ESL One Cologne is one of the most coveted tournaments of the year. From a historical standpoint, the legacy of this tournament makes it the highest achievement in the first half of the year.

Sixteen of the world’s best teams will compete at the holy grounds of Counter-Strike - The LANXESS Arena in Germany.

Enthralling the CSGO fans from across the world for six years straight, Cologne has always blessed us with some of the best action; and this year, the teams are stronger and more competitive than ever before.

Few squads will unveil new line-ups, hence they have a shroud of mystery around them. Moreover, the $300,000 tournament is the gateway to the legendary Intel Grand Slam with $1,000,000 on the line.

Note: This opinion piece aims to break the attending teams down into tiers and speculate what you can expect to see at the tournament.

THE UPPER ECHELONS

This year’s edition raises the stakes to a whole new level. With three back to back wins at big events - IEM Sydney, DreamHack Masters Dallas and ESL Pro League S9 Finals - Liquid have three Intel Grand Slam points under their belt. Winning this one will make them the conquerors of the second season of the Intel Grand Slam, and a million dollars richer.

While Liquid have never faced too much trouble adapting to their opponents, Nick ‘nitr0’ Cannella isn’t afraid to let his star player’s shine - playing to their strengths and channeling their devastating abilities to make favorable situations happen for Team Liquid.

Perhaps this loose and brawly play-style is exactly what makes them dangerous against tough opponents, however, there are some teams against whom Liquid has struggled in the past.

opening match in the tournament is against MVP PK, which should not be too much of a problem for them. But later on in the group, they might face Astralis, ENCE or Vitality and this is where their past can come to haunt them. Their, which should not be too much of a problem for them. But later on in the group, they might face Astralis, ENCE or Vitality and this is where their past can come to haunt them.

Astralis is arguably the best team to have ever existed in the world of CSGO. Not long ago, Astralis had an entire era dedicated to them when they won the first season of the Intel Grand Slam.

Within a very short span of time, Liquid has raced ahead and snatched the #1 spot from them. That could have something to do with Astralis skipping several tournaments, which solved a lot of Liquid’s problems and allowed them to win the necessary points needed to dethrone Astralis.

Since Astralis have been out of action for a while, collecting themselves privately; we might just see the lion finally come out of his den in Germany.

in the upper echelons of CSGO. With upset losses at BLAST events, and disappointing 5th-6th finishes at ECS S7 and ESL Pro League S9, Astralis don’t look as invincible as they were before, but we can still count them

THE CONTENDERS

These are the teams who might stumble against teams in the upper echelon but can definitely end up top six at ESL One Cologne.

ENCE return where it all started. They began making their presence felt to the world at ESL Cologne last year, surprising everyone with a top-eight finish.

From a meme to a dream team, ENCE made a Cinderella story come true with their powerful underdog run at the IEM Katowice 2019, and shut the haters up by defeating Astralis at BLAST Pro Series Madrid nearly a month back.

ENCE will be going into the tournament rejuvenated from a month-long break after their second place finish at DreamHack Masters Dallas. Coming into Cologne, they may very well surprise the world once again. from a month-long break after their second place finish at DreamHack Masters Dallas. Coming into Cologne, they may very well surprise the world once again.

NRG are set to unveil a new lineup at Cologne, replacing Damian "daps" Steele with Peter "Stanislaw" Jarguz. The in-game leader swap comes after NRG had a great run at ESL Pro League Finals, where they exceeded expectations with unexpected wins against Fnatic, G2, and Astralis.

Alongside the experience he brings to the table by leading Complexity, Stanislaw arguably has much higher firepower than Daps. However, NA's second-best team was born under daps' leadership, and it will be difficult for them to start a new era without them.

“Brehze” Cayonte, which might come back to haunt them.NRG kick off the tournament against FURIA, whom they bested convincingly at ECS Season 7 Finals. However, so far the team has been relying a bit too much on VincentCayonte, which might come back to haunt them.whom they bested convincingly at ECS Season 7 Finals.

Vitality are at the peak of their form as they went from being a borderline top ten team to skyrocketing into the top five of the world. T

hey went on to show the naysayers that French CS cannot be counted out just yet with their recent victories at CS_Summit 4 and ECS Season 7.

