EPL Group C: Three facts and quotes from each team

HLTV spoke to every team in Group C to get the key insights ahead of the start of play in Malta.

Group C of ESL Pro League is on the horizon, and it is one of the most wide-open groups in the competition. FaZe and Natus Vincere are the favorites, but are both short of their best right now, and beyond that any of the teams could compete for a playoff spot, even the unlikely underdogs.

Ahead of play kicking off on September 13, HLTV sat down with all of the teams competing to get the lowdown on how they are feeling about their chances in this group, as well as their thoughts on their team's trajectory as a whole.

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FaZe

— Lackluster recent finishes: 5th-6th at BLAST Spring Final, 9th-12th at IEM Cologne, 9th-16th at Gamers8

— Currently on a three-series losing streak, last won an official at the end of July

— Best CT round win percentage in Group C (56.1%), fourth for T round win percentage (49%) (top 30, 2023).

FaZe are in an awkward position as a team, fully secure in the knowledge they have what it takes to win the biggest tournaments, but short of their best form at the moment. "I think Cologne was a pretty bad event for us, we had a really strong start against NIP, but then the next days it didn't feel like we wanted to be there as a team," claimed Russel "⁠Twistzz⁠" Van Dulken when speaking to HLTV ahead of ESL Pro League. "We've had lots of practice before this event, so it's really time to get our shit together and have a good redemption arc"

There has been some change behind the scenes underpinning FaZe's recent performances, namely the departure of long-time coach Robert "⁠RobbaN⁠" Dahlström. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen has previously been vocal about how difficult it would be to find a replacement for RobbaN, and Twistzz gave us some insight on how Filip "⁠NEO⁠" Kubski is performing in that regard. "I think NEO has been a really good addition to the team, he brings a different aspect, strategy and stuff, than RobbaN did... I think it's been improving us, actually."

Ahead of ESL Pro League, Twistzz feels now is the time for FaZe to prove their pedigree. "We are that team that can beat anyone on any day, it's more just about proving ourselves. No matter how good we play against these other top-five teams in practice, it doesn't matter until we play them in something that matters. I think we really do have to climb that top-five ladder again and prove ourselves."

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NAVI

— 14-13 map record with their current lineup

— BLAST Paris Major sensation iM has been struggling since joining (0.96 rating)

— Second for CT round win percentage in Group C (52.5%), third for T round win percentage (49.2%) (top 30, 2023)

A drastic change of direction took hold of Natus Vincere in the player break, with the team switching to a truly international roster thanks to the additions of Justinas "⁠jL⁠" Lekavicius, Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen and Mihai "⁠iM⁠" Ivan. After his breakout performance at the BLAST Paris Major iM was the most exciting addition, but his struggles since donning the black-and-yellow jersey have led to some frustration being aimed his way by the community. "To be honest, there is a lot of hate towards me," iM admits in an interview with HLTV before Group C of ESL Pro League. "But I take it, I don't mind."

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iM: "I cannot be the guy who's saving the team"

Natus Vincere, as a team, have performed decently, but not spectacularly, and this is certainly not solely down to iM, something he also agrees with. "I know myself, if there is a good environment and chemistry I can play well. If my team is playing better, I'll play better. I cannot be the guy who's saving the team."

Perhaps the two-week bootcamp that Natus Vincere recently completed in Berlin can change the team's fortunes. iM says he feels the benefit, at the very least. "Now, we know each other better in game, outside of the game, we have more time to go outside, to spend time together even not on the server and it's much, much easier." Anything less than a playoff berth would be a failure for Natus Vincere, and with some good preparation behind them, it is a berth they should secure easily.

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fnatic

— Exited the two events played with the newest additions of Christopher "⁠dexter⁠" Nong and Aurélien "⁠afro⁠" Drapier in 9-12th (IEM Cologne) and joint-last (Gamers8)

— Recently flopped the BLAST Showdown qualifier with losses to Sprout and ALTERNATE aTTaX

— Third for CT round win percentage in Group C (49.8%), fifth for T round win percentage (48.1%) (top 30, 2023)

fnatic have produced a mixed bag of results with their new lineup, solid wins over the likes of Cloud9 and 9INE counterbalanced by disappointing losses, most particularly against Sprout and ALTERNATE aTTaX in the recent BLAST Showdown qualifier. William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman believes this is natural for a new team. "The honeymoon period can only go so far, there's always going to be a point where you are going to need those extra few days to actually talk over some smaller things." The team have had that time to practice ahead of EPL according to mezii, and he thinks it will bear fruit. "I think we're feeling really confident, we know we've been able to fix a lot of the things from Cologne and Gamers8."

