StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3
Location: National Palace of Arts "Ukraina", Kiev, Ukraine.
Format: Swiss group stage; best-of-three, single-elimination playoffs and grand final.
Prize pool & distribution:
Total: $300,000
1st place - $130,000
2nd place - $50,000
3rd & 4th places - $25,000
5th-8th places - $10,000
9th-12th places - $4,500
13th-16th places - $3,000
Participants:
Invited
 Astralis |  Ninjas in Pyjamas |
 FaZe Clan | North |
 Gambit Esports |  SK Gaming |
 Natus Vincere |  Virtus.pro |
Qualified
| Fnatic |  Counter Logic Gaming |
 G2 Esports |  MVP Project |
| HellRaisers |  5Power Club |
| Immortals | TyLoo |
As the group stage will see a Swiss format, the sixteen teams have been divided into four pools:
| Pool #1 | Pool #2 | Pool #3 | Pool #4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natus Vincere | North | Fnatic | Counter Logic Gaming |
| Astralis | Gambit Esports | G2 Esports | 5Power Club |
| Virtus.pro | FaZe Clan | HellRaisers | TyLoo |
| SK Gaming | Ninjas in Pyjamas | Immortals | MVP Project |
Round one of the Swiss group stage will see pairings between pool #1 & pool #4 and pool #2 & pool #3. This was done to ensure that invited teams would face off qualified teams in the first round of the group stage.
Victorious teams will proceed to face each other, as will the teams that fell short. The two teams that manage to attain a 3-0 win/loss ratio automatically proceed to the quarter-finals of the tournament, whilst those that are unfortunate enough to concede three consecutive maps will be sent packing. Teams in the midst will fight amongst each other in a bid to secure a placement in the playoffs.
Schedule and round #1 match-ups:
Tuesday, April 4th - Swiss round 1 (All matches Bo1)
10:00 - North vs. Immortals
11:30 - Virtus.pro vs. MVP Project
13:00 - SK Gaming vs. TyLoo
14:30 - Astralis vs. Counter Logic Gaming
16:00 - FaZe Clan vs. HellRaisers
17:30 - Gambit Esports vs. Fnatic
19:00 - Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. G2 Esports
20:30 - Natus Vincere vs. 5Power Club
Wednesday, April 5th - Swiss round 2 (All matches Bo1)
10:00 - Match #1
11:30 - Match #2
13:00 - Match #3
14:30 - Match #4
16:00 - Match #5
17:30 - Match #6
19:00 - Match #7
20:30 - Match #8
Thurdsay, April 6th - Swiss round 3 (All matches Bo1)
10:00 - Match #1
11:30 - Match #2
13:00 - Match #3
14:30 - Match #4
16:00 - Match #5
17:30 - Match #6
19:00 - Match #7
20:30 - Match #8
Friday, April 7th - Swiss round 4 + 5 (All matches Bo1)
Round 4
08:00 - Match #1
09:30 - Match #2
11:00 - Match #3
12:30 - Match #4
14:00 - Match #5
15:30 - Match #6
Round 5
17:00 - Match #1
18:30 - Match #2
20:00 - Match #3
Saturday, April 8th - Quarter-finals (All matches Bo3)
09:00 - Quarter-final #1
12:00 - Quarter-final #2
15:00 - Quarter-final #3
18:00 - Quarter-final #4
Sunday, April 9th - Semi-finals & Grand final (All matches Bo3)
11:00 - Semi-final #1
14:30 - Semi-final #2
18:00 - Grand final
Group stage predictions
As the initial round match-ups are known, following are predictions for each individual outcome:
One of the more balanced match-ups that will most likely come down to the map picks. The two teams encountered one another most recently at the quarter-finals of IEM Katowice 2017, where Immortals were able to knock the Danes out with a 2-1 map score. It wasn't a commanding victory, as only one of the victories would be deemed convincing (16-6 on de_Cobblestone), whilst the other two maps, de_Cache and de_Overpass saw a 16-14 and 15-19 respectively. Unless something extraordinarily special is prepared from either team we will see a match with an overtime where the boldest team wins.
The plow are coming out of a disappointing result at Intel Extreme Masters XI - Katowice 2017, where they unfortunately exited in the group stage. This comes as a massive blow to the team, as the home crowd was eager to see their favourites advance as far as possible, if not win the tournament. Despite this, the Poles were promoted to ECS Season 3, after securing a 3-1 map score against Space Soldiers in the finals. It is hard to gauge whether or not the team will show up at the tournament, irrespective of this there should be little to no reason for them to concede a map to MVP Project. The Poles have amassed a significantly larger amount of experience over the years, as well as higher quality practice partners.
