FaZe are one of the favourites for the European ESL Pro League Season 7, given their position as a top-three team in the world, coupled with their inactivity during the post-Major shuffle.
FaZe Clan the clear favourite
A majority of teams have changed rosters after the Major, with FaZe Clan continuing with their stellar five-man squad. This team has almost no flaws, only coming short against the likes of SK Gaming and more recently Cloud9, both teams in the NA Pro League rather than the EU. FaZe are the favourite in any match they have, but during long seasons, they do have the tendency to play to their opponent and drop matches here and there, resulting in their third-place finish last season. While not a lock, FaZe Clan are far and away the favourite should they continually give their all every week.
Fnatic look to repeat
The winners of Season 6, Fnatic appear to be on the rise entering Season 7. Ever since the addition of Golden to the lineup, Fnatic have look rejuvenated; this is especially true for both flusha and KrimZ. Fnatic have continued to climb the rankings and are one of the better teams online, performing more consistently than even the likes of FaZe and Astralis. Fnatic also had no roster moves during the post-Major shuffle, leading to a higher likelihood of success early, while others such as Astralis adapt to new chemistry.
The concern for Fnatic in a prolonged season is their overall skill ceiling, lacking the firepower to compete with the likes of FaZe Clan. Concerns also arise about whether or not KrimZ can continue his return to form, shielding the fact that Golden has performed incredibly poorly in terms of kills, even for an in-game leader who typically has lowered expectations.
Mousesports should be better
One team that could be on the rise in Season 7 is mousesports, who finished in ninth place last season. Mousesports are a much better team than many of those that finished above them previously (EnVyUs, HellRaisers, Ninjas In Pyjamas to name a few), given their current rank as a top-ten team in the world. Mousesports have two consistent stars in oskar and ropz, a formula that should promote more consistency moving forward.
One issue for mousesports is the overall improvement of teams top to bottom, with many of the bottom teams being replaced with dangerous up-and-comers such as Space Soldiers. There will be no easy match for mousesports, especially given their less tactical approach to the game and more loose style with chrisJ in-game leading. As such, teams with higher ceilings such as G2 Esports could be a nightmare matchup. If mousesports are to continue to rise in the rankings, they must vastly improve on their ninth-place finish, even in a more difficult season.
A couple of question marks
Two teams with major question marks are North and Astralis, both Danish sides that have changed up their roster. Astralis lost Kjaerbye to North, with Magisk joining in his place, while North added both the aforementioned Kjaerbye as well as mertz, with k0nfig and cajun leaving to OpTic. Astralis’ concerns come from whether or not Magisk will return to his 2016 form, where he burst onto the scene and appeared to be a superstar before struggling in 2017.
For North, the question is entirely about whether or not the removal of k0nfig, their best player, will overall be an improvement on the team especially given rumored attitude issues, which would be one of the only ways to justify the move. A dedicated AWPer in mertz should help improve the team, given cajunb was more suited to a rifling role, in terms of dedicated roles and tactics, but the overall firepower is a major question mark moving forward. Each of these teams finished in the top four last season; each have the same expectations entering this season. Astralis appear to be the safer option, given they still have the likes of dev1ce on the squad.
So the season will start with questions over whether it was the correct decision to stand pat, or make a roster move, and how will that impact the first couple of weeks? The early play of Astralis and North will be important to watch, with ultimately the top-six-placed teams moving on to the offline finals in Dallas, TX in May.
