Can fnatic pull themselves together?

The Swedes were considered on of the best teams in the world just a few months ago. Something has definitely changed though. After struggling against x3o in group play, fnatic was trounced by EG.usa and then eliminated in another rolling by GamePlay. On top of that, they showed early vulnerability at WCG Sweden by tying EvilZone. Once out of that group, they lost two matches in a row to Blank, and were eliminated from the event. It might be a lot to ask for fnatic to win the WCG qualifier, and it might be too early to start counting them out of major events, but it was shocking to see them miss the finals match. Only time will tell if they have been able to work out the kinks and dominate like they have in the past.

Can EG.US build upon their success from LA, and does it even matter?

Yes, you would be getting ahead of yourself if you started considering EG.US to be one of the best teams in the world. But one has to wonder what might happen if EG comes out of Montreal with a top three finish again. With only three teams participating who are not North American, would top three even be considered all that monumental of an accomplishment? I would say that unless EG wins the whole event, they will always suffer under the excuse that not enough international teams were present.

How will the MiBR, SK rivalry play out?

These teams gave us some great action from the LA event. Both looked solid throughout, and it took an overtime to finally determine the better team. Even so, you would be in for the fight of your life if you told either team's fans that they were the weaker of the two. With SK coming out as the top dog in LA, MiBR will be trying even harder to take down their Swedish practice partners.

Will any Canadians make a dent?

Despite the fact that the tournament pool is only half as full as in LA, and the majority of the swimmers are wearing floaties, this event poses an interesting challenge for the Canadians. It has been a long time since Canada has had a team that has been able to compete internationally. Can NSU, Sway, EG, or any of the other contenders step up and make a splash? Sorry about all the water references. Hopefully none of you are anxious to head to the bathroom now.

Has Gravitas put in enough time and effort?

Ex-manager Nick Fitzsimmons admitted that his former team's effort heading into WCG US and EM LA was unacceptable. In fact, he even questioned if sending the team to Montreal would be cost effective for his sponsors. While motivation is not a factor for Gravitas, time management has been. With some of the players taking night classes, which don't end until extremely late for east coaster mehLer, getting practice in has been hard. Add goodfornothing's vacation before the LA event, and it's surprising that they were able to do as well as they did. If they have been able to get on the scheduling ball, they could be a force to be reckoned with in Montreal.


Archi: "expecting a spot in the finals"
Play-by-play recap of Fnatic vs. Gravitas
Sway falls short to SK gaming
Interview with GravitasGaming's Celex
GGE|Happyminti: "patch a circus"
SK's roller-coaster group play
EG.usa crushes hometown heroes
Nihilum takes GGE in opening game of EM
EG.ca strikes the first blow
EM Montreal WoW Preview
Nihilum, fnatic in EM Montreal WoW Scores/Melee
ESL EM III Montreal CS Preview
SK, Gravitas in EM Montreal CS Scores/Melee/Scores