HLTV.org's Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen takes a look at the upcoming $20,000 CS:GO tournament at ESWC 2012 with analysis and predictions for each of the ten participants.

Have you not paid enough attention to the CS:GO scene lately and need to catch up in time to enjoy the action in Paris? Want to find out what you should expect from each team at the event?

As usual, HLTV.org has you covered in any case, with staff writer Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen breaking down each team following our interview series to give you further insight on the event.

In case you've missed our pre-ESWC interview series, below are links to each of our interviews we managed to conduct with the participants of group A:

NiP-Xizt-
 Area51 semphis
 mousesports Troubley
 ProGaming.TD cogu
 LowLandLions chrisJ 

Without further ado, let's move on to the participants in group A of the CS:GO tournament and a preview on how each of them might fare at ESWC this year, including a prediction for final placing. 

NiP (f0rest, Fifflaren, friberg, GeT_RiGhT, Xizt)

1st SteelSeries GO (beat BuggIT in the final)
1st ESL Go4CSGO Cup #6 (beat PRiME in the final)
1st DreamHack Valencia (beat VeryGames in the final)
1st ESL Major Series Swedish qualifier (beat orgless in the final)
1st ESWC Nordic qualifier (beat Anexis in the final)
33-64th Thor Open qualifier #2 (lost vs SY_b)

Ninjas in Pyjamas are easily the most hyped up team in today's CS:GO scene, and they have the results to back it up. While they did suffer a devastating loss against SY_b in the second Thor Open qualifier online, I don't think that loss holds too much merit. So far they have proven to be the world's best CS:GO team while only losing one map during the game's young history, and they definitely want to continue down that road this weekend in Paris.

With Richard "Xizt" Landström returning to in-game leading duties in NiP, I think in the long run NiP needs Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson to step up his game in the fragging department, as so far he has had a tendency to fall slightly behind the other four. It is yet to be seen if not having to lead the team will help him in that department, but it for sure won't hurt. On the other hand we've already seen Landström's style of leading in fnatic, which fits well in NiP as well as it involves just about no micromanaging, allowing him to focus more on his own game.

I doubt LLL will challenge NiP and I actually think mousesports' inexperience will hurt them here as well. I think both Area51 and ProGaming.TD, regardless of their overall level, will have a chance at surprising NiP due to having different playing styles, although Raphael "cogu" Camargo's troops may have lost that edge if they've practiced with one another. Regardless, I fully expect NiP to top the group, even if they have a scare - based on our interviews NiP members have played some of the most CS:GO out of everyone at the event, and it has certainly shown in their results so far.

Prediction: 1st in group A

Will NiP celebrate in Paris come Sunday? 

mousesports (approx, nex, stavros, strux1, Troubley)

1st ESWC German Qualifier (beat mTw in the final)
1st* EPS Winter 2012 group stage (*still on-going)

While mousesports are partly here only because the previous mTw lineup turned out to be vastly overrated, they have shown solid play since forming under the name of Team xXx and are without a doubt the best team in Germany right now. They have however not taken part in qualifiers for Thor Open and as a result we haven't seen them play too much in the recent weeks, so it's hard to guess just how good they currently are beyond their previous results. They were shaken up in EPS Winter a while back with a tie against gamed.de, but otherwise are in the lead.

In our pre-event interview former ALTERNATE member Tobias "Troubley" Tabbert explained three of his teammates are very inexperienced at big tournaments, something that you simply can not overlook when it comes to an event like ESWC held during Paris Games Week, which if you have been there, can get extremely loud and therefore become a tough venue to play in. The pressure of performing under the mousesports tag, playing on 75Hz monitors and being inexperienced at such events can get to their youngsters, but I still expect them to compete for the second place in the group.

I think NiP is out of reach for mousesports and LowLandLions won't be able to challenge them, but while most might consider them big favorites for second place, I think they will struggle against Area51 and/or ProGaming.TD and lose one of the matches. Whether that one loss ends up knocking them out of playoffs on the other hand, depends on how the other teams match up against one other.

