WCG 2009 Preview: Group E

We continue our series of WCG group previews, this time looking at Group E.

Group E contains only four teams, whose rosters look as stands:

k23	simpleX
Malik "N1ck3L" Sualirov	Sasho "Zero" Mitrushevski
Anvar "Anv1k" Nassyrov	Kiril "unhcR" Ognenov
Dauren "AdreN" Kistaubaev	Vlatko "Cl@" Sekovski
Alexander "beAst" Yakovlev	Filip "daffy" Dimcevski
Rustem "mou" Tlepov	Jovan "N1GHTMARE" Derebanoski

The Elder Gods	esq.wind
Taofik "Taofik" Jawich	Jonghyun "jonghyun" Park
Daniel "k1d0r" Paka	Bumgi "peri" Jung
Marius "MaRiuS" Ionita	Jihoon "oa" park
Mircea "PeRRy" Predut	Jaekyun "kuni" oh
Adrian "Darky" Lazar	Su-Young "ari" Chung

Entering the second half of the groups, we see one which looks very interesting as it contains three teams that appear to be almost equally as capable of progressing to the next stage.

k23 look like the main favourite to finish at the top of the group, despite recently making two changes to their line-up. The Kazakh giants are always a team one has to consider in every international tournament, and this one seems to be no exception. They were fairly disappointing in this weekend's Arbalet Cup Europe qualifier in Moscow, crashing out in the groups with just one victory, but they are still expected to make their way around Chengdu.

When esq.wind won the WCG qualifier, many thought that it would be a breath of fresh air in the South Korean scene after WeMade FOX had dominated it for so long. Yet it has been anything but that. esq.wind were on show at IEF 2009 last week, where they were quite discreet, qualifying for the second group stage, where they were crushed by TiTaNs. They picked up two heavy defeats, against the Singaporean side (16-5) and SK Gaming (21-9), which raises questions about whether esq.wind will be able to make their mark in the competition.

The Elder Gods are a fairly regular presence in international events but it has been quite a while since they were able to prove a point. In Cologne, TeG were denied entry into the play-off stage after an 18-12 defeat to NoPression which moved them to third in the group. The Romanian side are expected  to mount a challenge for a spot in the next round, but it will be very hard for them not to fall behind k23 and esq.wind here.

Last year, simpleX finished rock bottom of their group, without a single point, and they look like easy material for their opponents this time too.

HLTV.org's final placing prediction:

1. k23
2. esq.wind
3. The Elder Gods
4. simpleX

Related

Preview: Group A
Preview: Group B
Preview: Group C
Preview: Group D

SteelSeries competition

Whodo you think will win Group E? By leaving your prediction in a commentbelow, you will have the opportunity to win a SteelSeries QcK+ CustomLimited Edition mousepad. You can pick your favorite, as there is awide range of mousespads to choose from (fnatic, mibr, MYM, SK and more(stocks are limited)).



XLBet offers you the odds on Group E

XLBetis once again again ready to serve you with the odds for World CyberGames. Group E bets are available right now. Remember handicap betsfinalizes once a team has reached 16 rounds won.

Group D offers you a interesting bet in the match for the top spot. Can k23 overcome the South Korean representative in a 0-4 handicap? If you think so, you can score odds 1.72, while a win for esq.wind will grant you odds 1.95

XLBet will be your home for all odds during World Cyber Games, go check out the available odds right here.