(Paris, France) - The ESWC Masters takes place in Paris this weekend and GotFrag is there to bring you live, on site, play by play coverage of the entire event. Seeds and groups have been determined and the plot is set for some very exciting action. GotFrag takes a look at the strongest teams in attendance.

Group A

fnatic

Harley "dsn" Örwall
Patrik "cArn" Sättermon
Oskar "ins" Holm
Patrik "f0rest" Lindberg
Oscar "Archi" Torgersen

Needing no introduction but getting one anyways, this Swedish team has been flirting with the top 3 standings of almost every event they've attended in the past two years. However, after a disappointing Dreamhack, the returning strength of MYM, and the rise of mTw fnatic has seen their commanding position on top of the eSports world chipped away. They had fallen to third in the latest GotFrag world rankings, two points behind mTw.

Having already secured a berth to the finals, fnatic are here for two things: redemption and the money. They are amongst the favorites to do this and this will be a good judge if Dreamhack was a fluke ... or the new status quo.

Strengths

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or a CS team that has seen their standing plummet in the community's eyes. While MYM has to win Masters to qualify for the Finals in San Jose, fnatic has to win this to wrest their throne back from their Polish rivals and hold off the Danish insurgents.

Weakness

When you're on top there is only one place you can really go ... and that's down. While fnatic has successfully stayed on top for what seems like an eternity, could it be that their time has finally come? I'm personally betting against a fnatic implosion. However, success papers over simmering differences and failure brings them to the forefront. A disappointment for fnatic here could mean several months in the wilderness the likes of which MYM recently recovered from.

Recent Results

5-8th at DreamHack 2008, 2nd at ESWC Sweden, 2nd at KODE5 Global finals, 1st at SEC 2008

Prediction

First. Knowing these guys and how they perform Dreamhack was the impetus they needed to kick their game to what we remember a typical fnatic performance to be like.

mibr

Lima "Bit" Bruno
Monteiro "btt" Thiago
Napoleão "chucky" Olavo B.
Lage "Lance" Norberto
Caruso "ton" Wellington

The revolving door that is MiBR and the Rio Sinistro has swung around again. Out is the lineup from KODE5 and in is the one from Extreme Masters II. The “classic” MiBR lineup that won ESWC 2006 has returned to CS:Source land to leave the former GameCrashers to represent the MiBR brand.

This team has had some seriously mixed results. From winning Dreamhack winter to not making the single elimination phase of Extreme Masters this squad has been unable to string together consecutive good performances and use the same roster. With Gaules with the clipboard and not the mouse he will be able to keep his team focused on strategies and team play and not that they’ve only been “MiBR” for little more than a month.

Strengths

Fragging Power. Ton, btt, cky, and bit all at one point or another were on MiBR and poached from rival g3x to add to the team’s fragging ability. With all of these guys on one team, things could get hot really fast. With Lance anchoring the team and Gaules more comfortably established in his coaching role this team could muscle its way to the finals on raw skill alone.

Weakness

Turmoil. This team has been turned upside down so many times as players from the MiBR organization joined the Rio Sinistro and then re-joined MiBR, including entire team swaps. These players have a lot of chemistry together but these changes cannot have helped. Will we see a Dreamhack performance … or Extreme Masters? I bet on the former and not the latter.

Recent Results

1st ESWC Brazil, 5-8th at KODE5 Finals, 1st Dreamhack Winter

Predicition

MiBR makes it out of Group Play but the Bo1 single elimination will drop them early.

Spirit of Amiga

Timm ”ArcadioN” Henriksen
Nicho ”zitic” Petersson
Mike “spx” Lützhøft
Brian “hpx” Christensen
Jack "wazorN" Henriksen

With Gravitas gone SoA has assumed the mantle of the Danish second team. While the venerable franchise might not appreciate being in this spot, it’s a whole lot better than where they were last year at this time.

After their surprise elimination of fnatic in the Extreme Masters, the team underwent drastic changes due to some “internal” conflicts and a slight bit of retooling. Out was trace, FriiS, and anizz and in came wazorN, spx, and the former NoA player hpx. With a fourth through eighth place finish at Dreamhack summer it’s hard to tell if they have come together as a team or not. Remember, hpx only joined in May and they only have one major event under their belt with this squad.
Strengths

It’s a long way to the top … and they’re getting closer. With the other Danish teams dropping like proverbial flys all around them and their improved performance, SoA has climbed out from the basement of Danish CS to the number two spot. They haven’t arrived quite yet, but they see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think one of the most dangerous things in competition is a hungry team who sees a reward right around the corner.

Weaknesses

The SoA “surge” really is based off of Extreme Masters and a decent showing at Dreamhack. It could be that they have already peaked and do not have a whole lot more left in them. Were EM 2 and Dreamhack flukes or does this team still have something up its sleeve?

Recent Results

5-8th Dreamhack 2008

Prediction

They aren’t getting out of group play. Mibr, and fnatic will be too much for them.

Roccat

Niko "naSu" Kovanen
Max "ruuit" Aspe
Juuso "contE" Sajakoski
Tino "tihOp" Puumala
Samu "plastE" Aalto

Roccat had always been hovering around the top of the international CS competition, and they’ve always had difficulty filling their fifth man position. Following a disastrous DTS-Cup, plastE was replaced by tihOp and then after the KODE5 they sent their team captain packing and replaced him with the player they just replaced … plastE.

Right after Roccat parted ways with founding member Lurppis they managed to place second at Dreamhack summer to MYM. The big question is, was this an accurate reflection on the team’s performance or a one hit wonder?

Strengths

Fresh Blood. These guys have been playing together for a while and instead of replacing Lurppis with someone the team was unfamiliar with, they chose plastE who has previous history with the team. Add to that the history these players all have and maybe it is easy to see why they performed as well as they did at Dreamhack Summer. Could the Lurppis removal have been the shock to the system that was needed to kick the team’s performance to the next level?

Weakness

Hot and Cold. They still have yet to prove that they have kicked this curse. A second place finish at Dreamhack is a start, but if they can follow it up with a good placing here maybe they can break the curse. I doubt it though. You can’t force one brother out and keep the other happy.

Recent Results

Second Dreamhack 2008, top eight KODE5 Finals, top six Extreme Masters II

Predicition

Doesn’t advance from Group Play … and loses to SoA.

Dimension 4

Julien "MaYeRs" Rivière
Aurélien "dafunk" Guinard
Mahé "Yoshoow" Martin
Julien "YoRLiN" Mailhé
Frédéric "OliGan" Ngor

D4's lineup looks a lot like GoodGame’s, with three of the founding pillars of the team now being on D4's roster. These three players have a great amount of skill and enough experience to match any other players during the event, however they have yet to have their moment in the sun. Dafunk and Yoshoow are respected names within the French scene, but have yet to prove their worth internationally.

D4 will have a hard time upsetting anyone in Group A (mibr, fnatic, soa, roccat), the players have the individual potential, but they have not have enough success as a team in international events to be taken seriously.

Strengths

Home field advantage. While these guys aren’t the current French champions, some of them have been the best in France before. If there is a time for a French team to shine it is this tournament, as there are eight of France’s finest teams on display here.

Weakness

D4 hasn’t done much outside of France and nothing on the international stage. This won’t be their break out event.

Recent Results

3rd WCG.fr, 1st at Atomic-Reso

Prediction

Last place in their group.