WCG 2009 Preview: Group G

As part of our WCG pre-coverage, we now take a look at what will happen in Group G.

Group G has been reduced to four team's following the dropout of UMX, and it looks now as stands:

Again	TyLoo
Filip "Neo" Kubski	Zheng Wei "alex" Bian
Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas	Xi "wx" Wang
Mariusz "Loord" Cybulski	Xue Feng "xf" Lai
Łukasz "LUq" Wnęk	Chao "goodrifle" Xue
Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński	Bingyuan "tb" Li

F.azer.Z	Nextlevel
Rauf "rICo" Huseynov	Richard "Forged" Permana
Tural "GT_CrAzY_TuR" Gadirli	Christian "Newrage" Lie
Vasif "iNf1" Quliyev	Edwin "Nextwins" Nextwins
Kamal "Archiello" Abdukadirov	Yulius "silentdeath" Jacks
Farhad "daBuGi" Abdullayev	Jonathan "levj" Armanda

This group looks pretty much straightforward, as Again and TyLoo appear to hold all the aces, with the remaining sides having to content themselves with a battle for the bronze.

The ex-WICKED, ex-Vitriolic team come into this event in a situation they are becoming way too familiar with: no organisation behind them. More than a battle for pride or money, the Polish players will be involved in a battle for survival as they look to convince potential sponsors and organisations. At the Global Challenge in Dubai, Again looked consitent rather than strong, and with SK Gaming and Meet Your Makers missing out on this competition, this may be the perfect opportunity for them to make a return to the top.

However, they will not find qualification giftwrapped as TyLoo too are in contention for the top spot of the group. The Chinese teams are known for being able to bring out their best game when playing at home, so their chances at this event must never be written off. Still, they have been far from consistent of late, defeating fnatic and mousesports at the Global Challenge in Chengdu, only to be thrashed by wNv.cn at IEF 2009, and that is why it looks like they will have a hard time to overcome Again in the group.

In Cologne, Nextlevel finished fourth of a relatively easy group, and despite making two roster changes since then, it certainly looks like the second-placed side from Indonesia's qualifier do not yet have what it takes to challenge the big guns of their group. They are, however, expected to move past F.azer.Z, who managed to get just 20 rounds during last year's group stage and are clearly the weakest link of this quartet.

HLTV.org’s final placing predictions:

1. Again
2. TyLoo
3. Nextlevel
4. F.azer.Z

Related

Preview: Group A
Preview: Group B
Preview: Group C
Preview: Group D
Preview: Group E
Preview: Group F

SteelSeries competition

Who do you think will win Group G? By leaving your prediction in a comment below, you will have the opportunity to win a SteelSeries QcK+ Custom Limited Edition mousepad. You can pick your favorite, as there is a wide range of mousespads to choose from (fnatic, mibr, MYM, SK and more (stocks are limited)).

XLBet offers you the odds on Group G