NEWS

ESL One Cologne 2016 - CS:GO Major Preview

Jul 052016

For the second time in a row, the top Counterstrike teams in the world are duking it out for a million dollar prize pool. This year’s iteration of ESL One Cologne is the latest installment in Valve’s Major championship series. Following the massive success of this spring’s MLG Columbus, Valve are upping the stakes once again, quadrupling the prize pool from last year’s major.

Both Monster Energy teams have qualified for this Major and are looking strong going into the weeklong brawl to take home the half million dollar grand prize.

Team EnVyUs have had an admittedly rocky road to Cologne. At Columbus, the new roster was shaky and was eliminated in the group stage. But the temporary block only spurred nV on. The team underwent a drastic change in preparation, with intense practice sessions and in-person bootcamps. The focus was largely on building around the newly acquired In-game Leader DEVIL and legendary sniper kennyS. The boys in blue selectively sat out tournaments to bide their time and ensure a healthy team environment before returning to the tournament circuit.

The French all-stars have made their return a spectacular one. They tore through the European qualifiers with an impressive 3-1 record, taking wins over North American powerhouses Immortals (formerly Tempo Storm) and Cloud 9. This past week, nV debuted a kill-heavy style of play in their ELEAGUE group. The emphasis on a strong, active CT half and an aggressive T side brought them to a group victory, culminating in an impressive 2-0 over Virtus Pro in the group finals.

In the opening group stage, EnVyUs find themselves matched up against their last two sources of contention. The North American all-star roster of Team Liquid will kick off nV’s Major run. Liquid’s emphasis on individual play will make for an intense match against the 4 support 1 method that nV have been utilizing in the opening phase of each round. The strong rotational movement of the French will likely upset Liquid’s rhythm, bringing them to a grinding halt. Afterwards, nV are looking at a rematch against Virtus Pro. After dismantling the Polish legends, nV will simply have to bring more of the same. Their old-school, team focused defensive play will be a reliable workhorse to break out to break down the Eastern Europeans once again.

Team Fnatic at the 2016 MLG CSGO in Ohio

On the other side of the tournament, multiple-time world champions Fnatic stand tall amidst the group of death.

With Olofmeister’s recent return, the Fnatic roster has been restored to its full status once again. The Swedes have looked strong since bringing back their star rifler and secondary AWPer. In ELEAGUE, they topped their group with a strong finish against FaZe Clan. Just two weeks ago, they took home a second place finish at the LAN finals of the Esports Championship Series.

Despite months of roster instability and rotating stand-ins, Fnatic have fallen back into old habits fast. The Swedish heroes are continuing to focus on their strong individual play to counter their opponents’ rotations and break coordinated strategies. Their objective oriented T side focuses on moving as a single unit and smashing through each subsequent defender. JW or Olof will occasionally anchor 2-2-1 splits with a heavy AWP presence to draw apart the CTs and force the enemy team into early man disadvantages. The Swedish superstars will be facing off against longtime rivals SK Gaming (formerly Luminosity) and G2 Esports. Though both teams have impressive aggressive strategies, Fnatic’s incredibly deep roster has traditionally been able to splinter these teams in the past. The three-time Major champions will focus on working as a unit to break enemy rotations and force their opponents into early economic struggles.

This tournament is perhaps the most stacked in the history of Counterstrike. We can all look forward to seeing Team EnVyUs and Fnatic battle their way to the top!