If recent results are anything to go by, SK Gaming aren't having quite the same time the roster had during their 2016 major tournaments stint. Second place at DreamHack Masters: Las Vegas 2017 and an 11th-12th place finish at Intel Extreme Masters XI - Katowice 2017 will further the team's thirst for first place, something the team had a taste of during their aforementioned stint. Having said this, the two teams do not frequently encounter each other and counting out TyLoo entirely would be foolish. The Chinese have demonstrated time and time again that they are capable of defeating even the most seasoned of CS:GO veterans. This is even more so the case when looking at a best-of-one setting. TyLoo have access to a plethora of material on the Brazilians, whilst the reverse is to a lesser degree. It feels like TyLoo can pull this one off.
Astralis vs. Counter Logic Gaming
On paper this is a definitive win for the Danes. Throughout the recent past the team has been playing out of their minds, securing first place at ECS Season 2 LAN finals, first place at the ELEAGUE Major in January, top four at DreamHack Masters: Las Vegas 2017 and another gold medal at Intel Extreme Masters XI - Katowice 2017. There is absolutely no reason for the Danes to let this slip away, especially considering Counter Logic Gaming's recent roster change in the addition of Ricky "rickeh" Mulholland and the adaption period that follows his introduction.
FaZe Clan vs. HellRaisers
FaZe Clan sport one of the strongest roster in current competitive CS:GO. After the addition of Nikola "NiKo" Kova? to the already stacked roster, FaZe are projected to be one of the most promising teams in coming months. Thus far the roster has shown phenomenal LAN results, securing second place at Intel Extreme Masters XI - Katowice 2017 despite having but a few days to prepare with the full roster. Whilst the sample size for attended offline events amounts to a single event, it feels like the team clicks. Finn "karrigan" Andersen's style of leadership is synergising well with the team, producing both strong team play and individual play components. A non-restrictive approach allows for the team's stars to shine when they're needed most, creating one of the scariest compositions out there. Having said this, FaZe's current standing in the online ESL Pro League Season 5 is 6th out of 14, with an equal 8-8 win/loss ratio. Interpret the aforementioned information as you will, but FaZe will produce a bang at the LAN finals of StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 3.
Gambit Esports vs. Fnatic
The final match-up of the series will see a match between two teams that have to prove their standing in the international rankings. In recent times Gambit have been sending ripples across the CS:GO pond, securing first place at last years DreamHack Winter 2016, followed by a top eight finish at the ELEAGUE Major, establishing the team as Legends. Prior to the major the predominantly Kazakh team qualified for DreamHack Masters: Las Vegas 2017, where they went on to secure top eight after falling to North. The team has been preparing for some time now, as Team Captain, Daniil "Zeus" Teslenko demonstrated via a Tweet, where the pro showed a whopping 218.3 hours played in the past two weeks. For the record, this averages at 15.6 hours of CS:GO a day. If all of the team members show this level of enthusiasm and drive, there is a strong chance the guys can secure a W over the Swedes. This, however, should not retract from the fact that Fnatic have four multiple major championship title holders that have proved their capabilities over and over again. The Swedes are re-united in a once legendary roster, looking to take the crown back. Most recently results haven't indicated resurgence in performance, however the team was able to get promoted to ECS Season 3, as well as secure a top eight placement at IEM Katowice 2017. Overall it seems it will come down to the prowess of the masterminds behind the teams, more so than individual performance, as both sport players that are capable of going huge when their teams need them most.
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. G2 Esports
Following the French shuffle, there was a serious notion that G2 Esports got the better of the deal. It was essentially a concentration of prime players from France that were driven to compete at the highest level, something the previous roster seemingly lacked. Since the addition of the Team EnVyUs trio, the team hasn't performed at LAN events, so far only the IEM Katowice 2017 EU Closed qualifier, that took place two days after the new roster announcement and the EU Closed qualifier for StarLadder. The former wasn't successful, as the team finished in 4th, unable to qualify for the tournament, whilst the latter was quite the opposite, with the team securing first place and subsequently a placement in the tournament that starts tomorrow. On the other hand, The Ninjas have been producing rather upsetting results since November of last year, consistently placing amongst the bottom of the leader boards. In this particular match-up it seems G2 Esports will get the better of the Swedes, as the team is experiencing their honeymoon period, as well as new-found motivation to step their game up.
In recent times Natus Vincere's performances have diminished. The team went from producing consistent top placements in early to mid-2016 to dropping out of tournaments in 9th-12th and 5-8th placements. Correlating to this performance is the distinct lack of an in-game leader and despite monumental effort from current In-game Leader and Team Captain, Denis "seized" Kostin, the team clearly needs a sense of direction when it comes to performing. With the adjustment from Sergey "starix" Ischuk to Andrey "Andi" Prokhorov, the team saw a more strict approach to preparation, that will hopefully assist them in their performance at the StarLadder finals. The team definitely has a significant chance of winning the match-up against 5Power, as the CIS mix is composed of some of the brightest CS:GO players to have emerged from the region.
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