Talking Points: five major questions leading in to PGL Season 1 LAN finals



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We are approaching the last quarter of the 2015 calendar year, but things for the Counter Strike: Global Offensive scene are just getting warming up. PGL are all set to host LAN finals for the first season of their CS:GO league and offer three days of matches from some of the best teams in the world. Here are five questions to think about heading into the event.

1. Is Fnatic looking shakey recently?

It is undisputed that Fnatic have dominated throughout the most part of this year, winning both majors and mainting their position on top of all rankings. However, the gap between Fnatic and other top tier teams is closing, slowly, but surely. Everything started at ESL ESEA Pro League LAN finals, where we saw Fnatic winning the whole event, but still struggling to get out from the group stage. It was seen during ESL ESEA Dubai Invitational as well, but things became clear last weekend at Gfinity's Champion of Champions event. Although the Swedish team came to this tournament as a favourite, they still struggled in their first match against Ninjas in Pyjamas which eventually went into their favour with the score of 3-2, but their run ended there, as EnVyUs finally managed to beat Fnatic, a first for the Frenchmen outside of a BO1 at a LAN event.

A string of first place victories in this year cement Fnatic’s status as the team to beat leading into the PGL Season 1 LAN finals, but there is definitly a dent in the champion's armor.

2. Was Virtus.pro’s Dubai run a fluke or can they continue with their strong form?

Arguably one of the current top three teams in the world, Virtus.pro had a fine run of form to close out the summer. Winners of ESL ESEA Dubai Invitational and a finals win over Team Solomid, Virtus.pro have the merits to be considered a favorite to win the first PGL Gold Medal for a CS: GO team.

Pitted against the only North American team coming to this event, Team Liquid, means that Virtus.pro have the much needed boost in confidence and it's all now down to the Polish guys keeping level heads and moving on to the finals where they will have a real test against the winner of the Fnatic and Team Solomid clash.

3. Is Team Liquid capable of causing any 'trouble' at PGL Season 1 LAN finals?

It was already known when the first season of PGL CS:GO league was announced that North America will have only one contender at the LAN finals. However, although some other teams were in the spotlight, Liquid still managed to pull together and claim the first place in the North American group.

In recent months, Liquid holds the best record out of all North American teams. They had the best win rate of all teams from North American soil throughout the August and September. This was summed up with their victory at the iBUYPOWER Invitational Fall and DreamHack Stockholm. Strengthened with the addition of Hiko, Liquid will definitely look to defend North American pride at this event, but the real question is what are their capabilities against some of the best Europe?

4. Will Team Solomid rise once again?

The best Danish team has been struggling to find their form from the beginning of this year. Ever since their victory at FACEIT Stage 2 LAN finals, Team Solomid was subscribed to losing in the finals of all big tournaments. The recent examples are ESL ESEA Dubai Invitational and DreamHack London.



However, Team Solomid was considered once as the only team capable of beating Fnatic at LAN events. This title was very hard to achieve and it would be a waste to drop it so easily, so the Danish team will have the last word on this one.

5. Is this the beginning of something new for CS:GO?

The partnership of PGL and Counter Strike can only lead to good things for the future growth and development of the scene. With the positive feedback from the community, PGL has definitely shown themselves to be as one of the leading organisers in the current CS: GO scene. Having arguably the best live production, PGL will surely prepare more surprises for the viewers at Season 1 LAN finals, but also at DreamHack Cluj-Napoca. The next major's production will also be in the hands of the Romanian organiser, and for the first time the third major will be held outside the Swedish soil. Valve handing this major to PGL's hands means that they have all the creative space and capabilities of making this event one of the best.

Tune in this Friday at 13:00 CET for the start of PGL Season 1 LAN finals as they kick off the event with Virtus.pro vs Team Liquid. Matches will take place through the weekend and the final will be played on Sunday, the 4th.

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