EPT![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/V60HHAe.png)
The base of Aspen, Colorado will be the site of the 2015 Winter X Games, a massive tournament featuring a bundle of frosty competitions that pit together the world’s best snowboarders, skiers, and snowmobilers. But for the first time ever, the Winter X Games will include the installment of MLG’s $50,000 CS:GO invitational, starring eight teams spanning the Americas and Europe. Together, these players will be battling below the mountains for a chance to obtain their part of the prize pool and to start the new year off with a bang.
Seven of the eight teams featured are without a doubt teams that have established themselves as the top teams from their respective regions, with the likes of French wonders
LDLC coming fresh off their Dreamhack Winter win. Joining them will be the two Swedish powerhouses, 
Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic, while the only European team that is currently not a top contender in the region, 
Dignitas, will be looking to revitalize themselves under their new leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen.
The North American trio of
Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, and the former iBUYPOWER squad will be looking to challenge the top three’s stranglehold on the scene, as the teams pray the home-field advantage and revamped rosters will spark a region that has failed to put up any significant results since iBP’s trip to the FACEIT LAN finals. Lastly, we have Brazil’s own team, 
KaBuM, who will be anxious to make their own splash in CS:GO and prove to the world that they have what it takes to compete at the international level.
NiP Dignitas Cloud9 KaBuM
LDLC Fnatic CLG ex-iBP
For the group stage, the teams have been divided into two groups of four. In Group A, Ninjas in Pyjamas, led by the legends Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, will face off against Dignitas and Cloud9, two teams they often find themselves fighting tooth and nail with in big tournaments, and KaBuM, the upstarts with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Cloud9 will be featuring their new star AWPer, Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan, who will be making his official LAN debut under the Cloud9 banner, but will it be enough for them to avenge their multiple knockouts during last year’s majors under the hands of the Swedish giants?
Group B will be starring whom many consider the current top two teams in the world, LDLC and Fnatic. After their recent drama at Dreamhack Winter, which saw Fnatic forfeiting after using a controversial boost to score a huge comeback against the eventual champions LDLC, both teams will be looking to tally another win against their rivals, this time on U.S. soil. They will be joined by ex-iBP, whom many speculate will be picked up by Evil Geniuses and are the hometown favorites under the direction of North America’s top in-game leader, Sam “DaZeD” Marine, and CLG’s new squad, the up-and-coming former MouseSpaz team.
Seven of the eight teams featured are without a doubt teams that have established themselves as the top teams from their respective regions, with the likes of French wonders
LDLC coming fresh off their Dreamhack Winter win. Joining them will be the two Swedish powerhouses, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic, while the only European team that is currently not a top contender in the region, Dignitas, will be looking to revitalize themselves under their new leader Finn “karrigan” Andersen. The North American trio of
Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, and the former iBUYPOWER squad will be looking to challenge the top three’s stranglehold on the scene, as the teams pray the home-field advantage and revamped rosters will spark a region that has failed to put up any significant results since iBP’s trip to the FACEIT LAN finals. Lastly, we have Brazil’s own team, KaBuM, who will be anxious to make their own splash in CS:GO and prove to the world that they have what it takes to compete at the international level. Group A
NiP Dignitas Cloud9 KaBuM Group B
LDLC Fnatic CLG ex-iBPFor the group stage, the teams have been divided into two groups of four. In Group A, Ninjas in Pyjamas, led by the legends Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Patrik “f0rest” Lindberg, will face off against Dignitas and Cloud9, two teams they often find themselves fighting tooth and nail with in big tournaments, and KaBuM, the upstarts with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Cloud9 will be featuring their new star AWPer, Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan, who will be making his official LAN debut under the Cloud9 banner, but will it be enough for them to avenge their multiple knockouts during last year’s majors under the hands of the Swedish giants?
Group B will be starring whom many consider the current top two teams in the world, LDLC and Fnatic. After their recent drama at Dreamhack Winter, which saw Fnatic forfeiting after using a controversial boost to score a huge comeback against the eventual champions LDLC, both teams will be looking to tally another win against their rivals, this time on U.S. soil. They will be joined by ex-iBP, whom many speculate will be picked up by Evil Geniuses and are the hometown favorites under the direction of North America’s top in-game leader, Sam “DaZeD” Marine, and CLG’s new squad, the up-and-coming former MouseSpaz team.
