Group C

mTw

Danny "zonic" Sørensen
Muhamed "MJE" Eid
Jonas “whimp” Svendsen
Alexander "ave" Holdt
Christoffer "Sunde" Sunde

The Danish squad has finally emerged as a big favourite in every competition it attends after breaking its second-place curse with the KODE5 title.

mTw failed to reached the final at Dreamhack 08 WGT after losing to Meet Your Makers but still managed a respectable 3rd/4th place.

Securing qualification through this tournament will be mTw's only chance to compete at the ESWC finals in August, so the team will be ready to risk everything to see its name listed at the event in San Jose.

Strengths

Consistency. The mTw team is one whose results have been regular for several months and, with everything that it as stake at the ESWC Masters, its players can only afford to show their best game.

Weakness

A defeat at the hands of team-mates and a 3rd/4th place at DreamHack have raised questions about the team's lack of training.

Recent Results

1st at KODE5, 1st at EPS Denmark Season III, 3rd/4th at DreamHack 2008

Prediction

MTw is expected to finish top of its group.


e-STRO

Jung "ari" Su Young
Lee "BaiL" Sung Jae
Park "hee" Jin Hee
Kang "solo" Geun Chul
Pyun "termi" Sun Ho

The Korean team performed well at Extreme Masters LA and went even further in the Finals, managing a second-place finish against all odds.

The form of an Asian team is always a big question mark, given the lack of quality opponents to practice with in Asia. The addition of Jung "ari" Su Young has proved to be a decent option so far and skill-wise, this team has some of the best names in the business.

Strengths

Unpredictability. Asides from the international events it has attended, no one knows how e-STRO practices or who it practices with. The lack of HLTV demos from e-STRO makes the Korean team one very hard to study and counter.

Weakness

The Asian teams have always been very inconsistent in tournaments outside Asia.

Recent Results

5th at Extreme Masters Los Angeles, 2nd at Extreme Masters II

Prediction

E-STRO is expected to put up a one-on-one battle with Evil Geniuses for the second spot of the group.


Evil Geniuses

Guevara "chE" Michael
Cavallero "evolution" Scott
Gilbert "n0thing" Jordan
Bell "NineSpot" Ryan
Vynnytsky "steno" Nazar

With a lack of appearances on the international competitive scene in recent history, American teams have had a huge shadow of doubt cast upon them in reference to their ability to hold their own against the world's best teams. While soundly the best of their own country, the lack of top tier competition plants the seed of doubt as to this teams preparedness.

Not all is bleak for EG.usa however, their recent upsets at KODE5 proved to the world that they indeed were ready to enter the ranks of the elite. Wins over fnatic and Virtus.pro stunned many and while they failed to medal at the event, public perception of this team certainly changed for the better.

Strengths

Unity, strong lineup. This team has been spending a massive amount of time preparing for this event, their teamwork that carried them through KODE5 will be in top shape for Paris. Combine this with the individual talent in players such as n0thing and Evolution and you have a formidable squad.

Weakness

Ability to adapt. The same counter-strating that SK displayed on the second day of KODE5 competition that dismantled EG.usa could easily be used by a seasoned team like mTw or e-Stro. If EG is unable to remain dynamic and flexible to their experienced opponents this may become their undoing.

Recent Results

Top 5 Kode5 Finals.

Prediction

They will definitely be competing with e-STRO for that second place spot in their group, but never underestimate this team's ability to upset big names when tournament time comes around.

Dutch Criminals Clan

Dennis "muh" van Maurik
Ferdi "xire" Senel
Ferdi "ferrid" van Leeuwen
Hicham "Hich" Houari
Jody "Skire" van 't Hul

Two-fifths of the Dcc squad attended the WCG event last year and managed a 9th-16th place finish under the CyberNetsOnline shirt, one of the best campaigns made by a Dutch squad in international events for quite some time now.

The Dutch teams failed to impress at KODE5 Holland, finishing all behind the top four squads, and its national team was certainly not better at ENC, being removed from the tournament in the last playday.

Only a few expect this team to have any impact on this tournament, and it can't be helped. With mTw, Evil Geniuses and e-STRO in the same group, only a very inspired Dcc will see it not crashing out of the tournament in the group stage.

Strength

Highly motivated to prove that their results at WCG last year were no fluke. The team will probably not have the same chance again with the same roster.

Weakness

A clear lack of experience in large events.

Recent Results

No noticeable results outside Holland in 2007/2008

Prediction

They will be competing with G2G over the 4th spot

Get2Gev
Marc "bisou" Naoum
Mathieu "MaTz" Perrin
Emmanuel "MoMaN" Marquez
Michel "mshz" Nguyen
Romain "MystiQ^" Dane

Although the current G2G roster has almost nothing to do with the one which actually secured enough Cyberleagues points, this is not the worst roster they could end up with. Bisou and MoMaN are skilled and experienced players, MaTz has been around the French CS scene for a while now, and mshz and MystiQ have shown some good results at local lans to get a spot in G2G. Whether that’ll be enough: probably not. G2G will have a hard time getting past the group stage.

Strengths

G2G have the most experienced French in-game leader on the market in the person of bisou, MoMaN has played for a number of teams both in France and Spain, and should also not have any trouble performing to their best level at this event.

Weakness

Apart from Bisou and MoMaN, the remaining players lack experience in such events and may have trouble performing decently under such pressure. I see it very hard for G2G to make it out of group play without a miracle.

Recent Results

5th at Gamers Assembly 2008, 1st at Nexen 2008

Prediction

G2G should finish 4th, the team should be able to beat DCC, but that's not a granted.