CSGO Guide to Dreamhack Masters Malmö: The Top Five Contenders

September 30, 2019 | 0 | 1417| |

#Astralis #Counter Strike #Counter Strike Global Offensive #CSGO #DreamHack #DreamHack Masters Malmö #Esports #Evil Geniuses #Natus Vincere #NaVi #NRG #Pro Scene #S1mple #Vitality #Zywoo

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DreamHack Masters Malmö is a 16-team tournament in the first week of October with a prize pool of $250,000.

With some of the best CS:GO teams in attendance, this event promises to be a competitive and a close contest between the top teams at Malmö. Malmö comes after most of the top teams have had time to practice with their new rosters and can present their best form at this event.

Where Can I Watch DreamHack Masters Malmö?

https://www.twitch.tv/DreamHackcs

Watch live video from DreamHackCS on www.twitch.tv

What Is the Format for DreamHack Masters Malmö?

Group Stage: October 1st – 3rd, 2019
- Two double-elimination format (GSL) Groups
  - Each group has eight teams
  - The initial matches are Bo1
  - All following matches are Bo3
- The top three teams from each group advance to the Playoffs:
  - Group stage winners advance to the Semifinals
  - The Group stage runners-up advance to the Quarterfinals as the High Seeds
  - Group stage 3rd place teams advance to the Quarterfinals as the Low Seeds

Playoffs: October 4th – 6th, 2019
- Single-Elimination bracket
- All matches are Bo3

Information Credit: Liquipedia

Prize Pool Distribution of DreamHack Masters Malmö

The event organizers have not yet revealed the exact prize distribution for DreamHack Masters Malmö.

The winner of the event receives a slot at IEM Katowice 2020.

Astralis

The Danish team did not get their desired result at ESL One New York 2019. The Danish team lost 1-3 in a one-sided Grand Finals where they lost to Evil Geniuses. The presence of additional teams at Malmo will be an obstacle for the Danish team’s victory chances. While Team Liquid, Vitality and Evil Geniuses are the obvious top choices, the plethora of new rosters such as FaZe Clan, ENCE, Mousesports and Na’Vi.

Astralis seem to rely heavily on Device showing up to win matches. His absence during the Grand Finals of ESL One New York was crucial to EG’s victory. Glaive is one of the highest fragging In-Game Leaders in CS:GO and he often acts as the secondary AWPer on the team.

Astralis play Team Envy in the opening match of Group A and they will eventually come across Vitality in the Group stages itself. Despite their shocking loss in New York, Astralis is one of the top contenders for DreamHack Masters Malmö.

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Team Vitality

ZywOo and co. — ZywOo of Team Vitality. Image Credit: HLTV

Vitality will play their first event of the season at DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019. Despite being a favorite to win the Starladder Berlin Major 2019, Vitality ended up losing in the quarterfinals to AVANGAR.

The subsequent roster change saw Vitality adding Shox to their team as their latest member. Shox’s addition to the team adds much-needed firepower to the team and relieves a lot of pressure from ZywOo’s shoulders.

Vitality will play their first event with Shox on their roster at DreamHack Masters Malmö. Expectations from this new squad are low; however, French teams are usually strongest during their honeymoon phase.

Team Liquid

Team Liquid could not proceed further than the semifinals at ESL One New York, once again falling to Astralis in the playoffs. The North American team has been in a slight slump after their fabulous performances before the Berlin Major.

The biggest problems plaguing the North American team is the simplicity of their playbook. The North American team is significantly better than Astralis in direct head-to-head firepower; however, Astralis integrates this firepower with their strategical approach seamlessly.

Team Liquid and Astralis are in different groups at DreamHack Masters Malmö, so Team Liquid has a significantly higher chance of reaching the Playoffs. However, they will still face the same mental roadblock once they reach the playoffs where they might have to face off against Astralis.

Natus Vincere

The Na'Vi squad with Zeus — Na’Vi will play with GuardiaN for the first time at DreamHack Masters Malmö. Image Credit: Na’Vi

Natus Vincere added GuardiaN to their CS:GO roster, a move which generated strong memories for the CIS team’s fans. GuardiaN allows S1mple to take on the role of the rifler and changes the dynamics on the team.

Natus Vincere is a strong team on paper; however, they have repeatedly failed to produce reliable results on the big stage. With GuardiaN’s addition, hopefully, Na’Vi can emerge as a strong team with S1mple as their main rifler.

S1mple has expressed his desire to be more flexible in different roles other than the primary AWPer. GuardiaN has years of experience playing on Na’Vi and a couple more years on FaZe Clan. His experience helps the relatively young Na’Vi roster who can often struggle in making mid-round decisions.

Evil Geniuses

Tarik and Co. celebrating their round win at ESL One New York 2019. — EG won ESL One New York after a 3-1 victory over Astralis. Image Credit: ESL

Evil Geniuses debut tournament resulted in a victory for the North American side. The Evil Geniuses gameplay relies on their star players performing well at the highest level while Stanislaw guides them through their opponents’ tactics.

Evil Geniuses, former NRG were already a top tier team without the support of a big organization like Evil Geniuses. However, under their organization, the roster already looks potent and capable of being a contender to the top team’s position.

Despite their success at ESL One New York, EG will need additional trophies to improve their world ranking. Only then can they emerge as a top contender for the best team in the world.

DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019 starts on October 1 and features a prize pool of $250,000. The tournament will be live on Twitch here.

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Rohan

The author

Esports journalist. An esports fan, former wannabe pro and occasional angry young man. You can find him trying to climb the Dota 2 MMR or just chilling in Rocket League. Or maybe building an entire city in Cities: Skylines. The current mood is always a surprise.