The dust has just settled from MLG Aspen, but there is no time to rest for the NA scene. Clutchcon 2015, the second NA LAN event, is underway and is here to shine a bright light into a gloomy NA scene with all the recent drama. The time is perfect for NA teams to step up and rise to the occasion to become one of the best in the world by showing their dominance amongst their competitors.

Clutchcon will begin with group stages on January 30th, continuing all weekend until February 1st.

Counter Logic Gaming
The recently acquired Counter Logic Gaming team, formerly known as ex-mouseSpaz, are looking favorable to grab a spot at the top of this group. Peter ‘ptr’ Gurney’s performance at MLG amazed many with his AWP play and is looking to keep him and his teammates at the top. Although CLG is looking strong, they might have an issue with one other team in this group

Fnatic
After their 4th place win at MLG Aspen, losing out to juggernauts LDLC and NiP, Fnatic are looking to be the favorites of this group and the whole tournament. At MLG, Fnatic disposed of CLG on Mirage with Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell finishing the match 23 – 11 with his dominating AWP play. Olof ‘Olofm’ Kajbjer was also leading the forefront with his solid rifle play and positioning. Fnatic is a force to be reckoned with.

Cloud 9
Cloud 9 feels like a wildcard team. When the team performs, they could easily be the top NA team in the scene and are able to beat the best. At MLG, Cloud 9’s group performance was inconsistent with a huge win over NiP (16 – 7) but two devastating losses to Dignitas (2 – 16) and KaBuM.TD (4 – 16). Shahzeb ‘Shahzam’ Khan being picked up as a dedicated AWPer has allowed Michael ‘Shroud’ Grzesiek and Jordan ‘n0thing’ Gilbert to get more into a rhythm of doing what needs to be done, getting kills and pushing momentum on their side.

Team Liquid
Team Liquid, formally known as ex-Denial, is looking to represent the new team name and sponsors at their second LAN event. Team Liquid is looking to be very promising with solid play at MLG from Nick ‘nitr0’ Cannella and Jacob ‘FugLy’ Medina. As a team, they may have a little bit more growing, but are gunning to place themselves at the top of the NA scene very quickly.

KaBuM:TD
The Brazilian dark horse may have shocked a few when defeating Cloud 9 (16 – 4) at MLG Aspen, but they came up short against NiP (3 – 16) and Dignitas (4 – 16). Team members Fernando ‘fer’ Alvarenga and Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo are looking to show why they are a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. The NA scene is in a volatile state and KaBuM might be able to take advantage to reign supreme at Clutchcon.

I know I'll be tuning in to see who will reign supreme. In the meantime, ASUS ROG is happening with a lot of the top-tier EU teams.