With Astralis pulling out of EPICENTER, all of a sudden the tournament has shaped up as a wide-open event with a myriad of teams eyeing the top prize.
FaZe Clan are still on uneasy ground after shifting to NiKo as the in-game leader, with the team as a whole struggling to match their previous results and aspirations.
Falling out of ESL One: New York after back-to-back, best-of-three losses to G2 Esports and NRG, coupled with a 14-16 record across ESL Pro League and ECS, FaZe are in desperate need of a quick fix at EPICENTER.
FaZe need to get back to their three-headed monster of NiKo, rain, and GuardiaN leading the way, with the hopes the star trio can find success despite the recent transition of leadership.
Who can step up for Na’Vi?
Natus Vincere have an opportunity to put talk of roster changes to bed with a solid performance at this tournament.
With the likes of Gambit having multiple players seemingly available for transfer, Natus Vincere is the obvious destination if any of their own players find prolonged struggles.
However, there are some major positives entering this event for Na’Vi, with the likes of s1mple and electronic still being considered two of the best players in the world.
As has long been the case for Na’Vi, the question remains as to whether or not they have a third player who can step up to the plate and produce consistently from map to map. In recent times that player has been flamie, trying to help the team become the second best in the world.
Liquid still stacked
In most eyes the team currently occupying that lofty title are Team Liquid. Unfortunately for Liquid they continue to struggle when the pressure is on, even against teams not named Astralis.
Falling in the ESL One: New York finals to a mousesports side on the verge of roster changes was brutal to the hopes that Liquid could finally get over the hump.
Liquid maintain one of the most stacked rosters in the world, headlined by Twistzz, EliGE and NAF, with Twistzz emerging as the most consistent and talented of the bunch.
The player who dropped the ball in New York was NAF, with a chance of redemption here at EPICENTER.
This appears to be another dream situation for Team Liquid, but having any sort of faith in the North American side remains difficult until they can finally break through.
Something to keep track of is the play of in-game leader and primary AWPer (sniper) nitr0, a player who at times can compensate for struggles of the stars should they fall in a difficult match-up.
NIP consistently inconsistent
The Ninjas in Pyjamas have struggled online recently, with an overall record of 7-17 between the two leagues. NIP have always been a tough team to evaluate, given their overall tendency to be incredibly inconsistent.
The team have still been much improved since Lekr0 became the in-game leader, but they are yet to break through despite numerous opportunities.
NIP’s hopes at the BLAST Pro Series Istanbul were hit by a loss to Space Soldiers, while they also tied with MIBR on Mirage later in the same event.
However, NIP still have some legends of the game with the likes of f0rest and GeT_RiGhT, with f0rest continuing to be their most consistent performer.
This is the type of event that NIP could make a splash in and finally reach the potential they keep showing flashes of.
With mousesports joining Astralis in withdrawing from the event, two wildcards will be added.
However, it is difficult to see anyone other than FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, Na’Vi and NIP making it through to the semi-finals as the jockeying below Astralis continues.
