Preview — ESL Pro League Season 6

August 22 2017




Preview — ESL Pro League Season 6



This week marks the kick off for ESL Pro League's 6th season. Last season, we finished 2nd in the region and reached the LAN semifinals. Last season's successes, however, have been cleared off the record and it's time to start fresh. So let's break down our competition as we aim to once again make the LAN playoffs!

The Kings







Let's not beat around the bush, SK Gaming are the undisputed rulers of the NA region. While their performance at the Dallas finals last season was sub-par, it was one of their first with Felps and the boys from Brazil have proven since that they are still top tier.

Our season opener later today is against SK and will be a good way to gauge form as we return from the break. SK are a rock solid team full of players who know their roles and how to play together. A win here, or even a 1-1 split, would be a great way to start off the season. After all, it just gets easier from here!

The Challengers





SK Gaming may be the S-Class in NA but there is no shortage of teams looking to take that title. In fact, with rostermania coming to an end, the battle to challenge SK atop the region is a fierce as its ever been.

Of these four teams, Immortals and ourselves have stuck with the same roster. In Immortals' case, the lack of change is unsurprising given their recent success at the Krakow Major. There were some rumors circulating that the core trio of the team may be looking to break with the organization but thus far nothing has come to pass. In our case, and despite being absent from the Major, we were on a rise of form after the addition of Twistzz and look to continue building on the success of Cologne.

Cloud9 is our greatest rival in the contest to be America/NA's best team. And they may have just gotten scarier. In a move that took most of the scene by surprise, Cloud9 added Tarik and Rush this week and promptly qualified for ESLOne NYC.

The real shakeup in this bracket, however, came from Optic. After being unable to solidify an NA lineup the Green Wall took their search over-seas. Now fielding an international roster, but playing in NA EPL, Optic will certainly be one of the teams to watch. Naf has said that he's starting for week one but nothing beyond that is certain.

The Threats





In the EPL format, six teams from NA make the LAN finals to battle EU's top six. So far we've listed five. These six teams are those who will usually battling for the sixth slot and the potential to upset on of the challengers.

In order to rank in the top six these match ups are often the deal breakers. All of these squads have the potential to take maps in a best-of-two online and defeating them cleanly is often the key to one of the top spots.

NRG comes into this season as the LAN qualifier from the previous year but both CLG and Misfits have been improving and putting up results in other LAN events.

The Newcomers





These three squads: GHOST, Rogue, and Splyce, are the freshest meat in this season of EPL. While not much is known about them, and they are not favorites to make the LAN finals, there will always exist a wildcard element in online CS:GO. Furthermore, an opponent you can't prepare for can be extra frightening.

Schedule



08/22 vs SK Gaming 7PM EDT
08/23 vs Ghost 9PM EDT
08/25 vs CLG 9PM EDT
09/27 vs NRG 9PM EDT
09/28 vs Luminosity 9PM EDT
10/03 vs Complexity 9PM EDT
10/04 vs Rogue 9PM EDT
10/06 vs Optic 9PM EDT
10/17 vs Misfits 9PM EDT
10/18 vs Splyce 7PM EDT
10/19 vs Immortals 9PM EDT
11/07 vs Cloud9 9PM EDT
11/11 vs Renegades 8PM EDT