Challengers Finals – Pool D Preview
Aphelion Esports – Harry, Mythix, WarDy, Denza
Forced into a last minute substitution, this roster chose to bring in NYSL substitute WarDy. The core of this roster won the last two events of the EU Challengers season before placing a respectable Top 6 in Toronto. The late addition of WarDy will certainly help to add more firepower to their roster but with limited practice as a full team it could be difficult to perform to their potential.
Player to Watch – Harry
Harry has been one of the most dominant ARs players in the whole of challengers during the MW2 season consistently dropping huge numbers especially in Control where he averages over a 1.4 KD ratio on the season.
Detroit Deviance – Lucky, Gismo, JurNii, Vortex
Another all EU roster consisting of four veteran players. Detroit Deviance have struggled to pick up the results they would have wanted since forming, but have four players with significant experience on the big stage. In a pool with two European teams that they will be very familiar with, don’t be surprised to see this team pull plenty of counter strats out of their playbook.
Player to Watch – Gismo
The aggressive flex player has had an up and down showing in MW2 after a very solid year for the Royal Ravens in Vanguard. During the Major 1 Pro-Am he led all Challengers players in overall KD with a 1.14 and has continued to show up on LAN since then. A strong performance in Vegas could see him back on the radar of some CDL teams.
Clutch Rayn – Genesis, Niall, Twizz, Cruz
This underdog roster found their footing at the right time of the year. With the two British veterans joining up with a young Central European SMG duo, they have chained a top 3 placement in the final Elite into a win in the EU LCQ. They may have only placed Top 16 in Toronto, but they did eliminate Mindfreak who they could once again match up with in this pool.
Player to Watch – Twizz
The Frenchman has had his best Challengers season to date eventually culminating in his qualification for champs. Heās an aggressive SMG player known for his SnD gameplay where he is excellent at securing first bloods and playing his life.
Mindfreak – Fighta, Louqa, Shockz, Zak
The APAC trio of veterans is accompanied by up-and-coming youngster Zak. They have continued to be the team to beat in their own region but have struggled to make it to the major LAN events. They appear to be a very strong Hardpoint team and are definitely able to pull off a victory in the other game modes.
Player to Watch – Zak
The young SMG player has been the talk of the town in APAC, maybe not quite as highly touted as Pred heās still received some significant praise from his peers. Heās super aggressive and loves to talk some trash when heās frying so he will be an entertaining prospect to watch in Vegas.
Group Predictions – Aphelion & Detroit Deviance
A difficult pool to predict. Both Mindfreak and Clutch Rayn are definitely capable of pulling off an upset but I’m banking on the veteran experience of players like Vortex, Denza and Harry to help lead their respective teams through Group Play and into the bracket.
