Dreamhack Austin is coming up in just a few short days where 11 teams, along with 5 more yet to qualify through the BYOC event, will compete throughout a best-of-12 series on Erangel for a total prize pool of $100,000. Below I’ll be breaking down and summarizing the styles and potential win conditions of the teams attending so far.

FaZe Clan

Loot Spot -Mylta Power

While the gap has closen a bit they’re still the best team in the world on Erangel. A silent start into explosive late game, their playstyle has been shown to work in virtually any scenario and the few times it doesn’t the whole squad has a seemingly uncanny ability to snake it solo until the late game. That being said, they are not without fault or weakness. May’s Curse Trials is perhaps the most recent example of this and in it we see that FaZe can struggle if they’re not given the opportunity to establish stability in the early circles . However, unless we see a concentrated effort by the rest of the server I wouldn’t bank on that happening often throughout the entire event. Headed by perhaps the best player in the world Jembty, these guys are definitely the main team to beat at this event.

Team Kinguin

Loot Spot -S George

Moving towards the other end of the playstyle spectrum from FaZe we have Team Kinguin. While not as Juggernaut-esque as the CIS duo of Na’Vi and Avangar, Kinguin tend to err on the side of aggressive play compared to other, more late game focused teams. This often nets the team a fair number of kills but unfortunately at the loss of placements. Their LAN experience will be key for their performance this weekend if we wanna see them frag their way to the top.

Team Liquid

Loot Spot -Yasnaya

If FaZe and Kinguin are at opposite ends of the European spectrum, Team Liquid are perhaps the perfect fusion of the two. With their oppressive control style they don’t wait until the late game to take over, they bring the late game to them. Every single member on the squad has been shown to frag out, but the biggest criticism you could throw at them would be their inconsistency. The lack of Mirimar, a map they’ve been dominating in recent months, at this event will certainly hurt them but if they’re able to focus up and perform well they could easily land themselves a top 3 finish if not the top spot.

Knights

Loot Spot -Mansion Split

No team has truely enbodied the spirit of the wildcard as much as the Knights (ironic considering that name belongs to another attending org). This team has seen top finishes about as often as they have seen the bottom but right now their form looks really good having placed no lower than 5th in a series throughout the entirety of May. One bonus they have going for them is the lack of eUnited at the event. EUnited traditionally loot close by the Knights preferred spot and them being gone will help free up early game pressure. While Austin won’t be their first LAN it will be the first major event with the addition of TEXQS and while so far he’s been a great addition it’s been hard to be entirely comfortable with the Knights’ form and whether or not it will last.

Team Vitality

Loot Spot -Mylta

While certainly not the same team of times past, the poster boys of French PUBG are still very much an intimidating team. Vitality find themselves struggling during rotations at times but if they can make it to the mid-late game without losing too many resources you often see them get high placements and kills. The biggest worry for them is that historically when they play alongside Team Secret the South Americans have been known to place some early damage or at least obstruction on the French’s exit from Mylta. Hopefully by this point Vitality are better prepared for it but for a team who can live or die based off their early rotations any adjustment, however successful, may upset their rhythm enough to cause trouble.

Team Dignitas

Loot Spot -Severny

Dignitas’s return to PUBG has been a short but relatively successful one. North American teams tend to play looser rather than a more execute-focus that we see in Europe and so far this mixed nationality roster is aligning themselves more to that side of the playbook but with a bit more of a conservative approach. Because of that you won’t always see them get high kills (though that has certainly happened before) but up until now at least it’s worked well enough for them. This will be the roster’s first stadium event and while you never know how well online play carries over into a LAN environment, this team should not be ignored.

Team EnVyUS

Loot Spot -S George

This past month has seen the return of Venerated to EnVyUs’s starting roster but so far it’s been a bit tumultuous of one and they’re still trying to find their footing in the competitive scene. Their early game especially has been quite dynamic as they’ve been shown to change drop spots after one round if they’re contested too much. With the additional BYOC qualifiers this will make prep more difficult for the team as they won’t know who the full lobby is until the evening before. However, from the very beginning they’ve had the skill to become a top team and in fact were before getting signed by their current org. Given the right conditions EnVyUs can certainly take over a game, the question is: will they seek those conditions out?

Tempo Storm

Loot Spot -Gatka Split

Tempo Storm many times go under the radar, but that’s by design. They loot in a mostly uncontested part of the map and try their best to avoid potential camps and other rotational hazards which means they often avoid the eye of the observer during the beginning of the game. They don’t play for highlights, they play to survive, but make no mistake: these guys can definitely fight; Zanpah in particular is often seen in the top 3 if not leading the individual kill count of a series. By nature their reactive playstyle relies more on how other teams act but the squad as a whole play very well off of each other and if their aim is on point you can expect to see them competing for a high finish.

Ruski

Loot Spot -Pochinki

Ruski are a new team and as of now the only unsigned team at Dreamhack Austin (before the BYOC qualifiers, that is), but they have certainly hit the ground running not only qualifying for Austin ahead of more tenured teams but also qualifying for the final round of the PGI NA Qualifiers that will take place in Burbank later this month. Not the most highlight worthy team out there as they prefer positional advantage and maintaining a low profile over aggressive play but so far they’ve been shown to know how to stack the deck the best in their favor. Biggest downside to this style is that it often relies on punishable fast rotates as well as circle movement and as such the jury’s still out on how well they can manage when put in an uncomfortable position but nonetheless these guys are certainly a team any org looking to break into the scene should have eyes on.

Wildcard Gaming

Loot Spot -N George

Always at the precipice of qualifying, Wildcard finally get their chance at a LAN event at Dreamhack Austin. They like to play as a single individual unit and rarely employ splits which does make their map control weaker than other top teams but they’ve learned to play off of each other well and when they’re on their game they don’t need control to survive. However, playing off of each other does has its downsides and they’re known to get overemotional if a game goes poorly. Because of all of this it’s hard to guess how they’re going to perform this weekend. If LAN jitters don’t affect them too much they may be a dark horse for a higher placement but it’ll be a tough climb against all the other top tier teams.

Team Secret

Loot Spot -Farm

Team Secret are probably the slowest playing team attending Dreamhack Austin. These guys admit it themselves that South America is weak compared to NA/EU but it almost feels like they let that intimidate them and as such they play to not lose instead of playing to win. It would be quite ambitious to say they could compete for a top placement but with their extensive experience at LAN and against western teams it would be foolish for any of their opponents to count them out entirely, most of whom Vitality who have often taken casualties at their hands many times in previous series.