IEM gamescom.

IEM gamescom.

Fra d. 5 til d. 8 august løber IEM gamescom af staben med 6 hold, som kæmper om en 85.000$ price pool. Format er dog en kende anderledes end ved andre turneringer, da der bliver kørt et system, hvor hvert af de 6 hold har 4 liv. Hver gang man taber en kamp, så mister man et liv, og det betyder, at der bliver spillet mellem 20 og 23 best-of-ones før en vinder er fundet. Udover at beholde et liv ved at vinde sin kamp, så bestemmer vinderen også, hvilke to teams som skal spille mod hinanden i næste kamp.

Samtidig så har du mulighed for at stemme på, hvem som skal spille den første kamp på (link http://en.intelextrememasters.com/season10/gamescom/csgo-first-match-voting ).

De 6 hold:

TSM (device, dupreeh, cajunb, Xyp9x, karrigan): TSM er et af de stærkeste hold på CS:GO scenen, og selvom de leverede en jammerlig performance ved Acer Predator Masters ( link http://www.hltv.org/news/15606-hellraisers-win-apm-s1-finals ), hvor de endte på en 7-8 plads efter at blive slået af E-frag (Tidligere Gplay) og HellRaisers, som også mod alles forventning endte med at vinde APM, så var APM nok nærmere en engangsforestilling. Hertil kommer, at karrigan også nævnte efter deres dominerende performance ved Dreamhack Valenica ( youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J9AvIeo_NM ), så holdte de ferie indtil APM, og selvom de på papiret burde have været det stærkeste hold, så burde deres tab nok ikke tages som om, at TSM er på vej ned, men nærmere at de på ingen måde vil lade det ske igen til IEM gamescom, da de vil vise, at de er et af de bedste hold. 

EnVyUs (kennyS, Happy, apEX, NBK, kioShiMa): Efter the French Shuffle v.2, hvor shox og SmithZz  blev skiftet ud til fordel for kennyS og apEX, så bliver dette event deres første officielle sammen, og selvom det er et stjernespækket lineup, hvor alle 5 spillere har potentialet til at bære deres hold til sejr, så bliver det spændende at se, hvordan de spiller sammen. Hertil kommer om de vælger en mere aim-heavy tilgang, eftersom de nok ikke har haft alverdens tid til at få øvet en masse sammen, eller om de ikke tager event så seriøst, og bruger det mere som træning samt teste nye ting, eftersom forventningen om at de bør vinde eventet ikke er der, som det havde været, hvis det havde været det gamle EnVyUs lineup.

CLG (tarik, jdm64, Cutler, hazed, fns): CLG satte sig på kortet da de til MLG X-Games Aspen 2015 vandt over EnVyUS (Da de hed LDLC) på dust2, og senere i marts ved ESL One Katowice 2015, hvor de vandt 16-14 over HellRaisers på nuke efter en start som T og en 2-13 scoreline ved half. Efter de to upsets og Cloud9s manglende resultater i samme periode, så kunne man tænke at CLG kunne blive #1 NA. Dog disse to upsets var de eneste gode performances, og da CLG ikke kunne replikere resulaterne, samt i april ptr forlod / blev frisat af CLG og siden da, har CLG ikke rigtigt haft nogle gode resultater indtil CEVO, hvor de havde nogle fornuftige resultater, og  uden fns deres igl. Samt til ESL ESEA Pro League Season 1, hvor de vandt over fnatic på mirage, dog må det tilføjes at bade fnatic ikke var velspillende den turnering, men også at der var en del anti-stratting involveret.

Renegades (Havoc, jks, AZR, Yam, SPUNJ): Renegades var tidligere Vox Eminor, som ved gentagende events ESL One Cologne og Katowice, ESWC og Gfinity har vist at de kan tage maps fra fnatic, NiP og deres lige. Renegades er absolut er hold, som man bør holde øje med, og selvom det nok er usandsynligt at de vil tage TSM, mousesport og EnVyUs så bliver det nok spændende kampe.
 
mousesports (denis, Spiidi, chrisJ, gob b, nex): Siden PENTA-trien af denis, Spiidi og nex joinede mousesports så har de vist sig at være et imponerende hold, både set ud fra det taktiske aspekt med gob b, men også med skill niveauet som chrisJ og nex bidrager med. Ved Gfinity 2015 Summer Masters 1 viste de, at de var et hold, som man burde holde øje med i de kommende måneder, ved at slå både Virtus.Pro og spille EnVyUs til 3 maps, samt levere en ganske habil performance. Til CEVO Professional Season 7 slog de de gen-fødte Cloud9 overbevisende før de faldte til NaVi på to maps, men burde have været endt i et tredje. Til Acer Predator Masters spillede mousesports sig i finalen, men måtte se sig slået af et HellRaisers, som formåede at holde fokus igennem en bo3 og derefter en bo7. Selvom mousesports viste gode takter til APM, så har de været skuffede over ikke at kunne vinde eventet, så må de være ekstra motiverede til at tage IEM gamescom inden det går løs til ESL One Cologne.