Plenty will hinge on the performance of their new French AWPer, afro, who has produced some thrilling highs as well as disappointing lows in his short tenure thus far. "I think afro is doing a really good job," stated mezii. "He's trying to gain as much experience as he can from every single game, and I think that can be a reason why, sometimes in his games, he's up and down."

With some solid preparation under their belts, mezii is confident ahead of his team's campaign in Malta. "We're definitely looking to make playoffs, especially with the group we have, I don't think it's the strongest group."

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Apeks

— Struggling for results: IEM Cologne (eliminated in Play-in), Gamers8 (9-16th), and online hasn't been better either

— 4-5 record in series play since start of August, including a loss to los kogutos, but recently qualified for IEM Sydney with wins over 9INE and BetBoom

— Fourth for CT round win percentage (49.7%) in Group C, joint-first for T round win percentage (52.2%) (top 30, 2023)

Apeks burst onto the tier one scene with their spectacular performance at the BLAST Paris Major, and unsurprisingly that success attracted the interest of teams with bigger names and more prestigious reputations. This led to jL being picked up by Natus Vincere, and Apeks have struggled to match their previous form since the arrival of Aleksandar "⁠CacaNito⁠" Kjulukoski.

"I wouldn't say there were any problems, but maybe something had to happen," Joakim "⁠jkaem⁠" Myrbostad confessed in an interview with HLTV. "Even if it was a player, if it was a coach, something had to happen. The results were not good enough, the team was not connected, the group was not good, and that led to this change, I would say."

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Apeks prepare to tackle ESL Pro League with a new coach and philosophy

Torbjørn "⁠mithR⁠" Nyborg has been promoted to the head coach role in place of Jakub "⁠kuben⁠" Gurczyński as Apeks search for answers, and jkaem believes the Dane is a good fit. "kuben likes small details on how to make things better and perfect things while mithR is more like the big picture guy, and then he's really motivating. In our team, I would say that we were lacking a motivator."

mithR won't be able to stand behind the team due to EPL roster restrictions, and as such, perhaps expectations for this event are tempered. Either way, the new coach is taking a long-term approach when assessing his goals for the team. "The goal for now is to stabilize and once we have done that and we achieve that, then it's obviously about climbing the ranking slowly but steadily."

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Imperial

— Could not make it through the IEM Cologne Play-in, and have not played a HLTV-recorded official since

— Beat Grayhound in Cologne, but lost to Monte and Ninjas in Pyjamas, coming within two rounds of beating the latter.

— Fifth for CT round win percentage in Group C (49%), joint-first for T round win percentage (52.2%) (top 30, 2023)

Imperial experienced a tough off-season in the recent player break, losing two key players and being forced into a rethink of their style. Rafael "⁠zakk⁠" Fernandes told HLTV this is a work in progress. "We lost our IGL and leader in FalleN, and now we're trying to get to know who we are, what style fits us best in the game on the T side and CT side. I think until the CS2 Major, it is a learning process about identifying who we are."

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zakk: "We lost our leader in FalleN and now we're trying to get to know who we are"

Some of the problems they face include incorporating the aggressive style of Henrique "⁠HEN1⁠" Teles and getting Vinicius "⁠VINI⁠" Figueiredo comfortable with the IGL role. "VINI didn't want to IGL in the beginning but now he's doing a very good job." zakk said of the newly-minted caller. "It's a different system than FalleN had, but we're trying to implement the good things we learned from him.

"HEN1 came in with a lot of ideas, he is a very energetic guy who wants to talk and needs space. He's helping us help him, because he needs our help to play the style that he wants to. He's also much more aggressive than FalleN was, he's a completely different player, so there's nothing to compare between both of them."

Despite all of the change the team is facing, zakk is still targeting a playoff berth. "Our goal is to go to the playoffs. We have a strong group, everyone in the group knows how to play CS and they are very prepared for the tournament."

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9z

— Won several South American regional events since the player break. Recently participated in CCT North Europe Series 7, but were eliminated in their first game

— Went on a nine-series win-streak against regional opposition in July, recent results include wins over Preasy and MASONIC, and a loss to 9 Pandas

— Sixth for CT round win percentage in Group C (48.7%), last for T round win percentage (42.2%) (top 30, 2023)

The year started off with plenty of uncertainty surrounding 9z as both of the Brazilian members of the team, coach zakk and AWPer Lucas "⁠nqz⁠" Soares, left the squad. Argentinean up-and-comer Santino "⁠try⁠" Rigal returned home while zakk's analyst Gustavo "⁠tge⁠" Motta was promoted to head coach. "In a way, it was easy because we already knew them," 9z's in-game leader Maximiliano "⁠max⁠" Gonzalez tells HLTV during a call ahead of ESL Pro League Season 18's Group C, "and it's also nice because try learned new things in 00NATION that he brought back with him."

