(GotFrag) August 20, 2008 - When the Electronic Sports World Cup was first launched in 2003, it was seen as an outsider to the established behemoth: the CPL. During the French competition’s early years, the American organization tried to kill it off by holding their tournaments at the same dates - but the gamers seemed to value the added flair and panache of the French event to the gloomy basement of the Hyatt Regency in Dallas. And as inevitability would have happen, the CPL floundered before finally succumbing under the weight of its own mistakes.

The stage was finally set for the ESWC to be the shining example for others to follow – and shine it did during the 2007 final in Paris where PGS / MYM outfought NoA / MTW to the roars of the five thousand people in the stands. It was as successful as electronic sports have ever been. Next week’s event will unravel the storylines that have been building over the course of the past year’s other events. Four teams look poised to do battle over the 2008 title in what is shaping up to be a veritable clash of the 1.6 titans. One of them held the trophy high last year; two are scarred from previous defeats while the last is desperately chasing the one title their organization has yet to claim.

Can the Danish CT-specialists in MTW continue their forward surge into the history books by claiming the title that just eluded them on that biblical night in Paris? Will Fnatic’s third attempt finally reap the biggest reward? Has MYM got it in them to be the first team to win it twice? Or could SK end their ascension at the top of the ESWC? The first part of this article series picks up where MYM and MTW left off on July 8th 2007.

MYM’s second wind?

PGS / MYM was the team to beat when the tournament got underway last year. But contrary to popular opinion, I would argue that their finest moment was not in front of the huge crowd when they took the crown in a fantastic tumble with NoA / MTW. It came inside the tournament area, during the semi final where they defeated their arch rivals Fnatic in a best out of three maps series. MYM came back by winning two straight maps after going one down early.

Many observers have claimed they ran out of steam after the demanding ESWC victory. The tables turned on the seemingly invincible Polish team as they faltered at Gamegune, outright failed at E-Stars and WCG and continued to struggle throughout the latter months of the year. The start to their 2008 season was less than ideal as they were destroyed on the first map and a half by Fnatic in Moscow for Kode5. They looked nothing like the team of “old” before suddenly finding a late surge to win the map and force a tie breaker. They eventually came up short, but proved they could still hang with the best. Some months later they got their first tournament win in a year when they beat Roccat in the final of Dreamhack Summer. It was finally a breath of relief for the players and the organization. It is no secret that taking on the team represented a significant financial investment on the part of MYM – at least in 1.6 terms – and they probably did not expect it to be as much of a leap of faith, as the lacking results of the Polish competitors proved it to be for the first part of the year.

Despite winning that tournament, and taking down Kode 5 winners MTW in the process, MYM still have questions to answer in San Jose. The presence of most of the world’s best notwithstanding, Dreamhack Summer does not carry the weight of prestige that a Kode 5, a WCG or an ESWC title does. No one knows that better than the returning champions.

MTW’s finest hour.

The Danish NoA / MTW players were the eternal runners up in 2007. Their outgoing, crowd charming antics coupled with some tremendous Counter-Strike: 1.6 displays, particularly from rookie Christoffer "Sunde" Sunde, won them a world of fans as they fought a losing battle with PGS / MYM last year.

That ESWC was their definitive break out event, one where they let everyone know that they should be considered part of the five percent that were just a tad better than the rest of the pack. And unlike their victors, they did not fall into a slump following the event. NoA / MTW continued to tear through the competition at the World Cyber Games when the other behemoths fell short.

Their run took them into another final where French underdogs Emulate were widely considered to be lambs for the slaughter. However, it was another disappointment for Denmark and MTW’s fans as Emulate was clearly the better team that night in Seattle. It looked as if the two heartbreaking defeats had derailed the Danish powerhouse. At the Dreamhack Winter event they failed to make a big splash before outright failing at Samsung’s European Championships in early 2008.

It appeared that the addition of star player Jonas “whimp” Svendsen to the talented roster took some time to pay off – but it certainly did. MTW proved they were all about the big time when they won another stab at a major title at Kode 5 in Russia in May 2008. MTW avoided the prospect of a “three-peat” and clearly used the previous losses to their advantage as they blasted a tired Fnatic off the stage to the delight of Moscovites in the crowd. They could finally bask in the glory from atop the podium and if their third time was a charm, their fourth was even better when the Kode 5 feat was repeated a couple of months later; Fnatic was handed another convincing defeat at the ESWC Masters event in Paris.

As perhaps the most momentum driven team of the four big ones, they certainly chose the right time to get back on the horse for the year’s biggest and most challenging event. The old saying goes ”all roads lead to Rome.” In the fiercely competitive Counter-Strike 1.6 world, these roads lead to San Jose and the ESWC Grand Final.

To be continued