CPH Games final eight preview

First two days provided us with practically no upsets, though Property's great 19-22 showing on de_mirage against LGB almost scored Faruk "pita" Pita's squad a map win in the series.

The only top team out of the tournament so far is the Danes of 3DMAX who bowed out against their fellow countrymen Reason in a close series. Otherwise all the favorites are through.

Who will Anders congratulate after it's all said and done? 

Quarter-finals feature seven of the world's best eight teams, as per our April 2014 world ranking. Copenhagen Games used that ranking as their seeding, so for once the pairings aren't result of a lucky draw.

Below you can find the quarter-final pairs for tomorrow morning, as well as the full schedule of day three at Copenhagen Games, which notably holds no third place decider:

10:00	NiP	vs. Reason
10:00	dignitas	vs. fnatic
10:00	Virtus.pro	vs. LGB
10:00	LDLC	vs. Titan
14:00	Semi-final #1
14:00	Semi-final #2
18:00	Grand final

With the pairings listed above, we're not going to talk about each individually, but rather focus on each team one at a time. You should also read our world ranking, linked above, for additional knowledge.

We're going to work backwards starting from the teams predicted to finish 5-8th, all the way down to whom I think will lift the sizable trophy tomorrow evening. 

It all ends on this stage 

Reason (EXR, Friis, karrigan, LOMME, smF)

Reason haven't looked bad in Copenhagen by any means, and Finn "karrigan" Andersen's 2.93 rating versus Bango-I-Karise might be a CS:GO record. Beating countrymen in 3DMAX confirm they are number two in their fairly competitive country domestically, and a 5-8th place finish, on top of a win over fnatic in Katowice groups, is not a bad track record for the Danes in the past month or so.

Still, neither of the Ro16 Reason versus 3DMAX pairing were ever going to be a serious challenger to NiP. The Swedes are too damn consistent, and they have far too much firepower in Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund alone. They have come far and they can still impress in the NiP series, but I don't think they can come close to winning.

It remains to be seen whether this team can keep improving in the future, as now they will have two promising results to work on. Losing to dignitas and splitting maps with fnatic in Katowice, and now losing to NiP are not bad results. They've only lost to some of the world's best teams, top five according to our ranking, and if Reason stick together they will improve in the future.

Prediction: 5-8th

karrigan celebrating a round win versus 3DMAX

LDLC (apEX, Happy, KQLY, Maniac, Uzzziii)

The French actually have potentially the best match-up they could have gotten in the form of countrymen Titan, as domestic match-ups often cause issues for the favorites due to how knowledgeable teams are about each other. However, Titan came to Denmark to play, and I doubt Dan "apEX" Madesclaire's team can get the upset win this time.

LDLC haven't exactly been tested yet at Copenhagen Games, only besting mousesports in a quick round of sixteen battle to secure a placing in the final eight. It's a fair placing for a team currently ranked eighth in the world, and it's going to be very telling if they once more finish in the range that they seem to belong in their current shape.

For LDLC to get into the final four they'd need star player Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian to have a performance for the ages, something he hasn't been able to do since Clan-Mystik's ESWC 2013 championship. I wouldn't bet on LDLC to upset Titan, and they most likely can't do it, but a 5-8th place finish in a tournament like this is still something to be proud of despite the negligible amount of prize money they're getting compared to Katowice.

Prediction: 5-8th

LDLC had a solid run but shouldn't get through Titan 

fnatic (Devilwalk, flusha, JW, pronax, schneider)

It looks like this tournament will finally knock fnatic outside of the world's top four, despite the major win at DreamHack Winter, if I am correct here. I think a win over dignitas is easily in play and they are basically 50-50 going into the match, but right now it seems dignitas is way more consistent than fnatic, who would need to hit one of their hot streaks to break through.

Unlike LDLC, I think fnatic could actually have a great tournament if they did make it past this round. If their star trio all catch fire they can not only defeat dignitas, but give NiP trouble and potentially even win the entire tournament. That's a lot of potential, but there's a long way between thinking about it and actually realizing all of it with two series wins come Saturday afternoon.

fnatic lost rounds against tRICKED, but according to Jonatan "Devilwalk" Lundberg they felt in control the whole time, and the Danes were pretty solid. I believe dignitas will get another top four finish on their home soil and end fnatic's tournament, which is why I am predicting them to finish in a stingy 5-8th place. It's not what they came here for, but not everyone can leave happy.

Prediction: 5-8th

fnatic could even make the grand final tomorrow if all goes well 

Virtus.pro (byali, Neo, pasha, snax, TaZ)

This is the toughest prediction of the first round, even harder to make than that of fnatic's. I think Virtus.pro are favorites going into their LGB series, especially considering the Swedes admitted Filip "Neo" Kubski's team are a bad match-up for them, but I still irrationally think the underdogs will pull off a win tomorrow morning and make it to the final four.

I didn't get to see Virtus.pro play yet in Denmark, but I saw LGB deal with some adversity and their players have big plays already on day two. I think this is going to be the series to watch in the quarter-finals, and whoever wins definitely deserves a spot in the final four. If it's the Poles, they prove they currently are a top three team in the world; if not, then they must fall down a spot, or potentially even two, in the world rankings.

As explained in the world rankings, I believe in Virtus.pro not having had proper preparation and motivation this time around after their world championship. It's understandable, and it probably will take one average placing for the Poles to get back on top. I think that will come here, but considering they are the favorites to go through, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it didn't. Make sure you tune into this match.

