Souma Profile Blog Joined May 2010 2nd Worst City in CA 8905 Posts Last Edited: 2015-06-05 00:19:11 #1





















Keyd Stars [1]

Hailing from Brazil, Keyd Stars stormed into the North American CS:GO scene and instantly became one of the continent’s favorites. Keyd entered the spotlight after a strong top eight finish in the most recent CS:GO major. The team has also toured the North American LAN scene with appearances at the MLG X Games and Clutch Con.



Currently, the players of Keyd are living in Los Angeles due to receiving a spot in the ESL ESEA Pro League. The team sits comfortably near the top of the standings with a 9-3 record. The team’s only losses thus far were against Cloud9, Nihilum Gaming and Team Liquid.



The roster is led by FalleN, a player who does not let his role as the in-game leader impact his high frag count during competition. His teammate, fer, is statistically the top player on the team through three weeks of Pro League matches. Above that, he is a top candidate for league MVP. His stats are almost unparalleled as he boasts an average of 95 damage per round and 0.867 kills per round.



While the individual components of Keyd are impressive, their most impressive aspect is their chemistry as a team. Their strats are clearly polished and offer a playstyle that can throw off their North American foes. On top of that, Keyd has had the advantage of being the only North American team that lives together up until now. Their chemistry will be tough to match given they have the ability to communicate together on LAN seven days a week.



Keyd was awarded the top seed in HTC Reborn and will be one of the favorites to take home the first place prize. The team is the total package and, oddly enough, at times revered as North America’s savior despite only recently playing from the states. Keyd is one of the primary drivers behind the rebirth of North American CS:GO. Although the Brazilians will likely return home at the end of the Pro League season, their impact on the North American scene will live on for a while. They have increased the competition and are regarded as a quality practice opponent. Their presence has motivated other squads to try and dethrone them as one of North America’s new favorites.





Ricardo “ boltz ” Prass | Gabriel “ FalleN ” Toledo | Fernando “ fer ” Alvarenga | Lucas Benedito “ steel ” Lopes | Caio “ zqkS ” Fonseca









Affnity [8]

A few weeks ago, the affNity roster looked very different. The team lost six straight matches in the ESL ESEA Pro League and were positioned to finish near or at the bottom. The team’s CEVO season also started off with a few draws and losses.



affNity was recently promoted to the ESL ESEA Pro League while also competing in CEVO Professional. Unfortunately, expectations were low due to poor starts.



Again, cue the North American Shuffle. Former Luminosity Gaming members, abE and arya, were recruited to affNity, and the move jump-started a four-game win streak in Pro League and four wins/draws in CEVO. As it turns out, affNity is shaping up to be one of the most promising rookie teams in the continent’s top divisions.



Besides abE, who is ranked eighth in FPR with 0.837, the rest of the team sits well in the bottom half of the Pro League statistics. However, affNity has succeeded in large part due to their teamwork. Their strengths lie in their players' tendencies to play with discipline. affNity do not venture off on their own, carelessly hunt for frags or play solely for themselves; each decision is thoughtful and communication appears on point.



This is an exciting time for focs, DAVEY, and jasonr, players whose names are beginning to gain recognition similarly to abE and arya. Motivation is likely high for this squad as they hope to show that North America has more than a mere handful of tier one teams.



The group has only once faced Keyd Stars and finished on the losing end of a 16-8 Cache result. Despite the hype around this team with their growing potential, their first round series against Keyd will be a difficult challenge to say the least. Teamwork will be key to taking down such an individually skilled and cohesive team. While it will be tough for affNity to advance, they still show enormous promise for the coming months.





Jason “ focs ” Mauery | David “ DAVEY ” Stafford | Abraham “ abE ” Fasli | Jason “ jasonr ” Ruchelski | Arya “ arya ” Hekmat









Team Liquid [4]

Team Liquid has had their ups and downs over the past months. Though they were able to qualify for FACEIT and were invited to Gfinity, the team was unable to advance to the most recent ESEA LAN finals and forfeited their previous season of CEVO. Even with their recent roster changes, Liquid's current records would disqualify them from both the ESL ESEA Pro League and the CEVO Season 7 LAN were the season to end today.



That being said, with their relatively new members in EliGE and flowsicK, the team has won some difficult matches. In the past couple of weeks, Liquid defeated Keyd Stars and crushed Nihilum in the ESL ESEA Pro League and CEVO-P. Additionally, the team triumphed over Cloud9 to claim victory in the ESWC North American Qualifier and will represent North America in Montreal come July.



Out of the 67 players to play a Pro League match this season, EliGE, flowsicK, nitr0 and FugLy statistically rank in the top twenty for Frags Per Round and Average Damage per Round. The team has recently notched multiple victories in league play, racing them towards the top of the standings.



With the fourth seed, Liquid is paired up first against eLevate. Across both the Pro League and the ESWC Qualifier, Liquid has proven to have the upper edge in this matchup. Liquid will hope to repeat their success to advance to the semi-finals.



