There is a saying that the best players in the world, whether it be in traditional sports or esports, always show up for the important matches. When they play against smaller teams in matches with less importance, they still play well but they really shine when they are at risk of losing the competition. This past weekend at the Paris Major that is exactly what Juhani "Kantoraketti" Toivonen did, helping his team G2 Esports take home the trophy.
Who was the best player of the #SixMajorParis? #MVP
— Rainbow Six Esports (@R6ProLeague) August 20, 2018
In G2’s two group stage matches, Kantoraketti did not have a great time. Against Mockit Esports, he could only muster up 16 kills across three maps with a -2 kill to death ratio. Then against Ninjas in Pyjamas, he managed 12 kills across three maps, and achieved a +1 K/D but was the joint bottom fragger on G2, and appeared to be having a hard time. But once the playoff bracket started, Kantoraketti became a different player. In all three of the main event matches, he was either G2’s top fragger, or had the highest K/D on their team. He went from being someone that could reliably pick up a kill on most rounds, to being the main threat for his opponents, and winning multiple fights against two players at a time.
This was perhaps best shown in the grand final against Evil Geniuses. Even as early as the fourth round on the first map, Kantoraketti and Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen managed to turn what looked like an unwinnable situation where they were heavily outnumbered into a winning round. When Kanto was forced into a one versus one against Troy "Canadian" Jaroslawski, he managed to win a fight that any average player would have been destroyed in. But some smart shots won him and G2 a crucial round, that really started to bring the momentum in their favour. There were multiple situations like this across the final, with the Finnish really stepping up as the match went on. It always felt like he was getting that crucial opening pick, or at the very least trading for a teammate who went down, meaning it became almost impossible for EG to get a man advantage over G2. This of course put EG on the back foot in most rounds, and it’s no surprise that G2 took every map in the final 6-2 as a result.
Oh my god what a trip, was amazing to meet some people i've been wanting to meet for the longest time and just again seeing all the familiar faces. Until next time you magnificent beasts 👊
— Juhani Toivonen (@G2Kantoraketti) August 20, 2018
Kanto had some ridiculous stats when it came to how many rounds he survived. Against Team Secret in the semi final, he died just five times across 17 rounds, which is almost unheard of. By staying alive and being so good later in rounds, he played a pivotal role in G2’s success. Of course all of G2 put in an incredible performance, and never really looked like they were going to lose any of their matches. Kantoraketti was the player who impressed the most, and won G2 more crucial rounds than anyone else.
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