ESL One Cologne: Team Previews and Rankings

One has to wonder whether Flipsid3 Tactics has grown tired of being labeled a "dark horse". Yet they haven't done enough to shed the image of a threatening team that delivers upsets without ever going all the way. For the CIS squad led by Andrey “B1ad3” Gorodenskiy, their aim must be to finally come out from the shadows. With talent such as Yegor “markeloff” Markelov and Vladyslav “bondik” Nechyporchuk, the team’s raw aim is strong and they can take on gun duels with ease. Georgi “WorldEdit” Yaskin is their main AWPer and he has shown time and time again that he is able to shut down bomb sites by himself. However, the team lost one of its strongest members, Aleksander “s1mple” Kostyliev, to team Evolution, though a replacement was ready at hand. When s1mple was banned or unable to attend ESL events in the past, the squad called upon Vadim “Davcost” Vasilyev to fill in for qualifiers with great success. Now, he'll have to step up at a main event.

Davcost previously played as a stand-in at the ESL Katowice Offline Qualifiers and the ESL Cologne Offline Qualifiers, and the team qualified for both with Davcost’s help. His playstyle synergizes well with the team and the results, at least in qualifying, speak for themselves. However, playing in the main event is entirely different due to the pressure, the crowds, and the prize at stake. Davcost has yet to play with Flipsid3 beyond qualifiers, and it's impossible to tell whether he will continue to shine under the spotlight. The team must hope that history proves to be true and Davcost completely fills the hole that s1mple left upon his departure.

Although Flipsid3 is playing with a familiar stand-in, the other members of the squad are all solid players and have shown their unity under Blad3’s command. His leadership and tactics can throw off top teams and take games off them even when the odds are not in their favor. At ESWC 2015, Flipsid3 played with a four man squad and had popular North American streamer, Specner "Hiko" Martin, stand-in for WorldEdit who could not make it due to Visa issues. They were able to win a Bo3 against fan favorites Ninjas in Pyjamas 2-1 with Blad3’s understanding of each player allowing them to play to their strengths. Expect the squad to shine in comfortable positions, but if thrown out of their element, it will be Blad3’s job to pull the team in and get them back on track.

Flipsid3 has been drawn into Group B with the newly reshuffled Team EnVyUs, newly acquired Luminosity Gaming, and recently sponsored Kinguin. The squad has a good chance of grabbing the second place spot with EnVyUs favored to take the top spot, but don’t be surprised to see Luminosity or Kinguin give Flipsid3 a tough battle for a higher placing. Flipsid3 should not be underestimated or teams will find themselves struggling very quickly. ESL Cologne should have an incredible set of games and if viewers are given the chance to watch Flipsid3 perform, keep an eye out for WorldEdit’s incredible AWP skills, markeloff’s quick reflexes, and DavCost’s ability to win lost rounds.

Renegades is the new organization on the block in the CS:GO ecosystem, sporting the ex-Vox Eminor squad. This team is the strongest out of the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region. They are no strangers to the majors, having appeared at Katowice twice as well as Cologne last year. However, with those opportunities, they have never made it past the group stage. This year looks to be no different, although the Australian squad have picked up a few new tricks that could land them in a fortunate position.

Going from an Australian organization to an American one has proven to be a good move in preparation for ESL One Cologne. Even with a rather unorthodox format at IEM Gamescom, Renegades played against SK Gaming’s new squad and managed to go 2-1. Unfortunately, they were crushed when put up against mousesports. These losses could prove useful to study for the upcoming major and having a bootcamp should allow them to focus solely on their strategy and communication. This will be especially beneficial to Yaman “yam” Ergeneko as this will be his first major tournament appearance.

Renegades will need to chain rounds together in order to break through the tougher teams. So far, they have displayed key mistakes in their play such as unnecessary peeking and bad positioning. The Australian team has struggled to keep an advantage against top tier teams, losing duels and allowing their opponents to catch up.

Map choices will be critical as Train has been added to the rotation instead of Nuke unlike ESL One Katowice. Their most successful map wins are on Cache and Mirage but they falter on Dust 2 against more established teams. If possible they should avoid Dust 2 and devise specialized strategies for other maps. The best-of-one format for ESL One Cologne could benefit them. In the past, they have beaten Counter Logic Gaming, though CLG has recently been to many more tournaments and experienced more exposure to various teams. Ninjas in Pyjamas have not looked very strong lately, and with only a single map needed to win, Renegades could pull a surprise depending on their map choices and ability to tailor their tactics against NiP. Team SoloMid will prove to be even more of a challenge as they have been performing well above their groupmates the past few months.

Renegades now have the advantage of making CS:GO their full-time focus. They have the potential to eke out a win on day two of the tournament. However, potential is something possessed by many and fulfilled by few.

Once the oft-forgotten child of the Australian scene, Team Immunity broke out into the international space by topping their groups at the FACEIT Stage 1 LAN Finals. They lost a narrow game to Ninjas in Pyjamas in their first set, giving some a glimmer of hope that another Australian team might be on the rise. Following a 2-1 victory over Team Liquid, they were bursting with confidence and Iain “Snyper” Turner talked about the trials and tribulations of the Australian scene with various predatory beasts lurking in the shadows. Under the iron fist of Vox Eminor, it was no wonder it took them this long to finally enter the public’s eye.

However, the euphoria was somewhat short-lived as they entered their rematch against NiP and got subsequently demolished, grabbing a total of seven rounds in a best of three. They then stayed in London to try their luck in a GFINITY Masters tournament which pitted them in a series of best of threes against top tier teams. While it proved to be a good opportunity for Immunity to play against more teams, they unfortunately fell short, losing all the games in their group with a notable close game against Titan that went into overtime.

