Should be an interesting preview for PGL.

please don't fuck up this time tyloo

if nip go out in groups this time it's over for them

It's been over for them for a long time

They say results doesnt matter in the next 6 months so idk. Have been listening to some swedish interviews

they've literally had this current roster for less than a month and there's really only two teams they "should" beat

was disappointed by bntet at the qualifier, hopefully he will £ this time

cant wait for rez to be the starplayer nip needs

sarcasm over

ok liquid don't lose in the 5th round in triple OT this time thanks

I throw my support to Space Soldiers for obvious reasons

VP and NaVi really are the ones who have to prove themselves, not NiP

VP have nothing to prove, everyone knows they can still turn up and win the tournament. Teams will play safe vs them no matter what, they still have mad intimidation

Bntet actually played pretty well at the qualifier considering it was his first big international event and all, although he wasn't quite the beast he's expected to be

ESL One Cologne's gonna show what the top teams are made of before Krakow. And there's a lot of good storylines too.

SK have been on a great roll over the past tournaments, winning two premier ones in IEM Sydney and ECS S3 Finals. They had a bit of an identity crisis after adding felps last Winter, but they've been able to integrate him into the team system, and everyone on SK is really strong, and they're at the moment the best team in the world.

The other elite teams aren't that far behind though. Faze since adding niko have been spectacular, winning Starseries S3 and making a few grand final appearances. They're another threat to look out for, and after being beaten by SK a few times (and being incredibly close to winning too), it'll be interesting to see if they'll adapt.

G2 since the French shuffle in February needed a few months to mold. But once the glue came together, they've been really good, taking the EPL S5 Finals in particular. With a lot of big fish around at Cologne, we'll see if they can come out on top. They're the last elite team that's at Cologne, since Astralis decided not to attend so they can prepare for the Major.

For the rest of the European side, they have a lot of prove. North have been in a weird state since adding Aizy, sometimes making it out of groups and sometimes going out. fnatic got their early 2016 roster back together, but they're also in flux. mouseports have improved slowly but surely since niko left, with oskar being one of their new stars.

Navi and Virtuspro have been on slumps of their own. Navi removed their long time coach starix but haven't made any headway since then, and VP are...VP. Heroic haven't shown that much in a few months after valde left, and NiP are the biggest question mark after missing on the major in tragic fashion, alongside friberg being out for rez.

The NA teams are usually question marks for me, as they can feel inconsistent. C9 has swung back into a decent form (something something summer season), but I'm not sure how long they can keep it. Liquid actually have a stable roster, but had a heartbreaking loss to F3 in the Major Qualifier, costing them a spot at the Major. Optic are the worst of the 3, missing on the major and marking their decreasing slump over the past few months after losing their IGL stanislaw.

Finally there's Tyloo and Space Soldiers. Tyloo haven't had good international showings, and they recently added peacemaker as their coach. For Space Soldiers, I've heard good things about them, and this'll be their first big event to show what they got.

Space Soldier have really good upset potential especially since they normally play from turkey on shit internet

are cs tourneys on time now or can I get on my computer a bit late to watch a game?

It's ESL, so you can tune in 2 hours late and catch the second half

They'll have two streams with matches on both so things shouldn't be too behind schedule

ESL usually has delays but it hasn't been as bad lately, so it's no longer a safe bet
should still be fine with like 15-20 mins margin

I think NiP still dont understand that 5 players need to be good and that 1 person cant carry an entire team these days :'D

sk vs space soldiers was intense

Oh my Lord what is happening? Rip g2, VP, and SK

G2 havent played their game against tyloo yet?

Either you know something I dont or you meant fnatic.

and tbh the SK game was a far bigger upset than the fnatic game if you had been following the last few events.

Alright REZ is a god apparantly

You can add C9 to that now

Liquid and Optic both winning their opening matches, must be the date

See you tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion of NaVi vs C9.

EDIT: Oh thank God, I think everybody just wanted that over with at that point.

oh yes 5 OT 6 OT my favorite
aaaaa

5 OT

https://static-cdn.jtvnw.net/emoticons/v1/58765/2.0