ESEA Invite S14 Global Finals preview

16-8-2013 10:27

ESEA Invite Season 14 finals will be held this coming weekend in Dallas, TX with teams such as NiP, Curse and compLexity competing for the $20,000 first place prize.

Although only one European team is able to make the trip due to sponsorship issues among the CS:GO scene and changes in teams like Virtus.pro and Na`Vi wrecking their odds, there will be good games to watch.

Curse and coL will be going head-to-head to find out who is the best in North America, and with Curse having taken the upper hand online and ex-Quantic joined coL, both have something to prove.

What will happen in Dallas this weekend?

There are also challengers in the form of Danny "fRoD" Montaner's cuLtivation, Stay Frosty and Frost Gaming. Finally, let's not forget the number one team in the world, Ninjas in Pyjamas.

To top it all off, North American viewers will have extra interest in the fact that one ESWC spot will also be given out in Dallas. NiP is already qualified, so one North American will gain a spot.

NiP (f0rest, Fifflaren, friberg, GeT_RiGhT, Xizt)

With other Europeans opting to stay home and not attend this season's ESEA Finals, NiP are all but a lock to repeat their title performance from season 13 and travel back to Sweden $20,000 richer on Monday. MonoManiac and FrostGaming are completely out of their league in the upper bracket, and neither Curse nor compLexity has put in the kind of preparation to have a realistic chance at beating NiP twice in a best-of-three.

I could see NiP drop a map or two throughout the tournament because they will not have played for a few days by the time ESEA finals kick off, but they are simply far too seasoned as a team to let any of the unexperienced Americans take them down in a series, let alone two. Pending one of the biggest upsets in CS:GO history, NiP will leave Dallas as two time ESEA champions.

Prediction: 1st

Will GeT_RiGhT celebrate again in Dallas?

Curse (adreN, anger, AZK, mosbeck, Skadoodle)

Curse's last international trip was a massive disappointment as the American side traded maps with Epsilon, DreamHack Summer's runner-ups, and got demolished by Copenhagen Wolves. The poor showing led to Stan "stan^" Sukachov's departure, and the team recruited online star Justin "mosbeck" Mosbeck, who has put up impressive numbers online (.949 KPR in ESEA this season) but has virtually no experience at big LAN tournaments. Cody "ezpk" Shirley was also replaced earlier in the spring, following Curse's disappointing ESEA finals showing.

This season Curse was dominant online, finishing the regular season 16-0 and with five players in the top six of the regular season statistically. They also took down compLexity in the regular season, although it happened over fourty days ago with Sukachov still on the roster. It's safe to say Curse have looked much better, but then again Eric "adreN" Hoag also told ESEA News they felt just as prepared for DreamHack, but weren't able to produce results in Jönköping.

Curse have a very realistic chance at getting second at this LAN or possibly even taking a map from NiP. They lost a 14-16 battle last ESEA LAN and possess more firepower this time around. That being said, although coL has been slacking lately, I think they have a nice psychological edge over Curse that will allow them to make top two, even if it's through lower bracket. Expect Curse to finish third, just short of an ESWC birth.

Prediction: 3rd

Will adreN & co have reason to celebrate this weekend?

compLexity (hiko, n0thing, semphis, sgares, swag)

It's too bad compLexity haven't basically put in any work since the team completely revamped its roster after last season's ESEA LAN, because I think the core of Sean "sgares" Gares, Kory "semphis" Friesen and Spencer "hiko" Martin can, given solid preparation, surprise a lot of people. It doesn't seem like Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert is motivated enough to play CS:GO at a top level without having the kind of backing he enjoyed in EG, and it's a shame for the North American community.

The biggest wildcard for this team is actually Gilbert, who has been fairly average so far this season in coL's online matches. If he can step his game up and become the top rifler of this team on LAN, they would suddenly possess a lot more firepower which could cause teams, even NiP, some problems. The core can bring this team to the podium and if they're playing reasonably well they should be able to get second, but posing a threat to NiP might be out of question, depending how well the team's preparation has gone in the final week leading up to this event.

I don't see cuLtivation causing too many issues for coL and I think the first of what I expect will be two Curse matchups will not matter. What matters is if coL can beat Curse in the consolidation final, and whether or not they can take a map off of NiP. For this team the goal should be placing second; not only because of how good NiP is, but to qualify for ESWC. If they get second and play well versus NiP they will be even better next time, but without a top two placing I can't see the recent [POD]Cast guest sticking to coL.