So where does that leave the beloved Aussies? Similarly to their now American-backed counterparts, Renegades, they went through the Asian qualifiers with a breeze. While some may lament the fact that two spots were given to the Australians, this is their chance to prove that they are worth it. For all they’ve said about the American teams, there is no better time to prove that your scene is worth a cash infusion than besting the two teams from the other “inferior” region. That being said, thanks to the format of this new major, there is no telling whether they will end up facing the Americans as their first opponent is a Legend team in the form of Virtus.pro. While the Poles have been struggling, their recent win at CEVO proved they still remain the gatekeeper to second tier teams, trouncing both ex-Luminosity Gaming and ex-Tempo Storm in such a fashion that those teams no longer exist. On top of that, the loss of Yaman “Yam” Ergenekon is a big loss to their team, and while Karlo “USTILO” Pivac has shown some promise, the squad from down under still lack a star player with enough firepower to take down the Polish side convincingly.

Unfortunately for the Australian scene, this one chance may not prove as fruitful as they had hoped, and they may be relegated to a single slot when the next major rolls around.

Every major has at least one breakout team, a team that has never attended a major. In Katowice, we had Keyd Stars, the Brazilians that startled the world with their Mirage play. At Dreamhack Winter, we had PENTA Sports, a team that contained three of the players that now form the current mousesports. Enter eBettle, an upstart Polish team under the banner of a betting website conspicuously located in Cyprus. Cobbled together by the ex-INSHOCK players that attended the last major’s LAN qualifier, losing out to the current Luminosity Gaming squad and Cloud9, they also feature Karol “rallen” Rodowicz who notably played for Gamers2.

This time they were more fortunate. With each qualifier being segregated by region, they no longer had to fear the likes of the American teams that once halted their chances at fame and glory. Instead, they stormed through the qualifier and fought tooth and nail against Europe’s best, defeating HellRaisers 16-14 and Titan in a nail-biting game on Train, clutching it 25-23. Not only did they earn their spot in the major this time, but they did so without dropping a game against some of the scariest competition in the qualifier.

So while they had a strong showing at the qualifier, how will they stack up in their group? Unfortunately, it is looking like an early exit for the Polish squad, as not only are they up against two of the toughest teams in the entire tournament in Fnatic and Natus Vincere, but they get a rematch against Titan who will undoubtedly be prepared to strike back against the Poles. But, there are a few tricks up eBettle’s sleeve, one being the undeniable fact that Bartosz “Hyper” Wolny dropped an absurd 53 frags against Titan in the qualifier. Additionally, they have flexibility in their sniper role with multiple players picking it up across a single game. If they were up against a team like Luminosity Gaming, they may have stood a chance to overpower the Brazilians, but their first match is against Fnatic. Unlike in other offline competitions, the majors are where teams play for keeps, and Fnatic will not be pulling any punches.

It is always nice to see a fresh face enter the international scene, especially one with the amount of heart that eBettle seems to possess. In the future, we may see this lineup in another major, picking up where they left off and returning after learning from their past mistakes, emboldened and ready to take on the best in the world. Until then, they can use this tournament as a stepping stone to their future.

Since Katowice, Counter Logic Gaming has had its fair share of ups and downs. Coming off a disappointing loss to their Brazilian rivals, the American team managed to claim its first LAN victory in the form of the CEVO Season 8 playoffs. Their success was shortlived however, as the North America scene hit its lowest point at the final ESEA Season, before partnering with ESL for the Pro League. It was at that LAN that not a single North American team was able to pull off a win against a European one, and there was simply no hope left.

It was then that CLG decided to make a change, attempting to lure Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham and try to be the ones to break the alliance between him and Spencer “Hiko” Martin. Unfortunately things got messy and their AWPer Peter “ptr” Gurney overheard the team's plans before they materialized. Even though they were unable to pick up Skadoodle, the damage was irreparable and CLG underwent their first roster shuffle, picking up their old colleague Josh “jdm64” Marzano as a temporary stand-in for ptr. However, the months rolled by and after securing lodging at their official team house, it seemed like jdm64 was the final choice, even though it didn’t start out that way.

Since then, they’ve vied for the second place seat under Cloud9 in the North American scene, and for the most part they’ve secured it, consistently beating out other teams like Team Liquid and Luminosity Gaming. During the infamous ESL ESEA Pro League LAN Finals, CLG too had a moment of glory albeit a degree smaller than Cloud9’s run—they managed to defeat Fnatic on Mirage as well as their old rivals Luminosity Gaming, then known as Keyd Stars. They’ve said that they want to emulate Cloud9’s success in the international scene, but if you look at the line-up, you’ll be hard pressed to find the same pillars that make Cloud9 what they are. In fact, there are probably more similarities to the old Cloud9 squad than there are with the new, successful one.

With Stephen “reltuC” Cutler taking over in-game leading, it leaves Pujan “FNS” Mehta with less to do, as one simply cannot pick up their fragging ability after handing over the leadership mantle. It isn’t surprising then, if there are clashes in decisions that need to be made, which is similar to how Cloud9 handled their leaders, juggling between Kory “Semphis” Friesen and Sean “sgares” Gares. They also have a single star player in Tarik “tarik” Celik who, like Michael “shroud” Grzesiek, is lauded as one of North America’s top aimers. So while James “hazed” Cobb may want to channel some of Cloud9’s success, he must realize that Cloud9 had to first cast away the shackles of their previous friendships and acknowledge that their original core could no longer work. It was only then, in addition to picking up some stellar talent, that Cloud9 flourished into the team we see today.

