The Asian Minor as a region has had the least interesting minor for quite some time now, not because of a lack of talent necessarily, but due to the winners being identical (Renegades and Tyloo) since the introduction of this system for Cologne 2016. However, with Tyloo automatically qualifying for the upcoming Katowice Major’s Challengers Stage due to finishing top 14 at the London Major, and the possibility of a 3rd team qualifying due to a change in the minor system, in which the teams that finish third in each qualifier will play in a decider to determine the last two teams who will qualify for the challengers stage in Katowice also adds some chance for a lot of fresh faces from the Asian region to get a taste of the major cycle.

No Chance:

Picking the cream of the crop from eight teams seems like a daunting task at a glance, but luckily for us there are a handful of teams that we can safely assume will not have a great deal of relevance to this tournament. It may seem harsh to say so, and no disrespect to anyone on these teams or their respective organisations. Also upsets are possible of course, but in my opinion these are nigh on impossible for this group.

exDT: Israel

ExDT is an Israeli team with next to no international experience (apart for going out in the round of 32 of ESEA Advanced to a Polish mix nobody has ever heard of), so it is very easy to say that these guys are an easy shout for not making it to Katowice. However, with Immi (The ex NRG Coach) as an interim coach, there is a chance that these guys will show us more fight than expected, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Beyond Esports: Thailand



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Thailand having no impact on CSGO is one thing, but the fact that this is a dead lineup sticking together to compete at the minor tells us that they won’t have a punters chance of making it past the first round of the minor, let alone further.

GOSU: South Korea

Despite South Korea having notable success in 1.6, their impact on CSGO has been of a minor case at most. Furthermore, any Koreans having impact are on MVP PK, a team that GOSU have always been second banana to. This leads to the logical conclusion that they will not be very likely to stamp themselves onto this minor.

The Upset Potential:

These are the teams that I personally don’t think are likely to make it past the minor, but unlike the three other teams mentioned above I believe there is some upset potential for these teams to snatch a slot from the favourites, especially since the Asian scene can be more volatile in results compared to EU or NA.

CyberZen: China

If you look past the shady shit these guys did while playing under Fierce Tiger, CyberZen have actually looked quite dangerous in the region as an upset potential. Qualifying for StarSeries Season 6 is no small deal, even if they finished 12th-14th. Still, seeing as most of their upsets have come online and this is being played on LAN, they don’t elevate themselves into serious contention.

MVP PK: South Korea

Easily the best of the Korean scene, MVP PK have grown from a passion project for everyone who loved the guys from 1.6, to Glow and Solo developing newer Korean talent to actually make them semi dangerous in the Asian region. However, their lack of any real international results compared to Grayhound, Renegades, and even Vici make me question how strong they really are as a team or if it’s just due to weaknesses in the rest of the region. Time will tell, but I wouldn’t put it past MVP to upset some of the bigger names here to nab themselves a slot, but Top 2 might be a bit too much of a stretch.

The Challengers:

The absence of Tyloo gives these last few teams a real shot at getting that glorious sticker money that they probably wouldn’t have gotten at the last couple minors. Either way, these are the cream of the crop and personally my pick of what the region has to offer.

3rd Place:

ViCi Gaming: China

After the rather disappointing VG.Flash experiment, ViCi gaming as a solo brand has actually been a pretty solid team in the region, easily the 2nd best team in China in my eyes. With players like zhokiNg and Freeman being a solid duo, along with experienced supportive elements like Kaze, ViCi is a solid bet to make at least third if they can get over upset teams such as Cyberzen and MVP PK.

2nd Place:

Grayhound Gaming: Oceania

As a quick word of warning, as I am an Australian boy I have a lot of hype in Grayhound to make it to the major. I’m not blinded enough that I think they are far and away better than the competition, especially after the rough showing they had in Abu Dhabi, along with the fact that they don’t dominate the local scene all the time. However, there is too much talent on this roster to not give them a very strong shout to make it to Katowice, especially with the star power guys like erkast, sterling, and dexter have on this team, along with good support from malta and Dickstacy, they should be making Top 2 is they can hit even decent form.

1st Place:

Renegades: Oceania

After stagnating heavily with the Nifty and Ustilo lineup, injecting some new Oceanic talent has revitalised Renegades to arguably an all time peak. A top Six at the Pro League Season 6 Finals is no joke, even if they fell short at Chicago and the Toyota Masters in Bangkok. The potential of this lineup is quite tantalising for a fan of Oceanic Counter-Strike. Gratisfaction is a bit on and off but has a very high ceiling and looks better all the time, Liazz is still struggling to really find his niche within the team but is mechanically gifted enough that he hasn’t been dead weight at all. AZR’s game has been revitalised as the IGL of the team, JKS has been finding god form again, and JKAEM is just a really solid player in the team despite being Norwegian. If we can get Renegades at even half efficiency they should be a shoe-y in to make Katowice, but you never know when the boys can look flat and hopefully they don’t pull an NRG from the Americas Minor for London.