ESL and Intel Extreme Masters return to Shanghai with the IEM Shanghai 2018. The event had a scheduling problem which pushed it into the player break. Essentially it also necessitated the tournament into becoming a Tier 2 event as most of the top teams are not playing at the moment.

IEM Shanghai is a $250,000 tournament with eight teams in attendance. The Chinese subregion is the biggest esports market with a deep penetration into the mainstream media. It is not rare to see professional Chinese esports players receiving lots of recognition in their daily lives. The tournament might be one of the first stops for ESL in China in Global Offensive. However, it will most definitely not be the last as we will surely see more events in the Asian country.

Despite not having the top teams, IEM Shanghai still promises to be extremely competitive. The attending teams yearn to push forth and challenge the top ranks in CS GO. However, in order to do that, they need to prove their dominance in the Tier 2 scene as well.

Group A is where all the action is going to take place. It has three strong teams in Virtus Pro, NRG and Hellraisers as well. With Virtus Pro no longer as dominant as they once were, the group is wide open. NRG, on the other hand, has shown us glimpses of their potential but failed to keep up the momentum. Hellraisers remains the team that can easily break into the top two with upset wins over either of these two teams. The fourth team in the group, 5Power Gaming does not really stand a chance. It would be a big surprise even if they were to upset any of these teams.

NRG – The upcoming but inconsistent North American hope

The North American team made a name for itself in the CS GO scene early in 2018. The roster of the team has remained the same for quite some time. The last change to their roster was in November of 2017 and they have had quite some time together. The NRG roster showed up amongst the big boys when they had some fantastic wins over teams like Faze Clan, Team Liquid, G2 and North Gaming.

The CS GO talent started to take notice of Cerq. The player has put up strong numbers on a consistent basis, requiring enemy teams to prepare for him. Cerq’s performance has remained steadily at a very high peak. As we can see in the graph below, obtained from HLTV.org, CERQ has been one of the standout performers in CS GO.

Constantly maintaining a KDA of above 1.0 especially against much stronger teams is often tough. Cerq has been dominant against weaker teams and he has maintained his individual skill against the strong teams. Coming into this event, we expect him to put up a strong and consistent performance. But the rest of the team also needs to step up with their vetoes as well as their aim to help NRG to potentially reach the finals.

Virtus Pro – Fallen stalwarts attend Shanghai with a stand-in

Virtus Pro is obviously the team with a lot of fan following. However, as a CS GO roster, they have been on a steep decline for several years now. They recently let go of Snax, a star player who kept them ‘somewhat afloat’ through 2016. The team has been working hard to make their roster work, with small changes here and there.

But the fact is that the players on this team have lost their touch. Their flamboyance, often risky playstyle is easily countered by teams now. With their aim falling short of new talent, Virtus Pro has fallen down the rankings. As a team, they were never known for their tactical aspect. But remarkable individual performances by Snax, Pasha would put up stellar individual performances on rounds. The team would constantly keep the pressure up on the enemy and refuse to allow them to play their own game. But with players losing individual aim duels, the team cannot implement the same playstyle anymore.



Virtus Pro’s roster includes Michu and Morelz, the latest additions to replace veterans Taz and Snax on the roster. Michu is a proven quantity having always being on the radar of the Polish Counter-Strike scene. He was an obvious choice for the roster, but it is Morelz who is still a stand-in on the team. His addition to the team is obviously a trial. They will decide on his future depending on how they feel the team is progressing.

This tournament forms a make or break type situation for Virtus Pro. If they cannot potentially reach the playoffs of this tournament, it sets a new low for the Polish squad. They will rethink their strategy and possibly make further changes ( as for as Morelz is concerned) to the roster. Virtus pro needs to have a comfortable playing style. They need to add more tactics and strategies to their playstyle which do not overtly rely on their aim. This is an approach that NIP has taken in the past and it has worked for them to an extent.



We don’t expect Virtus Pro to win this tournament. For them, an achievement would be to safely reach the playoffs of IEM Shanghai 2018.

Hellraisers

Standing in Virtus Pro’s path to playoffs will be Hellraisers from Group A. The team has several veteran players in the CIS region including the much acclaimed Bondik on the roster. The team has some really good leaders on their roster, but they just lack the firepower on the roster.

However, their playstyle will be suitable and favorable for themselves against Virtus Pro in the Group A. Hellraisers does not have much to boast about except securing the first place in the London FaceIT CIS qualifiers. The team does have potential, but we have seen them falter time and again against other teams. Deadfox was supposed to be the next star on the team, but his personal performance has been woefully inadequate. The team, however, has the potential to make it past the Group stage and into the playoffs. The deciding match will be their performance against Virtus Pro which is the other doubtful team in the group. Considering how Virtus Pro has recently made a roster change, hellraisers has a very good chance.

Gambit Esports – Will we see the B1ade magic?

Gambit was recently in the news for their addition of B1ade to their roster. The player has been responsible for the nurturing and development of several of the stars from the CIS region. His famous teammates include S1mple and Electronic in their former teams.

B1ade will provide a much needed tactical boost to the Gambit esports roster. He does not have the best talent to work with, however, and hence it will require him to come up with something innovative. He cannot rely on tried and tested tactics of the past, simply because he does not have an S1mple or Electronic at his disposal. Gambit might not be the best team to win this tournament, but we can definitely bet on them to create a few upsets.

The Gambit roster has not put up strong performances since PGL Krakow Major. They do have the occasional victory which might show their best performance, but against any good team, they falter. Luckily for them, this group is a relatively easier group, one that they should be able to move out of.

The only team that possibly has a decent chance at defeating them is Tyloo the Chinese team. But even if they lose to Tyloo, they should still be much better off against the teams such as Greyhound and B.O.O.T. Now, B1lade has come as a loan from Flipside till September 30th. He will be hard pressed to prove his worth as an In-Game Leader as well as a player. The handful of tournaments that will play start with Shanghai.

The biggest comfort factor for this team remains their core. The core roster has been together for a long time and they are well aware of each other play style. They can ensure a better performance when it comes to coordinating the retakes as well as in clutch situations.

Final Thoughts

IEM Shanghai is definitely not a Tier one tournament. It will, however, feature several Tier 2 teams who are looking forth to making a name for themselves as they climb the ladder. We have teams like Virtus Pro who is looking to regain much of its lost glory. Cerq and NRG will want to prove themselves amongst the big boys yet again.

Group A looks the tougher Group with either team potentially qualifying to the playoffs. Group B, on the other hand, should be relatively straightforward, although it is not averse to an upset. IEM Shanghai starts on the 1st of August at 00:30 UTC.