The parallels to the Cloud9 of yesteryear don’t stop there, as in the groups they face Ninjas in Pyjamas, a team known for stopping Cloud9 in their tracks, ending their tournament dreams in an instant. If CLG want a shot at breaking out at this tournament and making it past the group stages, they’ll have to take a vulnerable NiP by surprise and not only outgun and outaim them, but they have to outplay them. Countering NiP is best done when they are unsure of themselves and enter in a tournament without confidence, it is there that you can push the boundaries of what is usually possible, and give you the edge to tip the battle in your favour.

After breaking onto the international scene and garnering the public’s favour, the current Luminosity Gaming squad has undergone a number of shuffles, from its organization to its roster. They entered Katowice as Keyd Stars but prior to that they were known as KaBuM. It was as KaBuM that they made their debut at MLG Aspen, and since then they have had the opportunity to play in the Pro League in the North American scene. While they performed admirably in the online portion of the league, finishing second only to Cloud9, and even racked up a win against Team SoloMid in the LAN finals, they disappointingly lost to CLG and eventually got knocked out of the tournament by an angry Fnatic.

Following that they exited the ESWC tournament in quick fashion, unable to best Cloud9 and losing narrowly against a Flipsid3 Tactics team at half-mast who substituted second AWPer Georgy “WorldEdit” Yaskin with Spencer “Hiko” Martin. However, thanks to their performance at Katowice, they still retained their Legend status and were subsequently invited to this Major. However, they no longer look as enigmatic or simply as strong as they once were when they first entered the scene. After leaving Keyd Stars, they took the opportunity to drop Caio “zqk” Fonseca, their main AWPer in favour of Marcelo “cold” David. Since then they have decided to shroud themselves once more, bootcamping in preparation for the Major under the banner of Luminosity Gaming.

However, it is difficult to imagine a world where Luminosity can continue to find the results they desire. With Fernando “fer” Alvarenga on their team, they have a chance to tear open a bombsite, but pitted against a team of mercenaries like Kinguin, it is a hard task for a single man to take on five at once. While cold may bring something new to the table, the talents of Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo and his men are probably not enough to continue on a tournament of this calibre.

While they may exit this tournament early, there is still an argument to be made about their participation in the North American scene. Cloud9 originally contemplated moving to Europe to start a team house because the competition in the NA scene was so dismal that they couldn’t even take scrims seriously due to the difference in skill. Luminosity can and has become that bridge, a benchmark where NA teams can test their limits which in turn fosters an environment of competitive improvement, each team striving to beat them. Indeed, prior to the implosion of Tempo Storm, ex-Luminosity, eLevate and Nihilum, many teams looked promising and had a stepping stone to test themselves instead of immediately being thrown into the fire that is the European scene. Hopefully Luminosity sticks around, as they have undeniably raised the collective bar of North American CSGO.

The dream team of many a CS:GO fan, Kinguin basically took all the best free agents at the time of its creation and slapped a logo onto them and told them to play. Consisting of four different nationalities, unlike other European teams, Kinguin is not built on a nationalistic ideal or the fact that they all speak the same language. Indeed, the main driving factor on Kinguin was cold, hard cash and as we’ve seen, money talks. Kinguin had a rocky start, but after releasing Alexander “SKYTTEN” Carlsson, they seem to have gained a more stable understanding of how each player likes to play.

At the head of the roster is fan favourite Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, the headshot monster. Having had a string of teams falling apart around him, many feared that Kinguin would befall a similar fate. However the 1-tap superstar and his team have remained stoic and Adil has shown his time outside the spotlight did not lower his skill. Perhaps he felt he was being suffocated under the leadership of Kevin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans, and needed the space to breathe, to be on a team where it was less about the strategy and more about allowing each player’s raw skill to carry them to victory. Whatever the reason, ScreaM has been performing admirably on this newest team.

While they haven’t seen many LAN victories, their most notable success was their 16-0 domination and overall 2-1 victory over Virtus.Pro at Dreamhack Valencia during the group stages. While that could potentially be attributed more to the fault of Virtus.Pro than anything else, a complete shut out against any top tier team is still a considerable achievement and a testament to Kinguin’s potential. It’s difficult to say where they stack up against the upper echelons of the European scene, but they have the confidence to be the best, and against the lower level teams in the Cologne qualifier, that’s pretty much all that was needed.

At the head of that vanguard is their new recruit Dennis “dennis” Edman who obviously took the trial run seriously, putting up huge numbers against Dignitas and KILLERFISH. He quickly became an official part of their team and they’ve since racked up wins online against Mousesports and Hellraisers.

Up against Luminosity Gaming in Group B, Kinguin probably got the easiest Legend match-up they could’ve hoped for. Up against any of the top four, they would have been put in an uneasy situation and against a team like Virtus.pro, the Poles will most likely be out for blood to repay them for that loss in Spain. Having the Brazilians will give them the best chance to advance into a winner’s match, but after that is where things get dicey for our European hopefuls. A game against the renewed EnVyUs won’t be easy to win, as they easily have the firepower to duke it out with the Penguins. Predicting things for them after that becomes a whirlwind of spreadsheets and crystal balls, and while they may have a fortuitous position having to only win one more match, they could potentially be matched up against any top tier team.