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has been an absolute monster so far, carrying his team to victory on multiple occasions.

It will be exciting to see him replicate that again.

The only question to ponder over is whether the remaining members will be able to hold the fort or, instead, choke on the big stage.

They kick off the tournament with a heavily favored match against Ninjas in Pyjamas. While it certainly looks like Vitality can give ENCE and Astralis a run for their money, they are yet to face MIBR at an event, and that very well could pose a threat to them later on in the tournament.

The boys in yellow are feared for their slow and methodical playstyle which can make even the toughest opponents scratch their heads.

With arguably the best player in the world, Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, playing under their banner, their opponents definitely have a lot to fear.

However, it has been almost two months since we last saw them play. Their last few performances haven’t been up to the mark either.

A disappointing finish at the ESL Pro League S9 European division saw them replace Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev with Kirill “Boombl4” Mikhailov.

mix up things with some additional firepower in their first round. Will they be able to repeat last year's feat and crown themselves champions? It certainly looks difficult, but everything is possible with s1mple. With the recent addition, the now majorly-Russian squad look to. Will they be able to repeat last year's feat and crown themselves champions? It certainly looks difficult, but everything is possible with s1mple.

The European super-team has been a fan-favorite across multiple game titles. Despite boasting of all the talent one team can house, however, FaZe has not found much success and failed to live up to expectations.

For now, the team is still wondering whether or not Filip “NEO” Kubski is a good fit. The only teams we saw them beat in the recently concluded ESL Pro League S9 Finals is TyLoo in a close affair and North in an even closer best-of-three series.

However, you can never count them out. They have some of the finest aimers in the world with Nikola “NiKo” Kovac being regarded as the video game manifestation of the grim reaper.

‘‘Guardian” Kovacs can anytime turn this team into an unstoppable juggernaut. Besides that, one of the best AWPers in the world, LadislavKovacs can anytime

At the beginning of 2019, MIBR had managed to recreate the line-up of the 2017 SK Gaming which managed to awe fans and analysts alike with their performance. That did not work in their favor as the line-up had disappointing 7-8th finishes at ECS S7 and ESL Pro League S9.

"felps" Vasconcellos was cut from the team to make room for Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles. With this, the squad is back with the core of the 2014 Kabum.TD and one can find it difficult to believe whether or not they will perform well. That was the cue for them to call it quits, as JoãoVasconcellos was cut from the team to make room for LucasTeles. With this, the squad is back with the core of the 2014 Kabum.TD and one can find it

THE UPSETTERS

These teams have shown potential to pull a rabbit out of the hat every now and then, and hence, cannot be taken lightly.

FURIA recently came into the spotlight for taking down Astralis on their breeding grounds: Nuke.

While their performances have certainly been on the rise, some have attributed this victory of theirs due to the weak form of Astralis. Some have even called it a fluke.

This is their chance to prove that FURIA’s win against the finest in the world was no luck and all skill.

FURIA took over the hearts of many with their 3rd-4th finish at DreamHack Masters Dallas and the second place at ECS 7 Finals. The way this team makes intricate mid round movements is exactly what makes them such a treat to watch.

FURIA has an unusual chaotic play-style, and many would criticize them for some of their decisions to go aggressive, gamble stack, or rush, but at the same time, it wouldn't make much sense.

That is perhaps one of the reasons why people love watching them play. The Brazilians don't conform to the normal norms put forward by the rest of the scene. Instead, they challenge the meta at every step of the way.

Even though the line-up hasn’t been able to break into the top ten yet, they have never been underestimated by their opponents because of their blowout victories against every other team in the lower rung of the tier scene.

However, the team managed to get decent wins against FaZe, MIBR, and HellRaisers at ESL Pro League Finals.

Historically, mousesports have never had a great time in Cologne. The German organization, which used to be based in the same city, went out in the groups the first four times they attended this event, with vastly different rosters.

it will be exciting to see if they can finally put an end to their “Cologne Curse”. After a recent restructure, they moved their offices to Hamburg, which is on the other side of the country. Not to be superstitious, but

The Renegades started off as the first team to represent Australia internationally at such a big stage in ESL Cologne 2014. They were insignificant back then, but have come a long way since then. Nowadays, they are knocking on the doors of the tier one group.

