All the preparations and qualifiers are now over and we are just days before the next CS:GO big tournament, 2018 FACEIT Major. Be you a veteran or a newcomer to the CS:GO scene, it’s never to bad to take a look at which teams from your region will be attending to the biggest event of the year.

So, in this article, we introduce the teams going to London in September representing the US. Out of the 24 teams attending to the Major, 5 are from the aforementioned region.

Who are them? Let’s take a closer look.

Cloud9 – The Reigning Champions

Cloud9 brought the first Major title to North America earlier this year in Boston. However, the Major-winning five-men roster is no more. Just like Gambit, the previous Major champions, it didn’t take longer to changes come for Cloud9.

The North American squad isn’t a fully American team anymore. Cloud9 has signed the Swede ‘GOLDEN’ as their in-game leader and extended ‘STYKO’ stand-in time.

The team latest results haven’t been brightly as they would like though. Since ‘Stewie2K’ announced his leave from the team, C9 never achieved anything meaningful. The team actually has disappointed a lot and ‘Tarik’ following Stewie in MiBR hasn’t helped either.

We’ve not lost for Cloud9 yet.

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A Blink of Hope

STYKO certainly isn’t the perfect replacement for Stewie2K nor Tarik. Cloud9 lacks firepower and STYKO unfortunately won’t be the one showing off his flashy plays in this squad. Alongside him, it’s clear that Skadoodle unable to keep up with the top tier competition anymore.

GOLDEN, on the other hand adds the much-needed structure to Cloud9. Even before 2018, it was clear that Cloud9 needed this to be more than a one-time wonder team. They have tried to bring it with multiples IGLs over time, but never managed to fully run a structured in-game plan.

Alongside this, Cloud9 will be having something they didn’t in a long time. Time to prepare and adjust to the current roster. Cloud9 had a very busy schedule since their last player swap and the team couldn’t stop until now.

With the player break, and the events coming before the Major, Cloud9 will be able to prepare and test everything. Since the team has a Legend spot, they will also have one extra week before playing in the Major.

There’s a light in the end of the tunnel for Cloud9. Is it a mirage, or the can the North American brand hold their spot as Legends?

Liquid – Americas Favorites

Team Liquid is coming in with a completely different mood than they did in the last Major. Back in Boston, the team had to play with their coach. Moreover roster changes were clearly coming for the team and the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

Now, however they will be bringing one of the most capable teams to the tournament. Currently, Liquid holds the 3rd place in the HLTV World Rankings and their high rank isn’t a fluke.

Since Boston, Liquid has said goodbye to the ever disappointing awper ‘JDM64’ and found a replacement for ‘stanislaw’. Playing with the 2 times Major-winner ‘TACO’ and the highly-skilled ‘NAF’, Liquid has high hopes for FACEIT London.

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The Missing Link

Although Liquid were up there with the favorites to win some events this year, they haven’t claimed any trophy in 2018. Why though?

‘Nitro’ who is currently in-game leader isn’t able to go against the elite masterminds of ‘gla1ve’ or ‘karrigan’. The 5-men rifles formation might not be viable in the top level. Maybe there’s teamwork and team confidence problems.

It’s hard to point what makes Liquid unable to achieve trophies even when favorites. They have been defeated by underdogs too many times now to be just bad luck.

There’s no doubts that Liquid can reach the Legend status here. The question is, can they go further?

Made in America

For the first time in CS:GO, the legendary IGL FalleN will be bringing an international lineup along him for a Major. Under MiBR banner, the North American ‘Tarik’ and ‘Stewie2K’ join forces with Brazilians hoping to build a new elite team.

The initial results have been worst than expected but things should change with the player break. Not only time will be helping FalleN & Co. but the addition of ‘YnK’ as their coach might the be the so needed missing piece in MiBR puzzle.

With a highly capable roster and a very analytical coach that inspires confidence, can MiBR turn the tides for their side?

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Reinventing a Losing Team

One of the biggest problems that FalleN has since the SK break down earlier this year is the team turned out readable. Their rivals learned how to counter their tactics and the team didn’t know how to properly reinvent themselves.

Gla1ve from Astralis suffered with the same but he has long passed it and now brought his team to the top. According to the team though, ‘Zonic’ was deeply-involved with the process to bring in new tactics.

With a coach for a first time since years, FalleN will need to bring over new elements to the table if they want to compete on top again.

Rogue not kidding with anyone

The legendary North American player ‘HiKo’ in back. Managing to qualify for his first Major since Atlanta 2017, HiKo shown that he isn’t looking to step down from CS:GO.

Along him, a set of misfits are coming too. From Oceania, comes ‘Rickeh’ who will be calling for this team. From Europe is ‘cadiaN’, the Danish awper who couldn’t find a home in his country. From the Americas comes the promising star ‘SiCK’ and the ever reliable ‘vice’.

This Rogue roster lacks experience against elite teams but surely are looking to make damage in London.

An Underdog that Bites

Over the year attending DreamHack Open tournaments, Rogue shown that they are able to beat any team that underestimate them.

Of course, the team is still considered a low tier opponent for two main reasons. The first is that until now Rogue couldn’t achieve anything meaningful. Their best result before FACEIT | Americas Minor was a 2nd place at DreamHack Open Austin.

More importantly, the team still is ironing out their formation. ‘cadiaN’ can disappear in important games, ‘Rickeh’ performances also can vary significantly. Hiko in the other hand has his fair share of bad performances.

In FACEIT Major, Rogue has two possible outcomes. Positively, they can prove themselves for the world, showing that this misfits team has a future ahead. Otherwise, they fail to impress, and go back to square one.

CompLexity back at Valve’s Majors

The ‘compLexity’ brand were always big in Counter-Strike. This is, until 2014. After a horrific year, compLexity slowly faded away from the top rankings and the rosters under that banner never shown much promise.

This year, the organization brought together a set of rejects from North America and they managed to book a spot in London. The general expectations though aren’t that high and the team must go against the waves to prove themselves in September.

For some though, coL achieved what they needed. They qualified for the Major, and anything more than it is a bonus. But will ‘stanislaw’ and ‘yay’ be satisfied with it?

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The Truth

The last months, ‘stanislaw’ has got mixed up in two Major controversies with his previous teams, Liquid and OpTic. With compLexity he is turning a page in his career leaving behind the 2017 drama involving Liquid.

Yay, dephh and ANDROID, on the other hand are just starting and this is the highest point of their careers so far. They don’t have the experience that ‘stanislaw’ have, but might be rough diamonds waiting to be shaped by him.

ShahZam also has a clear problem with consistency. The seasoned player isn’t able to perform locally as well as he can online. Alongside the lack of experience and a faulty game plan, compLexity path is shrouded by mist and negativity.

The Next Major will start in less than one month

September 5th will be a great day. Liquid, Rogue and compLexity will join other 13 teams in the first stage of the Major. The second phase, starting a week after, it will be MiBR and Cloud9 to joining the ones who advanced from the opening stage.

Who are your favorites to make through?

Can Liquid reach another grand final?

Will C9 be able to come on top of its problems?

YnK and Fallen are bringing in the much-needed spiciness to MiBR?

Tell us what you think in the comments below!

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