IEM5 Europe Preview: Group A

As one of the most interesting events of 2011 draws closer, we take a look at how Group A might unfold.

Group A, consisting of six teams, each one from a different country, will kick off on Thursday at 11.00 (CET time). The winner of the group will automatically progress to the semi finals, while the runner-up and the third-placed team will meet the third-placed side and the runner-up from Group B, respectively.

Meet Your Makers	SK Gaming
Eduard "ed1k" Ivanov	Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström
Roman "ROMJkE" Makarov	Jimmy "allen" Allen
Alexandr "xek" Zobkov	Johan "face" Klasson
Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov	Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg
Sergey "Fox" Stolyarov	Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund
mTw	mousesports
Danny "zonic" Sørensen	Manuel "Tixo" Makohl
Martin "trace" Heldt	Roman "roman" Ausserdorfer
Timm "ArcadioN" Henriksen	Manuel "approx" Zeitz
Oliver "minet" Minet	Thanh Vinh "ninja" Bui
Alexander "ave" Holdt	Finn "karrigan" Andersen
Jack "wazorN" Henriksen
Frag eXecutors	Electronic Sahara
Filip "Neo" Kubski	Christophe "sixeR" Xia
Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas	Engin "MAJ3R" Kupeli
Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński	Guillaume "Geno" Ntep
Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski	Mahé "Yoshi" Martin
Mariusz "loord" Cybulski	Rassen "Rara" Abdou

New Year, new goals

To say that SK Gaming are betting big in 2011 is certainly no understatement. Picking up arch rival fnatic's most explosive men in the form of Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg and Christopher "GeT_RiGhT" Alesund will undoubtedly provide them with a major upgrade, one which certainly drew a smile on Alexander "TheSlasH" Muller's face: not only did he boost SK's title chances, but he did so by capturing players from the team his side are so enthusiatically looking to overcome.

f0rest & GeT_RiGhT: new SK talents

SK were, for most of 2010, largely disappointing, as victories at the IOL FINAL4, SEC and WCG Nordic were deemed scarce. As the team enter their first event with the new line-up, some questions arise: how will SK cope with the loss of longtime member Dennis "walle" Wallenberg, specially now that such move leaves the team with only Robert "RobbaN" Dahlström as their AWPer? Dahlström has at times played with the big green, but exactly how reliable will his sniping skills be, now that he is the only one SK can rely on for that post? As the Swedes set their hopes sky high for 2011 and look to dethrone Natus Vincere, this group will be a test to their resolve.

mousesports head into their first event of 2011 with three changes to their roster. After a year which was marked by the tragic death of Antonio "cyx" Daniloski, the team had to make do with Christian "Blizzard" Chmiel for the rest of the year. Aware of their loss in value, mouz opted to stay away from as many events as possible, and thus were only seen competing in the EPS league and the IEM5 European Championship in the last four months of 2010.

Having lost two important pieces such as Navid "Kapio" Javadi and Fatih "gob b" Dayik, mousesports are now entering a new period, and one cannot help but wonder that this event comes too soon for them. After two years of ALTERNATE boredom, Manuel "approx" Zeitz has switched homes, but whether he will be able to replicate his 2007 and 2008 form remains a question in everyone's mind. On the other hand, Thanh Vinh "ninja" Bui arrives at mousesports with the ungrateful task of having to lead the team to gold right in his first event as they look to retain their crown. With a relatively small CV, Bui's leadership will be put to the test from the first round, but luckily for him, he will have Dayik behind him, the Turkish veteran being the team's coach in Kiev.

If you add these two variables to the fact that mouz had to look to Denmark, more specifically to Finn "karrigan" Andersen, who is used to a different playing style and has rarely been seen at the big events, except for WCG 2010, this certainly looks like mousesports will march to Kiev as relegation hopers, rather than qualification seekers.

Same team, same questions

The remaining teams in Group A welcomed the New Year with the guarantee that there will be no roster changes - at least until they return from Kiev. After picking up Timm "ArcadioN" Henriksen, mTw finished in second place at DreamHack Winter, a good placing despite a relatively easy route to the final. The Danish heavyweights will play their first match, against Meet Your Makers, with Jack "wazorN" Henriksen as a stand-in for Alexander "ave" Holdt, but that should do little to divert them from their path to success. mTw are clear title contenders, but it does not look to be enough to wrestle SK in a one-map match.

Frag eXecutors, Frag eXecutors... Betting on the Polish giants is always a huge gamble, and it does not pay off sometimes. From zero to hero, FX can cause awe one day, and then show a completely different face the next day. With such a tough group before them, FX will require consistency, and not just some moments of inspiration, to survive against such talented horde of hungry opponents.

Should kuben be worried about Kiev form?

Russian side Meet Your Makers reinforced themselves with the acquisitions of forZe's Stolyarov brothers, but such move has not yet provided them with more than a refreshing look. At their first event, ASUS Autumn, MYM were surprisingly made to work hard to get the victory, barely beating DTS.chatrix in the final. This is a whole different level of competition, and MYM will have to fare a lot better to get anything here, something they do not seem capable of, right now.

Electronic Sahara are the team a lot of people are always hyped up about, including ESL's own commentators, but at the end of the day quietly pack their bags and leave empty-handed. At WCG 2010, when they needed to prove their worth to have a shot at finding an organisation, they did not make it out of the groups, and a similar story is expected in Kiev.

HLTV.org's final placing prediction:

1. SK Gaming
2. mTw
3. Frag eXecutors
4. mousesports
5. Meet Your Makers
6. Electronic Sahara

Group A schedule (all CET times):

Thursday, 20 January

11:00 Frag eXecutors vs MYM
12:00 SK Gaming vs Electronic Sahara
13:00 Frag eXecutors vs Electronic Sahara
13:00 mTw vs MYM
14:00 SK Gaming vs mousesports

Friday, 21 January

11:00 mTw vs mousesports
12:00 Electronic Sahara vs mousesports
12:00 SK Gaming vs MYM
13:00 Frag eXecutors vs mTw
14:00 Electronic Sahara vs MYM
15:00 Frag eXecutors vs mousesports
16:00 SK Gaming vs mTw
20:00 Frag eXecutors vs SK Gaming
20:00 mTw vs Electronic Sahara
20:00 MYM vs mousesports

What about you? How do you think that Group A will end? Make your voice heard by using the comment box below. Remember to create your Dreamteam to compete against other HLTV.org users.