In little under two weeks, 16 of the top Counter-Strike teams will be battling it out in hopes of claiming the top spot at ESL One in Katowice, Poland. The teams attending heil from all over the world, including Brazil, Australia, North America, and Europe. The top eight teams from DreamHack Winter were invited automatically and titled as “Legend” teams. The other eight teams had to qualify through first, an online tournament, and then an offline tournament in Poland. As for the format, the tournament will begin in Group play. Two “Legend” teams and two “Challenger” teams will compete in a mini-bracket to decide the top two teams. Those two teams from each group will advance to bracket play. The groups are: Group A: Natus Vincere (CIS/Legend) FNATIC (SWE/Legend) Vox Eminor (AUS/Challenger) FlipSid3 Tactics (CIS/Challenger) Group B: Team EnVyUs (FRA/Legend) PENTA Sports (DEU/Legend) LGB eSports (NOR/Challenger) Titan (FRA/Challenger) Group C: Ninjas in Pyjamas (SWE/Legend) HellRaisers (CIS/Legend) Counter Logic Gaming (USA/Challenger) Keyd Stars (BRA/Challenger) Group D: Virtus.Pro (POL/Legend) Team SoloMid (DNK/Legend) Cloud9 (USA/Challenger) 3DMAX (FIN/Challenger) The tournament looks to be a great one. Partly due to the amount of roster changes. Rosters have been shuffled, shuffled back, and shuffled again multiple times across the scene. Hiko’s departure from Cloud9, TSM’s signing of the former-Dignitas team, and the multiple roster changes between HellRaisers, dAT, and F3 have ramped up the excitement for fans across the globe. But the most surprising change would definitely be Ninjas in Pyjamas’ choice to release Maikelele. Maikelele seemed to rejuvenate the once great team after a slump which led to Fifflaren’s retirement from competing. The Ninjas immediately turned it around with two 2nd place finishes at DreamHack Winter and MLG XGames Aspen, both behind former-LDLC. The team announced early this week that Aleksi “allu” Jalli had signed with NiP, officially leaving his former team of 3DMAX.
We couldn't ask for much more leading into this major. Top teams facing off against top teams for $250,000! It’s going to be a great tournament but what do you think? Who do you think will walk away as ESL One Katowice champions? Can Virtus.Pro retain their title or will Team EnVyUs continue their streak? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter (@veL_eSports).
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May 2015
By: Jake PayneContent Writer Categories |