Let’s make the premise simple: Some teams perform way above their league and punch over their weight, while others simply fail to meet expectations.
Without further ado, here is a selection of teams that made the grade as well as teams who have failed to make waves in the CrossFire Stars Grand Finals!

Winners

Kowai: Out of Nowhere

This Latin American team has not been expected to make the playoffs, let alone reach the top three of the CrossFire Stars Grand Finals. But they just did it in a spectacular fashion!
Kowai’s mix of unreal talent (there’s a reason why they have this year’s CFS MVP on the team) as well as innovative strategies (use of aggressive pushes, smoke timings, etc.) have earned them the best breakout team this season.
By getting third place in this tournament, they have surpassed many of their continental counterparts as well as powerhouse regions such as Russia, Brazil, Vietnam and the Philippines, thus making a case for their success this year.

ruLegends: Strategic Prowess

The team has always failed to make it out of the quarter-finals in the past. However, this time around, they were able to reach the top four, thanks to their consistent performances and an advanced understanding of how to play the CrossFire metagame.
Much has been said previously about the way they handled their games, so this author will just leave it at that.
This thing is clear: The Russian (or CIS region in general) will just become stronger this coming 2017 CFS season.

Losers

Pacific.Wara: Harsh Realities

The Philippines has been recognized as one of the top regions in CrossFire, reaching the top four in nearly every CrossFire Stars season as well as getting strong placings in other third-party tournaments.
Pacific.Wara was supposed to continue that tradition after edging many Filipino teams in the CFS National Finals (Pacific.Macta, their sister team, was eliminated at an earlier stage of the CFS Philippine Finals.)
However, they did not meet expectations as they crashed out to ruLegends in the quarter-finals and needed a wild card slot to even reach the playoffs.
This year is a rather forgettable year for the Philippine Crossfire scene.
It remains to be seen if the Philippines bounces back from a year of low-level performances in the international scene.

AG: Underwhelming Performance

Everyone looked forward to see All Gamers take the championship in style. However, no one expected them to crash out in the quarter-finals. After all, they dominated the two Invitationals this year, right?
A lot of people turned out to be wrong. Not only they struggled to get out of their group, they couldn’t even get into the top four this year.
Their tragic story started when they faced eventual fourth placer ruLegends in their opening group stage match, losing to Port on the back of better
AG’s story is a proof that today’s CrossFire needs strategy and wit in order to beat the best teams in the world. The Chinese had many
And oh, their second heartbreak? They met it in the form of VG, whom they defeated in the China CFS National Finals back then, 2-1.
This team can bounce back and take the crown once again. However, they need to start thinking beyond the spraydowns, the frag trades and the pickoff tricks.
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That’s all from the notable teams at CFS 2016!
Looking forward to a more action-packed season ahead!