The groups have been drawn for Counter-Strike’s first $1 million major later this month in Columbus, Ohio.
Fan favourites Luminosity have been drawn with Swedish legends Ninjas in Pyjamas in Group A alongside German outfit Mousesports and CIS squad Flipsid3. Luminosity will be heavily favored to progress out of the group, while NiP and Mousesports look set to to battle for the second spot.
In Group B, tournament favourites Fnatic will take on half of the North American teams at the event. Splyce made a lot of noise during their qualification, but will their energetic cries help them take on the mighty Fnatic? Meanwhile Oleksandr “S1mple” Kostylev will feature in his first major for over a year with Team Liquid. The out-of-form FaZe finish up the group, looking to improve on their recent results and live up to their name.
Group C could be fairly cut and dry if French side EnvyUs can perform to their expectations. They’ve been drawn alongside Astralis and should be battling with the Danish side for the No. 1 one spot for better seeding. Hoping to upset the party will be North American Counter Logic Gaming and CIS side Gambit gaming.
The inevitable Group of Death is surely Group D. The favorites going in will be Na’Vi, who have consistently placed well and showed a lot of promise in Katowice. G2 Esports and Virtus.Pro will likely do battle for the second spot, while Cloud9 will be looking to cause and upset and steal one spot away.
The tournament kicks off on March 29, and with $1 Million on the line, could prove to be the most exciting Counter-Strike tournament yet.