Heading into the second half of 2015, it’s a good time to look back on Titan and ask what became of the promising Belgian - French lineup after Katowice. Simply put, Titan did not really lived up to the expectations, as they failed to shape up and rival the best teams in the world. They made it close against some good opponents, with the occasional positive result, but in the end, they’ve yet to grow into a real contender. Like many aspiring teams, they continued to be plagued by inconsistency.

Cédric “RpK” Guipouy still looked longingly at the legendary level he had in Counter-Strike: Source, while Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez often dragged the team down. Combined with Dan “apEX” Madesclaire's alternating streaks of great and awful, the team could not find a way to vault into the upper echelon, even under the leadership of Kevin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans. Yes, Kenny “kennyS” Schrub was still capable of winning rounds by himself to single-handedly carry Titan, but it wasn't enough.

However, there is little point in contemplating the past, because things have changed. At the end of July, maniac announced that he had quit his job, and would go full time in CS:GO. Then, Titan handed kennyS and apEX to Team EnVyUs, in exchange for Édouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux and Richard “shox” Papillon.

The new Titan is different. Gone are the times of “kennyS plus four”. This was admittedly the most notorious kind of gimmick the team relied on, with four players counting on kennyS to open things up so the rest of the team could take advantage of the crack in the enemy's armor, or to clutch unwinnable rounds by himself. The new Titan has to work as a team more than ever if they want to find success in Cologne. However, this could be the impetus that each player needs to step up their game. The squad must find a vein of consistency, especially RpK and maniac, while growing into their playmaking roles. The responsibility of becoming an elite team is now in the hands of 5 members instead of 1+4.

Overall, the new Titan is brimming with promise tempered by a few doubts—they've only played the European Qualifier for ESL Cologne, after all. They breezed through it, except for a small hiccup against the surprising eBettle that clinched the other qualification spot. Still, they were expected to make it to Cologne, so the real test here will be the group stage. Back in Katowice, they bombed out 0 - 2. In Cologne, their group doesn’t look any easier, with Fnatic, Natus Vincere and, once again, eBettle. Breaking through Fnatic and Na'Vi will be a challenge, and in any other tournament, we would likely see Titan finishing 3rd. Yet, thanks to a twist in the format that puts the three remaining teams of each group into four new groups, they could still find a way through.

It won’t be easy, but even if Titan loses their first game, they could still have a good shot at making it to the playoffs. That is, if the luck of the draw lands them in an easier group after the shuffle.

The original NiP roster including Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson was arguably the most dominant team in CS:GO history. They made three consecutive grand final appearances at major tournaments, culminating at Cologne last year where they finally managed to win their first major title. Yet even success could not stall the hands of time and Fifflaren retired a couple months later. With less than one month before DreamHack Winter 2014, Ninjas in Pyjamas found a replacement in Mikail "Maikelele" Bill. They made yet another major final but eventually lost in the deciding series. Due to several reasons, Maikelele was replaced and NiP formed their current roster with former 3DMAX AWPer Aleksi "allu" Jalli. NiP had little more than one month with allu before Katowice 2015 and managed to make the grand final of yet another major, making it the fifth consecutive and finishing at least top two in every single major played in CS:GO. NiP's current roster has now been together almost six months and have bolstered their strength with allu's former teammate Joona "natu" Leppänen as their new coach.

NiP have not looked like their old selves ever since Katowice. All five players have arguably had a smaller slump at one point in time since the last major. They swapped their in-game leader from Richard "Xizt" Landström to Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund then back to Xizt. The swapping had some short-term effects where Xizt started fragging more and the Ninjas looked reinvigorated. However, the changes didn't last long and they were back to underperforming once again. NiP took a substantial break from tournaments and perhaps themselves and the game as well. What we will see at Cologne will be a new NiP, be it for the better or the worse.

Their group for Cologne 2015 consists of Counter Logic Gaming, Renegades and Team SoloMid. The opening match pits them with CLG, who they should win against with comfort, even when they are playing as poorly as they have recently. Their only big challenge in this group should be TSM. That match will decide if they go straight through to the bracket stage or not. Realistically, they won't be able to beat TSM considering recent form, which means they will have to luck out with the group redraw as a lot of teams have the potential to knock them out of the tournament.

If recent form was the only thing to judge them by then they probably wouldn't make it out of the groups, but Ninjas in Pyjamas isn't any ordinary team. They have performed at every major, even when they did not look like a top two team in the world at the time. What I'm talking about is the fabled "NiP magic." For this to happen, all five players need to step up and both fragging and strategy need to be on point. They need to perform the way we are used to seeing them—the way Cologne remembers.

Cologne will witness the return; the return of the legends.

The CIS powerhouse Na'Vi has shown their strength in recent tournaments and is aiming to take the top spot at ESL Cologne. Led by Daniil “Zeus” Teslenko, the boys of black and yellow use their signature slow-and-steady playstyle to out maneuver their opponents and cause them to make mistakes. Every team with a strong IGL has to have comrades that follow and perform up to the standard. With veterans such as Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev and Denis “seized” Kostin , the overall team experience and synergy has been in top form as of late. Rounding out the rest of the squad are Ladislav “GuadiaN” Kovács, an AWPer with a legitimate claim for the title of best in his position, and Egor “flamie” Vasilyev, a late addition who helps bring Na’Vi together.

