(GotFrag) August 22, 2008 - It would not make sense to talk about these teams, winners and legends in their own right, as outsiders. They are, however, not the pivotal front runners that have been described in two earlier pieces. They either lack the stability, balance or competitive fortitude to be considered a favorite to win it all – but that does not mean they are not stacked with talent that could explode on stage in San Jose.

Traditionally unpredictable.

In fact, the ESWC has throughout its past events been the delivery device for some of gaming’s biggest stars. In 2003, the North-American scene knew who “Sunman”, “shaguar” and “Volcano” were. Not many on the international scene knew these three as Team 3D’s CPL champions from the previous winter were synonymous with American talent. The crowd and the teams that were eliminated watched in disbelief as the seemingly random Americans went straight for SK’s throat on de_train. Forty minutes, and some unreal desert eagle shots later, “ZEX” had defeated the impervious Swedish champions, effectively eliminating them from the tournament (a feat that has yet to get the historical recognition it deserves). After all, “ZEX” was the only team that eliminated SK from anything that year – the Swedes won all the other events they attended. The American players went on to become big stars in a variety of different teams and leagues.

It might be a coincidence, but SK was the butt of yet another breakthrough the following year. Virtus.Pro showed eastern Europeans that it was possible to compete with the omnipotent Scandinavian teams, when they took out a stacked NoA in the group phase to eliminate SK in the quarter final. The Russians wound up finishing third. Jonas “whimp” Svendsen, currently of MTW fame, won the final that year as the 15 year old superstar on The Titans who defeated “walle’s” first great team, Spixel.

2005 saw Jason Lake’s improbable dream turn into reality when Complexity became the first North-American team to win something of outside of North-America – an accomplishment that eluded their rivals team 3D. “fRoD” was the superstar that summer in Paris while “Sunman” came full circle as he returned to France to be crowned champion. Korean Lunatic Hai became the talk of the town; they finished fourth, winning and impressing European fans in the process.

If 2004 was Eastern Europe’s breakthrough, 2006 was finally South-America’s time to shine. MIBR had been a contender plagued by subpar performances and lineup changes for years when they finally won a big one. Most thought the tournament to be Fnatics, but the Swedes were overwhelmed by the samba-CS of “cogu”, “KIKOOOOO” and “fnx.” Chinese wNv defeated everyone on home soil earlier in the spring, but came to France looking terrible. Team 3D played well abroad for once, but was overwhelmed by ATTAX in the battle for third. The Germans would go on to be “the story” of the year. Their extremely aggressive way of playing echoed through the community and impacted how the game was played from then on.

Last year’s consolation final was a rematch between the `06 finalists. Fnatic got their ESWC revenge, although it cannot have been as sweet as MIBR’s win. PGS beat MTW in a final match everyone has heard stories about. One might argue that this was the first ESWC without remarkable upsets.

The build up for 2008 leaves us with four front runners and a host of contenders, many of which have had their competitive infancy at ESWC tournaments of the past.

Europe, America or Asia?

MIBR are coming in hot off the trails of a Gamegune victory. Their line-up certainly packs a punch, but it feels like its more skill reliant than composed and meticulous. A lack of cynicism could hurt them in the latter stages of the tournament – a bill that has been known to fit South-American teams in the past.

Germany has their two top teams in attendance. Their scene is blessed with tremendous domestic infrastructure, largely thanks to the ESL, but despite that the country has not been able to consistently produce top tier players and teams. When the bulk of the ATTAX line-up went to Mousesports in early 2007, they lost their steam. It looked as if those players could not perform at a world class level with anyone else as both teams failed to produce results. “Moon” and “Chef-Koch” brought on fresh German talent, but they have not been able to convert that talent into international titles and will not succeed in that endeavor in San Jose either.

Mousesports dream team failed miserably throughout 2007 and forced the organization to revert to lesser known, young and hungry players. Extreme Masters second season proved that to be a correct decision where they took the title and 50 000 dollars. They performed well at Masters and again at Gamegune, placing third and second respectively. That certainly gives them an interesting ascension, but they will be hard pressed to outdo their organization’s 2006 ESWC bronze medal winners.

Asia’s representatives, eSTRO and wNv, look good on paper as usual. However, the underlying skepticism in that statement might be unfair to Korea’s finest but it certainly is not for wNv – a team that can never get it together abroad. Their much praised leader “Alex” is back from a CGS stint with CS: Source, but this has not mattered much for the Chinese outside China and it won’t matter now either. eSTRO, on the other hand, has produced results after their controversial WCG last year; they made it to the final of Extreme Masters 2, but fell to Mousesports for the second consecutive time at ESWC Masters. Regardless, they have showed they can summon their A-game on another continent and that must be comforting to fans of Korean esports.

Evil Geniuses turned heads, including mine, at Kode 5. If an unlikely team makes it deep into the latter stages of ESWC 2008, they could be it. They have skilled players that, at least in Moscow, seemed completely unfazed of their surroundings. When they trashed Virtus.Pro in front of an extremely hostile crowd and they fought valiantly against SK’s star studded line-up. This time they have the added comfort of home field advantage and have a great chance of making a late, but great impact on the history of American 1.6.

2008 could be Roccat’s year, but it won’t be. Their latest highlights include 8th at Kode 5, second at Dreamhack Summer and third at ESWC Masters. Roccat are suffering under the curse of Finnish Counter-Strike; at any point in a tournament they can ALMOST hang with the best of the best, but not long enough to win. They do bring a ridiculous amount of fantastic frags and interesting styles of play to HLTV fans, and are certainly a very watchable team with “ruuit” as a definitive star.

If held in the French capitol, ESWC would have looked much better on paper for Emulate. Support for the home town heroes would roar through the arena to help inspire the players. Then again, the last time they won an event, when everybody was convinced they would be a new giant; it was in the United States – albeit some hours up the coast from San Jose. Since that victory, they have had a lot of almosts – are they consistently unlucky or consistently just not good enough? Harsh indeed, but les Bleus play to win like any other team at the most exciting dark horse race on record.


All roads lead to... Part 1
All roads lead to... Part 2