With that said the favorite to win the upper bracket and a clear beneficiary of the stacked lower bracket is Lunatic. The Koreans have the experience with a 3rd place finish at WCG last year beating a very good SK.swe team after their loss to 3D. The only challenge I see is Defusekids who have no excuse to not take a run at a top two finish. They are setup as the best European team in that grouping favored over the French, Bizounours, and Italians, Play.It.

The team to watch out for is the Chinese team, Goldtel, who beyond avoiding the top two Chinese teams, wNv and Abitstrike due to WEG, could be a surprise success. Lunatic against Defusekids should decide who will be a top three finisher at this tournament as a spot in the Winner’s Bracket final would guarantee it.

Now the big question, how will the lower bracket play out? Well I was offering bets to anyone who would take it that the winner of Complexity against SSV Lehnitz in the first round will take the tournament. Let’s just say I got someone to bite. I feel pretty good about the bet too, the winner has a clear cut advantage. Complexity’s worst map de_dust2 should give SSV Lehnitz a solid shot but without a few of their players headed to NiP, are they good enough?

A look at the rest of the pairing shows that Virtus.Pro could play spoiler. A tough opening match against aTTax featuring a lineup that use to play for SK.de should test them early. If they pass with flying colors, watch out - they are easily a top three team at this event. F`zero against Landed should also provide for an interesting battle as both teams are solid, expect double digit rounds for both sides.

One last match in that lower group is NBTD-50 facing Quash. Both have upset potential written all over them. Quash has proven it at WCG knocking down Canadian EG, while the Malaysian teams of the past have always proven very strong aim but limited teamwork.

I’m convinced that unless SSV Lehnitz or Complexity get caught on a bad map against someone’s best map and don’t take them seriously, the winner will win the tournament. I don’t see either of them being able to win back to back matches in a Grand Final to come from a loser’s bracket though. The opening round match decides the entire tournament? It looks like a growing fear.