The preview of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018

Today DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 starts. We will tell you more about the oncoming championship and analyze the chances of success for each of the participating teams.

The general information

The next tournament by DreamHack will be hosted in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson Globe will be a venue for the championship and the prize pool of the event will amount $250,000. Sixteen teams from all over the world will take part in it.

DreamHack is one of the most experienced and famous organizers in the CS:GO world. A few Major tournaments and many other large events, which were hosted at different parts of the world, are on its score. Due to this, there is no doubt that the tournament will be very interesting.

The prize pool

The organizers have decided that the prize pool of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 will be in the sum of $250,000. Unlike the recent ZOTAC Masters Cup 2018, none of the participants will be eliminated from the tournament with empty hands, however, the teams that hold the last places in the standings will earn only 0,8% of the general prize pool or $2,000.

The teams that place 9th-12th will share the same fate. The teams that enter the top 8 of DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 will earn 8% of the prize pool or $10,000. The finalist that will not be able to achieve victory in the final match will become an owner of a large money prize in the sum of $50,000, while the champion will receive the main prize in the sum of $100,000.

The format

The format of the tournament is familiar to everyone. Initially, teams will be divided into four groups where they will play by a GSL system. The first matches will be hosted in a bo1 format, while the rest of matches will be played in a bo3 format. The top two teams from each will advance to the playoffs, where the main part of the prize pool will be up for grabs. Teams that place 3rd-4th place in their groups will be eliminated from the tournament with $2,000 of grabs.

The next stage will be run in a Single Elimination bracket. All matches, including the grand final, will be carried out in a bo3 format.

Intel Grand Slam

This event will become a part of the tournaments in Intel Grand Slam series. Let’s remind that the first team that prevailed in four championships in Intel Grand Slam series will earn a money bonus in the sum of $1,000,000.

At the moment, the representatives of FaZe Clan are the closest to their goal. They have three victories of four required. FaZe Clan managed to achieve victory at such championships as ESL One New York 2017, Intel Extreme Masters XIII - Sydney and ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018. The titans of the Danish CS:GO, Astralis, place second on the list of the best teams of Intel Grand Slam. They have two victories, which they have achieved at such tournaments as DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018 and ESL Pro League Season 7 - Finals. Such teams as Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR, and Fnatic have one victory at Intel Grand Slam.

The analysis of the groups

Sixteen teams will take part in DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018, which are the tops of the CS:GO world, not very strong and not very experienced teams.

Group A

At the moment, Astralis is the best CS:GO roster of the world by HLTV.org and the Danish tops of the world CS will probably stay in the first place for a long time. After Kjaerbye left the team and Magisk held his position, the results of the team improved at once. Over the last 4 months, Astralis won such tournaments as DreamHack Masters Marseille 2018, ESL Pro League Season 7, Esports Championship Series Season 5, and ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018.

North is also one of the most famous Danish teams. After Kjaerbye’s arrival, North start playing in a new way and achieved victory at a few championships. They have recently prevailed at DreamHack Open Tours 2018 and DreamHack Open Valencia 2018. Nikolaj “niko” Kristensen has been playing for the team since August 8, who has been rented from Heroic. North doesn’t have a fifth player for now but despite this, the Danish team has a significant chance to advance to the playoffs.

TyLoo is considered to be the strongest team in China but the team showed itself not from the best side at the recent ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018. Now, this team is in a bad enough gaming shape, so we can’t be confident about TyLoo advancement to the playoffs.

Grayhound Gaming is one of the most famous and strongest teams in Australia. Despite this, Grayhound Gaming can’t compete with the world rate teams. They can fight with other teams from Australis and compete in championships in the countries of Oceania but they are unlikely to oppose North, TyLoo, and Astralis with something.

The outcome: Astralis will have to advance to the playoffs. North and TyLoo also have chances to get to the playoff stage, however, North’s chances are higher as TyLoo is in a bad gaming shape. Grayhound Gaming is an obvious underdog.

Group B

Natus Vincere is one of the main favorites of the tournament both to advance to the playoffs and to win the championship. The CIS team has recently achieved three victories in a row at such tournaments as StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5, CS:GO Asia Championships 2018, and ESL One: Cologne 2018. It’s worth to notice an interesting fact that Natus Vincere hasn’t made reshuffles in its CS:GO roster for the longest period of time and despite this, they perform simply great. Now, Na’Vi places second on the list of the best CS:GO rosters by HLTV.org. If they continue playing on such level as they are playing now, they might head the list of the best CS:GO teams in the world after a while.

