Forget Valorant for now: competitive Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is plenty busy gearing up and preparing for another exciting month of competitive action at the ESL Pro League Season 11. The lengthy event comes right after the Intel Extreme Masters XIV – World Championship took place last week, where Natus Vincere stunned the competition with a convincing victory. The best CS:GO teams in the world have regathered once more to answer the many questions which arose from that event and to continue tantalizing the community with epic plays, nasty shots and blisteringly visceral competition.
In this article, we’ll be taking a close look at the Groups which have just been drawn and revealed to the community, predicting the outcome of each one. The first stage of the ESL Pro League Season 11 will involve four of these single round-robin format groups consisting of six teams each. Group winners rightfully proceed to the Play-In, while second and third reach the Round of 12 and everyone else packs up their bags.
Group A
- Astralis
- ENCE
- GODSENT
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Sharks Esports
- Team Vitality
For group A, the top spot seems to be confidently in the hands of Astralis while the remaining two spots. NiP and Team Vitality weren’t too hot last week, finishing 9-12th, so ENCE and GODSENT have a strong opportunity to upset here.
Group B
- Complexity Gaming
- Fnatic
- ForZe
- FURIA Esports
- Heroic
- Natus Vincere
Should they retain the momentum, Natus Vincere easily places first here while Fnatic is also looking strong thanks to a strong performance last week where they even took down Natus Vincere in the Group Stage. Third place is up for grabs seemingly equally between the remaining teams as most are still kicking off the year.
Group C
- 100 Thieves
- Boom Esports
- Team Liquid
- mousesports
- Renegades
- Virtus.pro
Easily the most stacked group at the event, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves and mousesports will all be gunning for the top three spots after all placing 5th-8th at Intel Extreme Masters Season XIV – World Championship. Meanwhile, Virtus.pro and Renegades severely underperformed and Boom Esports is quite the wildcard.
Group D
- Evil Geniuses
- FaZe Clan
- G2 Esports
- North
- OG
- TYLOO
G2 Esports are the favourites here thanks to their second-place performance last week, but then again, North wasn’t competing and are undeniably a major threat. Evil Geniuses are still trying to recuperate from their disappointments while FaZe remains hungry for a return to form. OG too, haven’t played much in 2020 and are also keen to surprise here.
Taking place from the 16th of March to the 12th of April, $750,000 are on the line for all of these teams. While some have come off recent performances, many are still waiting to prove their worth this year. We’ll be sure to cover the event as we get nearer.
