CS:GO: The Key Players in ELEAGUE's Season 2 Finals

Saturday marks the Grand Final of ELEAUGE's second season of CS:GO, a season filled with fantastic talent and incredible upsets. The Final, airing today on TBS at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, features a head-to-head match between Astralis and OpTic Gaming, two teams who have battled through 16 of the top teams in the world. Both teams walk into the event in peak form looking to secure their most prominent victory and prize pool of all of 2016.

Astralis, a Danish squad looking to break the streak of falling out in the group stage, has shown throughout the tournament that they're a top contender. Their route to the finals was inarguably more challenging than their competitors, having twice defeated SK Gaming, the top-rated CS:GO team in the world, and second-ranked Ninjas in Pajamas. The recent addition of Gla1ve to the roster change this fall has largely contributed to their impressive rise in form, which grows stronger with every LAN.

A victory for Astralis rides on the back of two very talented players, Xyp9x and Gla1ve, the latter their new in-game shot-caller who has managed to find a weak spot in the armor of top teams every round. If he manages to keep his cool, and the rest of the squad executes his strategies, OpTic is in for their most stressful series of the season. While most fans of Astralis look to Dev1ce to carry the team in kills, the semifinals match against SK Gaming proved that an on-fire Xyp9x could elevate the team to highest of levels.

On the other end of the scope is OpTic Gaming, an organization making huge strides in competitive play in 2016, and the first North American team to make it to an ELEAGUE final. OpTic's battle to the finals wasn't easy, as the team had to fight through and overcome Fnatic in the group stages, the team that sent them to the lower bracket in the first match of the season. On top of their impressive showing at Northern Arena in Montreal, they further cemented their place in the league after they punished Faze, the team that sent last ELEAGUE's Season 1 winner home in the quarterfinals.

For OpTic, their road to the trophy hinges on Tarik and Rush. Tarik silenced critics that he's more a professional CS:GO player than streamer in his handling of Faze in the semis. His ability to grab early kills and provide a player advantage is crucial for OpTic to take unfavored rounds against a strong Astralis lineup. Also proving he's a threat that needs containing is Rush. His ability to focus down multiple groups of players and make favorable trades when pushing angles is essential in keeping OpTic's momentum in the finals.

Saturday's final provides both teams the chance to break their 2016 streaks of falling out in the early stages of tournaments and show the scene they're a top contender to be feared going into 2017.