The Kiev Cybersport Arena in the Ukraine is the location for the StarLadder &i-League StarSeries Season 4 CS:GO tournament, with 16 teams competing for a $130,000 first-place prize.
Moreover, Starladder & i-League StarSeries Season 4 is shaping up to be one of the best events of the year, with top teams surrounded by up-and-comers looking to prove themselves on the international stage. Two North American squads, in Cloud9 and Team Liquid, find themselves amongst the favourites in a deep international tournament for perhaps the first time ever.
Map pool the key for Cloud9
Cloud9 have continued their impressive run of good form, with a win at the Major being followed up by a narrow 2-3 loss to Team Liquid in the finals of the CS Summit 2 this past weekend. The biggest change for Cloud9 over this run has been the continual improvement to their map pool, which now includes Overpass and Inferno; two maps they previously struggled on. This gives them an incredibly deep map pool and a pick-and-ban advantage going into almost any series, even against other top teams such as SK Gaming or FaZe Clan. This is an opportunity for Cloud9 to prove their Major victory was more than just a one-off, especially given the wealth of talent at this event.
Team Liquid continue to impress
Team Liquid, fresh off a roster change, looked dominant at CS Summit, with every member of the team impressing along the way. Perhaps more so than anyone was the newest addition to the team NAF, who has continued his incredible play from his time with Renegades. Team Liquid now have essentially four players that can carry a map, with players appearing to adapt well to their new roles in the team. Of particular note is nitr0, who is now both the in-game leader and AWPer. Winning Starladder would be a huge accomplishment for Team Liquid, who, in a similar situation to Cloud9, are looking to prove themselves over a long period of time at the top.
SK Gaming looking to bounce back
The other two obvious favourites are SK Gaming and FaZe Clan, considered two of the top three teams along with Cloud9. SK Gaming had a disappointing showing at CS Summit 2, with hopes now of reminding everyone of their dominance on the international stage. One concern for SK Gaming is their dwindling map pool, given they appear to struggle on Inferno now, alongside their perma-ban of Nuke, but that should be of little issue especially during the group stage. SK Gaming have long been the most consistent team in Counter-Strike, with the likelihood that they struggle at two straight events being incredibly unlikely.
FaZe Clan under pressure
This is the first action for FaZe since their crushing defeat to Cloud9 in the Major finals, where they appeared to fall apart at the very end. FaZe, however, are still a dominant force, only consistently falling to SK Gaming during the latter half of 2017. FaZe have looked more vulnerable recently than during their dominant end to 2017, where the all-star lineup looked near-unbeatable. A win here at Starladder would go a long way for FaZe as they look to bury the demons of their narrow and heartbreaking loss to Cloud9, while proving no roster move was necessary to remain at the top.
Astralis have returned to form
Two dangerous teams are Astralis and G2 Esports, each for completely different reasons. For the longest time, Astralis were the most consistent team, given their overall talent and outstanding tactics, but they struggled to finish 2017 – with health issues for dev1ce being the main catalyst to their problems. After the Major, Kjaerbye departed to North, with Magisk now joining the lineup; a move met with uncertainty given Magisk’s up-and-down form to end the year.
Counting out Astralis in any tournament is a poor idea, especially given dev1ce’s nice return to form post-illness. If Astralis are to go deep in the tournament, it will be off the back of gla1ve’s tactical prowess and the continued revitalisation of dev1ce.
G2 Esports remain consistently inconsistent
G2 Esports, on the other hand, are the most inconsistent top team to ever grace Counter-Strike, with an almost equal likely chance to fall in the group stage as to win the event. With star players such as kennyS and shox, G2 still have one of the most talented lineups in the whole scene; the question is whether or not they get hot early, which they also happened to do at the Major before losing 0-2 to Cloud9 in the quarterfinals. G2 are a dangerous team in any tournament given the players on the roster, but their ability fluctuates heavily from event to event.
It all sets up to be another fascinating CS:GO tournament, with plenty of questions to be answered – particularly around the form of Team Liquid.
