Publicity is a double edged sword; it gets people excited and also blinds them. Don’t get blinded by this CPL Qualifier this weekend in the UK. Fine, 4Kings has returned, but they didn’t play anyone. Not a single team in this entire event was ranked in the top ten in the World.

GG isn’t the team they were even a year ago and hasn’t ever really replaced the team they once were. The only team I look at in this entire event that’s underrated is Asylum. The Danish guys have really been playing well online and are starting to make a name for themselves; they had a decent event and were probably the second best team. Still where are the top teams?

Missing in Action

Without SK.swe, EYE, Mousesports, The Titans, SpiXel, Astralis, D-Skyline and even NoA; why is this event even worthy of a mention. The group play of these event was atrocious, not a single group fielded unexpected results expect for 5Giants who beat out SSV Lehnitz, but both teams still advanced and SSV Lehnitz ended up better for not winning. The rise of sponsorship among these top teams has allowed them to avoid this unnecessary competition at CPL Qualifiers in Europe. There’s no argument here, a couple of years ago CPL Qualifiers like MindTek use to dominated headlines everywhere and not a single top teams would miss them. The hopes of winning the CPL started at those tournaments and in some cases those tournaments where more competitive then the CPL in Dallas itself.

4Kings, not really back yet

UK fans won’t love this but come on, who did they beat? GG would love to say they belong in the elite of Europe, but we all know they aren’t there. That leaves an event that 4Kings needed to win just to prove they aren’t going downhill. The new players added around Mangiacapra passed their first test, but not a truly defining test. Can players like aKuJii, Red or even Goodfella and Harriman play up to the level needed against top teams from Sweden or USA and Germany? I’m not so sure.

This event didn’t convince me they are ready. Yes they did the job presented to them but there’s something to be said for quality wins. Does anyone really believe that SK.swe or even 3D or mouz wouldn’t have dominated and won this event? I’m willing to declare they would have won it by greater margins at every step. Confidence is one of the most important things in the game and this will only help that for 4Kings. Still before anyone jumps on the bandwagon, remember this team has a long way to go before rejoining the elite in Europe.