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/XEzDEe9.png)
Over on the official MLG’s rules page, the official map pool for the invitational will feature the standard maps that have been used throughout most of 2014:
Considering recent results and the fact that the tournament will be conducted under a best-of-1 round robin and a subsequent best-of-3 format, expect to see a lot of matches on Inferno, Mirage, Cache, and the classic Dust 2, while the heavily CT-favored Nuke, Overpass and Cobble will likely be avoided more often than not.
The North Americans will be looking to use Dust 2 as their equalizer, as the map has proven to be well-suited to the North American style of play, exemplified by ex-iBP and Cloud9 giving the Europeans their occasional losses primarily on that map. Inferno and Mirage will heavily favor LDLC, Fnatic, and potentially the stout Dignitas defense, while Cache may be the map that produces some of the more even and exciting matches between European and American teams.
Considering recent results and the fact that the tournament will be conducted under a best-of-1 round robin and a subsequent best-of-3 format, expect to see a lot of matches on Inferno, Mirage, Cache, and the classic Dust 2, while the heavily CT-favored Nuke, Overpass and Cobble will likely be avoided more often than not.
The North Americans will be looking to use Dust 2 as their equalizer, as the map has proven to be well-suited to the North American style of play, exemplified by ex-iBP and Cloud9 giving the Europeans their occasional losses primarily on that map. Inferno and Mirage will heavily favor LDLC, Fnatic, and potentially the stout Dignitas defense, while Cache may be the map that produces some of the more even and exciting matches between European and American teams.
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/kLSK2np.png)
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Ninjas in Pyjamas, a legendary team both in 1.6 and CS:GO, are entering 2015 coming off a marvelous second place finish at Dreamhack Winter that little expected. After a rough patch during 2014, which lead to the retirement of longtime team member and friend, Robin “Fifflaren” Johansson, NiP scooped up fellow Swede and AWPer, Mikail “Maikelele” Bill, on a trial period. With only a few weeks for NiP and Maikelele to prepare before the Swedish major, not many knew what to expect from a team that looked nothing like the perennial champions of years past.
One of the stars of Dreamhack, Maikelele, will be bringing the fire to Aspen.
Hoping to prove himself by helping NiP regain their former glory, Maikelele was pivotal in leading NiP to a nail-biting final series against LDLC with his exceptional AWP plays and clutches. With the world watching and the pressure of shouldering the name of the most prestigious Counter-Strike organization crashing down on him, Maikelele cemented his place on the team in stunning fashion as he helped revive the Swedish (and perhaps the world) fan favorites from the ashes and back into the spotlight.
This is Maikelele at his finest, dismantling LDLC with a quad-kill.
For this upcoming weekend, expect NiP to utilize Maikelele’s AWP aggressively, allowing him to run around the map and get picks where he can. But do not discredit the rest of the team as Maikelele is supported by a set of amazing riflers in f0rest and Adam “friberg” Friberg, with one of the best clutchers in the world in GeT_RiGhT also by his side. With the stable and phenomenal strat calling of Richard “Xizt” Landström guiding the team, NiP will be a dynamic force this weekend under the mountains.
Fnatic
Fnatic is currently the most dominant yet controversial team in the world of CS:GO. Coming under heavy fire in recent months due to hacking accusations against Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer and Robin “flusha” Rönnquist especially, the Swedish prodigies found themselves further down in the pits due to the drama surrounding their illegal Overpass boost against French rivals LDLC during Dreamhack Winter. Unfortunately for the team led by the world’s top in-game leader, Markus “pronax” Wallsten, their incredible performance throughout the second half of 2014 has been overshadowed by the scorn of the community. ![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/xtxxgW7.png)
pronax will be looking to dominate everyone this weekend with his sinister schemes.
Regardless of the controversies, Fnatic will look to once again demonstrate their prowess as one of the best teams in the world, if not the best. With five of their seven recent LAN events ending with them taking first place at the podium, and with the most stacked roster of stars under the leadership of pronax, anything but first place will be considered a disappointment for these favorites. Viewers looking for excitement are recommended to pay close attention to the hyper-aggressive AWPing style of the 19-year-old phenom Jesper “JW” Wecksell, with Olof “olofm” Kajbjer, Robin “flusha” Rönnquist, and Freddy “KRiMZ” Johansson all primed to make highlight reel-worthy plays. Additionally, those looking to gain some depth in the complicated world of in-game leading need to look no further as the ingenuity of pronax will surely be on full display as he conducts his orchestra of slaughter without missing a beat.
