The final ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier group is set to start on Friday, so we have put together a preview looking at the chances of the four teams (Astralis, Heroic, Liquid, and SK) to make it to playoffs.

With three groups already behind us, six teams have already booked spots in the ELEAGUE playoffs, with only two places up for grabs.

The last two teams for the ELEAGUE playoffs are about to be determined

Group D features three teams who have struggled to achieve their offline goals in recent months – SK, Astralis and Heroic –, in addition to Liquid, who recently placed second at both ESG Tour Mykonos and ESL One New York.

Just like in the previous weeks, the participants will play a GSL group, with the opening and the winners' matches featuring a best-of-one format, while the elimination and decider games will be best-of-three series.

Ratings used are from the past three months on LAN



Offline placings in the last three months 3rd-4th ESL One New York 2017 ESL One New York 2017 3rd ESG Tour Mykonos 2017 ESG Tour Mykonos 2017 5th-8th DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017 DreamHack Masters Malmö 2017 5th-8th PGL Major Krakow 2017

PGL Major Krakow 2017 1st ESL One Cologne 2017

ESL One Cologne 2017

After an incredible Summer run with five tournament victories, SK were twice sent packing in the quarter-finals, in Krakow and Malmö. And even though the Brazilians were not able to get back to winning ways at ESG Tour Mykonos and at ESL One New York, they still showed some improvements from their previous campaigns.

In Mykonos and in New York, SK could not fend off the challenge of Liquid in the semi-finals. On both occasions, the chosen maps were exactly the same: Cobblestone, Inferno and Overpass.

But before thinking about facing the North Americans, SK will have to beat Heroic in the group opener. In a best-of-one match, mistakes will be deadly, but the two-time Major winners will still be heavily favoured going into the game.

SK will have to bring their A-game to Atlanta

If they move past the Danes, FalleN and co. will take on the winner of the match between Astralis and Liquid. Looking at SK's recent history, both the Danes and the North Americans should be tough to overcome, even though FalleN's men seem to have an edge in best-of-one matches against Lukas "⁠gla1ve⁠" Rossander's team, having won three of the last four single-map encounters between the two sides. In terms of the Liquid match-up, SK will need felps and TACO to step up their individual performances if they expect to beat the in-form North Americans.

The fact that the opening and the winners' matches are best-of-ones could help SK secure the first place in the group. However, if they meet Astralis or Liquid in best-of-three series, and considering their recent history against these two sides, the Brazilians will have a very hard time to make it out of the group.



Offline placings in the last three months 5th-6th ESL One New York 2017 ESL One New York 2017 5th-8th DreamHack Masters Malmö DreamHack Masters Malmö 3rd-4th PGL Major Krakow

PGL Major Krakow

Astralis will be eager to make the ELEAGUE Premier playoffs following two unsuccessful campaigns at DreamHack Masters Malmö and at ESL One New York, the latter being the first event where they were sent packing in the groups since bringing gla1ve to the fold.

With their first match in Atlanta pitting them against Liquid, to whom they lost in New York in a thrilling three-map group decider, Astralis will have to approach their opening match with maximum caution and hope for Kjaerbye to rise to the occasion after he cut a frustrating figure in the "Big Apple".

gla1ve will be looking for a way to bring out the best of Kjaerbye

If gla1ve's squad lose the opener, they will take solace from the fact that they are very likely to meet Heroic in the elimination match - in which case they should have the upper hand. In case of a decider match against SK, Astralis will be hoping for a repeat performance of the PGL Major Krakow quarter-final match against the Brazilians - a test they passed with flying colors.

All things considered, it matters little who Astralis' opponents will be. The Danes have not lifted a trophy in a while now, and another failure at this point is simply not an option for them.



Offline placings in the past three months 2nd ESL One New York 2017 ESL One New York 2017 2nd ESG Tour Mykonos 2017

ESG Tour Mykonos 2017 5th-8th ESL One Cologne 2017

ESL One Cologne 2017 9th-11th PGL Major Krakow Main Qualifier PGL Major Krakow Main Qualifier

Lately, Liquid have been one of the strongest North American teams, if not the strongest, especially if we take a look at some of the opponents that they have had to beat on LAN in recent times.

Although the North Americans might not be considered the favourites heading into the event, the truth is that they have what it takes to top the group. After all, they have a solid map pool to work with, and Twistzz and EliGE have both been able to step up individually, even when some of the other team members struggle to contribute.

At the moment, ELiGE and Twistzz are one of the best duos

Liquid will be boosted by their recent track record against SK, whom they beat in the semi-finals in Mykonos and New York. At the ESL event, the North American squad lost to Astralis in the group opener, only to take revenge on the Danes in the group's decider. Now, in Atlanta, stanislaw's men will once again lock horns with gla1ve's side - a match that could clearly go either way.

If Liquid fail to win their opening match, they will be heavily favoured against Heroic, should Marco "⁠Snappi⁠" Pfeiffer's men fall at the hands of SK. Twistzz and EliGE have been the driving force behind Liquid's red-hot streak, but another player could also play a key role in the team's campaign: nitr0, who will be keen to to deliver after putting in below-average ratings at his last three offline events.



Offline placings in the past three months 7th-8th ESG Tour Mykonos 2017

ESG Tour Mykonos 2017 2nd DreamHack Open Atlanta

DreamHack Open Atlanta 3rd-4th

DreamHack Open Valencia

DreamHack Open Valencia 12th-14th ESL One Cologne 2017

ESL One Cologne 2017

After finishing 3rd-4th back at IEM Katowice 2017, Heroic were regarded as one of the most promising squads to emerge in Europe. Since then, however, the Danish team has struggled for form at LAN events, especially against higher ranked teams.

Coming into Atlanta, Heroic are considered underdogs, not only because of their ranking placement (16th), but also because of their recent LAN results - with the deep finishes at the DreamHack Open stops in Atlanta in Valencia, two lower-tier events, doing little to aid their cause.

Heroic will have to be audacious if they want to surprise in Atlanta

In Mykonos, Heroic went out after just two matches, having been trounced by Gambit 16-7 before losing to the newly-formed mousesports roster after two one-sided maps, forcing Snappi to express his disappointment with the team's poor run.

Their task in Atlanta will be way tougher, especially as they will take on the No.1 team in the world, SK, in their opener – the last time that these two teams met each other was at IEM Katowice, where the Brazilians ran out 16-5 winners.

Even if Heroic pull off a single-map upset against SK, they will still have Liquid or Astralis to deal with. In the past, Snappi & co have defeated both of these teams on LAN, but, given their current woes, making it out of the groups looks like an uphill task for them.