Prediction: 2nd

Can sgares lead coL to another top finish?

cuL (applesauce, dizzaman, fRoD, Storm, Warden)

cuLtivation are a massive underdog heading into ESEA Finals and anything above a fourth place finish for the seasoned veterans would be a gigantic surprise. The ex-coL/EG trio definitely possess a lot of experience and I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat Frost Gaming if they were to face them in the lower bracket, but I assume the young guns of MonoManiac likely have too much firepower for the old guard. Danny "fRoD" Montaner has been the team's star with a .787 KPR in the regular season, but he will be outmatched alone unless the likes of Tyler "Storm" Wood put in numbers.

cuL actually defeated compLexity 16-12 on de_inferno_se in the regular season thanks to a monstrous 32-19 Montaner performance, but I wouldn't count on it happening again at the finals. They played other playoff teams only on custom maps, but lost all of them for a very average 9-7 record that only saw them qualify for the finals thanks to European teams dropping out. With that being said, if they've put in a lot of hours in the last few weeks they could pull off an upset versus one of the other two bottomfeeders in Dallas, but it'd be a shock to me if they put up a fight versus coL, Curse or NiP.

Prediction: 5-6th

fRoD showing up should bring some old school fans out

MonoManiac (arya, juv3nile, kiko, RUSH, TM-)

Built around two former Curse members Preston "juv3nile" Dornon and Zach "TM-" Miller, MonoManiac secured a last minute sponsorship and will face off with Frost Gaming in the opening round of ESEA Finals. Considering their first round opponent Frost Gaming's last minute player change and their comfortable regular season win and much stronger overall play, you'd have to give Francis "kiko" Lao & co the advantage in the series.

Obviously Lao will be stomped by NiP, as he was at the previous season's finals when representing Denial eSports, in the second round, but they will then get a chance to play cuL in the lower bracket, pending their loss versus coL. Unfortunately mManiac will then have to take on either compLexity or Curse in the lower bracket finals, and I don't see them realistically being able to take either one out, although a map win could be conceivable under the right circumstances. Expect the up and comers to finish fourth.

Prediction: 4th

kiko has another mountain to climb in Dallas

Frost (clowN, ezpk, fREAKAZOiD, mOE, ShahZaM)

Frost Gaming have a tough road ahead of them, made even tougher by the last minute departure of Jon "hauNt" Wilson. According to Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert on [POD]Cast #14, Wilson rage-quit the squad during a practice session versus compLexity. To fill the void left by his departure, Frost have brought in Mohamed "mOE" Assad's CGS teammate Yazan "clowN" Ammari, who hasn't been competing in CS:GO actively and will therefore likely not be in great shape to help the squad upset any of the stronger teams.

Frost Gaming's best chance at a top four placing is through a first round upset of mManiac as that would give them a matchup versus cuLtivation in the lower bracket after a beating at the hands of NiP. I don't see them pulling it off due to their handicap, but if it were to happen it'd require a strong performance by former Team Dynamic member Ryan "fREAKAZOiD" Abadir who was their best performer in the regular season with a .793 KPR. I wouldn't hold my breath, but don't rule it out - these guys can get really loud, and the youngsters of mManiac might struggle with that.

Prediction: 5-6th

ezpk will be competing versus his former teammates in Dallas

ESEA Invite Season 14 Global Finals will begin on Friday, August 16th in Dallas, TX. HLTV.org will provide you with full coverage including Dreamteam, stats and galleries for the event.

Should be a nice event. I wish more teams were able to attend

2013-08-16 10:30

go cuL! go fRoD!

2013-08-16 10:33

Will be fun! GL all teams.

2013-08-16 10:39

Predicting coL over Curse? Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinteresting...

2013-08-16 10:51

1 reply

Rofl :D

2013-08-16 21:05

lucky nip :D

2013-08-16 11:04

hoping for cul to do very well!

2013-08-16 11:18

why did the tickets cost so much :( boring season cuz oly 1 eu team, but aleast get to see american scene

2013-08-16 11:22

2 replies

middle of holiday season =/

2013-08-16 11:40

i know :/

2013-08-16 11:44

I had no idea cultivation had so many oldschool players. Wow.

2013-08-16 11:28

Better change the name of the tournament to ESEA Invite S14 NiP Easy Money

2013-08-16 12:06

3 replies

So just like every other tournament?

2013-08-16 13:45

Meh, now it is REALLY easy money to play with some americans with nearly 0 international gaming experience in cs:go.

