Group A

1. TR-Victory
2. mousesports
3. Dignitas
4. Not
5. plan-B
6. fu.sk

Midway’s Advancers: 1) mousesports 2) TR-Victory
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): plan-B
Player to Watch: mouz-Kapio – He had a big performance against aTTax in NGL, and this is what mouz will need from him all event if they want to forget a disappointing WSVG finish.

This is a pretty straight forward group here in that China and Germany are really much more dominant in CS than all the rest of the countries combined. Plan-B could do some damage and I expect them to finish third. But then again, they aren’t on the same level as mousesports. Dignitas would make a lot of English fans happy if they could find a way to advance, but it looks as if this will not happen.

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Group B

1. Begrip Gaming
2. Begrip Gaming
3. A-gaming
4. LAN-Sports - Exotic
5. DigitalMind
6. k23

Midway’s Advancers: 1) k23 2) Begrip.swe
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): A-Gaming
Player to Watch: k23-Beast – He’s their best player and I think he could be the difference in this group.
Nobody is talking about k23 but they are the second place finishers from last WCG and have proven in previous WCG events that they can play with anyone. I like this team and they show great practice and commitment. Begrip.swe beat fnatic with f0rest having an awful game, while Begrip.rus defeated Virtus.Pro in a few close games and took overtime to advance to the finals against TRAP.

Two other teams are very intriguing in this group: A-Gaming and LAN-Sports – Exoitc. The Ukrainian powerhouse, A-Gaming, has shown some solid play and could be a very nice sleeper in this group. LAN-Sports recently changed up its lineup by bringing in leo at the last minute, which one would think would hurt them, but still, the Brazilian CS scene is very strong and they should be a challenge.

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Group C

1. fnatic
2. emuLate
3. The Doctors
4. Havock
5. A+E
6. Name
Midway’s Advancers: 1) fnatic 2) emuLate
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): The Doctors
Player to Watch: fnatic-f0rest – fnatic’s loss to Begrip.swe saw f0rest play terrible, he needs to play like the f0rest we all know.

The Doctors are North America’s best hope at a good showing at this event. At CPL 2006, before teams even though of switching from 1.6, the Doctors, then known as Check-Six, upset a strong NiP all-star packed lineup. I think they can beat the French team, emuLate, and advance. Still, the French have been very tough on home soil and they should continue that advantage here.

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Group D

1. Pentagram G-Shock
2. x6tence
3. Virtus.Pro
4. LAN-Sports - Exotic
5. Vatos Locos

Midway’s Advancers: 1) PGS 2) x6tence
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): Virtus.Pro
Player to Watch: MusambaN1 – He’s the key to this whole group. If he doesn’t play well, LeX and Virtus.Pro will then move on to the next round.

Virtus.Pro lost the ESWC Russian qualifier and just seems way too inconsistent for me to select them. I think you have to go with the amazing PGS but the second team in this group should be x6tence because they tend to be pretty consistent. If Virtus.Pro catches fire during ESWC they could end up with a nice finish, though.

Group E

1. eSTRO
2. Turmoil
3. Ninjas in Pyjamas
4. Green Troop
5. cubesports

Midway’s Advancers: 1) eSTRO 2) NiP
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): Turmoil
Player to Watch: NiP-face – All the talk is about face so I think it's time for him to show everyone what he’s made off.

No American team, including 3D, Rival, and compLexity, have shown enough consistency against international opposition to deserve an invitation to group play at a ESWC event. I hope Turmoil can prove me wrong but it seems safe to say that this is eSTRO and NiP's group to take.

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Group F

1. NoA
2. wNv.cn
3. ID Gaming
4. defusekids
5. endless inspiration

Midway’s Advancers: 1) wNv.cn 2) NoA
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): ID
Player to Watch: NoA-hpx – Over a year ago, he was a promising young talent on a squad with XqetR at WEG Masters, now he needs to lead this team to success.

NoA and wNv.cn look like clear-cut choices to move on from this group. The outspoken Belgians hope that maybe this will finally be defusekids' year but they have a lot to prove for me.

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Group G

1. Made in Brazil
2. MYM
3. GoodGame
4. XCN Sans Peurs
5. H2k.Thermaltake

Midway’s Advancers: 1) MiBR 2) MYM
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): Goodgame
Player to Watch: MiBR-cogu – With no KIKOOO this time around, if they don’t win it all this year will it be his fault?

MYM hasn’t made a big splash in a while and for a team with Element that’s surprising. They need to upset the defending champion here and really put themselves on a path towards a big ESWC finish. The hometown French team, GoodGame, could be an upset waiting to happen as they have given teams who overlook them very tough matches in the past.

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Group H
1. ALTERNATE aTTaX
2. 69N-28E
3. Global Gaming
4. Immunity
5. onFire

Midway’s Advancers: 1) 69N-28E 2) ALTERNATE aTTaX
Spoiler (Non-seeded hope): none
Player to Watch: aTTax-Roman – He’s currently the highest scorer in ESL’s German Pro-Series for the #1 aTTax. They’ll need more of that in France.

This is aTTAx and 69N-28E’s group. If both teams should falter I see the more experienced 69N-28E pulling out on top for the win. Coming off the WSVG Louisville victory, they seem like a good team to bet on for a top finish in France. One thing to keep in mind though is that Finland has a terrible history at ESWC; they have had a lot of promise on many occasions, only to come in and absolutely fail. I don’t see that happening to 69N-28E but there is a history of it.

Final Thoughts

Toughest Group: Group B – By far the hardest in terms of figuring out who will advance. At least five could win the group and all six could advance. The Eastern Europe crown of best Counter-Strike team should be determined by the winner of this group.

Cakewalk Team: fnatic – Don’t they deserve it though? They are the best team coming into the event and really, it's about time this team got a group worthy of receiving that title. They will need f0rest to play better though if they are to actually capture this title and stop the Brazilian repeat.

Franchise Effect: NiP/mousesports – Their name is of the history books but can their actual performance match their reputations? It seems like they are constantly being talked about but neither seems to perform to the level of expectation set forth. Mousesports has a better chance this event, while I’m not sure NiP will get out of the second round of groups.