mouz.wazap.com
Tim "silver" Hochgrebe
Navid "Kapio" Javadi
Christian "Blizzard" Chmiel
Franz "gore" Burghardt
Manuel "tixoo" Makohl

The relatively new mouz roster, consisting of three players from the former aTTaX lineup that saw a high amount of success in 2006, will bring to the table a formidable challenge for every American team in attendance and give the two European clans something they’ll hope to avoid early on.

Like 69N, mouz has been bootcamping locally to warm up for WSVG and should be on top of their game by the time they touchdown in Louisville. Combine that with a 2nd place finish a few days ago in the EPS Season X finals, and you have a safe bet for top two. It is going to sound like a broken record throughout this preview but it remains true for all teams. The main threat is going to be from the euros and a possible upset from Turmoil.

NiP
Jonathan "miniw" Wallenberg
Emil "heaton" Christensen
Dennis "walle" Wallenberg
Johan "face" Klasson
Kristoffer "Tentpole" Nordlund

Back in March, these guys officially picked up Tentpole and face. While the additions have been met with a flawless 5-0 streak in their group for the current EuroCup season, albeit a streak where the toughest competition came from a-Losers and aAa. NiP has struggled at Dreamhack this weekend, taking 3rd below Begrip and fnatic and thusly not qualifying for ESWC Paris.

If the Swedes can get their act together and patch the mistakes they made last weekend, top three is to be expected. On the other hand, the real money in this tournament really resides with a 1st place finish. If NiP puts forth anything less than the best performance possible, an American upset in combination with a loss to 69N or mouz will be disastrous.

Check Six
Shaun "Hostile" Catron
Thomas "thoMz" Garcia
Josh "punkville" Dacus
Philip "Crypt1c" Kovach
Shawn "Des1re" Khan

Check-Six is about one month into the current roster and doing what they need to in order to gel together. “We’ve been practicing hard and trying to gain chemistry that usually takes months to learn, in about 3-4 weeks”, explained Des1re. And while PNY online tournaments are hardly a definitive measure of success, winning this past event was a step in the right direction.

As small in scale as it was, the x6 squad still had to best MnM along with eMazing Gaming who both are in attendance. Barring a group of death, they will progress to bracket play and should place somewhere in the high single digits.

eMazing Gaming
Nazar "steno"Vynnytsky
Matt "Lim" Beahan
Michael "chE" Guevara
Robert "Ph0bius" Irey
Scott "evolution" Cavallero

Taking the WCG U.S. Open in NYC was a notch on the belt for a team that has a spotty LAN history. The former Revolution Sports 1.6 lineup also took 2nd in last weeks PNY XLR8 Gold event to Check-Six setting a decent stride for themselves as they head to Kentucky.

Talent
Chris "pRoStAr" Pipher
Brandon "shrew2" Williams
Gabriel "ubin" Ubatuba
Alex "carder" Carder
Mark "stu" Stuart

Adding to the myriad of “professional” 1.6 American teams in attendance is Talent. While the recent move-up to CEVO-Professional was certainly an accomplishment for the lineup, it is hard to ignore that what now qualifies for CEVO-P, is only a shadow of what it was two seasons ago. With the bulk of the USA’s stacked lineups making the Source conversion, the competition is obviously watered down. I don’t say this to belittle the skill of these players, it's just the way things are.

“We are just striving for a good event and hoping to turn some heads in Kentucky.”, commented member Brandon “shrew” Williams, exhibiting the enthusiasm to make a standout performance. While hopes are not high for a top eight placing, accomplishing such would be a stepping stone to greater things.

MugNmouse
Kevin "go0ber" Longhofer
Daniel "MuMiX" Mott
Jon "sinyster" Deveraux
Michael "slick" Taylor
Brian "Gosu" Longhofer

The Texas staples have their work cut out for them this time. Winning CEVO-SP isn’t going to be enough to carry them all the way to a top placement, but top ten should certainly be feasible.

Turmoil
Derrick "impulsive" Truong
Ediz "goodfornothing" Basol
Matt "patyojon" Iantosca
Joe "perez" Perez
Dan "mehLer" Mehler

If there was ever a team that can repeatedly win matches they shouldn’t, Turmoil would be that team. They really are hit or miss. They are capable of coming out victorious against 3D on LAN, and then going on to lose to rSports. Being a Turmoil fan must be a roller coaster ride of emotion, however the fact remains that if America hopes to sit on the podium at the end of the tournament, Turmoil is the best shot.
They have a roster capable of placing; they will definitely be the dark horse of the tournament.