DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe Playoffs Preview

FaZe Clan's Chance to Shine - DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe Playoffs

DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe is about to enter its Playoffs Stage. So far, most of the big teams have done well and managed to survive the groups. But now we’re about to see some real battles, between world-class opponents. The Playoffs will feature numerous hyped confrontations full of esports betting opportunities for those who want to bet on CS:GO. Most of the top teams (6 of the global top 10 to be precise) are still in the race and you do not want to miss the action. In this article, I will provide a brief summary of the Group Stage and then take a close look at the teams.

DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe Group Stage Summary

A total of 16 teams were present at the start of the tournament. Just 12 of them remain. North (average upset), mousesports (huge upset), GODSENT, and ENCE were eliminated in the Group Stage. This stage featured 4 groups of 4 teams each. Here are the results, so you can get a better idea of how things went so far and who’s delivering.

Group A

1st place	G2 Esports	2 W – 1 L	+14
2nd place	Astralis	2 W – 1 L	+13
3rd place	Heroic	1 W – 2 L	+12
4th place	North	1 W – 2 L	-39

Group B

1st place	BIG	3 W – 0 L	+27
2nd place	Complexity Gaming	2 W – 1 L	+18
3rd place	MAD Lions	1 W – 2 L	+1
4th place	mousesports	0 W – 3 L	-46

Group C

1st place	FaZe Clan	3 W – 0 L	+13
2nd place	Team Spirit	2 W – 1 L	+30
3rd place	Fnatic	1 W – 2 L	-9
4th place	GODSENT	0 W – 3 L	-34

 Group D

1st place	Natus Vincere	2 W – 1 L	+5
2nd place	Team Vitality	2 W – 1 L	+37
3rd place	Ninjas in Pyjamas	1 W – 2 L	-24
4th place	ENCE	1 W – 2 L	-18

As you can see, FaZe Clan did really well in the Group Stage, even though it had to beat 3 reasonably strong teams. The same 3 W – 0 L result was obtained by BIG as well, but in their case this fabulous record is not relevant, simply because they had the easiest team of the four. Only mousesports was an important team in Group B, but as you probably know, mousesports has been severely out of shape for a few months. It’s not entirely clear what’s going on with them but it feels like they fell off a cliff recently.

Other key points to take away from the groups are that G2 managed to beat Astralis (2 – 0), even though they had surprisingly lost to North (1 – 2). Fnatic, just like mousesports, is still out of shape and barely made it through. They lost 0 – 2 against Spirit and FaZe and then struggled to beat GODSENT (2 – 1). Natus Vincere demolished Vitality and NiP but lost to their nemesis, ENCE. It’s hard to explain how a team of their caliber can lose 0 – 2 against a team that got destroyed by both of the opponents that got defeated by s1mple and his squad. But I guess it’s just the familiarity aspect.

ENCE is known to consistently beat Na’Vi. This is the team that denied them a Major Grand Final last year and the nightmare seems to continue. However, ENCE got eliminated, so Na’Vi will be able to play more relaxed in the DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe Playoffs.

Team Analysis

Here’s a brief analysis of the 12 teams that are still in the race.

G2 Esports; best French squad period.

To Win Vs. Na'Vi

1.88*

This is the strongest French team in the world at the moment and their recent results suggest that kennyS is in good shape. The whole team has been doing well since February, playing in 3 Grand Finals and posing big challenges to everyone.

Astralis has severe weaknesses

To Win Vs. NiP

1.86*

Astralis lost two players from the active roster and one of them is their IGL. Without gla1ve and Xyp9x, the team will no doubt be in a world of hurt. I don’t see them playing at their usual level in their current format.

Heroic; an underdog fighting for success

To Win Vs. Vitality

2.85*

Heroic has changed its entire roster just two months ago. Yes, the new players are all Danish and most of them are experienced enough to compete at this level. But this team will need a long time to learn how to play together and at this level, I don’t see how they could do well under these conditions.

BIG; not as strong as the odds might suggest

To Win Vs. FaZe

2.85*

BIG had a great run in the Group Stage. But as I’ve explained earlier, those 3 victories came against opponents that were either week or completely out of shape. DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe Playoffs will probably tell a different story than what we’ve seen so far.

Complexity Gaming is a modest competitor

To Win Vs. Fnatic

2.51*

The team has RUSH and k0nfig, but not much else. At lower-tier tournaments, they’ve been doing well, getting 3 titles in May. However, DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 is a top-tier tournament. And Complexity’s chances of finishing in the top 6 are close to zero.

MAD Lions is a potential dark horse

To Win Vs. Spirit

1.88*

This Spanish team with a Danish roster is quite interesting. They won 6 out of their last 8 matches and are now ranked 15^th globally. That’s not bad at all. We’ll see what they can do next, but you can definitely expect good results.

FaZe Clan is the big betting favourite

To Win Vs. BIG

1.4*

If you had to pick one team to win the tournament, this is the best candidate. Great roster, good results at recent events and a fierce determination to win. FaZe Clan did lose olof recently and that might be their weakness. We’ll have to see. Their biggest rivals at DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe are Natus Vincere and G2 Esports.

Team Spirit is the second-best CIS team here

To Win Vs. MAD Lions

1.88*

Apart from Na’Vi, Team Spirit is definitely a great CIS team to watch at this tournament. They won ESL One: Road to Rio – CIS, so they might just do something big here as well.

Fnatic will likely finish 7^th – 8^th

To Win Vs. compLexity

2.51*

As I said before, I have low expectations from Fnatic in the Playoffs of DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 Europe. They will most likely defeat Complexity but then they’ll probably get eliminated.

Natus Vincere aiming for the top 3

To Win Vs. G2

1.88*

If s1mple and his squad play their A-game, I definitely see them in the Grand Final. A top 3 result is almost guaranteed for Na’Vi at this tournament.

Team Vitality; closely following G2 on the French success train

To Win Vs. Heroic

1.4*

ZywOo and his teammates can do great things if they find their focus. They did well in the group and are a top 10 team overall. Focus and preparation will make the difference at DreamHack Masters Spring 2020.

Ninjas in Pyjamas made a roster change recently

To Win Vs. Astralis

1.9*

This team is very vulnerable at this point. Having changed their IGL, they’re weak in terms of synergy and also in terms of strategy.

*Odds are subject to change.