SK Gaming (AcilioN, SandeN, cadiaN, BERRY, NiKo): SK Gaming er et temmelig nyt hold, og selv i dets korte tid har de haft en del udskiftninger først med hUNDEN, som blev udskiftet med BERRY, og tenzki som valgte at træde ned, hvorefter cadiaN fik prøvetid. Som disse udskiftninger ikke ville give holdet, som i forvejen ikke ligger i kanten af top10, nok ulemper ved dette event, så er deres awper Friis på ferie, dog har de fået NiKo som standin til denne turnering. Normalt vil man mene, at dette ville sætte dem i en svagere position, men NiKo er et bæst, en uhyggelig modstander, og hvis du har set Acer Predator Masters, hvor cadiaN var med til at caste og hygge snakke, så nævnte han at han havde fået alle tenzki’s pladser, men da han primært have spillet på awp positioner og med awpen, så krævende det noget tilvending og erfaring at spille de positioner. Dog med Friis ude så burde cadiaN tage hans postioner, som han også er mere vant til, og NiKo tage rifle rollen, hvilket som CT burde give et stærkere defense, og som T kan holdet tillade sig en mere pick-and-play stil. Ydermere, så eftersom de har en trial, og en standin så vil ingen have store foreventigner til SK Gaming, så de spiller uden det store pres, og hver vunden kamp vil være en bonus.

IEM gamescom bliver spændende at se, både med henblik på om TSM kan komme op i gear, eller bare en eller to spiller på niveau, så burde de kunne spille sig i en top3. Hvordan spiller det nye EnVyUs sammen, og hvilken spillestil vil de tage, samt hvilke roller og positioner tager de på de forskellige maps.
Kan mousesport fortsætte deres gode stime, og eventuelt tage et skridt mere op ad stigen, og sætte sig som en seriøs kandidat til ESL One Cologne. Det samme gør sig gældende for Renegades, kan de tage maps fra TSM, EnVyUs og mousesport, så kan ingen hold tillade sig at tage dem let til den kommende major, selvom efter de upsets CLG og KeyD har formået, så er der nok ikke nogen chancer for, at favoritterne undervurdere deres modstandere når det er bo1 format. Har CLG mulighed for at vise, at selvom #1 fra NA er Cloud9, så bør man stadig tage #2 seriøst. SK Gaming har ikke meget af tabe ved dette event, men har mulighed for at få mere erfaring til deres yngre spillere, dog har de ikke en reel for at vinde medmindre NiKo går beastmode.

Onsdag, d. 5 august
10:45 - Match #1
12:15 - Match #2
13:45 - Match #3
15:15 - Match #4
16:45 - Match #5
18:00 - Showmatch (Pro versus audience)
     
Torsdag, 6 august
10:45 - Match #6
12:15 - Match #7
13:45 - Match #8
15:15 - Match #9
16:45 - Match #10
18:15 - Match #11
     
Fredag, 7 august
10:45 - Match #12
12:15 - Match #13
13:45 - Match #14
15:15 - Match #15
16:45 - Match #16
18:15 - Match #17
     
Lørdag, 8 august
10:45 - Match #18
12:15 - Match #19
13:45 - Match #20
15:15 - Match #21 (if needed)
16:45 - Match #22 (if needed)
18:15 - Match #23 (if needed)

Link til holdens liv: http://en.intelextrememasters.com/season10/gamescom/standings/

Dignitas ESL One Cologne Qualifier - Against Property.

ESL One Cologne 2015 Lan Qualifier.

Ending up on cobblestone which is not one of Dignitas’ strongest maps, they almost manage to take the T pistol with a good tactic, however, with the bomb plant they buy in the 3^rd round and with a good 1v2 play from Nico, and a lucky AWP miss they take the next two. After Property taking the 6^th round the 7^th becomes really important with both teams having a decent buy, aside from Property lacking quite a few grenades. But even when Dignitas got their full lineup of grenades they rarely spend them, nor buy molotovs for cobblestone which is a map that they can be really strong on.
Property cements their lead by playing well individually as well as support each other well, whereas Dignitas pushes several smokes and doesn’t look like they got a set plan since the guy with the full grenade set goes in first not using their equipment well. It is not until the 11^th round that they manage to find their legs again and make it 4-7, but their 12^th round is a complete shift in gear with after a pick on A-long they throw a barrage of grenades to secure the A site and succeed forcing Property to an eco. 

