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ESL One: Cologne 2016 Group B preview


Ukraine Natus Vincere (Ranked 5th on our team rankings)


Slovakia Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács
Ukraine Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev
Russia Egor "flamie" Vasilyev
Russia Denis "seized" Kostin
Ukraine Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko

Ukraine Sergey "starix" Ischuk (coach)

Team Profile

All five members of Na'Vi are playing together since March 2015 and they have always been one of the best teams. Everyone knows them, every CS: GO team respects them and every tournament welcomes them as a title contender. They are one of the most successful teams and an opponent to be feared.

Major Experience

Unfortunately, Na'Vi have never won a major but they've finished as runners-up twice with the exact same lineup that they're going to Cologne. Egor "flamie" Vasilyev has attended five majors and played 28 maps during those events. All four remaining players of the Na'Vi roster have attended seven or eight majors on their careers and played 45 or 47 maps during those biggest CS: GO events. On ESL One Cologne 2016, we'll see a Na'Vi team is battle-hardened from previous majors.

Between Two Majors

After finishing MLG Columbus as runners-up behind Luminosity Gaming, Na'Vi attended three offline events first of which was DreamHack Masters Malmö. Their run to the grand finals was so comfortable but on the grand finals where they've faced NiP, the Swedish side beat Na'Vi 2-0 with a score of 16-14 on both maps. Their second offline event during the period between the majors was StarLadder i-League Invitational. This time around, they've managed to reach grand finals harder than they did in Malmö. But the story of the grand final was the same as the previous one. Virtus.pro managed to beat them making SL i-League Na'Vi's third event that they've finished as runners-up in a row.

ELEAGUE was their last event before ESL One Cologne and the CIS team struggled heavily on the group stage with two draws against Echo Fox and mousesports. But Group E playoffs was a different story for them as they were able to secure spot at the ELEAGUE playoffs.

Cologne Expectations

There is one key factor, Radoslav "GuardiaN" Kovács' injury. As you'd remember, he was injured for a serious amount of time after MLG Columbus. Another grand final featuring Natus Vincere would turn into a reality if Kovács plays without discomfort. He is one of the best AWPers in the world and a key factor on his team's accomplishments. Even if his injury blocks him to play as the GuardiaN we know, his teammates will probably carry him out of the groups but even a semifinal spot would be a dream. No matter what, I expect Na'Vi to make it out of the groups easily but after the group stage, their fate depends on the condition of their AWPer's injury.

Sweden NiP (Ranked 4th on our team rankings)

Sweden Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund
Sweden Adam "friberg" Friberg
Sweden Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg
Sweden Richard "Xizt" Landström
Sweden Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi

Sweden Björn "THREAT" Pers (coach)

Team Profile

Ninjas in Pyjamas. These three words would be enough to describe a team with such a great history. Except from Jacob "pyth" Mourujärvi, all of their four players have been together since the creation of NiP CS: GO team. They have won countless events and hearts across the globe.

Major Experience

Let's start with the new boy on the team, Mourujärvi. The Swedish AWPer joined NiP after the departure of Aleksi "allu" Jalli. Of course he is a talented player and a decent AWPer but it is unclear if he'd out-perform world class AWPers like Kovács, Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo or Kenny "kennyS" Schrub. On the other hand, the statistics speak for the rest of the team. Attending all eight CS: GO majors, winning one of them and playing 73 maps together are all great and respectable statistics.

Between Two Majors

NiP were very active during the last three months and as a reward they saw every possible scenario that they would face on the major. First, they went to Malmö for DH Masters Malmö. Their opener was against Dignitas and it was a disaster, a 2-16 defeat on Overpass but they did not give up and won against Astralis to reach the playoff stage. Their opponent on the quarter-finals was another strong team and probable opponent on the playoff stage of ESL One Cologne, Virtus.pro. The Swedes managed to beat their opponents on both their and VP's picks and moved on to the semi-finals. Then they've beat a surprise semi-finalist GODSENT and not-a-surprise finalist Na'Vi to bring home the DH Malmö trophy.

After Malmö, they went to Atlanta to compete for a place at the ELEAGUE playoffs. Despite losing to G2 on round-robin group stage, NiP won both their group playoffs matches against OpTic and G2 to secure their ELEAGUE playoffs spot.
Their run of first places ended at United Kingdom where they've beat Swedish rivals fnatic in group stage but failed to perform better than Luminosity Gaming at the semi-finals of ESL One Pro League Season 3 Finals.

Their fourth offline event between the two majors was DreamHack Summer and once again, they faced Astralis, this time around at the semi-finals. The outcome of the match was no different than their previous offline encounter which was at Malmö. But Brazilian team Immortals prevented them from lifting the trophy on the grand-finals. This would mark the beginning of their poor form.

NiP came to ECS Season with an impressive record at the offline events: one semi-finals exit, one second place and two first places at four events they've attended. But a combination of facing both LG and G2 at the group stage and very poor individual performances sent them packing before the playoff stage.

