Jul 1, 2019

Liquid are gunning for a Grand Slam as Astralis must adapt to a new reality: celebrations in the Cathedral of Counter-Strike were always a huge event, but the peculiarities of this year made ESL One Cologne by far the biggest non-major LAN event of 2019. A strong format with strong sides and pristine production, the showdowns in the Lanxess-Arena will likely answer most of the lingering questions about the real power levels of the various elite teams. Can Liquid bulldoze their way to the Intel Grand Slam? While many were quietly debating whether Liquid were “true” number ones, the North American side quickly picked up three events in the Intel Grand Slam circuit. Now they have a chance to do one better than Astralis by taking down the Season 2 title in just five events, potentially winning every single one since the major. No one could have envisioned this at the start of the year and pulling this off would truly cement Liquid as one of the all-time best squads of the game. Re-jigged rosters with a lot to live up to In the end, daps’ farewell tour at the ESL One Pro League Season 9 Finals turned out to be a much stronger showing than anyone would have expected from NRG, putting a lot of pressure on stanislaw to hit the ground running after a contentious takeover in the IGL role. Similarly, Na’Vi face a lot of questions and high expectations, returning to Cologne as the title holders off the back of a long-overdue roster move. Shipping out Edward was a must for a team harboring elite aspirations, and s1mple always has that impeccable carry potential, but a lot will depend on how well Boombl4 will be able to adapt to his new surroundings at their first LAN event together if they want to even come close to defending their crown. MiBR also have a lot of question marks circling around them, and this event will show whether the addition of LUCAS1 is good enough by itself to revitalize their setup.

A reality check for FURIA and mouz Is the hype real for these two sides? The young Brazilians gained a lot of fans and plaudits with their fearless style of Counter-Strike, but their surprisingly smooth rise in 2019 hit its first snag at Moche XL Esports 2019 after an unexpected loss to Team GamerLegion. Their opponents now have specific demos to study and it remains to be seen how much of their success was due to a combination of an unfamiliar style and being underestimated by the big boys. ENCE and Vitality cemented their status off the back of strong tactical play: it remains to be seen whether the same works for an ultra-aggressive approach as well. Read more: It’s been a long time coming, but CS:GO’s generational change is now in full swing As for mousesports, they go from strength to strength under karrigan, posting strong wins against lower-rated sides like HellRaisers and Luminosity while also managing a clean takedown of FaZe Clan. They’ve also put up a decent fight against Liquid, though it was clear they’re still underdogs against the true elite sides. The young core of the side means this project is pretty much future-proofed, and they can be considered dark horses for ESL One Cologne 2019.