E-League Group E Preview

While there was a brief scare with Ladislav “GuardiaN” Koviac’s wrist earlier in the year, this has not stopped him from performing up to his potential with inhuman flick shots and aim. They nearly won against Virtus.Pro in the StarLadder Invitational but with an underperforming Daniil “Zeus” Teslenko. Even if Zeus is not playing in top form, the slack can be picked up by the likes of Ioann “Edward” Sukhariv and Denis “seized” Kostin.

Coming into Atlanta, the boys -- minus Guardian -- have only played an online cup against Virtus.Pro earlier in the montht. They should be very well rested against the likes of Echo Fox. Based on Echo Fox’s underwhelming performances they should move past them easily. Mousesports will be more of a challenge due to their resurgence as an elite capable team . In ESL Pro League they have played each other twice, losing to them on their worst map. Against FlipSid3, it could go either way especially with their new pick up.

Na’Vi will need to avoid Cache like the plague. The other teams in their group will try to use that to their advantage. Nuke is another map they may try to avoid. but it could be a niche pocket pick against weaker teams like Flipsid3 or Echo Fox.

Na’Vi should be able to get to the finals with some road bumps along the way. Having a long period of rest definitely helps

Echo Fox is a team with too much funding and little to show for it. On paper, this team should be performing better than their North American counterparts, especially with one of the greatest tacticians of Sean “seang@res” Gares and a young upstart in Daniel “roca” Gustaferri. In ECS, their record is peppered with losses against known teams such as Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming, and minor wins against unknown teams. Failing to qualify for the American minors, things are looking pretty bleak for Rick Fox’s investment.

The two recent addition of fREAKAZOiD and Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan bring hope that all may not be so disastrous. Joining with his former teammates, the overall team cohesion and chemistry have improved. After leaving Cloud9, fREAKAZOiD’s personal performances improved, fulfilling his role as a stand-in during Dreamhack Austin and has found his footing within the new organization. ShahZam has become more consistent since joining, with positive KDRs in his most recent matches.

A major disadvantage for Echo Fox will be their shallow map pool. They haven’t played Nuke in any official matches. However, not many other teams have. This could be a trump card since there is limited amounts of data to analyze from the map.. Dust2 could serve as their best chance but with so many talented awpers in the group, it will probably be best to avoid it all together.

Like Na’Vi, Echo Fox has not had an official match in about month which could lend to a better performance in the studio. Their international experience is sorely lacking, and adjusting strategies will be a massive endeavor. Having two teammates with some experience will prove to be invaluable but it’s probably not enough against these higher calibre teams.

Nikola “NiKo” Kovac displayed flashes of insane brilliance that have made mousesports the team to watch as they went into the recent Major qualifiers with a nail biter of a match against Fluffy Gangsters, a close match against Cloud9 before shutting out G2 with an astonishing 16 - 1 scoreline. Coming into the Qualifiers, mousesports ironed themselves into the team that they should be and their results prove it. Now mousesports have another stage to prove that their qualifier placement was no fluke.

Chris “chrisJ” de Jong’s awp skills will be tested by the likes of GuardiaN and Flipsid3’s Georgy “WorldEdit” Yaskin. Within the past two months, chrisJ has showcased his talent as an awper by getting the most use out of the sniper consistently getting ten to fifteen kills per match. A possible weak link would be Timo “Spiidi” Richter -- he has been underperforming. However, the rest of his teammates have kept pace throughout the past two months.

Mousesport’s best map is Cache; very well positioned against Na’Vi, with the second best pick being Mirage. Na’Vi themselves do enjoy Mirage. Against Flipsid3, they should avoid Nuke or at the very least have basics setups and rotates developed to counter Flipsid3 on Nuke.

In the past, mousesports have faced off against Na’Vi and Flipsid3 in ESL Pro League. They took a map off of Na’Vi and most recently had a heart stopper of a game against Flipsid3 at the last Major. Mousesports have not played many North American teams.The only exception being the recent qualifiers but since it is Echo Fox, they probably will not have much trouble handling them.