2013-08-16 16:24

i have a feeling col will surprise people

2013-08-16 17:03

NiP 1st again.. nothing new

2013-08-16 12:12

I dont think Nip is going to lose in their game.

2013-08-16 12:58

moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe moe

2013-08-16 13:13

col cul !!!

2013-08-16 13:21

Putting coL over Curse because youre friends with them its just stupid, its obvious that Curse are better both can beat each other anytime but coL lost some easy matches and also lost against Curse so, anyway its your opinion so

2013-08-16 13:30

17 replies

i forgot these lan finals were already played online over the course of the past two months, my mistake

2013-08-16 14:11

16 replies

Im just saying the fact state that Curse have a small advantage over coL.

2013-08-16 14:29

15 replies

what are those facts exactly? online results from up to 2 months ago? what are they exactly worth? the most important preparation happens in the final 2 weeks before the lan.

2013-08-16 14:32

7 replies

Online results do matter, and Curse have been great they havent lost a single match that says something and afaik Curse have been bootcamping so they have a decent preparation, and why do you think that coL have an psychological edge over Curse having lost against them

2013-08-16 14:41

6 replies

Online results is complicated in so many ways :p

2013-08-16 14:51

curse bootcamped before dreamhack summer, placed 9-12th and changed a player. in fact, mosbeck only joined curse on july 5th, so curse's win versus col was actually with stan^ on the team. finally, curse players have lost against current complexity players at every north american event so far (eswc qualifier 2012, esea s12 + s13) -> psychological advantage. i understand fans will never realize this, but let me try once again: online results do not correlate with lan results. there are a million factors only the players are aware of.

2013-08-16 15:08

4 replies

Can you go into these million factors? fans? table height? new chairs?

2013-08-16 17:25

#1 factor.... not being able to play in your underwear

2013-08-16 20:19

ask twitter.com/shakerCSGO about that, he can help you out

2013-08-16 20:59

there really are a million factors but here are a few examples to give an example (if you weren't joking about table height/chairs then no, those are not factors): - people not trying their hardest online - not preparing for online games properly - random stuff going on at home - personal life stuff going on - bad internet (has a bigger effect mentally) - 10000 other reasons for example: some people struggle putting their 110% into games they've played from home. i think part of it comes down to playing more helping you more at home; everyone's aim tends to even out a little at lan, so if you play an average amount, you will be at a disadvantage versus someone who plays more. teams usually focus their preparation on events, which means they likely won't be in top shape for an online game. <insert excuse about how teams should always be in shape> - it's just not reality. they aren't. you might have a roommate or a sibling who downloads during your game, your tv might be on in the background, maybe your so/sibling/parent walks in and starts talking to you, etc. personal life stuff is pretty obvious - if you've traveled to a tournament you can likely block it off easier and focus. there's been a player whose dad died, he struggled in-game and people gave him lots of shit. even things like that can happen and you would never know about it. when i first moved to dallas our isp (at&t uverse, stay away) was absolute shit and we often had to play vs col (our main rival) with 70 ping. later on i learned to play with 70 ping, but i think i might as well not have played in the first games because it was as if i wasn't even there because of how bad it felt etc - this was coming from europe, where 40 ping matches feel like they shouldn't count. ^just the tip of the iceberg to give you an idea, but it can all be summed into this: lan tournaments matter, some more than others. online matches only matter to those who can't do well at lan tournaments.

2013-08-16 20:58

how did that small advantage work out?

2013-08-18 14:28

Pretty good, they beat them in the first bo3, but i thought mosbeck was going to play as he did online if he played like that im pretty sure they wouldve beaten coL. He seems to be like manne

2013-08-18 19:17

5 replies

"...the team recruited online star Justin "mosbeck" Mosbeck, who has put up impressive numbers online (.949 KPR in ESEA this season) but has virtually no experience at big LAN tournaments." it almost seemed like i was exactly right and you were wrong, even though col players are my friends!

2013-08-18 20:50

But honestly if mosbeck played like he plays online dont you think Curse wouldve won?

2013-08-18 21:06

but honestly if n0thing was as good as he was at 1.6, don't you think curse would never even had a chance?

2013-08-18 21:15

yeah but this isnt 1.6, and mosbeck played great online i didnt think it would change that much it rarely does, so players get motivated for playing so good online they do great on lan f.e jw did amazing at CPH and DH when everybody called him an onliner

2013-08-18 21:18

jw was the exception. most people (e.g. joelz) suck on lan. you're completely wrong about that. odds for n0thing playing as well as he did in 1.6 are much greater than someone like mosbeck raping on lan.

