At the beginning of the new year, the pulse of Riga beat to the rhythm of e-sports, as the international “Counter-Strike 2” tournament “Urban Riga Open” returned to the viewers’ screens. Although this time there were no world-recognized names on the list of participants, the battles that took place resulted in substantial corrections in the global ranking table, once again highlighting Latvia on the world e-sports scene.
IN BRIEF:
From January 3 to 4, the “Counter-Strike 2” tournament “Urban Riga Open” took place for the second time in the Riga e-sports club “Cyber Empire”. 12 teams competed in the competition – in addition to four Baltic teams, the event also gathered players from Finland, Poland, Denmark, Australia and other countries.
The “MOUZ NXT” academy unit of the legendary German organization “MOUZ”, whose 17-year-old Latvian Maksims “ay0k” Beloglazovs, was crowned the champion of the tournament. In the final, beating the “ALGO” team represented by the Lithuanian Žigimantas “nukkye” Hmeliąskas with a score of 2:0, the international five won a cash prize of 3,500 euros.
It is significant that the battle for gold ended faster than the bronze duel, where all three cards were needed to determine the winner. In the derby of local teams, “OlyBet SB”, the title holder of the fifth season of the Latvian E-Sports Premier League, won 2:1 over the Baltic professional team “ASTRAL”.
A symbolic victory
After the triumph in Riga, the head coach of “MOUZ NXT” Serhiys “lmbt” Bežanov expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance and emphasized the symbolic importance of the success – for the young talents, this is the first LAN or face-to-face title in their professional career. “It’s nice to start the year like this, but we just really like Riga,” laughs Bežanov.
Taking into account that “Urban Riga Open” provided the opportunity to fight for points in the official world ranking, “MOUZ NXT” should not allow the slightest carelessness, because in terms of points, the risk was greater than the potential benefit. Therefore, the players were especially responsible in the battles against weaker units, which allowed for a very successful and productive elimination round.
Bezhanov stated that
In eSports, it’s rare for an international team to win a trophy in a teammate’s hometown.
“We’ve got six people from six different countries, so it’s really nice for her to win [Maksima] at home. He told us that he practically grew up in this e-sports club,” the academy coach added.
Beloglazovs revealed that the support of local fans played a decisive role – there was no shortage of spectators at the venue who sympathized with him as a representative of Latvia. The e-athlete’s family also watched the matches in person, which created a pleasant atmosphere and gave additional energy in the decisive moments.
“I already told the team – how you start this year is how you will spend it. It’s good that we managed to win, because it will give us more confidence in the next tournaments. We now know how we want to play and what goals we need to fulfill in order to continue climbing the world ranking,” Beloglazov emphasized.
Latvian team “OlyBet SB” competition “Urban Riga Open 2” tourna Photo: Maggie Piebalga
Meanwhile, the local “OlyBet SB” proved once again that it is a serious threat to any opponent.
Ralfs “ChipaaN” Chipāns did not hide that the team’s ambitions were higher, however, he evaluates the achieved result positively: “You can always do better. I believe that we could have reached the final as well, but it is good that we won the third place.”
Watching “OlyBet SB” games, it is hard not to notice their communication style – Čipāns and his teammates maintain a loud, emotional and humorous atmosphere. “I try to make sure that we don’t have moments of silence. We need to shout and be happy! Of course, we try with all our hearts, but we also have to enjoy it all,” noted the e-athlete.
Although the leading Baltic team “ASTRAL” did not manage to get on the podium this time, its manager Kirils Tabatchikov highlighted the contribution of “Urban Riga Open 2” to the long-term development of the organization.
“ASTRAL” captain Artjoms “Neqy” Sahniuk is overwhelmed with the spirit of the game and genuine emotions Photo: Mikus Bērziņš
The significant rise in the world ranking will guarantee a more stable position for receiving direct invitations to international tournaments.
“ASTRAL” completed the first day of the competition flawlessly – victories in all five games ensured the team an automatic place in the semi-finals. Despite the fact that on the second day it was necessary to admit the superiority of the future champions, Tabatchikov believes that the balance of power between the units was equal.
“Our goal, like everyone else’s, was the final, and it was quite realistically achievable. We just missed some little things, maybe luck was not on our side in some moments, but that’s e-sports,” he explained.
The format allows for surprise
The new format became one of the main stories of “Urban Riga Open 2”. The competition started with an intense group tournament – each team played five duels, the outcome of which was determined by only one card. The winners of the groups qualified for the semi-finals, while the second and third place winners had to overcome the barrier of the quarter-finals, where the battles already went to two victories.
