EPS Nordic III: week 2 recap

Second week of EPS Nordic 3 is behind us now, so it's time to check out what kind of action took place on this week's map de_dust2. Although only 4 matches were played once again, we had a lot to see as one rather big surprise took place and one match ended in a draw.

Last weekend, mTw were in Berlin where they finished second at SEC 2010, behind SK, showing great form up until the final. Upon their return, they had to meet another Danish team No Problem!, who were easily defeated in their season opener and didn't really seem to be in shape. Therefore, it was expected that mTw will have no problem in overcoming their compatriots, but, NP! was ready for the challenge. Starting as CT, mTw were only able to pick up 2 rounds in the 1st half, the least of all teams as CT this week, while NP! played excellent and controlled the game. In the second half, mTw tried to make a comeback, and it looked like they were on a good path, but NP took the needed 3 rounds and won the match 16-11, providing the first big surprise of this season.

SK returned from Berlin as the champion of SEC and, unlike mTw, didn't have much trouble against Danish teamteam while securing another 3 points with a 16-8 victory. Despite starting on the weaker CT-side, SK took 11 rounds in the 1st half and practically decided the winner right there. teamteam will have to look for new points elsewhere, although their next opponent will be another Swedish giant – fnatic.

Just before their second match, Swedish Housemafia were signed by the Dutch organization RAGE. They met the Danish side dakarma and secured their second dominant win, after mauling NP! last week. RAGE won 16-3 this time and showed off their new name in a very good light.

The closest match of the week saw Cheap Times and Online-Kingdom take their first points after a 15-15 result, as both were coming from losses in the first round. In a CT-sided encounter, Cheap Times took the first half 9-6, while the second half provided much excitement since the score was close until the very end and the teams exchanged the last 4 rounds.

Four teams still haven't played any matches in these two weeks - fnatic, Lions, Playzone and ArcticNova, but they will have their hands full the following week as they each have 3 encounters scheduled. 

Take a look at the current league standings here.

Results from Playday 2 - de_dust2

No Problem! vs mTw	16-11	Demo	Stats
Online-Kingdom vs Cheap Times	15-15	Demo	Stats
RAGE vs dakarma	16-3	Demo	Stats
SK vs teamteam	16-8	Demo	Stats
fnatic vs Playzone	Postponed
Lions vs ArcticNova	Postponed

Player performances

SK's long-time member and in-game leader Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström has been in great form lately and we see him once again among the top rated players. Just like last week against Cheap Times, he was top rated for his team in the victory against teamteam where he had 24 kills in as many rounds.

RAGE will be happy with their new players' performances, as they had three members in last week's top5 and now they have two. Their best rated player against dakarma was Jonathan "lidde" Lidgren who played well in both halves, finishing with 19 kills in 19 rounds. The other noteworthy RAGE member is Faruk "pita" Pita with just 1 kill less than Lidgren.

Despite mTw's loss to NP!, Danny "zonic" Sørensen put up a good fight in both halves while trying to keep his team in the game. Even though Martin "trace" Heldt was more influential on their attempted comeback in the second half, Sørensen was their only bright spot in the otherwise horrid first half and the ratings of those two players are different only by a few decimals.

Another SK member fills up the list, Johan "face" Klasson with his 23 kills in the 16-8 victory against teamteam. Just behind him is the only member of RAGE who hasn't made the top5 yet, Danny "pop" Oldenburg, showing that the whole team is in form and ready for future challenges.

Top player performances of the week

#	Player	K-D	Rating	Demo
1.	Robert 'RobbaN' Dahlström	24-10	1.58	POV
2.	Jonathan 'lidde' Lidgren	19-7	1.53	POV
3.	Faruk 'pita' Pita	18-10	1.42
4.	Danny 'zonic' Sørensen	23-16	1.38
5.	Johan 'face' Klasson	23-13	1.37	POV

Team performances

For the second week in a row, ex-SH, now known as RAGE is the top rated team, following another dominant win where all of their players were rated above 1.00. Also, SK repeats their appearance on the list with the win over teamteam, while No Problem! debuts after their big win against mTw.

Top team performances of the week

#	Team	Result	Rating
1.	RAGE	16-3 vs dakarma	1.36
2.	SK	16-8 vs teamteam	1.24
3.	No Problem!	16-11 vs  mTw	1.04

Worst performances

Worst player performance of the week

Player	K-D	Match	Rating
Jesper 'luffeB' Andersen	6-23	teamteam vs SK (8-16)	0.27

Worst team performance of the week

Team	Result	Rating
dakarma	3-16 vs RAGE	0.58

Check out the rest of the stats from the league here, and have a look at what other POV demos we have here. Stay tuned to HLTV.org for complete coverage of the 3rd season of EPS Nordic!