2013-08-18 21:20

who is playin' main sniper role in Curse ? AZK or Skadoodle ?

2013-08-16 13:42

curse 2 place !

2013-08-16 14:17

compLexity VS NiP will be a GG :D

2013-08-16 14:21

2013-08-16 15:02

ESEA is bullshit easy 4 NiP

2013-08-16 15:37

nip is going to get some money . I want to see at dh the result's of each team fnatic,cph,ww,astana birds,nip,

2013-08-16 16:08

Astana Dolphins*

2013-08-16 16:33

2013-08-16 17:05

Are they playing with the new update?

According to an admin at ESEA, they will be using the latest update. play.esea.net/index.php?s=forums&d=topic..

2013-08-16 17:59

cuL & coL all the way

2013-08-16 16:32

2easy4NiP

2013-08-16 16:36

gl NIP

2013-08-16 17:13

"It's too bad compLexity haven't basically put in any work since the team completely revamped its roster after last season's ESEA LAN"-they haven't worked on their game in 4 months? huh?

2013-08-16 17:23

they've played weekly, even daily - but there's still a big difference between being a serious team that shows up for 4-6 hours a night 5 days a week and playing semi seriously here and there.

2013-08-16 21:27

1. NiP > Curse 2-1 2. Curse < NiP 1-2 3. coL < Curse 1-2 In playoffs if it works that way

2013-08-16 18:11

I'm hoping for a good performance from Frost Gaming and moE.

2013-08-16 18:21

NIP AGAIN? boring

2013-08-16 18:31

Will anyone even bother turning up to play NiP? :D

2013-08-16 18:58

Really hoping mosbeck can be just as good on LAN as he is online and that Curse can bring the fire. If coL has bootcamped and is truly ready for this tournament, their match against Curse will end up a great watch.

2013-08-16 19:58

no american team has bootcamped before this tournament. this col team has never attended a lan or a bootcamp together, and curse bootcamped in june, but with stan^ still playing instead of mosbeck.

2013-08-16 21:00

youtube.com/watch?v=Wm3HZMyXQas

2013-08-17 03:57

Easy for me to say in hindsight after Frosts win over Mono, but I only just read this. You really did underrate the players in Frost dude. Regardless if they have a stand in or not, their lineup is so much stronger on paper than Mono's.

2013-08-17 10:35

12 replies

yeah in hindsight i should have expected ezpk and freakazoid to be able to beat the onliners of monomaniac, but that's the benefit of hindsight. hard to predict teams you have never seen play a single round of cs.

2013-08-18 14:30

11 replies

Yeah suppose. Being from the CS:S scene myself though, I know how good freakazoid can be when he's on form. Was easily one of the top riflers in the US in CS:S before GO. Shazham was also a great AWPer too.

2013-08-18 15:46

10 replies

i really don't buy the whole "how good x can be when on form" because most of the time it just means he has a good game sometimes and then doesn't return there for the next 6 months. regardless, i clearly overrated monomaniac's online form.

2013-08-18 15:56

9 replies

Oh I didn't mean it as him being inconsistent, he was a really great player in CS:S. Although I had no idea until this tournament how he performed in GO, but by the names alone I would put my money on Frost myself.

2013-08-18 17:12

8 replies

did he ever attend any international events in cs:s?

I'm not 100% sure.

2013-08-19 08:42

so you're calling him "a really great player" based on some esea seasons and north american lans? seems a little far fetched

2013-08-19 10:13

Do you ever stop for a moment and think about how much of a royal cunt you sound? Just curious. Tried to have a rather normal conversation with you, and it seemed to be going well, but you just can't contain yourself can you. Seems to be your mission in life to be a complete arrogant prick. He was a sick player in CS:S and he performed consistently. I don't know every players history of where and when they played, all I know it when I watched events with him he was always performing. Every comment you make is seemingly to try and stamp your so called authority that you clearly believe you have, down on everybody else. Please wipe the grease off your face now, thanks.

2013-08-19 10:21

i very much dislike it when people's use of words is completely out of control. if "freakazoid" was "a really great player", then what do we call f0rest or get_right? also really great players? in that case, we're either selling them short, or hyping freakazoid way too much. in reality he was probably a pretty good player, but in no way "a really great player."

2013-08-19 10:19