issue recently occurred during the preparations for a match between teams Syman Gaming and Vitality, but they didn’t let the disruption ruin their day, instead calling a truce to play a light-hearted game of CS: GO leapfrog.
That’s right, during a lengthy delay, the world-class esports athletes set aside their real-world differences and sworn in-game hatred of one another—one team being the terrorists and the other counter-terrorists—in order to engage in a children’s playground game. Leapfrog generally sees two people take turns to leap over one another’s backs while adopting a crouched position, not unlike frogs, but the two teams combined to make for an impressive 10-participant take on the game. You can watch all of the players from Syman Gaming and Vitality out in action here, as it’s a spectacle you should really see for yourself.
ALSO: CouRage bids OP Fortnite Brute Mechs ‘good riddance’ following eventual nerf
With $2 million in prize money up for grabs at the 2019 Majors hosted in Berlin, you’d be forgiven for assuming that any delay would quite rightfully cause the players some distress. Being kept waiting isn’t ideal before the beginning of an important match, so during such a pivotal moment, it’s impressive that the two teams not only managed to keep their cool, but were able to enjoy the unplanned downtime together.
Of course, the impromptu game of CS: GO leapfrog has gone down a treat on Reddit, where fans of Valve’s tactical first-person shooter have called it the “highlight” of the match. While those comments could be considered somewhat tongue-in-cheek, there’s a point to be made for esports players making the best of a bad situation in the future and perhaps utilizing delays to win over new fans.