Fnatic highlights from recent events.
LDLC
LDLC, the French champions that have proven to get the best out of the French shuffle of 2014, are coming into MLG with hopes of firmly supplanting themselves as the better team between them and Fnatic. Judging by their results, they have accomplished much in the latter half of 2014, while still falling slightly behind Fnatic in achievements and overall head-to-head matches.![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/2CxVX3c.png)
The captain, Vincent “Happy” Cervoni, is looking to lead his French squad to another tournament win at Aspen.
But even with their struggles against Fnatic, they are still a preeminent team out of the foray and a difficult challenge for any squad to face. The team boasts a group of talented fraggers from top to bottom, with any player capable of putting up numbers at any given moment, including their in-game leader, Happy, who is arguably only second to pronax in strat calling. Look out for their fast executes into bomb sites and their cheeky eco plays. They are a crisp and clean team when all players are in sync, and their chemistry and ability to churn out wins will keep every team on their toes come game time.
LDLC’s winning moment at Dreamhack 2014 against NiP.
Dignitas
Dignitas is a team whom many expected to remain a consistent challenger for a spot in the world’s top four, but fizzled out throughout 2014 with multiple early knockouts in recent tournaments. They will round out the last of the four European teams after earning their spot through the qualifiers. With their disappointing finish at Dreamhack Winter 2014, they replaced longtime leader Henrik “FeTiSh” Christensen with the previously mentioned Finn “karrigan” Andersen.![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/VMl0QqN.png)
Can karrigan’s leadership drag Dignitas out of their slump?
The boys of Dignitas have often been praised for their excellent Counter-Terrorist play. Their penchant for maintaining a rock-solid defense allowed them to take firm control of many games. However, even with their CT side giving them a strong advantage in the first half of many matches, their lackluster Terrorist side, which was arguably the worst amongst the top teams, left them struggling against the very best.
Hoping to address their weakness, the organization will be looking for karrigan to produce results where FeTiSh failed. With the start of 2015 taking place in Aspen, Dignitas will have the perfect chance to prove to the world whether or not they can break free from their offensive struggles and perform at the level that was expected of them before, or even better.
Counter Logic Gaming
The former MouseSpaz squad, recently picked up by the massive esports organization Counter Logic Gaming, is one of the three strongest North American teams at this time, having performed astonishingly well in their recent matches. CLG is a group of young, talented players well-known throughout North America, but the team has yet to make an impact on the international stage. With Peter “ptr” Gurney as their emotional rock and AWPer, and Tarik “tarik” Celik as the team’s star fragger, CLG is known to be one of the more passionate teams in Counter-Strike, in direct contrast with the more calm and collected teams from Europe.
Up-and-coming AWPer, ptr, will have to make big plays for his team to advance out of the group stages.
CLG has the ability to upset anyone in this tournament, having previously defeated iBUYPOWER to earn their spot at Aspen. Look for them to ride the momentum of their stars to close out games against the world’s best. In the words of HotshotGG, CLG’s President and Co-Founder, this team’s “potential is real.”
Highlight video of CLG’s run through the MLG qualifiers
MouseSpaz squad, recently picked up by the massive esports organization Counter Logic Gaming, is one of the three strongest North American teams at this time, having performed astonishingly well in their recent matches. CLG is a group of young, talented players well-known throughout North America, but the team has yet to make an impact on the international stage. With Peter “ptr” Gurney as their emotional rock and AWPer, and Tarik “tarik” Celik as the team’s star fragger, CLG is known to be one of the more passionate teams in Counter-Strike, in direct contrast with the more calm and collected teams from Europe. Up-and-coming AWPer, ptr, will have to make big plays for his team to advance out of the group stages.
CLG has the ability to upset anyone in this tournament, having previously defeated iBUYPOWER to earn their spot at Aspen. Look for them to ride the momentum of their stars to close out games against the world’s best. In the words of HotshotGG, CLG’s President and Co-Founder, this team’s “potential is real.”