The chosen system paved the way for surprises, the most striking of which was the triumph of “EC Banga”, the unit of the first Latvian E-sports league, over “SemperFi” represented by Kristers “keen” Dārznieks and Mārtiņš “shadiy” Gūtmanis.
For Australia’s second leading team “SemperFi”, the visit to Riga turned out to be a tough test – with four losses in five matches, it ended the tournament in a split 11th-12th place. instead of
Latvian players Kristers Dārznieks (back right) and Mārtiņš Gūtmanis (foreground right) with the Australian team “SemperFi” after the victory over Finland’s “CSDIILIT” Photo: Mikus Bērziņš
“Five games in a row with ten-minute breaks is a real test of endurance, and it gives the last players a great chance to break through,” said Chipans.
Bezhanov also had similar thoughts, who emphasized that such a format imposes a greater burden of responsibility on the favorites. Although “MOUZ NXT” had only one defeat, the coach prefers streaks up to two wins. “We are no longer the last, at least in events of this scale, so it was more difficult for us,” explained Bezhanov.
Beloglazov cited the unconvincing performance of “SemperFi” as an example, admitting that perhaps the limited amount of time on the server prevented the unit from finding stability. At the same time, the e-athlete noted that this event became a great opportunity for local clubs – the guaranteed cycle of five games allowed them not only to gain valuable experience, but also to add points.
The impact of the format was clearly visible in the global rankings, with several teams making impressive leaps up.
Members of the international organization “ALGO” with silver medals Photo: Maggie Piebalga
If “ASTRAL” and “ALGO” improved their positions by more than a hundred places, then the Finnish “CSDIILIT”, which ranked in the tournament in a split 9th-10th place. place, rose in the ranking by 33 positions.
Ambitions turn into deeds
The organizer of the event, Sandis Rainskis, said that “Urban Riga Open 2” has experienced significant changes, differing from the debut season both in terms of strategic vision and substantive execution. The main trump card was the deliberately chosen time – this became the first European Counter-Strike 2 competition of the year.
The chosen strategy made it possible to attract wider international attention, even if the list of participants was dominated by lesser-known organizations. In addition, for local teams, such competitive conditions served as an excellent platform to prove their abilities.
“Only Lithuanians made it to the playoffs of the first competition, but this time there are also Latvian teams – this is a huge step forward. I am sure that these are the fruits of the work we have invested in the E-sports league project for the last three years. The players see that there is a system and tournaments where you can get involved,” added Rainskis.
At the organizational level, special attention was paid to the technical nuances, because in the previous tournament the participants were dissatisfied with the quality of the computers.
Despite the fact that the first day passed without complications, on the second day we had to change computers again.
Rainskis admitted that “Cyber Empire” is the best e-sports club in the Baltics and meets high standards, however, it should be taken into account that large organizations come to Riga with specific requirements.
Appreciative words were given by guests from Australia, who held a training camp in Riga and got to know the local e-sports infrastructure. “They visited all the capital’s clubs and said that everything is cool with us,” Rainskis added. Overall, feedback on the event was positive, but not all participants were thrilled with the winter weather.
This year, the organizers attracted a wider circle of international commentators – alongside a Canadian specialist, a representative from the USA also commented on the games. Also, three simultaneous live broadcasts were provided, which is an unprecedented volume in Latvian e-sports and a very important step in promoting visibility, Rainskis admitted.
Along with the technical improvements, the organizer also highlighted the growth in the visual identity, which is most directly reflected in the new design of the medals and trophies.
“Urban Riga Open 2” visual identity improvements – new trophy and medals Photo: Maggie Piebalga
For Rainski, the biggest impression in the tournament was the victory of “EC Bangas” over “SemperFi” – in his opinion, such moments confirm the importance of the event for local players and provide motivation for future work. “Hopefully, 2026 will be more interesting and more than two Latvians will fight at the highest level,” he said.
Looking to the future, Rainskis emphasized that the main priority is still the development of local Baltic leagues, but this does not mean the end of “Urban Riga Open”. On the contrary, the next season is planned to be played in March – a month before the Cologne “Major” or world championship qualifying points are counted.
At the same time, Rainskis secretly hopes for a similar event to be held in Lithuania and Estonia, so that local teams throughout the Baltics have the opportunity to regularly compete with international level opponents.
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