Cloud9 early favorites at DreamHack Open Leipzig CSGO tournament

M Alzamora Published 16/01/2020

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s DreamHack Open Leipzig 2020 is coming, and it offers teams a chance to receive an automatic invite to DreamHack Masters Jönköping 2020. It also gives viewers the chance to see some up-and-coming teams face off ahead of IEM Katowice 2020.

The list of teams competing in Leipzig includes BIG, Cloud9, North, Renegades, Virtus.pro, Heroic, MAD Lions, and Sprout. The tournament should be an interesting test for the majority of the teams. Both Cloud9 and MAD Lions are on a roll, while the rest of the attendees are unproven at this point.

C9 might be unstoppable in DreamHack Open Leipzig’s Group A

DreamHack has already revealed the opening matchups for both groups. In group A, Virtus.pro kicks off DreamHack Open Leipzig with a match against BIG, while Cloud9 will take on Renegades.

Virtus.pro has been through the ringer since its days of dominance with an all-Polish roster. The current lineup was acquired from AVANGAR following a strong performance at the StarLadder Berlin Major, but the team hasn’t looked the same since. That said, VP should be favored against a BIG Clan team that most recently struggled in the IEM Katowice 2020 qualifiers.

Cloud9’s pickup of the ATK roster has made team owner Jack Etienne look like a genius, especially with the squad steamrolling teams in the qualifiers for both IEM Katowice 2020 and DreamHack Open Leipzig. Their 3-1 win against MIBR was an impressive showing for a young team.

That said, Renegades has enjoyed a similar run of late. This one could go either way, but Renegades didn’t have to face a team like MiBR to earn their spot in Poland. against a Renegades team that hasn’t faced staunch opposition recently.

MAD Lions already upset Heroic, could again in Leipzig’s Group B

Group B is an all-European affair that opens with a match between Heroic and MAD Lions, followed by a showdown between the recently rebranded North and Sprout.

The Heroic vs. MAD Lions matchup should be an interesting one. Heroic is one of the on-paper favorites to win this group, but the team has underwhelmed in recent months. MAD Lions absolutely has a chance to upset the Danish roster in the opening matches.

The story is similar in Group B’s next matchup between North and Sprout. Sprout’s recent addition of Tomáš “oskar” Šťastný could catapult the team to the next level, which spells trouble for North in a best-of-one setting.

Heading into the 2020 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive season, DreamHack Open Leipzig is a good opportunity for attending teams to build a foundation. Cloud9 is by far the most interesting team here, especially with IEM Katowice 2020 on the docket for the North American team.

A win here puts the roster in a good position for that event and gives them a chance to taste what it’s like to face solid European opposition.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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