Highlight video of CLG’s run through the MLG qualifiers
Cloud9
Cloud9 is a team with a massive following here in North America. They have found the most success on the international stage out of the North American teams, but their recent performances on European soil fell surprisingly flat. Much like Dignitas, C9, after experiencing a tumultuous end to 2014, are now looking to challenge the top once more with a new addition to their team in the rowdy AWPer, ShahZaM, who replaced Hiko following his departure. ![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/qsmCvkF.jpg)
ShahZaM will be the key player for Cloud9’s success at the X Games.
With a star AWPer and amazing clutcher now under their belt, be on the lookout for C9 to score upsets with their flashy plays and individual efforts. If they can fix their chemistry and, more importantly, sharpen their strategies and tactics, they will have the potential to crown themselves as the kings of North America and become a major challenger to the European dictatorship once again. They will also need their other pair of stars, Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert and Mike “shr0ud” Grzesiek, to answer their calling and put up big numbers if C9 wishes to make it far.
ShahZaM the next GeT_RiGhT?
Wicked Masterminds
The former iBUYPOWER, who are speculated to join the Evil Geniuses organization (as noted by the team’s name entering this tournament), have found themselves to be at the forefront of the North American scene with the degradation of Cloud9. Under the wings of DaZeD, a player renowned as the best in-game leader of North America, this formidable team is equipped with a lineup of some of the best fraggers in North America, with the young Braxton “swag” Pierce and AWPer Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham leading the charge. Ex-iBP have proven themselves to be a true contender, but the team must improve their communication if they want a real chance at the top.
With the recent drama surrounding the team’s lineup, which lead to DaZeD being kicked, rejoining, and Spencer “Hiko” Martin essentially replacing Joshua “steel” Nissan, coupled with the allegations of match-fixing, there are many questions concerning whether or not the team will be mentally and emotionally prepared for this tournament.
DaZeD will be looking to rally his team to victory this coming weekend.
If DaZeD can motivate his team to work with him and properly communicate, and if the in-game leader himself can keep his spirits high amongst the pressure, this team will be ready to showcase the hidden potential of the best of North America. Be on the lookout for this team to go deep in the tournament if they make it out of their group, which will be an extremely arduous task in itself.
Skadoodle demonstrating his AWPing prowess against LDLC at the FACE IT LAN finals.
iBUYPOWER, who are speculated to join the Evil Geniuses organization (as noted by the team’s name entering this tournament), have found themselves to be at the forefront of the North American scene with the degradation of Cloud9. Under the wings of DaZeD, a player renowned as the best in-game leader of North America, this formidable team is equipped with a lineup of some of the best fraggers in North America, with the young Braxton “swag” Pierce and AWPer Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham leading the charge. Ex-iBP have proven themselves to be a true contender, but the team must improve their communication if they want a real chance at the top.With the recent drama surrounding the team’s lineup, which lead to DaZeD being kicked, rejoining, and Spencer “Hiko” Martin essentially replacing Joshua “steel” Nissan, coupled with the allegations of match-fixing, there are many questions concerning whether or not the team will be mentally and emotionally prepared for this tournament.
DaZeD will be looking to rally his team to victory this coming weekend.
If DaZeD can motivate his team to work with him and properly communicate, and if the in-game leader himself can keep his spirits high amongst the pressure, this team will be ready to showcase the hidden potential of the best of North America. Be on the lookout for this team to go deep in the tournament if they make it out of their group, which will be an extremely arduous task in itself.
Skadoodle demonstrating his AWPing prowess against LDLC at the FACE IT LAN finals.
KaBuM
KaBuM, the Brazilian squad that qualified for MLG Aspen through the South American qualifiers, is the darkhorse of this invitational. With the team’s sole international appearance being a 1-4 effort during ESWC 2014, there isn’t much that can be said. However, this event will hopefully be a stepping stone for a region that is looking to make its presence known. The team has absolutely nothing to lose, and will undoubtedly gain a worthwhile experience.KaBuM highlights.
Writer: Amazingxkcd
Graphics: Dimian
Editors: Souma, Nagisama, 2Pacalypse-
Graphics: Dimian
Editors: Souma, Nagisama, 2Pacalypse-
