From 22. to
23. March, we will see three of the top four teams of the IEM Katowice Major
back in action, as only Na'Vi is missing.
Those teams
are Astralis, ENCE, MIBR.
Additionally,
IEM quarterfinalists Team Liquid, NIP and FaZe will be at the high-level
competition.
This time
it's going to Sao Paulo for Blast Pro Series.
The highest
ranked team clearly is Astralis, reigning at #1 and the lowest NIP at #8 of the
world ranking.
My picks:
Winner:
Astralis
Runners-up:
MIBR, Team Liquid
Positions
4-6 (no specific order): NIP; ENCE; FaZe
Astralis
Well, this
one is pretty clear, I can’t see any team defeating Astralis, as the Danish
squad is playing world class Counter-Strike at the moment, which is just
superior and outstanding.
Their brutal
consistency is impressive, although I think that we will see Astralis winning
by a smaller margin, which will be the consequence of the new economy update.
Still, I
think there will be no team, that will be in the same street as Astralis, once
more.
MIBR
The Brazilian
squad showed at the Major on Overpass that they can defy Astralis, at least to
an extent.
I expect
MIBR to be stronger than any other team, besides Astralis.
I believe
that MIBR is stronger than Team Liquid,
as the North-American mix looked a little bit shaky online a few days
ago.
The form of
the day will conclude if we see Liquid or MIBR against Astralis in the final.
Team Liquid
The
North-American mix recently lost to Rogue in ECS, but it looks like NAF is back
on track, I still think that we shouldn’t weigh this loss exceedingly high and
that Team Liquid will fight with MIBR for a spot in the final.
This team
has so much individual firepower, which went utterly missing versus ENCE in the
quarterfinals at the Major, but I don't see Liquid crumble this time, though
for the NA-based organisation it's time to show that they're on the right path
to stay a contender for Astralis.
As said
above: The day's form will determine which side will take on Astralis in the
final.
NIP
The last
three spots are pretty hard to predict, NIP displayed some promise, even though
they got destroyed by Astralis in the ECS finals (16:9, 16:1) recently.
NIP is a
team to watch out this weekend, with their recent addition of draken (standing
in for Dennis; health issues) they added some firepower, as well as the
opportunity for an explosive AWP play.
Together
with strong displays of REZ and forest, NIP could raise some eyebrows this
weekend, especially on LAN the Swedish legends can be dangerous!
ENCE
The Finish
side will try to demonstrate that their EZ Major run wasn’t a fluke.
I think this
time their competitors will be advised about the furious Finns.
I can
imagine the team of coach Slaava 'Twista' Räsänen going out in 6th place as
they have shown some questionable performances in MDL recently, falling against
Sprout, Vitality and Izako Boars, which are ranked 87th in HLTV.org’s world
ranking.
I can't see
them winning one more time versus Liquid.
Though these
matches are bo1's, I believe that the individuals of FaZe and NIP will be
enough to master Allu and company this time.
Yet, no one
expected ENCE to reach the final in Katowice.
With the
recent economy update their furious comebacks are clearly more challenging to
wrap up.
FaZe
The European
mix of FaZe won versus Virtus Pro and lost against NIP in ECS after returning
from the Major.
However, the
team had more time to understand the idea of coach Janko 'yNk' Paunović how to
play the game.
Despite
finding no success at his former employee, the Serb is one of the best
additions to the FaZe squad to elevate their game to another level. Nikola
'NiKo' Kovac was a critical factor for them winning against Virtus Pro and
crushed NIP, even though they lost the series.
If NiKo
steps up no one can stop him, this is going to be interesting!
Conclusion
Astralis
should win this event, FaZe, ENCE and NIP are the three teams to take places
four to six.
The crucial
question will be if Liquid or MIBR can challenge the Danish site and who will
prevail over the other.
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