Credit: ESL | Adela Sznajder

Strong Germans lead the way - DreamHack Open January preview

EG and BIG stand as heavy favourites - but what about the strong-playing Gambit squad? or the new-look FunPlus Phoenix?

2021-01-27 | @PleyTB

The European version of DreamHack Open January starts today, presenting an exciting group of
attending teams from the favourites in BIG and EG to the underdogs in HellRaisers and Sprout.

Check out our preview of the event, to get a grip and understand the prominent tournament.

Dates

27th – 31st of January

Prize

Prize pool: $75.000

1st = $35.000 | 2nd = $15.000 | 3rd = $6.000

Attending teams and groups (World ranking)

Group A:
BIG (#4) | tabseN – tiziaN – syrsoN – XANTARES – k1to

HellRaisers (#34) | kalinka – Flarich – anarkez – ProbleM - JlaYm

Evil Geniuses (#14) | Ethan – tarik – stanislaw – CeRq – Brehze

FunPlus Phoenix (#17) | Maden – Farlig – STYKO – zehN – chrisJ (stand-in)

Group B:

Gambit (#13) | sh1ro – hobbit – nafany – interz – Ax1Le

Spirit (#20) | chopper – mir – sdy – degster – magixx

forZe (#22) | almazer – Woro2k – Aunkere – Jerry – FL1T

Sprout (#28) | Spiidi – denis – kressy – faveN – slaxz-

Tournament format

Group stage: The 12 teams will compete in a GSL Bo3 group stage with the two highest placed teams advancing through to the playoffs

Playoff: Single elimination B03 – Bo5 Grand Final

FunPlus Phoenix will field their new CS:GO roster at DreamHack Open January

Storylines

Are the superstars from BIG and EG going to demonstrate their supremacy? - Can the promising duo of degster and Patsi seal a permanent deal at Spirit? – Will the Russian youngsters from Gambit continue their impressive form? – And what about the new boys in town from FunPlus Phoenix?

Yes, there are lots of thrilling storylines and questions waiting to be answered in the next couple of days.

Debuts:

degster (Spirit)

Patsi (Spirit)

zehN – STYKO – Maden – Farlig – chrisJ (FunPlus Phoenix)

Ones to watch

Here’s a Top 10 over the best performing players for the past 3 months.

Top 10 Highest-Rated Attending Players (Last 3 months).

1. degster (Spirit) | +395 K/D Diff | 1.30 Rating

2. sh1ro (Gambit) | +375 K/D Diff | 1.29 Rating

3. Ax1Le (Gambit) | +219 K/D Diff | 1.23 Rating

4. Hobbit (Gambit) | +217 K/D Diff | 1.23 Rating