ENC WarCraft III Preview

TEAM GERMANY
THE HOME FIELD TEAM. Known for being one of the most powerful WarCraft III countries due its highly professional leagues and high number of players. Despite this, Germany has not yet won the gold in the European Nations Cup. Germany played in Group B together with strong nations as Netherlands, France, Sweden and Finland. Despite having the reigning champions Sweden in their group (and also losing to them), they managed to end on top.

GosuPlayer: HasuObs

With ending in first place of their group, Germany received a free ticket to Leipzig for the finals. Even though they might be weakened with the loss of fire_de, they still have a solid team that looks stronger than last season. A HasuObs who stopped the reign of Miou in the EPS, and an XlorD who defeated Zeus (Crotia) and Wolf (France) during the season and showing that he is truly the next-generation German superstar.

TEAM BULGARIA
SURPRISINGLY, BULGARIA DID NOT ACTUALLY QUALIFY for this year's offline finals. After being a regular in European Nations Cup finals, Bulgaria ended in third place of Group A, and ended up losing to Sweden in the relegation match.

Much thanks to a miracle, or should we say visacle, Bulgaria ended up as the final four anyway. Russia, first placed team in Group A failed to get the visa issues straightened out and had to cancel their participation. The same thing happened with Ukraine, which forced the ESL administration to give the last spot to Bulgaria - who happily accepted.

GosuPlayer: Insomnia

Bulgaria has a strong lineup, as usual. They were last season runner-ups (losing to Sweden), and still have their experienced superstar Insomnia along with the JuSt players DieSeL, Shocker and Bianconero which is no lineup to tamper with. After been given a second chance, they want to show the whole world that them not qualifying in the first place was just a one-timer.

TEAM SWEDEN
AFTER WINNING THE EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP THREE TIMES IN A ROW, you do not exactly stick out your chin when you say that Sweden is the top favorite. Not only do they have a formidable merit list, Sweden can boast with superstars as SaSe, FuRy and recent crowned king LiiLD.C. The team lost only to Netherlands in a close 2-3 loss, but it was enough for Germany to sweep past them and steal the first spot in the group. Sweden was then forced to play Bulgaria in the relegation match - a match ending 3-2 in favor for the reigning champions.

GosuPlayer: SaSe

SaSe, strengthened by the recent World Cyber Games Sweden tournament, seems to be in great shape and proved latest in the relegation game that he can outmatch a player like Insomnia (Bulgaria). Sweden looks strong in their 2on2 play, having only lost one match (to Grubby and RotterdaM). KnOfF has been playing a bit up and down, but constantly performing well in the 2on2 matches and a notable win versus Shocker (Bulgaria) in the relegation match. Plus they have the experienced player FuRy there as a team captain who may spread his calm to some of the "younger" players.

If Sweden can play as well as they did last season and have at least four of their players in normal shape it is highly likable they will raise the check with most dollar signs on it.

TEAM FINLAND
THIS SEASON WAS THE FIRST TIME FINLAND PLAYED the European Nations Cup. They made their way through the qualifications with ease. Entering the main round, it turned a bit tougher. First up was France who certainly did not pull any punches. Their coach icyF relied on Lady Luck, and even though Konna and elfittaja managed to win their matches, it was France who came out on top. Also losing to Germany and Sweden, it seemed tough for Finland to advance. However a win versus Croatia with 5-0 showed that there was hope. But for the last playday, Finland were in need of either a 5-0 win or a 4-1 with good map scores. Would the cinderella story end here, or would they overcome Grubby & co?

GosuPlayer: elfittaja

This time Lady Luck shone on the Finnish players, as they won with 4-1 with 8-2 in map scores. Relegation spot was a fact, and after winning versus Ukraine, they were all set for the finals. But once in the offline finals they will have to manage without their team captain Satiini who has a condition that prevents him from traveling. It will be tough for elfittaja, Konna, Sein and Bringer against the big boys, but they showed in the regular season that anything is possible.