G2 Esports vs Vega Squadron – IEM Major Katowice 2019 Main Qualifier

IEM Major Katowice 2019 will take place from February 13 to March 3 in Poland. Eight teams will fall from the preliminary stage into the main stage. There, eight of the best representatives of the past major are already waiting for them. The prize fund of the tournament will be a million dollars.

The organizers of Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019 held a draw for the preliminary stage of the CS: GO tournament, which will take place from February 13 to 17. In the first matches, Vega Squadron will fight against G2 Esports. Before matches were decided, ESL asked all participants to evaluate the strength of their rivals. Each team received a rating based on the average player survey score. Match distribution was done after taking the survey score into account. The rating will vary depending on the results of the teams in each individual match. For the next meetings, the organizers will form pairs based on the new team rating.

We wish to predict this game since G2 is one of the top-rated CS: GO teams in France. They have hosted some of the best players in their team but were never able to deliver real results. The team has always been amongst the strongest teams on paper but just couldn’t function properly. Let’s see what the team has in-stored for us against Vega since they have formed a new lineup for 2019.

G2 Esports

It’s been almost a year and five months now that G2 Esports has not won anything in Counter-Strike. In early September 2017, this French team won the DreamHack Masters Malmö beating North in the final. Since then, the side has just failed to shine.

New Recruits

The team led by Richard “shox” Papillon had so many changes to their lineup in the hope to return to the leading ranks. The G2 side made an attempt to assemble a french superteam with the return of Kevin “Ex6TenZ” Drolāns as captain and Edward “SmithZz” Dubordo as support. After both French stars failed to make an impact, the G2 organization tried a gamble with acquiring a duo from 3DMAX – signing Odric “JACKZ” Jug and Lucas “Lucky” Chastang.

In fact, for many experts, the transition of talented players to a more status organization did not come as a surprise. In the previous team, they showed themselves in the best way. The duo took part in closed qualifications for the major in London, beating compatriots from LeftOut, and helped their team win the ESEA MDL Season 29 Global Challenge and secure qualification for the ESL Pro League for the next season. Indeed, progress on the face. Especially when you consider the fact that a year ago, few people knew about such players as Gaetan JiNKZ Djamin, Brian Maka Kanda and David Davidp Prince.

Not Delivering Big

The previous G2 Esports was assembled in June 2018. The organization replaced Nathan “NBK” Schmitt and Dan “apEX” Madesclaire with “Ex6TenZ” and “SmithZz”. The team took 9-11 place at FACEIT Major – London 2018 and got a slot at the upcoming major in Katowice. At ESL One New York 2018, the team only secured a 5–6 place finish.

The poor results of G2 leave much to be desired. The presence of a strong sniper kennyS no longer gives a special advantage on the map. In defense of KennyS, we can say that he still plays excellently, but the playing style of the world’s leading teams has changed noticeably since the French teams occupied top places in various ratings. Almost everyone has learned to shoot on the head. A more important role is played by tactical equipment, literacy of players in clutch situations, understanding of the “economy” of the opponent and the contribution of the whole team to the final success. In this regard, G2 move too slowly.

We want to believe that the appearance of Lucky and JaCkz will help the team successfully perform at IEM Katowice 2019 Main Qualifier, maintain the status of “applicants” and try to get into the “legends”. But the main thing is to improve the game and maximize the capabilities of each of the players. G2 has everything you need to be at least in the top 10.

Shox The Main Man

Might delete later pic.twitter.com/yUOllLWGkM

— Richard Papillon (@G2shox) February 9, 2019

G2 esports is following its ambitions with shox in the lineup. Shox is one of the best players in the world in Counter-Strike: Source ever. In 2008, 2009, and 2011 he was recognized as the best player. He played mainly for the French teams. In 2012, he switched to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. During the period of the game in CS: GO, he played for many of the top French teams, including VeryGames, Titan, and EnVyUs. Annually, he is a member of the top 20 best players in the world according to various portals. A universal versatile player can perform both the role of second sniper and in-game leader. Having stayed in the team for less than six months, Adil and the other members of the team were left without the support of the organization, since it ceased to exist in early 2016. Since 2016, Shox has been representing G2. He has been there for the team in every high and low and will surely continue to be the main representative of the team for 2019.

Final Verdict

The lineup shows so much promise on paper. They will have to prove their worth against Vega, which is quite frankly not even a tier two team. Therefore, it is safe to say that with this lineup, G2 can achieve a crushing victory against Vega.

G2 eSports Victory

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	G2 Esports Odds		Vega Squadron Odds
	European	American	European	American
GG.bet	1.55	-181.82	2.34	+134.00
1xbet	1.58	-172.41	2.29	+129.00
Rivalry	1.49	-204.08	2.52	+152.00
Betwinner	1.58	-172.41	2.29	+129.00