Prediction: 3rd in group A

approx makes a return in mousesports, this time in CS:GO 

Area51 (DaZeD, hiko, semphis, sgares, tck)

1st ESWC North American Qualifier (beat Dynamic in the final)
2nd ESEA Invite Season 12 CS:GO regular season (14-1 record)

Area51 have looked solid in North American play and have been bootcamping in Paris for the past couple of days, practicing on 60Hz and overall terrible setups but nonetheless getting accustomed to the European way of playing CS:GO. Their core two players have been improving in the past few years and were just reaching a high enough level to compete with European teams when they made the switch to CS:GO, and with how much experience the team already has in the game and especially Molotovs which have been allowed in the Americas all this time, I fully expect them to be competitive.

For those of you who watched the North American ESWC qualifier, Sean "sgares" Gares really stepped up in the grand final against Team Dynamic and helped secure their 2-0 win with some solid AWPing, including big clutches on both de_train_se and de_dust2_se. Since then, Sam "DaZeD" Marine and Kory "semphis" Friesen have emerged as the main fraggers of the team, and if Area51 wants to be in the tournament come Sunday, they will need to keep it up in Paris, with Gares chiming in with his big green rifle and the other guys pulling their weight.

As I've previously said for other teams, I think LowLandLions is the punching bag of this group who won't see close games until they face another team that is out of the tournament, so Area51 should get an easy win as well. I think Area51 can come close to NiP if they have a good start, and I definitely think they have a very good chance to beat  mousesports. I think Area51 will not have trouble with ProGaming.TD. Overall, while they could always fall short of my prediction and it wouldn't be too surprising, I think they will surprise many and book a spot in the semi-finals.

Prediction: 2nd in group A

sgares must continue to play at his best level for Area51 to emerge victorious 

ProGaming.TD (cogu, rkz, steel, zakk, zqk)

Invited to ESWC 2012

Many fans were psyched out when our interview with Raphael "cogu" Camargo came out, as he said he wasn't fully comfortable yet with CS:GO, and his team wasn't in top shape yet in time for ESWC. As no one has seen ProGaming.TD play any official matches or even practice via streams, it's extremely tough to gauge how good they will be and what kind of a team they are in general.

Without knowing much about Camargo's teammates I find it impossible to predict them to do too well, although VeryGames saying they are good surely raises their stock. I think ProGaming.TD might struggle with LowLandLions if they underestimate them or start off slow, and I also think they will at least have a close game with another team in group A, even if they were to finish with a 1-4 record.

Overall, I can't predict the Brazilians to place higher without knowing more about them, and Camargo's answers in the interview are what eventually led me to place them below both mousesports and Area51 - however, as we know so little about them, it wouldn't surprise me if they far exceeded my expectations.

Prediction: 4th in group A

cogu makes his return after IEM Chengdu in 2009 

LowLandLions (chrisJ, ferrid, gerrah, Spartacus, stefan)

1st ESWC Benelux qualifier (beat fish.l33t in the final)
33-64th Thor Open Qualifier #1 (lost against Millenium)
9-16th Thor Open Qualifier #3 (lost against ColdGame) 

Our interview with Chris "chrisJ" de Jong showed negative confidence, if that's a thing. If not, we'll have to go with the lowest possible amount that you can have after playing for years and representing your country internationally on multiple occasions. LLL have been taking part in various online tournaments, and no matter how you twist the results, they have not been pretty apart from the Benelux ESWC qualifier win, whose finals were held on LAN.

de Jong has proven to be a solid 1.6 player, but without experienced players who know how to win when it matters the most, it's hard to imagine them pulling off a win here. I think LowLandLions will at least have a close game with someone else who is out of the tourney towards the later rounds of the group stage and maybe even pull off one upset, but their own attitude has already betrayed them and won't allow them to do any better.

I could see LowLandLions placing fourth in the group but what's more important to this team is that they gain experience as a team playing in big tournaments and in a new game, as they plan on attending DreamHack Winter in a couple of weeks. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and these guys must know that. Unfortunately, it won't help them this weekend in Paris.

Prediction: 5th in group A

chrisJ's squad could be in for a world of hurt 

How do you think teams will do? Who will prevail, who will surprise and who will fail? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!

Remember to also sign up for our Dreamteam game where you have a chance of winning lots of gaming equipment in prizes! HLTV.org will be on-site at Paris Games Week to provide you with full coverage of ESWC 2012.