DHW team introductions (3/4)

Our third DreamHack Winter team introduction article features the American duo of compLexity and iBUYPOWER, as well as Copenhagen Wolves and Natus Vincere.

Yesterday we released our part one of the introduction series, set to showcase each DreamHack participant, featuring fnatic, n!faculty, Clan-Mystik and Universal Soldiers.

Earlier today part two of the four part series was released with focus on SK Gaming, LGB eSports and French Recursive, who picked up online qualifier winners WEGOTGAME.

Now in part three it's time to look across the pond at the two North American participants, as well as two of the usual suspects in Europe. Continue reading to find out about them.

DreamHack comes back to life this week

compLexity

compLexity's new roster came with high hopes and its debut in ESEA Invite Season 14 Finals went well after a rocky upper bracket loss against Curse, as the squad led by Sean "sgares" Gares qualified for the grand final and even took a map off of NiP despite a very rough start on de_nuke. As Curse struggled, coL added another domestic win to their record as they qualified for MSI Beat it!, but since then they've had their own issues and have hardly resembled a team that gave NiP a run for their money in August.

At ESWC coL made the playoffs with a narrow win over LGB eSports and a tie versus the surprise of the event, Clan-Mystik. However, they were demolished in the quarter-finals by NiP, and had to leave Paris with a bitter taste in their mouths. Things didn't get better upon their return to the States, as they lost the 10th anniversary tournament organized by their own organization with two straight best-of-three losses against their new domestic rivals iBUYPOWER shortly before leaving for Sweden.

Player:	Rating:
Spencer "Hiko" Martin	1.19
Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert	1.09
Kory "semphis" Friesen	1.03
Sean "sgares" Gares	0.93
Braxton "swag" Pierce	1.15

Had ESWC not happened I would have felt comfortable in saying coL should definitely do well at DreamHack and could potentially upset one of the big names simply because they've done so before, but seeing how weak of a shape the team seemed to be in just three weeks ago should make anyone wonder about their potential come this Saturday. Some days of bootcamping will undoubtedly make the team a lot stronger and help them adjust to the European playing styles, but will it be enough for Spencer "Hiko" Martin and company?

2nd	ESEA Invite Season 14 Finals	$8,000
1st	MSI Beat it! US Qualifier	$1,500
5-8th	ESWC	-
2nd	coL 10th Anniversary	$3,000

I always felt like the strong team work and chemistry of the Kory "semphis" Friesen, Sean "sgares" Gares and Martin trio was key to Quantic Gaming's success, but ever since the additions of Braxon "swag" Pierce and Jordan "n0thing" Gilbert it seems like coL's playing style has changed, and I don't think it's for the better. It's safe to say CS:GO requires more pure aim and skill to compete at the highest level, but this squad knows their old team-centric playing style can get them top threes, so for them to get one of those this weekend, they better be working towards getting back there as a team.

PTW: hiko - Martin truly broke out in early 2013 as he put up a monster performance at Copenhagen Games, where his Quantic Gaming came within a pair of rounds from defeating Virtus.pro and securing a top three finish. Since then he was a key member in their best-of-three knock out win over VeryGames at ESEA Invite Season 14 Finals, and has continued being the number one fragger on a team that features the likes of Gilbert and Pierce; no easy feat. coL will need Martin to play well if they wish to make the final four.

hiko has been coL's star in 2013

iBUYPOWER

Much like their fellow countrymen compLexity, iBUYPOWER come with lots of hopes, field a roster with plenty of star power, at least within their continent, only there has been no reason for their hype to die down as of yet. They are a perfect 8-0 in ESEA Invite and have defeated compLexity twice in a best-of-three series in coL's 10th anniversary tournament. They boast names such as Sam "DaZeD" Marine, who was a key part in Quantic Gaming's success before the team's ultimate break up in the spring, leading to Marine's brief stint in competitive Call of Duty.

Player:	Rating:
Eric "adreN" Hoag	0.90
Keven "AZK" Lariviere	1.05
Todd "anger" Williams	1.01
Sam "DaZeD" Marine	1.12
Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham	1.15

Much like compLexity, iBUYPOWER have been bootcamping in Stockholm to better prepare for the European style of play and to get better practice in general. They have a very favorable group and bracket draw ahead of them, and they stand a real chance at making the final four in Jönköping if Marine can lead this team properly. The Curse core has been to the last two DreamHack events, and are yet to break top eight. Similarly, their best international placing was a mere 7-8th place finish at Copenhagen Games, so the Curse core never managed much in terms of results abroad.

1st

coL 10th Anniversary

$6,000

Having only played in online tournaments and matches across the pond it's next to impossible to guesstimate how iBUYPOWER will fare against European competition, but if you were to base their performance on what their players have done in the past, a realistic range would likely be around 5-12th; it wouldn't surprise me if Marine whipped them into shape and they made it to the quarter-finals, or even the semi-finals thanks to the favorable bracket draw they will receive, but Curse's record suggests they might also have to exit yet another DreamHack during the group stage.

PTW: DaZeD - Marine is the biggest star on this team despite the massive potential showcased by both Latham and Lariviere with their big green rifles. Marine has been a strong performer statistically since his international CS:GO debut at last year's ESWC, where he finished third in statistics overall, and his leadership will likely either make or break iBUYPOWER, whose players definitely need a change in how things are done to be able to break out of their mold.

Can DaZeD's team upset once again?

