Everything you need to know about the FACEIT Stage 3 Finals, where the best Counter Strike teams around will battle it out for the $250,000 prize
The weather outside may be cold, but the world of Counter Strike: Global Offensive is heating up once again.
This time it is not global warming to blame, but rather the upcoming DreamHack Open competition, the last one of 2015.
Welcome to the FACEIT Stage 3 Finals.
What a grand way to end the CS season.
DreamHack Winter has brought together the game’s greatest heavyweight teams with the notable absence of Natus Vincere, who recently smashed the competition to win the Intel Extreme Masters contest in San Jose.
There is certainly a lot at stake with prize money of $250,000 up for grabs, so expect this battle to be brutal.
As per usual, eight teams will be competing in two groups.
Group A features Virtus.pro, Team Liquid, Team SoloMid and Legacy eSports, while Group B includes EnVyUs, Luminosity Gaming, Fnatic and Ninjas in Pyjamas.
Virtus.pro v Legacy eSports
Group A will pit Polish Virtus.pro against the sole team from Oceania, Legacy eSports.
Legacy find themselves outsiders both geographically and in terms of reputation, and, with relatively little experience and a lot to prove, they are currently the longest shots to win the whole thing.
In order to qualify for the tournament, the team has been battling it out with squads from the same continent.
Quite how they will fare against veterans Virtus.pro, who are highly fancied to win this match-up, is anyone’s guess – but it is hard to be optimistic about their chances.
Team SoloMid v Team Liquid
If it is likely that Virtus.pro will win their first match, then the same can be said of their fellow Europeans, Team SoloMid – who are 11/50 to beat Team Liquid.
Ranked 3rd in the world, the Danes must still be smarting from their defeat in the finals at IEM San Jose.
Thankfully for them their conquerors, Natus Vincere, will not be present to scupper their ambitions this time around – hence why they are second favourites for the trophy.
That is not to say that Team Liquid won’t be dangerous.
The Americans made it to the semi-finals in San Jose – also losing to Na’Vi – and actually beat Virtus.pro in their last match together just last week.
Liquid’s most recent player acquisition, Hiko, will be hoping to make his mark at the tournament.
His performance since joining Liquid in September has been impressive, and with a solid team around him to boast off, Liquid will not make for easy opponents.
EnVyUs v Ninjas in Pyjamas
Over in Group B, the furious force of the French will be unleashed courtesy of EnVyUs who are overall favourites for the tournament.
They will be up against Swedish veterans Ninjas in Pyjamas, renowned for their fearsome CS squad.
NiP certainly have pedigree, having been founded way back in 2000.
It is no surprise that over such a long period the team has had ups and downs, but the current squad is enjoying a period of resurgence.
An impressive streak of performances from September onwards saw NiP notch up unexpected wins against titans such as SoloMid and EnVyUs, bringing the team up to 6th place globally.
However, EnVyUs are currently ranked 1st, and remain one of the game’s greatest challenges.
This is sure to be an intense match, so hop in your bunker and hold onto your helmets!
Luminosity Gaming v Fnatic
Finally we have the beasts from Brazil, Luminosity Gaming, and a team that needs no introduction: Fnatic.
It has been a good year for Fnatic, having won a string of tournaments and roundly beating other top teams.
The Swedes also have a remarkably strong team of elite players, including KRiMZ, flusha and olofmeister – with the latter widely regarded as the greatest CS player in the world.
They are ranked as third favourites for the win.
Luminosity, while a world-class team, may find themselves outmatched and will have to pull out all the stops from the get go.
They are 51/20 to pull off a shock and get the win over Fnatic.
Eyes on the prize
So we have clear favourites in many of the early matches – but who will be walking away with the title?
We can expect a strong performance from Ninjas in Pyjamas and Virtus.pro, but ultimately the winner is likely to be one of three teams: EnVyUs, Team SoloMid or Fnatic.
These European juggernauts go into competitions with their eyes on the prize and their fingers on the triggers – and can call upon the most impressive players in the game.
That said, you can never rule out an underdog victory – after all, stranger things have happened.
