The Electronic Sports World Cup stands as one of the most prestigious e-sports events in the world. Paris sets the stage for this event for 5 years running, ever since ESWC’s birth back in 2003.

Players around the world take the opportunity to attend this tournament by qualifying from their home countries. The event branches out to span multiple countries such as South Korea, Brazil, Sweden, Canada, India, and Egypt, to make it truly a global event.

Jae Wook “Lucifer” Noh returns to defend his title after taking 1st place in last year’s tournament. He certainly needs to prepare himself harder than ever before, as his slew of opponents are no pushovers. Despite a lot of notable names such as ToD, Sky and Moon not attending this year’s ESWC; Noh still has a lot to worry about—namely players such as Manuel “Grubby” Schenkhuizen or even the recently controversial Andrey “Deadman” Sobolev.

This preview takes a closer look at the qualified players to see how well they’ll do in the group stage, sizing them up based on popular opinion along with their recent personal results, along with seeing who might make it to the coveted top 8.

Group A

Group A Deadman HoT hanf Demigod Dave SkuLi

Deadman has more accomplishments than HoT, but I see HoT as a more consistent player than Deadman. I regard Deadman highly as a player-- a dwindling respect, however; so HoT might be able to snatch top place from Deadman, especialy with his recent good results in CeBIT.

Still, the top 3 for this group with the three Elf players are obvious. Additionally, it would be amusing to see if Deadman chooses to change his race during his matchups.

Top 8 Contenders:
Deadman and HoT should be able to take the top 8 spots coming from this group.

Group B

Group B Soju Creolophus PaTo Djaafar Steler Raxxis

Another round of obvious choices, with the three Elves as the favorites. Ranks boil down to who plays elf mirror best-- which I might give to Creolophus, who managed to defeat SoJu several times, along with being really creative when it comes to this matchup.

I'll go out on a limb and call PaTo on 2nd; because everytime I think of elf mirror and Soju, all I remember is how he lost to Levin at WCG.

Top 8 Contenders:
Creolophus is a shoo-in for a top 8 spot, and one of my top 3 favorites. Soju is another contender, but he always seem to falter during the big competitions after doing well on qualifiers.

Group C

Group C SaSe Lyc eLquA Raziel Rene9ade Heaven

SaSe's too popular not to award the top spot for, but I'll confidently call Lyc to take the top spot. Lyc showed a lot of promise during WSVG Wuhan, taking none other than ReMinD out of the tournament, and this is his chance to prove himself at a bigger, international scale.

SaSe should be able to take 2nd spot though, unless Frenchman eLquA pulls out his tricks and manage to surprise SaSe. Nevertheless, the top three spots are secure for these players.

Top 8 Contenders:
No one that really stands out for me to confidently say that they can take top 8. Lyc might be talented, but he might fall short during brackets. Same goes for SaSe.

Group D

Group D Grubby Hasuobs LoLvsxD Paladyn Beez Rafey

Everyone thinks the same thing-- Grubby takes the top spot. The next two spots are a tossup between Hasuobs, LoLvsxD and Paladyn. I'm leaning towards Hasuobs for the 2nd spot, especially with his spectacular EPS win last month.

Paladyn is more exposed to competitive gaming than LoL, but I feel he's pretty inconsistent. So it's a possibility that LoL might even sneak past him for that coveted third spot.

Top 8 Contenders:
Grubby should be able to smuggle himself a top 8 spot, even a top 3 if he's lucky with matchups. Not a lot of players he has to worry about in the tournament.

Group E

Group E Lucifer Wolf Ciara Just.Jack Medkar Mytyc

I hate to say it, but Lucifer's been playing bad recently. Far from the monster he was back at ESWC last year and during the B.net Season IV finals. He reached his peak then pummeled right down. But I certainly won't complain if he proves me wrong! Although it won't matter so much in the early group stages and he will still get the top spot.

In terms of experience and activity, Danish Orc player should take the second spot on this group. I haven't seen a lot of action coming from French player Wolf to size him up, same goes for Bulgarian player Jack. But Jack might surprise, as he managed to qualify from a country that's Warcraft III crazy.

Top 8 Contenders:
I just don't see Lucifer winning it again, but he should at least manage to take top 8.

Group F

Group F Fly100% Nilknarf Xyligan apm Geno

Orc player Fly100% gets to play against two Humans, but he has time and again defeated Sky, so he probably wouldn't find it overly difficult to take them down. I feel that overrated underdog Nilknarf is actually in better shape than Xyligan, so I'd give him 2nd place-- unless Undead player apm totally dominates the two Human players, which isn't too far-fetched.

Top 8 Contenders:
I'd really like to see Fly100% take a top 8 spot, but with his lack of international experience, he might choke during the 2nd group stage or during the bracket rounds. Nilknarf took top 8 last year, and if he's lucky, he might be able to do that again.

Group G

Group G Insomnia Lyn DeMusliM Pinky Ragnorak

Lyn takes top place without a doubt, I consider him as one of the best "new" players to come out of Korea, playing a race that isn't exactly popular with the progamers. Despite using a race that's pretty much considered an "underdog", he managed to defeat most top contenders.

Insomnia and DeMusliM should take 2nd and 3rd place for this group.

Top 8 Contenders:
If Lyn gets lucky in seeds, he might manage to take top 3 for this tournament. Personally, he's one of those players that has a big chance of bringing it all home.

Group H

Group H Zeus[19] FuRy RotterdaM Sweet Vankor

I say Zeus[19] takes the top spot. For the second spot, it's a tossup between Fury and RotterdaM. RotterdaM isn't at his best shape, but FuRy has a racial disadvantage against Orc.

FuRy did mention that maps are favorable for the Undead in that matchup so he might inch past RotterdaM for the 2nd spot to leave Rotti on 3rd.

Top 8 Contenders:
Zeus[19] took 2nd place last year after a controversial win against his own teammate Grubby when a computer restarted in the middle of the game. I feel that he won't make a repeat of that this year and making top 8 for him will be hard, despite him playing better during LAN.