Yesterday I wrote about the teams in Group A, and today it’s time to examine the teams in Group B, who will start playing on August 21. The participating teams are: G2, Virtus.pro, Sinners, Renegades, OG, and Complexity. In short, Sinners and Renegades are the underdogs here, but they could still give the favorites a tough challenge. Among the rest, G2 appears the most stable.
G2 Esports
Nine months have passed since signing NiKo, and overall, the team made a smart move by bringing in the Bosnian player. Kovach was brought in to replace JaCkz, but then they brought back Odrick «JaCkz» Jug and benched the main sniper kennyS. AmaNEk started playing with the AWP, which kicked off a series of solid performances. The organization has been consistently placing in the prizes, though they haven’t won a tournament yet. The team’s win rate over the last three months is 66.7%. Their best maps are Inferno (71.4%) and Mirage (70%). Results from the last three tournaments:
- IEM Cologne — 2nd place.
- Blast Premier Spring Final — 3rd place.
- IEM Summer — 3-4th place.
Expected position in the group: 1st. The French team usually has no issues in the early stages of tournaments. They boast some of the best aimers in the world, though the sniper position is their weak link, in my view. AmaNEk performs well against mid-tier teams, but against top opponents, he still has room to improve.
OG
Initially, few believed in this international mix, as such rosters often struggle to deliver consistent results. However, Aleksib and his team proved otherwise. A few months ago, they signed niko and flameZ. The former didn’t shine at Heroic but fulfilled his role, while flameZ is a young, promising player and one of the best in his country. ISSA had issues with ping and visa, and NBK was underperforming in shooting. The win rate over three months is 61.5%. Best maps are Overpass (75%) and Mirage (62.5%). Results:
- IEM Cologne Play-in — 9-12th place.
- IEM Summer — 2nd place.
- Spring Sweet Spring — 1st place.
Expected position in the group: 2-4th. OG performed well at IEM Summer, losing only to Gambit, who are in exceptional form. Their only real setback was the Cologne qualifiers, where they lost the decider to Renegades. OG needs time to gel and develop strategies, but even now, they have what it takes to advance to the playoffs.
Complexity
After a string of disappointing tournaments, Complexity’s management finally made changes. They let go of Will «RUSH» Wierzba, who had been with the team for three years. They brought in Danish player Patrick «Es3tag» Hansen to replace him. Es3tag fit well into Astralis’ style but couldn’t reach his potential at Cloud9, where the whole team struggled. It’s a shame how it ended for RUSH; he handled all the gritty work and opened up sites effectively. Es3tag is a great addition for Complexity, and he can serve as a secondary sniper.
The team’s win rate over the last three months is 52.4%. Best maps are Ancient (100%) and Overpass (80%). Results:
- IEM Cologne — 9-12th place.
- Spring Sweet Spring 3 — 1st place.
- Blast Premier Spring Finals — 5-6th place.
Expected position in the group: 2-4th. The team hasn’t played any matches with Es3tag yet, and there are concerns about the sniper role, as poison has been off-form since his hand surgery.
Virtus.pro
The only representative from the CIS region in the group. Currently ranked 5th in the world, they regularly reach the playoffs. Their biggest disappointment has been their RMR tournament results. With 1600 points, the «Bears» haven’t qualified for the Major yet, which is a major letdown for a team of their caliber. Nearly all players have seen a dip in stats, except for Jame. Even Marek «G2’s player» has underperformed compared to earlier in the year. VP’s win rate over three months is 56%. Best maps are Ancient (100%) and Inferno (61.5%). Results:
- IEM Cologne — 5-6th place.
- Starladder CIS RMR — 9-10th place.
- IEM Summer — 5-6th place.
Expected position in the group: 2-4th. Unlike their rivals, VP has no issues with the sniper role. The problem is that opponents have adapted to their style, including Yekindar’s constant aggression. Perhaps it’s time to hand the captaincy to someone else and vary their pacing.
Renegades
Renegades sold their leader Christopher «dexter» Nong to mousesports in the winter, but even without him, the team continues to dominate in Oceania. Alistair «aliStair» Johnston, previously with ORDER, stepped in. Recently, the Australians surprisingly advanced to the main stage of IEM Cologne, beating MiBR and OG in qualifiers. In Cologne, they won one map against Natus Vincere, but that was it. Win rate is 77.3%. Best maps are Vertigo (83.3%) and Inferno (81.8%). Results:
- IEM Cologne — 13-16th place.
- ESEA Premier Oceania — 1st place.
- Epic League Oceania — 1st place.
Expected position in the group: 5th. The team lacks experience against European squads, but the Australians could still pull off some surprises.
Sinners
The organization assembled a roster of Czech players at the start of last year. In the past year and a half, the only change was replacing CaNNiE with the experienced oskar, who won several titles with mousesports. This was a like-for-like swap, sniper for sniper. It helped the team move from ESEA Advanced to ESEA Premier. Sinners didn’t stop there and won the tournament, qualifying for ESL Pro League 14. Win rate over the last three months is 60.7%. Best maps are Vertigo (66.7%) and Overpass (60%). Results:
- Pinnacle Cup 3 — 3-4th place.
- ESEA Premier Season 37 — 1st place.
- Sazka eLEAGUE Spring — 1st place.
Expected position in the group: 6th. Like Renegades, Sinners might put up a fight on certain maps, but their players’ level likely won’t be enough to reach the playoffs.