In the past three months, Na’Vi has been involved in five finals and was able to grab first place three times over Titan, Team EnVyUs, and Cloud 9. Two major factors of their recent success are the inclusion of newcomer flamie, and GuardiaN's level of play. Flamie’s recent pickup has proved nothing but fruitful. With Zeus letting him entry frag and relying on him to be a playmaker and set the momentum, flamie’s solid aim has helped create space for seized and Edward to find picks and advance into better positions on the map. A common strategy seen from Na’Vi on Dust 2 as of late is a quick cat push with flamie leading the crew. Flamie often finds a pick between mid doors before rushing up stairs for another on goose of platform on A. This space allows Edward to lurk behind or seized to drop down into CT spawn to take down any that cross the divide. Combined with GuardiaN's domination with the AWP—he is now a contender for the title of best AWPer in the scene—their T side has looked terrifying. The latest AWP changes have had little effect on his play style and he was able to adapt quite quickly. On CT side, his passive plays and clever positioning allow him to always have the advantage; on T side, his quick aim and ability to adjust to any situation allows him to be versatile and reliable. He isn't a one trick pony, either. Don't be surprised to see him with a 3 or 4-kill holding an AK, as his rifle skills are still top notch. As long as Guardian is alive, Na’Vi has a chance to win any round.

The new and improved Na’Vi squad has shown that they can go toe to toe and defeat some of the best in the scene. If Zeus and the squad come prepared and play their slow-and-steady style, fans can expect a good showing from them. Watch out for Guardian’s positioning when wielding an AWP and Flamie’s insanely quick aim and spray control. Falling into Group C with heavy hitters such as Fnatic, Titan, and Team Ebettle, their goal should be to claim the second place spot, at the very least. If every player shows up in top form, they could just pip their groupmates to the top. The boys in yellow and black have a lot to live up to due to recent results. Expect them to go far at ESL Cologne.

Virtus.pro was a side viewed very differently just a short month ago. Before their triumphant run at CEVO, they were riding out a dry tournament spell of more than three months with unexpected losses to lesser teams. They lost twice at Gfinity to Mouz and suffered an embarrassing 16-0 loss against Kinguin. The latter was a staggering result for any team and it should go down as one of the darkest moments in the Polish side's history.

When the bulk of top tier opponents dropped out of the Colombus event, a chance for VP to collect silverwear and gain some momentum materialized. Their first real test would be Na'Vi in the group stage, and Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski, after months of stable but unimpressive form went berserk with a rifle in his hands. He dropped an ace on the T side of Overpass, carrying the team in tandem with Filip "Neo" Kubski. In their post match interview Wiktor "Taz" Wojtas wondered, “I don’t get why this is a surprise?”

His confidence was not without basis. The Neo-pasha swap proved to be a genius move, and we must observe the wider context to really appreciate its effect on the Polish side. After their catastrophic showing at Valencia, Neo and TaZ assured Richard Lewis no roster changes were happening any time soon. Despite the rumoured strained nature of the relationship between TaZ and pasha, they were determined to resolve their personal issues and get back to tournament winning form together. The most evident problem was pasha’s lacklustre performance as the primary sniper for the team.

His awping style relies heavily on being aggressive with re-peeks instead of passively waiting for the enemy team to walk into his crosshairs. There is a certain flair and ballsiness to his approach, but it can be very risky due to the role that a sniper must play. When it fails, not only is the team a man down early in the round, they also lose a valuable scout and give up their most expensive piece of kit—which has to be rebought the next round or saved up for. Without a healthy bank, a mistimed re-peek could easily make the difference of a few rounds. An underperforming awper playing this style is detrimental, and, in VP's case, proved to be no longer sustainable. Fortunately, Pasha is a very competent rifler, a rare trait for most dedicated awpers, so finding a new awper in house and putting an automatic firearm in the loving care of the most famous biceps this side of the Atlantic made sense.

Enter Neo, one of the most well rounded players of 1.6. Akin to a current era Olof "olofmeister" Kajbjer, he would wreck faces no matter the gun. An excellent, albeit not top-tier jack of all trades in Global Offensive, he also has a symbiotic relationship with IGL TaZ—they have played together for the better part of the past decade. He is less likely to engage in a reckless fire fight and leave gaps in the team setup, which allows for tighter defences and slicker executions. His handful of miracle rounds at CEVO gave weight to the brilliance of the switch where his team play, individual skill and discipline all contributed immensely to VP’s success that weekend. With the weights of hitting AWP shots off pasha’s shoulders, he thrived in the rifler role, mowing down the opposition with surprising ease.

VP may have triumphed at CEVO, but a number of factors need to be taken into account as the major in Cologne draws closer. For starters, that was an easy tournament for a team of VP’s caliber, with no Swedish or French opposition to speak of. VP still needs to prove themselves against top shelf teams to gain more confidence, and TaZ himself concluded in a post match interview that they “played like shit” most of the time. Obviously he wasn’t belittling the achievement of his teammates but addressing the key issue of playing as a unit. VP still relies heavily on streaks of brilliance and chaining force buys to succeed. In two of the maps in the CEVO final, they were down 5-10 at halftime, a deficit they can’t afford against the likes of fnatic, TSM, or the newly mixed French teams. Tactically, the team seems to be headed down the right path, but Janusz "Snax" Pogorzelski and Paweł "Byali" Bieliński still need to find a groove of consistency in order to appease their elders.

The long-term viability of their current setup still needs to be examined, especially against a wider range of opposition and under the pressure of a tournament exit. TaZ has been vocal about his disdain for the format planned for Cologne, and given their current form it is in their best interest to top their group and play as few Bo1s as possible.

