This group should be called Group D for "Death" but since the name won't change, let's move on...

When the WCG decided not to draw the groups based on seedings, it was almost inevitable that one of the big-guns would bow out of the tournament at the group stage.

Meet Your Makers, Made in Brazil and e-STRO fight for two spots in the next stage, meaning one of them will have an early exit in Cologne.

The Korean team appears to be the strongest of the trio right now. e-STRO is always a very hard team to beat and comes from a good campaign at the World e-Sports Masters, where it will still play fnatic for a podium finish.

Meet Your Makers, after an impressive run at Extreme Masters Dubai, surprisingly walked out of WEM with three defeats in three games. The Polish team now seeks the taste of a first-place finish, which it narrowly experienced in Dubai.

Made in Brazil has been far away from its best form - or from the form many were hoping this team to be in. After being so close to winning the Extreme Masters events in Los Angeles and Montreal, mibr was sent packing early in Dubai, leaving the team in a very tough situation ahead of this tournament.

Curiously, though, Made in Brazil is probably the team from this trio that comes to Cologne best prepared, having missed out on WEM. The break between EM Dubai and the WCG has given mibr a good opportunity to get back on track as it definitely needs to step up its performance. Moreover, both Meet Your Makers and e-STRO are still in China, which means they still have to fly to Germany and will thus have little time to get ready for this event.

The Estonian WCG representative, sYnck, is always a good team to watch and even reached last year's Round of 16 in Seattle, winning one map against Amazing Gaming. However, luck was not on its side this year in the group draw and sYnck will probably have to content itself with a fourth-place group finish.

Fu.sk flies to Germany with a local stand-in, Matej "mHx" Hobor, as Czech player Jan "johan" Juráň is ineligible to play. Fu.sk has been a regular presence in international events, though with no remarkable record, and this tournament should be no exception.

Team Sidewinder (tsw.mc) from New Zealand and Hong Kong's representative, extremeplayers, are expected to battle to see who takes the bottom place of the group. In 2007, that's exactly what New Zealand got from its Seattle campaign, while extremeplayers had to return to its homeland with just one point from its encounter with I Got Game.

GotFrag.com's Top 7 prediction:

1. e-STRO
2. Meet Your Makers
3. Made in Brazil
4. sYnck
5. fu.sk
6. tsw.mc
7. extremeplayers





WCG 2008 CS Melee

bit: "We want to win Group C"
PUTb's Flatra in doubt for WCG
wNv to miss WCG

WCG CS Group Previews
   - Group A
   - Group B
   - Group C
   - Group D
   - Group E
   - Group F
   - Group G
   - Group H

Galleries
GotFrag goes on an adventure in Cologne!
Kolnmesse venue gallery
Rock stars, half-pipe bmx, and oprah. Just part of the Opening Ceremonies.