Ah my favorite kind of event! Huge crowd, the best teams and no second chance, where legends are made. I watched almost every game from groups so I will talk about each team and then explain my picks. In this kind of event, there is no such thing as "picking a bad team". Anyone can win this event and anyone is a valid pick. I believe that the 2-2-1 is the best strat and you should not double teams from the same side of the bracket. Now let's go to my personal analysis of the teams! G2 - In my opinion the big favorite here by a mile, G2 is not only winning but crushing everyone. They took down faze and Navi in such a convincing fashion, with individuals popping up and great calls as well. If they keep their form in the playoffs, i think it is very hard for them to drop even a map here, It seems like they got over some confidence issues they were facing with the win in Blast last year so this G2 is looking scary. Heroic - The other favorite in the playoffs, heroic cruised though groups but facing way less impressive opponents than G2. Their only big scalp was Zywoo and I say that because I find it difficult calling vitality a team. They crushed Vita but looked like an off day from zywoo and friends while heroic were having a really good day so I do not see this as definitive proof that heroic is up there with G2. They lost to EG and vitality in blast groups and the difference maker in this katowice group stage was Jabbi, who is getting better by the day but he might struggle against top tier opposition on the big stage. Stavn have a poor record against top tier teams as well so let's see how heroic will play here. Liquid - The weirdest team in the playoffs for sure, team liquid is completely unpredictable. They have the individuals to take this event but it is hard for all of them to click at the same time. They struggled a little bit against IHC than lost to Navi but beating spirit and faze on their way back is more impressive than heroic's run in my opinion. If they were not in G2's side of the bracket, I would pick team liquid for sure. NAF is playing really well and if yekindar and Osee find consistency, this is a contender team for most events. Vitality - I'm always disappointed by vitality even when they win. Seems like this is such a hard carry from zywoo that it is not even fair with this guy. He is my favorite cs player of all time already (only losing to fallen obviously) and I cannot shake the feeling he is wasting his prime with dudes like dupreeh and Apex, who already had their fare share of titles and now are just playing like shit. Don't get me wrong, I like apex but vitality needs what G2 have now. 5 dudes who never had an era, never had that winning team and are carving to put their names amongst the eternal legends of this game like NIP, Fnatic, SK and Astralis . Spinx is exactly that and I love his signing but dupreeh, magisk and apex are not. Surround zywoo with actual new talent (like FlameZ), find a better IGL and then I will consider vitality a contender. For now, it seems like it is only zywoo playing vs 9 and managing to pull out wins out of his ass. Navi - Team was in shambles but groups showed they are finding form again. Yeah they got crushed by G2 but honestly, everyone is getting crushed by G2 so this is not exactly a match to say that Navi still suck. They beat cloud 9 and liquid, way more impressive results than heroic's wins against Col and OG so that is a very positive sign. They are also a big stage team but I worry about Npl in front of the crowd. Navi needs him playing well to have a deep run but I trust B1ad3 to prepare him for this. B1t in his rookie year was huge exactly in this kind of event and Npl looks like a really good player. I don't think electronic is a good IGL, he does not have that mid round timing like Karrigan and Hooxi to adapt to some situations but in raw talent, Navi is fierce and can come up huge. Outsiders - The major champions added a new talent and this dude is solid. Kair0n looks like the next big deal for russian cs but outsiders as a whole did not convince me at all. Losing to fnatic, a team that did not have a good run in katowice), having a hard time against NIP and Complexity and dare I say, only beating OG because coach was there instead of FlameZ and FIKU was sick. I like Jame and his calculated style but it does not seems like outsiders are ready for such a stacked tournament. Fame is not having a good run so far and he was crucial in the major title. I don't see outsiders reaching the finals for this event but they can be a surprise. Now explaining my picks! Jks - Been playing like a star recently. He found his form and is one of the best G2 players right now. His price is an absolute steal and since I believe G2 will win, he is a must have for my team. Hunter - Slowed down a bit since Jks is stepping up but it's still hunter. According to his top 20 article, hunter plays his best cs in the playoffs of big events so I decided to gamble on this. Fair price tag for the man makes him a very good pick. S1mple - I feel like I say this every fantasy but he is very cheap for the GOAT. Obviously he is not on his best form but it is still s1mple. Insanely high ceiling and if Navi makes a deep run, he will always put up numbers. Perfecto - Honestly I wanted B1t here but after the 3 first picks, money got awkward. I tried some G2/Navi variations but nothing came up good since Niko and m0nesy are so expensive. And I liked this configuration since I want to gamble on Navi, it is not everyday you can fit 4 silvers and s1mple on a team. Also, perfecto is good for support role and some less triggered boosters. Spinx - His price is exactly the money I had left. I would have liked to use a fifth player from heroic but 193,000 for the only guy who is helping zywoo looks fair enough. If vitality beats liquid, spinx probably will have good numbers That is it! Rough start to the season here, really unlucky with boosters and roles this last event but nothing that some strong finishes can't fix. Who you think will win katowice? Show me your teams!