After a division amongst the Counter-Strike scene with two parallel Tier 1 events, all the teams will reunite at the Starseries I-League Season 6. The past few days saw ESL One New York 2018 and the Blast Pro series take place with equal interest for the two.

Starseries I-League Season 6 will have a prize pool of $300,000 and feature sixteen of the top teams in participation. The tournament does not have the Major finalists in Na’Vi and Astralis, but it provides for intense competition amongst the second tier of Counter-Strike teams. The likes of BIG Gaming, Mousesports, North, Optic and Tyloo will have a chance to compete for some silverware in this tournament.

Starseries I League Season 6 will feature a Best of One Swiss format system for the initial Group stage of the tournament. This format provides a chance for lower tier teams to potentially upset their opposition. However, since it is a Swiss system, the top teams will also have to prove their map pool in order to proceed to the playoffs. The Playoffs will be single elimination Bracket and will be held from October 12-14th. While the Playoffs will be Best of Three, the Grand Finals will be Best of Five matches.

The Top teams at Starseries & I-League Season 6

While there are several strong teams at the tournament, there are a few that have come up with decent performances in the past. Teams like BIG Gaming, Hellraisers, Mousesports, North, Gambit, Optic and NRG will have a tough task getting forth to the Playoffs of this tournament.

BIG Gaming

BIG Gaming has always been a tough team to face in any competitive environment. The team has a huge focus on their tactics and grenade usage. With GoB B at the helm of the team, this is not unusual. However, it is the individual performance of the players on this roster that poses to be the challenge for the team. The performance of the team depends heavily on players such as Smooya, Tabsen, and Tizian on this roster. Each player has a role to play and when they perform like a well-oiled machine, their full potential does look scary.

However, in order for the team to be successful, they need all their players to be performing up to mark. This is simply not possible at all times in Counterstrike as players are known to have dips in performances. Smooya, in particular, has seen huge differences in performance in different tournaments. While his performance can win BIG Gaming matches easily, his inconsistency is a matter of concern. Since he is the primary AWPer for the team, he has a huge role in the teamś performance. There is a direct relation between Smooya’s performance and the BIG Gaming results.

Gob B has had instances of personal glory, but they have mostly been on SMGs against opponents with pistols. His presence on the team ensures great coordination and a more tactical approach to the rounds. He is quite unlike Zeus who is known to take risks and mix up the gameplay. At times, Gob B can become a predictable sign in the match and that is definitely worrisome especially against more tactical teams.

Since BIG Gaming relies heavily on their strategy, they require their strategies to remain fresh and unique. At Starseries Season 6, BIG do have a very good chance of making it into the Playoffs. The lack of too much firepower on other teams makes this a perfect opportunity for BIG Gaming to emerge as the stronger team.

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Hellraisers

Hellraisers is one of the few CIS teams that constantly comes up with the new rising stars from the region. This time, they seem to have two such talents in their lineup. Woxic and ISSAA are both amazingly talented individuals and we have seen them turn the outcome of a round based on individual performance.

Hellraisers reached the Quarterfinals of the FaceIT London Major after defeating teams like Cloud9, Tyloo, and Fnatic. They eventually did lose to Team Liquid in the quarterfinals, but that series was a close one too.

The biggest problem for Hellraisers remains their limited map pool. The Hellraisers roster is not well-known for their proficiency across maps and their ability to perform well on different maps. They need to have a good map veto in order to be effective as a team. While we see the team shine on maps like Dust 2, they feel very lost on other strategic maps like Nuke and Train.

The team has a very high skill ceiling with Woxic and ISSAA. They win most of their aim duels if it starts on an in ground. But tactics seldom see two teams starting on the same footing. Hellraisers will require Ange1 and Bond1k to come up with better strategies as they attempt to make do with their map pool. Hellraisers is the team that has the potential to make it to the playoffs. Their limited map pool also makes the Swiss format suitable for the roster. They definitely stand a decent chance at qualifying for the Playoffs.

Mousesports

Mousesports is probably the favorite to win Starseries I-league Season 6. After their splendid comeback during ESL One New York, the team has renewed enthusiasm and confidence. The Mousesports roster still is not at its best potential with communication problems and lack of synergy plaguing the roster.

Snax’s addition to the team definitely upset the balance within the roster. However, as we saw during ESL One New York, the potential of this team is really high. They have the proper mixture of experience as well as young talent in the form of Oskar and Ropz. Both these players have found a playstyle suitable to their personal preferences on Mousesports. With this current roster and the ample time before the next Major, Mousesports has lots of time to find its footing.

Hopefully, they will be able to win more tournaments, since that is the biggest reason for Snax’s addition to this team. ChrisJ also needs to step up his individual performance on the rifle and AWP if he is to lead the team from the front. The Mousesports team has had months of alternating form and that can be a problem for them coming into this tournament. It remains to be seen if they can continue their form through the tournament to potentially add another trophy.

North

North recently made a roster change where they brought in Caidan to lead their team. However, this came at the cost of them losing Niko as he went back to his former team Optic Gaming. The North Gaming roster definitely lost a lot of firepower in this roster move but they did gain a very strategic advantage with Cadian’s addition to the roster.

North Gaming recently played their first match against Optic Gaming and lost 1-16 to Optic Gaming. This result was definitely a testimony to the lack of firepower on this roster. From a strategic standpoint, North also has not had much playtime together. With only a few days of practice under their belts, we don’t expect anything positive from this roster at Starseries I-League Season 6.

Since they lost Niko, the basic structure of this team changes drastically. They have to adjust their playstyle and focus more on the tactical aspect of their game. This should get them an advantage of sorts, but they still need to execute these strategies and win aim duels. That seems to be a problem for this team at the moment.



Gambit

Gambit will be playing with Hobbit yet again at Starseries I-League Season 6. This news definitely comes in the wake of their splendid performance at ESL One New York. The team has great synergy and they are looking sound from their strategic point of view. If Gambit can maintain their current form, they do have a chance to win against the other teams in the tournament.

Dosia constantly makes aggressive plays to surprise his opponents and ensure an early advantage. This is his playstyle and since it is so unique, it often surprises many opponents. However, Gambit thrives in their order within chaos attitude. The Gambit roster always seems to have a plan and they execute it with perfection. The initial period of searching for pickoffs can often go in the wrong direction for the team. But as they approach the end of the round timer, we see the Gambit roster swing into action.

Gambit’s performance in this tournament could potentially have a huge impact on Hobbit’s future. We expect him to turn up in a big way at this tournament. This team remains the X factor as they do have the potential to reach playoffs. But it depends on their current form and whether they can carry their ESL One New York performance into Starladder.

Top teams take a break

The counter strike schedule can be very hectic. With almost all the top teams slated to appear at the EPICENTER 2018, this tournament will be a welcome break from the top teams’ performance. We will get to see the Tier two teams on an even footing against each other. Starseries & I-League will start on the 7th and will be streamed live on Twitch.