This is the second part of the ESL One Cologne preview
The ESL One Cologne 2015 tournament will be held from August 20-23 in Cologne, Germany. With 16 participating teams and a prize pool of $250,000, this event is considered one of the biggest and most prestigious in CS:GO.
Group B: Envyus, Luminosity, Team Kinguin, and Flipsid3
The expected group winner for Group B is Team Envyus.
Team Envyus:
The Envyus team has faced challenges in recent months, struggling against teams like Na’Vi and Cloud9. They have made changes to their roster by replacing Shox and Smithzz with KennyS and ApeX. While they still heavily rely on individual skill, they have shown some improvement in their strategy. Their bootcamp prior to the event should help them come up with effective strategies.
In terms of their map pool, the roster changes have not made a huge difference. They are strong on maps like Cache, Inferno, and Dust2, but may struggle against the top 4 teams on maps like Cobblestone, Mirage, Overpass, and Train. However, their group stage opponents, Luminosity, Kinguin, and Flipsid3, are not top-ranked teams, so Envyus should have an easier time in the group stage.
Luminosity:
Luminosity has been performing well lately, qualifying for the ESL ESEA Pro League and upsetting TSM in a best-of-one match. They have recently changed organizations, which may give them a boost in momentum. Luminosity has a chance to upset Envyus, especially on maps like Inferno and Mirage where they excel in innovative strategies. They may struggle against Kinguin, but should have an advantage over Flipsid3.
Kinguin:
Kinguin gained attention after demolishing Virtus.pro 16-0 at Dreamhack Valencia, but this result may not be indicative of their overall strength. They rely heavily on star players, which may not work against a team like Envyus who do the same, but better. Kinguin’s best chance to top the group would be if their star players, Rain and ScreaM, have exceptional performances. Their strongest maps are Cache and Train. They should be able to beat Flipsid3, but Envyus will be a tougher challenge.
Flipsid3:
Flipsid3 has performed decently since losing Simpl3, but they lack a player that can carry them to victory. Their map pool is average, with Mirage being one of their stronger maps. It is unlikely that Flipsid3 will advance past the group stage unless something unexpected happens.
This concludes the preview for Group B of the ESL One Cologne tournament. For more information, check out the first part of the preview here and the Envyus roster changes article here.