GotFrag.com - Ok, ok......so we all saw it coming. fnatic has been just way too strong lately and there was little doubt to as whether or not they were going to be able to step their game up once again and walk away with another title. There really is just no stopping them right now. With that out of the way though, there were quite a few other interesting stories going on at KODE5 that should spark some discussion around the community.

Without further hesitation, and no more ado, here's a look at what we learned from watching Counter-Strike's finest the last couple of days in Moscow at KODE5.

#1 - EG/MiBR: Redemption:

Sure, they weren't the best teams at the tournament, and EG got knocked out in the first round; but after several months of lackluster performances from both teams, it was nice to see them both put up a little fight and show that they are at least moving in the right direction.

For EG they had the unfortunate draw of facing a very strong SK team in the first round. When it was announced that the always tough Swedes would be their opening opponents, threads started popping up about how "EG was going to be out in 2," or how "SK will just walk right over them." However, EG, after dropping SK's map choice, were able to shock the community a bit by taking the second map by a decent 16-11 score. On the third map, minus a few mistakes that probably cost them the map, EG once again played really well and showed that they are starting to turn things around a bit.

As for MiBR, they had been seeing just as much hate from the community as EG. After hearing a lot of talk about how they were now the 2nd best team in Brazil behind Firegamers, MiBR made one last roster change and ended up beating their Brazilian rivals in the qualifiers to earn a spot at KODE5. At the Grand Finals they opened things up nicely with a win over ENTITY before running into the same fate as EG. In their second round match up against SK, they were able to play the first map to a close 13-16 loss, and then win the second map 19-17 in OT behind strong performances from spacca and cogu. On the final map however, MiBR seemed to run out of steam and SK was able to eventually win and advance.

Now looking back on the tournament it was nice to see that both these teams seem to be getting stronger. You can't expect them to go into every tournament and come out with a win, but you at least hope to see them playing better and making progress towards getting better. At KODE5 it really seemed like both of these teams accomplished that, regardless of their results.

#2 - What's Up With mTw?:

3rd place at the EM III Grand Finals, 5-8th place at ESWC Masters, and now a 4th place at the KODE5 Grand Finals. Not really that bad of a resume is it?

Maybe if it were for someone other than mTw.

The always consistent Danes, who were dominant much of the 2008 season, were expected to do much of the same in 2009. In their first real competition of the year at the EM III European Finals, mTw crushed everyone in group play to go 5-0, and then ran right through bracket play to finish up the event 8-0 and claim the $25,000 first prize. It was pretty much what people expected to happen. When the Grand Finals rolled around however, mTw took their first loss of the season to SK in group play and then ended up falling to fnatic and Wicked in the bracket to finish 3rd.

Then, after a 5th-8th finish at ESWC due to a loss to fnatic in bracket play, and a little momentum from winning EPS Scandinavia, mTw looked to once again fight for a top spot at KODE5.

With a decent path to the finals, the Danes easily disposed of TEG in round one and then played quite well in taking down ALTERNATE in the quarters. When it came to playing SK however, it makes you wonder how they actually let this one slip away. After completing the first map in dominant fashion, mTw moved on to nuke where SK fought back and evened the series at one map apiece. On the third map for some reason, mTw seemed out of focus. In a map they were hoping to get in dust 2, the Danes quickly went up on CT side, only to allow SK to come back and eventually send them packing. Then in the 3rd place match up against Wicked, mTw once again fell victim on a map they should've won, and ended up going home in 4th place.

Looking back on the event, and what has occurred in the last couple of months, it is hard to place a finger on what is wrong with mTw. They went from being the clear cut # 1 team in the World, to # 2 behind fnatic, and now # 3 behind SK. They aren't exactly playing badly, which in fact is the odd part, because they are actually playing pretty well. You could say that SK and fnatic have both stepped up their games immensely recently, but mTw is one of those teams that usually adapts and prevails no matter what. It will be interesting to see what they can do in the coming months.

#3 - fnatics Lineup Should Be Illegal:

If the Europeans made an all-star team and decided to only select members from fnatic, it would be hard to argue that this would be a bad idea.