After the acquisition of Sean "Gratisfaction" Kaiwai and Jay "Liazz" Tregillgas, the team had a great run at the IEM Katowice Major 2019.

The team took a pit stop to boot-camp in Europe ahead of ESL Cologne, and hopefully, that will be enough to let them wreak some havoc.

The Aussies start off against FaZe as underdogs , but one cannot forget that Renegades have given them a run for their money in the past.

THE LOWER RUNG

The Korean team of MVP PK has been one of the stronger teams to come out of Asia. However, they might just be cannon fodder as they go up against the biggest names in CSGO at ESL Cologne 2019.

Sure, we may see a few surprise wins going the way of the Koreans. That is, however, the best that can be expected from them.

against the strongest team in the tournament, Liquid, right at the beginning, Cologne will most probably turn into a “survive the lower bracket” simulation for them. As they are upright at the beginning, Cologne will most probably turn into a “survive the lower bracket” simulation for them.

There was a time when the best team in the world used to be Ninjas In Pyjamas. The ESL Cologne 2014 sticker for NiP is still one of the most expensive items on the Steam store.

However, the ninjas we knew back then are very different from now, not nearly as dominant. Furthermore, they just underwent a risky change in the line-up.

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hey benched Dennis "dennis" Edman to make room for Nicolas "Plopski" González. This decision was taken following a string of poor results that saw them fail to qualify for the ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals, place 9th-12th at DreamHack Masters Dallas, and bomb out of ECS Season 7 Finals.

Just like Ninjas in Pyjamas, Fnatic is, at this point, a storied Swedish team. It seems as if it was only yesterday when the Swedes made it to two finals in a row.

Fnatic come after a month of rough action at DreamHack Masters Dallas and ESL Pro League, where they did nothing but be humbled by their rivals.

Rumors about internal changes in Fnatic were dismissed by Jesper “JW” Wecksell. He, however, shared that he had to be hospitalized ahead of ESL One Cologne.

The team has since practiced with Jimmy "Jumpy" Berndtsson in case the star-sniper was unable to attend the tournament.

opening match-up against MIBR only makes things worse for them. It will take a massive leap in performance if they want to make it to the group stages, as theironly makes things worse for them.

BIG have been struggling to catch up with the rest of the world ever since the addition of Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dörtkardeş at the end of 2018.

T

he squad still hasn’t achieved stability as Owen “Smooya” Butterfield stepped down and was replaced by Nex only to be replaced later by Denis “denis” Howell.

Their opening match-up against Astralis seems to be too big of a task for them. Counter-Strike fans, though, already know that anything can happen when it comes to BIG, moreover in Cologne.

The last couple of tournaments have shown that Heroic are trying to switch some roles around as Niels-Christian "NaToSaphiX" Sillassen has given up the AWP in favor of Patrick "es3tag" Hansen.

This move comes after the team was unable to qualify for the Europe Minor, but so far it hasn't resulted in much improvement.

Although Heroic always have to fight tooth-and-nail in order to qualify for big events, this will be their third premier tournament in two months, after they made it to IEM Sydney and the ESL Pro League Finals.

“Peacemaker” Tadeu has decided to resign, which means he will not be standing behind his team at ESL One Cologne 2019. This could pose further problems for the team, especially in their opening match against ENCE. Just today, their coach LuisTadeu has decided to resign, which means he will not be standing behind his team at ESL One Cologne 2019. This could pose further problems for the team, especially

Photo via: Team LiquidPhoto via: AstralisPhoto via: ENCEPhoto via: HLTVPhoto via: HLTVPhoto via: HTLVPhoto via: MIBRPhoto via: IEMPhoto via: @suanyuchenand it will be interesting to see whether they can pull off a surprise.Photo via: HLTVPhoto via: HLTVThis article has been written by our Guest Editor; Kripz You can head over to our CSGO hub for more content. Headline image courtesy: ESL