Natus Vincere

Despite the lowish expectations set by some of the community, Natus Vincere have proven to be one of the better teams around the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit even after the departures of star players Ioann "Edward" Sukhariev and Yegor "markeloff" Markelov. At DreamHack Bucharest Na`Vi fell short of the grand final after a tough loss against Lemondogs, but they've continued solid performances at the later events and put up reasonable enough results online that you should definitely expect Alexander "ZeroGravity" Kokhanovsky's team to be fighting for another top four finish, given their easy route there.

Player:	Rating:
Arseny "ceh9" Trynozhenko	0.90
Anton "kibaken" Kolesnikov	1.00
Denis "seized" Kostin	1.06
Sergey "starix" Ischuk	1.03
Danilo "Zeus" Teslenko	1.04

Following a disappointing loss against Universal Soldiers in the knock-out game at RC EMS One, where they had previously defeated the Poles in triple overtime, the team did what they had already done in early 2012 and changed their in-game leader. Back then Danilo "Zeus" Teslenko gave up the role to the now main AWPer Sergey "starix" Ischuk, but this time it's the youngster Denis "seized" Kostin, who was given control of the Na`Vi vehicle. At TECHLABS Cup Grand Finals the team bested Astana Dragons in the upper bracket, but had to surrender in the consolidation finals, settling for another disappointing thid place finish.

3-4th	DreamHack Bucharest	$1,500
5-6th	RC EMS One Fall Finals	$2,000
3rd	TECHLABS Cup Grand Final	$3,500

DreamHack Winter could be a key event for Natus Vincere, as the organization said earlier in the year they'd support CS:GO at least until the end of 2013 before deciding its future. A strong result could give them their sponsors' trust, while a disappointing finish could see the now-teamless Sukhariev return to a Na`Vi shirt, or even see the Natus Vincere organization pull a plug on Counter-Strike, the very game series that started its existence as the Ukrainian powerhouse took the scene by storm in 2010 en route to the most successful year ever by a single team. There's a lot at stake for Natus Vincere.

PTW: starix - Ischuk was a star in Counter-Strike 1.6, and for a few brief months in mid-to-late 2010 even flirted with superstardom, but could hardly shine as one of the world's very best with Markelov and Sukhariev blocking the way. Now that he's been given more action, Ischuk has proven to be a very good AWPer, as his 56/23 performance against US proved in Cologne. Na`Vi will need a lot more of that if they wish to go far in Jönköping.

Na`Vi needs starix' monstrous AWP from Cologne this week

Copenhagen Wolves

Copenhagen Wolves have been a solid top eight team in the world for most of 2013, and you could have made a case for their previous lineup to be clinging onto the fourth place ranking before a disappointing ESWC showing not only ruined that, but also caused the team to make roster changes that saw Nicolai "device" Reedtz return and longtime rival Nicolaj "Nico" Jensen team up with the Danes under Henrik "FeTiSH" Christensen's leadership.

Player:	Rating:
Nicolai "device" Reedtz	1.19
Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen	1.13
Henrik "FeTiSh" Christensen	0.88
Nicolaj "Nico" Jensen	1.11
Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth	1.08

As each of Copenhagen Wolves' achievements was done with at least two different players than the roster they've fielded for DreamHack Winter, you shouldn't look too hard into them aside from to understand they're clearly a team capable of defeating anyone, especially in a best-of-one game, such as the group stage in Jönköping. They are a very capable team and assuming Jensen can return to his Western Wolves form, he should be an upgrade over Michael "Friis" Jørgensen in CS:GO, and an easy fit into the system of Christensen's team.

Former member Jacob "Pimp" Winneche admitted problems fitting into Christensen leadership style, but Reedtz is known to fit well, and the rest of the team has already played together for a while. Andreas "Xyp9x" Højsleth could potentially be a big difference maker for his team, as he was by far fnatic's best player before the black and orange recruited the former Epsilon squad, but hasn't been able to find his top form ever since changing teams. He pointed out his struggles before, so he has surely put in tons of work to try to get back to his top level.

5-8th	DreamHack Bucharest *	-
1st	Gaming.dk League 7 *	1,750€
1st	NetParty Fyn #14 *	1,200€
3-4th	RC EMS One Fall Finals *	$4,000
5-8th	ESWC *	-
	(* with two different players)

The biggest asset for Copenhagen Wolves is the playing style Christensen brings as it has proven to fit on his players well over time. The Wolves have plenty of impressive wins under their belts, not the least of which is the 2-13 comeback win over NiP in Cologne on de_dust2 or the de_inferno_se win in DreamHack Summer's quarter-finals, but they have yet to do real damage in a best-of-three series. Now is a do-or-die moment for a team who continue struggling to keep a steady roster and have clearly put all their eggs into one basket with a late roster change before the biggest tournament in Counter-Strike's history.

PTW: Nico - Jensen has been a star AWPer since his Western Wolves days, and he was often considered to be in the conversation for the world's top three users of the weapon. He can truly make a huge difference for his team when playing well, especially given the fact the old Wolves' lineup had a playing style fitting for heavy AWP use for Jørgensen. If Jensen plays as well as he did in the spring, you can expect him to win some really big rounds and potentially even maps for a team that badly needs a top four showing.

Nico could help Cph Wolves do special things in Jönköping

Coming up next will be the fourth and final installment of our DreamHack Winter team introductions, featuring the three biggest favorites in VeryGames, NiP and Astana Dragons.