The IEM Sydney 2018 tournament signals the commencement of a new season in Counter-Strike. After a brief lull in the competitive scene, the professional teams will be on the road once again. The tournament features sixteen teams from four different regions. With a Prize pool of $250,000, this tournament is a part of the Intel Grand Slam Season 1 and a precursor to the next few months.

The top teams in Counter-Strike are currently fighting a fierce battle for supremacy. The past few weeks have seen several roster changes and player transfer speculations. SK Gaming, Faze Clan have added new players to their rosters. Na’Vi, on the other hand, was able to survive a player acquisition bid for S1mple and Flamie.

IEM Sydney 2018 will be a true test for the top teams in attendance. The current Counter-Strike Esports scene is filled with uncertainties in roster and performance of the teams. There might be sixteen teams in attendance at the event, but only a few really stand a chance to win the trophy down under.

Faze Clan

The team is made up of some of the superstars coming together from various teams. They had amazing performances which saw them regularly place in the finals of big tournaments. Their surprising chemistry and coordination led them to be one of the dominant teams in the group stages.

But barring two big LAN tournaments, Faze Clan has not been able to secure the win in any other tournament. For a team with as much potential as Faze Clan, this is indeed a disappointing result. Contrast this to the fact that they regularly place deep in the playoffs of big tournaments, their inability to close tournaments is a worrying factor.



Recently, Olofmeister stepped down from the active roster due to ‘personal issues’. He will be out of action for an indefinite amount of time. Replacing him on the roster will be former NIP player Xizt. Despite the obvious shortcoming in their firepower, Faze Clan has the likes of Guardian, Niko, Karrigan on the team. They remain a strong contender to potentially win the IEM Sydney 2018 tournament.

The Faze performance in this tournament will depend heavily on individual performances of Karrigan and Xizt. The two veteran players have shown themselves to have the occasional match of brilliance. But the lack of consistency by the two leaders definitely has an impact on the final results. For now, they are focussed on integrating Xizt into the roster. He will be playing the same role as Olofmeister. This allows the rest of the team to play to their strengths and comfort factor. But it also puts Xizt in a difficult and uncomfortable position.

SK Gaming – The former Champions

Very few teams have remained consistently amongst the top five as SK Gaming. The team is not scared to make changes to their team in their attempt to secure the Number one position. Fallen is well respected amongst the Brazilians and he usually has the correct answer to solve their problems.

SK Gaming added Stewie2k to their roster on 31st March 2018. They have not had a big LAN tournament participation since this roster change ( barring Dreamhack Marseilles which was a Bo1 Double elimination format). Ofcourse this gives them ample practice time. They will also be able to help Stewie2k integrate himself seamlessly into the roster.

SK Gaming is well- known for their performance in clutch situations. Amazing clutch plays by players such as Coldzera are possible due to by their communication, synergy, and coordination. But with 80% of the team speaking in a secondary language, it is bound to affect the communications on the team. They will take that extra second to think which can often mean an entirely different result at the top level. SK made the roster change keeping in line with their goals for the London Major. The current string of events are practice events for the team and they hope to peak during the Major. Ofcourse they will want to win and put on a strong performance, but a loss would not be devastating for the team.

Fnatic – Two surprise wins in 2018

The Swedes surprised themselves with their performance at the start of the year. They started off with a disappointing performance at the Starladder & I-League Season 4 which saw them go out in the group stage. However, their subsequent tournaments in March saw them earn two dominating and surprising victories at IEM Katowice 2018 and WESG 2018. These wins were crucial for their decision to the continue with the existing roster.

The scene was adrift with rumors of a roster change with Xizt almost confirmed to replace Golden on the roster. However, their surprise performance at these two events forced the team to rethink their approach. They decided to continue with the same roster and work with their existing players. The Fnatic squad comprises of several dominant players on the team who have a history of outstanding success. Between Krimz, JW, and Flusha the team has lots of experience and firepower amongst themselves. But they really need a strategic player, a role which Golden fills with perfection.

The Fnatic roster lost to Astralis in the semifinals at Dreamhack Marseilles. It was a simple case of losing to the much better team on a particular day. However, Fnatic has been impressing us with their performance. The only competition to Fnatic apart from Astralis would be Na’Vi.

IEM Sydney would be a tough tournament for Fnatic, who have had mixed online results since their last silverware. If they continue their current form, they are a strong contender to reach the playoffs of IEM Sydney 2018.

Na’Vi – A Simple Case

It has been quite some time since we heard Na’Vi and trophies being spoken in the same breath. The CIS squad which recently fended off SK Gaming’s attempt to acquire S1mple and Flamie has seen significant improvements. The rejuvenated performance by the team is evident in their playstyle.

S1mple has to receive a special mention as the player is the best player in the current scene. His individual performance surpasses the results for the team and he is the best player on the scoreboard despite the team being in a disadvantageous scoreline. However, the player is long past his Flipside days, when he makes audacious individual plays. Under the guidance of Zeus, S1mple is a much calmer and a team player. His adherence to team chemistry and building the roster up is noticeable in his attitude and gameplay alike.

The rest of the team, however, also contains the potential to become the best team in the world. Ofcourse in the current form, Na’Vi is nowhere near the likes of Astralis and SK Gaming. But with the best player in the world on their roster, there is little that Na’Vi can definitely not accomplish.

Astralis

Speaking of Astralis, the Danish roster comes into this tournament off a dominating 2-0 win over Na’Vi in the Dreamhack Marseilles finals. The team received congratulations from the Danish Prime Minister, a moment of pride for the players.

The IEM Sydney map pool now includes Dust2, a map which was a very strong map of the Danish roster. They have been able to take individual aim duels and come out as the winner most of the time. Their fakes as well as catching the CTs unawares during rotations is what makes their strategies so effective.

The Astralis roster is the best team coming into this tournament. They have the experience and the form needed to exert their dominance in the scene. While they have to face off challenges from teams such as SK, Na’Vi, Faze and Fnatic, the title remains theirs to defend. They should be able to easily reach the playoffs of the tournament and proceed to potentially win the tournament.

Final Thoughts

The IEM Sydney is one of the biggest tournaments in the current season. Post Dreamhack Marseilles, the top teams have a hang of each other’s playstyle. With Valve’s decision to add Dust 2 to the map pool, the veto system will see a huge shift. The teams have not had enough time t practice Dust 2 a very open and aim based map.

IEM Sydney starts on May 1st and you can watch it live on Facebook. Which team do you think will be the ultimate winner of the tournament? Let us know in comments below.