Esports Update: The ESL Pro League Season 6 Finals is shaping up to be an incredible event, as 12 teams make their way to the Sparekassen Fyn Arena in Odense, Denmark to battle for the $225,000 first-place prize.
FaZe Clan the clear favourite
Group Yellow is an especially interesting group, given that two of the teams expected to make playoffs are using a stand-in. The clear favourite in the group is FaZe Clan, who have been a dominant top two team for the past few months after the additions of both olofmeister and GuardiaN to the lineup. FaZe have such an incredible amount of skill that most teams cannot compete with them, as they have five different players with the ability to carry a map single-handedly. The man to watch for FaZe is rain, as when he is playing at a continually high level, the team appears to have the most success.
Danes hoping to overcome dec1ce absence
The two teams with stand-ins are Astralis and Team Liquid, for two completely separate reasons. For Astralis, star AWPer dev1ce has a medical issue that will keep him out the rest of the year, and in his place is RUBINO. Recently, Astralis had success with Dennis filling in for dev1ce, so there is some optimism that the Danish side will be able to perform at a high level. Team Liquid, on the other hand, are on shaky ground, as they are forced to use their coach zews as a stand-in. Zews will replace their newest member steel – the Brazilian formerly of Immortals, not the infamous Canadian – who is not allowed to compete with them at this event. This leaves Team Liquid as a complete unknown, as while zews has been practising for some time, it is uncertain how well the team will perform without their whole unit.
Fnatic look to be the team that could steal Liquid’s spot in playoffs. Fnatic looked dominant during the online portion of this event, continually beating top-tier teams. Yet Fnatic have done poorly in the limited offline events they have attended, so the jury is still out. With Hellraisers and Luminosity Gaming both having limited expectations in the eyes of the fans, look for Fnatic and Liquid to battle it out for the final playoff spot.
SK Gaming face tough competition
Group Red is SK Gaming’s to lose, with a myriad of contenders below them. SK Gaming have battled at the top with FaZe Clan over the past few months, showing brilliance ever since the addition of boltz to the squad. SK are almost guaranteed to make it through, even with stiff competition within the group. North are an incredibly dangerous team, continually keeping pace with the top ten and looking to prove themselves at this event. With stars such as k0nfig and valde, coupled with the tactical brilliance of leader MSL, North are the favourites to lead the group in second, but they are by no means a lock.
Winners of IEM Oakland, Ninjas in Pyjamas, are a rollercoaster of a team with an inability to show consistency. NiP are a team equally as likely to win the event as they are to bomb out in the group stage, yet their recent performance at IEM Oakland makes them the favourite for the third and final seed. Battling it out with NiP are OpTic Gaming, Misfits and NRG Esports, all of whom have looked better as of late.
OpTic appear to be slowly learning how to play with one another, but the team still lack an identity. Fortunately, mixwell is back to being the primary AWP, and that could lead to a new life within the team.
Misfits could cause an upset
NRG Esports have been in an upswing since the addition of CeRq to the line-up, but against such stiff competition, it is unlikely they can meet the challenge. Misfits are a team known for their anti-stratting, meaning this group stage is a perfect opportunity for them. Given their limited firepower, it is unlikely they can make it through to playoffs, but Misfits could be the team that decides the group by pulling an upset on the likes of NiP.
It all sets up as a rather interesting tournament, with enough potential upsets to keep everyone on their toes.
