1. Cloud9 14-0 (-) [inactive]
For the first time this season, Jake “Stewie2k” Yip and friends got to rest their mice and keyboards. Still undefeated halfway into their league schedule, it would be a safe bet to expect them to still be playing come playoff time. We don’t see them again until Week 6, when they’ll have a full course meal in the form of Splyce, Echo Fox, NRG eSports, and Winterfox all in one matchweek.
2. Team Liquid 6-6 (-) [inactive]
Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu’s boys also got a week off to keep developing the chemistry that was shown in their Week 3 triumph over SK Gaming, and also to address the problems that led to their defeat at the hands of Australian hot shots Renegades. After a rough start to the season, they look set to answer the high expectations this roster merits.
3. Immortals 10-4 (-) [inactive]
Being the only other team in double digits gives Immortals a more comfortable margin for error than any other team around them can afford. Following their victory over Cloud9 at Northern Arena, they showed that they can turn up the heat when the situation demands it. Week 5 holds a huge test for them as they face OpTic Gaming.
4. Renegades 5-5 (-) [inactive]
After a roller-coaster Week 3, Renegades got time to reflect on the ups of a 16-0 against SK Gaming, as well as the downs of a 16-2 smashing at the hands of other Brazilian outfit Immortals. Week 5 sees them face basement dwellers eUnited and Splyce, but also has a sizeable (literally) obstacle in Echo Fox.
5. OpTic Gaming 7-5 (+1) [2-0 vs. Splyce]
It was a weird week for OpTic as in-game-leader Damian “daps” Steele took time off; standing in his place was previous OpTic member Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz who was not detrimental in either of their victories, but certainly made the team feel no remorse over who they replaced him with. Tarik “tarik” Celik came into his own this week by dominating Splyce on Mirage, dropping a nice 24-6-15 scoreline helping OpTic to a 16-8 victory. Cobblestone was a case of the same dominance, only this time it was the trio of Will “RUSH” Wierzba, Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas and Keith “NAF” Markovic who all dominated the international lineup. Mixwell led the fragging department with 25 kills while NAF marked up a huge 104.6 ADR. RUSH was very efficient, grabbing 24 kills while only dying 10 times. Hopefully they were left feeling very confident after they crushed Splyce, because their biggest test so far comes next week in the form of Immortals.
6. NRG eSports 6-4 (+1) [2-0 vs. Echo Fox]
It seems now that their rough start to the season was also just a case of early league jitters as NRG ended Echo Fox’s unbeaten streak in fabulous fashion, 2-0’ing them in style as Johannes “tabseN” Wodarz stole the show. The stats speak for themselves: 31-10-16 with a gargantuan 134.1 ADR on Dust 2 followed up by a 27-3-15 performance with a 103.1 ADR on Mirage. Although NRG will need to be consistent to make the playoffs, tabseN has shown that he is one of the best players in the league when he is in form. It was an off-week for star AWPer Peter “ptr” Gurney, but considering how well tabseN performed this week, ptr could have taken the week off altogether. NRG are starting to make a good case for their stake in the playoffs with wins like these. Week 5 appears to be a cleanup week for them, as they face minnows in the form of Selfless and Counter Logic Gaming.
7. Echo Fox 6-2 (-2) [0-2 vs. NRG]
It was a decent wait for Echo Fox to show something meaningful off their 6-0 start, unfortunately Sean “seang@res” Gares and co. stumbled at their first test, getting battered by fellow venture capital rivals NRG. They’re quite lucky basketball isn’t in season right now otherwise no doubt they would have ended up on Shaqtin’ a Fool this week. Their loss on Dust 2, a map they are usually more than capable on, will definitely raise some concerns. The other big concern from this week was the form of Ronnie “ryx” Bylicki, who bottom fragged on both maps. If I’m an Echo Fox supporter, I’m hoping this slapping is just a wake-up call to the talent level that is actually present in Pro League this season. As the guy just ranking them, it’s just incredibly unimpressive. It’s not quite winter yet, but Echo Fox might need to put the tank tops away sooner than wanted.