If you’ve been following the majors, you might know that Mousesports was formerly known as two time returning legends PENTA esports; or at least three members of those original five: Denis “denis” Howell, Timo “Spiidi” Richter, and Johannes “nex” Maget. New to the roster since Katowice will be Chris ”Chrisj” de Jong and Fatih “Gob B” Dayik who together have helped the team to some impressive results recently, placing within the top four at over seventeen events and earning upwards of $50,000 since the mousesports and PENTA rosters merged in early January. There is no doubt about it, Mousesports are one of, if not the best team in western Europe at the moment.

This is thanks heavily in part to the surgical power of ChrisJ wielding an AWP. ChrisJ is one of the few names at home amongst the greats of our time: Kenny “kennyS” Schrub, Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham, and Alexander “s1mple” Kostylev. His ability to defend a bomb site on his own with the weapon is awe-inspiring. His in-game awareness and potential to clutch rounds means that Mousesports has rarely dropped a round if ChrisJ is still alive despite any man advantage.

He would be nothing however without in-game leader Gob B who had an impressive run this past week at IEM Gamescom against TSM and EnvyUs. His knowledge of the game and rotations factors into many game winning plays. A tactical mastermind, Fatih has molded the German trio into an effective killing machine. Combined with the growing consistency of ChrisJ, it makes Mouz a dangerous team for any one to go up against. A play-maker quickly making a name for himself on the international level is nex, whose rifling skills have single-handedly secured wins for the team many times. On the other hand, Gob B lamented the fact that they were losing rounds even with a man advantage and a bomb plant—something a team should never do. Yet recently with nex, he has managed to reverse situations where Mouz should be completely out of the round.

There is no dispute over the power within this roster. However they are unique to Cologne in the sense that they are somewhat of a challenger. This is a team that has never won a major, or anything outside of a monthly or weekly. They will have to play their hearts out to overcome their reputation for poor placement. Out of every team coming into this major, Mousesports stands with the most potential for creating an upset that can ripple throughout the entire tournament. Up against American favorites Cloud9, Gob B and his men will have an uphill battle from the get go, and will have to be firing at all cylinders if they want the slimmest chance at breaking out of the groups and into a Top 4 placing.

They’ve worked hard to get where they are, and have the greatest chance to bring back the reputation that the Mousesports name once evoked, and this time Gob B has run out of ‘faks’ to give.

Once the butt of many a joke regarding the state of North American CS:GO, Cloud9 has stepped up to the plate since their roster shuffle, acquiring Ryan “fREAKAZOiD” Abadir and Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham. While it took a while for the team to get acclimated, dropping out of groups at both GFINITY tournaments they attended, they performed excellently in online leagues and tournaments. Cloud9 finished first in the ESL ESEA Pro League with the best overall record, going 19-3 in the season, besting Fnatic and Virtus.pro who sat at 17-5 in the European division. Of course, that wasn’t enough: being the best in North America was not a new experience for Cloud9 and most were left wanting more.

It was at the LAN finals of the Pro League where Cloud9 finally showed some promise and kicked off a month of finals and top four finishes. The success at the Pro League finals could have been explained away by the fact that the best-of-one group stages proved more chaotic than usual, with Counter Logic Gaming and Keyd Stars causing upsets which rippled through the bracket stages. Combined with a sluggish and imploding Team EnVyUs, it was easy to take a pessimist's point of view and dismiss their second place finish as a fluke. However, they’ve proved through their string of placings that they aren’t the same Cloud9 as before. They won’t be the team that ekes through a group stage and gets rolled over by Ninjas in Pyjamas, and more importantly, they can become the team that everyone expected them to be since their inception.

To talk about Cloud9’s successes, one must identify the factors in which they win games, three of which are keystones in which Cloud9 have built their gameplay around. First is the addition of Skadoodle which has had an undeniably positive effect on their team’s success. Simply having a world-class AWPer on your team will improve a team’s performances. You can look to teams like Fnatic, Natus Vincere and even Titan during Kenny “kennyS” Schrub’s reign of terror to see the impact a top tier AWPer can have on a team’s gameplan. Though three very different cases, all of them exhibit similar results. A stellar sniper will increase the chance of a team getting an early-round advantage due to winning duels more frequently.

Second is the addition of fREAKAZOiD, and while it is hard to elaborate on his role in the team in a succinct manner, it can be said that he exists to allow the other stars of Cloud9 to shine. You will rarely see him win insane clutches, get an ace or star in many highlight clips since he plays the role of the selfless soldier to a perfect tee. Picked from relative obscurity as he came back into the scene, many doubted his abilities to even begin to have a meaningful impact on the team. It's true; during the GFINITY tournaments he did not put up a good performance, often being the lowest fragger in the team. However, the results of his efforts have not gone unnoticed, and it is partly his efforts that have allowed Cloud9 to become the team we see today. In an era of CS:GO where a typical North American is raised on getting the most frags and having the highest RWS, fREAKAZOID is the antithesis to that concept, having the rare ability to discard feelings about his kill/death ratio which allows him to enter sites with a mechanical mindset. He aims to notch an entry frag to open up the bombsite for his team, and in the event that he fails, he immediately communicates the enemy’s location which allows for Michael “shroud” Grzesiek to enter right after and eliminate the enemy.

Lastly, it has been under the leadership of Sean “seangares” Gares that has allowed Cloud9 to flourish the way it has. Time and time again we have seen that even though a team has a star AWPer or a set of five players that have the pinpoint accuracy of a T-1000, they can still fall against a team with similar aim but a much higher understanding of strategy and tactics. This is what has allowed Cloud9 to elevate themselves above the rest to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other top teams. During the Katowice POV comms, you could hear Sean call for a specific strategy involving molotovs, only to be shut down due to the chaos caused by the friction between teammates. Now, the North Americans are known as one of the teams that relies on an expensive kit to execute onto sites. The freedom that seangares now holds has allowed him to flourish into an excellent in-game leader, permitting his team to grab an absurd amount of T-side rounds, win games in which they lose both pistols and rely on a high level of knowledge against other teams.

