RC EMS One Summer preview (1/2)

Under two weeks after the dust settled in Jönköping the cream of the crop in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene gathers in Cologne for RaidCall EMS One Summer finals.

Although NiP were able to pull through in the end, they were much closer to elimination than ever before, just some health points away in the now classic one-on-three defuse by Richard "Xizt" Landström.

With VeryGames having opted to skip over DreamHack Summer despite receiving an invitation, NiP will have one more team to worry about, while everyone else was already present at DreamHack.

ESL TV production from last season 

As mentioned in our viewer's guide, the exact starting times for three of the four quarter-finals aren't known due to the ESL TV show being continuous and games starting after the previous one finishes.

Want to find out what you should expect from your favorite team? Who will surprise in a positive or a negative way? Who is the black horse of the event? Continue reading to find out.

Saturday, 13:00 : LDLC.com vs. fnatic (Q1)

This match has the most potential, albeit very little at that, at a shocking result at RaidCall EMS One Finals. It's not because other matches' outcomes are clear, but the exact opposite. The other three games could reasonably end with either team being knocked out, but for fnatic to take down LDLC.com in Cologne, it would have to be a massive upset and a complete 180 from the way these two teams played at DreamHack Summer.

For those not up-to-date with their results, LDLC.com finished 3-4th after a close loss versus Epsilon while fnatic weren't able to advance from the group they shared together. fnatic's most impressive result in recent times is without a doubt the first place in RC EMS One group stage, where they defeated NiP 16-8 on de_cache. LDLC struggled there, barely making the finals, but looked much stronger at DreamHack.

After DreamHack LDLC have defeated Epsilon and Cph Wolves in ESEA Invite where fnatic have gone 1-2 with a win over ESC but losses against VeryGames and Natus Vincere. The Danes put up a nice run in SLTV StarSeries VI to clinch a finals spot before ultimately turning it down, but it's still worth noting that most of those wins came versus much weaker opposition.

Kenny "kennyS" Schrub keeps playing extremely well, and have been since his removal from VeryGames, while it seems like no one in particular from fnatic has found their CS 1.6 groove, as Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth is probably their best player individually so far in CS:GO. Although Schrub has been nothing short of amazing, his teammates haven't been up to par in terms of pure fragging ability. LDLC.com should come out of this series with an easy win, especially with fnatic seemingly on the verge of folding.

Prediction: LDLC.com 2-0

kennyS has been finally unleashed 

Sat, after Q1:  Copenhagen Wolves vs. VeryGames (Q2)

Many predicted Copenhagen Wolves to defeat NiP at DreamHack after seeing the Swedes' mighty struggles in the group stage, but despite the Danes winning the opening map, they weren't able to keep their composure as they fell behind to go out in the quarter-final with a 1-2 score. Since then Bo "wantz" Vestergaard, who recorded a poor 0.46 KPR with a rating of 0.72 in Jönköping, has decided to leave and been temporarily replaced with Søren "socN" Falke, who impressed individually at Mad Catz Birmingham. Falke scored a 0.85 KPR while carrying his team to the semi-finals.

That wasn't all for the Wolves though, as René "cajunb" Borg decided to leave the team, forcing them to pick up Falke's fm.TOXiC teammate Danni "smF" Dyg for this weekend's tournament, spelling trouble for their preparation. On the other hand, the formerly clear flagship team of France decided to skip over DreamHack, but have recorded some nice wins online, as well as an overtime loss against NiP on de_train_se. 

Had Cph Wolves not undergone roster changes they might have even been slight favorites to win this match, but with their lack of preparation and VG having days to prepare for this match specifically it's hard to go against the individual skill of Richard "shoxie" Papillon, Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom and company. If what I've heard about VG playing more freely now is true, they could even become a legitimate contender once again.

I don't think VeryGames are a lock to win, but they have four players who can win maps on their own if they're playing well (and if Kévin "Ex6TenZ" Droolans' leash isn't too tight, which it was on Schrub a lot a we can now see), and that should prevail in a best-of-three. If VeryGames go out in groups I'm not sure if I can see this team sticking together, and same goes for a loss against LDLC.com. They are favorites to advance, and most likely will, but don't count out the Wolves, especially if Falke is in shape.

Prediction: VeryGames 2-0

With Ex6TenZ' leadership failing, VG must now rely on their fraggers 

Saturday, after Q2: NiP vs. Western Wolves (Q3)

NiP have shown to become increasingly vulnerable in recent months, and just under two weeks ago at DreamHack they were actually a one-on-three ninja-like defuse away from being eliminated in the group stage. Western Wolves demolished the Ninjas in their group stage battle with a 16-2 score on de_nuke_se, and at this point NiP have to be a little worried when playing strong teams like the Danes, even in a best-of-three series.

NiP have shown to know how to turn close games in their favor as they've recently clinched overtime wins over both VeryGames and ESC, so they are still likely to pull through, but it also proves that they now have many more competitors relatively close to their level.

WW are a much stronger team strategically thanks to Lukas "gla1ve" Rossander (who can also frag by the way, as shown in Jönköping by his 0.85 KPR and 1.22 rating), and their two main fraggers Jacob "Pimp" Winneche and Nicolaj "Nico" Jensen have proven they can hang with the best of them. At this point NiP basically need their two star players to put up numbers on the terrorist sides to win rounds, as they have continuously struggled with lackluster terrorist side play, which will only be highlighted against a smart team like Western Wolves.

I'm only giving NiP the edge because I think the Danes still lack some experience, which has been an issue for them in my opinion, but it wouldn't surprise me if NiP struggled à la DreamHack groups and WW took a map - I just don't see them as a best-of-three threat at this point. Adam "friberg" Friberg keeps improving and is in my opinion the third best player in NiP now, so Richard "Xizt" Landström's calling needs to improve and Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson needs to contribute for the Swedes to continue winning in 2013.

Prediction: NiP 2-0

NiP has had some terrorist side issues lately 

Saturday, after Q3: ESC Gaming vs. Virtus.pro (Q4)

Here are two teams who are extremely hard to evaluate as they stand right now in the community. In one corner we have ESC Gaming, quite possibly the most inconsistent CS:GO team thus far, who have had tons of close losses lately (LDLC in overtime and 14-16 after a 13-5 lead versus Virtus.pro at DH, overtime against NiP in ESEA, etc.) and were on the verge of taking down Virtus in Jönköping.

In the other corner is Virtus.pro, the former number two team in the world until Dauren "AdreN" Kystaubayev went inactive and relocated to China, prompting the CIS-based team to recruit a much more skilled Ladislav "GuardiaN" Kovács, whose communication issues are clearly hindering the team as they haven't been able to produce similar results.

As of right now you have to give Virtus an edge in the light of recent results and their potentially higher level of play they've shown in recent months, but as the head-to-head match at DreamHack showed, the two aren't very far apart at all. A few mistakes avoided by the Poles or a couple made by Virtus could easily sway the match the other way, but so far that isn't what we've seen in play.

ESC seems to lack what they possessed the most out of anyone except maybe Na`Vi in CS 1.6, killer instinct. Letting go of these recent leads is not like them at all, and that killer instinct is what made me give them an edge over teams earlier on in CS:GO. With that now seemingly gone together with Filip "NEO" Kubski's explosiveness in his current form (which likely have a massive correlation, by the way), you have to favor Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov and company.

Prediction: Virtus.pro 2-1

GuardiaN could be a massive asset if Virtus fix their communication issues 

RaidCall EMS One Summer Finals will kick off on Saturday with the four quarter-finals. A separate preview will be released after day one finishes prior to take a look at the semi-finals.