ESL One Cologne 2020 North America Preview
The North American portion of ESL One Cologne will feature virtually all of the high-tier teams of the region. Liquid are looking to test their newest roster addition against top opposition, while Evil Geniuses will attempt to finally claim the #1 spot in North America.
In Group A, FURIA, Chaos, 100 Thieves, and Gen.G Esports are going up against each other. From this GSL group, only two teams can make it to the playoffs. Ranking-wise, FURIA are the undoubted champions of the bunch, being in the eighth spot in the HLTV world standings. The Brazilians have so far played confidently in the North American DreamHack Open Summer bracket, whereas Chaos have been struggling to get past the other teams in their group. They eventually made it to the playoffs, but not before falling to Team Liquid. 100 Thieves and Gen.G should arguably provide even more opposition, making Chaos the underdog in this stacked group.
Triumph and Cloud9 will have a hard time going up against Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid in Group B. While these two teams have struggled internationally in recent months, they have still been the top performers domestically. Judging from their performance during DH Open Summer, Liquid are looking revitalised. While the addition of Michael “Grim” Wince has undoubtedly brought a lot of firepower to the team, the removal of Nick “nitr0” Canella will have long-lasting consequences.
As an in-game-leader, he was responsible for the tactical aspect of their teamplay, and without him, another player now has to take the reins. While Jake “Stewie2k” Yip has already had experience as a leader, he has never really led a team on this level before. It remains to be seen whether Liquid can remain such a strategically sound team.
For now, they shouldn’t have a hard time in the Group Stage. Evil Geniuses pose a considerable challenge, but Liquid’s level should be high enough to beat Triumph and Cloud9 through individual skill alone. While EG’s last offline performances in 2020 were marked with early exits and a less than stellar performance, their recent online form has helped them win a few titles already. Their last engagement was cs_summit 6, which they convincingly won against Gen.G in the Grand Finals.
Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz and his crew have long awaited a chance to claim the number one spot in North America. While they did win a few international events in 2019, Liquid have undoubtedly achieved more. But now, Evil Geniuses feature the best in-game-leader of the region. On top of that, the EG players are ridiculously talented. If they manage to exploit the fact that their recent roster move has tactically weakened Liquid, they could set themselves on top of North America for quite a while.
Click to enlargeLiquid were the winners of ESL One Cologne 2019. But that was in a different situation, and with a different leader. Can they replicate their success in 2020?
There’s one key aspect that we haven’t discussed so far. Jason “Moses" O’Toole, a former Counter-Strike player, turned caster and analyst, has now joined the Liquid organisation as head coach. He has spent over half a decade watching CS:GO teams play, analysing their performances and picking apart their strategies. In the analysis department, he is, without a doubt, a great addition to the team. But a coach has to do so much more. Take Wilton “zews” Prado as an example.
The coach has helped Luminosity and SK Gaming lift countless trophies - but not because of his in-depth knowledge of the game. Instead, he knows how to fire up individuals and how to establish excellent communication. We haven’t yet seen how Moses approaches those two aspects of the coaching role.
So which teams have got the best shot at the trophy? Right now, Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses look to be a cut above the rest. Fortunately, if they both manage to escape the Group Stage, they will land on opposite sides of the playoffs bracket. Judging from recent performances, FURIA are the only ones standing in their way.
Following the player break, 100 Thieves and Gen.G have not yet played an official match. The Aussies have been a capable team in the past, but have never been able to beat top teams consistently. Gen.G. have had their ups and downs in their short time as a Counter-Strike organisation, but recent results point upwards for them. Ending ESL’s Road to Rio in first place, and fighting through to the Grand Finals of cs_summit 6, they have certainly proven that there’s a place for them in the North American scene.
Hopefully, all players have found some time to rest during the player break and are now ready to attack. As offline events will remain off the table for quite a while, these regional competitions are going to provide us with exciting Counter-Strike action for the time being. ESL One Cologne has always been a fantastic tournament to watch, so let’s hope that the regional online competition can deliver. The teams are certainly hungry for a trophy and ready to fight for the number one spot of North American CS:GO.
Images via ESL
