The ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 Championship looks to be a stacked tournament, with 24 teams vying to win one of the largest tournaments of the year.
FaZe Clan the one to watch
The favourite in Boston is FaZe Clan, due to SK Gaming’s use of a stand-in. FaZe have been a dominant team ever since their offseason roster moves, only struggling to find success against the aforementioned SK Gaming. At the heart of FaZe’s rise is the star combination of NiKo and rain, who have each risen to be considered a top-five player in the world. FaZe did struggle to put away mousesports recently, leaving questions as to how long their dominance, outside of SK, can last. FaZe, however, are still an incredibly talented lineup with a solid map pool. FaZe, especially if they can avoid SK, look to be the clear favourites.
SK using felps
SK Gaming do have an advantage compared to most teams using a stand-in; their replacement is a top-tier player who has played with the team previously. Former member felps is playing in place of boltz, yet concern has risen for SK’s performance due to their announced decision to practice completely with boltz, given his presence in future events. This means SK Gaming has zero practice with this lineup, leaving some doubting their overall synergy and ability. SK still have two of the best five players in the world in coldzera and fer, giving them a shot against anyone. Even with a stand-in, SK Gaming are a threat to win it all.
Danes of Astralis could be interesting
Astralis have fallen in the public’s eyes as of late, due to their continued need to field a stand-in while star AWPer dev1ce battled an illness. Yet hope remains for the Danes given the recent news of dev1ce’s return to the roster. Still considered a top-five team, Astralis has long been one of the most consistent teams in terms of deep playoff runs. While perhaps lacking a high peak, Astralis’ consistency is their greatest attribute. Kjaerbye is the main question mark, alongside dev1ce’s form, given his shaky performances with the stand-ins dennis and RUBINO, who are both quality players. This tournament looks to be a nice return to form for the Danes, given the return of their typical five-man roster.
G2 Esports the great unknown
One sleeper team is G2 Esports, originally known as the French super team, who have an incredibly high ceiling. G2 have struggled since the formation of this squad, appearing to lack overall cohesion alongside troubling economic decision making particularly with poor force-buy choices. This team has arguably the best AWPer in the world in kennyS, giving them a chance against anyone in the world. However, the main problem for G2 revolves around their overall consistency, as they’re just as likely to make a deep playoff run as they are to fail in the group stage. Still, G2 have an incredibly talented lineup, with the ability to make a splash in Boston.
Virtus.pro looking for consistency
Another big-name squad with major question marks is Virtus.pro, who have recently appeared to climb out of their prolonged slump. After being one of the top teams in the world, VP struggled throughout much of 2017, continually disappointing along the way. VP performed well in the few events they attended before the break, giving hope of a possible resurgence. Virtus.pro is a complete wildcard, in a similar sense to G2, with their ability to defeat top teams while falling to the lowest tier of competition. VP are automatically through the opening qualification, giving them a fairly decent shot at making the playoffs, depending on their group draw. VP is a momentum-based squad, so losing early could suggest more of the same is to come in the future, while an early win could give the team some much-needed confidence.
Despite the branding, ELEAGUE Major: Boston starts out in Atlanta, GA as the teams battle for the first-place $500,000 prize. It’s then on to Boston at the end of the month for what should be one of the more interesting early-year tournaments.