Prediction: 5-8th

Can Virtus prove they are a top three team in the world? 

dignitas (cajunb, device, dupreeh, FeTiSh, Xyp9x)

dignitas face a team basically as good as them in fnatic, but I think the Danes' consistency will put them over the top in the series. They are ridiculously consistent when judging them by their match results, and I don't see it ending here. They were ran out of town by fnatic at DreamHack Stockholm, but it's been two months now and a lot has changed.

Unfortunately for dignitas the road ends in the semi-finals in my opinion. The Ninjas are a bad match-up for the Danes, as proven by the wrecking in Katowice last month. They also match dignitas' biggest strength - their consistency - and more. I don't see how dignitas can overcome NiP, but a 3-4th place finish is probably a more realistic goal for them anyways, for it would confirm they are the fourth best team in the world at this point.

Henrik "FeTiSh" Christensen's team were tested a little by fm-eSports on de_nuke, as Sam "RattlesnK" Gawn's team got into a 13-2 lead at half. That didn't hold though, and dignitas cruised through H2k fairly easily in Ro16. The fnatic game will determine which team is number four in the world, and the home crowd could be just what the doctor ordered for dignitas to get over the hump.

Prediction: 3-4th

dignitas could get another 3-4th, but challenging NiP would be tough 

LGB (cype, dennis, KRiMZ, olofm, twist)

LGB were the hardest team to predict to make it into the final four. They are fast, skilled and incredibly fun to watch. They are a bad match-up for a number of teams, and can match just about anyone on an individual basis. However, they have to go through the defending world champions just to get to the semi-finals, where nothing is guaranteed.

Virtus are favorites in the semi-final match-up, but I think their world championship hangover combined with LGB's hunger will be enough to put the Swedes over the top. Now, whether LGB could challenge Titan for a spot in the grand finals is another story. I don't see why not, but that's assuming the average version of Titan shows up. No one is beating the top of the line Titan, which we saw throughout most of last October and November.

LGB need their three stars in Dennis "dennis" Edman, Olof "olofm" Kajbjer and Simon "twist" Eliasson to have great games. The latter was amazing against Property, and the first also had a couple of highlight reel rounds, including two quad kill SCAR20 mowdowns in the B bombsite of de_mirage. LGB have all the right tools to make the semi-finals; they just have to use them correctly.

I believe being tested early was good for LGB, and that they will come back stronger on Saturday. I'll be the first one to admit I was wrong if they place 5-8th, but I don't think they will, and I would also love to see them take on Titan, which is something they have yet to do since the name change. Key for this team will be individual skills, so keep your eye on their star players.

Prediction: 3-4th

dennis has looked on-point in Copenhagen 

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

They are a model of consistency, and will make it to another CS:GO grand final, and give them a chance to defend their championship from last year. Bad news for them is this year they are likely to face a bigger and badder version of the VeryGames team they were still running loops around this time of last year. Still, I can't imagine anyone beating NiP before the grand final, which is amazing in itself.

NiP could have a tough series against fnatic if the DreamHack Winter champions get through dignitas, but both of the Danes should be nothing but a warmup for Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund's team. I can't imagine the team once more led by Richard "Xizt" Landström to go out against Reason or dignitas; they simply overpower both in too many ways. fnatic could be tough, but if DreamHack Stockholm or EMS One offer any insight, it won't end there either.

That leaves us with the dream grand final since CS:GO begun in August 2012. NiP should once more get to face Titan in the grand final, something we haven't got to see since the French-Belgians last bested NiP at RC EMS One Fall finals all the way back in late October. They are the world's top two squads per our world rankings, and what better way to settle the number one spot than a grand final date?

I made the case for Titan having NiP's numbers in this article, so you should take a look there. Previous results suggest the Swedes still lack that extra something to best their number one rivals, who now seem to be back in form after a really terrible showing in Katowice. Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Alesund certainly have something to say about that, but in a match-up like that it doesn't matter who wins, CS:GO still wins overall.

Prediction: 2nd

Will HeatoN's NiP have to settle for yet another second place? 

Titan (Ex6TenZ, NBK, ScreaM, shox, SmithZz)

Titan should cruise by LDLC regardless of the well explained domestic match-up issues, and I actually think they will also get past either LGB or Virtus.pro. I think Richard "shox" Papillon and his team are finally back in tip top shape, and this team is still the world's best when that is the case. I also didn't get to watch Titan today, but their results seem to indicate there wasn't much to see anyways.

They likely have the world's best in-game leader in Kevìn "Ex6TenZ" Droolans, potentially the world's best player in Papillon and two of the ultimate heat-check players in Nathan "NBK" Schmitt and Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom. I think they are the most motivated out of all teams in attendance this weekend, and I believe that is what will ultimately push them over the top and give them a championship in Denmark.

After disappointing results in three of their past four tournaments, or two of three since joining Titan, they have put in tons of work to ensure they finally return to their winning ways that saw them become the world's best team in October last year. They need especially Benrlitom to play well to get there, but Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux' AWP play's importance often also gets overlooked.

Overall I think a well refined Titan team is still the world's best, and that's who I am expecting to see in action tomorrow. Whether that will be the case or not remains to be seen, but I would be more than shocked if they didn't make the finals. There would officially be a crisis in Titanland, and they might have to look into roster changes. Let's hope it doesn't get there though, and we instead get a great grand final showing between CS:GO's two best teams in the evening.

Prediction: 1st

ScreaM is the key player for Titan 

How do you think Copenhagen Games will play out? Who will improve on their world ranking, and who will fall? Leave a comment below and let us know in the comments section.