The first half ends 8-7 in Property’s favor, but could just as well have ended 10-5 or 6-9 simply due to small margins and some close 1v1s, where it must be said there was some quite big misplays which lead to those situations, and I would say that if Dignitas took and put some time into their grenades, as well as recognizing the potential of the molotov they should be able to push a 9-10 score line vs a team as Property.
Dignitas lose the CT pistol which is quite common since it is really hard to hold the glock train on cobblestone, and they decide to not go with a full force buy (It can be argued that cobblestone is one of the maps where a pistol force can work really well due to the chokepoints is 1 shot range with pistols, but also if you look to the full buy in the 4^th round the full grenade set can make or break a chokepoint as well).
Due to the decision not to force it ends up with a 11 – 7 score before Dignitas is able to mount a defense, but the decision to get a full buy gives them the full grenade set which slows Property down to being forced to make a push on A with only 20 seconds left and MSL and Nico being able to foil their attempt.
Aside from Nico holding connector / dropdown with the AWP and only MSL holding slope and A-long they take the 20^th round as well, but also due to Nico hitting his shots and making some crucial kills.

In the 21^st round MSL goes down at 1:10, and with Property slowing down playing it smart and pushing A with 25 seconds left wrecking utter chaos and decimates the remaining players from Dignitas due to a well-executed push with molotovs to force out the A-site defender.
Dignitas opt for a save and thereby giving Property 13 rounds against their own 10 also putting a lot of pressure on themselves. This time Nico goes down at the 1:15 marker on A, but the B tag-team of Aizy and Kjærbye destroys Property when they decide to push B-long.
The 24^th round is a magnificent display of how to hold B-plateau, and how much impact a well-placed flash from a teammates will gift you a round.
Property ecos and gets a full buy in the 26^th round in where they manage to pick of Nico and making it a 4v5, but due to the amount of time that MSL and Nico managed to delay Property they are forced into a hastily push on A without well-coordinated grenades which sends them into the grave without much to show for their one man advantage.
At 13-14 Property is able to grind down the Dignitas team first to a 3v3 and then into a 1v1 with Nico having to retake B site with an AWP which he is unable to do.
14-14 and both teams got a full buy, but Dignitas shows some of their potential and close out the round without losing anyone, and forcing Property to 2x P250s, 2x Tec-9 and an AWP for their last round without much gear. This makes it almost impossible for Property and was a wrong decision instead of an AK with full grenades, and Dignitas edges out a win 16-14, however, their cobblestone has much to desire as well they can count their lucky stars that Property didn’t catch upon their weak hold in drop-down and was unable to capitalize on that.

If Nico can keep this level with the AWP at least as CT then Dignitas is truely a team to watch out for, but as T the team still needs to work on how to integrate him into their tactics, as well as - This is from an outside perspective: Get more indepth tactics instead of default + picks and learning to buy some molotovs as T.

Dignitas ESL One Cologne Qualifier - Against OverGaming.

ESL One Cologne 2015 Lan Qualifier. 

Dignitas is one of the teams who currently could upset some of the established teams, and maybe even push into a top#8. One of the most prestigious tournaments ESL One Cologne is one of the places where a team such as Dignitas could make a case for themselves against the top teams as the fellow Danes from TSM as well as fnatic, NiP, EnvyUS, Virtus Pro and NaVi. However, in order to so they have to qualify in the lan qualifier where they must battle Kinguin, FlipSid3, Property, PiTER, KILLERFISH, PENTA and OverGaming the later being their first challenge in the qualifier.

In the matchup against their first opponent OverGaming, who haven’t had that impressive results against other Spanish teams, they were clear favorites and aside from the team having been on vacation it was expected that Dignitas would be taking a win. 

With the format being Bo1 they ended up on Dust2, and with Dignitas starting as T just edging out the pistol and the following 2 rounds. During the first buy round OverGaming manged to put up an impressive CT side, and holding the pushes from Dignitas, who seemed a bit rusty and uncoordinated and sloppy. By this it was mainly pure aimduels without setting up trade kills, smokes with big gaps and an issue which they have had for a long time – Not buying molotovs, which was something Pimp talked about on Counter Points with Thooorin and Lurppis (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5euxmZ6SOyI), and that is something that Dignitas must work with if they want to climb the ranking ladder.
After calling a pause at 3-8 they managed to shape up and edge out a decent 6-9 score as T on Dust2.
As CTs they look more like the Dignitas which was putting pressure on Titan, EnvyUS and NiP at the last Gfninty Summer Masters, and the managed to take 10 rounds without dropping one to OverGaming. As well as having a much better CT side performance it did also look like OverGaming was struggling quite a bit with their T side.