Cologne Expectations

NiP are always NiP. They are known for performing better at the majors. Fortunately for them, they have a fairly easy group to handle. Even with an average performance, they'd make it out of the groups comfortably. FlipSid3 and OpTic wouldn't beat them without some godlike performances. But NiP's fate after the group stage is unpredictable. I believe we'd see how they would do at playoffs after a probable winners' match against Na'Vi.

Canada OpTic (Ranked 14th on our team rankings)

Canada Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz
Canada Keith "NAF" Markovic
Canada Damian "daps" Steele
Spain Oscar "mixwell" Cañellas
United States Will "RUSH" Mierzba

Sweden Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg (coach)

Team Profile

Call of Duty fans might know OpTic well from the mentioned e-Sports but in the CS: GO scene, they're fairly new. Just like the organization they play for, the OpTic players aren't used to be together. Only Keith "NAF" Markovic and Damian "daps" Steele are in the same roster for over a year. OpTic is one of the rising stars of the NA scene but they are yet to prove themselves against major-contender European teams.

Major Experience

Not found. None of the OpTic players has major experience. To make things worse, the sole person with major experience, coach Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg won't be able to stand behind them as he wasn't registered in time.

Between Two Majors

OpTic's performance during last three months wasn't impressive but one should not be disappointed neither. First of all, they've tested international waters at events such as CEVO Gfinity Season 9 Finals, ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals and ELEAGUE.

The first one of the mentioned events was an event to forget for them as two losses to HellRaisers meant an early elimination. ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals wasn't different, they've got eliminated before the playoff stage but their win against Astralis is something to be proud of. OpTic's ELEAGUE campaign was similar to their ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals adventure: finishing without a notable achievement except fighting bravely against a stronger opponent.

On the other hand, their road to ESL One Cologne 2016 was impressive. They were the best team at the Americas Minor where they beat Tempo Storm on the grand finals. After the first place finish at the minor, they were set to fight for a spot at the major. Despite a close loss at their first match against Gambit at the main qualifiers, they've won three games in a row to secure their spot at Cologne.

Cologne Expectations

Personally, I don't expect much from OpTic at Cologne. I think the players themselves don't expect much and see their first major as a valuable experience. They are a young team (oldest of them being 22) with a great organization behind them. It'd be best for them to play relaxed and give their best against NiP on their opener and try to make it to the decider match. I'm pretty sure we'll see them as a better team with more experience after ESL One Cologne 2016.


Ukraine FlipSid3 Tactics (Ranked 23rd on our team rankings)

Ukraine Yegor "markeloff" Markelov
Russia Georgi "WorldEdit" Yaskin
Ukraine Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy
Finland Jan "wayLander" Rahkonen
Ukraine Aleksandr "Shara" Gordeev

Team Profile

Despite the unstable nature of the CIS scene, FlipSid3 is performing above average for a quite long time. In spite of never being a top level team, FlipSid3 have always been one of the teams that could upset anyone with a bit of luck. Yegor "markeloff" Markelov, Georgi "WorldEdit" Yaskin and Andrey "B1ad3" Gorodenskiy joined up on January 2015 and they've never parted ways since then.

Major Experience

It's a joy for me to have them at ESL One Cologne 2016. Their core players have always entertained us on majors despite failing to making it out of the groups multiple times. The sole player on FlipSid3 roster that has major playoffs experience is Markelov with three quarter-finals. In addition three quarter-finals he attended and quit five majors on group stages. With a basic math knowledge, one can figure out that he has attended all eight majors up to date. Apart from him, the two players who are regarded as core players have five major appearances, unfortunately for them, all with group stage exits. Even their two newest players have attended a major.

Between Two Majors

FlipSid3 attended three offline events during the period between the two majors. The first one was at Kiev, Ukraine.(StarLadder i-League Invitational) Considering Ukraine is the home country of three FlipSid3 players, many expected a good performance from them but they were eliminated after two straight losses against GODSENT and Natus Vincere but their showing against the latter team was promising as they've defeated Na'Vi 16-4 on Train and almost took Overpass to the overtime.

After SL i-League, they went to the ESL One Cologne main qualifiers thanks to their group stage exit at the previous major, MLG Columbus 2016. The road to ESL One Cologne 2016 was rough for them as they've managed to qualify barely with a 3-2 record.
Their last offline event before the major was ELEAGUE Group E where they've faced Echo Fox, mousesports and Na'Vi. Two draws against Echo Fox and mousesports in addition to a defeat against Na'Vi put them against mousesports at the group semifinals. They've managed to beat mousesports but failed to respond Na'Vi on the group finals match.

Cologne Expectations

A true CS: GO fan wouldn't except more than a good fight from FlipSid3. Na'Vi and NiP are too strong and experienced for them to beat but I believe FlipSid3 won't let their stronger opponents pick up the victory easily. I predict a loss on the decider match thus another groups stage exit but anything may happen, even a surprise on a CIS matchup.

Photos courtesies of DreamHack, DreamHack, Helena Kristiansson - ESL and StarLadder respectively.
Frontpage photo courtesy of Helena Kristiansson - ESL

 

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