DH Stockholm preview and predictions

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DreamHack Stockholm is coming tomorrow, where eight teams will be competing for a share of $30,000 in prize money. This feature highlights everything you need to know about the tournament, as well as some basic information such as how to find the venue or what to visit in Stockholm.

The first day of tournament will be played at Inferno Online and will be fully broadcasted from their studio, while the second day will be played at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The tournament features eight teams, with seven of them coming as invited. The only non-invited team is Team Alternate, which earned the spot by winning the online qualifier.

All eight teams, regardless of how they managed to reach the main event, will be starting off on equal footing in groups of four.

The maps for the tournament will be the same as those used at ESL One Cologne:

de_nuke

de_dust2

de_inferno

de_mirage

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de_overpass

de_cobblestone

The prize distribution is listed below:

1st: $10,000

2nd: $5,000

3rd/4th: $3,500

5th-8th: $2,000

The group stages, which begin on Thursday, will have four teams in each group that play GSL format, a small double elimination bracket. The top two teams will move on to the semifinals as part of the top four. This means that winning twice guarantees you a spot in the playoffs, while losing twice is certain death.

From the semifinals on, all matchups will be best-of-three single elimination format.

The schedule for the event is below:

Schedule for Thursday 25th:

Group A

12.30 CEST- Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Team Alternate - BO1

13.30 CEST- Titan vs Team LDLC - BO1

14.30 CEST- Loser's bracket match - BO1

15.30 CEST- Winner's bracket match - BO1

16.30 CEST- Decider match - BO1



Group B

18.00 CEST- Fnatic vs 3DMAX - BO1

19.00 CEST- Team Dignitas vs CPH Wolves - BO1

20.00 CEST- Loser's bracket match - BO1

21.00 CEST- Winner's bracket match - BO1

22.00 CEST- Decider match - BO1

Location

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous city in Scandinavia, with 905,184 people living in the municipality, approximately 1.4 million in the urban area, and a total population close to 2.2 million in the metropolitan area. The Ericsson Globe is the national indoor arena of Sweden, located in the Johanneshov district of Stockholm. The Ericsson Globe is currently the largest hemispherical building in the world and has a seating capacity of 16,000 spectators for shows and concerts, and 13,850 for ice hockey.





Caster Information

The commentating will be handled by RoomOnFire duo Anders Blume and Auguste 'Semmler' Massonnat, where the second one is also going to be a Panel Host. Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields will be in charge of analysis, while DreamHack veteran Rachel ‘SeltzerPlease’ Quirico will be hosting the matches on-stage.

Predictions

Although both groups are filled with some of the best teams in the Europe, some teams stand out or are coming into DH Stockholm on a hot streak. Below are predictions of the group stages where certain teams may have a leg up over the others.

Group A - NiP and Titan

Ninjas in Pyjamas have been widely considered the best Counter Strike GO team in the world since 2012, winning or coming close to winning almost every single tournament they have competed in. Led by standout players Patrik 'f0rest' Lindberg and Christopher 'GeT_RiGhT' Alesund, NiP has one of the most experienced and talented rosters ever to grace the CS:GO competitive scene. They will be definitely on the wings of their ESL One Cologne win hoping to score another title in Stockholm. Titan whom underwent a roster change earlier this month, have over the course of only two weeks proven themselves to be top contenders on the CS:GO scene. They've kept only two players from their former roster and added three new ones. Ever since then they've been picking up on the pace winning five out of the last six matches. The match between them and LDLC will be a tight one, but the odds are slightly in their favor.

Group B - Fnatic and Team Dignitas

Fnatic have been on an absolute streak in these last two months, having a 23-1-3 record in August and a 23-0-1 record so far in September. They are currently topping our rankings leaving NiP breathing down their necks with over 100 points lead. It would be a big upset to see ESL One Cologne runner-ups ending this event after group stages. Furthermore, they might have a chance to take a revenge over NiP in the finals.

Team Dignitas is currently placed 3rd at our rankings with 69% win rate in August and 61% in September so far. The Danes have always put an impressive performance in the group stages of LAN events, but they seem to struggle in the playoffs. They will surely look forward to upset the biggest favorites of this event, NiP and Fnatic, but it's not even questionable if they're going to pass the group stages.

Let us know in the comments below what your predictions are for ESL One.

DH Stockholm 2014 Coverage Hub Click here for results, VODs and the all other information