Entering the second week of play in the ESL Pro League in North America, a multitude of squads are hoping to continue their surprise form from Week 1.
Sitting atop the standings at present are Renegades, who, after recent roster changes, were expected to struggle as they transitioned.
With AZR taking up the in-game leader role for the first time, Renegades were also getting used to the introduction of Gratisfaction and liazz in place of Nifty and USTILO. Despite the changes they were able to go a perfect 6-0 in Week 1, including a 2-0 win over compLexity.
One of the more unexpected results of this roster shake-up has been the increase in form from jkaem, who had previously been a limited factor. However, the concern for Renegades is that their upcoming Week 2 schedule is much more difficult and provides a major test.
Ghost surprise
Another early-season stunner saw Ghost Gaming exit Week 1 with a 5-1 record, including 2-0 results over MIBR and NRG Esports – two teams expected to do well this season. The only 1-1 split for Ghost came against eUnited.
Under the tutelage of steel, Ghost Gaming have been slowly climbing up the ranks. Having recently added talented youngster neptune, the future appears bright for Ghost as they look to keep up their initial run of good form.
Ghost appear to have one of the lightest Week 2 schedules, with Envy and Rogue on the slate. If Ghost can come away with a 4-0, they will have put themselves in prime position for the coming weeks.
The odds suggest they will at least get off to a good start, being 1.529 to beat Envy, who can be backed at 2.540.
Role changes at Cloud9
Cloud9 went 3-3 in the first week of play following a massive shift in player roles.
After the addition of flusha to the roster, Cloud9 continued to overhaul their line-up, taking the primary AWPer (sniper) duties away from Skadoodle, and giving them to autimatic. Having previously worked as a secondary AWPer when the need arose, autimatic appears to be stepping up to the plate for Cloud9 as they look to fix their issues.
The success of the team continues to hinge on the play of autimatic, the only player who performed well in the previous iterations of this squad. The idea for Cloud9 is that Skadoodle’s role change has a shot at revitalising him after his immense struggles in recent years.
Week 2 sees Cloud9 go up against compLexity and Luminosity Gaming. The odds compilers have the first of those matches as a 50-50 call, both sides being priced up at 1.909.
NRG aim to improve
One team who could be on track to bounce back in a massive way are NRG Esports, who have a grand total of 10 matches to play this week with five best-of-twos.
NRG’s 1-3 record so far is a bit deceiving, given the largest margin of victory/loss was just four points, a statistic which shows just how competitive they were versus Ghost and compLexity.
NRG have lived up to expectation, being fairly reliant on their star trio to find success. They are also one of the few squads willing to play Nuke, a map they found their lone win on thus far in Pro League.
In Week 2 the most difficult match-up for NRG appears to be their opening bout against Team Liquid, for which they are 2.620 outsiders. However, following that up is a fairly lax foursome of eUnited, INTZ, Rogue and Envy, with NRG looking to make a major reversal of their fortunes thus far.
This is the type of week that NRG need to dominate if they are to succeed in becoming one of the best teams in the region.
