The second group at ESL Pro League Season 11 begins on Tuesday, now that the league is fully online. Pro League features six teams from around Europe, including a pair of of the heaviest hitters in the game. While the top two seeds are expected to be locked in, the bubble spot is up for grabs.
Group B features two of the best teams in the game, but the rest of the field won’t give in easily. (Photo courtesy ESL)
Newly Crowned Na’Vi
After their phenomenal performance at IEM Katowice, Na’Vi have usurped Astralis’s title of the number one CS:GO team in the world. With the entire team elevating each other to new heights, the CIS squad is now the strongest they’ve ever been. It will be a challenge for any team to take maps off them, let alone full matches. Na’Vi are the definite frontrunner in Group B.
Fnatic in Form
The main competition for Na’Vi will be Fnatic. The Swedes have been back on their game for a while now and haven’t shown signs of slowing down. Fnatic haven’t placed below top four at a tournament ever since ESL One Cologne in July of last year. Although they barely fell short of finals at IEM Katowice, Fnatic has the potential to take the number one spot.
Complexity Rising
Complexity Gaming is the most likely candidate to earn the third seed in Group B. However, that assumption is based on them playing up to their ceiling. On a good day, Complexity has the skill and strategy to beat even Astralis. It’s just a matter of maintaining that level of play. This roster does have the potential to rise in the CS:GO scene as long as they take care of business.
A BIG Surprise
BIG was recently added to ESL Pro League S11 after Heroic couldn’t field a roster. Despite being a replacement team, they could cause unexpected damage in this group. They are ranked 18th globally, only one spot below Complexity. BIG have been on the edge of being real tier one competition for a while now, and they have their work cut out for them.