Reason Gaming
jimmy, Warclown, Fetish, Hellblinde, Giftig

Right now they are a major player without doubt as they are probably the LAN side of Europe on current form. They made it to the finals of the last i-series where they were brushed aside by London Mint, a little bit of nerves showing in some of their performances. Losing players like George "HudzG" Hoskins and Kasper “c0bain” Magnusson after that event saw a lot of people write them off as a team, both competitors and wannabe pundits alike. When they brought in Daniel “giftig” Ivarsson and Christofer "Helblinde" Nilsson as replacements people seemed underwhelmed, but they have never looked back since, their performances steadily improving until the recent Infinity Gaming LAN where they smashed Birmingham Salvo twice and had their revenge over London Mint in that final. Jim "jiMMy" Thorsen was rightfully given MVP for that tournament and is in the form of his career to date, but in truth the team has never felt so confident. Whether i-series will be so easy is another matter entirely as it is highly unlikely that their opponents will underestimate them this time. Still, expect them to be there or thereabouts when it’s time for the large novelty cheques to be handed out.


Fnatic
airaid, xertion, darky, proph, blaze

Incredible to think that fnatic might go into anything as underdogs so to speak, but not many fancy them to make a top three finish this time, something I’m genuinely surprised about. Sure for a moment it looked like Quint “blaze” Spierenburg wouldn’t be playing anymore, but he comes back to the roster in time for i-series to reunite the indestructible 2007 line-up for what could be another successful i-series. This five are without doubt one of the greatest ever CSS sides put together, with the wins at big tournaments to prove it, so they shouldn’t be too far from everyone’s thoughts. Yet it seems that after some disappointing online performances, a disappointing i32 and a presumed lack of interest people are quick to write them off as potential winners. Not me, these are the original LANimals and they will want to show everyone they’ve still got it. Keep an eye on Sandor “proph” de Munck this event. He was bitterly disappointed with his performances at the last i-series and I fully expect him to be fired up and back to his lethal best.


Logitech.fi
Owa, topsikrt, kononen, nashje, samitsky

Considered by many to be the top team in Europe right now they will be making their way to this event fully expected to take a top three slot. However, one thing that has not been factored into the equation is that they will be using “turn up and play” computers, which may well hamper their performance. It is my understanding that personalisation of a TUP set-up is to be kept to a minimum as several other players will be using the PCs over the course of the tournament and this might cause them to be unsettled. That is not to deny the obvious quality in their side, with Juho “topsikrt” Koivisto especially being one of those players who has never failed to impress me whenever I’ve watched him play. They’re looking likely to keep a hold of their preliminary third seeding and they will be looking to finish (no pun intended) higher than their native rivals over at 4kings.css, who of course took what could be seen as the best player from their old roster in Juha “odiouz” Westerlund. If those two have to play each other in the later stages expect fireworks.


Auxilia
gandofini, gav, deadcell, arak, jam0r

One of those sides from the UK with a big reputation, yet this team has attended very few LANs and this one will be the first for a lot of these players in a long time. Still with the likes of big John “Gandofini” Johnston back from his job on the off-shore oil rigs I’m happy to give them the label of dark horses as on their day the lads in this squad can mix it up with anyone. The big cloud hovering over the Auxilia camp is simply one of practice and inexperience, the older heads all having demanding jobs to juggle with their CSS careers and with Phil “deadcell” McParlane – a player Gandofini personally sees as a talent for the future – they have someone who is yet to truly contend at the top end of the CSS scale. Still their reputation and pedigree go a long way in the UK scene and they will not only be expected to make the top eight, they will be cheered on all the way by many neutrals. Who is to say in such a setting they couldn’t cause a few upsets?


4kings.css
Angeldust, Odiouz, God, Natu, Eversor

"Major player" written all over them, 4kings is synonomous with CSS excellence and with this five in attendance the experience is undeniable. Made up of the old Insignia Cadre line-up they have some of the most consistent players in Europe over the last few years, even if they have been in and out the game for various reasons. Another team that will be using “turn up and play” computers I’m told, but you’d have to say these guys could ptobably play on anything and beat most teams. Online they have been enjoying some fantastic results and, already mentioned in this piece, Juha “odiouz” Westerlund has been at the heart of it all. They will take a preliminary second spot seeding into this competition and anything outside of a top three finish is surely unthinkable. Any chance of “ring-rustiness” should get removed after the group stages and there are only a handful of teams in attendance that can beat this side. How soon they will face those teams beyond the group stages is going to dictate their chances for success, as with each game they will get stronger.