Liquid has shown time and again that they can beat anyone online in North America. Consistency is the missing element. Under adreN’s leadership and AWP, flanked by strong riflers across the board, Team Liquid is capable of a top finish in the HTC Reborn event. A win would be symbolic of a team looking to pave way for a brighter, more consistent future where the group qualifies for both major international and domestic events.





Eric “ adreN ” Hoag | Kyle “ flowsicK ” Mendez | Nick “ nitr0 ” Cannella | Jacob “ FugLy ” Medina | Jonathan “ EliGE ” Jablonowski







Elevate [5]

eLevate is a mix of old and new blood, a team composed of accomplished veterans and—relatively speaking—rookies with little international experience. This ranges from Storm, a world champion in various events dating back to Counter-Strike 1.6, to roca, a player new to pro-level play outside of some success in Counter-Strike: Source.



The varying range of experience also happens to correlate with a varying range of results. In CEVO Professional, the team impressed with a second place finish in the Season 6 playoffs but now have yet to win a single BO2 in Season 7 and rank almost last. During ESEA Season 18, the team failed to advance to the LAN finals, making it all the way to third place before dropping back to seventh. Most importantly, however, eLevate earned the right to compete in FACEIT League's Stage 1 Finals after topping the regular season.



Similar to Team Liquid, eLevate tends to be streaky. Still, their results show they can defeat nearly any domestic opponent. Xp3 guides the team both with strats and his AWP, while roca—statistically one of the strongest riflers in the current season—has mowed over nearly every opponent. The team recently released desi and brought in new blood in Professor_Chaos, previously of Nihilum, in hopes of fielding a strong consistent five.



In the HTC Reborn tournament, eLevate will first take on Team Liquid, a team they have struggled against in recent weeks. In just a span of two days, eLevate lost three straight maps against Liquid, but the team managed to come back with a single map win in the ESL ESEA Pro League a day later. While they have a tendency to struggle against Liquid, eLevate has proven they can compete with the likes of Cloud9, CLG and Nihilum.



If eLevate can carry that momentum and confidence into this coming weekend, they have the potential to finish in the top three just as they did in the competitive FACEIT League last season.



While most teams took part in the North American Shuffle, eLevate seemingly steered clear of the mix-ups but inevitably sought change after a long losing streak. With Professor_Chaos aboard, the squad hopes to develop into a team that can consistently compete on both domestic and international stages.







David “ Xp3 ” Garrido | Tyler “ Storm ” Wood | Danny “ roca ” Gustaferri | Will “ RUSH ” Wierzba | Andrew “ Professor_Chaos ” Heintz









CLG [3]

Counter Logic Gaming’s recent LAN results closely reflect that of Cloud9's. The team has qualified for a handful of premier international events, but finished near the bottom of the pack each time. CLG managed a 5th-6th place finish at the most recent ESEA LAN, but much like their North American peers, they have struggled against the European heavyweights.



That being said, among North American teams, CLG continues to be one of the best and most promising. The team is looking strong in both the ESL ESEA Pro League and CEVO-P.



After bidding farewell to ptr during the North American Shuffle, CLG tried out a handful of players but ultimately looked to their longtime backup, jdm64. It was just this week that the team finally gave word that the AWPer would be an official contracted starter. He made a good case to earn the spot over the past few weeks as the team has been finding success in league play and his stats are on par.



Statistically speaking, however, tarik is in a league of his own. He is currently the only player in Pro League with an FPR above 0.900. Somewhat surprisingly, due to the fact that he also serves as CLG's in-game leader, FNS is right up there with tarik. Averaging 0.898 FPR and 93.5 ADR, FNS certainly deserves more credit than he is given—he leads the team in-game while putting up MVP-esque numbers.



Though not often, CLG has lost a handful of matches to lower-tiered opponents. They have some of the best players in the continent and have pummeled the likes of Luminosity Gaming and Team eLevate, but they have also lost a few maps when odds were incredibly in their favor.



That being said, CLG has what it takes to beat any team participating in HTC Reborn, but the tournament seeds rightfully show who may give them the most trouble.





Steve “ reltuC ” Cutler | Tarik “ tarik ” Celik | James “ hazed ” Cobb | Pujan “ FNS ” Mehta | Josh “ jdm64 ” Marzano







Nihilum [6]

After a relatively strong finish at the previous ESEA LAN, knocking Cloud9 out of the tournament, Nihilum instantly became one of the Pro League’s most talked about teams after embarrassing what was regarded as North America’s best hope at the international event.



However, the victory was unable to satisfy the eager Nihilum squad; the team desired more than a simple 5th-6th place finish. Cue the off season and the NA Shuffle. Few roster changes could match the excitement that Nihilum’s off-season moves brought to the community.



Following his release from Cloud9, the veteran Semphis quickly found a new home with Nihilum. His longtime teammate, Hiko, was rumored to be forming an all-star team of his own, but as plans fell through, Hiko found himself competing alongside Semphis once again in a surprising move that brought one of the most sought-after and talented free agents to Nihilum.



