StarSeries & i-League Season 6 presents a unique opportunity to showcase a myriad of second and third-tier teams hoping to break through into the next level.
The exception appear to be 3.360 favourites mousesports, although they remain a large unknown despite their 1st-place finish at ESL One: New York.
mousesports were rumoured for weeks to be set to make a roster change but it appears after their win in New York any such move has been put on ice. While suNny remains their standout player, every member of the squad performed well at different times in New York.
However, mouz are a double-edged sword, with this being a major opportunity for the once-struggling international squad to show greater consistency.
HellRaisers have potential
HellRaisers (8.560) are one of the more predictable teams at this tournament, with their hopes and dreams resting on the shoulders of their star pairing. With ISSAA and woxic, HellRaisers have one of the best 1-2 punches in the entire world, although the pair do tend to have difficulty performing well at the same time in a similar struggle to that of G2 Esports.
This trait makes HellRaisers a bit one-dimensional and top heavy, with the other members of the team lacking consistency on a game-to-game basis.
BIG could thrive
BIG (5.700) are in a similar boat to HellRaisers in terms of recent placings and path to victories. BIG also managed a quarter-final placing at the FACEIT London Major off the back of their two star players, tabseN and smooya.
BIG are a tactical team at their core under the guidance of gob b, yet their peaks are facilitated by the likes of nex performing well as a third star. nex is a player who has generally struggled on LAN despite performing incredibly well in online environments with limited pressure.
This is the type of event that nex should thrive in, with the likes of Astralis, Natus Vincere and Liquid all absent.
North with significant changes
North (4.970) have had a roster overhaul with the additions of both cadiaN and gade coming in for MSL and niko. cadiaN is a player who received praise for his leadership at the helm of Rogue, with gade being a massive unknown given his struggles during his recent tenure with OpTic Gaming.
The removal of MSL is a gamble for North given his MVP performance during their victory at DreamHack Stockholm.
Despite the changes, the rock of this squad remains valde, one of the most consistent players in all of professional Counter Strike.
The task for cadiaN becomes getting the most out of up-and-down players aizy, gade and Kjaerbye, with an emphasis on establishing a clear second star of the team.
Map pool may help compLexity
After their Cinderella story at the FACEIT London Major ended in the quarter-finals, compLexity Gaming are out to show the world they are not just a one-event wonder.
For compLexity to make their run they needed absurd showings from multiple members, with the likes of ANDROID, yay and stanislaw all putting up ridiculous numbers for much of the Group Stage. Whether or not that is sustainable is up for debate, but the team has implemented stanislaw’s system well thus far.
This is yet another event with a Swiss System opening format in which compLexity appear to thrive in due to their unorthodox map pool. They are 9.730 shots to win the title.
OpTic look for consistency
One of the teams to have made minimal changes despite recent struggles are OpTic Gaming – they have only added niko in place of gade.
OpTic (12.280) still have plenty of talent but they’ve been unable to put together any sort of semblance of success. However, this is the type of team that is just one moment away from being a threat and they will hope the addition of niko is the catalyst for their rise.
HellRaisers the value?
This is a good opportunity for revamped teams to start to show what they can do and the format almost certainly guarantees some upsets. HellRaisers, in particular, will be a team to watch, as woxic is very much capable of going on a tear.
They are rated fourth favourites for glory by Dafabet at 8.560, a price which puts them behind mousesports (3.360), North (4.970) and BIG (5.700).
The action gets under way on Sunday when HellRaisers (1.662) take on Imperial (2.240). mousesports open against Sprout and are just 1.261 for victory. The upset is offered at 3.920.
The most competitive match of day one, according to the odds, is TyLoo (1.943) v ENCE (1.877).