So where does Cloud9 stand at the end of the day? We believe that this is their best chance yet, to not only pass the group stages, but break their curse of top eight/twelve finishes at major tournaments and enter into the realm of the semifinalists. A top four finish for Cloud9 might not be adequate for them, but for us, it will show tremendous growth for a team that was once the laughing stock of the international scene.

The months leading up to August were a bit rough for Team EnVyUs, as they experienced some highs but mostly lows. They had lost the aura of a dominant team, a shine we saw at the beginning of 2015, due to a series of mixed results against teams they were able to beat convincingly not long ago, like Titan, dignitas and Mousesports. Though they remained a top tier team, you could see that the boys in blue were far from indomitable, unable to challenge the best of the best and vulnerable against their former fodder. They notably became a punching bag for Cloud9 at ESL ESEA Pro League, and a week later at ESWC Montreal, as the American lineup racked up win after win against them during their transformation into a top tier championship contender.

Then, the rumors hit that changes to EnVyUs' roster were afoot. The news implied a player exchange with the other top French team, Titan, following what appeared to be internal discord within the team. The exchange was confirmed late July: Edouard “SmithZz” Dubourdeaux and Richard “shox” Papillon would be replaced by two new recruits from Titan, entryfragger Dan “apEX” Madesclaire and AWP star Kenny “kennyS” Schrub. The latter had already played with Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer under the LDLC banner in 2013, and the move seemed to make sense.

This reinvigorated lineup made its debut at the Intel Extreme Masters tournament that took place during Gamescom in Cologne, and they surprisingly waltz their way to the title. The win itself was not a shock, but the manner in which they did so left many jaws agape. They gunned down Team SoloMid through four wins for their most notable series of the tournament, and they only dropped a single map against Mousesports on Train.

While a single tournament is not enough to glean playstyles and tendencies, there were still several things that could play a role in EnVyUs' trip to Cologne. apEX and kennyS both seemed to thrive under the leadership of Happy, who gave them enough freedom to use their instincts without being hindered by an in-game leader. Secondly, the team change did not rob nV of their great panel of styles. They were able to show their hyper aggression as T with Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey and apEX as spearheads, their patient setups with fakes that allowed Happy to shine as one of the best lurkers in the game, and their double AWP strategies with Happy and kennyS on the scope. Their star and anchor player, Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, shined on the CT side as rifler and scout, sometimes holding bombsites alone with great success. Their aggressive brand of defense on Cache looked especially crisp. While their experiments so far—a triple AWP setup, an unusual boost on Cobblestone—haven't panned out, there is this feeling that the team has the will and the smarts to become something special.

Going into Cologne however, nV will have to be prepared for anything, as they’ve still shown some weaknesses. They've rarely played on Train and Overpass, and when they have their record has been average to bad. Cologne also has a very unique format with dangerous Bo1s, and they can ill afford to dig themselves into a hole or get sniped on an unusual map. Otherwise, they should not have any problems in the group stages, as they have landed with Luminosity Gaming, Kinguin and Flipsid3 Tactics. These are three teams that they should handily dispatch if they follow the trend that they seem to have set at Gamescom.

You have to believe in EnVyUs, and it’s now up to the French squad to live up to the expectations they have somehow forced us to have.

Team SoloMid, the proud hope of Denmark, is being hyped as a clear favorite to win this upcoming major at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, and for good reason. The Danish vikings have been on a tear during the post-Katowice era. They have been nothing but excellent, collecting numerous top three finishes from all the big tournaments that they have attended. Even when up against the Swedish powerhouse and champions of Katowice, Fnatic, the Danes have come out on top convincingly. There must be a secret the vikings are harbouring to explain their war path as they desolate the battlefield of challengers.

When they were still Team Dignitas, before the addition of Finn “karrigan” Andersen and the pickup by Team SoloMid, they were a team that always had fundamentally strong CT sides. They utilized their exceptional CT positioning and reads to destroy teams on all maps, even if the map was not accepted as a CT-sided map. Their strong CT play was severely marred by their horrific T-side plays, no thanks to the old IGL Henrik “FeTiSh” Christensen’s leadership. The other main issue that TSM suffered from was their inability to reach the finals of any tournament. They would consistently make top fours or top eights, but they never reached a LAN final in the old era. It was as if they were at the gate of Valhalla, only able to peer into the glorious halls but locked out by a silent guardian. The Danes were seen as a team that couldn’t make the spotlight, a team that was pushed out by the Fnatic - Team EnVyUs - Ninjas in Pyjamas trio.

In the dire times of the Danes enters a new champion, found in the mists of the tundra, karrigan, backed by the support of the TSM war machine.

Under the tutelage of karrigan, TSM has undergone a transformation from a tier two team on the brink of making it into the halls of Valhalla to now being the main guests into the halls with resounding approval from all. karrigan goes on to further refine the exceptional CT plays of TSM, and with his strong leadership, TSM is a very scary Terrorist team to face. The scariest part about TSM is not the fact that karrigan is the X factor for the team; it’s the fact that because of karrigan, anyone on the team can become the X factor at any time. There is no one star player that must perform at all times on TSM for all the players are star players in their own rights. People love to laud the fact that Markus "pronax" Wallsten is able to win so many tournaments because he has a star-studded lineup at his command, but this is more than true for karrigan as he also has the strongest of Denmark under his command, boys who are only going to continue to get better. And the IGL change has already proven to be effective. They have an extremely loaded track record in the previous couple of months to announce their war path into Cologne.