8. Winterfox 5-5 (+1) [2-0 vs. eUnited]
Winterfox passed the Pro League litmus test this week as they swept league pug stars eUnited. Although it was a 2-0 win, it was rather ugly and, at times, even frustrating to watch. On both Cache and Mirage, both Winterfox and eUnited insisted on force buying whenever possible round after round, and both teams won a decent amount of those force buys. It was a long two hours, and I’m fairly convinced BLU must be traumatized at this rate. Still, he made it out alive and so did Winterfox. Somehow. They’re going to be absent Week 5, but in Week 6, matches with Echo Fox and Cloud9 should really give us an idea of the character of this team.
9. SK Gaming 2-4 (-1) [inactive]
SK Gaming got a much needed break after their terrible opening to the season. With reports of much maligned stand-in Gustavo “SHOOWTiME” Gonçalves being picked up by Luminosity Gaming and the return of star entry and support Fernando “fer” Alvarenga, SK should come back with a vengeance, ready to show the rest of the league that their downfalls in Week 3 were nothing more than a fluke. A Week 5 match with compLexity Gaming could be the confidence booster they need.
- compLexity Gaming 2-6 (-) [inactive]
A week off from the Pro League comes at an opportune time for compLexity, fresh of swapping Shawn “witmer” Taylor for Cory “APE” Bate, who stood in for the org at Northern Arena. They’ll get this time to scrim and develop the chemistry they so desperately need to make any kind of impact here and in any other league or tournament. APE and co. may yet get a rude awakening in the form of SK Gaming in Week 5.
11. Selfless 3-7 (-) [1-1 vs. eUnited]
Oh, Selfless. Long gone are the days of Kenneth “koosta” Suen, and at the rate this team is moving, they have been left beaten and battered by the departure of Skyler “Relyks” Weaver. Coach Steve “ryu” Rattacasa isn’t activating DEFCON1 right now, but losing to eUnited on Dust 2 is probably as close as it gets. After a dominant 10-5 CT side, they looked horribly flat on the offensive side, racking up only two rounds while eUnited—with a stand-in as well, mind you—stood back and let the Selfless players run into their crosshairs, it felt like. They smashed eUnited on Mirage, answering for their horrendous T-side on Dust 2 by grabbing 12 rounds here. After a lackluster Dust 2, new boy Matthew “no_one” Congdon stepped it up on Mirage with 25 frags and a nice, big 116.1 ADR to go with it. There’s life yet in this Selfless lineup, but it’s going to need CPR pretty soon if Ryu cannot get the best of this very young group right now.
12. Counter Logic Gaming 1-5 (-) [inactive]
James “Hazed” Cobb’s boys got the week off, much needed after so many roller-coaster performances from both him and the new boys of the team. With Stephen “reltuC” Cutler seemingly still standing in as deputy AWPer, the fear is that their downfall ever since the glory of MLG Columbus can only go on. Week 5 is going to be go big or go home when they face Immortals and NRG.
13. eUnited 2-10 (+1) [1-1 vs. Selfless, 0-2 vs. Winterfox]
Congratulations eUnited, you’re not the absolute worst team in Pro League for a week. I don’t want to be so harsh on them, as their place in the league is actually a great story for many young players wanting to break into the professional CS:GO scene and eUnited not going 0-28 in Pro League proves that Dust 2 mains actually have a place in the professional scene, at least in NA. If you ask me, that’s a beautiful thing.
14. Splyce 1-5 (-1) [0-2 vs. OpTic]
For all the talent this lineup has picked up and for all the fragpower it has displayed, none of it can amount to a win for Splyce. Although all the hype has surrounded the three international signings this org made, the man leading the scoreboard is usually one of the two men remaining from the team that so defiantly made MLG Columbus, Arya “arya” Hekmat and David “DAVEY” Stafford. Admittedly, it can’t be too hard topping the scoreboard for Splyce, when you consider that it only takes anywhere in the region from 15-20. Relly, it seems as if eUnited are just happy to be here in Pro League. For an organization with such prestige in other games and with a brief but proud history in CS, this is totally unacceptable. There is still time to remedy their problems, but considering their lack of convincing performances, they may just find themselves as one of the many teams in rotation for the relegation places.
Statistics provided by HLTV. Splyce fans may direct their hate mail to @ohwhatitsmeels.
