IEM5 WC Preview: mTw, Fx, TCM, M5

Our last preview for the IEM5 World Championship is a closer look at the other four European teams in the tournament – mTw, Frag eXecutors, TCM-Gaming and Moscow Five.

mTw

The runners-up from the IEM5 European Championship Finals are hungry to win a tournament. They came close in Kiev, but missed it and they have lately expressed that this has to be the time they win.

	Danny "zonic" Sørensen
	Oliver "minet" Minet
	Timm "ArcadioN" Henriksen
	Alexander "ave" Holdt
	Martin "trace" Heldt

The tide is turning

After their phenomenal 2008 season, things changed for the Danish team. After the roster changes, where Muhamed "MJE" Eid and Jonas "whimp" Svendsen parted ways with the team, those big trophies have not been won. But suddenly the team made it into the podium again and has been a steady team in terms of going deep in the tournament bracket, most recently in Kiev, ending up losing to fnatic in Grand Final. But it very much seems like the tide is turning for mTw, is a new major triumph really that close? Hannover will give us the answer this week.

The best entry fragger out there

Martin "trace" Heldt, is no longer a stranger to teams or for the community. In 2010 he had an amazing year, where he claimed the title as the best entry fragger, also overall having a peak of high standards. Heldts performance 2010, made him drop in on third place in our Top 20, crowning off a very solid year.

After Christoffer "Sunde" Sunde was removed, Heldt is now handling the big green gun in mTw and has passed that test with fine grades. Other than being the best entry fragger, Heldt is very important for mTw, and they need to have good faith in him, to do well overall.

First match – 09:10CET March 2, vs. TCM-Gaming

Key to success – The team has several individuals who are capable of carrying them, other than Heldt, the team has a great back-up player in Danny "zonic" Sørensen, who in 2010 also played outstanding at times. After dropping the in-game leader role, Alexander "ave" Holdt has stepped up his fragging game, doing that in Hannover will be important as well.

Exit scenario – Losing to TCM, will put mTw in danger. Even though they have great statistics against the Brazilians, they can’t let themselves feel too comfortable playing against a team like compLexity. Unable to close matches they lead, is also something which happens now and then, which in Kiev was the weakness fnatic exploited.

Frag eXecutors

With a third place finish in IEM5 European Championship Finals, Fx do have some solid proof of them being in good shape lately.

	Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas
	Filip "Neo" Kubski
	Jakub "kuben" Gurczyński
	Jarosław "pasha" Jarząbkowski
	Mariusz "Loord" Cybulski

The one and only

This phrase previously belonged to Emil "HeatoN" Christensen, but it seems like it has transferred to the Frag eXecutors star Filip "Neo" Kubski. Kubski is a star and has proven it time and again, that he’s one of the best players in the world, which is also a reason why he made it to the seventh place in our 2010 Top 20. By looking at how Kubski played in Kiev, many might be wondering why the team did not win the event. Something must have snapped or crumbled for the team in the later stages of the tournament.

Great battles in the past

Frag eXecutors had some great battles against mTw in previous tournaments, just looking at the IEM5 European Championship. The two go way back and it is always a pleasure watching the two duke it out. This time it will be in the group-stage already, and is expected to be the big bang for first place in the group. The great battles are usually also the step where the Poles stumble and exit the tournament and it's very rare that they go out early to some team which they on paper should defeat with no bigger trouble.

A fact is that every time we see big clashes, the Poles bring us some of the most intense and epic matches in history, even in moment where things look as they have reached the point of no return.

First match – 09:10CET March 2, vs. Moscow Five

Key to success – At times it seems like Neo has all the answers and he will unquestionably also be a reason to success for Frag eXecutors. History also speaks for itself, the team most of the time reach the podium and eventually in the final, so raw numbers are speaking on their behalf.

Exit scenario – There is nothing indicating that the Poles can go out in the group-stage, but in the playoffs, the team could struggle against Na´Vi who they had some trouble against in the past. Also a matchup against fnatic, who they’ve also had big clashes with in the past, can potentially be the exit for Frag eXecutors.