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max: "I believe 9z is as good as it has ever been"

The South American squad has now been in Europe for a month ahead of their campaign in Malta, and the practice will serve them well with matches against European opposition on the horizon. "Practicing in Europe is nice because you get to play against so many different styles of Counter-Strike," max explains, "whereas in Brazil it's a bit repetitive and everyone kind of plays the same style."

There is little pressure on underdogs 9z, something that may work out for them if they are to upset the apple cart and qualify for the playoffs. "We're a team that is at its best when we're enjoying ourselves," max says, "so we're going to try and just do that so we can be the best version of ourselves. That's what's most important for us here."

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M80

— Have placed 2nd in Thunderpick online event since coming together, and are currently 4-0 in ESL Challenger League NA

— Were on a 10-match winning streak in their region in August, until it was broken by Complexity.

— Minimal data for M80 against top 30 opposition, but sport a higher T-side round win percentage (60.4%) than CT-side (54%) (no ranking filter, 2023).

M80 are the new North American team on the block, one that fuses some Central American talent in the form of Mario "⁠malbsMd⁠" Samayoa, and European thinking in the form of IGL Marcus "⁠maNkz⁠" Kjeldsen, with a North American core. Michael "⁠Swisher⁠" Schmid feels the new-look side, which has been performing well regionally, has hit the ground running, despite some ping-related issues. "We've been doing really well, we've had some good results and practice in NA, but we are hindered a little bit with maNkz and WolfY being in Europe. Qualifying for Thunderpick was a positive for us, because they were both on 150 ping."

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Who are M80 and why did the organization choose now to invest in NA Counter-Strike?

Swisher spoke to the European influence that maNkz has brough to the team, and how it has impacted the team's style. "I would definitely say we are taking more of a European-esque playstyle. With maNkz being IGL, he is showing us the meta of the 'correct' way to play. It's definitely an aggressive style, because we are focusing on the heavy rifle power we have."

Despite recently suffering a setback, losing the IEM Sydney qualifier to Complexity, Swisher is confident his team can qualify for the ESL Pro League playoffs, and feels they are on the level of a team like Complexity. "In my opinion we're in the exact same spot, even though we've only been a team for a very short amount of time. We've learned an absolute ton, put in a ton of work, and the two-and-a-half week bootcamp we've had has been astronomical."

Rory "⁠dephh⁠" Jackson, M80's coach, gave a more pessimistic opinion when speaking to HLTV prior to the IEM Sydney Closed Qualifier. "I'm sure we're going to go to Europe and get absolutely spanked," he said. "We expect it, and we're welcoming it at this point."

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5yclone

— Won EPL Conference Asia and Perfect World Arena Premier League at the start of 2023, but have struggled to finish ahead of Lynn Vision or The MongolZ since

— 6-2 match record in recent weeks, beating both Lynn Vision and The MongolZ, only to then lose to both in finals.

— Last for CT round win percentage in Group C (43.3%), sixth for T round win percentage (42.7%) (top 30, 2023)

5yclone will come into this group of ESL Pro League as one of the underdogs, and with good reason. Despite being one of the top teams in their region, battling alongside the likes of The MongolZ who have shown promise internationally, they have struggled to pip their rivals in recent times. "I would say in international terms, TheMongolz are way ahead of all of us, because their playstyle is the best in Asia," opinined Andrew "⁠kaze⁠" Khong. "Their playstyle is more identical to what Europe does."

This doesn't mean that 5yclone are not trying to take some tricks from European teams themselves, according to kaze. "We try to adapt more strats from Europe, each training we try new strats from how Europeans play and test it out." He does, however, feel that visa issues and scheduling prevent his team from showing their best face in international events. "I would say the visa issue, because we finished our last tournament in Asia, the Asia Championship in Shanghai. If we wanted to bootcamp, time management is not good for us. We fly in today, and we have to play against NAVI tomorrow already, so it's a bit hard."

Regardless of the difficulties they face, kaze insists his team will give it their all in Malta. "We try to make it, at least, to the playoffs. In our group the biggest teams are NAVI and FaZe, it will be a tough road, but most definitely we will be trying very hard to make the playoffs."