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GUIDES
Simple Radar
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And BC.Game, Liquid, and SAW all fall at LAN
The incredibly stacked EWC qualifier has now come to an end, and we’re thrilled about two of the four teams that made it through.
We’re also thrilled to see that Vitality have made a new signing, and especially because it’s a name that’s caused quite a stir.
100 Thieves have qualified to their first tier one LAN. We’re not saying this is just because of Gizmy, but if you look at his stats… it’s absolutely because of Gizmy.
English gla1ve was absolutely f-cking stellar in their qualifying run, finishing the event as the third-highest rated player there. Talk about instant impact.
They also beat s1mple’s BC.Game on their way to the main event, which, considering where those two teams were at the start of the year and where they are now, does just feel really good to say.
We truly hope they do well in the main event, and given what we saw in BLAST Bounty, we think they’ll do alright.
Another TLDR-favourite to qualify was JiJieHao, who, after kicking BOROS, are apparently a good team.
What a surprise.
They fought their way past DENDELE, Phantom, and HOTU to make it, which is pretty commendable, to be fair to them. We do think they’ll struggle against real teams, though.
The other two teams to make it were BIG and K27, and look: our mothers always taught us that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. So we’ll just leave it there.
The two biggest disappointments of the qualifier - as long as you’re not one of the three BCG fans in the world - were HEROIC and Liquid.
HEROIC’s team finally looks like it’s worth something, but losing to fnatic? Lads…
As for Liquid, well, it seems we got excited for nothing. It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.
From a competitive standpoint, it’s hard to argue that the Esports World Cup isn’t the biggest event of the year.
It might not have the prestige of a Major, but it’s as stacked as it gets: every top team in attendance, a $2 million prize pool on the line, and the Accor Arena - which previously hosted the Paris Major - serving as the stage for its climax. It really doesn’t get much bigger than this.
And the teams most likely to take the trophy home are your usual suspects in Spirit, Falcons, Vitality, FURIA, and MOUZ.
While BLAST Bounty was an event most of these squads would rather forget, they remain the big dogs heading into the event. They’ve now had more time to shake off the rust and should come into the EWC in much better form. Should, of course, being the operative word.
NAVI and 9z are two of the biggest question marks. Neither made roster changes during the offseason, but they were also the only two teams to decline their Bounty invite, meaning we have very little to go off of.
9z has already claimed a trophy this season at the XSE Pro League, but that came against a far less challenging field than the one awaiting them in Paris.
Then there’s the group of teams that should make the Playoffs - with 16 teams advancing and four coming out of each group - and just hope for the best from there: G2, Legacy, Aurora, BetBoom, FaZe, FUT, Astralis, and The MongolZ. All made changes during the offseason, some more substantial than others, and for each of them, the EWC represents their first real test against the best.
For the lower-ranked teams - Luminosity, Lynn Vision, JiJieHao, Wildcard, M80, 3DMAX, NIP, and 100 Thieves - the massive prize pool and the LAN bonus make the EWC a huge opportunity.
A deep run could give any of them a significant boost in the VRS on the road to the Singapore Major. The format also helps, as the double-elimination group stage gives them a little more breathing room and more games to capitalise on.
Counter-Strike is back. For real this time.
Well, jL to Vitality is something we never ever thought we’d say.
But we are very happy we’ve got to say it.
Thorin’s favourite Major MVP will be stepping in for them for two events, BLAST Open Porto and PGL Bucharest, thanks to mezii and apEX both deciding it’s acceptable to have children instead of grinding CS in their bedrooms and w-nking into a sock.
This is why we don’t have sex, guys.
No, really. It’s the real reason. We swear.
The funniest part about this move is that jL should be thanking his lucky stars it’s happened, as it’s probably the best chance he’ll have to win trophies for a long time. The fact he isn’t on a team already almost certainly does say something, after all.
We don’t get, though, why everyone is using it as a reason to write Vitality off for those events. Are we really saying that one disappointing Major run and a loss at who-the-f-ck-cares BLAST Bounty is enough for us all to forget who they are?
Maybe you, dear reader, but not us.
Besides, as much as we love mezii, jL is a more than capable stand-in for those sort of positions. And even when apEX is gone, mezii will be more than capable of shifting into his spots and doing a very solid job, too.
It’s really not as bad as it seems.
Except maybe for jL, because it does feel like no matter how successful this two-tournament run with Vitality is, he’s probably f-cked himself for the season. We can’t see him getting a starting spot on a team this side of the Major now, where that could’ve been just a month or two away had he not agreed to this run.
Let’s hope he wins a trophy or two to make up for it.
