Photo: Liquid

There’s a lot to prove for several teams going into ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals. The event which kicks off tomorrow June 18 and runs through June 12 will feature 16 of the top teams from season 9 of the ESL Pro League competing for the lion’s share of the $600,000 prize pool.

Favorites:

Liquid – The current best team in the world, Liquid now have to hold onto that title for as long as possible and this is their first step. Being at an event where their chief competitor Astralis are looking to reclaim their throne is important and who comes out on top will probably reshape the top of the rankings again.

Astralis – The undisputed best team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive history and recently dethroned no. 1, Astralis are looking to make their comeback. The team has a chance to prove their days of domination aren’t behind them and that their lapse was a brief one that should not be taken as the end all.

Potential to upset:

MIBR – The Brazilians struggled immensely at the start of their reformed legendary roster but have shown promise in more recent showings. The team continues to improve and will be looking to make it just a notch higher in Montpellier. We know what this roster has been capable of in the past, now it’s time to bring it into the present.

FaZe – Since adding Filip “NEO” Kubski, things have definitely looked improved for the stacked lineup. We’ve seen glimpses of the olof of old and Nikola “NiKo” Kovač turn his focus back toward his performance in the server (although it was never really lacking). This will be a good test as to whether this lineup should be considered a long term investment now that they’ve had some time to practice with NEO.

mousesports – A lineup with a mix of fresh and veteran talent, mousesports has already shown they’ve got the right formula. The roster has impressed in its first few showings winning DreamHack Open Tours and qualifying for the Minor via the deadly European circuit. A strong performance on LAN against this list of teams will solidify their position as a real contender.

NRG – I know, I know. It’s strange to put NRG in here given their results since picking up Tarik “tarik” Celik and even more so since they’ll be playing with Damian “daps” Steele who they benched for Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz just last week but it could happen! It’s possible this will be a very “loose” and more risk taking NRG and that could prove to be difficult for some teams. They may not win it, but NRG could make a playoff run.C

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