The impact was immediate: eLevate down, Counter Logic Gaming down, and a draw against Luminosity. After the immediate hype wore off, however, reality sunk in. Nihilum was not the super team many dreamed of, built to destroy all other North American squads. Nihilum struggled against Liquid, fell to Keyd and lost the fated match against Cloud9. That being said, perfection never comes easy, especially with the North American scene growing competitively. Despite some losses, Nihilum bounced back and earned records that would qualify them for the ESL ESEA and CEVO LAN finals should those seasons end today.



Semphis is playing some of his best Counter-Strike in a while, averaging an impressive 94.3 ADR and 0.866 ADR in the ESL ESEA Pro League—good for fourth amongst all players. Team leader valens achieved much on his own, but now has the extra benefit of two internationally accomplished veterans to lean on. Though they are ranked in the bottom half of the seeds for HTC Reborn and will first face a team they are 1-2 against in Counter Logic Gaming, Nihilum has all the right pieces to score the series in their favor.





Spencer “ Hiko ” Martin | Kory “ Semphis ” Friesen | Timothy “ autimatic ” Ta | Soham “ valens ” Chowdhury | Joshua “ sancz ” Ballenger









Cloud9 [2]

Often appreciated as North America’s top team, Cloud9 has fallen short of expectations time and again in recent months on LAN. The only noteworthy top finish in recent months was a second place finish behind Fnatic at Clutch Con. At ESL One Katowice, the team failed to advance beyond the group stage and met a similar fate at the MLG X Games. Additionally, in an event where Cloud9 historically performed well, the team bombed out at ESEA's Season 18 LAN Finals, losing to mousesports and Nihilum to finish in last place.



As expected, Cloud9 quickly switched up their roster to include fREAKAZOiD and one of the most sought-after free agents, Skadoodle, but the new lineup underperformed at the most recent Gfinity event. All negatives aside, Cloud9 still has more international appearances than every other North American foe. With a dominating first place record in the ESL ESEA Pro League and a CEVO Professional record that includes no lost sets, Cloud9 is again shaping up to be one of North America’s best.



Fans are excited about the new roster and Skadoodle has lived up to the hype after a few months away from competitive play. Even while fielding team manager stunna as a fill-in for a match, Cloud9 still managed to come out on top. The community expects a lot out of Cloud9 on the international scene, but they must first fend off the invading Brazilians as well as the likes of Nihilum and Counter Logic Gaming, two teams who are eager to dethrone North America’s favorites.



With the guidance of seangares, the AWPing prowess of Skadoodle, and a supporting cast of some of North America’s best riflers, Cloud9 has been reborn and will be looking to not only defeat but overwhelm their rivals to prove their dominance both in league play as well as the highly competitive HTC Reborn invitational.





Sean “ seangares ” Gares | Jordan “ n0thing ” Gilbert | Ryan “ fREAKAZOiD ” Abadir | Mike “ shroud ” Grzesiek | Tyler “ Skadoodle ” Latham







Tempo Storm [7]

The competition is jammed pack with talent and lengthy resumes. That isn't the case across the board for Tempo Storm whom many consider an up-and-comer. The team recently joined the ESL ESEA Pro League after crushing the ESEA Premier division and also competes in the CEVO Professional League with a record that squarely puts them in third place.



Upon being promoted to the top divisions in North American CS:GO, Tempo Storm quickly grabbed free-agent AWPer, ShahZaM, who previously competed with Cloud9. ShahZaM has already delivered in his new role, leading the team with 0.740 FPR.



All things considered, Tempo Storm is doing relatively well for their first season as a professional team. The squad is still in the running to make the ESL ESEA LAN Finals, but will need to start winning out to secure that spot. They are on the right track with a massive win over Cloud9, delivering seangares and co. their second loss of the season. Over in CEVO-P, Tempo Storm has become known for their upsets, shutting out Team Liquid and affNity while drawing against eLevate.



Unfortunately, with little experience under their belt, Tempo Storm will often find themselves the underdogs in HTC Reborn. What makes any Tempo Storm match great, however, is that the team has proven to North America that they need to be taken seriously in each and every set. Teams like Tempo Storm are the reason why it’s an exciting time to be a North American CS:GO fan with the competition as intense as ever—a “rookie” pro-level team can come in and top the division’s number one team. Names like gloRinsz, ryx and stanislaw could soon ring with familiarity given their newly found success, alongside their already recognized teammates in ShahZaM and hades.



Incidentally, Tempo Storm will have the opportunity to topple Cloud9 once again to kick off their HTC Reborn tournament run. It will be difficult for them to match the same result they achieved on Inferno against the number two seed, especially in a best of three, but the squad has shown that anything is possible.





Mitch “ gloRinsz ” MacInnis | Ronnie “ ryx ” Bylicki | Shahzeb “ ShahZaM ” Khan | Peter “ stanislaw ” Jarguz | Warren “ hades ” Rettich









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