Clanbase's Eurocup competition, in its 15th season, has continued to draw some of the top names in European Counter-strike to its fold, despite the introduction of other leagues such as NGL ONE. This weekend, the finals of the current season will be played out at the WZZRD LAN in the Netherlands, with the four remaining teams battling for a share of €10,000 and the pride of emerging victorious from perhaps the most prestigious online tournament in the world. Interestingly, Denmark will see itself represented by two teams in NoA and mirror; the other two teams, CMAX and Begrip, hail from Finland and Russia, respectively.

NoA

Brian "hpx" Christensen
Danny "zonic" Sørensen
Mohammed "mJe" Eid
Alexander "ave" Holdt
Christoffer "Sunde" Sunde

Recent accomplishments: 4th place, NGL ONE finals; 2nd place, ESWC 2007

Arguably one of the top teams in the world at present, NoA arrives at the finals after facing a gauntlet of opponents, resulting from an early loss in the upper bracket of the Eurocup playoffs. That loss, ironically, was at the hands of CMAX, upon whom they may have a chance to exact revenge, and came in the second round. Because of the loss, NoA then had to prevail in 5 straight matches to reach the finals. Their first victim was Norway's Convention, who managed to take a map from NoA but ultimately was defeated soundly. Next to fall to the Danes was x6tence.AMD who, oddly, had already faced (and lost to) NoA in the upper bracket. They would do slightly better here, winning the first map by a 16-14 margin before being dismantled in the subsequent two. NoA then faced the trifecta of Swedish powerhouses in Begrip, SK and NiP in consecutive match-ups. They caught a break when Begrip defaulted, leaving only (!) two of the most well-known names in the history of the game in their path. It took overtime in the first map, but NoA came out on top of NiP 2-0, then proceeded to work over SK in even more convincing fashion, landing them in the finals on a hot streak.

A disappointing finish in the most recent NGL ONE finals, where the team lost both matches in which it played, could serve as added motivation for a squad that seems to be on the brink of challenging the perennial top-tier teams for CS supremacy.

Expected Finish: 1st

CMAX.gg

Antti "Shiri" Makinen
Matti "SpikeOne" Jarvinen
Slaava "Twista" Rasanen
Tino "tihOp" Puumala
Janne "Kuppi" Kuparinen

Recent accomplishments: 4th place, GameGune; 2nd place, WCG Finland

The former Logitech.fi team comes into the finals still overshadowed by their countrymen in 69°N-28°E, but by the slimmest of margins. They actually defeated Lurrpis & co. at GameGune, and a victory here would certainly add fuel to their claim for being #1 in Finland. A strong GameGune finish, at which the only team they lost to was Pentagram (twice), laid a solid foundation for bigger and better wins.

Their road to the finals was relatively easy compared to NoA's. After a bye and the victory over the Danes in a closely contested match, CMAX received a default win of their own over NiP. Reaching the fourth round of the upper bracket after only one match, they secured the first map against the Russians of Begrip, but could not close out the match and lost 2-1, dropping them to the lower bracket. There, they faced ALTERNATE aTTax in the debut of Janne "Kuppi" Kuparinen, who re-joined his teammates in CMAX after a long absence. The first map resulted in an overtime victory for the Finnish squad. The Germans then took the second map in convincing fashion before being beaten at their own game, dropping the third and final map 16-2, sending CMAX to the finals and a chance at redemption against Begrip. First, though, they will have to get pass the upstarts in mirror.

Expected Finish: 2nd