As the vikings are the best in battle, it is also true that pride is the downfall of any man, let alone for any Viking. As proven in the ESEA/ESL Pro League Finals and Acer Predator Masters, TSM can get too ahead of themselves and lose to teams that they shouldn’t have because they did not prepare for the lower tier teams. Especially with the best-of-one format for the group stages, TSM needs to make sure that they prepare for all the teams in their groups, not just for NiP, so that we don’t witness a devastating early exit for the Danes.

Winter is coming to Cologne, and the gladiators already there should beware the resounding sounds of the war drums as the vikings march on forward.

Next to the legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas, no team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has dominated quite the way that Fnatic has. It's exceedingly rare to have a group of individuals who all possess the talent to turn the tide of a match at any given moment, and when those individuals are led by one of the most practiced and well-rounded minds in the game, they are certain to leave a legacy. For ages now the CS:GO scene has been living in the era of Fnatic—a domineering period wherein Markus "pronax" Wallsten and co. have been at times seemingly untouchable. The best individual talents playing the best team-oriented Counter-Strike in the world has truly been a sight to behold, but these days it's less clear to see which team can truly lay claim to the throne. Could it be that we're no longer in the era of Fnatic?

It's true that the ESL One Katowice 2015 champions have hit something of a stumbling block in the months following their major victory. Though the resilient Ninjas in Pyjamas put up a fierce fight during the grand finals in Poland, the calm and focused form of pronax's Fnatic would hold strong and take home the organization's second major title. Despite looking close to their best in Katowice, Fnatic has had something of a struggle to retain their status as the top team in the world ever since. The first substantial challenge to Fnatic's reign came from the perky Danes in TeamSoloMid. When the stars aligned for TSM and Finn “Karrigan” Andersen was finally able to harness the potential in such a strong lineup, TSM shot straight for the top. Suddenly TSM was taking series over Fnatic on LAN. Suddenly it happened too many times to be a fluke—TSM had figured out Fnatic. For the first time in their era of dominance, there was a challenger to Fnatic's reign who clearly had them dialed in.

It's been nothing short of foreign to see Fnatic crumble against the same team repeatedly and on LAN. No doubt the experience has been strange to the players of Fnatic as well. The team has often seemed lost in their series against TSM, their strategies falling apart and their comms and direction losing focus entirely. Their encounters reveal Fnatic at their most human: when they make the most mistakes and no longer tower over the rest of the tier-one competition by such a considerable margin. And with their stranglehold over the scene at least slightly loosened, other teams have done their part to play catch-up. Recent months have shown teams like Na'Vi, Mouz, and especially fan-favorites Cloud9 stepping up their game to attempt regicide.

Cologne will do much to clear up the fog of uncertainty which has built up around Fnatic and the rest of the tier-one teams. A lot of talent has risen up in the months since Katowice, and even Fnatic's old French rivals in EnVyUs has switched things up and look revitalized and ready for another shot at a big title. Though TSM has certainly found a chink in Fnatic's armor, it doesn't mean they're unfit to take a major. In fact, they're still arguably the best contender to do so. Though Olofmeister may no longer be able to win a tournament by himself, and though Jesper “JW” Wecksell can no longer get away with taking the same explosive risks he once did, Fnatic's strongest assets still rest on the back of their robust teamplay. It's also only inevitable that other tier-one teams would eventually catch on and play to aggressively anti-strat against the top dogs. Fnatic turning mortal doesn't mean they're out of the picture, it just means the pool of potential winners in Cologne is expanded.

Fnatic's recent performances show that they're still the best team in the world on Inferno. It's a map that plays perfectly into pronax's methodical style on the Terrorist side, and one which complements the team's great individual skills and sharp decision making on CT side. Excellent calling and diligent pre-planning by pronax facilitates huge, momentous plays by stars like Freddy “KRiMZ” Johannson and Robbin “Flusha” Lonnquist. Though every player on Fnatic has had their respective ups and downs, we've not seen more than a minor slump from any part of this lineup and, given their individual talent, we're bound to catch a highlight clip or two from each.

Fnatic will be facing off in Group C with Na'Vi, Titan, and Team eBettle. Fnatic fans should feel relatively pleased with their prospects at this event, all things considered, but their primary threat on day one, Na'Vi, will be quite the hurdle to clear. The CIS veterans have spent a great deal of CS:GO's history living in the shadow of Fnatic and NiP, always pushing to be the best in the world but falling ever so short. The addition of Egor “flamie” Vasilyev to their roster early in the year has paid dividends and has given Na'Vi the extra spark and punch they need to convert their finals placings into victories.

It's hard to doubt the Swedish champions in any tournament they attend, but Cologne may prove to be one of the closest majors we've ever had. While Fnatic can still rightfully be called the favorites in this year's predictions, the margins between teams are slimmer than ever. If Pronax can keep his men calm and focused, then Fnatic will likely lead the pack and set the standard at this event. If a bad map or match-up gets under the skin of the players, then we might see the throne of Global Offensive under French or Danish control. Fnatic's performance at ESL One will affect a lot of what unfolds for the rest of the tier-one teams in coming months. Though their chances are good, the threats facing Fnatic have seldom been scarier.