TCM-Gaming

The Danes didn’t have the best debut for their new organization in Kiev, things would had looked a lot different had they managed to seal the win against Lions. The team has since the European Championship Finals changed one member, as they are now playing with Nikolaj "Nuggi" Larsen instead of Taymaz "TAY" Babaiasl.

	Danny "BERRY" Krüger
	Michael "Friis" Jørgensen
	Baljit "zE-" Lal
	Nikolaj "Nuggi" Larsen
	Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer

Friis' AWP to carry TCM

It should be no secret that Michael "Friis" Jørgensen is the best asset for TCM. Jørgensen has in the many teams he played for in the past, showed that his AWP is very important to the team. Throughout 2010 in major tournaments, he recorded the most AWP kills per round of all players (0.38), and he continued in that form at the start of 2011 in Kiev. If he's landing his shots, his team will do well, but at the same time he wins the matches by himself. He will need his teammates to step up and deliver too, as even though he played good, the team has went out with a boom in previous tournaments. With Larsen in the team, the team also has the option to run a dual AWP setup, which could be vital if they want to advance.

Looking back at IEM4

We all remember Roskilde Ravens at the European Championship Finals. They shocked a lot, coming from the unknown and claiming third place in from of teams such as SK, Fx, mTw and others. Following their great performance in Brühl, Ravens then went to the IEM4 World Championship and did not win a single match.

It’s the same team, well almost, but does that tell something about how they will do? They have showed solid play previously and if they learned from the mistakes they did at last years World Championship, they should do better this year. The fact that they will play mTw in the group opener will also be crucial. Domestic battles can always be a lot different than a match against an international team.

First match – 09:10CET March 2, vs. mTw

Key to success – In short words, TCM will need: Jørgensen on fire, an upset against one of the international teams and a win against their countrymen from Denmark.

Exit scenario – The experience for the teams in terms of attending big events are fairly slim. With that in mind there are a lot of teams in the group, who have been on the road for a lot longer, which speaks for TCM not advancing. Last but not least, if TCM will not see Jørgensen hitting a good day, they can wave goodbye to further advancement.

Moscow Five

The Russian squad travel directly from Kiev with a fresh victory in their bag. The team won ASUS Winter by beating Iron Will in the Grand Final. During the tournament it did seem like they were saving tactics for Hannover, but then in the playoffs seemed to use most in their playbook, as they did not lose a single map.

	Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov
	Roman "ROMJkE" Makarov
	Eduard "ed1k" Ivanov
	Alexandr "xek" Zobkov
	Sergey "Fox" Stolyarov

Dosia can work wonders for Moscow Five

Mihail "Dosia" Stolyarov has lately not been performing well and his performance usually has a great say in how the team is performing too. Rewinding to WCG 2009 in Chengdu, playing for CMAX.gg at the time, Stolyarov played a big role in the team’s success and also ended up in top 6 rated players of the event

Lately he has as mentioned not been performing well and as the important brick in the Russian puzzle he is, the team will have to put good faith in him peaking in Hannover.

A fresh start

In Kiev for the IEM5 European Championship Finals, the team surprised many as they came out of nowhere and defeated SK Gaming. They even went on to reach the quarter-final, where Na´Vi put a stop to their success. It seems like the Russian team is having a fresh start, things have started to work their way and have just recently changed organization. Whether it is a fresh start on things, the team did for a fact come to Hannover with a victory in their hands, which is a huge moral boost to any team.

First match – 09:10CET March 2, vs. Frag eXecutors

Key to success – With the brothers in top form, Moscow Five could stand a great chance at advancing from the group, but they really have to kick into gear, if they wish to do so.

Exit scenario – They lost against mTw and Fx in Kiev, which means that they most likely have to win against compLexity, TCM and UMX in Hannover, if they want to stand a chance at advancing. Not hitting the day sounds like something which can happen to any team, but a team like the Russians, who have been hot'n'cold during 2010, being a little cold in Hannover will send them back to Moscow.