NRG eSports managed to achieve good results in 2018. They held the second place at StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Season 5 and became the champions at Intel Extreme Masters XIII - Shanghai. It’s also worth to notice that at the last championships, in which NRG eSports competed, the American team crushed their opponents, not having lost a map at IEM XIII — Shanghai. The portal HLTV.org put this team on the ninth place in its version of the top of the best CS:GO rosters. Now, NRG eSports is in a good gaming shape and this means that they might pretend to get to the playoffs.

It’s difficult to say in which gaming shape Ninjas in Pyjamas is now. Over the recent time, Ninjas in Pyjamas prevailed only at Europe Minor Championship - London 2018. However, they place 14th on the list of the best CS:GO teams by HLTV.org. In our view, NiP’s chances to advance to the playoffs are not so big as Na’Vi’s or NRG eSports ones, for example.

Ghost Gaming plays with four players on the main roster now. Such player as kRYSTAL was rented from The Imperial for ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 and DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. He showed itself very good at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 and the team managed to get to the semi-final with him and held the 3rd-4th place at the tournament. However, Ghost Gaming is too weak to compete with teams in Group B, which rosters consist of five main players.

The outcome: Natus Vincere is an obvious favorite to advance to the playoffs. NRG eSports also has very good chances to get to the playoff stage. Ninjas in Pyjamas might try to fight for the advancement to the next stage. Ghost Gaming is an underdog.

Group C

FaZe Clan has been recently noticed to have a run of bad luck. The team didn’t show good results at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 and they held the 3rd-4th place at ESL One Cologne 2018. Now, FaZe Clan places second on the list of the best CS:GO rosters by HLTV.org. If you compare this roster to other teams that are in Group C, you will be able to state for sure that FaZe is an obvious favorite to advance to the playoffs. If FaZe Clan prepares hard for the tournament, they will have to get far enough at this championship.

Fnatic completed its roster on June 17 and has taken part only in one championship since then. They placed 5th-6th at ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018 and earned a money prize in the sum of $40,000. Considering that the match was lost to mousesports, who were in a good gaming shape, this result can be called good. Comparing Fnatic with other teams, you can be sure that Fnatic might advance to the playoffs, however, they will have to try hard for this.

OpTic Gaming hasn’t been able to realize itself fully in the recent time and the results at the last championship leave much more to be desired. OpTic Gaming played horribly at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 and was not able to beat Ghost Gaming, who was playing with a stand-in. If you compare OpTic Gaming with other participants from Group C, their chances are small but they exist. But if considering the actual gaming shape, OpTic Gaming is unlikely to advance to the playoffs and will probably place fourth in its group.

Heroic is in the same situation as OpTic Gaming. Heroic’s results are weak enough at the recent championships and one player plays as a stand-in on the roster of Heroic. This fact reflects that the team is unlikely to oppose such teams as FaZe Clan or Fnatic with something serious due to the rosters of FaZe and Fnatic have five players of the main roster.

The outcome: FaZe Clan should advance to the playoffs for sure. Fnatic will probably to get to the playoff stage too but they will have to try hard against OpTic and Heroic. Heroic is an underdog. They might beat some team but they will lose an elimination match.

Group D

mousesports is one of the strongest teams in its group, according to the statistic of HLTV.org. Now, the European mix places fifth in the world rate. mousesports hasn’t been able to improve its result for a long time but they started doing well in 2018. After STYKO left the CS:GO roster, Snax held his position and the roster started playing in a new way. However, the results still leave much more to be desired and mousesports haven’t become champions with the new player yet. This team is one of the favorites to advance to the playoffs.

MIBR won the tournament a couple of days ago, which prize pool was bigger than the prize pool at DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018. The prize pool amounted $300,000 at ZOTAC Cup Masters 2018 and MIBR earned the money prize in the sum of $100,000, having become a champion. There will be a bit more serious opponents at the upcoming tournament by DreamHack than at the past championship by ZOTAC, however, there will be not so many dangerous teams in Group D, which could block MIBG the path to the final. Due to this, we think that MIBR will have to advance to the playoffs and have good chances to get to the final, considering their current gaming shape.

HellRaisers is an outsider of the group. The main reason for such a conclusion is the fact that one of the players of the European team, woxic, has visa issues and can’t visit the championship with his team. There is no information about who will play for HellRaisers as a stand-in at the moment.

Gambit eSports hasn’t been able to achieve good results recently. The signing of Nikolay "mir" Bityukov hasn’t delivered good significant results yet. Gambit eSports managed to hold the 3rd-4th place at the recent Intel Extreme Masters XIII - Shanghai. If the CIS team continue playing in such way, it’s not worth to hope for the advancement to the playoffs.

The outcome: MIBR is the main favorite to advance to the playoffs. mousesports also has good chances, however, they will have to work a lot in the matches against Gambit eSports, which also have a chance to get to the playoff stage. HellRaisers can be called the main outsider of Group D for a reason due to an absence of one player.