You'd think having f0rest on your team would be enough. He has been considered one of the top players, if not the top player, in the World now for quite some time. He consistently makes big plays and hits shots that some of us only dream of. Now, add to the team a player who is pretty much a clone of him in GeT_RiGhT, two players who are consistent and put up tons of frags in gux and dsn, and top it off with a leader who has all the right calls and still frags hard in carn. What do you get? Well......pretty much an All-Star team that can call themselves a normal team and dominate any tournament they enter.

After another flawless victory at KODE5, there is no denying that fnatic is the best team in the World. Once again they came in motivated to capture a title and followed through in stunning fashion. Even with a pretty tough draw that saw them have to go through DTS, emuLate, Wicked, and SK to win the event, fnatic was able to continuously put up big numbers and capture rounds with ease. There was really no stopping them once they got going.

The big question now is whether or not fnatic will be able to continue this dominance throughout the year and keep winning every tournament they enter? If the last couple of days was any indication as to what we are to expect from them in the coming months, than there is no doubt that they will see a long and prosperous reign at the top of the CS World.

KODE5 Grand Finals Awards

fnatic- Best Overall Team

It's pretty much as easy as doing a copy/paste from any previous article that has issued out awards for a major event.

fnatic once again proved that they are the best team in the World by running through some really good teams on their way to an undefeated record and their 3rd title of 2009. They might as well just get used to this award because its hard to see them being considered for anything but best overall team at any event to come in the next couple of months.

Rasmus "Gux" Stahl & Patrik "cArn" Sättermon - KODE5 MVP

I was all ready to put Gux as the MVP of KODE5 since he was spectacular throughout the whole event, consistently fragging and making big plays for fnatic; but then someone said to me "what about Carn?" and I thought to myself, "that actually does make sense."

So, this time around, we have the MVP split between two players of fnatic. Gux for his spectacular contributions throughout the entire event, and cArn, because without his leadership and the consistent frags he dishes out on top of it, fnatic probably wouldn't be as good as they are today.

Everyone from the team played very well and you could make a case for any of them to be MVP, but these two really stood out, and deserve some recognition.

Guilherme "spacca" Spacca - Most Improved Player

While cogu played equally well for MiBR in their two matches at KODE5, it was spacca who stepped up big time to give him the support the team really needed to make a statement. With constant frags and smart play, especially against SK, spacca started to look like the player we expected him to become when MiBR originally picked him up. It was good to see him put in such a strong effort and make the Brazilians look as if they made the right move in shaking up the roster.

fnatic vs Wicked (Semi-Finals Map 2) - Best Match

In the first map on de_inferno, fnatic came out and put a whooping to Wicked like many thought they would. On the second map however, the Swedes were given their hardest fought battle of the entire tournament on de_train.

In a match up that saw things going back and forth, with some of the most exciting action of the entire tournament, Wicked pushed fnatic to the limit, forcing them to battle it out into two overtimes before they'd finally concede the victory. In one of the hardest fought matches fnatic has had to play through in the last couple months, this one went down as an instant classic.

mousesports- Biggest Disappointment at the Grand Finals

After a solid 3rd placing at ESWC Masters that seemed to be their ticket back into the international discussion, mouz let a 1-0 map lead slip away to wnv, and fell in the first round at KODE5.

In what would probably be considered one of the more exciting bo3's in the entire event, due to the fact that the Chinese team, already down 1 map, made a comeback and beat mouz in OT on the next two maps to advance, the Germans just seemed out of form. Now the ailing team, that seemed to be in better spirits after ESWC, are once again faced with the reality that they might have to go back to the drawing board and get things figured out.

Immunity & DTS - Teams To Watch For In the Future

Neither team was able to make it out of the first round, but that doesn't mean there still isn't hope for them.

Immunity, who was able to take a map from a pretty good ALTERNATE team, has been seeing a lot more solid competition as of late. With tournament after tournament facing teams like SK, Wicked, fnatic, etc., this invaluable experience that they are gaining against the Worlds best teams should someday pay off for what is already a pretty decent team. It will be fun to see them at WCG, especially if they are given a favorable draw.

For DTS, they won a pretty nicely stacked Russian Qualifier, and then were able to put some heat on fnatic in their first round match at KODE5. With the DTS.cup coming up, in which they will be more than likely favored to win, and plenty of young talent in players like johnta and markeloff, DTS would seem to be a team to watch for at future events.